Achilles Tang

Disclaimer: $$$ invested in equipment is secondary coz it doesn't automatically mean success. Hon is an old bird in reefing.... there are many old birds around... their tanks stand as a testimony to their skill & dedication what... talk is cheap. The proof of the pudding is in the tasting!

???! You're TOO sensitive!! Was not referring to you leh. Mainly A********** customers!

Oh... he has already posted sales of his equipment recently... trying to convince him to come back into the hobby when he moves into his new home one day... He's TTboy lah... my dive bud!

I know what you mean... there are so many brands of skimmers in the market, catering to different market sectors. Yet, each brand has their own followers and promoters, and it is really up to the majority to do their homework and see the pros and cons of each brand. Cheap vs Good vs Overpriced vs workmanship vs reliability vs good engineering. Throw in some people who THINK they know everything best and they will influence decisions of those who are easily swayed. Of course, a good marketeer can convince Eskimos to buy snow... so again... the wise reefer is one who spends his money wisely and not just believe that expensive equipment means a nice reef tank. I see too many reefers who have only expensive stuff but their tanks... sigh.... simply put, dedication + adequate equipment + correct application = nice tank. No dedication + $$$ branded stuff + incorrect application = not so nice tank. Now, one of my such friends have quit the hobby also.. sigh...

1. I already started the ball rolling with the first Tip of the Week (see left column), contributions from the other members are warmly welcomed!! 2. Yes, yes, I am the most free of the mods... please please give me more work! 3. Hmmm.... I can see the list of sponsors backing away slowly already! LOL!! AT

Why would they want to take innocents as prisoners? LOL!!

Yups!! This info is too valuable to be lost in this thread.... Roidan.. you should post this in the Newbie Forum...

Roidan, A skimmer is a device which makes foam to capture proteins to be exported out. Regardless of brand, a skimmer has to achieve the best possible foam and it has to be suitably matched with a tank of a certain bioload limit or it will be useless or ineffective. It's foolhardy to even assume a triple beckett will mean your tank will be perfect. Everything has to be balanced in a reef tank. There are 'perfect' tanks around even without skimming... well... up to a certain point. Remember... its all about BALANCE! What goes in must come out. A change in water volume, or livestock or even a change in the type of foods fed will mean an increase or decrease in nutrient load levels. Perhaps AP's tank in the past was in a perfect state of balance for her RSB skimmer. Remember, the biological system of a reef tank is in a constant state of flux!

If you want to keep lots of fish that requires a lot of feeding and SPS you really really need to have a very good skimmer or your corals will suffer. You also need to have a very low phosphate levels or I can guarantee you every exposed area of your tank will be colonised by nuisance algae... green hair algae, bryopsis, caulerpa etc. I still have some irritating stubborn patches of bryopsis that won't go away... and they even grow on the dead parts of corals, threatening to choke, irritate and kill. Nutrient control is what a reef tank is all about. What is in balance today may not be in balance tomorrow...

SQ hijack scare sends F-16 jet scrambling; police storm plane A HIJACK scare on a Singapore Airlines (SIA) plane heading for Los Angeles on Tuesday turned out to be a false alarm. Nevertheless, US authorities scrambled an F-16 to fly alongside the plane and armed police stormed the aircraft when it landed. During the 16-hour non-stop flight, the brand new Airbus A345 began transmitting a hijack alert. The alert was picked up by air traffic controllers and the US authorities responded immediately. An American F16 fighter jet was ordered to escort the ultra long-haul jet, which was carrying 126 passengers and 14 crew members. The flight was then ordered to land in a remote section of the LA International Airport. Reports said that as soon as the plane landed, armed police officers stormed the aircraft and hostage negotiation teams rushed to the scene. But within minutes, it was confirmed that the emergency hijack signal was a false alarm. The alarm code must be manually entered by the pilot. A US Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said the pilot of flight SQ20 assured US authorities that the plane’s transponder had malfunctioned. Singapore Airlines said the incident is under investigation. — Channel NewsAsia

Woah... SPS .... welcome to the jungle... we got fun and games!!

And he tries again... and again.... and again! justcantscore2dhdb.zip

justcantscore2dhdb.zip

Call me... Mack Master Shmoove. RESPECT!

Well... blimey! Someone's got their cuppa stirred the wrong way, lad!

Nowadays... hooligans like you are becoming tame.... in the old days....

No harm done to your livestock unless the manufacturer has used some unknown chemical to clean the skimmer. Just give it 24 hours.... not all skimmers are like becketts that have very short break in times and can produce foam within minutes. If you can't wait... give the insides of the skimmer a good soap wash and try to get the oily film off the inner walls. Make sure you give it a very very good freshwater wash to get rid of any soap suds! It should shorten the breakin time...

Hey hey hey!!

Is your skimmer extremely new? New skimmers have a layer of oil/chemicals on them. It may take some time to 'break in' the skimmer.

.... MarineCommandosStuckinMud.zip

jd_n's advice is sound. I would say the same thing too.

Don't burn the PVC pipe, you have to put it just above the fire not enough to have scorch marks... but enough to turn soft enough to press into the duckbill shape.

Just heat the pvc pipe end over a stove fire till its softer, then use something to press it until the duck bill forms.

Gaga, can you take a pix below the cup level? I want to see the quality of the foam and water level.

See the cone? You can try adjusting your water level to the base of that cone, the bubble will gather and rise up the neck into the cup. You have to play around with the air intake until you get a satisfactory foam.