Achilles Tang

Actually, I have read on other overseas forums that you should get timers for high amps equipment like MHs, chillers etc. Not ordinary ones.

Hi seawater, Personally, at my current overflow, I have a compartment to trap stuff with filter wool. In my sump, I also use wool to trap before it goes down the bioball compartment. In my new setup, my overflow has been designed to install a removable filter wool tray for occasional use... but I am intending to let detritus settle in the overflow, sump and refugium where it can be removed by pods or by manual suction. It can be turned into a refugium as I will be installing removable stockman pipes which will keep the water level high in the overflow to reduce noise. I am having enough circulation in my main tank to keep detritus waterborne all the time so it can be swept into the overflow.

Cheap lights for refugium is enough...macroalgae are not fussy about it! LOL!

24 hours a day/7 days a week.

Sorry, had to move this post here as it is a more appropriate forum. Ba. You sure it was the timer that caused the trip? Or was is it the extension plug itself? Sounds scary to cause such a big trip that the outside fuse blew too!

Morgan, I love your clams! I am a clam freak too! I have 2 nice ones... almost as nice as yours... but yours rock!!

oh... yes... both will are NNR methods... if you set it up right.

????? Do what?

That doesn't look like a brain. Does it come on stalks like frogspawn corals?

Yes, that will work... the LR rack idea. Just make sure the basket is strong and won't leach chemicals as some plastic would. Errr.. there is no recommended flow rate for DSB.... flow rates are for circulation in the main water column in your tank. As long as you don't have enough current to create a tornado in your tank, your DSB will remain a DSB and not a sandstorm!

Yes, it is more efficient in the sense that the macro-algae there acts like a natural filter, extracting nitrate, DOM or DOC as well as phosphate from the water to grow. You then completely remove all these by harvesting the algae, or recycle them by feeding it to herbivourous fish. I believe many aquarist are unable to keep sufficient amount of macroalgae in their main tank because of excessive predation by fish and hermit crabs & snails. A refugium (which can be incorporated into a sump or be seperated from the sump) is a 'refuge' for algae to grow. It also has the additional benefits of allowing 'pod' populations to grow... and these help in detritus removal as well as become food for corals/fish. You will need lighting over the refugium for the macros to grow.... some prefer 24/7 lighting, some reverse lighting period (night time) where the respiration of the algae helps in preventing a drop in the PH level. What goes into the refugium is also another area of study... some use MM (miracle mud), some use fine sand... both works well. The macroalgae you choose is also important as some are very sensitive and well go asexual, and turn white and melt in your tank, possibly causing a crash if your filtration system is unable to cope.

Yes, very very slow water flow is typical of the environment where denitrification takes place. Take for example, a DSB... or a plenum. For coral chips to simulate a DSB... you will need a very DCCSB (hahaha.. go figure that one out!) I just think that it's not efficient to use coral chips as compared to fine sand. There is still a lot of spaces between coral chips compared to compacted sand particles. Bacteria-environment wise, the inner core areas of LR are also very inefficient compared to the massive surface area typical of a DSB . IMO, I think a true DSB would work better with little rock than a shallow SB with lots of LR.

Ahhh...NNR... see the acronyms (abbreviation) list in the New to the Hobby forum!

Yes, they are baby rock anemones, I think.

#0,1,2,3,4 SAND The different grading for sand particle sizes packaged by LFS 24/7 Twenty-fours hours a day/seven days a week AB Aqualine Buschke, lighting manufacturer AC Activated carbon, chemical filtration media / alternating current AC II AquaController II, all-in-one monitor & controller acro Acropora, a type of SPS coral AFAIK As far as I know ALK Alkalinity, measure of buffering capacity of water AM3K Ampmaster 3000, a model of water pump made by Dolphin Aquarium & Pet Products, Inc. AR Aquatic Realms, local aquarist forum AF Arofanatics, local aquarist forum ASAP As soon as possible ATC Automatic temperature compensating, a feature on some refractometers ATM At the moment ATS Algae turf scrubber, reef setup technique Bfly Butterflyfish BOD Biological oxygen demand BTA Type of anemone [Entacmaea quadricolor] / bubble-tipped, bulb tentacle, bulb tip BTW By the way Ca Calcium CaCl2 Calcium chloride CaCO3 Calcium carbonate Ca(OH)2 Calcium hydroxide CC Counter current, type of protein skimmer CFD Compulsive Fragging Disorder (SRC orginal!) Cl Chlorine CO2 Carbon dioxide CO3 Carbonate CSL Custom Sea Life, lighting manufacturer CTA Cellulose triacetate, type of RO membrane Cu Copper CYANO Cyanobacteria DD Downdraft, type of protein skimmer DE Double ended metal halide metal bulb DI Deionization, type of water purification DIY Do it yourself dKH Degrees of carbonate hardness, measure of alkalinity DO Dissolve oxygen DOC Dissolved organic carbon DOM Dissolved organic matter DSB Deep sand bed DT's Brand of refrigerated living phytoplankton E-ballast Electronic Ballast ER Euro-Reef, skimmer manufacturer ELCB Earth Leakage Circuit Breaker FAQ Frequently asked questions Fe Iron FO Fish only, type of marine aquarium FOWLR Fish Only with Live Rock FR Fluidised Reactor frag(s) Broken or cut pieces of coral which will eventually grow into a new animal "fuge" Short for refugium FW Freshwater FWIW For what its worth FYI For your information FYM For your misinformation GAC Granular activated carbon, chemical filtration media GAL Gallon GFCI/GFI Ground fault circuit interrupter / Ground fault interrupter GPH Gallons per hour HCO3 Hydrogen carbonate HD Home Depot HID High intensity discharge, type of light HO High output fluorescent light HOT Hang on top, type of skimmer HPS High pressure sodium, type of light NOT for reefs but the ballasts concern them HQI High quartz iodide, type of light HSA High speed aeration, type of proteins skimmer HTH Hope this helps I Iodide I2 Iodine ID Indentify IM In my IMCO In my considered opinion IME In my experience IMEO In my expert opinion IMHO In my humble/honest opinion IMNSHO In my not so humble/honest opinion IMO In my opinion IO Instant Ocean, brand of synthetic salt mix IO3 Iodate IOW In other words IR Infrared, type of light of longer wavelength than visible light IRC Internet relay chat ISP Internet service provider JME Just my experience. JMO Just my opinion. K kelvin (mechanism for measuring spectrum of lighting, should be labeled degrees K) / Potassium KALK Kalkwasser, German for calcium hydroxide solution or limewater KI Potassium iodide KISS Keep it simple stupid LED Light emiting diode LFS Local fish store LHS Local hardware store LOL Laughing out loud LPS Large polyped Scleractinian (stoney) coral LR Live rock LS Live sand LT Litre LYFDTW! (let your fingers do the walking) - meaning to do some online research first using the search functions of forum boards or search engines. MEQ/L Milli-equivalents per litre, measure of alkalinity Mg Magnesium MG/L Milligrams per litre MH Metal halide light MM Miracle Mud, method of aquarium filtration MO Mail order MV Mercury vapor, type of light Na Sodium NaCO3 Sodium carbonate NaOH Sodium hydroxide NeWater (Sai Jui, Jamban Juice) very pure water recycled from sewage effluent. NFW No way NH3 Ammonia NH4 Ammonium NNR Natural nitrate reduction, reef setup technique NO Normal output fluorescent light NO2 Nitrite NO3 Nitrate NP No problem NRN No reply necessary NSW Natural seawater O2 Oxygen OBTW Oh by the way ORP Oxidation reduction potential, the ability to take or give electrons OTOH On the other hand PAR Photosynthetically active radiation, lighting quantity PC Power compact fluorescent light pH Measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions, equal to -log[H+] PH Powerhead, water pump PITA Pain in the @ss PLS Please PO4 Phosphate "pods" Non-specific types of copepods, amphipods and such PPM Parts per million, equivalent to mg/l (milligrams per litre) PUB Public Utilities Board PUR Photosynthetically usuable radiation, lighting quantity PVC Poly vinyl chloride, used for piping / plumbing RO Reverse osmosis, type of water purification RO/DI Reverse osmosis, followed by deionization, type of water purification ROFL Rolling on the floor laughing ROFLOL Rolling on the floor laughing out loud ROTFL Rolling on the floor laughing ROFLMAO/ROTFLMAO Rolling on the floor laughing my *** off ROTFLOL Rolling on the floor laughing out loud RR Reef ready, aqaurium with pre-drilled holes and overflows RTN Rapid Tissue Necrosis RUGF Reverse flow undergravel filter SAL Salinity "Saki" Iwasaki, light manufacturer SE Single ended, lighting designation SG Specific gravity SHO Super high output fluorescent light, equivalent to power compact fluorescent Si Silicon SiO2 Silicon dioxide SRC Singapore Reef Club Still in the dark SO Significant other SPS Small polyped Scleractinian (stoney) coral Sr Strontium STN Slow Tissue Necrosis SW Saltwater / seawater T5 Type of flourescent tube. T8 Type of flourescent tube. TAR Type of magnetic ballast / substance used to embed magnetic ballast coils TFC Thin film composite, type of RO membrane TIA Thanks in advance TIC Tongue in cheek TM Tropic Marin, manufacturer of fresh and saltwater products TTYL Talk to you later UGF Undergravel filter UV Ultra violet, type of light of shorter wavelength than visible light VHO Very high output fluorescent light W Watts WD ( W/D ) Wet dry, method of aquarium filtration Weipro Brand of Skimmers, probably from Taiwan or China WPG Watts per gallon, lighting quantity WTH What the hell WYSIWYG What you see is what you get YMMV Your mileage may vary

I am using bioballs for my current setup for 2 years plus... and it works. I did battle nitrates initially but when the tank matured... i have zero nitrates now for a long time. I did use AZ-NO3 (you can buy from www.fishnfriends.com, the local distributor) in the beginning and that helped a lot. If you tell the Americans you use bioballs you will get flamed, trust me. They have abandoned that system a long time ago and moved on to NNR. The Germans are still using bioballs... and so would Aquatechnic as they have German products to sell. They are using the true berlin method, which has no substrate. However, I heard from someone that the secret to their clean tanks is daily maintenance and massive water changes. Personally, I feel that bioballs do help with heavy stocking. The problem is that they work too well! You will need to make sure that you have a DSB to process all that nitrates produced. Remember the nitrogen cycle? Ammonia > nitrites > nitrates > nitrogen. Any part of the filtration system that is inadequate will see a jump in one of the above parts of the cycle. Nitrogen is the end result and is harmless. Nitrates is not as dangerous as it seems as a lot of corals and livestock has a high tolerance for nitrates (NO3).. in fact, clams and some corals process some of it as nutrition... the dangerous part of the cycle is the beginning, where ammonia and nitrites (no2) are highly toxic. That is why newbies experience a tank wipeout when they rush through the initial tank cycling process or overstock suddenly. You need to give time for the appropriate bacteria to grow and to cope with the sudden influx of ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Bioballs are effective in processing nitrites to nitrates in a wet/dry environment. Too effective. And that's the problem. So that's why it's called a 'nitrate factory'! As for coral chips in the filtration system... I have that in my tank as I copied LFS without questioning why. To grow bacteria? To release calcium? I will be removing coral chips from my sump system as I do not find they do anything but to clog detritus in them. Coral chips do not release calcium naturally as LFS claim unless they are exposed to very low PH... which do not exist in reef tanks unless you put them in a calcium reactor, where you inject CO2 to bring down the PH. So that theory is moot. Coral chips as a biological bed? Well.. a deep sand bed made of fine sand is a better and proven filter. Once you see a deep coral chip bed trapping all the detritus that you can't siphon out.. you will understand... I don't see any worms or copepods in my coral chip compartment so it won't be cleared for some time too. So which is right and which is wrong? Who knows? Different school of thoughts still exist because people had/have success with it and until they try the other school of thought and proven it can work too or be even better... then 'old schools' will still exist. Different strokes for different folks.

I deleted that post... you have to use a graphic program to resize the pix. Try to have them smaller than 640pixel width... around 500 is fine. Try again...maybe since its an anemone pix... you can post it in the reef forum, there is a topic there about anemones...

a frogspawn coral can get off its skeleton and still live????! How is that possible?? Can you show us a pix?

Anyone has the experience of introducing new liverocks to a matured tank and then seeing an outbreak of marine velvet? 3 days ago on Sat, I bought about 3kg of liverocks in preparation for my new tank and gave it a freshwater rinse to take out any nuisance shrimp and crabs (a crab came out)... and then put it in my tank. Yesterday, when I came back from work, all my tangs and fishes had marine velvet. I immediately fed them food soaked in garlic and even poured some garlic juice into the water (supposed to work by causing the parasites to release their grip)... I hope they will recover quickly. These few days will be worrying. Actually, in all my years of marine reefkeeping, this is the first time I have seen such a bad outbreak of marine velvet. The occasional war with ich has been successfully won. Wish me luck!

What tank setup and feeding regime have you prepared for the jellyfish, Nike?

? what is that? Any info?

Be careful not to overdose iodine. It is toxic in high quantities. Some people believe that the food you feed the tank will contain enough iodine, so dosing iodine supplements will only be for tanks which have a high coral load.

For maximum safety... salt spray, water hose tears, pvc pipe leaks or worse, pumps that come loose can direct water into electrical sockets and switches. It happened to me once but luckily I used plastic bags to cover my sockets as a temporary measure after once when I was out of town, a powerhead that had tilted, sprayed water out of the tank and my wife couldn't figure out how to restore power for a few hours till my neighbour came to help. LOL! So for my new setup... here's my DIY spray cover for my electrical switches and sockets... using a Toyogo plastic comic book box that cost only S$7.50. I drilled the holes for the individual electrical socket boxes into the wall, then drilled the plastic box into the wall, then the electrical boxes into it/through to the wall. The box comes perfect for 8 electrical socket/switch boxes with enough space for the top two sockets to attach electronic timers. Take a look. The cover is easily removed. Using a micro-jet blowtorch, I heated a penknife and sliced a rectangular slot at the bottom for the wires to go through. Oops, the photo above doesn't show the slot, but you get the idea!

Just spent the weekend settling my electricals... Installed an ELCB (earth leakage circuit breaker) or GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) as it is called in the USA. It will trip if any leakage is detected in the circuit, the metal stand will also be earthed to it. This is in addition to the house circuit breaker and ELCB. Also installed switches that are accessible from the hall once I swing up the panel... it is connected to the electrical sockets that have the following plugged in: HID lights #1, HID Lights #2, Reeftec left corner, Reeftec right corner, main pump, chiller (which is on a timer) chiller pump which is on a closed loop. One spare. The switches are protected from spray by a clear spray cover box and the electrical sockets, I made a DIY cover (covered in the DIY section HERE).

OMG! What were you trying to treat???! Ick in the main tank?? I think most of the medication is for quarantine tank use only... no telling how the medication may kill the useful bacteria in the tank.. causing an oxygen drop... suffocating your fish... The worst advice I ever got from a reputable LFS was to drop in Malachite Green in my tank until the water is slightly blue... all my corals shrank... and some died.... I had to do massive water changes... sigh! Lessons to learn here folks...