georgeswb

Adjust the water level to be above the recommended marking and just below the black ring on the body..You need time to run the unit in...it wont skim correctly in a few hours...but hopefully it will after two days or so. I reckon you need to run it in first

Cld be mantis shrimp...but those small green ones are quite harmless..If u can..remove them from your system totally.

Henry of ML has those too.

"if thats the case, please do not invest in expensive lighting systems like T5s or MHs. I don't see a lot of LFS doing that. (= *note. I said I don't see a lot. that means there are some who bother doing so. so don't shoot me.*' Do fishes require MH and T5s to survive? I dont think so..however the central sump with live rocks you mentioned make lots of sense

Aro 90 bucks

get a weipro 2011 or 2012 skimmer.For 2011 get a eheim 1250 and for 2012 get weipro 3000 as the pump...you cld always configure to have the pump placed externally from the tank.

It could work if you have a extremely efficient sump with good bio filtration capability and refugium for macro algae cultivation. The LFSs dont place live rocks in each and every tank too.

Activated carbon is meant for the absorption of numerous unwanted harmful chemical substances (possibly ammonia, heavy metals, medications etc)..it also improves the water quality by making it crystal clear.

My reccomendations may not be optimal..lets see what the others think

Those stuff..biohome and chemi pure are readily available at LFSs that does marine live stocks. Just ask within. To fill one media basket with "biohome" wld cost you aro S$26 and the chemipure another $10...get the 10oz ones for the chemipure. Note that u need to replace the chemipure media once every 6 mths

The right level should be just below the black ring and above the recommended markings. BTW this setting is for a 2011..reckon it shld be the same as for the rest too.

Forget to add that its important that you get a good protein skimmer

Within the canister filter, there are usually a few media baskets and filtration media depending on the make and model. They do come with your initial purchase of the canister but its up to you if you want to use them. There is usually one for biological filtration which means this stuff in the basket would encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria which would convert ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate. Another layer would be for mechanical filtration which means it remove solid waste particles from your system. The canister unit usually gets too efficient and then your system gets loaded with nitrate though not as toxic as nitrite but it is still bad for the growth of corals, invertebrates and fishes alike. If you really need to use one, I recommend that you not use the media in the lower basket...just place a piece of fine wool material for mechanical filtration (to remove debris and suspended solids) Secondly, fill the upper media basket with a media called ' biohome' which is made of sintered glass material which is known to encourage both the growth of aerobic and aneaerobic bacteria which would remove nitrite as well as nitrate from your system. Finally, if you want to further improve your filtration system, you could add chemical filtration to your system by adding activated carbon...Here I would reccomend the 'Chemi pure' media. As all reefer knows it, it still pretty hard to tell at this point of time if your system will be susceptible to high nitrate reading after all the above measures but if you still face problems, perform a partial water change (20%) on a weekly basis and major 50% water change on a monthly basis. Hope that helps.

Thats how a canister external filter looks like..but by using a canister filter instead of a sump system could lead to high nitrate readings. If you only want to use a canister filter then my advice would be that you maintain it at least once a week, by changing the wool media. Try to get those cheap ones instead of the manufacturer's media as those are expensive.

It might mean your tank had been cycled and thats why no nitrite...