blueheaven

Was thinking of using electrolysis to free nitrates but I'll lose many essential stuff before the nitrates are even freed

This is more like a Seaswirl Looking at the Tunze-type

Firstly, tell the mods to change your thread title to a more discriptive one Next, its very difficult to tell you what each test and chemical in your reef is for. You have to read these up yourself. The basic few is: Ammonia---Should be 0 Nitrite----Should be 0 Nitrate----should be 0.5-0 Mg----for coralline growth and calcification Sr----for calcification Ca----for calcification Phosphate----should be 0

Searching for this for my propagation unit Gonna ask the US reefers to donate

I think AT has DIYed something like that some time back? Hmmm......

FYI, in regards to sandbeds, the autotrophic aerobic bacteria at the top layer actually consumes DOC and the byproduct is utilised by the heterotrophic anareobic bacteria

There goes my cynarina.....

Cool bro weileong.... Lets get back to the topic, you can settle it with bro Ancelot privately

Never heard of it before but the reaction chamber IMO is too small Should be suitable for small tanks

Basically what i am saying here is that if the water entering your DSB is lowly oxygenated, you are better off with grade #1 sand A guage of whether is oxygenated or not is whether there is any compartment where the water is splashing, or if you are using a powerful skimmer that aerates your water vigorously. But in any case, try not to exceed 5" in depth so as not to create a totally anaerobic region

Here it is: http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=24450

As you guys know, I'm going to set up a large scale propagation system in school. I am thinking of importing corals from overseas farms, but can anyone tell me the stuff I need to settle (licenses, etc) and any other information I need to know

$60

$40

Yes, the 420nm wavelength in actinics will stimulate the GFP in the coral

You can read my article on coral colouration Basically, you might want to stimulate the GFP using actinics

nah, just want beginners to have some knowledge else they do it wrong...

Read my article on sandbeds to find out more

Wah, must wait till I have the ability to slay the dragon first..... MX100 is going to become tsunami man Probably wait till I got something like the Quattro, then 4xMX100

BBS=Baby brine shrimp

Planning to change my return pump to a higher flowrate one. The current MD55 will be used on my skimmer and I will be selling the MD40 Any suggestions on which pump to get?

I'm currently working on my article on NSW and synthetic salt In the meantime, here's another article from me Coral Colouration Usually, people buy corals that look exotic and contain intense colours only to find out that that precious specimen has eventually turned into a dirty brown tan. Most of these people either sell away these specimens or even throw them away. Then, they visit the LFS again and purchase another specimen. Such actions are very damaging to reefs and inhumane. Some may ask, why does "expert" reefers here are able to have such colourful specimens in their tanks? And usually this aquarist eventually backs out from this hobby as he cannot get the satisfaction he wants. Basically, there are 4 main components that contribute to nice colours in corals. These are water quality, lighting, nutrition and genetics. Water Quality Water quality is top priority in aspect to colouration. After proper cycling of the tank, ammonia and nitrites are of little concern. The main concern here is nitrates. Although nitrates are very much least toxic than the former two chemicals but it is a good fuel for algae. So what has coral colouration got to do with nitrates? Majority of corals contain zooxathellae, one celled algae, in their tissues. These special symbiotic algae are the ones that are responsible for coral colouration. These algae are golden brown in colour and corals have a special enzyme that forces the algae to secrete sugars they produce from photosynthesis. So how does these brown algae produce bright colours? Going into deeper biology, we know that fluorescent proteins are synthesized when the promoter is stimulated or activated. The stimulus we are interested in is UV exposure. Zooxathellae produce coloured pigments that act as photoprotection from harmful ultraviolet rays. Ultraviolet rays also stimulate the fluorescent proteins and make them glow. Getting back to nitrates, high nitrate concentration will cause a massive algal bloom within the coral. Although zooxathellae produce colours, the high density of these symbiotic algae actually masked the colours produced. This results in the browning of certain corals. So the first step to ultimate coral colouration is to achieve an undetectable nitrate level. Lighting We all know that everything we see around us are actually reflections of light into our eyes. Even if you have the most powerful lighting system, your corals may seem bland as the amount of colour that is reflected into your eyes are low. People using 6500k bulbs generally see corals as yellowish with reds more prominent. This is due to the spectrum of the bulb that leans towards the red region of the 7 colours of white light. 10000k bulbs generally give a more uniformed colouration as it is considered a full spectrum bulb. 14000k to 20000k bulbs bring out the blues and purples better. Therefore, using a powerful and strong light does not necessary mean that corals will show their nice colours. In fact, using too powerful lights will cause an increase in photsynthesis of zooxathellae so much so that the coral itself suffers as well. Nutrition A few years back, people think that providing strong lighting for corals and the byproducts of photosynthesis is enough for the coral to survive. Recently, there has been an emphasis on feeding corals to provide more nutrition. Basically, increased feeding and external nutrition for corals have positive results from more intense colouration to faster growth. With special regards to SPS, it has also been speculated that addition of halogens also results in the coral becoming a solid colouration but long term usage has not been recorded. For corals with a visible "mouth", it is recommended that the aquarist feed them small shrimps or scallops and for smaller polyped specimens, it is recommended that specialised food such as Golden Pearls be fed. Genetics Lastly, the type of colours you want from a coral depends on its genes. If a coral has genes that makes it naturally brown, there is no use trying to colour it up. That's why you see people collecting specimens from all over the world to add special strains of corals. Coral farmers are also looking into reproducing the special strains for distribution. Therefore, do not blame anyone when your yuma or stylo does not turn out as nice as other reefer's. This marks the end of my second article and I hope that other reefers will share their articles here. Do look out for other articles I will be writing in th future.

So long never post an update liao Anyway, got the nice grenn rim orange yuma from bro dersuz yesterday. Such a friendly guy and thanks for the specimen Opened the covered part of the sandbed today and gosh the whole thing is like a worm metropolitan. I've got tunnels almost everywhere and the nitrogen bubbles increased manifold Bought some baby blue zoos yesterday, still quarantine in my growout tank to prevent any hitchhiker nudis to enter the main display. Also caught sight of a huge tunnel built by 2 amphipods (They are harmful I know). Wonder if they are a breeding couple as one is bigger than the other. Will monitor their progress over the past few days. Lastly, nitrates going at 0.5ppm as checked today and my neon green acro has developed slightly purplish tips (my imagination?). The other purple acro on the contrary is beginning to turn into a bluish hue. Gonna try zeovit soon and hope their colours will become more intense That's all for now, still waiting for my dad to come back from Japan so I can use the DC

nice specimen you got there but take good care of the receeding parts