wedgee

Takashi Amano is my idol....FW tank-wise, dat is! heheh

No better way to put it dude! Dont lose yr FREEDOM over a few bucks... u never know wat u can do in the real world...

Sigh, which is why i'm baffled regarding why my snails and shrimp always die on me while u guys can just throw them in!!! I think there's something wrong with my water, the snails all go stoner for a few days before dying on me and the shrimps go on the second day i put them in! Only 'symptom' available is dat they all go stiff or jaded like they were given tranquilisers and they usually get yellow or brownish stains in their meat...think there must be some copper or other chemical in the water. But strange thing is, 2 Coral Banded Shrimp and 2 red urchins i bot have survived well!!! Cleaner shrimp and snails, on the other hand....sigh Any ways to see or test if something is killing them? Where to get invert test kits? Me just giving up on them... CKS-maybe i'll try the damp approach in the future, but not until i find out wats wrong with me water...

Ok ok, just had to get confirmation from u guys...Thanx!!!

Wolfie...not to dampen yr career hopes, but think once, think twice, think very hard and long before u wana sign on....PLS PLS PLS

Hey, u guys got a point abt the copper part...but since i have stocked my tank full of fish (damn ladies of the house made me...word of advise, dont bring them to the LFS! ), i dont worry abt it. The tanks where the corals come from dont have fish normally, so... Oh yah, btw, if my observation is correct, i think most LFS use a central system to control their water? I see these huge water containers or main filter systems in those Pasir Ris and seletar fish farms... CKS u throw yr snails in and they survive, yet i drip-acclimate mine for hrs and they still die after 3 days, SIGH!!!

Hi i just got a Torch Coral with a "V" shape at the bottom, branching out into a few heads...one question though, can i break the coral into 2 parts at the V portion? It doesnt seem to occupy the coral flesh, and i'd like it to be in different parts of the tank so dat it can have space and grow (hopefully)... If can, how do i do it? With my hands or with a chopper???

Er i wouldnt agree on netting the lifestock...i prefer to release the buggers by letting them swim out of the bag (not too much worries abt diseases getting into yr tank really, if only 1/4 of the LFS water is left after doing all that pouring!?!?!)

Hmm all dat said, u might just as well consider getting an RO good for drinking for yr family...I'm using one right now, and it seems more worthwhile cause u can use it for reefing and to protect yr kidneys and stuff! But they dont come cheap, esp U.S-made ones (better than those in shopping centres) Btw, a good RO removes mostly 'solid' compounds, including heavy metals - Lead, Mercury, Cysts, particulates courtesy of our old pipes - all these stuff can be removed, even chlorine and chloramine!!! DI on the other hand, removes those dissolved chemicals and minerals that RO cant get rid of, or are not designed to get rid of, like phosphate and nitrates and stuff!!! Dat is why using a DI only will practically destroy the resin quickly, and it is more common to use RO before DI... Creetin, other methods work only up to a certain degree (like sponges and filter resins in the tank), so the best way is to remove it immediately from the source water... Oh yah, btw, RO at 200+++++ while DI at only 75 bucks!!! Anyone pls correct me if i wrong...

Ya me eager to get an external overflow too, if it works as a sump! Pls help us out here ok?

To be on the safe side, u can drip tank water into the bag slowly while floating them in the tank; this is to ensure they dont get stressed by any change in water parameters suddenly! Notice dat when u mix the water in the LFS bags and yr tank water, there is a 'steaming' effect in the water - this is cause most LFS keep their waters at a lower salinity (or so i heard) normally, compared to ours... By throwing them in suddenly u risk shocking them or at the very least stressing them out, making them prone to death or disease... Note that Inverts MUST be drip-acclimatised over 3 to 4 hrs; i have lost some shrimp and snails before when i didnt do that!!! Maybe its cause: "THE TANK IS TOO SALTY"...

It's better (in my opinion) to restart everything...no matter how u remove the stuff or try to get rid of its nutrients, there will still be traces of them lurking in every corner of the tank... U dont have to throw away yr rock and sand, just remove them and clean them of the algae and put them into some of yr present water in a bucket. Clean out yr tank with all u can and pls pls get an RO/DI if u have the money! The lights can wait, cause u have to cycle the tank anyways, and the lights will be redundant in this time (probably up to a month?) Start the tank again with everything u can- a good protein skimmer, a small sump (u can always use an old fish tank) and i dont know abt the canister (they say it is a nitrate factory). Anyways, u can place yr filter media in the sump now... Sorry if i'm being naggy here, but do consider restarting yr tank!

Man! Yr situation sounds so much like mine that i could hug u and cry!!! Well, u can really benefit by doing a search for diatoms and cyano in this forum first. U can see the number of new tanks attacked by yr symptoms too...plus u can read and see wat u can do abt them from those previous threads! If i were u, frankly, I'd tear up the tank and do it all over again (while its not too late!) But this time, get an RO/DI unit to filter yr water first, and start with nice clean water from the beginning! All those nasties u have LOVE the goodies in our tap water (phosphate and silicates), so the best way to get rid of them is thru its source...Er sorry but i'm assuming u dont use an RO unit, so ignore me if i'm wrong. Those stringies are not worms, I had them exactly the same way as u did...it just appeared on all my tank glass one fine day, and before i knew it, hair algae and diatoms were all over the tank! Maybe those stringies are their initial stage? Or if u cant bear to redo everything, then i suggest u remove as much of the stuff as u can physically-scrub and siphon it out, and remove the source of their nutrients thereafter by using good water or phosphate removers and sponges (didnt help me much though...) I got past the brown stuff by introducing RO water, so i'm down to hair algae now. In the meantime, u could try blocking off all light into the tank, they help to reduce some of the algae too... Hey, some of the big brothers here can give u more suggestions, so dont worry! PS: I've read dat it is a passing phase for new tanks: once the nasties use up all the nutrients and u introduce new competition, they slowly ease off...

I've removed the bio-balls and some of the ceramic rings from the oveflow, and another added half inch to my sand bed...also bot some fern-like macroalgae. Hope all this helps...sigh

Oooooh, u caught my attention there! Can give more details abt it? How it works, wat it needs to replenish, how much for all the stuff... Thanx!

AT - So after all dats been done, i guess i shld get something to seal off the water flow from the bottom ya? I'm thinking of using those acrylic that LHS fanatics seperate their LHS with... Btw, how long does it take for a DSB to be effective? How can i tell if it works after some time? Oh yes, are those ceramic rings useful? They seem outta place in a marine tank, so can i lose them? Me thinking of putting some weed macro ontop of the sponge, so gotta lose the rings maybe... THANX THANX THANX!!!

!?!?!? Who is dat?!?!? A star wars dude? Too bad i watch Star Trek, not Star Wars, hahah...

There's more Creetin...i saw this docu or some program, where they performed an experiment on the octupus... They put some food into a jar and place the jar into a tank with an octu. The bugger enjoyed it and they continued to do this for a few times over a period of time. Then one day they used the same jar but this time they put a lid over the jar and as usual dropped it into the tank. The octu was stoned and tried to figure out wat the heck was going on, until it finally managed to open the jar with its tentacles and retrieve the food!!! Er, think its something like this; anyone else saw this program before, pls correct me heheh

Hmm i understand yr points, and I've thot of using something to block up the bottom inlet too! The impt thing is: 1) If i DO block it up, will it really serve as a good enuff "DSB" for my 3 foot tank? Can it reduce my NO3? If u guys can confirm this, i'd very gladly block off that flow of water (can i use a CD cover for this? It's the most convenient object i can lay my hands on right now-will it leech?) Also, i noted dat when i increased the sand height a few days back, the freshwater i had washed the sand in was CREEPING out from the bottom out to the top layer (u know, when u drip FW into SW u can see the 'fumes'?) It was in a slow, steaming sort of speed: 2) Is this the slow speed needed for a DSB? 3) Or does it really have to be zero flow of water? SORRY if i ask too much? Me just very very curious Also, sooooo much debate has been going on abt bio-balls; 4) Shld i ditch them? And the ceramic rings? I am thinking of removing them and putting some weed-algae in that compartment instead, (the one on the left) to hopefully suck up NO3... THANKS FOR HELPING!!! APPRECIATE IT

This is the side view...

Sorry to bother u guys again, but I just cant live with the 20-30 PPM of NO3 in my tank (even though the corals seem good; i remember someone telling me to wait for few months then see the results...) much longer!!! I posted something abt having a mini-DSB (too late cause i only knew abt in-tank DSB AFTER i setup my tank with rocks) in my overflow some time back. It was only several inches thick, but i just increased the depth to 11"x6"x6" Is this effective? AT just said in another post that if large sand was used, it'd have to be more than 5" deep (Me using Crushed Coral, alas! - another mistake brought on by LFS)??? The problem is it has water flowing into its bottom thru a gap on its right-show in red arrow (i used some sand to block it up but dont think its enuff?) This is the front view of the overflow compartment...the main water inlet hole is on top...

This is so fun, just thot i'd join in! Me cina name is weijin~~sounds like Wedgie (if u dono wat this thing is, i can demonstrate on one of u when we meet up one day! But must wear normal underwear then can hahah) To make it easier for Singla-poreans to spell, i used Wedgee...

U have to mix the salt in water (use a stick or something non-metallic to stir it up nicely), put in an air stone for around 24hrs (to make sure the salt mix is fully dissolved!) and preferably cover it up just so dat it can collect the evaporated water YET at the same time allow gas exchange (small gap will do)...hope this is not too 'deep' for u? All this is to allow the salt to mix properly in the water, and for it to stabilise (have u tried putting a handful of salt into the water and felt the heat?). If u are using just plain tap water, it is advised to aerated it with an airstone first for 24hrs to allow the chlorine and other stuff to evaporate, before using it to mix the salt! Remember, this water is gona be wat the fish drinks, eats, and lives in! So must not be lazy with yr water ya? This is why it is good to have a regular water change timetable, so dat if u know u need to change water on thursday, u can prepare the tap water on tuesday... Hope all this helps!!?!?!

Er u mean u dont understand wat i wrote or u dont understand the post i referred u to?

Wow, Yr nitrate is quite high, so it might be a problem? I dono if sponges dislike NO3 dat much... I think they need high currents, and can be fed with plankton and filter feeding food. Btw, did the boss remove the sponge from the water completely at any time? If he did, i hope yr sponge survives, cause they cant be exposed to air (wat i heard)... Hmm i dono if they are inverts though...