Achilles Tang

Bwilly... we are talking abt wargaming lah.... but we are already!

LOL!!! Okie... going to paintball war over hatching methods is really cool!!! This weekend for Samurai Swords? WHEN!!!

Of course my dear. There are some coke bottles that are rounded, not tapering neck designs. The picture you showed will not have the problems of accumulation in the neck/body region. But there ARE some cok bottles that will have that problem. Oh. Ignorant me. I always thought PET bottles are all rounded/tapered near the top. Well... now I know. Yeah, I know, but somehow it works. I was very skeptical about it initially when it was proposed to me. I tried it and it surprisingly worked. Still the same words, try it first. Just working and working efficiently are too different things. Maybe I am stubborn, but if it's not efficient, why try it. The still water has very low capacity, no cause for comparison. Ahh... but we are comparing when you said it actually is. Unless I really misread the word efficient or unless you are referring to something else. I know, but have you tried the still water method????? Your only cited experience is definitely a wrong application of what I wrote. You scatter a very thin (read very few cysts)layer on the surface of the water, not drop in small tablespoon. Well, for the coke bottle method, I am using just a tiny McDonald coffee stirrer spoon size, not a tablespoon. You must be nuts to use a tablespoon. When the eggs are place in a coke bottle hatchery, they spread out to a very thin layer and some will begin to drop. Enough remains on the surface to form a thin layer. I see no difference in the application, intentional or unintentionally. BBS cyst hatchrate was pathetic without aeration.

Muriatic should be around 30% right? Or is it around 20%? Just something more acidic than vinegar at 4%! LOL! I will take ages to dissolve the coralline algae patches in my skimmer and the calcium buildup in my pipings/pump.

Hah??? Is it a limited edition coke bottle with some weird corners? All PET bottle necks are rounded and when inverted, form a very good base for no-dead-corners circulation unlike square bottoms. The bubbles provide ample water movement. Have you really tried this method yourself? So you are saying that hatching in still water is more efficient that bubbling from your experience? It's a contradiction then. This statement vs the few you just made! As compared to stillwater hatching? If going by this logic, all the sunken eggs in the bubbling method will have low hatch rates? Hey hello, I don't just read & quote. I have been hatching BBS for many years. FYI, there was once I put the eggs in and forgot to switch on my air pump and went out over the weekend. Came back... yeah... only like 30% of the cysts hatched. Without bubbling aka this 'still water method'. I speak from experience as well. Frankly, you said it yourself.. the hatch rate sucks... what's your point then? Getting confused now over your point by point explanations.

You just told everyone! Hmmm... guess I have to dilute the HCL in water to dilute it then. Whatever you can spare. Please give me a container that is safe enough to store it. I need to buy rubber gloves and goggles then... dangerous stuff!! Let's see... mix this with bleach and what do you get..... muhahahaha!!

Try carrying that on the plane.... *excuse me sir, I have to ask you to step aside and accompany me. We have some questions we need to ask you. Oh, slip this handcuffs on too*

If you place the airline right at the bottom cap which is the base of the hatchery... the neck actually gets the brunt of the bubbles coming out... there is no way the neck gets less circulation force compared to the upper end of the hatchery! There will never be an accumulation of cysts at the neck, I guarantee you that! Yup... bubble too hard and some cysts will get on the walls. I normally squirt saltwater to push them down. This only happens during the first few hours when the cysts are more buoyant. When they are in suspension, this does not happen anymore or to a much much lesser degree. Small problem if you ask me. Hmmm, you said it yourself then... why is this method more efficient than a coke bottle hatchery then? (I mean, how badly designed can you make a coke bottle hatchery? ) Scattering cysts on the water surface, you will find that surface tension will cause the eggs to float and even glue themselves to the wall. BS cysts are supposed to be SUSPENDED in the water column and this dish method with no air bubbling cannot provide the high oxygenation and suspension benefits. nuff' said! Thou shalt not speaketh so heretically about the PCM!! The mighty arm of Hoff & Snell will smite thee with wrathful vengeance!

I got myself a very large can of top-grade BS cysts. I can't find anything in the local market as good then. Maybe there is now? I find the local ones poor quality and for the price I pay... the brineshrimpdirect one is worth it IMO leh.

Muriatic is a diluted form of hydrochrolic acid. Do hardware stores sell it?

Ruel... good ones... import from www.brineshrimpdirect.com So so ones - most LFS have them. Poorer hatch rates IMO.

My heavy kalk dosing is causing calcium build up on my sump walls and in my PVC piping. Won't be surprised if my Iwaki pump is also affected. Perhaps my chiller cooling coils too. Wanna washout my system with stronger acid such as muriatic acid. Too long and ineffective using white vinegar. Anyone knows where to get muriatic acid and how much does it cost?

Pls elaborate. Pls elaborate. Now which part do you not understand?

!!!!!!!!!!

What's the cost of sulphur beads vs a CO2 bottle?

Read: Care to elaborate?

Care to elaborate?

TTboy bought a H&S sulfphur denitrator from S*****e... he calls it an expensive piece of crap.

Why do you need a denitrator?

The product name is misleading... it can never be a continous breeding place. You have to top up with brineshrimp cysts. Rearing brineshrimp to adulthood is a lot of work.

Congrats... on talking so much crap... you have exceeded Spiderone now! Kidding.

Nah.... take it easy.... not always good to be so serious... a little humour is good. This topic is just an ID request.... not an emergency request or disaster report. We'll not laughing at his misfortune or something!

Hey kelstorm, I have a question about wetsuits. I was thinking of doing a customized wetsuit.. coz I am thin and long... and off-the-rack wetsuits are more for ang mo builds... so I always lose a lot of heat as it is not tight in some areas and I get cold easily. yes.. i understand wat u mean by that.. i wanted to get velocity but i cannot fit inside..(arms skinny) as such, what i do is i get size S and stretch the wetsuit to fit me.. which adjusted to my body shape after 3 dives... now i have no problem slipping in... as much as i know, Bare wetsuits are more towards Asian cutting but it also depends on the model. anyway, u can go and try out the wetsuits over at Blue Reef Scuba. perhaps u can try out the Bare attack model which suits asian better I find that my old BARE wetsuit (left behind in Sipadan! ) is too short... my ankles and wrists are not fully covered... so I think off the rack for most other brands should have same problem? I seriously don't want to go around all the diveshops and spent hours trying on diferent wetsuits! Quite tiring! Where is this Blue Reef Scuba? Any experience or feedback with Aquaspot or Acronman for customized wetsuits? i recalled one of my friend customised his wetsuit coz he is very small size and skinny and the only type of wetsuits that fits him would be ladies cutting.. as such, he was forced to customised his wetsuit and they are over $230 i think.. not worth it leh.. my advice is that, unless u really cannot fit or squeeze into one, go and customised them.. can have your own logo as well.. as well as where u want the zips to be..front, back, nexk to crotch etc.. Just rem this, wetsuits will expand.. and if u get one that fits just nice during 'dry-fitting', underwater, when it expands, u will still lose lots of heat. As such, i got myself 1 size smaller and let the wetsuit stretch to fit my body Yeah, I will get him to do it tight enough to cope for the future expansion. I think the price he quote is about $320 for 3mm full suit with titanium inserts, pockets can be around $20 to $50 extra... gulp! Well... I actually want to get a Scubapro wetsuit to go with my scubapro booties, BC and Twinjet fins.... kekeke... the wetsuit is around the price range too but for sure, it won't be good fitting! I was thinking also of adding a thigh pocket... what do you think? How big should it be? On the upper thigh or side of the thigh for streamline purpose? Maybe a key pouch? initially, i was thinking of doing the same.. i.e, modifying my existing wetsuit but then, again, do i really need it? i was thinking of putting my magnifying glass on the thigh but i think again.. i never utilised my BC pouch.. thus, unless it is necessary, i dun think that is a wise choice, streamline might also be affected. Besides, constant removing items from that pocket, such as keys might wear off that area faster or running the risk of that area being scratched by the keys. Magnifying Glass?? Wow! That's a good idea... to see microstuff ah? I was thinking of the pockets to store spare mask or slate or snorkel or gloves. Seriously lacking pockets coz of my S-tek BC. So what do you think? Thigh pocket facing front or side? Don't want too much drag. Velcro type or zipper? Going for either Titanium-lined (i scared cold lah!), definitely 3mm. 3mm is sufficient for local region waters (up to malaysia, thailand and perhaps manado) unless the waters temperature drops to like 27.. otherwise, at 28, 3mm is suffice for me.. in fact, at times, i dun even zip up all the way.. and thinking of going down with just rash guard and berms Not like you... I always feel cold underwater... Appreciate warmth.... was thinking of getting a head cover... what do you call that? Do you think zips for wrists and ankles are worth it? I don't want them slipping and letting in water! yes.. for easy donning of wetsuits that is all abt it.. but have to remember to take care of them as they will wear and tear, rendering them ineffective, letting in water. Personally, i would not get one for myself... u dun have to don the wetsuit very fast mah.. the group will wait for one another before jumping into water.. but that does not mean that i gear up very slowly.. Sometimes, my Dive Comp will slip down my wrist from my wetsuit,,, too short lah... and its so leh-cheh to take out my DComp when I remove the top half of my suit... always kenna jam... i think if i add a wrist zip... I can open up enough material for the DComp to stay on my wrist! What do you think about 3mm for chest and legs and 2mm for arms? Or should the legs be 2mm also. Is the loss of 1mm worth the heat loss vs comfort? the former is fine...actually, heat loss results mostly from the neck and hands.. thus, if u have both of them covered, u are safe.. to me, i got 3mm chest, 2mm arms..but my hands feel cold and with gloves, problem solved. anyway, usually, it is 3by2mm, legs are 3mm...the 1mm diff makes no diff to me.. unlike 5x3mm.. that makes hell lot of diff..and HOT and hell!!! Yeah... 3mm for body and 2mm for arms, 3mm for legs.. What about foot stirrups? no need that lah.. u afraid that the wetsuit will ride up your legs?? tug your booties under the wetsuit and voila, problem solved. (i'm assuming that your booties are high cut) Yeah... I just thought that if I had too short a wetsuit... the stirrups would help. I have high cut scubapro booties... good stuff... worth the $$ over cheap ones. What about rubberised reinforcement material on the butt, shoulders for abrasion protection? actually, no need leh.. but u might want to consider rubberised reinforcement for the knees.. coz underwater, u dun sit on corals mah.. and also, u probably use your hands to push yourself off the walls to avoid crashing into them.. thus, u can skip the butt and shoulders area.. if not, your wetsuit is gonna look like rugby body protection gear. of course, unless u telling me that the shoulders protection is against the BC, that, u can pad up your BC shoulder straps using padded foam for more comfort. My BC + air tank does cause abrasion damage to my old BARE suit on the shoulders. Add padded foam to BC shoulder straps?? How? The knee protection is a must of course... I am just thinking of long term protection for my investment... I feel neoprene stretching sometimes when boat ride is rough... somemore my old suit is loose around the butt...

Check this out! Cool man!

Hey kelstorm, I have a question about wetsuits. I was thinking of doing a customized wetsuit.. coz I am thin and long... and off-the-rack wetsuits are more for ang mo builds... so I always lose a lot of heat as it is not tight in some areas and I get cold easily. Any experience or feedback with Aquaspot or Acronman for customized wetsuits? I was thinking also of adding a thigh pocket... what do you think? How big should it be? On the upper thigh or side of the thigh for streamline purpose? Maybe a key pouch? Going for either Titanium-lined (i scared cold lah!), definitely 3mm. Do you think zips for wrists and ankles are worth it? I don't want them slipping and letting in water! What do you think about 3mm for chest and legs and 2mm for arms? Or should the legs be 2mm also. Is the loss of 1mm worth the heat loss vs comfort? What about foot stirrups? Spine pads? What about rubberised reinforcement material on the butt, shoulders for abrasion protection?