substrate
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karlas
Member
cc can become a nitrate factory it traps food and waste just to decay and takes more work to clean and vacuum, the ls hold more bacteria to break down amm,nitrites, and works as a denitrator that is the advantage of a dsb. also u don't vacuum ls. i dont know that much about plenums but i guess they can be nitrate factorys to. i've tried the cc and switched over to dsb and glad i did
jacksonpt
Active Member
CC:
pros - cheap, easy to clean
cons - more likely to see high nitrates (especially from over-feeding), takes time to become 'live' CC, not as attractive as LS (opinion)
LS:
pros - very little maintance required, Live right out of the bag, less sensitive to over feeding, attractive (opinion)
cons - expensive, hard to clean if necessary
I use CC with out a problem, and it's not that difficult (at least not for me). Just can't overfeed!
[hr]
Jackson
75g Reef
My Site
[ December 18, 2001: Message edited by: jacksonpt ]
pros - cheap, easy to clean
cons - more likely to see high nitrates (especially from over-feeding), takes time to become 'live' CC, not as attractive as LS (opinion)
LS:
pros - very little maintance required, Live right out of the bag, less sensitive to over feeding, attractive (opinion)
cons - expensive, hard to clean if necessary
I use CC with out a problem, and it's not that difficult (at least not for me). Just can't overfeed!
[hr]
Jackson
75g Reef
My Site
[ December 18, 2001: Message edited by: jacksonpt ]
kelly
Member
Jacksonpt,
I have a similar tank, but when I bought mine, it said 80 gal. How do you like the 20,000k bulbs. I have 2 10,000k and 1 actinic. I also use CC and an UG filter. The tank was setup over 10 yrs ago, and I have never had nitrate or ammonia problems. The CC has not been cleaned / siphoned in the past 18 months or so, and was rarely done before that.
I agree that a DSB looks much better, and I am going to put one in my next tank. How are your anenomes doing, mine are doing just great, and growing like crazy. How is the Hammer doing? I have been wanting to get one for several years, but everytime I do some buying, there are not descent ones in stock, or they are way over-priced.
I would like to get a mandarin, but I do not have enough pods, I think my 3 firefish, and watchman gobie take care of them pretty well. I haven't seen them in the daylight, but at night, I will see one or two.
How long has your tank been up?
Kelly
I have a similar tank, but when I bought mine, it said 80 gal. How do you like the 20,000k bulbs. I have 2 10,000k and 1 actinic. I also use CC and an UG filter. The tank was setup over 10 yrs ago, and I have never had nitrate or ammonia problems. The CC has not been cleaned / siphoned in the past 18 months or so, and was rarely done before that.
I agree that a DSB looks much better, and I am going to put one in my next tank. How are your anenomes doing, mine are doing just great, and growing like crazy. How is the Hammer doing? I have been wanting to get one for several years, but everytime I do some buying, there are not descent ones in stock, or they are way over-priced.
I would like to get a mandarin, but I do not have enough pods, I think my 3 firefish, and watchman gobie take care of them pretty well. I haven't seen them in the daylight, but at night, I will see one or two.
How long has your tank been up?
Kelly
jacksonpt
Active Member
Originally posted by Kelly:
<STRONG>Jacksonpt,
I have a similar tank, but when I bought mine, it said 80 gal. How do you like the 20,000k bulbs. I have 2 10,000k and 1 actinic. </STRONG>
The 20ks are ok... they look a little better IMO, but my hammer coral seems to like the 10k better. I'm in the process of upgrading to MH... I'll be running two 250w 7500k bulbs, so we'll see how they do.
<STRONG>I also use CC and an UG filter. The tank was setup over 10 yrs ago, and I have never had nitrate or ammonia problems. The CC has not been cleaned / siphoned in the past 18 months or so, and was rarely done before that.</STRONG>
I siphon out my CC about once a month or so... mostly just to turn the coral over and give it a fresh, clean look.
<STRONG>I agree that a DSB looks much better, and I am going to put one in my next tank. How are your anenomes doing, mine are doing just great, and growing like crazy.</STRONG>
My anemone seems to be doing well. I try to feed it every day because I know it's not getting enough nitrition from the lights. He seems happy though, and my maroon clown loves having him in the tank. I've been giving some thought to getting another BTA, and trading in my clown for 2 smaller maroons... try to get a breading pair.
<STRONG>How is the Hammer doing? I have been wanting to get one for several years, but everytime I do some buying, there are not descent ones in stock, or they are way over-priced.</STRONG>
My hammer is doing ok. He was happier under my old 10k bulbs, but he's ok. I really like hammer corals, and I've been thinking about getting another... one that is grey/purple in color. I think that if I placed the right next to each other, the colors would complement each other really well.
<STRONG>I would like to get a mandarin, but I do not have enough pods, I think my 3 firefish, and watchman gobie take care of them pretty well. I haven't seen them in the daylight, but at night, I will see one or two.</STRONG>
Mandarins are great fish... soooo relaxing. Do your firefish and watchman eat pods? I'm not familiar with them.
<STRONG>How long has your tank been up?</STRONG>
I've had it setup for about a year and a half now. I've just started adding calcium in the last few weeks, and I'm starting to see better coraline algae growth, so that's good. I've got a long way to go yet, but it's getting there.
Do you have any pictures of your tank?
[hr]
Jackson
75g Reef
My Site
[ December 18, 2001: Message edited by: jacksonpt ]
<STRONG>Jacksonpt,
I have a similar tank, but when I bought mine, it said 80 gal. How do you like the 20,000k bulbs. I have 2 10,000k and 1 actinic. </STRONG>
The 20ks are ok... they look a little better IMO, but my hammer coral seems to like the 10k better. I'm in the process of upgrading to MH... I'll be running two 250w 7500k bulbs, so we'll see how they do.
<STRONG>I also use CC and an UG filter. The tank was setup over 10 yrs ago, and I have never had nitrate or ammonia problems. The CC has not been cleaned / siphoned in the past 18 months or so, and was rarely done before that.</STRONG>
I siphon out my CC about once a month or so... mostly just to turn the coral over and give it a fresh, clean look.
<STRONG>I agree that a DSB looks much better, and I am going to put one in my next tank. How are your anenomes doing, mine are doing just great, and growing like crazy.</STRONG>
My anemone seems to be doing well. I try to feed it every day because I know it's not getting enough nitrition from the lights. He seems happy though, and my maroon clown loves having him in the tank. I've been giving some thought to getting another BTA, and trading in my clown for 2 smaller maroons... try to get a breading pair.
<STRONG>How is the Hammer doing? I have been wanting to get one for several years, but everytime I do some buying, there are not descent ones in stock, or they are way over-priced.</STRONG>
My hammer is doing ok. He was happier under my old 10k bulbs, but he's ok. I really like hammer corals, and I've been thinking about getting another... one that is grey/purple in color. I think that if I placed the right next to each other, the colors would complement each other really well.
<STRONG>I would like to get a mandarin, but I do not have enough pods, I think my 3 firefish, and watchman gobie take care of them pretty well. I haven't seen them in the daylight, but at night, I will see one or two.</STRONG>
Mandarins are great fish... soooo relaxing. Do your firefish and watchman eat pods? I'm not familiar with them.
<STRONG>How long has your tank been up?</STRONG>
I've had it setup for about a year and a half now. I've just started adding calcium in the last few weeks, and I'm starting to see better coraline algae growth, so that's good. I've got a long way to go yet, but it's getting there.
Do you have any pictures of your tank?
[hr]
Jackson
75g Reef
My Site
[ December 18, 2001: Message edited by: jacksonpt ]
texasreefrat
Member
I would mix the water first, then add the sand slowly. Place the open bag in the tank, lower to the bottom, and gently pour as not to cloud the water.
