i need a little help setting up for zoos

[tyourkie66]

Im rather new to saltwater, ive got a 40 gal tank thats been up for about two years. it has around 30 lbs of live rock, an aqua C remora skimmer, whiper 60 power filter, and two power heads, tank inhabitants include blue leg hermits, astrea snails, false percula clown, two blue devil damsels, domino damsel and a cleaner shrimp. i want to get rid of the domino and id like some ideas on what to get thats reef safe.

my current light is 110wat HO. The lfs said i should upgrade to t5 lighting which i think includes 2x54w atcnic and 2x54w daylight. is this a good lighting for zoos.

i want to build a mostly zoo tank. a collection. but also was thinking of a frogspawn or bubble tip. (thought it would look with the clown)


any suggestions will help. thanks much.

 

[mungus]

Welcome to reeffrontiers tyourkie66. I would think that the t5 setup would be really nice for a zoo tank. I am not sure if it would be enough for a bubble tip though. Hope you enjoy your stay. Good luck!

Brian

 

[Krish]

Welcome to RF tyourkie66! I'm not all that bright on lights... But then again, I'm not bright on much Just wanted to welcome you and say that I hope you enjoy your stay here as well

 

[wrightme43]

They bubble tip may be harder with those lights. I have kept them under 4x96 watt compacts sucessfully.
Welcome to R.F. glad your here.

 

[tyourkie66]

so you guys think the t5s are a good choice? do you think they will support frogspawn/torch coral? i was also thinkin a purple dottyback or a royal grama.

the lights cost $250, is this a pretty good price? can i find them cheaper anywhere else?

 

[mungus]

It sounds like a pretty good price to me. It kinda depends on who makes the fixture though. I know I can find ones with the same bulb combinations for more $$$.:lol: Beware of the dottyback they can be a very agressive fish and cause trouble. (they are very pretty though)

Brian

 

[tyourkie66]

well does anyone have any suggestions on colorful, peaceful, and reef safe fish. smaller the better, as my tank is only 40gal.

also will the 2x54w daylight and 2x54w actinic be enough to bring out the colors zoos once i start getting ones with blues, greens, reds, and all sorts of neons?

also what does everyone use to cover their tank? right now i have a standard hood, but i dont think it will fit anymore once i get the t5 fixture.


oh and the company that makes the lights i think is nova extreme.

 

[JRBear5658]

Green Chromis or, a clown goby (watch damsels) fire fish (any type) court jester goby, sixline wrasse(this is one of few who are great reeffish) Royal gramma are reef safe but take cation semi-aggersive (so is perc) are just a few that are nice and colorful, I have had great success with these in my 125 and 55 reef tanks

JR

 

[tike]

T-5 will work. Is this the type of fixture that has indivdual reflectors for each bulb?? If it is, 4 54 watt T-5's on a 30 gallon is way too much light. 2 54 watters will suffice for what you want to keep.

 

[tyourkie66]

i got the t5s and set them up today. they are bright! they light up almost my entire house. when i drove past the house you could see the lights in almost every window. im really excited about getting some zoos. the fans are a little loud, do you guys think this will go away?

 

[joshinjosh]

awesome choice man! i'm looking to get t5s also. 4x54w is definately not too much for zoos in a 40g. just wondering what the dimensions of your tank is?

 

[tyourkie66]

my tank is 48in long and not very high

 

[keener1830]

If you want to keep zoos and torch or frogspawn, well good luck I would not suggest it due to the fact that frogspawn and torch are aggressive and will sting anything they can touch pretty much and the feelers on those are pretty long. I am trying to get my flower pot out of my zoo tank as we speak. Welcome to RF and good luck

 

[jobob]

if you wanna keep BTA you should get indivdual reflectors for each bulb. Im pretty sure Nova doesnt have them. T-5 with the reflector will give off 300% more light, and this is why everyone likes them so much. Ice cap SLR reflectors are the best IMO. They are like $22 each. They make a world of difference, but if you only what to keep Zoo's you will be ok without them.

 

[theJ]

my frogspawn loves my t5 hood. Its only been in there for a few weeks (maybe 4?) and i see definate growth, 2 new stalks and lots of reach.

http://img444.imageshack.us/my.php?image=1004145dy2.jpg <-frogspawn under the super actinic/blue plus bulbs. I would show you a before pic, but my site is down atm :/

This is a 6 bulb tek light (only 2 bulbs on in that pic of course) but they come with individual reflectors

 

[shallowreef]

When you start to stock your Zoa tank go check out Reefer madness. Its an online store and they have absolutely amazing colors!!

 

[tyourkie66]

its been over a year since i started this thread, and i have since added many new additions.

i have 6 different colors of zoos. some of which im trying to get to grow on the sides of my tank to give more color. also because i was at a lfs (aquatic technology in columbia station, ohio) and they have a tank that is completley covered with zoos. all the glass, rocks, pumps, everything is covered except the sand. it looks absolutely amazing. i want my tank to look something like that someday. i wonder how long it took.

i also have a frogspawn which i bought 3 months ago and it has been doing excellent. i have seen much growth.

I bought pulsing xenia which is spreding like wildfire, im also going to try to grow that on the glass.

My lfs has been very helpfull. im not sure if any are familiar with Saltycritter in vermilion ohio. they have a website http://www.satlycritter.com truely an amazing store, very friendly and good prices.