Looking for some old-timers who left and came back in to the hobby

[props]

Hey everyone!!
I have been thinking about getting back into the hobby and just wondering if any of the oldtimers who left came back.Looked at a 40-60 Bowflex to start with but also have looked at 230+gallon tanks.
Here are some questions for you:
Did you go for a bigger tank to start again or smaller??
Time spent researching for new equipments??
Got an skimmer to recommend??
Tunze Wavebox still any good??
Lighting Technology??
Pricewise anything got cheaper at all or its more expensive now to get into the hobby?

I have kept some of my old equipment knowing I'll get back into it. But still not sure if this is the right time. My kids are growing so fast I don't want to miss a thing although they did enjoy the tank when I had it all set up.

Fill me in!!

Thanks
G'day

[Jason McK]

Looky looky

Good to see ya back Jesse. I'm sure what ever size you decide on will be an amazing tank

J

[bvlester]

I started right where I left off just to get broken in again. lighting has changed you don't have to rely on MH you can now use T5 VHO what a bonus. smaller electric bills fixtures are lighter but not as much shimer. The corals don't seem to mind though they grow well and in some cases I think better, less chances of bleeching.
I use an aqua meduc T1000 should have gone with the T5000 just for upgradabilty I am thinking 120g total vaulume is the T1000's peek proformance point. I will see in the future as I will no dought upgrade to a larger tank than that with a sump.
The Tunze Wavebox is still good seems alot of people unsing them. Pulsating power heads seem to be the crass right now though. I am presintly trying a few options including a osilating power head seems to be making a great deal of change in a good way. I am making stronge curents with a smaller power head I seemed to of had a few dead spots before and now they seem to be gone.

Bill

[muck]

Hey Jesse... Welcome back.
Can't wait to see what you can do with your box of water this time. :mrgreen:

[christyf5]

Welcome back, its about bloody time :wink:

Most everything is still the same except for a few skimmer advancements. Tunze still rocks. Vortechs might be new to you although I don't think so.

IMO its just as pricey to get back in as it ever was. Lots of good deals to be had around here on used stuff though

Your kids are probably the perfect age to start learning about reef tanks! :biggrin:

[Tom R]

Hey Jesse... Welcome back

Tom R

[Aquattro]

Welcome back, its about bloody time :wink:



No kidding! Hey Jesse, good to see you coming back to your senses. I left for a year, but kept all my old gear, mostly, minus the tank. I went with a 90 wide, and I'm happy enough with that size. Although for you, if you're going to fill it with awesome SPS again, you should get a really big tank!! :)

[cprowler]

Hey Jesse...

When I clicked on the link I expected to see a old fart that was into reefing back before water was invented. ;)

Good to see you back, how long has it been 2...3 years? I don't think a whole lot has changed, feed hard....skim harder!

Go big or go home...180g or bigger! :p

[Chin_Lee]

Hey Jesse - long time no see. Haven't even seen you at the local Superstore :)
Welcome back, i'm still here but i've quit the SPS thing. Just into the the LPS and softies now. Gimme a call whenever you want.
BTW - GO BIG!!!

[Dez]

I left in 2004 and just got back in this summer. Moved in '04, had kids and never did set up a tank during that time until now. It took me a little bit of getting used to everything again. I had kept all of my old equipment from 5 years ago (surprisingly not much of it was outdated). I spent a couple of months researching (mostly posting questions on here) to see what was new. T5's are new, so I jumped on that bandwagon in combination with my existing halides. I never knew about the zeovit system until now - giving that system a shot. I guess Beckett skimmers are a bit outdated now (but I'm still using one) - Bubble King skimmers are the rage now. It seems that a lot more people are using 2 part dosing that I remember from back then. Herbie Overflows were new to me when I came back in. All in all, these new things are good and I'm soo glad to be back into the hobby and being broke again :biggrin:.

Welcome back to the hobby!

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Welcome back Jessie. Good to see you getting back into the addiction.

Anthony

[bvlester]

I left in 2004 and just got back in this summer. Moved in '04, had kids and never did set up a tank during that time until now. It took me a little bit of getting used to everything again. I had kept all of my old equipment from 5 years ago (surprisingly not much of it was outdated). I spent a couple of months researching (mostly posting questions on here) to see what was new. T5's are new, so I jumped on that bandwagon in combination with my existing halides. I never knew about the zeovit system until now - giving that system a shot. I guess Beckett skimmers are a bit outdated now (but I'm still using one) - Bubble King skimmers are the rage now. It seems that a lot more people are using 2 part dosing that I remember from back then. Herbie Overflows were new to me when I came back in. All in all, these new things are good and I'm soo glad to be back into the hobby and being broke again :biggrin:.

Welcome back to the hobby!

I go on a few different forums and there are alot of people still using Beckett skimmers and some people that have used them before upgrade to newer versions of them. I would not say they were realy out dated just not the rage right now.

Bill

[props]

Thank everyone!! I feel warm and tingly already!! =o) Nothing better than starting new. I'm heading out to JLs this weekend hoping to get more insight of the tank I'll be setting up and equipment needed. As for what corals to keep I haven't decided yet. It'll probably mainly softies/lps to start. And I want an pink anenemoemoene for my two daughters. =o)
I'll post more later.

Oh how are the Euroreef skimmers now a days ? or are the Bubble Kings the way to go ?

[christyf5]

Thank everyone!! I feel warm and tingly already!! =o) Nothing better than starting new. I'm heading out to JLs this weekend hoping to get more insight of the tank I'll be setting up and equipment needed. As for what corals to keep I haven't decided yet. It'll probably mainly softies/lps to start. And I want an pink anenemoemoene for my two daughters. =o)
I'll post more later.

Oh how are the Euroreef skimmers now a days ? or are the Bubble Kings the way to go ?

Euroreefs still rock, unless you've won the lottery, then go with a BK :wink:

[Zoaelite]

Euroreefs still rock, unless you've won the lottery, then go with a BK :wink:

+1, if you have the money to spend then go with the bubble king but I love my Euroreef and for what I payed for it its more than worth it.
Levi

[StirCrazy]

hey welcome back, not much has changed, you still want MH for the best lighting, T5 HO (is no T5VHO) has replaced VHO and PC. (about 50% more output than a PC)

skimmer have gotten better, you can actualy spend 200ish and get a diecent skimmer for up to 100 gal tank.

the other stuff, just like anything else depends on the fad at the time.


Steve

[Canadian]

hey welcome back, not much has changed, you still want MH for the best lighting, T5 HO (is no T5VHO) has replaced VHO and PC. (about 50% more output than a PC)


I know you like to say this but what is it based on? Your measurements of a Tek fixture in Safari way back when? For reference, I measured the PAR of my 6x24W ATI Sunpower fixture with 8 month old lamps in a 24x24x20 tank and found the following measurements:

At the surface: ~ 600-700 μmol m-2 s-1
Mid tank: ~ 400 μmol m-2 s-1
Bottom of the tank: ~ 200 μmol m-2 s-1

Please tell me how that supports the contention that "you still want MH for the best lighting" and the statement, "50% more output than a PC". From what I've seen of reported PAR values in numerous tanks, there are a lot of MH setups that would have a difficult time getting a PAR reading of 200 μmol m-2 s-1 20" below the surface (the old lamps notwithstanding). Also keep in mind these are values with fewer than 150W of light and mind the fact that shorter T5 lamps are known to produce considerably less PAR than longer lamps.

[StirCrazy]

I know you like to say this but what is it based on? Your measurements of a Tek fixture in Safari way back when? For reference, I measured the PAR of my 6x24W ATI Sunpower fixture with 8 month old lamps in a 24x24x20 tank and found the following measurements:

At the surface: ~ 600-700 μmol m-2 s-1
Mid tank: ~ 400 μmol m-2 s-1
Bottom of the tank: ~ 200 μmol m-2 s-1

.

your own measurments confirm it.. I had 600 with the cheep bulbs and 720 with my ABs at the bottom of a 24" deep tank plus 6" air so for a distance of 30" so at the bottom my MH were putting out over 3X what your lights are.

you don't need to get defencive of the T5's though as they do have a place, they replaced PC, VHO ect and do a exalent job of it and offer more color combanations which is great. but for the pure punch power you can't beat MH.

another problem that comes to light is the numbers the T5 people like to use to compare are old sanjay tests and such were the MH were tested with out reflectors. test your T5 with out reflectors and tell me what happens. the same thing happened when 150watt DE first came out on the market, which led to claimes of being better than 400 watt SE set ups. the 150 bulbs were being tested with optimum reflextors against numbers that werre derived from black box testing.

to show how much reflectors can skew things, there is now way I should have had a higher PAR level with my 250 watt SE AB's than 400 watt SE's but I never found a 400 that could beat mine. but that is cuze I used computer generated reflector patterens designed for office lighting and made my own reflectors out of 98% silvernickel plated material which is the highest you could get at that time. the 400 Iwasaki was on a home made pollished aluminum reflector.

I have so standoffs and a good T5 ballast so I will get some bulbs and if I get my MH this week I will do some "no reflector testing" just have to figure out how to eliminate the reflector in a 150 watt DE. I can do it in my garage so I can set up exact distances from the center of the bulb. heck I can even go longer distances if I want to see the drop off values. won't be till after christmas though.. going to be busy with a new puppy next weekend for a while.

how are you liking your new meter and which one did you end up getting?

Steve

[Canadian]

Steve,

I wasn't commenting so much on the PAR differences between T5 and MH in my previous post. I was commenting on the statements you made: "MH is best" which is a pretty vague and subjective statement, and T5s produce "50% more output than a PC". The relatively low values with only 144W of 24W lamps in my tank show that you can readily get values throughout the tank that will happily keep SPS. There's no need to have PAR in excess of 700 μmol m-2 s-1 based on most of the recent publications on PAR and SPS. And with the ability to readily change out a lamp to change viewing color with T5s I'd have to say "T5 is best" ;)

When you're talking about getting 600 and 720 μmol m-2 s-1 you aren't comparing a 250W MH to 144W of 24W T5s are you? That's not a very reasonable comparison.

The light spread with T5s is pretty uniform throughout the tank. This has its pros and cons. Most of the good reflectors for MH are now doing nothing to increase the intensity but are trying to improve spread. I believe Sanjay's PAR values are measured "hot spots" 18" directly under the lamp so, while the absence of a reflector will impact the numbers, it's probably not near the presumed significance. And I don't even look at Sanjay's reported PAR values. I prefer to look at real world measurements in a typical application including reflectors in someone's tank. So I wouldn't say I'm one of the "T5 people" to whom you're referring.

As I said above, my measured values are on the low end of the spectrum based on the fact that I'm using 24W lamps and only 6 of them. So I'd like to see some tank measured PAR values with PC lit tanks that support the contention that T5s produce 50% more output than PC on fairly compared tanks. From what I've seen about 18" away from two 36W PCs produces somewhere in the neighbourhood of 30 μmol m-2 s-1. Obviously, T5s benefit from the design improvement whereby they can be easily fitted into a high quality single light reflector and I'm not comparing equal wattages.

how are you liking your new meter and which one did you end up getting?

I didn't end up buying one because Progressive Reef brought in a few Apogee Quantum MQ-200 meters and decided to use one as a "rental" unit. They also have a Hanna phosphate photometer so now I don't have to buy one :D

And congrats on the new puppy. It's a cutie!

[Canadian]

This is the last time I take this thread off topic but it does address prop's original question about current hobby trends.

Here are PAR measurements on a T5 lit tank with 234W of 39W T5 lighting (a reasonably fair comparison to a typical 250W Halide):

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16117620#post16117620

[StirCrazy]

This is the last time I take this thread off topic but it does address prop's original question about current hobby trends.

Here are PAR measurements on a T5 lit tank with 234W of 39W T5 lighting (a reasonably fair comparison to a typical 250W Halide):

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16117620#post16117620

quite hijacking his thread for your own T5 propaganda :mrgreen:

seriously though thoes numbers are not much different than your own. still way less than a deicent MH setup.

now so you don't spend a day trying to find some more stuff, I will say as I have said befor, T5's are good, they give a even light (although no shimmer) they are good enough to grow SPS as you could grow them with VHO and PC, why not T5 when it is a higher out put, and the assortment of buld is great.. allowing you to custom blend colors for a nice look. but I don't agree on a lot of the claims which you have just re-enforced my point a couple times now :wink: and if you are getting rid of 250 watts of MH and going to 250 watts of T5s you will not save in energy anything apreacable, and heat output will be the same, although it will be better disapated in the T5 unit so won't affect the tank as much.

I actualy had a pig post ready to go last night but I hit the wrong button and lost it all and didn't want to re-type it. basicly the jist was by adding more T5 bulbs you are not increasing the intensity only the spread and evenness, by going to bigger bulbs on a bigger tank it is the same idea, while you will get a larger coverage area from going to bulbs that are twice as many watts the increase in PAR at the bottom will be minimal and will be the result of more complet coverage not an increase in intensity.

this is why I feel the perfect combo would be MH and T5's you can get a nice 10K MH with a tone of PAR and then use a bunch of T5's to blend the color and smooth out the coverage a bit.

Steve

[Canadian]

Steve,

I agree. If I could have a MH over my small tank without having to use a chiller I would. I previously had a MH/T5 Giesemann fixture over my tank and loved the shimmer and color. Unfortunately on such a small tank I was always fighting the added heat.

I just feel compelled to defend T5 lighting from time to time because there is so much misinformation being batted about on the internet despite the obvious and numerous successes.

What I have planned for the new year is to buy one of these new LED spot lights to supplement my T5s and get the shimmer effect as well as spot light whatever corals with whatever color I choose. Instead of using T5 as a supplement as is generally done with MH, I'll use the LED to supplement the T5. I just have to wait for some of the lights to become more readily available. Unfortunately my impatience usually gets the best of me and I end up just ordering something from the US instead of waiting for someone in Canada to finally decide to carry a new product.

[StirCrazy]

Steve,

I agree. If I could have a MH over my small tank without having to use a chiller I would. I previously had a MH/T5 Giesemann fixture over my tank and loved the shimmer and color. Unfortunately on such a small tank I was always fighting the added heat.



well we will see how the heat issue is with my new tank, I am planning on putting two 150watt MH and up to 4 T5s on it. it will be a 33 gal tank with a 33 gal sump so I am hopeing it will be able to disapate the heat. an added bonus is it will be in the basment and I have central air which keeps the basement kinda chilly in the summer.

Steve

[Griffin]

Welcome Back Jesse - I had the same problem start 4 weeks ago - thinking about my old tanks and how relaxing it was tinkering on them, its a hard one to let go of. Checking Canreef for pics, stuff for sale, information on new equipment, seeing if my old login worked lol. I am aswell going to get back into it but on a smaller bases. Looking forward to it and Anthony was on my ass saying i told you so within an hour of me putting up a post :) As always though he has offered his help in anyway to get things going for me again - Anthony you are a dedicated unselfish reefer and we all appreciate your help when we need it.
Cheers
Rich

[Aquattro]

Hey Rich, how the hell are ya? All these old faces popping up :)

[Griffin]

Brad - how the hell are you - Its official - picked up a tank last night from Shrimpscampii - live sand supplied, water is in - next live rock, fish, lps, upgrade the skimmer, empty wallet hmmmmm - not sure this was a good idea but i never learn :)

Rich

[Tom R]

wow

First Jesse now Rich.

Great to have you back.

Now we just have to get you out to one of our REEF NETWORK Dinners.

Watch for more detail on dinners they are the 3rd Wednesday of every month.

Tom R

[Samw]

Welcome back. I'm hoping to get more nice SPS frags from you soon.

As for T5 vs MH, I like the fact that I can actually touch my 5x39W T5HO (Aquactinics TX5) canopy and that it does provide enough light for my corals. They didn't however provide enough light for my 3 Crocea clams which perished shortly after I swapped lights (all else constant).

[fkshiu]

As you can see from above, not much has changed in the bickering department ;)

[burgerchow]

hmmmm

How old do you consider old-timer. Started my first reef 90 gallon with 100 lbs of live rock and 2 back-pack skimmers back in 1995. Back then, mainly lps and softies. Had galaxy, frogspawns, hammers etc. Sold off everything in 2006, went to freshwater again and came back to reef May of this year.
You know what the biggest change in the hobby is? The internet.
In the mid 90's, the only info you could get is from buying magazines and books. Now I can get an instant reply from anybody from all over the world.
Sharing knowledge is the reason we can take this hobby so far.

[props]

Craps I must be getting old or time just fly. I thought I made this post last year. I apologize for not getting back to you guys.
Currently still in the planning stages. Got too may hobbies lately so the tank is getting pushed back. Hopefully before the year end I'll have a new tank up and running. Just need lighting equipment, tank, sump and a return pump. Tested my tunze wavebox, tunze pump ,various gears and all still works!! =o)

Now somebody setup some tank tours!! I'd love to see some tanks =o)

[muck]

Hey Jesse.. How u been?

[Skimmerking]

Holy crap there owns blast from the passed its Amodeus I changed my name from being OCD about skimmers lol

[Tom R]

Craps I must be getting old or time just fly. I thought I made this post last year. I apologize for not getting back to you guys.
Currently still in the planning stages. Got too may hobbies lately so the tank is getting pushed back. Hopefully before the year end I'll have a new tank up and running. Just need lighting equipment, tank, sump and a return pump. Tested my tunze wavebox, tunze pump ,various gears and all still works!! =o)

Now somebody setup some tank tours!! I'd love to see some tanks =o)

Hi Jesse

What kind of lighting are you looking for.

I have a 72" Giesemann available

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=94821

Tom R

[christyf5]

Wahoo! About time you got back in. There's other hobbies besides saltwater??? :razz:

[props]

Wahoo! About time you got back in. There's other hobbies besides saltwater??? :razz:

Yes!! Pew Pew Pew!! lol
My wife and I have been chatting about a new tank. The fact that she discusses this hobby with me is a great step forward. We currently have a theatre room we don't use and is a great place to start a new tank. The only problem so far is I am restricted to only fish according to the boss.

[props]

Hi Jesse

What kind of lighting are you looking for.

I have a 72" Giesemann available

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=94821

Tom R

Still undecided on the tank Tom. The room is roughly 14'x18' so I have a lot of room to play with. That is a very nice lighting set up!. I'm surprised no ones has picked it up yet. Back in the day that would've been gone within minutes of you posting.

[Aquattro]

Only fish. Hahahahah. Riight....

[props]

Hey Jesse.. How u been?

Been busy Muck =o) How's your tank?

[props]

Only fish. Hahahahah. Riight....

AHahahahahah I know dude wonder how long that'll last. Just start it with fish and some live rock then slowly add some zoanthids.

[Son Of Skyline]

Only fish. Hahahahah. Riight....

This lol.

Hey man. I left and started another tank a few years ago as well. I tried some of the new stuff, but in the end my 70gal sps ended up with all the same old stuff I used before. 400w radiums, pm bullet 2 skimmer, maxijet powerheads on an old red sea wave maker. I'm happy with the old stuff because it's tried tested and true. So many new and elaborate "methods" for keeping corals but in the end the animals are still the same. Worked before, works now.

Have fun setting up a new tank! Let me know if u want any frags ;)

[props]

This lol.

Hey man. I left and started another tank a few years ago as well. I tried some of the new stuff, but in the end my 70gal sps ended up with all the same old stuff I used before. 400w radiums, pm bullet 2 skimmer, maxijet powerheads on an old red sea wave maker. I'm happy with the old stuff because it's tried tested and true. So many new and elaborate "methods" for keeping corals but in the end the animals are still the same. Worked before, works now.

Have fun setting up a new tank! Let me know if u want any frags ;)

Hey Mase

How's it going dude?? Still work for Shaw by any chance?? I did find a couple of 250watt hqi ballasts earlier. Pair that up with two more 400watters and it should be enough to cover a 6-8' tank.

[smokinreefer]

I did find a couple of 250watt hqi ballasts earlier. Pair that up with two more 400watters and it should be enough to cover a 6-8' tank.

dont know why you need that much lighting for fish only???

they must be paying you too much! lol

[props]

dont know why you need that much lighting for fish only???

they must be paying you too much! lol

Ahahahahah whats happening Shao?? Headend Dept. does pay me very well lol Only issue is I'm stuck in an air condition room full of servers and other equipment all day long. The only time I see the sun is to and from work.

[Son Of Skyline]

Hey Mase

How's it going dude?? Still work for Shaw by any chance?? I did find a couple of 250watt hqi ballasts earlier. Pair that up with two more 400watters and it should be enough to cover a 6-8' tank.

Doing well. Yes I'm still at shaw. Are you? I guess I haven't seen u around the office lately. That kind of lighting is perfect for sps! Whatever happened to that awesome pink table acro I gave u back in the day? Still alive I hope.

[props]

Doing well. Yes I'm still at shaw. Are you? I guess I haven't seen u around the office lately. That kind of lighting is perfect for sps! Whatever happened to that awesome pink table acro I gave u back in the day? Still alive I hope.

I report at the Burnaby Headend office and work downtown. I still drop by VTOC from time to time. How's the work load now for the TFRs?
I can't remember who's got the colony now but I know I have fragged that coral a bit. Chin Lee, Christy, Jason MCK and another person in Vancouver whose name I cant remember should have or have had a frag of that table. I think I might have even given a frag to Jamie Cross.

How about some tank pictures dude?

on another note. the drive motor/propeller on my wave box broke this morning. Left it running all night and the propeller snapped off from its base. =o(

[KPG007]

Now somebody setup some tank tours!! I'd love to see some tanks =o)

I always love showing off my tanks and talking saltwater. You're welcome to come by. I'm in south Surrey / Cloverdale area.

Kelly

[fishoholic]

Still undecided on the tank Tom. The room is roughly 14'x18' so I have a lot of room to play with. That is a very nice lighting set up!. I'm surprised no ones has picked it up yet. Back in the day that would've been gone within minutes of you posting.

That's cause most people have switched to LED lights. I had the same unit for sale last year and it took 3 months before it sold. I paid $1600 for that light when I bought it new and got $400 for it, which sad to say, I was happy just to have been able to sell it at all.

[props]

That's cause most people have switched to LED lights. I had the same unit for sale last year and it took 3 months before it sold. I paid $1600 for that light when I bought it new and got $400 for it, which sad to say, I was happy just to have been able to sell it at all.

How do these led light system perform?? Do they provide enough light/spectrum to keep corals happy?? Growth comparisons to mh?? Longevity?? Price??

[Son Of Skyline]

IMO led lights don't look very good. Too much weird spotlighting and different colours scattered throughout the tank. Looks unnatural. There really is no substitute for good old MH.

I'll put up a pic of my "old school" tank later.

[fishoholic]

How do these led light system perform?? Do they provide enough light/spectrum to keep corals happy?? Growth comparisons to mh?? Longevity?? Price??

I find the corals take awhile to adjust to led lights but once they do they seem quite happy and the growth rate is great. That being said though we didn't cheep out on the led lights and went for radions which IMO spreads the light similar to MH. Cheep led lights or not using enough units will cause weird spotting. Doug aka fishytime (my boyfriend) runs 4 radions over his 30" wide 7' long tank. They are expensive around $700 a unit. But they cut down on monthly power costs and the bulbs are good for 50 thousand hrs.

Some info
http://http://ecotechmarine.com/products/radion/radion-xr30w/ (http://ecotechmarine.com/products/radion/radion-xr30w/)

http://http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2013/1/review (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2013/1/review)

http://www.mrsaltwatertank.com/radion/

[props]

I find the corals take awhile to adjust to led lights but once they do they seem quite happy and the growth rate is great. That being said though we didn't cheep out on the led lights and went for radions which IMO spreads the light similar to MH. Cheep led lights or not using enough units will cause weird spotting. Doug aka fishytime (my boyfriend) runs 4 radions over his 30" wide 7' long tank. They are expensive around $700 a unit. But they cut down on monthly power costs and the bulbs are good for 50 thousand hrs.

Some info
http://http://ecotechmarine.com/products/radion/radion-xr30w/ (http://ecotechmarine.com/products/radion/radion-xr30w/)

http://http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2013/1/review (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2013/1/review)

http://www.mrsaltwatertank.com/radion/

Thanks for the link. Very informative. Weird I keep going back to TomR's lighting setup lol. $700 a unit is quite a lot, seems like I have to get rid of my all my toys just to get back into this hobby.
Drove by OA Wendell's shop and it looks like its been shut down for few months. Crappy! . Looks like BigAls has also closed their doors. =o( So where do you even get tanks now a days?

[byee]

I drive by OA a couple months back. It's a print house now. Noticed there were some aquariums stored in the facility.

[Jason McK]

Hey Jesse, Ya lots of changes have taken place. I'm just getting back myself.
I know there is a good supply of frags at Rogers now, That's just around the corner from you isn't it?

Good to see you back.

J

[Aquattro]

Jesse, any old gear you have still works the same as it always did. While LED might save money on bulb replacement, MH is still a better light source for SPS. LED has a lot of advantages, but no point throwing away perfectly good gear that still works. Your tank was always awesome with what you had, so you'd likely see the same results using it again :)

[props]

Hey Jesse, Ya lots of changes have taken place. I'm just getting back myself.
I know there is a good supply of frags at Rogers now, That's just around the corner from you isn't it?

Good to see you back.

J
Yeah he's close by I might drop by tomorrow afternoon and see if he can custom build a tank for me. What happened to the old tank Jason? I remember you getting into the Zeovit system, how did that work out for you??

Jesse, any old gear you have still works the same as it always did. While LED might save money on bulb replacement, MH is still a better light source for SPS. LED has a lot of advantages, but no point throwing away perfectly good gear that still works. Your tank was always awesome with what you had, so you'd likely see the same results using it again :)
I'll swing by JL during my lunch tomorrow, would like to see these LED units. My gut tells me to stick with the MH lighting. A little worried with all of these stores closing, will be tough to get some corals, supplies, etc.. Even Hidden Reef is closed!! Wth!!

[props]

Found an old pic. This was before I moved the tank into the garage.
http://members.shaw.ca/jcaramat/tank%20pic.jpg

[fishoholic]

Very nice tank set up.

Just so you know there is nothing wrong with MH they still work great, for us the cost of yearly bulb replacement and the monthly power savings it just made more sense to go LED. It is a big initial cost but (for us, we totalled up the costs) and after 3 years the light pays for itself.

Radions are expensive but IMO one of the best ones available. I have heard good things about maxpect razor led which is cheeper $400-500 but I haven't used one.

http://www.maxspect.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=20&Itemid=21

[props]

Had the chance to browse the Buy Sell forum and it looks like corals that were almost impossible to get are readily available now. Also descent prices!! Anyone got a picture of a Purple Monster colony?? I brought some in years ago and was able to give away a few frags. I wonder if they're still around.

What are the most sought after corals now?

Another thing does anyone still have this coral? http://www.canreef.com/ftotm/may06/pan056.jpg

[Aquattro]

Had the chance to browse the Buy Sell forum and it looks like corals that were almost impossible to get are readily available now. Also descent prices!! Anyone got a picture of a Purple Monster colony?? I brought some in years ago and was able to give away a few frags. I wonder if they're still around.

What are the most sought after corals now?

Another thing does anyone still have this coral?

Hmm, that's a bit big, no? :)

Reefermadness (Darryl) has a PM colony in his threads, not aware of any other colonies.
There are tons of new sought after corals, most of which were not around a few years ago.

[props]

Hmm, that's a bit big, no? :)

Reefermadness (Darryl) has a PM colony in his threads, not aware of any other colonies.
There are tons of new sought after corals, most of which were not around a few years ago.
Like??

My bad, that's the only pic I could find. Courtesy of Sumpfinfishe =o)

[props]

People help me find a tank while the wife and I are still on the same page. Looking for a 240+ gallon tank preferably with these dimensions 72"Lx30"Wx28"H.

[Aquattro]

Like??

My bad, that's the only pic I could find. Courtesy of Sumpfinfishe =o)

Oh, dozens. Red Planet was popular, pink lemonade, strawberry shortcake, pearlberry, wolverine, many others. I just finally got a purple monster after 12 years of waiting :)

Tell Rich to resize those suckers, will ya?? lol

[Son Of Skyline]

Found an old pic. This was before I moved the tank into the garage.
http://members.shaw.ca/jcaramat/tank%20pic.jpg


Nice! Here's a recent shot of mine.

http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/139/iphonepicsjan2013278.jpg

[vanreefer]

Hey jesse ...long time... glad to hear ur looking at getting back into the hobby again... when ur ready bring some bags to my place and I'll give u frags of whatever u want...
D

[props]

Hey jesse ...long time... glad to hear ur looking at getting back into the hobby again... when ur ready bring some bags to my place and I'll give u frags of whatever u want...
D

Hey Dano!!! How you been dude?? Still riding your bike?? We should go out for a spin, I need to take the gixxer out. I'll take you up on that offer once I get a new tank setup. Will be getting rid of some toys that goes bang, if anyone is intestered pm me. =o)

[props]

Nice! Here's a recent shot of mine.

http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/139/iphonepicsjan2013278.jpg

Nice tank Mase. How big is the tank??

[Son Of Skyline]

Thanks. It's a 68 or 70 gal (i hear it called both but i don't know). 36x18x24h. It looks better from far than close up lol. I decided when I started this tank that I would be as lazy as possible to prevent burnout and it's worked. My last big tank lasted about 2 years before I shut it down because i got tired of all the maintenance. This tank has been up over 4 years and thanks to my laziness I get to keep enjoying it without ever getting tired. I break a lot of reefkeeping rules with this one. I call the tank "Survival of the Fittest."

A 240gal+ would be impressive. If I had a tank that big I'd keep a stingray with sps. I think you may have to special order a tank like that. Big Al's maybe? Now call Island Pets or something.

[props]

Anyone got any spare salt buckets you don't need anymore?? Looking for some donations please. I may have found my new tank, will find out in a couple of weeks. Just need buckets for preparations for things to come.
Thanks

[props]

Anyone know where I can buy some RO/DI water locally?? I have an RO unit on order but not sure if it'll be here by next week.
Need to premix 30-40gallon.

[niloc16]

As soon as i read the title of this thread i HAD to read it. I've had the salt itch for awhile now......Its been a few years and to be honest i'm scared to jump back in. I started a 30 gallon cichlid tank for the kidlets thinking it may lessen the urges for salt. Total opposite though. What worries me though is i'd HAVE to go bigger than last time because of the ideas i have for the landscaping and thats not a good thing because the last tank was kind of a beast. Go big or go home right? LOL. Its cool to see that so many of you guys are still in it....last i heard a lot of people got out of it.

[smokinreefer]

Anyone know where I can buy some RO/DI water locally?? I have an RO unit on order but not sure if it'll be here by next week.
Need to premix 30-40gallon.

if you can figure out how to transport it, i usually have a rubbermaid garbage can full of RO ready to go... but i'm in north bby...

[input80]

Anyone know where I can buy some RO/DI water locally?? I have an RO unit on order but not sure if it'll be here by next week.
Need to premix 30-40gallon.
I have an ro/di set up & can run some for you, although its supposed to be 100gpd, I think it takes about 5 hrs for 5 gals, lol. Maybe I have the restrictor too low. No spare buckets though :(

[props]

As soon as i read the title of this thread i HAD to read it. I've had the salt itch for awhile now......Its been a few years and to be honest i'm scared to jump back in. I started a 30 gallon cichlid tank for the kidlets thinking it may lessen the urges for salt. Total opposite though. What worries me though is i'd HAVE to go bigger than last time because of the ideas i have for the landscaping and thats not a good thing because the last tank was kind of a beast. Go big or go home right? LOL. Its cool to see that so many of you guys are still in it....last i heard a lot of people got out of it.

I am somewhat committed on a 150gallon acrylic tank. But today took some toys out to the shooting range and I think I want more toys that go Bang. Then I logged on here, look at a couple of pictures and if someone buys all my toys I'd be happy to have a tank instead. Then I thought about the maintenance, setup cost, headaches, time spent looking for corals, etc and I don't want anymore tanks. lol
I have talked to a few people who has left the hobby and they're quite happy. I really like the idea of taking a holiday and not worrying a tank.
-sigh-