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jckkc

jckkc

New Member
I have a 45 gal with approx 30lbs lr/ a couple of clowns / and a bubbletip anemone of somekind (it is a pink/peach color and moves around), lots of baby snails and a couple of big ones, and some hermit crabs. I was given the tank as is and I've had them for about 18 months and they all seem to be doing well. The tank was given w/o substrate on the bottom, so I put in the 4-5 inches of sand for the dsb, no lv, straight playsand (home depot).
There are many worms now in the sand that range around an inch or two. they are clear/whitish on the ends with a dark portion toward the center. They appear to be segmented and I cant tell head from end. I don't know if they are bristleworms because they are so small I can't see the head. They hide from light and often leave a pile of "dust" at the top of their holes. What are they?
The coraline algea grows well / as do all the little brittlestars. Maybe 60-75 little stars.
I would like to upgrade my lighting. I have 3 flourescent bulbs:
1. 24 inch 10K 40w
2. 24 inch 6500 trichromatic full spectrum 40w
3. 18 inch marine-glo blue
What should I get? All I want to do is maybe bring in a small fish, ie., sixline or something, and a couple easy pieces of coral. Nothing major yet. I have all the time in the world and a very, very established tank.
recap:
1. what are the worms? I think most will say bristle, but I have not seen a picture that could match them no have I seen them out of the sand.
2. what kind of lights? My bulbs are old and my anemone moves around alot more now that it used to. The old bulbs have lost their spectrum.
thanks in advance,
Jason
 
T

thomas712

Guest
The worms are most likely bristle worms, if you get a 6 line wrasse he will enjoy eating them.
Of the two VHO or PC lighting I would suggest the VHO, how long is your 45 gallon?
Thomas
 
jckkc

jckkc

New Member
what is the difference between VHO and Power Compact?
Why is one better than the other?
 
T

thomas712

Guest
Personally I can not prove one way or another that a PC bulb is more intense over VHO but when the PC's first came out they had problems, especially with the blue bulbs, unfortunatly the were just that, blue colored bulbs not the true actinics. PC's have come a long way but it seems that they are always trying to catch up with the VHO which has been leading the aquarium world other than the most intense Metal halides. As far as looks I much prefer the looks of a tank with MH or VHO over that of PC.
LFS stores promote the heck out of the PC's because they can make more money off of them. Its my opinion but VHO is a better light that is less expensive and when you run the bulbs on an electronic ballast they last up to one year before you need to replace them.
If you can fit it in your hood a 4 bulb 36 inch retrofit system would be very nice over your 45. This would give you 380 watts and your anemone would love you for it. When I did this to my 55 ( same lighting setup) my BTA crawled to the highest point in my tank and stayed put and grew to softball size then split into two, then three, then four over the following year.
The 36 inch bulbs + endcaps would come out to ...hmmm... 39 inches I think. I forget how long those endcaps are but I believe they were 1 1/2 inches each. If this would not fit for you then the 24 inch retrofit kit might do you just as well. So a 4 bulb 24 inch would give you 300 watts.
36 inch URI bulbs are 95 watts each
24 inch URI bulbs are 75 watts each
Go with the URI bulbs as they simply are the best.
The price difference between the two bulb and four bulb fixture is a matter of just a few bucks from the online site that I prefer to use. so go with the 4 bulb setup and get the best bang for the buck. 2 bulb fixture about 149.00 vs. 4 bulb fixture about 155.00, this does not include bulbs.
Bulbs are about 20 bucks a peice (+-) online. Double that if you buy at an LFS.
Thomas
 
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