a few more questions

[Flobex]

ok so i have just a few more questions about my 20 gallon sW tank. how much light is to much?
dealing with LR, whats the difference between cured, and uncired live rock/ wich is better? and how do i cure uncured LR?
lighting- what the heck is a ballast? is that plug'N'play, or does it need more?

[TheCampbells]

basically, the ballast is what makes the lights work, it sort of 'drives' the lights.

[dwdenny]

lighting depends on what you are going to be keeping. If you give a list then we can help you out as far as lighting. Uncured liverock is basically that uncured dont put that in an established tank. If you are cycling then it is fine as it will cure while your tank cycles. Cured liverock you can put directly into your tank.

[Flobex]

ok i see thanks a bunch.

along with a ballast, what else do you need to make a working light set up?

as for lighting i meant what would be to much lighting that evaporation would be uncontrollable?. i think i may get a 175 watt ballast if i can finich it cheaply, but if not im going with a 130 watts.
or i was thinking if i could find a cheap MH i may do that, but im thinking 250 watts would be to much.

[akm]

To make a working light setup you also need a socket, a bulb, and the wires. You can also use a reflector to increase the amount light going down into the tank.

If you are talking about a 175 metal halide ballast then it will most likely heat up the tank a bit. As it heats up you can use fans to cause evaporation which in turn cools it down. So you might end up with a bit of evaporation. If you used a sump then it would not be as great since you have more water volume but I dont know if you can do that. 250 watts would be quite a bit of light but that depends on what you plan on keeping.

[Flobex]

ill probably go withh 175 or less. also i do have a sump i will be using on the tank, 20 gallons.

oh yea... another Q- for the overflow in my 20 gallon, could i just get a lees breeder box, and cut of the back and one side, then cut slits in the top, and silicone it into the tank? or when i tried to cut it, would it just shatter?

[hobogato]

i have some acrylic scraps that i could cut for you, then you could just silicone them in place. that would hold for an overflow. pm me with a phone # and we can talk about it.

[dwdenny]

It would be easier to just get an overflow like an amiricle (spelling) or one from www.hurricanefilters.com. I would stay away from the CPR one and stick with the "U" tube type.

[hobogato]

my mistake, i assumed the tank was drilled and he just needed to make the internal overflow box for the drain. if that isn't the case, i agree with denny.

[Flobex]

the tank is drilled, all i need is the internal overflow. i'dike to do it as cheap as possible.
im sending a pm no hobogato :).

[dwdenny]

oh well yes then get the scrap pieces from hobogato and call it good. i was under the assumption that it was not drilled sorry.

[Flobex]

no problemo :)
thanks a bunch hobogato!

[Flobex]

ok a few more Q's-
should i have a deeper sandbed? right now i have very little sand in there, maybe 3/4" (if that) deep. ive read a deeper sandbed helps with nitrate controll.

what the heck is calk??? i hear about everybody dosing it... but i dotn think i need to bury my head in all that calcium stuff untill im ready for corals... right?

also, i figured out my lighting, im getting a 130 watt fixture :)

also whenever im rewady for corals, how do you attach them to live rock? or do they come attached to a small piece of rock?

[GaryP]

ok a few more Q's-
should i have a deeper sandbed? right now i have very little sand in there, maybe 3/4" (if that) deep. ive read a deeper sandbed helps with nitrate controll.

A minimum of a 4" sugar fine sand bed is necessary to have an effective denitrifying sand bed.


what the heck is calk??? i hear about everybody dosing it... but i dotn think i need to bury my head in all that calcium stuff untill im ready for corals... right?

Kalk is Kalkawasser, which is German for calcium water. That's a little confusing because its sold as a powder. Chemically, its calcium hydroxide. I would not recommend it for a tank as small as yours because it is very easy to overdose in a small tank and can cause a pretty big pH swing. To confuse things even more, there is a product called Calc that I believe is finely ground aragonite sand. Its supposed to somehow mysteriously dissolve after being dosed and convert into calcium and alkalinity. Rather then dosing a lot of additives on a small tank, you are better off trying to do weekly water changes to maintain the levels in your tank.


also whenever im rewady for corals, how do you attach them to live rock? or do they come attached to a small piece of rock?

You can use super glue gel to attach them to the live rock. That's primarily just for frags. Colonies can be placed in the crevices of the live rock so they remain steady until they encrust and attach themselves to the rock. .

[bigdscobra]

on my 20g I have a 175w MH and 220w of VHOs, actually the VHOs run across both tanks. ;)

[bigdscobra]

Oh yeah and on the 10g propagation tank I have a 175W DE MH so you should be fine with with a MH if you want.

[Flobex]

ok, thank you guys so much!
im very glad to hear to just to water changes, that is much easier than dosing a bunch of stuff, thatnks a bunch!