Firestarter

You might wanna tape up the top part of the tank to hide the ugly waterline with black tape. Btw, whats that black colour mat thing you're using under the LR?

How's the the cyano algae getting along? Could it be that your current is not strong enough? Btw, the most recent rock scape is really good!

Good choice, I've tried both sandbed and BB before and the BB just works perfect! Minimal diatoms, tank is much cleaner, and not forgetting no sandstorms everytime you rescape. Do update again on your tank progress.

How long did you cycle your tank? Your tank doesn't look ready for fishes yet. What about LR? Get more LR and let the tank cycle for at least 1 month without fishes. Also, your mandarin fish will not survive because it feeds on pods which are found in LR, which your tank serious lacks. What skimmer are you using? Looks like a weipro?

What is an algae screen?

Any idea if the mangrove will survive?

Hi Reefz, sorry for the late reply, but really thanks for your mangrove pics! Thinking of setting up a tank specially for mangroves in the future. Hmmm.

Well, I don't know if I should disclose the location to prevent ppl from swarming there to collect mangrove shoots. But its not Pasir Ris beach.

Going BB?

Hope it survives. I think the light might not be strong enough. Its been cloudy the whole day, so no sunlight.

Got a 1.5L water bottle, cut it in half, added some sand into the bottle and placed the mangrove into the sand carefully, so as not to break the root.

I picked up a single piece of mangrove floating on the beach yesterday. I thought it would be nice if I could make the mangrove grow, so I brought it home.

Yeah, I'm was always afraid that Mr Murhpy will pay me a visit last time.

The siphon will never break as long as the water level in the sump is kept constant. Therefore topping up of water is crucial.

Hi tunicate, I now understand what you're trying to say after looking at your diagram. You are running the return pump externally but still inside the ISO. The problem now is how did you attach the return pump above the water?

Once electricity is restored, the pump will start to pump water back into the refugium, and the refugium water level will increase, which will start to flow back into the IOS chamber due to gravity. It will return back to the first diagram again. The trick is to play around with the water level, and to make sure that the siphon in the PVC pipe does not break when there is a blackout. Other factors that affect the flow is how weak/strong the pump is, original height of both tank's water level, and size of the PVC pipe. I hope you understand the whole process as I'm not very good in explaining without a real pictures. Don't hesitate to ask any questions.

In the event of a blackout, the pump will stop pumping water into the refugium. Therefore, the water level will drop as water still flows into the IOS chamber, until both tanks have the same water level. At this point of time the PVC siphon is still intact and it will not break.

I would like to share how to connect an external tank to the main tank without using any overflow box or pipes. Its a very simple and effective method, and I've personally used it before to connect my refugium to my sump in an old setup. Firstly, you have to understand the principles of a normal overflow box. I've drawn a diagram to illustrate for ease of understanding. Hope this helps. Using PVC pipes and a small pump, it works exactly like an overflow box, only that the 2 tanks are the internal and external boxes. Note that the PVC end at the refugium side is shorter than the end of the IOS side. This is to allow the water to flow continuously back into the IOS. 1. Pump brings water into the refugium 2. As the refugium level increases, water flows back into the IOS through the PVC pipe 3. NOTE THAT THE PVC PIPE MUST REMAIN FULLY SIPHONED AT ALL TIMES

I plan to place the tank on a table at the corner of my room. To facilitate easy maintenance, the I prefer the IOS to be at the side rather than at the back of the tank. This would make it easier to connect the refugium too. I got my inspiration and ideas from this tank http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?t=196478 I will post how I plan to connect my refugium to the ISO chamber if anyone is interested. Just realised that it should be IOS instead of ISO. Pardon my ignorance.

Full tank setup Phase 1 and Phase 2. I hope I'm not boring you with all this.

Phase 2 of my tank setup would be to place an external refugium beside the ISO chamber of the tank. From the front view perspective, the refugium would be on the left, center is the ISO, and to the right would be the main tank. I hope you all can understand from my poor drawings and illustrations.

I've made some changes to the design, placing the return hole at the top instead of the bottom. This is just phase 1 of the tank, I'm also planning of adding an external refugium. That'll be in phase 2.

Hi turnicate, I don't really understand what you mean from point no. 1 How can I minimize heat release if the return pump still remains in the water, regardless if the hole is higher up on the 3rd chamber? I initially wanted to go BB, hence I thought placing the return flow at the bottom would help to blow any detritus upwards and to prevent any dead spots.

I currently still overseas. Will be back next month when my term expires. I've been planning my tank for a few months now, and I really can't wait to be back to set it up. Thanks for your support.

I really love your scaping. Nice coraline algae growth there. May I ask what is the spectrum of your T5?