tofubox

Very swee equipment, love the AIs!

Time to colour them up!

Having a cr will definitely make ur reefing hobby easier and lessen your chores. But foolproof or not, will depend on your own tuning. I've known guys who go on long business trips and never had problems with kh issues using a cr, its pretty reliable if u ask me, unless ur digital timer or feed pump screws up. As like anything else when comes to equipment, like a failed return pump, chiller etc. I believe others may have postive or negative views towards cr based on their own expierence, maybe they can share more input on this matter. My first experience using a cr couple yrs back was a nightmare, could never get it tuned, but that was because i was using a different method from now. This 2nd try at cr with the new method has been only positive by far.

Hi Bro Chris, I've come across this article before, and what he does and hes maintenance does make a lot of sense towards keeping sps, so its not really all luck here. He has a very high nutrient export system, thereby he can afford not to run a skimmer. Mainly he does this through natural means, such as: 1. Good amount of sponge growth ( Sponge growth is like nothing I've had before, with much of the surface on the under/back sides of rocks being nearly covered) .....sponges are one of the best filter feeders of the ocean, thats why its so clean and prestine. (When I was adding calcium more often, there was a lot more coralline algae growing in the aquarium. However, much of it has slowly disappeared over the last year or so. Fortunately, most of the lighted rock is covered by other things, while unlit surfaces have been largely overgrown by sponges. And, I don't have to scrape coralline algae off the glass any more, either. So, in some ways this isn't a problem after all.) Heres a video clip for better understanding You can forgo plenty of equipment just by having good amount of sponges within your tank 2. Large amount of xenias (Xenia are also one of the best filter feeders which increases your nutrient export greatly, successfully keeping large amounts of this will make equipments redundant) Several clusters of 2 species of pulsing xenia, Xenia sp. Several clusters of 2 species of non-pulsing xenia, Xenia sp. Several clusters of blue xenia, Cespitularia erecta 3. A large Clam ( One derasa clam, Tridacna derasa.) another wonderful form of natural nutrient export. Large clams although consump alot of ca, are highly effective in filtering warter 2nd reason for hes success would be hes knowledge in a good lighting for sps. Read up hes article. U see he has a 14 bulb set up, although he only uses 10. He does still test for water parameters occasionally ( E.S.V. or Two Little Fishies calcium hydroxide/kalkwasser to keep calcium levels up.) He knows the amount required to maintain a healthy level of CA. But as mentioned, he does testing less frequently, but this comes with a good eye and experience to notice any change in corals ( I haven't actually tested calcium levels (or anything else) in a couple of years, but just keep an eye on things) Monthly waterchange of 25% is considered normal when your system stabilises, and u already have a high nutrient export system Good use of carbon is still necessary since the natural export means cant handle this job (After each water change is completed, I put approximately two to three cups of E.S.V. or Two Little Fishies HydroCarbon2 granular activated carbon and one cup of Two Little Fishies Phosban into a mesh bag ) So really, this guy knows what hes doing. He tank is stable with little changes, as for the age of the tank, i did not see it mentioned, but he did say "for a couple of years". Hope this helps.

Luck. haha. Some of us just dame lucky, dont do anything also corals can flourish. But that aside, my guess would be high amount of stability, a very efficient nutrient export system (large skimmer, oversized refugium, plenty of macroalgae etc), a good brand of salt mix, large amount water changes but less frequently, good husbandry, limiting fish, getting smaller sized corals or frags, topping up with essential elements (trition) Other than that, you're just going against the law of nature....so ....back to luck. haha.

Hey guys, Looking for any healthy red or green/ bali green slimer staghorns. Txt me at 90020585 with pics. Thanks, tofu

Welcome to the hobby bro! Im sure u will enjoy reefing more! Beautiful tank u got there, i am a big fan of ada tanks as well, the rimless and crystal glass is awesome. May i ask who is the tank maker? What u planning to keep? Any particular lightset u looking at?

So, I've been receiving couple of pms regarding the use of calcium reactors (Cr), thought i do a short write up to those keen on trying out CR. Reasons to use a cr? 1. Sick of unbalanced parameters, i.e kh 7.0, Ca 600? 2. Sick of inaccurate dosing pumps or manually dosing everyday? 3. Sick of having to constantly test more than one parameter? 4. Sick of mixing ur ca or kh powder and having to replenish them often? 5. Sick of having to risk a power outage with no automatic restart, or dosing pump completely emptying out your addictive reservoir? Benefits of using a CR.....You only top up the media once or twice a year depending on tank consumption, Only need to test for kh once your parameters at the start is in balance, Accuracy will depend on equipment, but theres a good method that im currently using that i'll share with u guys. System is stable and auto restarts if there is power outage. Can incorporate magnesium media into the system. Things you need for a CR: 1. Co2 cylinder, bigger the better. 2. Co2 Regulator with selonoid 3. Check valve and air tubes. 4 Calcium reactor 5. A ph monitor or controller 6. A digital timer 7. A slow flowrate pump to feed the reactor 8. A flow valve to control the output flow. 9. A Kh test kit 10. A liquid 2 part additives ( i.e Two little fishes B balance, ESV B-ionic) Pick out a good and reliable co2 regulator and selonoid, this is really important piece of equipment for your cr to function properly if you don't use a ph controller. To set up a reactor, Bulk reef supply has a good example: So heres my own method of using a CR that u guys can try out, works amazing for me. 1. Set up ur CR, place 3/4 calcium media, 1/4 Magnesium media. Start up and check for leaks 2. Place your PH probe in the probe holder. (A good designed CR will have a probe holder, and i highly recommend getting only those with probe holders) 3. Set up your Co2 tank, regulator and solenoid with check valve. Plug and test system. You should also have a co2 bubble counter, fill it up and watch that it performs well. 4. Set up your feed pump, with a flow valve / Pinch valve at the effluent line 5. Once the system is up and running. Heres where u have to tune the effluent line flow rate. 6. Effluent rate should be adjusted now to 40-50ml / min 7. Important step here....if u use a PH monitor...u want to set your co2 bubble count rate to a PH value of roughly 6.4-6.6, or whatever manufacturer recommends for your specific calcium media. So slowly increase your co2 until your ph monitor reads a stable 6.4-6.6. 8. If using a PH controller....you should set your PH controller to kick in the co2 at 6.6, and stop at 6.4. (recommanded if your co2 regulator n solenoid is not accurate) 9. Once u are able to achieve a stable ph within the calcium reactor, by monitoring the ph reading from the ph probe, u can now move on to the next step. 10. Set up your digital timer and plug your co2 regulator in. Your timer should come on during your tanks photo period, this reduces the ph drop within the display tank in the night, making it more stable. 11. Digital Timer can be set initially to on for 10hrs 12. Heres the key part.. Now u measure the kh daily, at a specific given time, usually after ur cr switches off. But make sure the time u measure daily is the same throughout. 13. If kh is too high.....the next day, switch off your timer or reduce the time the timer is switched on, measure again end of the night. Repeat until kh drops back to desired reading. From there adjust ur timer again, but this time, run it for say 8hrs instead of the previous 10hrs. If however, ur timer is reduced all the way down to only 6hrs or less. U need to reduce the effluent rate and adjust the ph again within the cr. This prevents a large amount of the KH/CA being dosed in a short 6hr period. Ideally u want the timer to be on for 10hrs to spread out the dose. 14. If kh is too low....U need to manually add kh and ca, since u are using 2 part solution, u can add both of equal amount, hence only testing for kh only. Dose the amount required to bring it back to desired kh value. From there, adjust your cr to switch on for 11hrs instead of 10hrs, or depending on how much deficit ur kh was. So what happens if your cr is now switched on for 24hrs, aka, reached its limit.. Increase ur effluent rate and again set ur co2 to maintain 6.4 to 6.6. This increased the kh amount entering your tank. If this doesnt work, check your feed pump and your flow valve/pinch valve on the effluent line. If all else fails, this means ur CR is undersized for your tank volume/consumption. Heres a digital timer I am currently using that works really well. U can fine tune it down to minutes. Easy to set up, easy to adjust whenever necessary. The brand is soundtech. Choosing a CR: Heres some good things to look out for in a good CR: Comes with dual media chamber (helps to reduce the ph drop of your tank), Contains a ph probe holder to measure ph within the chamber, Large enough or oversized for your tank volume, Comes with a reliable and easily replaceable recirculating pump for the reactor, Comes with a co2 bubble counter in built. Good quality material with high grade silicon and o rings. Lastly, please dont forget to look at your co2 cylinder every now and than. I would recommend getting two bottles if the shop u do your refills take a few days to get it done. The larger your co2 Cylinder, the less frequent the need for refill. Hope you guys that are planning to try out CR find this useful. Cheers!

Fantastic!!!! Been waiting for someone to do a spongebob replica set up. Keep us posted with pics man. Im excited for ur new project! Ps. Can u pm me the price of those figurines, they look too awesome.

Longspine cardinal feeding. Managed to get these little buggers to feed on pellet after 3 weeks in the qt tank. Now they get really greedy during feeding time. Its quite challenging to get them to start feeding, like anthias, they are pretty shy and st*pid initially. I spammed lots of pellets while i had them in qt, my whole tank was filled with all sorts of algae. Out of 15 i had, 11 made it and now feed on pellets. Started off with a mix of brine shrimp and coral frenzy pellets. Slowly switched over to TDO.

Another beautiful wrasse, chrismas wrasse, worth considering for the pest control crew. I understand iwarna will be bringing in these this week. Also for those looking for malenurus, ah beng and ML should be getting some shipped in this week too. To help u guys id better: Look more at the tail and body pattern, Males and females, juv and adult do differ. Wrasse of the Halichoeres Genes: Christmas wrasse (Halichoeres claudia) Malenurus wrasse (Halichoeres melanurus) Vrolik wrasse (Halichoeres chrysotaenia)

Hey bunn, personally im not so sure myself if just these two will be sufficient for pest control. After speaking to some advance reefers, they had most success dealing with pest problems with a 6 line wrasse. As mentioned by one of them, the 6 line is indeed the better choice for pest control, and if u are lucky enough, some 6line are not aggressive at all towards other wrasse. Its possible that they dont disturb other tank mates, but i feel the highest chance will be to add them in last so that they don't gain dominance over the tank space. Also another article i read as mentioned before, the 6line and melanurus wrasse has a different preference over their critter diet. So ideally, a mix of the 3 will be better. Ideally, you still want to qt or dip your corals before introduction to your main tank. Taken from advance reef " Some individuals will reward you with removal of some troublesome pests, but don't expect adding one will be a guaranteed way to deal with your flatworm problem, whilst it might, it might not get 'em all. They will though, make a dint into any population of polychaete worms that exist in your tank that for one reason or another are active in the day time" More good read for different wrasse : http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2014/3/fish

looks like small tube worm

Hi bro, look up vermetid snails. Cheers. Mostly harmless but can multiple quickly. The "web" will irritate your corals if it touches them. The "web" is use to catch suspended particles in the water column.

My RP flow is on both sides of the tank. position to blow towards the mid. Haha, yup, parts of my tank is bb, this is because i didn't have enough sand in the first place to fill up the tank, still awaiting shipment of the special grade sand to come, supposedly end of oct. Flow is enough at the moment for the bottom, don't wanna stir up the sand, but enough to provide a constant flow and continuous water exchange over the sand. If you notice any LPS u have doing a nice "dance" on the sand bed, theress probably enough flow over the sand to keep detritus from settling

Just to add, reason for adding 2 yellow coris is because as mentioned, they dont ship too well. So u don't want to be adding another yellow coris after u have already introduced your six line if your first piece doesn't survive. Would have gotten 3! But these guys grow quite fast and large, so only added 2.

Next segment! Pest control! So as most people start up....u get a set of clean up crew....and than u began stocking with fishes. What many forget to include, is a set of pest control crew (PCC, sounds horribly wrong). There are tons of good fishes out there with many functions in a tank. My main focus was not to get rid of apitasia, but more on critter control, such as flatworms, redbugs, nudibranch, and pods. yes even pods will irritate sps if the population gets out of hands. After talking to some pros, and reading up online, heres a crew i put together. The main problem i faced was knowing which fish was known to eat the targeted critter and can live in harmony with others. So heres what i chosen: 2 x yellow coris(Halichoeres chrysurus, the canary wrasse), 1 x Hoeven's wrasse (Halichoeres melanurus), 1 x sixline wrasse (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia) So heres an article that was useful for me: For flatworms Natural Predators There are a few natural predators you can add to your reef aquarium to help eradicate the flatworms. Some fish will eat the flatworms, these include; Sixline wrasse, Leopard wrasse, Yellow wrasse and also spotted mandarin dragonet. Always remember sometimes these fish will not completely eradicate the flatworms entirely but usually do a good job. The Blue Velvet Nudibranch is a good predator for consuming flatworms. It is important to note that the blue velvet nudibranch is very sensitive to changes in water parameters and also has a short lifespan. For Zoanthid eating nudibranchs Natural Predators Zoanthid eating nudibranchs do have a few natural predators a few of these are the yellow coris wrasse, melanarus wrasse, and some other wrasses. For Montipora eating nudibranchs Natural Predators For natural predators there are a few wrasses you can add to your reef aquarium to help eradicate these nudibranchs. The melanarus wrasse and the yellow coris wrasse are good candidate for the job. For Red bugs Natural Predators Redbugs do have a natural predator, the Dragonface Pipefish. These fish anchor themselves to acropora branches and eat the redbugs. Also came across an article about six line wrasse and melanarus wrasse eating different species of pest. Each has its own preference, unfortunately, i cant find the article. To deal with aggression, as most know, 6 line tend to be very aggressive towards other wrasse, heres what i did. Over a period of two days: 1. Bought a melanarus wrasse from CF on day 1. Targetted to get a slightly large piece as these guys tend to be a little less aggressive. 2. Day 2, bought 2 yellow coris, small sized, these guys don't ship too well, so u have to be extra careful when selecting. 2. Same time, bought the smallest 6 line wrasse possible to find, must be the smallest amongst the three. Introduce the melanarus wrasse on first day, let it borrow in the sand and make home. Has to be confident or it will die easily. Introduce the yellow coris on 2nd day And lastly, introduce the 6line couple of hours later when u observe the yellow coris swimming around freely. There should not be any aggression as most will be exploring the tank, finding a suitable home that is unoccupied. I can't guarantee they will live in harmony, but time will tell. This is just my own way to reduce aggression. Of course, there are plenty more wrasse that are handy and do a good job with critter control, if u are looking for other types, i suggest getting any wrasse that is of the Halichoeres genes, they are the most known to eat pest. Reason i chose the melanurus is because from accounts of other reefers here, these guys are the least aggressive and does the best job. Other types of wrasse to consider: vrolik wrasse, Christmas wrasse, red coris I hope this helps out u guys looking for a PCC! Cheers! (The lesser the chances of pest around, the more this hobby can grow)

Thanks guys for the kind comments, credit goes to my good friend =D Yes sir, the tank is 12mm thick Hi bro, currently got 2 rw15 positioned opposite each other on opposite side, both are on w1, but unfortunately i cant get them to syn very well on the master n slave setting as both controllers are separated. They are position to push water at the front and back of the tank. Also have a wp25 on else mode that is positioned on the right glass, blowing towards the mid top, this provides a gentle random flow and at the same time agitates the water at the surface. I highly recommend getting a secondary wavemaker with sole purpose of agitating the water surface and pushing water to the overflow if u dont already have one. All wave makers are 3/4 from the base of the tank, mainly targeted at improving flow for the higher areas where i have the sps colonies. I guess everyone has a different wavemaker set up, it all depends on your rock scape, what works for me, might not work for everyone. I'm also still testing out the different positions to get the optimal flow.

A really good friend of mine popped by my place today with he's dslr and offered to shoot a couple of pictures. Just look at the difference! A big thank you to my friend for taking these beautiful shots.

+1 on water change. Only way it seems.

Hey bro, yup u pretty much got it, but what will be better is u do step 4 first than step 3.....or if u really kiasu....do step 3 than 4 than 3 again. For step 5, u dont have to soak in saltwater to do the test (save salt mix). Best is RODI or DI water free from any chlorine, u dont need all the rocks for the test, just a few more porous pieces of rocks...soak for 48hrs in RODI or DI water and test the water for CL. If no cl detected, u can go ahead and put all the pieces in the tank, start scaping and cycling the rocks.

Hey bro, Yup bleaching will 100% kill of everything. The sun drying process is impt. U can use the hairdryer as well. The idea over it is just to get it as dry as possible. Every nook and crevice must be dry. After u blow dry + sun dry, recommend u to soak in just freshwater with seachem prime to be sure. Than ur good to go.

Took some shots of my corals today before i began colour additive dosing with zeovit, mainly for my own future reference. Heres some current pictures, and maybe i can show some reference next time of the progress with zeo dosing. Used camera white balance as everything turns blue with my normal s3 cam. Will use same function for future shots.

Yup, no worries bro, u will pick it up soon enough. Keep a look out, and definately give it a shot. Cheers!

Hi bro, Can consider engaging marcovan