A few questions...

[Shawn]

Hey all - I've got a few questions and want some veteran reefers feedback.

1) Phytoplankton. Do you use phyto, and if so, why? Does it need to be used to keep a pod population? If so, do you just buy ready-to-use phyto, or do you culture your own? If so, what's your go-to phyto setup? I've seen a lot of "kits" on Amazon, but I feel a DIY option is easier and better. What do you use to feed the phyto in your culture? What strain of phyto do you use?

2) Reef Lights. I'm currently using a BioCube32 upgraded to Steve's LEDs. I've had it for a year and have recently had success with SPS and some of the more intense light needing corals. Last month I bought a 125 that I'm going to be building over the next week or so to get cycling. That being said - I'm not able to splurge on AIs quite yet, so I'm looking for some decent reef lights that will allow me to continue to grow my corals. It's a 5' long tank, so I need something that's going to have decent spread. If you had, say, no more than $1,000 to spend on lights, what would you use?

3) Substrate. I'm getting some mixed opinions on the normal sites regarding substrates. If you could have what you wanted, or already have what you want, what is it? I've got Carib-Sea pink fuji sand (I think that's it - it was pink when I bought it) in my cube. What's your favorite substrate method?

I'd like to say thanks in advance for your advice and input Hope y'all are having an awesome weekend!

 

[york1]

1 I do not
2 https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/photon-50-v2/ These are great lights at a decent price. I love mine.
3 I use and really like Caribsea black hawaiian sand. I also like the arag alive special grade reef.

 

[bhodges82]

1. I don't use phytoplankton, but will start soon. I've heard that it is good for sps.

2. I run radion lights with the aquatic life t5 hybrid. The reason is expensive, for starting out i would suggest something like the reefbreeder or the t247 fixtures.

3. I use the special reef grade sand, always have.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[sharis100]

Yes to phyto. Buy locally from Kevin at Heisenberg’s Aquatics - he is a member on this forum and will be at the May show I believe. Great service and product!

 

[Reefchef]

Hey all - I've got a few questions and want some veteran reefers feedback.

1) Phytoplankton. Do you use phyto, and if so, why? Does it need to be used to keep a pod population? If so, do you just buy ready-to-use phyto, or do you culture your own? If so, what's your go-to phyto setup? I've seen a lot of "kits" on Amazon, but I feel a DIY option is easier and better. What do you use to feed the phyto in your culture? What strain of phyto do you use?

2) Reef Lights. I'm currently using a BioCube32 upgraded to Steve's LEDs. I've had it for a year and have recently had success with SPS and some of the more intense light needing corals. Last month I bought a 125 that I'm going to be building over the next week or so to get cycling. That being said - I'm not able to splurge on AIs quite yet, so I'm looking for some decent reef lights that will allow me to continue to grow my corals. It's a 5' long tank, so I need something that's going to have decent spread. If you had, say, no more than $1,000 to spend on lights, what would you use?

3) Substrate. I'm getting some mixed opinions on the normal sites regarding substrates. If you could have what you wanted, or already have what you want, what is it? I've got Carib-Sea pink fuji sand (I think that's it - it was pink when I bought it) in my cube. What's your favorite substrate method?

I'd like to say thanks in advance for your advice and input Hope y'all are having an awesome weekend!

2. Look under for sale, @C&DAtlantaReef had 4 hydra 26hd listed fir $700 I believe barely used.

 

[jcook54]

1. I don't use phyto but will 2nd that Kevin at Heisenberg is a great dude and his product seems to get a lot of repeat customers.
2. Reefbreeder are good lights but most of the folks I know that have great tanks have an LED/T5 hybrid fixture of some sort so please keep that in mind.
3. I use Caribsea black hawiian in one tank and their Fiji Pink in another. Like them both but prefer the black substrate.

One thing to consider when looking at light is what you want to do. I personally have a mixed reef with a small amount of softies, and the rest split between LPS and SPS. If you're looking for a serious SPS dominate tank, you'll need some real horsepower (intensity) to get to the bottom. Don't forget to post a tank build thread, those are always a lot of fun.

 

[FutureInterest]

1. I use phyto sporadically. I know people that swear by it and I should prolly be dosing it more.
2. I've kind of changed my approach to lighting... I'm still T5+LED... but now I'm thinking that the LED can be anything that has blue/uv/violets. I've been using radions/kessils but I'm transitioning towards sbreeflights for future builds for the led component.
3. No substrate in the display so I can crank up the flow... but I do keep a hefty amount of sand in the fuge or somewhere in the sump.

 

[civics14]

1. No phyto
2. I would do a T5/LED combo as other suggested. IMO I would get the AquaticLife T5/LED and reefbreeders.
3. I have sand just because I like having wrasses. Else I would definitely do no sand.

 

[Mom2Many]

No to phyto
Current Marine LED's on shallow tank
I ususally go with a slightly bigger particle sand than Fuji Pink so it does not get blown around quite so much but alas it does not matter long term... as I vaccuum my sandbed weekly and in a years time end up with very little sand at all in my systems and never replace it.

 

[ichthyoid]

1- In the past I have used DT's brand of phytoplankton successfully. Since we now have more small business/local sources, I would/will use them if needed. Otherwise, I've seen a simple self dosing DIY phyto production set up which was being nicely run by Dan (saltwaterwannabe).
To foster a good pod population, just grow some macro algae, and it doesn't get much simpler than a ball of chaetomorpha in a sump/fuge.
If you are feeling adventurous, give sea lettuce (ulva) or ogo (gracillaria) a shot. You can recycle both of those as fish feed treats, which your fish will learn tricks to get
Light isn't that important IME, as long as there is lots of it. I've used a 5000 or 6500 K fluorescent spring lamp in a round clamp-on reflector quite successfully/cheap & simple.

2- I went with 2x AI Prime HD LED's which will go over a 50 gal SCA on my new build. I'll defer to other's experience with current commodity type LED's. Watch the For Sale forum!
FWIW- Before deciding on the AI's, I was looking at these and thought the features/colors were great for the $$-
https://www.amazon.com/Macegrow-Aqu...d&qid=1556644442&s=gateway&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1

3- I've used Carib Sea Special Grade Seafloor for years. I may add some Bahama Oolitic I also have on hand, for variety on this build. I'll experiment with the blend before deciding.
FWIW, I usually add some egg crate pieces under the base rock before adding substrate. It keeps the rock off the glass bottom & prevents settling due to burrowing/pistol shrimp activity.