comycus

Bro, chromis got from AM. Settling v. nicely in the tank. 2 of them either like smooching or fighting. (keeps 'kissing' each other) I think its the latter, but think overall they are quite peaceful. Been really busy the past week. Tank's definitely having a diatoms bloom or some sort of algae breakout. Really hoping to get some Ceriths this weekend to help me control the nuisance algae. Can some helpful soul help me ID and suggest how to solve it? Maybe 20 Ceriths will do the trick. I don't really wanna add anymore chemicals like algaefix to my tank coz kinda dosing quite alot of stuff now already I think. Just checked my tank parameters. With the help of AZ NO3 and SORB 4, my nutrients level are more under control now, so hopefully the algae can stop growing! Salinity: 1.025 pH: 8.03 (have trouble buffing pH up to 8.2 using Reef Buffer, alkalinity and aeration shouldn't be the problem) Alkalinity: 12.2dKH Ammonia: 0 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate: 5 Calcium: 390 Phosphate: 0 Temperature: 27-28.5 degrees Dosing AZ NO3 and Purple up daily...

I'm still pretty new to the hobby, and I am still going through the learning phase. My only advice is to read up as much as your brain can absorb. You will have tons of questions that you can find answers to here or anywhere online. Take all with a pinch of salt as, very often, ppl have different ways of approaching their tanks. Bro fishiee has covered quite extensively on the equipment. The idea behind having any equipment is to provide as close to a reef habitat as possible. There are many good deals on good equipment in the pasar malam section here if you are on budget. You will want to read up minimally on cycling new tanks, acclimatizing new LS, maintaining water quality etc. You can find many posts on these here, or in other forums, internet sites. I found this site a v. good read to kick start my education http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/subject/index.php

I'm still newbie, but I think ure star polyps are still getting used to your tank conditions. They are supposed to be v. hardy and good for beginners. Like my toadstool, took almost 1 week to open up, but now it looks great! I've been advised that they normally take 1-2 weeks to open based on your water conditions. Would advice a FW dip for all corals purchased to get rid of nuisance parasites. Or if kiasu, can get TMPCC. err its known to be rather harsh on corals based on reviews i've read in other forums, so do take note. cheers!

good to see all gurus dishing out advice here for anyone to pick up! correct me if I'm wrong: Keeping all variables constant, finned heat sink>aluminum bare heat sink w fan>aluminum black heat sink fanless?? '>' = better than so to compensate when costs are factored in, bigger and thicker is better. Nothing new here

lol bro ure caps lock were accidentally on. Will check that out. Prefer to do the natural way as eventually I will need something to clear my detritus too. Guess only CF has... have to make the long trip down this weekend.

yupz, just a little bit at the sides. I'm also hoping they will clear away my detritus and turn over my sand. Was considering hermits, nassarius and bumblebee snails, but abit disturbed by their carnivorous behaviour, so turning to cerith instead.

anyone knows price and availability of cerith snails other than CF? Looking for a good cleaning crew... wanna clear up small patches of diatom growing along the edge of my sandbed.

bro how big is your BT? kinda looks abit squeezy for him... otherwise, nice tank!

Anyone selling or giving away Cerith snails? looking to get a handful for my 3x2x2 tank. Or where can I buy them other than at CF? (and how much do they normally cost?) Preferably somewhere not so far away and ulu... Thanks!

no experience in anything electrical... Guess have to wait for mainstream product prices to drop before forking out the $. Or some DIY guru lend me a helping hand

Eheim or Aquabee are reliable brands. Aquabee has lower wattage = less heat If budget's really tight, would go for Rio out of the 3.

bro v. informative indeed! Have provided us with lotsa information needed to diy. Just wondering, can any newt get the equipment and solder them tog or some skill involved... Really would love to try. Save $ and get the sense of satisfaction of diy. btw, cool project!

hmmm anyone with experience in these white flatworms can help?

Don't worry bro, very soon, your rocks will be covered in coraline, and have gems everywhere! then maybe time to consider upgrading

Would like to find out more about the difference between the 2 flatworms. I have ~3-4 white flatworms that can be found on my glass surface. Based on my research, the white ones are quite harmless and doesn't breed to dangerous levels that will harm corals. They are a known predator of copepods, and are rumoured to keep the red flatworms in check. The red ones are the ones that breed to catastrophic levels and is a common reef pest. Are these information correct? Should I know anything else about these white flatworms before I consider whether to exterminate them with Salifert Flatworm exit? My tank only has 1 toadstool and 3 chromis now, can easily move them to my QT tank if I need to dose flatworm exit. Or maybe these are just harmless food for my future wrasse/dragonet?

Not too sure about lifespan. Chillers like Artica and Teco are known to be more reliable, if serviced regularly. In terms of electricity consumption, you will have to work out the math to see which chiller is more efficient and cost effective for you. The formula to calculate your electricity bills can be found here: http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=80504

Distributor assured me that the chiller can work optimally up to a flow rate of 300L/hr. Anyway, after monitoring over the last 3 days, here are my numbers. I think it is more or less in line with the ppl polled here. Average time taken to cool from 28.5 to 27 degrees: 90-100min Average time in between kick in at 28.5 degrees: 3.5-5.5hrs Which means my cooler kicks in an average of 4x/day, total of ~6hours of cool time.

Thanks bro! hope to learn from all the nice reefers here. Not so ambitious yet to do anything big, looking at LPS and softies first, hoping eventually to add 1 or 2 tangs, cardinals, anthias and clownfish. Still pretty nervous about my setup actually. (newbie jitters?) The toadstool still refuses to open, and after the dip in tmpcc on sat night, still has some mucus on its skin even with my mp20 blowing at it. Hope it opens up soon...

yikes! thanks alot for the quick warning bro emergency action! errm... I don't have any other corals now... will be monitoring it closely before I add any others i guess.

new additions. There are 2 aggressive ones in there... Can identify them from their dorsal fins. *crosses fingers* hope all 3 of them work something out... Yummy looking toadstool that has not opened up. I hope it returns to its formal glory soon. Does anyone know what all those funny little white spots that can be found on its skin?

My tank is 3x2x2, total water in tank is approximately 76 gallons. I meaured it myself I only have 1 pump in skimmer (Aquabee 2000 for a Deltec MCE600), and another pump for my canister filter (Eheim 2075). Total wattage from both is 20+16 only. Chiller is new. I have callibrated my chiller with my 2 external thermometers le Think I will follow your suggestions and monitor again this weekend. Hope its not a chiller problem, just my settings problem. Edit: pipings run from tank to canister filter to chiller to tank. All powered by the canister pump@~1250L/hr.

Yeah bro I will do that this weekend. Like I said, very happy with the kick in period. I always thought the ventilation in my house is v. poor, coz always so hot! But seems like my tank thinks differently from my skin According to distributor, they claim that the chilling time will shorten, so will monitor again for this weekend Btw bro, which Artica chiller you using?

I'm using Teco tr15. For the last 2 nights, I have been setting temperature at 27.5 degrees. Chiller will cool till 28 and stop. Then kick in at 28.5 and stop at 28 again.

After observing my tank for 2 nights, my notes read: 1) 30/40min to cool tank by 0.5 degrees with lights off/on (4x39W) 2) approximately 2-2.5 hours in between kick in (i.e. for temperature to increase by 0.5 degrees) Speechless. I'm happy with 2 and not happy with 1. Will continue monitoring this long weekend. Any Teco users out there care to verify my numbers?

Based on your previous posts, I assume you have a reef tank. The Odyssea is a normal 4 tube t5 fixture. These lightings are typically used by many reefers, and are good for reef tank, where strong lighting is needed for coral photosynthesis. You can consider this for your tank, adding additional tubes in future if you require stronger lights. The LED shouldn't be considered in a reef tank due to its colour spectrum and light intensity. You typically want the blue spectrum for corals and whites to have a more natural effect in the fish tank. If choosing LEDs for a reef tank, you will require high output LEDs. typically 3W/LED, and a whole lot of other requirements. This fixture averages 0.2W/LED. In short, too underpowered for a reef tank, and wrong colour.