Achilles Tang

Yup... the water flow deep down a DSB is very very very slow... diffusion is a better way to describe it. That is why it is also highly recommended that a DSB should not have a lot of obstructions eg. liverock covering the majority of its surface as it is essential to allow water to circulate through the top layers and have sand-sifting creatures to prevent compaction in the uppermost layers for this very purpose. A newly setup DSB will take some time to work... it's not instant. But over time, it'll be the cheapest, most effective and best way to reduce nitrates.

That's old news. At least it's outdated. The update to this is that they went there to recce the place and changed their mind. That is a month back already. Farmmart's location is too far and people traffic is poor and besides they are already established in Balestier and have a lot of customers coming in from the area. You heard it here first at SRC!

EVER WONDER Why the sun lightens our hair, but darkens our skin? Why women can't put on mascara with their mouth closed? Why don't you ever see the headline "Psychic Wins Lottery"? Why is "abbreviated" such a long word? Why is it that doctors call what they do "practice"? Why is it that to stop Windows 98, you have to click on "Start"? Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavour, and dishwashing liquid made with real lemons? Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker? Why isn't there mouse-flavoured cat food? When dog food is new and improved tasting, who tests it? Why didn't Noah swat those two mosquitoes? Why do they sterilize the needle for lethal injections? You know that indestructible black box that is used on airplanes, Why don't they make the whole plane out of that stuff? Why don't sheep shrink when it rains? Why are they called apartments when they are all stuck together? If con is the opposite of pro, is Congress the opposite of progress? If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal? Now that you've smiled at least once, it's your turn to send this to someone you want to bring a smile to (maybe even a chuckle)... in other words send it to everyone. We all need to smile every once in a while.

> > If you are pregnant, better pay attention where you sit ! This is from an > > actual trial in the UK: > > > > A young woman who was several months pregnant boarded a bus. When she > > noticed a young man smiling at her she began feeling humiliated on account > > of her condition. She changed her seat and he seemed more amused. She > > moved again and then on her third move he burst out laughing. She had him > > arrested. > > > > Then the case came before the court, the young man was asked why he acted > > in such a manner. > > > > His reply was: > > > > "When the lady boarded the bus I couldn't help noticing she was pregnant. > > She sat under an advertisement, which read: 'Coming Soon: The Gold Dust > > Twins'. > > > > I was even more amused when she sat under a shaving dvertisement, which > > read:'William's Stick Did The Trick'. > > > > Then I could not control myself any longer when on the third move she sat > > under an advertisement, which read: 'Dunlop Rubber would have prevented > > this accident.' " > > > > The case was dismissed.

Heh... that girl is a friend I just recently made. She told me TCS paid her peanuts for that role... like $60!

That is a very strange logic, Jason. Very strange indeed. Read my previous message.

Another one bites the dust... Can I suggest if you are not sure what it is and its feeding requirements, that you don't buy it? Don't fuel the trade in impossible to keep species...

Hi Wolfie, Welcome to this hobby! You will need a lot of reading to get a grasp of the basics and then to further stuff like stocking, lighting and feeding to be as conscientious in caring for your minireef and general marine life as possible. To start off, why don't you visit borders and read this book "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Fenner (There's a flame angel on the cover).... there are other good or better books around and I encourage you to read/buy them... so you won't waste money, time and lives later. To start off, since you asked for advise when you already started on your tank.... 1. Your filtration system is most important in your tank. Look into a protein skimmer to filter out dissolved organics. A sump is necessary if you have the space coz you can put a lot of equipment in there, inclusive the skimmer, carbon, phosphate sponges etc. 2. Your sandbed .... throw out #3 sand.... its too coarse and big, it'll end up as a detritus trap and most sandbed creatures like worms and pods prefer much finer sand... #1 or mud-like. Try to have a minimum of 4" of DSB to get max denitrifying effects. 3. Ample Liverock is important as as a denitrifying source as well. 4. Look into your lighting.... as corals are mainly photosynthetic and some need more light than others. 5. Non photosynthetic corals or sponges, sea fans, gorgonians, fan worms etc need 'coral food'.... of which the best is live plankton... 2nd best is stuff like golden pearls (plankton and rotifer substitute), frozen plankton pastes and BBS (only for large polyps) ... 3rd is bottled liquid amino acids or coral/invertebrate food. So before you rush off and buy stuff which are useless or incomplete or expensive or unneccessary and livestock which are not compatible, sensitive or downright unsuitable for your tank...... pls READ, READ, RESEARCH, RESEARCH! We can help only to a certain extent... the effort must come from youself and your love for this hobby. Good luck, Achilles Tang

Here's an adaptation on the idea here

Now we know who swiped all the nice 'pratas' off the market! *wink* Nice tanks bro....

Actually, I have 2 gonios now in my tank... I adopted one from Jeremy who gave up the hobby and one that I couldn't resist. I also have an avelo. They are one of the more lovely corals that I like. I am hoping that with my live phytoplankton and live rotifers, golden pearls and BBS, I can give these hard to keep corals a 'bigger than fighting chance' to survive. I strongly urge reefers here to follow likewise as these corals do have specific needs and a poor track record if you do not provide the conditions it prefers.

Nice avelopora you got there. They are closely related to Goniopora. Hope it lasts long in your tank.... as they are similar to Gonios in feeding requirements eg. plankton etc. Something must have disturbed it enough to shrink for 8 days... is it being stung by another coral nearby? Is any fish disturbing it? Is your water condition ok?

Uhhhh... this is not green tea....

Did you see a pretty Eurasian chich who acted slutty and was seducing Zoe Tay's son in that show?

I will be documenting my tank to chart the progress of growth of corals, sponges, gorgonians, sea fans, tubeworms etc with live phytoplankton and rotifer feeding. We'll see whether my effort to provide the best of natural and nutritious feeding pays off.

Grow your own weed!

I would not agree on most LFS's method of putting sand or coral chips in a sump compartment that allows water to go through... it's a pseudo-plenum (different in the sense that water goes through it very fast!)... IMO, it becomes a detritus trap, nothing more. A DSB or plenum is supposed to be deep enough to make the bottom layer very low in oxygen where the anerobic bacteria will thrive, and these bacteria are the only ones that process nitrates. If your sump compartment is like a tank... then you can have a DSB ie. water only flows past the top, not through the sandbed. I used to have this setup, followed the examples set by LFS.... and to me, it only works to a certain degree... I think. As for the AZno3... its a stop-gap measure, good for emergencies but you have to think about a cheap, simple and long-term solution...IMO, a deep sandbed.

LOL! I used to have a mantis problem... i can't remember what method I used to catch the green monster... but I did it...! He survived more than a week in a little container with no aeration, no food... very hardy! The rock removal thing would be the best method... but use carbonated water instead to flush him out of his hole... its supposed to work!

To answer your nitrates question, Nitrates are near the end of the nitrogen cycle... resulting from ammonia > nitrites > nitrates. The source could be cycling your tank or introduction of food that decays... now all you need is a media that will process your NO3 effectively... I recommend a DSB for that purpose (at least 4 inches if you use #1 sand) or ample amounts of liverock. A good protein skimmer will also help in getting rid of dissolved organics. Your regular water changes help in some way to export the nitrates... but it could turn out to be costly if you can't solve your nitrate problems... if you want to get rid of nitrates in a hurry... you can use AZNO3 (www.fishnfriends.com and look for Reno). It works wonderously in removing nitrates to zero in a couple of days but you have to use it with a skimmer.

Unless you are using HID lights... then you need to get a protective glass that screens out excessive UV. The iwasakis and radiums bulbs are encased in a glass bulb which are coated with anti-UV already.... so in two words: NO NEED!

Hi everyone, With the growing interest in feeding corals properly, I guess I should do a product review on Golden Pearls, which reefers worldwide have used to great success in keeping corals including SPS, LPS, softcorals and possibly sustaining even hard to keep ones like sponges, gornios, dendros etc.. While these products are revolutionary in the sense that they replaced live Artemia nauplii in marine fish hatcheries in Europe and come in different sizes, they are also very potent in the sense that they are high protein food value in tiny sizes so you must NOT overfeed, as Golden Pearls are not 'live' food and may pollute the water quickly if not consumed. Ingredients: Brine shrimp, squid, shrimp and fish protein, animal protein, purified fish oils, phospholipids, astaxanthin, vitamins and protected minerals, antioxidants, and immunostimulants. Analysis: Protein - 60%, Lipids - 8%, Ash - 15%, Moisture - 8%, Vit C - 2000 ppm, Vit E - 400 ppm, Astaxanthin - 500 ppm. It is the next best alternative to feeding live phytoplankton and zooplankton and probably much better than using liquid amino acids/coral food. I bought GPs in the following particle sizes: Active Spheres 20-80 microns (US$3.95) Clusters Golden Pearls 60-100 microns (US$3.95) In my opinion, that is all that I need as the other sizes are to simulate artemia and rotifer sizes, which I am live culturing anyway. They come in other sizes as well: Artemia Size "1" Golden Pearls 200-300 microns (Artemia Replacement) Artemia Size "2" Golden Pearls 300-500 microns Weaning Diet Golden Pearls 500-800 microns Juvenile Diet Golden Pearls 800-1000 microns Recommended feeding methods: Use a small pinch to start off for the first week, and ramp up the quantity slowly until you begin to note cyano growth (that indicates that your tank can only process that much of GPs). Mix the GPs in a cup of tank water and stir until suspended before pouring into your tank. Seems like most US reefers prefer to feed an hour before lights out. My dislikes about using GPs: Because they are so tiny and resemble powder, they tend to float on the water surface and you can see a film of it on the water. You have to stir like mad to make sure the majority is suspended in water. You have to turn off your main filtration system but turn up your circulation system eg. powerheads, reeftechs etc to make sure the GPs get to every corner of your tank. However, once your main filtration system is back up, the GP film on the water will be sucked into your sump or canister, and hopefully, they will degrade quickly and not cause any ammonia spikes. The use of a protein skimmer will be essential to skim out any rotting food matter in the water. They come in 2, 8 and 16 oz resealable packs, but I recommend buying the smallest one as they will take a very long time to be used up. You can store them in the fridge but don't expose them too long in our warm humid air as water moisture will form once they are back in the fridge, will clump the GPs and maybe spoil them. They are cheap in my opinion (compared to expensive bottles of liquid coral food) and worth the air freight to ship them over. You can order them from www.brineshrimpdirect.com. I have also bought decapsulated brine shrimp eggs (non hatching) and brineshrimp eggs premium grade (for hatching)... but that's another product review! Happy Reefing! Achilles Tang

I love Sunburst anthias... used to have one. But at around $30 to $40 for one sunburst... errr... a group would be very expensive yeah? They are extremely shy fishes though.... they prefer dimmer surroundings (not surprising when you know they are actually deep water fish)... but when out in the open, they have gorgeous colourings!

It's a very tedious and specialized job to raise shrimp fry. My 2 cents? Don't bother.... they will end up as fish and coral food. My CBS and Cleaner Shrimps produce fry every 2 weeks... and it's fun watching the fishes wake up and chase down the baby fry and to see corals like my yellow polyps actually grabbing and closing down on them. Cheap and free high protein snacks!

Hi TTBoy, If you can't have space in your tank for a cheap NNR method using DSB, then you can resort to this expensive method of AENR method... 'Artificial Expensive Nitrate Reducing' method.. heh.. I just coined this up! AT

I am beginning to hate my hermits... one of them disabled my lionfish two days ago by snipping off his tail and today I came back to a half-eaten lionfish.