albinosage

I think it is normal for the water to be cloudy, what filter media are you using by the way? The die off of those pests are also nothing out of the ordinary, though I suggest you ditch the crabs, they will wreck havoc on your corals in future. The rising ammonia is a good sign, once it peaks and starts to fall, you can test for the presence of nitrite. As for the bubbles on the surface, I think they are the by products of decomposing material, I suggest you get a surface skimmer to remove the surface scum, I think Boyu makes a surface skimmer attachment for their nano tanks, costs a few bucks only. It is a simple piece of plastic attached to the overflow inlet, and creates a natural suction to remove things from the surface. The only thing I'm concerned about is the sand, since it is not labeled for marine use, and it was bought from a freshwater shop, I think it is probably not suitable for reef tanks as we don't know what mineral compound it is made of and what kind of minerals and metals it will leach into the water. Opp car mart I thought is POSB bank and stationery shop and Thai minimarts? I just had lunch there, maybe next time should pay more attention hahaha.

Hahahaha! Told him liao...

Wilson, it's depth of field RedDevil, I see that you've invested in the 450D huh? Another blood sucking hobby, but from what I heard, the camera costs just a small fraction of your tank set up. LOL! More pics please, and a FTS too!

Umm... Not say I wanna say ah... But ever since you registered here (and on another forum), you have been posting about one problem after another with your lifestock, and despite getting advise from us to stock slowly, change water, cycle the tank properly, etc, you have not done any of the above it seems. As far as I know, you have been buying "novelty" and demanding creatures like anemone, seahorse and even seeking to buy an octopus - without researching on their care, and evidently, not having a good home for them (bad water parameters and inadequate filtration system). From what I understand from your past posts, in slightly over a month, you have lost the following at least: 1 x starfish 2 x damsels 1 x nudibranch 1 x anemone (not doing well, given away) 1 x colony of blue zoa And despite the loss above, you would post about having a problem with a new and different livestock every few days after getting rid of the last. Please understand that I am not telling you off. I know that you are still schooling, and might not know any better, but please practice a bit of responsibility when it comes to buying and rearing living, breathing things. Each life lost in the tank is a responsibility you must shoulder, and regardless of what the price tags in the LFS say, every life is just as precious.

Hmm... Sounds dodgy leh this LFS.. What does the sand packaging say it is for? Confirmed for saltwater/marine use right? But then again, it is common for worms and brittle stars to exit the live rocks when you introduce them to a new tank. I think it is the difference in water parameters or the journey back from LFS without water, that draws them out as soon as you introduce the rock to the sand. Where is this LFS again? I gotta pay them a visit someday

Actually it is safer to wait at least 4 weeks then put anything live inside, cos you need to cultivate a population of bacteria that can support the tank volume. The testing of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate is just to see if you are on track, you can actually just let it run for 4 weeks then test everything after that. The whole purpose of cycling is to stabalise the bacteria population of the tank so that they can support future inhabitants. What bio filter media are you using? The ceramic rings provided stock with the boyu tank? I suggest you get Biohome bio media instead, worked wonders for me, more effective than the ceramic rings. As the name suggests, the bio filter media is to provide a home for the beneficial bacteria to latch on to, these bacteria will be the ones cleaning and denitrifying the water as it passes through. For your tank size, the small 300gm package of biohome is enough

The components of the cycle is in this order: Ammonia (NH3) --> Nitrite (NO2) --> Nitrate (NO3) So you test accordingly in that order, as in the first few days test for ammonia until it appears and peaks in concentration, then when it goes down to zero, you can stop testing for ammonia, and test for nitrite, and so on. I find that the following flash presentation of the cycle best explains the process and what to look out for (in the middle of the page): http://reefsources.itgo.com/guide/biological.html In case you haven't read up on the cycling process for new tanks, here's a comprehensive read without too much jargon: http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/bionitrog.../a/aa073199.htm And the most recent discussion on this topic: http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=76994 Happy reefing!

It's actually okay to put in live rocks now, easier to scape while cycling also, without any fish or corals. Add a small piece of prawn meat or drop a bit of fish food everyday to introduce rotting stuff/ammonia for the bacteria to feed on and start the cycle.

There got LFS? My office is near yours

I think I saw a couple of them at AM Katong earlier this week.

Did you check if the smaller "head" has a mouth? I dunno how they reproduce, but my bubble grew a new head recently, but not so big la.

Oh no, she is gonna regret not giving you permission... I can foresee you "working" late and returning to the office on weekends to "check on work" in the weeks to come..... Muahahahaha!

There are several skimmers made for nano tanks, is your tank the nanocube style, with the overflow system built into the back? If so, you might want to get one that can fit into the compartment behind. If not, there are also several hang on skimmer options from the different brands. Resun and Boyu made nano skimmers, I'm using the Boyu nano skimmer (model number WG-308 or something) for my JBJ 12 gallon, I find that it is not really skimming effectively, it does remove waste, but the residue in collection cup is always light tea coloured no matter how I tweak it. Also, it produces a lot of heat since it is cramped into the back of the compartment. Regarding the chiller, it also depends on your budget la, if you can bear to spend on a chiller then by all means go ahead and get it. On hindsight, I didn't advise properly also, what I meant was the normal office aircon temperature can keep most livestock happy, but you've got to research on the kinds of livestock you intend to keep, and if they require low and stable temperature. If you don't place your tank beside the window, I think a fan will be able to keep the temperature within limits during the weekend afternoons. But watch out for evaporation, you would have to top up distilled water first thing every Monday morning if you use a fan for the weekend. A lot of reefers recommend Salifert or API test kits, I never tried Salifert but it is said to be easier to read the results. I only know that API is easier on my wallet Actually for a small tank, regular weekly water change is advised, to remove the nitrate/phosphate rich water with clean water, but it depends on your bioload and what kind of livestock you are keeping also. If you can keep your water parameters stable, or if your livestock are able to tolerate a bit of nutrients in the water then I guess you can afford to be a little lazy NTUC distilled water is a very good deal! There's a promo now, 3 for $1.32 or something like that.

It's a medium size rock, but I epoxy-ed all my rocks together then spotted the worm hahahaha! How large is your super large potter angel? Pics pretty please I used to buy angels, but was very new, didn't have the know how to care for them esp when kena ich. Now focus on nano sized aquarium.

Whoa, thanks thanks, for including me

Will probably do that if all else fail, pity cos I kinda like the shape of the rock Sorry bro hammy for going off topic on your thread, last irrelevant post from me, promise

But must also give them a fighting chance of survival before releasing to others mah Nurse them to a healthy size and let them start feeding on normal food first la. I'm also tempted to ask for one, but they will definitely get lost in the tank at this size hahaha.

Gassed him with CO2 for 2 days, all the other pests died except him

Hahaha! I always wondered if all the additives we use to strengthen the fishes will do the same to pests, it seems to have an effect on the pesky bobbit worm in my tank. Good life, been feeding on Henry's reef gourmet and living in vitamin c enriched water. It seems bulletproof in my attempts to kill it.

Yah man tell me about it... Everytime I'm free there will be a lull in shipment, nice things only come when I'm busy with work or having problems with my tank.

Just a quick reply: 1. Since is a small tank, must I get a protein skimmer? If yes, any good brands to recommend? If you are committed to frequent water change and not overfeeding, then the protein skimmer is not a must (although some people swear by it), since it is hard to find a good decent one for that tank size. 2. I be keeping live rock, fishes(cute and small) and coral, therefore should I get a small chiller to keep the live stock alive? I assume your office has air-con right? That should be sufficient, but you need to think about how to keep the water cool for 2 days a week when nobody is around the office (fan?) 3. I got a so call "thermometer" look alike to test for the salinity and what other equipments or test kit to get. Read from the web talking about ammonia, nitrates etc... Get the basic test kits for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate, these are quite crucial for the cycling period, although I hardly use the ammonia test kit after my own tank completed cycling. 4. If everything is ok, how frequent must i change the water and how many percent? For suck a small tank, I would think that water change needs to be more frequent cos the water parameters fluctuates quite greatly. I think 25% each time should be safe. 5. For topping up the water, can i use tap water or "self mix" salt water? Try not to use tap water, cos it contains phosphates and other organic/chemical substances. Do you have a water cooler/purifier in the office? Water from there should be quite safe depending on what kind of filtration it goes through, if not, for such a small tank, you can easily buy 1.5 litres distilled water for water change. Lastly, good luck with your office tank, it is always a great idea to look away from the computer once in a while to relax

If I'm not wrong, it should be 6 to 7 inches across at least right, John? Can trim the spikes with scissors actually, damn irritating when it breaks off and drop all over the tank.

DOH! Silly me, should have seen that coming, the next natural step! Hahaha. I recall SantaMonica posting some links to blueprints of compact scrubbers utilising LED lights. Do keep us posted on your plans for the scrubber

Sherman, are you asking us a rhetorical question or is this some teaser for a solution you invented

Tsk tsk.... This week, they gonna get a sudden surge of customers and they will wonder why