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Post by Immortality on Dec 4, 2014 2:43:07 GMT -5
Just wondering what to look for when buying coral?
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Post by jasonandsarah on Dec 4, 2014 5:55:29 GMT -5
In person or online? Health, parasites, coloration and polyp extention
Different things you will have to look for when looking at different corals. Like Sps for instance the biggest thing to check for is Acro eating Flatworms. But you should be able to tell by health. Online you don't get to check for any of this really besides pictures if it's Wysiwyg.
Sent from my SM-N910R4 using proboards
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Post by gotareef on Dec 4, 2014 8:51:44 GMT -5
what kind of coral? softie,lps,sps?
as stated above the biggest thing to look for are coral health and pests!
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Post by Immortality on Dec 4, 2014 10:33:59 GMT -5
what kind of coral? softie,lps,sps? as stated above the biggest thing to look for are coral health and pests! really I guess more of a general question. Thinking about getting some corals and it's a lot to take in. Forums for me have been more of a help then a book, or even digging on line. The whole textbook actuality difference seems to have enough of a difference that hearing what others have found out is more beneficial then the book. Not saying a lot can't be learned from hours of good reading. I've been told by a few people growing up that based on a person's experience in the field is more beneficial then a lifetime of text book. I was cautioned that that while taking the time to do everything by the book does have advantage listening to someone who has been there done that is a much better education. Right or wrong it makes sense. Every case is different but I feel u guys are or have delt with stuff it's only a matter of time before I'm going to deal with the same things given I'm trying to maintain a set-up simular to what u have accomplished. Currently I have compact fluorescent lightning. From what I've read I could keep lps , and mushrooms. Wondering what I could get w my set up and if I missed anything else about what I can keep. |
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Post by jasonandsarah on Dec 4, 2014 12:21:34 GMT -5
If I was you I'd pay that light on Craigslist and go for a new light. I've personally never used Pc lighting but I always figured there was a good reason it wasn't around the reef aquarium hobby very long.
Most likely you'd need new bulbs anyways so why not just sell the fixture and upgrade.
Sent from my SM-N910R4 using proboards
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Post by Sean (90 reef, fw rack sys) on Dec 4, 2014 18:53:41 GMT -5
If I was you I'd pay that light on Craigslist and go for a new light. I've personally never used Pc lighting but I always figured there was a good reason it wasn't around the reef aquarium hobby very long. Most likely you'd need new bulbs anyways so why not just sell the fixture and upgrade. Sent from my SM-N910R4 using proboards I swapped from pc's to cheapo led's and couldn't believe the difference! |
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Post by Lance on Dec 4, 2014 19:40:16 GMT -5
At the end of the day, light is light. It doesn't matter if it comes from halide, fluor, or LED. What matters is spectrum, intensity, and duration. I've grown Acropora successfully under PC's (4-96w bulbs over a 40 breeder). Duration is easy to control...get a timer. Spectrum is easy...buy the right mix of bulbs. Intensity is what you have to worry about. How many bulbs at what wattage? How deep is your tank...or more importantly, how close are your corals to the lights? What corals do you want to keep? My biggest complaint with PC fixtures is heat. They give off a lot which can impact your tank directly and which degrades the bulbs quickly. My experience is that they needed to be replaced every 9 months or so. Cheap in the short term, expensive in the long term. Which is why quality LEDs are so great. Little heat, long life, and energy efficient. Not to mention the form factor tends to be super compact and they are often programmable so you can control the intensity. Back to your original question: you seem to be relatively new to the hobby and I have no idea what size tank, what fish, or what your filtration is like. Given that, start w/ hardy things like Zoanthids/Palythoas/Colonial Polyps, Mushrooms, Leather Coral, and hardy stony corals like Trumpet, Duncan, and Euphyllia. Buy tank raised frags - that tells you that the particular specimen does well in captivity. Wild caught colonies are generally more risky. Feel free to contact me if you want to come over, check out my set up, and talk about what I do and why. Eventually you'll figure your own way out.  |
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Post by gotareef on Dec 17, 2014 8:35:41 GMT -5
+1 to what lance said
I actually liked my acro tank with pc lighting! but I also had 3x65w bulbs on a 20g long tank....
as for books or forum? books are great but unless you are setting up your system exactly the same as the person in the book it usually dosnt work out. one thing off and it throws everything out of whack...
most people wont or cant go exactly as the book and mix and match different techniques to make their system work for them, this is where forums come in handy.
back when I started 15-16+ years ago there werent many forums, only a couple. I remember having about 10 books trying to mix and match different ways of doing things. the worst part was is the books werent always correct... for example I have a book telling people to put the tank next to a sunny window if you want to keep corals and or nems alive! (I couldnt imagine the headaches that would cause)
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