Cali Kid Corals

setting up a new tank , using old tank as fuge

mustangs

mustangs

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so I am in the process of getting everything ready to upgrade my tank/system.
I will be using a 20g long as my display and using my old 12g eclipse as an above tank fuge,the 12g has been running for about 6-7 years has lots of life in the 1-2inch sand bed plenty of spinoid worms and brittle stars. the only fish in the tank is a clown.
I will keep all the live sand in my old tank and add some new rubble rock but I would like to move the existing live rock into the new tank along with some dry rock I picked up and fresh sand, I would expect a mini cycle for sure but will I see big problems or can I get by with my protein skimmer and water changes untill the cycle catches up I know alot of people cook there rock for months but I would really like to get this all moved over.
 
Unless you have existing problems with your current tank, I see no problems with moving rocks over to your new display tank. Good call on not moving the sand - the refugium will seed the new sand in short order. I recommend monitoring/testing conditions every few days and head off problems before they occur.

Welcome to BAR!
 
thanks for the welcome , glad to be part of the community here , sadly I am on a tight budget so this might take a while to get all the equipment I need to finally get some corals in the tank...I am looking into lighting and thinking of getting 2 clamp on led fixtures.
I found these BeamsWorks Reef Bright LED Clamp-on Light Fixture 11" with 9 1w led's for 35.99 per fixture ,do you think they will be enough on a 20g long for lps and softies or should I go with the ultra reef bright 15" fixtures with 3w led's for 89.99 per fixture.
 
You've been in the hobby long enough to know that only disasters happen quickly - good things take time, so move at a comfortable pace. :)

I can't say I know much about the BeamWorks LEDs, but it looks like they are being sold by AquaTraders. I know many people have used equipment from AquaTraders without any problems, but I see enough issues that I tend to stay away from them, although the bargain prices are hard to resist.

Personally, I consider one of the biggest advantages to LEDs to be controllability. The ability to dim and simulate dawn/dusk/moon is a huge plus. It doesn't mean that our tank inhabitants need that feature, it's just nice to have in creating an optimal environment, and you may find yourself in a position where you want more or less light (ex., acclimation). Another consideration is matching of component life, which I would expect to account for a good part of the premium that is associated with fixtures such as AI, Kessil, etc. For example, some LEDs may have a rated life of 30,000 hours, but if they are paired with a driver that is only rated for 8,000 hours, then you are not going to see the touted benefits of longer product life for your LED fixture. LEDs are the wild west right now, and there is no shortage of fixtures available for purchase. I tend to lean towards the proven fixtures using high-bin dies that have undergone lab and reliability testing, and is backed by a manufacturer that has been around a while. Just my 2 cents. :)
 
Can't believe I forgot to mention cooling - a properly implemented cooling solution will go a long ways towards performance over the life of the fixture. LEDs typically don't catastrophically fail like conventional lamps, they experience lumen depreciation whereby the light output decreases over time. Without a good heatsink and/or fan, the LEDs will experience a much shorter useful life. Some LED fixture manufacturers deliberately underdrive the LEDs. The BeamsWorks Reef Bright LED Clamp-on Light Fixture 11" claims to draw 9W using 9 1W LEDs, I would be curious to know if that claim could be substantiated.

If you haven't already done so, check out some of the local stores. I know several of our sponsors have LEDs on display so you can see how they look and perform.
 
yeah Iv learned my lesson a few times you pay for what you get $) was hoping someone had used them but I think ill just go with another t5ho fixture and maybe add a stunner strip later on to get that shimmer effect I so love about the led's. The stunner strips seem to be tried and true and all my t5ho fixtures have worked for a long time , plus I like the fact that I can change the bulbs out if needed can't really do that too easily with the led units if one goes bad down the road. At this point in time I don't have the cash to spring for a kessil and they just make it so tempting to try out these beamworks with the nice prices but I know I would probably regret it.
 
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