Trinituner Fish Keepers, Aquarists & Aquascapers...

[HondaB20B]

I missed out on the pink & orange frogspawn...................... heard it was nice

[Fishman]

Yeah I saw the scollies. But I did not see the frogspawn.

[HondaB20B]

it went on tuesday. he said its a rare color.
heading up there now so we'll talk later..................going to see the rare zoas. Dont know how i explaining this bill today to the wifey.......lol

[HondaB20B]

Wow, now came back from Raj and he really get some top of d line corals. Real nice Acans (oranges, red blues), maze brain's, scollies, tracky's and lobos (bright reds & red/green center)

[dgobo]

^^ been looking at corals, im thinking i would really like some as well. Do you think i dept of my tank would be a problem ?

[HondaB20B]

^^ been looking at corals, im thinking i would really like some as well. Do you think i dept of my tank would be a problem ?

depends on which corals you looking at..............................your tank is rather deep at 36".
you might have to put everything high up and when it grows it will look kinda funny.
T5's surely aint going to grow anything mush on the sand bed. you can run 12-T5's like me. MH will surely work but you will have to get a chiller. You'll be able to do mushrooms for sure. what corals you looking at

[HondaB20B]

you will need a 1/2 chiller to run it efficiently - $8500

[dgobo]

I don't really know the names of the corals. I know I want both soft and hard types, I like the ones from your pics. You selling?

[dgobo]

you will need a 1/2 chiller to run it efficiently - $8500

That much for a chiller, I wad thinking modifying a refrigerator condenser to chill the water, lol. Im trying to look for a food grade exchanger that I can use. The only problem is get a really precise thermostat.

[Fishman]

If you are going to DIY a chiller, I don't recommend using the condenser from a fridge as the fridge condenser cannot handle the long run times that a chiller has. Fridge compressors are designed for short cycles. You should use an A/C condenser as it is better suited for the application.

Also for the heat exchanger you should find a titanium coil with a PVC shell. Food grade exchangers are normally made of 316SS which won't stand up long term with saltwater. Stay away from the A/C evaporator as it will put copper in the water. I suppose if you find an epoxy with good heat transfer properties you can use it on the food grade coil to protect it.

The titanium coil is the bulk of the price in a chiller and I have personally found the price of DIYing one and buying a prebuilt chiller are close.

[HondaB20B]

If you are going to DIY a chiller, I don't recommend using the condenser from a fridge as the fridge condenser cannot handle the long run times that a chiller has. Fridge compressors are designed for short cycles. You should use an A/C condenser as it is better suited for the application.

Also for the heat exchanger you should find a titanium coil with a PVC shell. Food grade exchangers are normally made of 316SS which won't stand up long term with saltwater. Stay away from the A/C evaporator as it will put copper in the water. I suppose if you find an epoxy with good heat transfer properties you can use it on the food grade coil to protect it.

The titanium coil is the bulk of the price in a chiller and I have personally found the price of DIYing one and buying a prebuilt chiller are close.

thanks fishman, was now going to give him similar info

[UML]

hondab20b, does raj have any more frags of the coral that i had which died?

also how does a chiller affect you electricity bill? i wud assume it would be the same as running and a/c or fridge?

[HondaB20B]

hondab20b, does raj have any more frags of the coral that i had which died? Didnt see any yesterday cause i really wasnt interested in that. I took out of the new stock. He has nicer ones than that. Will check and see tom.

also how does a chiller affect you electricity bill? i wud assume it would be the same as running and a/c or fridge?

I have a 1/2HP and its similar to a 6000BTU A/C. Now remember the chiller wont be on constantly like an A/C. Remember air warms up faster than water. For instance, because of the volume of my tank, my chiller might kick on for about 10min (if so much) about 3-4 times during the late/early hrs of the morning. I know my bill has gone up because of the chiller, lights, multiple pumps & powerheads. Never check by how much though

[HondaB20B]

I don't really know the names of the corals. I know I want both soft and hard types, I like the ones from your pics. You selling? :)

Once the price right

If you going hard type (SPS) then you have to go MH, with a chiller......................but there is one drawback, the intensity of the lights is so high if you decide to go soft or leathers you may melt them. Fishman can let in on that. Right now you really have to decide on what you want. Run the T5's on the tank. you would need the 72" Nova Extreme Pro 12x39watt. http://www.current-usa.com/lighting/nova-extreme-pro. that should work good. Have you started to look at powerheads yet for that size tank yet. If you dont get that early in the setup, you'll have some bad cyano outbreaks in that size tank. 6ft is allot of water movement.

[UML]

hondab20b, does raj have any more frags of the coral that i had which died? Didnt see any yesterday cause i really wasnt interested in that. I took out of the new stock. He has nicer ones than that. Will check and see tom.

also how does a chiller affect you electricity bill? i wud assume it would be the same as running and a/c or fridge?

I have a 1/2HP and its similar to a 6000BTU A/C. Now remember the chiller wont be on constantly like an A/C. Remember air warms up faster than water. For instance, because of the volume of my tank, my chiller might kick on for about 10min (if so much) about 3-4 times during the late/early hrs of the morning. I know my bill has gone up because of the chiller, lights, multiple pumps & powerheads. Never check by how much though

ohhhhhhhhh i thought it does be on whole day....that eh bad at all

what type, brand and size would you recommend for a 48x18x18 tank? 1/4 hp?

wah price range? $5000?

[HondaB20B]

hondab20b, does raj have any more frags of the coral that i had which died? Didnt see any yesterday cause i really wasnt interested in that. I took out of the new stock. He has nicer ones than that. Will check and see tom.

also how does a chiller affect you electricity bill? i wud assume it would be the same as running and a/c or fridge?

I have a 1/2HP and its similar to a 6000BTU A/C. Now remember the chiller wont be on constantly like an A/C. Remember air warms up faster than water. For instance, because of the volume of my tank, my chiller might kick on for about 10min (if so much) about 3-4 times during the late/early hrs of the morning. I know my bill has gone up because of the chiller, lights, multiple pumps & powerheads. Never check by how much though

ohhhhhhhhh i thought it does be on whole day....that eh bad at all

what type, brand and size would you recommend for a 48x18x18 tank? 1/4 hp?

wah price range? $5000?

During the day its on more..........alot more. I maintain my tank at 78F. If current go during the day, i have seen my tank go to 84/85 in about 5-6 hrs. My water volume is big so it takes long for the water temp to increase. And even though i have the MP40's running on back-up, there is no heat transfer because Vorteck pumps (heat side) ore out of the water.

!/4 HP will work for you in size, but i dont know the price and what brand to get. Think its about $6500. You will have to check Raj or one of those other fellas who bring in......... but dont quote me.
I took from by Raj cause you get warranty on the chiller and other equipment.

[UML]

ok thanks

[dgobo]

Who is Raj, what his number and where is he located.

[Reefplanet]

Honda the coraline algae starting to spread now ..cant wait to setup.
Gonna get 20 more lbs of live rock so i will have 36lbs.
Would i need a chiller to, dont think so cause i have a t5 96w so i was thinking of using an aquarium fan for the main tank and a small one for the sump. Will that work?
My father said as soon as i come back from tobago i will start setting up.

[HondaB20B]

Raj, 744-8768. He lives in Pasea (St Agustine).
He is one the persons that bring in the majority of fish, corals, inverts into the country. He also brings in all kinda top equipment also. Anything you see in a magazine he can get it. Lights, hoods, pumps, protein skimmers, powerheads, salt, RO/DI units, sand, meds, foods, chillers........................etc.
LETTING YOU KNOW UP FRONT THIS IS NOT A CHEAP HOBBY EH........................... YOU HAVE AN IDEA WHAT THE PRICES OF FISH AND CORALS ARE LIKE RIGHT?
I just asking you cause i know some men who wanted some fish and when they hear the price.............
especially when the go by a certain petshops that have branches in gulf city, valpark and point lisas..... i guess thats why they closing down now
Certain fish have a regular price range

[ziggy_dappa]

Reef planet, you won't know if you need a chiller until you have you setup fully functional, it all depends on how much heat your equipment puts into your water (pumps, lights etc) vs that is lost to the environment.
Run the fans for cooling by evaporation and see what your temp settles at on the day with the highest ambient conditions - this would determine if you need additional cooling.
One thing to remember is that with fans you will evaporate more water quickly so you need be on top of your fresh water (RO DI) topups to keep your salinity stable. A ATO system is highly recommended preferably one with a timer as to safe guard against stuck float switches.

[HondaB20B]

Reef planet, you won't know if you need a chiller until you have you setup fully functional, it all depends on how much heat your equipment puts into your water (pumps, lights etc) vs that is lost to the environment.
Run the fans for cooling by evaporation and see what your temp settles at on the day with the highest ambient conditions - this would determine if you need additional cooling.
One thing to remember is that with fans you will evaporate more water quickly so you need be on top of your fresh water (RO DI) topups to keep your salinity stable. A ATO system is highly recommended preferably one with a timer as to safe guard against stuck float switches.

well put ziggy.
Reefplanet, what return pump (size & volume) you going to run. (remember you will loose head pressure from the sump to the DT. you get drop in pressure from height, elbows, fittings & distance)
& also what powerheads you going to run. you would need about 2

[dgobo]

Raj, 744-8768. He lives in Pasea (St Agustine).
He is one the persons that bring in the majority of fish, corals, inverts into the country. He also brings in all kinda top equipment also. Anything you see in a magazine he can get it. Lights, hoods, pumps, protein skimmers, powerheads, salt, RO/DI units, sand, meds, foods, chillers........................etc.
LETTING YOU KNOW UP FRONT THIS IS NOT A CHEAP HOBBY EH........................... YOU HAVE AN IDEA WHAT THE PRICES OF FISH AND CORALS ARE LIKE RIGHT?
I just asking you cause i know some men who wanted some fish and when they hear the price.............
especially when the go by a certain petshops that have branches in gulf city, valpark and point lisas..... i guess thats why they closing down now
Certain fish have a regular price range

I have no idea, but I know its not cheap, on average how much do you think i would need to spend to populate my 6'.

[HondaB20B]

Raj, 744-8768. He lives in Pasea (St Agustine).
He is one the persons that bring in the majority of fish, corals, inverts into the country. He also brings in all kinda top equipment also. Anything you see in a magazine he can get it. Lights, hoods, pumps, protein skimmers, powerheads, salt, RO/DI units, sand, meds, foods, chillers........................etc.
LETTING YOU KNOW UP FRONT THIS IS NOT A CHEAP HOBBY EH........................... YOU HAVE AN IDEA WHAT THE PRICES OF FISH AND CORALS ARE LIKE RIGHT?
I just asking you cause i know some men who wanted some fish and when they hear the price.............
especially when the go by a certain petshops that have branches in gulf city, valpark and point lisas..... i guess thats why they closing down now
Certain fish have a regular price range

I have no idea, but I know its not cheap, on average how much do you think i would need to spend to populate my 6'.

It all depends pal..................... i dont know what fish and corals you want.
Lights (if its T5's) $2500-$3000
Return pump $1000-$1500 avg
Sand $500-600
RO/DI unit $2000-2500
Salt (50gal bags) $125-150
Rock (all depends on how you want your rockwork............scanty or going high wth ledges)
$500-2500..............depends on how you want it to look
powerheads X 2 $500-3500.............again on what you looking for
Skimmer $1500-3500...................depends on your bio-load
other stuff that i cant remember...........$$$$$$$
Fish
Clownfish $350-1500 each
yellow tang $450-600
Hippo tang $350-600
yellowtail damsels $100-125
chromis $75
Firefish $350
Bartlet anthias $450
Royal gramma $350
Wrasses -reefsafe $350-700
Sailfin tang $650
Powder blue tag $650+
powder brown tang $650-950
naso tangs $950+
pajama cardinals $350
mandarins $350
Angels $350-2500
butterflies $450+
triggers $350-6500

[HondaB20B]

peppermint shrimp $100
Skunk cleaner shrimp $350
Fire Shrimp $500
Corals start at $350-2500
Snails depending on type $15-50
feather dusters $100 regular color $150 - white
hermit crabs $25
Clams $950+
mushrooms (depends on size, color or type) $200-600 each
Rock anemones $350-500
other anemones $650-1500

[ru$$ell]

^nice rundown, i honestly wanna get into this,but not right now as i know i wont have the time,but i'm doing as much reading as i can now to educate myself when i'm ready to pull the trigger,some of it overwhelming to say the least,lol.

[dgobo]

peppermint shrimp $100
Skunk cleaner shrimp $350
Fire Shrimp $500
Corals start at $350-2500
Snails depending on type $15-50
feather dusters $100 regular color $150 - white
hermit crabs $25
Clams $950+
mushrooms (depends on size, color or type) $200-600 each
Rock anemones $350-500
other anemones $650-1500

^^ wow thanks for the detailed run down, you really know your sheit. Prices were as expected. I've got a 25-30K budget I've over the next four months. Hoping to atleast have all equip set up by Xmas.

[HondaB20B]

^^^^gobo, I still learning pal its just that over the last 2 1/2 yrs that ive been it it, thats about the prices things usually sell for. Is the tank and sump built yet? or you thinking about it. What about the stand.
You could go check Raj and check his prices for electrical stuff and then check it on amazon and compare. If you want to bring it skybox or something is up to you. The key thing is to get he tank up and running first, then when it starts to settle down, you start to add corals.. Cycling of a tank takes a couple weeks and fish goes in slowly........... only 2-3 (depending on size) a wk. You still have electrical and plumbing to do. There are allot of guys on the forum who brought in stuff for their tank that can tell you what worked for them instead of dealing with Raj or Santoo. I Cant tell you how and where to spend it............ I ant go lie, sometimes his price a little high, but when you need something today, you really cant wait................... you just buy it and done.

[kl122]

Does anyone have freshwater shrimp..not crayfish SHRIMP like this http://www.guppylodge.com/red%20cherry% ... mp%201.jpg
always wanted but i could never find.

If you get through pm me please.

i have about 80...15 breeders and the rest r babies...once i get a nice full colony goin i will let you guys know...only the females are red, males look rel ugly...

[sharkman121]

^^^^gobo, I still learning pal its just that over the last 2 1/2 yrs that ive been it it, thats about the prices things usually sell for. Is the tank and sump built yet? or you thinking about it. What about the stand.
You could go check Raj and check his prices for electrical stuff and then check it on amazon and compare. If you want to bring it skybox or something is up to you. The key thing is to get he tank up and running first, then when it starts to settle down, you start to add corals.. Cycling of a tank takes a couple weeks and fish goes in slowly........... only 2-3 (depending on size) a wk. You still have electrical and plumbing to do. There are allot of guys on the forum who brought in stuff for their tank that can tell you what worked for them instead of dealing with Raj or Santoo. I Cant tell you how and where to spend it............ I ant go lie, sometimes his price a little high, but when you need something today, you really cant wait................... you just buy it and done.

co-sign on this dgobo, alot of the stuff may be cheaper online but the immediate availablility and peace of mind from buying from Raj is great. Plus his customer service and warranty make it worth the while. Ofcourse some stuff i bring in for myself because i travel alot but still depending on what it is but like my chilller and lights and many other stuff i buy from raj.
Been dealing with him a little over 2 yrs now.