425nm Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 I've been thinking about converting my 29 gallon to a reef with some inverts (nudibranchs would be stellar). Now I'm a student and therefore rather poor so if I can find a way to do this relatively cheap that would be great. I only have access to tapwater (haven't got around to checking for phosphorous yet). Can I get away with using Sunblaster T5 HOs (the three footers are 39watts?) for lighting? I understand that there are lower light corals. As for filtration: I've got an aquaclear 70 I can mod into a fuge? Annnd live rock/sand (does it matter how coarse the sand is?)? I have friends I can acquire frags from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polleni-puffer Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 Tap waters fine. T5`s are fine for most softies and LPS ,I would stay away from SPS until you get a more mature tank. How many T5`s are you running ?? Nudibraches are doable ,however most of the pretty looking ones eat something hard to find within a tank ,or will get rid of it fast and then die (e.g. flatworms) No worry about phosphorous ,just add some GFO into the filter. If you on a budget base/marco rock is the way to go. No word on live sand as I keep sand-sifters to keep the sand looking pretty. Don't go getting any coral (excluding possibly zoas and mushroom) untill your tank is atleast a month and a half old and running steady. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 Check out some of the ghetto threads on CanReef - some great tanks made on the cheap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
425nm Posted April 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 (edited) Tap waters fine. T5`s are fine for most softies and LPS ,I would stay away from SPS until you get a more mature tank. How many T5`s are you running ?? Nudibraches are doable ,however most of the pretty looking ones eat something hard to find within a tank ,or will get rid of it fast and then die (e.g. flatworms) No worry about phosphorous ,just add some GFO into the filter. If you on a budget base/marco rock is the way to go. No word on live sand as I keep sand-sifters to keep the sand looking pretty. Don't go getting any coral (excluding possibly zoas and mushroom) untill your tank is atleast a month and a half old and running steady. As of yet I'm not running any T5s. Its still a fresh tank with just a T8. I can procure T5s though. How few could I get away with? Edit: I suppose I asking what organisms (live rock, sponges, soft/stony corals, etc) can I get away with having at say ~1watt/gallon, 2watts/gallon, and >3watts gallon. Edited April 23, 2012 by 425nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMAX Posted April 25, 2012 Report Share Posted April 25, 2012 I'd think twice about using tap water unless you're absolutly positive it doesn't contain any phosphates. I tried this experiment about 4 years ago and just about nuked my tank with a red algae bloom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc_Polit Posted May 21, 2012 Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 Tap Water = Cyanobacteria It's just a matter of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kindasleepy Posted May 21, 2012 Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 So what does everyone use if not tap water? Bottled water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc_Polit Posted May 21, 2012 Report Share Posted May 21, 2012 So what does everyone use if not tap water? Bottled water? A lot of reef keepers use RO (reverse osmosis) water or have an RO/DI (reverse osmosis/de-ionization) units installed in their homes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RevolutionBoas Posted May 22, 2012 Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 Tap Water = Cyanobacteria It's just a matter of time. Id disagree. I have used tap exclusively since starting the salt hobby 10 years ago and have never once had cyano because of the tap water. I have found it comes when the tank is over fed, under skimmed, or there is a build up of detritus in the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc_Polit Posted May 22, 2012 Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 Good point. I should have qualified that as "High TDS Tap Water = Cyanobacteria". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
425nm Posted May 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2012 Good point. I should have qualified that as "High TDS Tap Water = Cyanobacteria". TDS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cainechow Posted May 25, 2012 Report Share Posted May 25, 2012 TDS == Total Dissolved Solids Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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