New lights or more rocks

[Zeither18]

I want to start out by saying hello to everyone as I am new to this forum as well as the saltwater/reef scene. I have recently purchased a 225 gal to start my new adventure and with it came an older oddysea hqi fixture. I have now idea how old these bulbs are and have contacted the manufacture to realize that they dhabi discontinued the bulbs for the unit. As far as rock goes I have 70 pounds of brs dry pukani rock and 30 lbs of Fiji from the LFS. I have a few dollars save back and am not sure if I should start my DIY led project or buy more rock. My tank has been set up for 5 weeks now any opinion appreciated. Thanks

 

[ritter6788]

I'd go for the rock first and do a good cycle before upgrading lights. The biological filtration is the most important part of the tank.

 

[huuta]

I'd go for the rock first and do a good cycle before upgrading lights. The biological filtration is the most important part of the tank.

exactly

 

[Zeither18]

I was thinking the same thing. But I figured I would get a second opinion. I wasn't sure how bad it would be to have a fixture with old bulbs either

 

[dmatt88]

2 year old bulbs are a recipe for ha. However in a fowlr setup lighting is irrelevant.

........milli's hate me.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

I have to disagree. I would go for the light. IMO less is more with rock and 100lbs is sufficient as long as you cycle the tank properly. Just my opinion though.

 

[robert]

Hi Zeither,

I don't know which Odyssea fixture you have, but I'm guessing it has hqi metal halides and some form of fluorescent. I know odyssea used to have some odd fluorescent bulbs but I didn't know their MH bulbs have changed. If you haven't already, contact aqua-traders as they still repair and ship lots of odyssea fixtures - the odyssea 20K MH bulbs are very inexpensive and don't look bad at all for the price. If its the fluorescent part that's obsolete that's an easy fix, as they sell parts rather inexpensively too. May not be what you want to do if you plan on upgrading to LEDs or some other fixture - but its an option.

A word of caution on the brs dry rock - I bought 80 pounds or so a while back and the rock I bought leaches phosphate like mad. I can't/won't use it as it leaches for a very long time - months - and I only used a few pieces. You may want to check it out before you make a decision - not wanting to scare you - but you may not be too happy with the rock and may want to replace it.

 

[Zeither18]

U guys are awsome. I can't believe it I can actually post something simple and people still respond? Thanks for all the opinions! My fixture is the one with the silver ballast and aqua-traders said that they will not fire the new bulbs. I don't understand but that is what I was told. They said I would have to buy new ballast. It takes 96w pc lights also and they said any will work for that And I agree with the brs pukani leaching lots of phosphates. That was the first base rock I went with. I acid washed it with muriatic acid, pressure washed it, then let it soak in r/o water with lots of filtration and large water changes. I added ATM bacteria colony's stuff to speed up the cycle and within 3 weeks everything was testing zero with API test. I can't say it would happen that fast again but I could only wish. Thanks again

 

[REEFKEEPER10]

I have 48" odyssea HQI fixture and they discontinued their bulbs because they use a different ballast now. But it will run ushio de bulbs. I had a 20000k running on my but the hit and electric bill got to my so I now have to two of their quad T5 fixtures over my tank. I have already talked to them about the bulbs.

 

[halcyonism]

I have to disagree. I would go for the light. IMO less is more with rock and 100lbs is sufficient as long as you cycle the tank properly. Just my opinion though.

I agree completely. I only used about 60 pounds in my 120g and wouldn't add any more. You get a lot more surface area for your buck when using dry rock.

 

[Brianscardoc]

I have to disagree. I would go for the light. IMO less is more with rock and 100lbs is sufficient as long as you cycle the tank properly. Just my opinion though.

+1 ^^^ You can always add more live rock later.

 

[REEFKEEPER10]

I agree you can alway add more dry rock later. Lighting for coral growth now.

 

[Rockadile]

I have to disagree. I would go for the light. IMO less is more with rock and 100lbs is sufficient as long as you cycle the tank properly. Just my opinion though.

This is what I was thinking.

 

[Zeither18]

Ok I think I will go with the lighting then. Hopefully I can start ordering things soon and Prob show my build then. Thanks for all of ur help. I didn't know which way to actually go. And glad u all steered me in the right direction. Thanks again. Zac

 

[Degener8]

You can always pickup sopme cheaper DE bulbs on ebay for the time being though. They are cheap bulbs yeah but better than out of spectrum bulbs. This would only set ya back about 40 or so bucks and buy you plenty of time to cycle and do your LED build slowly and correctly. Trust me its better to go slow and do things once than to dive in fast.. I know cuz I have done the latter to many times before.

 

[Zeither18]

What are de bulbs. Will they fire with the old oddysea metal halide ballast. I'm waiting to hear back from seller. Thanks

 

[ReeferDre]

De= double ended. If you look at the bulb it has prongs on both ends that's a DE bulb. Good luck and remember the only thing that will work in this hobby is patience. Take it slow even if it causes you to pull your hair out.