[Tee]

I know you guys are probably sick of this question but I've done alot of searching and am getting a headache.
I have a 55gal, with dsp, skimmer, powerheads, four 4' no fluorescent lights (2 actinics, 2 full spectrums) 50lbs liverock stacked tall along the back, 1 maroon clown, 1 blue tail damsel, 1 dotted damsel, 1 blue damsel and 1 baby tang (To be moved to the 125 fish only later) Purple and pink coraline are growing like crazy on the rock and glass. I've also got hermits and snails and feather dusts.
3 large groups of polyps are growing fast along with 3 strawberry anemones.
Now for my question, what other corals can I add, I know I'm very limited with the no lights but if there are others I can add successfully I'd like to. Thanks so much.

[rayjay]

All my tanks are lit with NO lighting. If you check the pics you will see that I have a lot of soft coral and a lot of LPS corals and one clam.

[MasterBlaster]

Originally Posted by rayjay

All my tanks are lit with NO lighting. If you check the pics you will see that I have a lot of soft coral and a lot of LPS corals and one clam.

Hey, Ray. Why do you use NO lamps over more powerful ones? I'm no expert, but this goes against everything I've been trying to learn.

Also, what do you have to say about a DSB setup?

Thanks!

[rayjay]

I use NO because I have little money, and with NO lighting I can buy ballasts for $5 at the surplus store and wire them directly to the ends of the NO lamps which being very common 4' lengths, are quite cheap compared to aquarium lighting.
I like to use 1/2 philips actinic 03 and 1/2 GE Daylight Ultra (6500K) but most times I don't have enough money to get as many actinics as I would like so the ratios get skewed a bit.
I have run many systems, Berlin, modified Berlin, undergravel, pre-filtered reverse flow undergravel, plenum, DSB, and combinations of the types. My personnal preference is still the Berlin, even though all systems work for me. Actually, I preferred the pre-filtered reverse flow undergravel next to the Berlin.
All my choices regarding the hobby are made because either I just like something, and/or I can build what I need myself, or I can buy a cheap alternative to an LFS supply. Probably because of the nature of my beast, I would probably do the same things if I had money, just because I get a lot of satisfaction from the accomplishments.
It also doesn't hurt to put pictures up of something most other hobbyists on the boards tell me I can't do.

[Tee]

WOW Rayjay I'm so impressed! How do you keep an anemone under no lights. I'm with MasterBlaster it goes against everything I've read so far. Again I'm really impressed and encouraged, thanks so much!

[rayjay]

The anemone was the first thing I bought after my cycle 9 1/2 yrs ago.
Unfortunately, I lost it two weeks ago when I was on holidays and the air conditioner broke down.
I had just put air conditioning in due to the losses of coral with the July heat of the last two summers. I certainly didn't expect this to happen when the AC had only been running for less than 1 month.
A $26 contactor that activates the compressor failed and cost me about $2400 in coral losses and the loss of three fish.
The only tank that didn't have losses was one that sat directly in front of a large fan that I forgot to turn off when I turned the AC on.
When I got home, that tank was at 92F but the others were all at 96F.
Some mushrooms, polyps, a pear bubble, and a finger leather survived, and, believe it or not, my clam is still with me, but the mantle turned a dirty brown purple instead of the blue purple it used to be.
By the way, I never fed the anemone directly as it seemed to do just fine feeding itself from what ever I was feeding my fish.

[Tee]

Man what ashame! I'm so sorry to hear that, I know you must have been just sick over such a loss.
I really appreciate the help you've been giving me. I've also enjoyed looking at your site. What type of anemone did you have?
I've been into fresh and brackish for years and saltwater with fish and live rock for going on 3 but since my polyps are doing so well I'm trying to venture out into more corals.
Thanks again for your help and I hope you tank continues to recover.