Why isn't my hammer bright green like in the lfs?

[reeffish6]

I would highly recommend you to change your lights to LED'S. Yes I understand they are very expensive but you can find some for around $200 on ebay or something. These will forsure bring the color out in your torch. LED'S are also good in the long run, less energy, less heat and some can give you at least years of light before changing them. Also keep up with your water changes! If your water is good your torch will go crazy. I bought mine 7 years ago as a 2 headed frag and now it has 21 heads.

[MoreDakka]

Is there any cheap interm leds i can get away with for now until the purse strings can be opened more? Something from Here?

Going to try for a 10% water change every 3 days...hope that will bring down the levels

[sphelps]

Used T5 fixtures are usually pretty easy to find, like this one:
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...threadid=98752

Running four bulbs would make a huge difference over one and allow you to use a mix of spectrum including blue/actinic which is what you need.

For cheap LEDs the cheapest option is probably the D120
http://www.reefsupplycanada.com/d120...ight-16-light/
I assume one will cover your tank. Anything cheaper will likely not produce good results.

10% water changes won't be effective for nitrate reduction, better to do as close to 100% as you can.

[mrhasan]

You can also look into Sunblaster T5HO. For like $30 each light fixture (without the light), its possibly the cheapest option for decent lighting. MH goes for cheap too now-a-days (keep an eye on sell thread).

[Myka]

As sphelps said, find a used 4-bulb T5 fixture in the classifieds on CanReef. I think the one he linked to is too short for your tank as yours appears to be 36". AquaticLife make reasonably priced T5 fixtures and used ones are quite economical.

For LPS, if you use mainly blue bulbs you can push 12 months on them ime. I use T5s over my Zoa/LPS tank and really like the results. I use 3 blue plus bulbs and 1 Coral Light bulb and replace one bulb every 3 months which is only $30 every 3 months - easy to handle.

For nitrate issues, big waterchanges won't fix the problem entirely. You need to locate the source...tap water? Overfeeding? Poor skimmer? Poor water circulation allowing detritus to settle? Etc... Check out the links in my signature for advice on tank maintenance (Detritus Wars & Hair Algae).

[miuYH]

What about par30/38 light bulbs?

[MoreDakka]

Originally Posted by Myka

As sphelps said, find a used 4-bulb T5 fixture in the classifieds on CanReef. I think the one he linked to is too short for your tank as yours appears to be 36". AquaticLife make reasonably priced T5 fixtures and used ones are quite economical.

For LPS, if you use mainly blue bulbs you can push 12 months on them ime. I use T5s over my Zoa/LPS tank and really like the results. I use 3 blue plus bulbs and 1 Coral Light bulb and replace one bulb every 3 months which is only $30 every 3 months - easy to handle.

For nitrate issues, big waterchanges won't fix the problem entirely. You need to locate the source...tap water? Overfeeding? Poor skimmer? Poor water circulation allowing detritus to settle? Etc... Check out the links in my signature for advice on tank maintenance (Detritus Wars & Hair Algae).

I may have been incorrect in saying T5, it's a dual bulb, would it be t5-ho?



I tested the tap water. No extra nitrates coming from there, a bit of ammonium (about 0.25ppm). I was over feeding, now I've cut that back even more. I might have a couple of spots where the water sits but I'm seeing flow everywhere and my CUC is quite good at getting rid of stuff. Just added 4 nassarius snaills to the mix too. I've also gone ahead and scraped that back wall. That was gross, the water looked like a slew...nice now though,

Titus99 gave me a bunch of info as well, my HOB filter I was neglecting and probably farming nitrates out of that. That's now being cleaned daily/every other day. I was over feeding lots, that's been cut back. So my nitrate levels have dropped to 20ppm after 2 30-40% water changes (45g tank, 1" sand, 35 lb live rock...not sure how much water is actually in this tank).

Originally Posted by miuYH

What about par30/38 light bulbs?

I've brought THESE up before but the community hasn't responded to it yet. Not sure if they are a good buy or not. I'm assuming not?

Thanks again to everyone who is helping me with this problem. The tank looks brighter and cleaner than ever before.

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by MoreDakka

I may have been incorrect in saying T5, it's a dual bulb, would it be t5-ho?

That's CFL (compact fluorescent light). T5HO is a whole different level of lighting

[MoreDakka]

Originally Posted by mrhasan

That's CFL (compact fluorescent light). T5HO is a whole different level of lighting

Haha...uhhh, goooo LFS bad info again. Weee... I showed the a pic and that is what i was told. No wonder i couldn't find anything that,mentioned t5 on the box...