[hosser]

After a couple days after setting up my FIRST SW tank, I found several of these on one piece of Fiji live rock. Any idea what it is and what it will be? thanks.

[hosser]

Sorry if the pic doesnt show up , on my vista pc it doesnt grrr. here is a link to see it on photobucket thanks Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket

[hosser]

huh.jpg - Image - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

[RyanG]

Are you referring to those two little nobs on the rock? If so they look like zoos that haven't opened up yet.

[hosser]

Thanks , now my question is about zoo's. Are there differant kinds or if I google them will I get a grasp on what they will turn out to be?

[IceMan]

if they are zoas turn the daylight bulbs on, assuming they are happy you'll see then, zoas look the same young or old (excluding color shifts, i mean the body is the same)won't get very large but colonize beautifully, all sorts of color morphs of them and can change in different environments... you'll love them.

[hosser]

All I have is a CoralSun Actinic 420. What other light buld would you suggest or is this what you mean? How long should I leave this light on during the day I ussually have it on as long as the sun would be up. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[IceMan]

lol i'm no expert but i'll try to help, anyone of you more experienced guys chime in and correct me if i'm wrong.

run your actinics apx 8 - 9 hrs a day, daylight (lower K rating) apx. 6 - 7 hrs

you need a wider spectrum, 10000k for example or 12000, 14000, even down to 6700 if you like.
what light kit do you have? how many bulbs?

my zoas usualy open under my actinics but only fully when the others kick in. if you go with MH and up the scale to say 14000k or better i don't think you resally need the actinics but i haven't researched this much yet since i don't run MH (YET)

[hosser]

I had mainly run this light set up for future anenome's. I only have the one light. I would run out today and grab another if my hood would allow it. I may have to do some more research to see if I can get a better hood with a multi light allowance. If not I may need to manually switch out bulbs then. Thanks

[IceMan]

depending on you budget, you could get a combo bulb / lose the hood and add a light kit

[IceMan]

what is the length of your tank.

[hosser]

Its 30" x 12 1/2" ..... what about natural light? Is natural sunlight good , bad, or doesnt matter. I tend to keep natural light only a couple hours a day.

[IceMan]

good question... honestly not sure, natural sunlight in a FW tank is terible in that it causes algae bloom ( green water) not sure the effect it would have in a reef.

[IceMan]

wouldn't try it personaly... the natural sunlight i mean.

[IceMan]

try the marketplace here... might find a deal from one of our guys n gals

[hosser]

Yeah my freshwater tanks seemed real sensitive to sunlight and after getting it away from sunlight it cleared up just fine. I will have to look into other lighting. My fish and the growth I have thus far (after only 1 week) seem to be doing wonderful. I dont want to shock anything either by switching light now. Maybe leave well enough alone till I get some affinitive answers. Thanks IceMan, youve been a great help.