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One thing I love about this hobby is the constant ability to learn something new. However, there are also occasions where it is worth learning something old. Techniques that reefers used historically but are in dire need of resurrection, forgotten heroes (or heroines) so to speak. As such I wanted to share a few topics on reefing that I hope you find useful. So let's start the ball rolling with the first forgotten hero... Sulphur Denitrifiers. For the life of me I just don't understand why Sulphur Reactors are not more popular after all they are possibly one of the easiest "set and forget" ways to reduce nitrate. Just throw some yellow Sulphur Beads (about 1kg of Sulphur per 500L) along with some calcium reactor media (e.g. ARM) into a reactor and add water. That is it. Best of all is you can leave it for a year or slowly flowing denitrified water back into your system. So simple. Ok there is a little bit more. yes, it is best if you use a recirculating reactor, but honestly a normal reactor will work well too. After filling and adding water perform an initial purge of the reactor chamber into a bucket, you dont want sulphur dust in your system. Next step is you will need to dial in the flow. At the start it should be a constant drip drip drip each second. Over time you can increase the flow. To dial-in the correct flow rate test the effluent for nitrates regularily over the next couple of weeks and if nitrates are too low (plus to avoid the smell) increase the flow rate or remove some sulphur media. However, if the nitrates are still too high decrease the flow or add some more sulphur. It will take a couple of weeks to kick into action as the bacteria starts to populate, but once you have it dialed in, it will operate in an equilibrium growing bacteria in relation to the available nitrate. The media can last well over a year with little to no maintenance, just check for clogging (tip... Don't use any sponges in the reactor). Did I mention sulphur media is also fairly cheap I saw some@aquamarin for $8.80 a kilo. Ok sounds too good to be true, easy, cheap and works for ages. Well the downside is that your Alk will take a hit. Hence, the recommended addition of the calcium reactor media into the reactor to help buffer against that reduction. But you may need to up your alk dose. Also at the start (for a day or so) and at times the flow is too low there is a tiny little smell. But I simply blame the dog Haha. Sulphur reactors are so easy to set up, Yet it appears there are few reefers enjoying their delights and even fewer newbies aware of the pure ease and simplicity and money savings a sulphur reactor can bring. For more info I suggest you visit the interweb, and lookup 'Parker's Reef Sulphur' on youtube. As he has a good introduction to Sulphur Reactors amongst many other goodies.. Enjoy! (If there are any forgotten heros you feel need mentioning PM me). More forgotten heroes shortly. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Another Jawbreaker developing greens and purples.... And an updated shot of these unique tri-colors(reds, orange and yellows) jawbreakers

Lol I thought I struck a gold mine with my sun coral when I saw your post hahahhahaha

Here's an update on what's available: 1) Huge showsize Purple tip bright green elegance coral - $80 2) Aussie lime green torch ~4 heads - $80 3) Purple mythic torch ~4 large heads - $80 4) Golden/Yellow hammer ~3 heads, i have 2, $80 each 5) Ultra orange Acan - $50 6) Red acans A - $25 7) Red Acans (top to bottom) B - $20, C - $35, D - $30 8) Acans top to bottom again, Ultra red/orange acan - $40, Ultra red/blue acan - $40, Lime green acan - $30 9) 8x mini orange bubble tip Anemone, this mini OBTA does not grow big, it just keep splitting and splitting while remaining small! 8 of them comes with the rock too. $40 10) pink zoas colony $20

Nice write up! It appears that ciliates are associated with many coral diseases. But the question is, are they the cause of the disease, or are they just proliferates when the tissues become necrotic. It could also be the case of increased pathogenic bacteria population at the disease coral, which provides food for these bacteriaphagic ciliates Great start for more discovery!

I've started to journey into the microscopic world of the reef tank. Invested in a good microscope with a camera hooked up. Its great to be able to pinpoint issues and apply the correct fix. For example : Is this dinoflagellates or diatoms? What kind of algae is this? Or be able to identify various parasites. For a start, many have experienced brown jelly disease on hammer & torch corals. The common advise is to discard it immediately as the brown jelly can spread. Another common advise is to dip the coral with coral dip or with iodine to disinfect it. This post hopes to give some insights on what works & what does not. Under the microscope, the brown jelly are actually a huge colony of a type of protozoa (single celled microscopic animal) known as ciliates. They are characterized by the presence of hair like organelles called cilia. Pic from Wikipedia From numerous articles (eg : https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1385110115300095), the common ciliate associated with coral diseases are Philaster Lucinda & Philaster Guamense Pic below taken by my microscope. The brown bits you see are zooxanthellae. Some have been ingested. I tested some new purchased / store bought hammer corals and a tiny amount of the ciliate are present. Apparently, ciliate are always present in the water but have no effect if the coral is healthy or if the population of the ciliate is small. However, when they colonize in large populations, they attack the weak coral & the infamous brown jelly or RTN occurs. I collected the brown jelly & soaked them in various kinds of coral dips and iodine. Apparently, the ciliates do not die! All still alive! This means that while coral dips & iodine may do well to 'wash' the coral, bits of this parasite are still present and can cause further issues. Possibly that's why brown jelly tends comes back a few days later. In the video below, you will see big colonies of the ciliate. This slimy cloud contains the parasite that can move around to infect the nearby coral. Hence the advise to dip & trim away the infected piece is correct. Of all the products tested, the only one that actually destroys the ciliate is Polyplab Reef Primer. Within 10 minutes, the cilates stop moving (die!) and the cell walls start to disintegrate. And if left for longer periods, it seems to disintegrate entirely (or perhaps it becomes so transparent that I can't see with my microscope) Next step is to understand how to prevent brown jelly or ciliate colonies in the first place.

Side hob is actually a gex tall tank for skimmer.I cut an opening using handheld electric drill. Then using acrylic sheet ,cut and glue to make a waterflow outlet .My tank is a 30cm IOS Cube tank.The compartment behind is small and got limited space.So i DiY an side tank for the skimmer to attached on.