Your new saltwater system is finally ready. You”ve cured the live rock, added your cleaning crew of invertebrates, chosen compatible fish, and even added a breathtaking assortment of live coral. You”ve successfully started one of the most fascinating and rewarding hobbies around.
And if you”ve done your homework, chances are you”ve realized that recent advances in aquarium LED lighting have put them in the lead when it comes to the best and most economical choice for the corals in your saltwater tank.
New developments in LED lights have made them as powerful as they need to be to provide the intense lighting needed to show off the brilliant color of your corals, and LED lights can be placed much closer to the water than metal halide lights, resulting in a more compact and well designed look for your tank.
LED fixtures come in various sizes, usually 24, 36, or 48 inch lengths. They are capable of producing a natural shimmer effect on the water while enhancing the color of the coral and fish. Even with this power, LED aquarium lights remain energy efficient, and LED lights not need to be replaced nearly as often as their metal halide counterparts. Often they will be equipped with a broadcast reflector that diffuses the light evenly throughout the aquarium.
Your aquarium lighting is truly one of the most important aspects of saltwater fish and rare coral reef keeping. Not only do LED lights bring out the vibrant colors of the livestock, plants, and coral, but they also provide vital light energy to tank inhabitants.
When choosing a LED aquarium light for your tank, a good rule to follow is to provide 1 to 2 watts of lighting for fish-only aquariums, 2 to 5 watts per gallon for freshwater-planted aquariums, and 4 to 8 watts per gallon for reef aquariums.
So if you want to instantly add shimmer to your tank, promote colorization and growth for your corals, and find an economical way to easily take care of your saltwater aquarium”s lighting needs, then LED lights are something you should be very interested in purchasing. The best way to safely make your decision about which LED lights to purchase is to seek the advice of an expert fish store.
Month: March 2019
Shop Smart In Bangkok
LET’S get straight to the point. If you are into Wats (temples), Palaces, Chao Praya river cruises and other tourist’s traps, then this guide is not for you.
This travel guide is for the ladies who lunch, the charge-happy wives, the power bitches, the style icons, the teens and preteens, the yummy mummies and the fashionistas with or without a budget. This guide is a celebration of the little shopaholic in all of us.
Who to Bring
It is cheaper to shop with two to three shopaholics and team up for bulk purchase discounts. If traveling with kids or family, visit the Jim Thompson House and Museum where they sell silk products. Also, the newly built Siam Paragon Mall houses the largest Ocean Aquarium where you can dump the non Shopaholics for the day.
Dodging the Party Pooper
There is always the anti-shopaholic (usually the sponsors of shopaholic’s expenses). In shopaholic’s case, the father was given vague details of cultural spots like the chatuchak, Jim Thompson Museum, and the floating market.
Realization only dawned on him at the airport when he saw shopaholic and family carting off large luggage with nothing inside.
For those whose husbands and fathers stayed at home while you went gallivanting around Bangkok’s major malls, bring pieces you can mix and match. A vest, a scarf, a hat can change your look for every snapshot.
That will spread that free half day city tour into three whole days of culture tripping. You can now tell them you toured Bangkok with snapshots to prove it.
Be a tourist
Declare it. Show your passport (or photocopy) at the information center of major malls and get a tourist discount card from 5 to 30 percent off. On top of that, you can claim 7 percent Vat Tourist Refund for every 2000 baht you spend on a one time purchase.
Ask the cashier for the Vat Tourist Refund Application Form upon purchase. An accumulated total of 10,000 baht must be presented at the airport departure area for the cash refund. Some malls like Siam Paragon accept accumulated receipts for VAT refunds and give out tourist discount cards at the airport.
Learn about the country
A US dollar is equal to 35 THB. There are only two phrases you need to know. “How much is this?” is “Ra kha thao rai” and “Too expensive!” is “Paeng Pai.” Got it? You are now good to go.
Shop Smart
Buy only brands that are cheaper in Bangkok like Wacoal and Lacoste. Beauty products like Sunsilk, Rejoice, L oreal and Schwarzkopf are cheaper also. And although malls offer more choices, stalls can give discounts for the same products if you haggle.
Shopaholic purchased Wacoal stuff at three plus one at half price, not to mention the Vat Refund. Quite a good deal don’t you think? Some brands are not worth buying though. Mango, Zara and Bodyshop are more expensive than the shops in US even if it is on sale. Skip the Starbucks too.
Know the Malls
Familiarize yourself with the different shops. Central Department Store, Siam City, Siam Discovery and Siam Paragon houses high end brand items. MBK is the largest air-conditioned mall that houses tiangge type of stores where haggling is expected.
Expect tiangge atmosphere at the Fashion City Mall and street side stall shops at the Pratunam Market.
Chatuchak Weekend Market
This is Divisoria at 30 percent off! Open only on weekends, the best time to go is from 6-9 a.m. or 4-6 p.m. when it’s not so hot. Plus more goods from shirts, bags, shoes, toys, crafts, furniture, flowers, pets and other curios start coming out of the woodwork in the late afternoon.
Haggle it down to 50 percent. This is where our own tiangges get their products. And many stalls design and manufacture their own “made in Bangkok” products. Don’t be surprised if you happen to be haggling with the designer himself.