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IMHO I don't mind them confiscating or banning clams without CITES certs as I see a lot of wanton waste the way some LFS import them. You can see a lot of big squamosas as tens and tens of croceas whose only fate is to die in the LFS tank or in a hobbiest tank who neglect to invest in good lighting to keep them alive. If they can bring in good clams with CITES certs the high price for the clams would force those who buy them to take extra good care of their investment otherwise expensive clams equals to dead clams....we probably can also enjoy clams like what you see in US reeftanks.. Same thing with certain species of corals especially hard corals that takes years to grow to a decent size. There should be some control in the trade or environmentalists will have all their bullets to shut down the trade completely and that means serious reefers can no longer buy them. There was a certain LFS who brought a bunch of very nice looking acros (with CITES certs some more) but did not have the facility or knowledge to keep them alive unitl they are bought. The result is that more than 1/2 of more than a hundred acros died within a day after arrival. For those out there who wants to go into marine tanks please do some research before u start out and ask yourself do I have the patience, interest and resources to maintain this hobby. The national library have a lot of good marine and reef keeping books to guide the novice or else if ur are reading this , the net as well.

To create a near parabolic reflector u can use the formula for a parabola using the center of the lamp as the focus. Since it is hard to create a perfect parabolic curve u can bend the reflector into several flat reflecting surface to approximate a parabolic curve. U probably don't need to extend the parabolic surface too much to maximize the light rays to create perfect right angle reflectance to maximize the light rays hitting ur tank. If u don't want to use mathematics to create the curve theother way is to clamp the reflector bet two piece of 2 x 1 inch wood and bend it 10-15 deg each time with a two inch flat surface between bends till u get a good approximation of a curved reflector. To adjust the focusing u need to place ur bulb in the holder together with the reflector and from a distance of around 12 to 14 inches from the bulb take a look at the reflection of the bulb along its lenght if u cannot see the reflection that means the angle is out and the light rays will not hit ur eye position. Adjust the reflector at the bends till u can get to see the bulb reflection from the multifaceted flat surface of the reflector.

Hi tanzy, If it is E40 then its okay as you can buy from Eye lighting the MH bulbs but I would not recommend E39 bulbs into E40 bases as the bulb can loosen with the constant expansion and contraction of the socket as in some cases can cause overheating due to poor contact, shorten the lifespan of the bulb or not burning to its full intensity. The current running through the bulbs is more than 2 amperes.

I'm now using a mix of aquamedic calcium carbonate and coral chips. The aquamedic is too expensive. Pump is an Eheim 1048 costing around $60. The calc reactor body is probably around $50.

Pacbetta, Whoa, before you commit yourself to buying stateside lighting hood. Take note that US bulbs uses E39 base you cannot replace your bulb later on with one being sold in Singapore as they have an E40 base. The 98% efficency reflector they use is the same one you can buy locally having a mirror finish aluminum reflector for $15 for a four foot length. For that amount of dollars almost USD850 a lot of shops will be willing to custom make for you the lighting hood of your dreams. they can make 2 of that for you but of course you have to settle for normal magnetic ballast. Anyway the savings in electricity for a 250w MH lamps with E-ballast and magnetic ballast is not much. Furthermore Iwasaki lamps are designed to work at its best with ordinary mercury vapor lamp ballast. If you are willing to spend go with the 400w AB or 20K Radium MH instead you wont need the PL lamps anymore. The PL lamps won't be noticeable anyway when your MH lamps is running. The only way to balance the greenish tind of 6500K Iwasakis is to have at least 160w VHO or a 250w 20KK MH lamp.

For that amount of money I'll buy an Iwaki MD70 plus a couple of PVC solenoid valves, hook up a sequencing timer or cyclic timer and I have a industrial grade wave maker without having to put 4 black pumps inside the tank to detract from the view. Output can use locline nozzles.

Lucky, thye are not into this hobby or else AT is in trouble...

Clams require full spectrum light. The best light for clams is 6500K MH bulbs. If u want to keep croceas and maximas to color up u need 250w at least to increase the coloration otherwise 150w will keep them alive and growing but wil not have the bright coloration.

Your algae may not be growing well even with high nitrate and phosphate as it probably lacks iron. Algae needs iron for growth as well as iodine.

Hi Liverock, You need to have MH lights if you want to keep colorful clams. FL unless you have a lot is not sufficient to keep them alive more than a few months.

If you're lights are closer than 10 inches you better have a good chiller to remove the heat. You alos need to place your corals not too close to the surface as the infrared rays can cook your corals.

A 1 degree differential is actually good as it makes the tank temp stable. You don't really save much energy by having a bigger differential as the amoun tof heat absorbed by your tank is the same and it would take twice as long the time you need to bring it down from 28 to 26 as compared to 27 to 26 degrees. The only thing you save is wear and tear on the compressor. Compare it to your air conditioning unit and see whether the on-off cycle of the aircon is longer than your chiller. I am using a Hailea chiller as well and I like the 1 degree differential.

For SPS and hard corals use epoxy to attach. For softies gel type super glue cyanoacrylate is better.

Hi Alvy, The sealing can use oil seals as they are designed for medium speed steel rotating shafts. In this case though we might have to use machined bushings to go over the pipe. I think my concept would end up very expensive but probably more reliable. IN this case the water is connected to an outer sleeve with an inner rotating pipe to direct the water out. The inner pipe will have slotted holes for the water to enter with both ends held by delrin bearings. For the water paddle, it's just it! Water paddles attached to a rotating or oscillating shaft. The paddles move the water in a rotating or back and forth motion to simulate the natural back and forth motion of the water. I need to sketch it and scan the copy or maybe do it in autocad.

Hi Morgan, Why not get tempered glass from contractors doing office renovation. They just throw away whole plates of glasses similar to glass doors and even bigger sizes from partitions.

Try using the project link to view the pics. Actually instead of direct contact between pipes he could have used delrin ball bearings ( low friction plastic used for bearings and slider mechanism in machineries). That will cut down the torque required to oscillate the pipe. Hey Alvy, the oscillating mechanism can be powered by DC gear motors instead of AC (safer). There's a shop in Sim Lim Tower that sells second hand process automation parts and stuffs from closed down factories. Why not a rotating paddle to create the waves and surge instead. A shaft with a clear plastic paddle mounted above the tank with the paddle immersed in the top part of the water column and rotating slowly (10 rpm) would create a surge like effect or oscillating with a rocker mechanism.

Folks, Watch out for the start of Discovery Channel's " Reef Encounters" starting on the 24th of November. I also watched Night World this evening featuring the Great Barrier reefs, lots of close up shots of corals and fishes. excellent show. To film the night activity on the reef they use a few thousand watts of high intensity lighting to light up a sizable area. also Blue Reef adventures on Sundays 9:30 AM

I used Corallife, redsea, Kent, IO and marinemix over the last 4 years. The only time you have problems dissolving the salt is when its old and has lumps. You'll get calcium precipitation. IO is notorious probably because the stocks they bring in are old. Redsea for me is okay as well as Kent no problem with my corals

Theoritically increasing pressure would cause the CO2 gas to dissolve int he water and the pressure would keep it in dissolution much like carbonated drinks. The pressure required to do that would be much higher than any small pump can deliver unless you use an Iwaki and throttle the output into your reactor. But then it would require your gas injection pressure to be high as well. In carbonated drinks they do that in pressure vessels and cooling the liquid at the same time to dissolve the gas. They then inject the liquid into your typical plastic bottles or cans. What keeps the CO2 from bubbling out of the water is the small amount of gas that has been liberated inside the container. The vapor pressure exerted by the gas is enough to keep the CO2 in the water but once that pressure is released you can see the co2 bubbling out of your carbonated drink.

Phang, You should take a look first hand and probably can judge from there. Typically photos taken under artificial ligtning will not render the colors very well.

Hi Folks, Basically Iwasaki carry the ff: 150w 6500K EyeArc E27 , 20000K Rx7s & E27 , 50000K E27, 10000K Rx7s (Japan only) All use igniters and MH ballast please note that the 20kk, 50KK requires lower ignition voltage 2KV only but can use 4KV though shortens the life 250w & 400W 6500K Clean Ace - uses ordinary mecury vapor ballast cannot use MH ballast w/ igniter (will blow the bulb) as it has built in igniter recommended capacitor for 150w bulbs is 20uf, 250w 32uf Radium: 150 w 10000K, 20000K E40 base & Rx7s MH ballast, 4kV igniter 20uf cap 250w, 400w, 1000w 20000K E40 base MH ballast, 4kV igniter, Ushio 150w 10000K, 20000K E27, Rx7s base 250w 10000K, 20000K E40, FC2 base 400, 1000w 20000K E40 base Ushio though will refer you to Ushio Singapore and they are not very friendly and sell you the bulbs slightly less than LFS prices - 20000K don't even want to sell here. Don't patronise Ushio bulbs!

GUys, If u want we can order direct from Radium's distributor in Germany. I already made contact and gotten a quote some months back. Radium 10000K 150w and 20000K 250s 400s not more than $70 each. 250w Blue E40 Euro 33,60 / packing 12 pcs. per box 150 w 10kk Rx7s Euro 39,79 / packing 20 pcs. per box 150 w Blue Rx7s Euro 42,56 / packing 20 pcs. per box 400w Blue E40 Euro 33,60 / packing 12 pcs. per box For orders below 2000 Euro add. 50 Euro air Freight 80 Euro Let me know if you want to pool together the E250w blue and the 10KK 150w.

Hi AT, Thanks for the pics! When do we get to view your new tank?...hurry hurry

You will need to control the input as excessive pressure will cause waater to back up in the bubble counter.

Spade, Other than the Iwasaki 250w and 40ow 6500K bulbs the rest of the MH lamps require MH ballast and igniter to work. MH Ballast sold here are compatible with most european MH lamps. You need to check the lamp specs in the catalogue to be sure though as some have specific requirements.