peacemaker

Is Petmart in Serangoon, at the Rainbow area...? How many shops izzit away from this acrylic hardware store? I've been going there for lunch so many times, but didn't cross my mind to drop by...

Wow! Beautiful tank! :bow: Care to share your DIY projects and your husbandry for the tank?

I've bought tanks from them before and their workmanship is pretty reliable. Just dun ask them to cut plastics becoz they suck with them.

Haven't had the time to try it. Kinda verified that it needs at least a 1000l/hr pump to do the job. I was looking for an Atman pump for this, but it was out of stock. Will update once I get it and fire it up.

Yes, around that price. There's somewhere cheaper at Pasir Ris Farmway 2 though. Dunno what's the unit called, but its near to Pacific Marine.

Nice & neat tank! Will be following this thread closely. Cheers!

Hi there Ocellaris Clownfish, I've gone through pretty much the same stuff you had, except only from da "master" in the family, my mom. Most of the time, she complains about the PUB bills & wasting money on equipment, fishes & corals. Thankfully, my dad loves to keep fishes, except that his interests lies with tropical goldfish. We always have a little collaboration between us, to kinda "watch each other's back". For example, the salt creep started to hit the piano beside my tank. He would come to me privately and warn me to deal with it quickly before my mom finds out. Best hobby buddy, I'd say! Nevertheless, I still love my mom. I would patiently explain to her the joys of this hobby, and show her the "beautiful" side of it, a.k.a. the lovely LS & corals, without revealing too much of the unsightly equipment or the cost... It keeps her happy for awhile. Take a breather! Relax... do something you like other than reefing to cheer yourself up, before coming back with a big bang! When you overcome your struggles, it builds your charater and makes you a stronger person. Most importantly, don't hate your family. They have their reasons too. Deal with the things that they dislike about the hobby, like paying some PUB bills... Be very nice to them in other aspects, and hopefully that should lessen the impact. Take care!

Thanks for the link! Holy crap... I had another clownfish that went MIA 2 weeks back. I was searching for it everywhere but in vain. I guess I have the answer now... This is scary... I think I have to starve them. Gotta transfer my fish out soon...

Its been removed. How harmful it is, and how am I to make sure that none of it still remains in my tank?

I found this guy stuck on the head of my clownfish when I came back from CNY visiting... it was pretty stressed, and was trying to rub it off on the rocks and tank glass. I quickly scooped the poor fella and tried to pick it off with a plastic tweezer, but I think its extremely painful for the clown, so I dosed DI water. Immediately, this pest literally jumped off the fish. Here's a pic of this nasty guy... Izzit a flatworm? Has about 3 or 4 pairs of legs and a tail like a shrimp. Left a scar on my poor clown's head... :evil:

Nice tank! I too have a tight budget, and would prefer more cost effective equipment than big brands. Always been trying to strike a balance between good equipment at affordable prices. Care to share how long you've had this tank and your maintenance regime?

Very nice mushrooms you have. They are huge...

I've noticed that the left most head for the hammers seem to retract itself almost everyday in the afternoon, but not the rest. Anyone can tell what's wrong with it? The little powerhead that I used for curculation is just blowing slightly above it. Could it be causing them to retract?

The green ric doing much better after I picked it up from behind the rocks. The blue cluster seems to open bigger after shifting away from the hammers.

I have this instead. Need to get a 1000l/h pump to fire up this guy. I haven't got the time to buy one yet. Probably drop by at Irwana this weekend.

Interesting... maybe I should get one for my office nano.

Nope. The PL light tube is joined at one end, making it similar to a 'U' shape. Its a Dymax tube.

Managed to take a shot of this little fella today... anyone knows how fast do they outgrow their shell and need new ones? His shell is hardly bigger than a 10 cent coin... I've seen him molting a few times already. I have a collegue that used to keep hermits, and prepared plenty of shells for them to change "house" anytime they wanted to. They didn't like the choices, and soon died one after another... anyone experienced this?

Oh my... thanks for your warning, Salty Creature. I did tape a small piece of plastic to control the amount of food. The 1st time I used it, it poured chunks, and I had to scoop up the excess to prevent polluting the water. Due to my water level, the rotating food container seems to get damp all the time... I've also noticed that there is a min and max level, but I have no trouble with keeping less food inside. I felt that by doing so, I'm able to supply fresh food weekly rather than having so much inside getting stale and all. My setting is 3 times a day within 24 hrs. What is your setting and how long does your battery last?

Ah... thanks for the ID! I kept coming across on the forums about people talking of their "melting" yumas. I think this guy came close to it once some time back (due to multiple shifting of corals)... almost thought it would disappear... then it managed to revive and was opening up pretty well. Whew...

Thanks! I have a limited budget as well, that is why I have to go small. However, having smaller water volume means any fluctuation would lead to disaster. To answer your questions: 1. This tank has been running for more than 6 mths. Most of my corals have been with me for 4 months plus, except for the Coco worms (about 2 months) and rics (about a month). The fishes are new (about 3 weeks) and I just got my shrimp last week. I had a false clown and a bi-colour dottyback before, but brought the clown home for my 2 Ft tank and gave the dottyback away. 2. I used to have a PO4 assorber, but stopped using it for some time. The pics of the empty tank are taken recently, when I made a 100% water change due to algae bloom. It was a mistake as I started with tap water & salt mix. Even DI water top offs were barely able to keep the algae at bay, so I changed it to 100% DI water this time round. Scrubbed the rocks a little, and gave my tank a good bath. That's also one of the main things I like about nano tanks: you can literally carry it to a kitchen sink and give it a thorough scrubbing. I'm not very hardworking on water changes, usually about 3 weeks once. I dun feed that much, so less contamination. 3. I bought both the tank and the light quite some time back, so I can't really remember exactly how much... I think its about S$50 for the custom tank and S$20+ for the 11W PL light. I just changed the tube as it has been with me for a long time. I was also pleasantly surprised that even under such lightings, my corals weren't struggling for lights. Perhaps its the right choice, since most dun require that much light. I have a timer set from "Sunrise" 8am (time that I start work) to "Sunset" 5pm (an indicator its time to prepare to leave for home ) I came across a site that custom makes acrylic tanks. You might wanna give them a try. Here's the link: Iaquatic Was thinking of changing this into a slightly bigger nano (1.5Ft cube), but still seeking my boss'es approval.

The whole setup is pretty much low in cost compared to the big guys out there. Being an office nano, temp is taken care of. Distilled water top offs have been done manually. I was thinking of an auto top off system, but its like a huge thing for such a small tank. I dose a capful of 5 in 1 coral food once or twice weekly (depending if there's a water change during the week), and an occasional cyclopeeze pinch. Pls feel free to post your comments! Still plenty to learn from all the "old birds" here.

Since it is an office tank, I have to care for their feeding needs during weekends and whenever I'm on leave. Thank God for technology! With this auto feeder, I can leave the office in peace...

The culprit in action!

Sand on top of my rics...