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I'm wondering how much lighting I will need to keep SPS and clams in my 36lx18wx24h 65 gallon tank. Will 2 250 MH and 2 95 VHO actinics be enough? Too much? Won't fit? I know I'll have to modify my canopy so the bulbs won't be so lose to the water surface, and to add some fans for cooling...

You can order them online, email me for a site. gregzbobo@directvinternet.com Can't post a direct link here, rules and stuff. :

I feel the same, I just bought a sort of package deal with my lfs, 10 astreas and 10 nassarius snails for 25 bucks, and the nassarius came with a pound of live sand to boot.

I will start out with softies first, 380 watts isn't really enough for sps or clams, I may get an lps or two, like an elegance, or perhaps a hammer, once I am comfortable keeping softies. I have an amiracle wet-dry in my stand, but I do not use the bioballs. I replaced them instead with about 20...

Is the dead rock you mention full of holes and pits and such as live rock is? If so, there may be some bacteria already colonized within it, and you may want to keep some of it and use it for base rock. Or place it in your sump if you have one and let it do its work there where you don't have to...

right now I only have two crabs in my aquarium, because I really don't need more than that I don't think. I may eventually get a few more here and there when I start getting more live rock and up the bioload with a couple more fish though.

ammonia = 0 nitrite = 0 nitrate = 0 if possible, but levels up to 20 ppm are generally tolerable ph = 8.1 to 8.3 being the ideal range. 8.0 and 8.4 are right at the border of being too low or too high.

It really depends on how close the bulbs are to the surface of the water. Of course, the closer they are, the warmer, and the farther the less warmer. If you have a fairly enclosed hood, I'd suggest adding some sort of fan setup, to circulate air through the hood to try to get rid of the heated...

I've got a Marineland Penguin 550 powerhead. I've had this small pump for maybe 5 years, first in a freshwater tank running a bio-wheel, then in my first marine fish only tank, 29 gallons, now in my 65. Love this pump, quiet, reliable, and cost next to nothing mail order. 12 bucks + shipping.

Your shrimp will regenerate that lost arm when he next molts. It will probably be smaller than the other, but after another molt or two, it'll be like the amputation never happened.

Just a side note, your lfs's are more than likely recommending the VHO lights because thats what they sell, typically, PC lights put out more light per watt than VHO, although VHO actinic tubes seem to be better than PC actinics. But I can understand you switching to VHO, since you can't get PC...

Ask your friend if he ever used copper in the tank. If he has, that sand is pretty much usefull only for maybe a kids sandbox. Copper ions will be adsorbed by the sand particles, and in a new tank, will very slowly be released into the water column, a very bad thing to happen. If its free of...

Is it just me, or did swf.com remove the fish/corals link on the left? I was going to see what they wanted for some fish, but seems you can only order fish thru the u-build-it now.

Since you are in the middle of the cycle, I would actually try to get UNcured rock now if you have the money. It is generally a bit cheaper, and will have a larger variety of life on it. Plus, since you are already cycling, it won't hurt a thing, if anything, it will speed the cycle along a bit...

It might even be your test kit, long shot I know, but I have read that the REd Sea test kits aren't very good. If you can spring for it, get a different test kit, or see if your lfs can test your water for you. I use salifert to test my calc and alk. Very repeatable so far, good color change...

Get a filter bag at your lfs, and put some GOOD activated carbob in it, tie it shut, and stick it in your sump in a place of high flow. I use Chemi-pure rather than carbon though, seems to work a bit better.

I don't know alot about higher intensity lighting, but if you are using 48 inch VHO bulbs, those are 110 watt a piece I believe, so total wattage including the VHOS is 720 watts. That sounds pretty good to me, 7.2 watt a gallon. And hey, if you find its not enough, you can always upgrade the mh...

If you have room in the sump, stick some of the "dead" rock down there to make room for new live stuff, that way you will have less of an algea problem to deal with, and more room for nice rock, plus the stuff you stick in the sump will be re-colonized by bacteria and work as live rock again...

I tried a sock, tried an extra pre-filter sponge from my tank drain, even tried a couple of old paperback books, none of them worked even a 1/4 as good as the mousepad trick.

I've read a couple different things about using an air pump to keep new salt-mix ready to go, some have said aerating it is good for the ph and keeps it stable, others have said that the aeration will let CO2 from the atmosphere get into the water, lowering the ph (CO2 turns to carbonic acid...