pospeh

I dont think most UV sets sold on the market is effective in killing the Ich spores. The contact time through the UV sleeve is usually too short or the UV is underpowered. Theoretically, it does work, however, but I think you need to spend thousands of dollars to get something that really works.

If you dont want to DIY, the only real choice is a DE set. Dont worry about the UV glass thing, ALL reputable brand-name DE sets will have a UV glass included as a part of the MH set. For your info, brand-name DE MH sets usually will outperform a DIY SE set in terms of getting more light into your tank. This is because they will have a more efficient reflector compared to a DIY set. Some reputable brand-name sets include those from Giesemann, Aqualine Busche, Aquaconnect, Dupla & Arcadia. BTW, I use a 250W DE set made by AB.

It is not very nice to create a topic like this.

You have a FOWLR system right? Since I suspect you feed quite a lot to your fishes, you need to get a really good skimmer to take out all the excess nutrients that a fish-heavy tank will produce.

I would use about 0.5 cup of the stuff and leave it in the tank for 2 weeks before replacing it.

I really dont know for sure, but I would also suspect that the reef formula also contains more trace elements that are used by corals, such as strontium, iron, magnesium etc. Read their label to see what other elements are in the reef version. I think most reefers do not bother to buy the reef version of salt mixes because of its added costs. For example, most people use Instant Ocean, and not its reef formula cousin, Reef Crystals.

Its a $12k piece of work of art. . . and you are not using it!!!, argggg

wow, really nice tank.

Actually I am more intereted in your Mewlon. So when can visit?

If you are extra careful, can consider a RO/DI unit to purify the water first. but it is really not necessary.

I am using Biosal right now. It is made from mined salt, not evaporated sea salt, so interestingly, when it is mixed, the water actually becomes cooler. It also mixes quite easily and quickly. The shortcoming are its rather low calcium and alkalinity levels. I tested it for calcium and it was about 320 ppm. Alkalinity was about 7 dKH. But then again, it is not advertised as a reef salt, so I suppose these levels are acceptable for fish-only. I haven't used reef salt, but I would guess that is has elevated levels of calcium and alkalinity.

why dont you wait a while. Max and I are trying to get some Giesemanns Megachromes. I'll let you know how good/bad it is. Supposedly, it offers the answer to what you are looking for. White bulb with actinic supplementation in 1 bulb, and with excellent PAR. LOL, sounds like the holy grail of bulbs. Here is the link to RC describing this bulb. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.p...threadid=259420

Their ballast are going to cost close to US$150 with shipping. Knowing you, you are probably going to switch to some other bulb later on, and their ballast really do not perform that well with AB / Ushios. You are on bluelines, right?

I have never used it before, but it seems to me that if it is such a great bulb, more people would be using it (which is not the case). The PAR put out by the Coralvues are about 10-30% lower compared to AB/BLVs, depening on the ballast used. In case you haven't looked at the coralvue site, they have a spectrum analysis of all their bulbs. I had looked at them previously and it seems that the bulb has greater intensity in the blues than in the yellows, so i suppose that is why it appears whiter. Ultimately nothing beats actual experience, and they are being offered at a reasonable price at this other *ahem* forum, so it doesnt hurt to try it out.

I dont mind it at all. at least it is funny. there was a long boring story posted here maybe 6 months back written by some psychotic delusional boy who fantacized about his supposed girlfriend dying of cancer.

Hey it looks great. Just make sure the structure is stable when you start adding corals on top of it.

coralline algae do need a relatively high level of alkanlinity and calcium in order to grow well. Both of these are supplied by kalkwasser.

Yeah, its from aquatechnic. BTW, i just found out the AB 20K bulb is finally being sold in the US. It can be purchased at US$89 from oceanencounter.com. I am thinking of getting it. Hopefully it is gonna be better in terms of PAR than the Arcadia I am now using, and will not appear so blue. Wanna tag along on an order? Coming from AB, it should be a good bulb since it is especially made for aquarium use.

Do you want a 14K bulb? If so, the only real choice you have in Singapore is AB. For other color temperatures, there are lots of choices.

Hey I was in HK on Sunday, and it was quite cold. The whole place is so crowded, especially in Tsim Sha Tsui. Cant even walk on the street without bumping into hundreds of people. What are you planning to get in HK?

The tank running under 250W DE Arcadia 20k. The pic turned out to be bluer than it actually is, but you can see how the green monti in the center and the tongue coral turned much greener under 20K lights.

In my opinion, the Ab14K or the BLV 10K both needs actinic supplementation to bring out the best fluroscence in corals. Switching to a so-called blue bulb do bring out the nice fluroscence, but the tank may be too blue for some people. Maybe the best combination is a 10-14K bulb + actinic supplementation. Supposedly the Giesemann 13K bulbs are supposed to provide exactly that, so I am waiting to try it out. Here is a pic of my tank under 250W DE AB14Ks. What you see is basically how the tank looks in terms of color.

What is your primary means of removing nitrates?

Does NOT. It takes forever to cure too, and once it becomes hard, if you touch the colony slightly hard, the whole thing comes off.

Have you tried Hellolights.com? I suppose the prices here would be comparable, if not a bit cheaper. I checked their site, and you would need their ballast set at US$69 (ballast, igniter, capacitor), and their FC2 holder at US$20.95. hope this helps.