Achilles Tang

Yeah... the ball valves are coming in Monday! I am gonna take leave and work on my plumping! Anyone with PVC experience willing to help me?

It's a very good skimmer, that's all I can say. Very expensive too... but i guess it's worth the money.

The best US-based forum is Reef Central. Very knowledgeable base of people. Very strong links with leading researchers and authors. But some of the moderators also tend to be rather closed-minded & high-handed at times. Because they are Americans (right to free speech blah blah blah) they can get very opinionated and have very little tolerances for newbies and different opinions so prepare to get flamed badly if you choose to debate with them. Many of my US acquantainces prefer to just surf for info and ask simple questions, like I do. IMO, don't show off your tank there because the way we Asians do things are unacceptable to the general reefkeeping and ethical standards over there. You will hear of people called the Tang Police who believe that you should ONLY keep just 1 tang in a 6 foot tank. But there's a lot of things to learn from the sheer amount of info there... so do visit RC for knowledge gathering. It is still my fav board but I am very quiet there due to past bad experiences.

Oh... i see what you mean... yes, I am aware that some brands of frozen food use some kind of preservatives which have high levels of phosphate salts in them. Overfeeding may cause nuisance algae blooms. What I do normally is that i will rinse my frozen foods in fresh water or salt water do rinse out small particles and juices. I do think that the juices and small particles will be utilized by corals like the sun corals and copepods. But the danger is estimating how much is too much. You have to understand the capabilities of your filtration system, natural or mechanical.

According to Dr Ron Shimek, he says that a functioning DSB should be min 6 inches. He recommends 8 to 12 inch (anything beyond that has diminishing returns but it's ridiculous in a reef tank unless you can dedicate a sump to have that much of height). So the minimum height for a true and optimally functioning DSB should be 6 inches min. Some aquarists have reported success with around 4 to 5 inches... but if i am not wrong, it's all oolithic sand (which we can't get from LFS locally and it also causes a sandstorm if you have strong circulation because it's so fine.... makes it harder to siphon detritus too as it will all come up together!).

Nickname: Achilles Tang Age: 31 Marital status: Married Kids: None Occupation: Editor / IT Manager Interests: Scuba-diving, Reefkeeping, Marine Biology, Fishing, IT, PC Gaming, Gadgets, Clubbing. FW Aquarium Keeping Experience: 1985 - 2000 Marine Aquarium Keeping: 2000 - 2003

Yes... should be ok. If you want to be kiasu... use some kind of epoxy. Even got types that can bond metal. You will need a blow torch to remove it from your tank! Haha.

Members Lounge under Site Info has been created for member introductions. Post all relevant info there and nowhere else coz guests can't view them there unless they register themselves.

Hi everyone, Hon had a great idea and I am implementing it here. This lounge is for registered members only and here, you can post a photo plus a short history or profile on yourself. Guests will not be allowed to view this area. So let's get to know each other better!!!

Good idea!! I'll let you guys know when its up!

Only the top layers of sandbed, DSB or Plenum, should be 'shifted' with sand-shifters. Once your sandbed is established, you will see worms, pods, even tiny brittlestars in your SB doing their stuff. You are not to disturb the bottommost layer. Therefore, gobies, jawfishes & sand-burrowing seastars are a no-no. If they are DSB creature-eating, a BIG NO NO! If you want to innoculate your new DSB, transfer a small amount of old sand from an established tank and it should work. Perhaps next time, we can do a cup-o-sand exchange program whenever the SRC members meet! Hope this clears your mind!

?? you mean you want to keep dwarf angels in a reef tank?? Btw, my tank is slightly long than 5 ft... hee... by 3 inches. Dwarfs can also be territorial. I have never kept more than 1 dwarf in my reefkeeping history!

Oh yeah... i forgot abt the six-line wrasse! I have one in my tank for over a year. It has grown very big and fat! Now he is a bit of a terror. I have three fairy wrasses who are constantly hiding because of his fierceness. Surprising isn't it? So he is going to be the last fish in my new tank.

Yeah I notice that happening sometimes too... I think that's when they begin to retire into their favourite holes to sleep and they want to chase other fish away from it. Chanbi, I think you have to special order the AT. I am prepared to invest $100 (at least I think that is the market price now) for an AT and that will probably be the first fish into my new tank, followed shortly by a PBT. So it can establish themselves... as AT and PBT are extremely fragile and sensitive. Then I will put my old yellow and 1 purple in. Now that my tank is twice it's old size... I think the last tang I can put in will be the most aggressive one - the Sohal.

Clowntrigger, I have ID'ed your mystery fish. It is a Redbreasted Wrasse, Cheilinus Fasciatus. It can grow up to 29 cm long. Feeds mainly on benthic, hard-shelled invertebrates, including mollusks, crustaceans and sea urchins. Yours is still juvenile as the colouration of the head is still light. The older it gets, the redder it becomes. Btw, I take all wrasses except the fairy wrasses as not reef-safe. They are too much of a pest. I had one moon wrasse and a green wrasse that my wife called Satan because it was eating up all our previous cleaner shrimps. I had to resort to fishing with a tiny hook to catch the green one up. The moon wrasse I had to dismantle my rockwork. Never again!!!

I hear many stories of different tang species co-existing peacefully after the initial tail-wagging, once a pecking order has been established... they will even school together. Just like my 3 purples and 1 yellow. Been buddies for 2 years plus. We shall see. The most aggressive tang is the Sohal tang. Possibly followed by purples.

That is why a good insump skimmer should have its own powerhead to pump water in or be in a compartment with consistently high levels of water to work.

Mysis shrimp. Very small shrimp. Highly nutritious, mostly protein. Hikari brand is common. More info here!

Heh... I think we have a 44 year old amongst us too... Morgan! Age is never a problem as long as we know how to communicate our enthusiasm of the hobby! For those who are curious... I am 31. No kids yet. I don't look like my age at all.. haha! ie. like 5 years younger!

Good post Tanzy!

oh.

CITES stands for Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Clams are one of the protected marine species, especially Giant Clams. I think the license will be applicable to prove that cultured clams or corals are imported instead of wild-caught ones which are banned or allowed in highly controlled quantities.

Guys, its probably cyanide poisoning. I hear that the collectors are still using cyanide to stun fishes to collect them. Especially in Indonesia. You will note that the immediate symptom is bloated stomachs but those heavily poisoned die rather quickly in a few days. The effects of cyanide poisoning sometimes takes a few weeks/months to show itself and by then, fishes will suddenly die of organ failure. It's how the trade is being run. And our demand actually fuels greed. Greed begets laziness and a lack of conscience. And the end result is devastated reefs. Sometimes, we have to ask ourselves whether we are ultimately responsible for the destruction to our reefs. Sorry but that is the diver in me speaking! <_< Frankly, we cannot match what mother nature herself can do. A typhoon can destroy a reef in minutes and with El Nino happening... it's already happening somewhere.

Those clams are from Pohnpei and Vanuatu... they are indeed very beautiful but they also come with a virus that kills clams in a very short time. I know that we have locals who are breeding clams in Indonesia but they are not reserving them for the local market but exporting them.

Mysis are not high in nitrates. Where did you get that info from?