logging my journey with my first salt tank

[blackwater]

there's a 6 bulb 4 led but its 24inch's long not 30 and its 1.75inch's wider than the tank. but its also 399.99 about 20 bucks cheaper. so it'd be a trade off between more bulbs less length or full length less bulbs. both are 24watts per bulb and both use a single power cord. also they both have the programmable timer built in. or should i look into a diff company? and ya i was thinking i would get rid of the glass tops too. got a question about that though. if its open top will water evap cause any damage to the lights? this was the reason i had them on there from when it was a freshwater tank.

 

[dmatt88]

Keep lights 6-8 inches off the tank. Id do t5 on this setup. U will go bigger

.............I'm feeling salty.

 

[blackwater]

yup the only reason im starting small is cause im renting a house. dont want to go big,just get it the way i like it and then have to break it down and move.

 

[blackwater]

24 inch length light ok over a 30 inch long tank? also i thought i read somewhere that its hard to get diff bulbs in that size?

 

[dmatt88]

24" bulb centered over the tank would sufficiently cover.

.............I'm feeling salty.

 

[blackwater]

cool. in less see or read about something else im going with the 6 bulb 24 inch aquatic life light. think in the next couple of weekslsmile:

 

[dmatt88]

Good start. Order extra leds!

.............I'm feeling salty.

 

[blackwater]

keep finding these clumps of red hair looking things in the sand. have looked through various threads and can't find an id. anyone have any ideas? there about 2 inches long and always in clumps on the sand. will try and get a pic of it posted tonight if needed.

 

[dmatt88]

Pics r necessary.

.............I'm feeling salty.

 

[blackwater]

will do pics tonight when i get home. i don't even know if they are alive. and they are not growing upward out of the sand rather they are laying length wise across the sand. last i checked there were three diff clumps. might just be crap that came in with the sand.

 

[Doogle]

The only reason I didn't choose aquaticlife 30" is it's only $10 cheaper than the 36" fixture, stupid because it uses everything that the 24" fixture uses( ballasts , lights, reflectors ) but costs $60 more.

 

[blackwater]

so here are the two best pics i could get of this thing. keep in mind there are at least two or three other clumps just like it.


any ideas?

 

[blackwater]

if this is something stupid and obvious then im sorry, but i really have no idea what it could be.

 

[dmatt88]

Its not algae just a clump of some crap. Pull it out.

.............I'm feeling salty.

 

[blackwater]

this morning the water was pretty clear so i thought i would clean the glass, heater and powerheads...again. then i would be able to move the rock towards the back of the tank and try and arrange it. well no deal. after the back side glass had been cleaned and the heater and PH's the water clouded over and now i can't see what im doing. man this is frustrating. im not in a hurry with this tank but i would like to arrange the rock. maby tonight it will be clear enough to arrange. also gonna get a master test kit(API?)
on the weekend.

 

[blackwater]

well got my rock somewhat arranged and removed 4 more of those red hairy things in the sand. got clumps of pods on the glass, i think thats a good thing. gonna have to blow sand off the PH's again tonight.

 

[bunjinbantam]

greetings, looks like the beginning never goes fast enough. There will be plenty of hitchhikers and whatnot growing. So rocks may need to get moved once the tank settles. You never know what great stuff you have, or not so great...lol. I recall feeding my aiptasia thinking it was good not evil...lol

 

[blackwater]

i almost did the same thing, then found out what it was and cut it out. man i thought that thing was so cool, thought i got some great coral on my rock oh well, live and learn.

 

[blackwater]

are these pods? they are all over the glass and heater.

 

[dmatt88]

Looks like bubbles.

.............I'm feeling salty.