Will my rock die???

[Diver_1298]

Don't Panic It's not the end of the world. Where did your live rock come from? The gulf of mexico and key west mantis shrimp are not as dangerous as some people would have you believe.
Here is enough reading to keep you busy for a while.
http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/msu...a/aa110498.htm

[freshtosalt]

Yeah! I got rid of the mantis shrimp!!! However, I have seen little white "bugs" crawling around on the rock. Not sure what they are, any ideas???

I have noticed that more "life" is popping up on the rock. I think they're called "feather dusters". I have seen about 3 new ones since I put the rock in a week ago.

I am waiting for one more piece of "once live rock" then I will arrange the stuff the way I want it. I have not noticed any spikes in any of the tests. How long does it take for something like that to happen? Does it have to happen at all???

Also, lighting... II was told 4 Watts per gallon! That's a lot of light. right now I have app. 75 Watts. Do I really need all that additional lighting???

[OoNickoC]

Youll need at least twice what you have for any corals (most i should say) and anemones. For a 65 il'd go with about 260 watts....most of the more desirable reef inverts like coral and anemones feed mainly off of light....i have 50 watts in a 12 gallon tank and still cant keep certain corals.

[freshtosalt]

How in the world do I get 260W of light in my tank??? I suppose I'll have to buy a new hood that is specially made to handle that kind of wattage???

Any suggestioins?

[Diver_1298]

What are the dimensions of your tank?
Watts per gallon does not always work. It really depends on the depth of your tank. I have 690 watts for a 90 gallon aquairum = 7.7 watts per gallon But a 90 is 24-25 inches deep and 48" wide.
See what I'm talking about?

[Diver_1298]

36x18x24 is this the dimension? If so, And you want to be able to put SPS Corals and intense light demanding critters. Then I would go with something like this; http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...6&tc=photo
Holy Cr*p that's a lot of money or if you just want good old power compacts which will light up your tank and give you decent lighting for lps and other less light intensive corals you could go with this;
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...6&tc=photo
Your choice, or you could even make a canopy and piece together the lights yourself. There is more information in the lighting section forum.
Jim

[freshtosalt]

I now have 252 watts of light... Not cheap!!! I have noticed some small white "bugs" on the glass of the aquarium. I have also seen some little "bugs" that look almost like "water bugs" or "rolly Pollies" depending on where you're from. these are on the live rock. I have also seen something that looks like a "milipede". I have looked up "bristle worms" on the web and it does not look anything like them. It is app. 2-3 inches long and has many legs on the bottom of its body. It is white, almost transparent, and the top of its body appears to be smooth.

Any takers? what could these bugs be? Are they good or bad??

Please advise ASAP

thanks for the lighting advise. I got a Corallife 2X96 light. I have a friend with a pet store so I got it pretty cheap, compared to what they want online and in other stores...

[Craig Manoukian]

Amphipods, copepods, polycheates (worms). Not able to say difinitively without a picture but in general all these critters are good, no worries!

[reiple]

yup! as craig said! pods are good in general and are indicators of a good tank.