robe

and another...

another view

My 2 month old SPS tank with migrated livestock from my old 4 ft tank. 4" DSB with fine coral sand 3 sides using 12mm Optic White low iron glass and external 2 feet overflow cutout from back glass. lights consist of 2 x 250w Iwasaki (yes Sakis, I'm still a hardcore saki fan) 1 x 400 W BLV 20000K and 1 x 250W BLV 10000K Tank currently is only a quarter filled . My preference is to grow SPS from frags and have them acquire a natural growth pattern adapted to the tank condition. Likewise not really keen on having every species but having patches of same species grown from frags and intermixed with one of two diferrent colonies to give a more natural look.

Just watch out for sulfate build up in ur tank as Epsom is magnesium sulfate. is preferable to use magnesium chloride.

Me, but 250W version to reduce power bills. No problem to make SPS color up and growth is very good! Ugly not really if you balance it a bit with 20kk lamps. It lasts longer too without a drastic drop in intensity.

Better use a 10 mm glass, my previous tank was a 3 x 2 x 2 feet using 10 mm glass without front braces and it bulges out so much that the curve in the front glass is noticeable. 8 mm will give way unless your height is only 18 inches.

Hi Wei, I covered it up as 795 data sheet does not recommend long term immersion in water. Yes, I saw your glass and actually it's much clearer than Optic White. Robe

At long last I am going to stop moving house every two years and changing tanks as well..... This tank will become the centerpiece of my house. The tank will try to replicate a shallow water reeftop . Tank will be predominantly SPS (90%) with most coming from my existing tank custom 48" x 36" x 28" , 3 sides using 12 mm low iron glass (Optic White) with rear using normal float glass and 15 mm base. External 24 inches wide custom built overflow with 3 x 2 inch holes drilled. Eurobracing all around with 2 x 35 mm drilled holes each side. Dowcorning 795 sealant is used to join tanks Double layer Stand is made of 3 x 3 chenggai wood 35 inches high. Special thanks to Robert of API Glass, Gilbert of Marine Pets and Hing Sing (especially for his extra ordinary patience with a fussy tank owner) for making it possible! Pictures upcoming over the next few days and weeks!

Roidan uses Swagelok Nupro precision needle valve B-SS4-A valve. I have used the same valve over the last 4 years with no degradation. I can control CO2 bubbles at 15 psi on a rate of as low as 5 bubbles per minute. None of those aquarium marked valves can beat it as this line of valve is for industrial use where accuracy and consistency is required. $80 is well worth it!

You can wash the skimmers with dishwashing liquid (not detergent) before using. Rinse thoroughly with water before using. I use this method with pvc pipes and fittings as well.

AS long as the silicone does not contain anti fungal or mildew compounds it is safe

I don't think its Singaporean thinking but realistic. We know already that our local LFS can bring in excellent Fiji corals at reasonable prices. Why pay more? In the US, salary levels are much higher than Singapore a junior pharmacist can command US$25 per hour wages, that's USD200 per day or $4400 a month excluding overtime. Now compare that with what a pharmacist in Singapore can earn and take note that cost of living in most of the US is cheaper than Singapore. An engineer in the US easily clocks $40 or more per hour..... Singapore is no where near US payscale for the working man. We can get ultra maximas at $60 or so right? Why we are bypassed is that the market is too small. A large shipment of several hundred colonies will take ages to clear by the LFS. It is not that we are cheapos! For coral farmers a hundred colonies to ship is peanuts and may not worth their trouble to schedule the transportation across the pacific

Your choice of pumps shoud be based on requirements. If your pipe run is long and a lot of joints and fittings then go for a pressure rated pump that will meet your required flow rate. The red dragon pump curve shows that at 2.5 m head the flow rate is down by 35% already from a flowrate of 7300 li/hr @ 1 m head pressure. The pump is good is you used it for recirculating closed loop cycle or as a return pump for a low head installation otherwise you are throwing good money. For dependable and reliable pressure rated applications Iwaki is still the pump to beat. IWaki is being relied on in critical industrial applications running 24 x 7 non stop. I have been continuosly running my Iwaki which I bought second hand for the last 2 years without a problem. For an example an MX70 rated at 5400 li/hr @1 mhead can still put out 4800 li/hr at 2.5 mtr head or a flow rate drop of 12% only. You also should consider long term reliability and availability of parts to service your pumps. How long has Red dragon in the market and how long is it going to stay in the market? For reliability in aquarium pumps, Eheim is tops. I have run 1060 for 4 yrs continuously without breakdown. The only thing I have replaced is the o-ring seal of the pump cover plate.

Why me? I thought I was supposed to bake clams?

Hi MAx, We are not only after skimmate quantity but after the effectiveness. If they skim they same tank but one drops out after some time and can no longer skim anything while another is still left behind producing skimmate so who's the better skimmer? Simple judging. As you say no BS! Robe

HI Max, Before you tell evrybody that the case is closed and that it is personal opinion. PLease review your original post below and look closely at what you said or have written. It does not seem to be a personal review but rather an attack against other brands and allegations that has not been proven so far. This is the post that started the issue and you might want to lay it to rest either by retracting your statements or proving it. IT is as simple as that. It is more of product preaching than an objective review. If you need to close this thread then close it properly by addressing the issues at hand. No personal or other non relevant matters just the heart of the issue. Robe Original Post:

IF we have their resources and technical knowledge of chemical analysis and the equipment ; that would be t he way BUT we are not that well endowed (not that type of endownment! Perverts!) in terms of resources, lab kits or equipment So we conduct our own test on a real practical basis as we say no high falutin technical reports that we can barely understood. Just plain old see to believe!! Let's do a poor man's test..........at the end of the day plain old effectiveness of an equipment will satisfy our curiousity!

Okay, now let us put all the non-relevant stuffs aside and get back to the main topic of this thread and how skimmers can be compared. Volunteers Anyone!!!! Set aside a fibreglass tank of any other tank with a 500 litre capacity. Hook up the contending skimmers and fire away!!! (a tank has to be of a certain size as too small of tank will not have water left inside when the skimmers are started and the tank will be full of micro bubbles that might hinder the skimmers.........

I think AT made an honest mistake when he rated the MX 70 as 150w. Try to look at the pdf at this link and see the motor rating they wrote for the MX70. http://www.iwakipumps.jp/products_e/pdf/a_pdf/mx_a2003.pdf I was even elated at first that they have somehow managed to designed the MX70 to be the same as an MD55. As far as I know the MX70 when it was released almost 2 years ago was a 270 watter. I though that they have refined the model to be more efficient based on the latest data sheet they posted in their website. If I who is very familiar with Iwaki pumps can be fooled and in fact I was the one who pointed it out to AT and I was so happy that I was planning to get the latest variant of the MX70................. oh well no choice I still have to pay SP more money...

H Roidan, That's why a last man standing skimmer contest would even out any claims to what size of tank it is for. The only thing that would make it win is squeezing that last drop of DOC out of the tank! Robe

Hi Tineng, Analysis of DOC is a bit expensive as it has to be sent to a proper laboratory so a cheaper way is to do a last man standing contest as it will show how effective the skimmer is in squeezing out the last drop of DOC. Hi Max, I suggest that the skimmers should be run until only one is left skimming that way the most effective skimmer will standout. Robe

Hi MAx, I guess whether you are the distributor or not for a product, a product review that cast aspersions on other brands efficacy will have to substantiated with proofs. Right? It would be an eye opener for the folks here. Since you have vested interest in EAN so I assumed that you are speaking in behalf of the products that EAN is selling. That will be the most logical assumption that any person will think of. Whether it is Delteq, Aquamedic or Rowaphos or any other brands claims must be substantiated otherwise most of us will think that it is a blatant from of marketing denigrating rival brands. A straight product review would have been more appropriate with no comparisons with other brands. Then it would be treated as a personal opinion based on experience. Since you have stated your claims in this forum the onus of proof is on you. Whether AT is business rival or not denigration of other products based on conjecture and not backed by evidence is not too ethical due to your own vested interest in a commercial venture. Robe

This may be the best time to put all questions to rest why don't LFS promoting or selling their line of skimmers conduct the test that I suggested the rest being all equal it will really be an eye opener to everybody here in SRC or even the world on how the various skimmers compare in performance. This would put Singapore in the roadmap as it seems we have the best of all products in the world like a meeting point halfway around the globe! I call out on all the LFS selling their range of skimmers to answer the challenge! Show us how good your skimmers are!? We'll some may lose market share but hey it is good for the hobbyist out there as well as for the manufacturers to maybe improve their product to match the competition!

Yikesss!!! Roidan you'll kill us with mental overload from that equation ..

Hi Erv, That was a test of logic....or was it? It's probably my work I'm still at the office working.... I need to get my mind off work for a little while......