Achilles Tang

Deleting your thread.

Thanks for wanting to clarify what I mean. Yes. I mean those who don't bother researching. Reef-educated is what I'm saying. Not uneducated as in they have never been to school before. In context of those who are not willing to spend money on good equipment and invest in the right setup and those who rather spend money replenishing dead livestock week after week. This hobby takes up money and those who have other financial priorities will have to compromise a LOT. Trust me, a tank with a good setup + an inexperienced reefer will be better off than a tank with a lousy setup + an inexperienced reefer. An experienced & experienced reefer with very little budget CAN setup a basic tank & nurture it successfully with dedication. Sadly, most newbies lacking knowledge and experience and will rush a setup that needs frequent upgrading and change of husbandry skills when they run into problems dealing with less-than-ideal water parameters, nuisance algae problems, poor growth of corals etc. I know, because I was a newbie too. I was 'uneducated & poor' before too. But I had an attitude to learn & improve and make rapid progress compared to my friend who introduced me to reefkeeping. Apologies to those who feel offended by my choice of words but I hope my clarification will clear all doubts to what I mean. AT

Yup.

None taken! Divers always grumble during the monsoon season and about lack of funds or we'll be diving every weekend if we could!

It is recommended to use a small powerhead to supply water to the CR so its pressurized. Relying on gravity would not be as good.

Thanks Tuan! Man... I need to get underwater again soon... I need to get submerged!!! ARRGGGH!!!! I have been dry too long!! Let's go diving!!!!

Anemones that are happy on the sand have their foot anchored on the glass bottom of your tank. Yes, it's true. Even if your sandbed is more than 4 inches thick. There's no way to remove them without disturbing your sandbed. Anemones that move about alot, you should leave them be. Let them DECIDE for themselves where the perfect spot with the right amount of currents & light is. You can't make an anemone stay in the spot you dictate, they are not corals. They are living animals. That is why anemones are not recommended for reef tanks but species only tanks. An anemone that is shrivelled & rolling about and refuses to adhere to a surface usually means that the anemone's not well. You better monitor it carefully and see if your tank parameters are in order. Anemones are not recommended to be kept by hobbyists in general unless you can give them their own tank suited for their needs.

Acan, you puzzle me. Does James72 looks like he is ticked off from his last response? I think not! Are you being over-sensitive for him? He said "Thank you guys but NO THANK YOU, I'LL DO IT MY WAY". I think he is the one who pissed us off rather than the other way around! Someone tell me that I'm wrong! I read and re-read the thread and didn't see any form of antagonistic postings from me or anyone else until he replied. I have many PMs and emails from newbies thanking me/SRC for the many advice, tips and guidance they have garnered from direct or indirect means. I have yet to get one from a newbie saying that we 'oldies' are 'spoiling' how they view the hobby. Fact: REEFKEEPING is not for the uneducated* (*see my comments below) , the budget-constrained, the ignorant, the undedicated & the lazy hobbyist. I believe in 'spare the rod and spoil the child' and I also believe in individual freedom. We are all adults here. Even Dispar Anthia, the youngest regular here, behaves better than some much older newbies in SRC. FACT: There's nothing personal in our advice to James72. I tell it like it is... I don't gift-wrap and doll up hard facts. The TRUTH may HURT but it will SET you FREE. My advice (depending on my mood) may range from the long-winded, stuffed with details, illustrated in technicolor postings... to curt, 'why don't you get off your lazy bum and search a bit coz the info is ALL THERE' postings. FACT: I'm no Mr Perfect, I am not a KNOW-it-ALL. I'm still learning but believe I have reached a stage where I can help LOTS of newbies out there from making the same mistakes that I have made and be a responsible reefer as much as they can. FACT: If James72 and anyone with the same attitude wants to turn over a new leaf and be a responsible reefer, I WILL HELP HIM TO THE BEST OF MY ABILITIES.

I gonna buy her a nicely coloured acropora coral that will last a much longer time than flowers that kaput in 3 days. Everytime she walks past the tank, she can see my symbol of love from me to her!

Jealousy is a bad thing... it's one of the 7 deadly sins. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's reef tank!

Happy Birthday... even if you have a teleportation device to move my tank physically to the UK... I'm sorry... I can't give you my tank! I can send you durians if you want!

Latest tank? Err.. yeah.... its been sitting here for a few years already! Yes, nothing's changed.. the front glass is still starphire glass the last time I checked!

Acanthurus pyroferus, Coming from a lady, you are probably more sensitive than we 'tuff & gruff guys when it comes to talking. We guys have been through national service and sometimes we learn its better to cut through the BS and get straight to the matter at times. Regarding the need to coddle and 'soft talk'... but I think many of us exhibit a lot of patience when it comes to advising newbies. Remember our intent is to guide those who appreciate knowledge-gathering. Most of us tend to monitor and investigate the person's experience & knowledge levels and even his reefkeeping record before we come up with certain 'not so soft and nice to hear' comments. In James72's case, I didn't blast him... in fact, I merely expressed dismay that he was in SRC for sometime already and should have learnt something by now. Then he went away to stock his tank in a very short time with extremely hard to care for livestock, even for 'experts'!!! And now he wants to keep acros in his barely 3 weeks old tank!? How many threads were there on these very same creatures for the past few weeks and months? Quite a few actually! I can deduce he made his stocking decision PURELY on how 'beautiful' these livestock look without bothering to learn all their needs and housing requirements. The fact that he didn't respond to me pointing out his shortfalls and saying he didn't care how they fare in his tank and will even go ahead and proceed to 'try' out keeping acropora corals in his tank shows that he doesn't give a shit about what we think or care for. Some people need to get a hard wake-up call. Some people need to be ignored. Some people need soft approaches. Tell me how soft should further advice to him be? I really like to know how to approach people with this kind of attitude.

Have you ever seen an octopus pry an oyster apart? It's actually smart enough to use a small stone as a chisel/crowbar.

Acanthurus pyroferus, I don't know how much softer I can get. All I know is that I am very eager to assist newbies who have an attitude to learn and improve and I get very turned off by newbies who stubbornly refuse to change their ways inspite of well-meaning advice given by others or myself. I know that there are many different kinds of people in society and life, and I believe even a child will know how to differentiate the above two. There used to be a reefer here called S*******e, who irked many of us with his 'I don't care what you guys think, I'll do it my own way' attitude and extreme fickleness, and have pulled wool over our eyes quite a few times with his secret livestocking. Gradually, he learned a lot more and based on my observations, he has humbled himself after seeing how some of us approach the hobby and have successful tanks. Today, he may be even seen giving newbies some tips! I mean, how many mistakes can one make through sheer stubbornness? This is not a cheap hobby. Even if you are a rich man, there are certain morality guidelines and ethics that governs actions and thoughts. The approach one has towards learning more about this hobby will determine success or failure. We can do our part to teach and guide but we can't FORCE anyone to learn. Also... many of us have learnt to treasure the lives of our marine pets and taken steps and lots of $$$ to create the ideal conditions for their long term survivability. What do you say about people who PURPOSELY still want to keep livestock in LESS than IDEAL conditions where death and suffering is GUARANTEED? AT

Interesting MTV. Interesting Spidey too.

It could be amphipods!

Hey man, I can't agree with your thinking. How about you try keeping a blue ring octopus? You don't try, you never know right? Maybe keep a pet cobra running loose in the house? You don't try, you never know right? Too extreme an example? How about keeping a dog at home and not feeding it? Deprived it of sleep? Beat it up and torture it? See how long it survive after not eating for days? If you enjoy killing livestock, I hope you build up just enough karmic points to reincarnate as a nice acro coral (and I don't believe in reincarnation) and meet someone LIKE yourself because I think you really have a WRONG attitude in this hobby! Why don't you take this philosophy and drive around on the roads and learn how to be a better driver after killing a few pedestrians? Or how to be a better father after killing your kids by learning they should not be playing on the balcony ledge? I'm honestly quite disgusted that you have the cheek to say it out in the open and you know what? I was not angry before but now I am seriously annoyed. If you can't be a responsible hobbyist, may I suggest you go take up another hobby like paintball or racing cars. Don't take up any hobby that involves another life.. because YOU SIMPLY HAVE NO RESPECT for any life. You give us your thoughts on this because I won't wash my hands off you just yet. Give me a ounce of hope. If you are here to learn, we are here to share and teach. If you persist in this thinking, you are not a responsible reefer and SRC does not condone or support those who blatantly take coral-keeping so lightheartedly. Think about it. HARD. (And it applies to all facets of life, not just this hobby).

Reading up usually helps. Especially pinned up threads like this.

I hope you know that if you don't feed your octopus enough, your abalone and scallop will become its lunch and dinner.

Come on, I smiled. And I didn't delete your thread because I see that you are new here. What do you want to rename your thread to? 'Help help' may not bring much attention. But if you were much more specific... maybe those who are don't have too much time to look through vaguely titled threads won't want to help you, even if they could.

I think your sandbed looks uglier! Is that coralline algae or cyano?

Well, with a little creativity... you can actually build a nice acrylic facade for your chiller so it blocks the piping! I think you can contact Ian, our sponsor, coz he can do customized acrylic jobs for us. I envision a sleek black acrylic front with just a window for the digital readout. It should be at least 11cm away to cope with the bend of the hoses from the input/outputs, thus giving enough air circulation as I believe the chiller blows out hot air from the front? Thus the hot air will hit the acrylic wall... be driven upwards and out, instead of blowing at you. My 2 cents idea!

The nipple on a glass bulb is on the body itself. You will a tiny bump in the middle of the glass envelope. That's the nipple. It should be pointed upwards so that the smooth body of the bulb should face the water. If the nipple is facing the water, you may even cast a small round shadow into the tank.

I have two 1 litre tubs of 2 part epoxy from my father-in-law... My epoxy buying days are over!!!