viper0419

Its about 10 gallons. thanks again for the tip bro.

lol. no no. I very paiseh one. will only ask if i am really buying. right now im just gonna let the lone clown stay in there till its more stabilized.

i've contemplated setting up a QT before. but not very practical cos don't have space to run a spare tank that will be empty most of the time. i've just gone ahead to buy a spare acrylic tank and filter. is it possible to run a QT only when i buy new fishes?

they weren't feeding the fish then. i didn't know can ask them feed before choosing. I've only gotten the common clown cos i like the vibrant orange. but still it feels sad for the fish to die within hours. thanks for the advice!

1. I choose the 2 most active ones from the tank. 2 &3. Tank is cycled. Used caribsea live sand and live rocks. Together with Ritz Zyme 9. Ammo 0 Nitrate 6.1 (Hanna) 4. I did acclimate. Add small portion of water using cup over 1 hour. Salinity is 1.026. 5. media is marine pure. One block and one bag of spheres. doubt it’s my water. The smaller one is doing ok. Actually off the bat during first feeding I’ve noticed that the smaller one went after food but not the bigger one. I thought just need time to adjust.

Guys, Got my first setback today. I added 2 clown into my tank on Saturday. Noticed that the bigger one is not eating. Yesterday saw some white spot on it. Today saw it has white slime over the body. I googled that it the symptoms fitted Brooklynella very much. Rush out to buy Ritz Quick Cure and Seachem Metroplex. Came home fish already dead. Not sure how it can go from lively to dead in just a few hours. Any idea how it could have gotten it?

oh okay. thanks.

Hi again, Can I ask, I currently have 1 x Jebao SLW-20m wave maker. Is that enough or I need another one? To recap, I have a reefer 170 so tank size is roughly 60cmx 50cm x 50cm (34 gallon or 130 litres of display tank volume. I plan to keep mix of fishes, soft corals, lps and sps.

Good call on many of the things I didn't thought about. That's the effect of watching too much Youtube Thanks for advice!

Guys, For cycling is it required to test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate like freshwater? If yes which kit is advisable? Something like the Red Sea map marine test kit? Also on the subject of testing, based on my research, these are the essential tests and the corresponding best kit for testing. please correct if wrong :- 1. Hanna test kit can get - alkalinity, ULR phosphate and LR Nitrate 2. Calcium - Red Sea calcium pro 3. Magnesium - aqua forest test pro 4. Ph - salifert or red sea 5. Chlorine - Hanna any of them redundant? I plan to keep a bit of everything in terms of corals and livestocks

All down to poor planning and insufficient research. Never thought it would take 2 days to fill a 40 gallon tank.

Yes tds is 0. zzzzzzz

Once I am able to fill up my tank. The RO/DI that I am using is producing like a standard pail of water every 2+ to 3 hours. At this rate, don't know when will tank be filled.. lol

Thanks for all the advices!

I read that for Hanna only Alk and Ultra low phosphate worth getting. I think Red Sea has a foundation kit that takes care of a few tests. Not sure how good is it. Salinity use refractormeter can alrdy? what should the healthy levels be for all these. I am reading conflicting info. Eg Alk some say 7.7. some say 9? As for dosing guess will go manual first for now..

Yeah. It’s an expensive hobby… better to space things up

Thanks! Yes, I'm gonna cycle the tank without lights and chiller on until its ready before adding any corals/fish. Gonna take it slow. For wave maker i've gone with the budget Jebao SOW-8.

Hi Bro, 2. I bought the caribsea live rocks 40lb box. 4 pcs arranged together quite nicely so no left over pieces to glue to cover epoxy joins. But based on what I see, there is not a lot of crazy sticking required. there is one huge piece that I need to stack on top of another so I think epoxy might be safer than super glue I guess.

Got the call that my tank is arriving Wednesday. Can’t wait! Meanwhile, got a few pressing question to ask:- 1. For first time filling tank. Do you mix the salt water outside then fill or fill with ro/di water In tank then mix? I don’t have a large drum and will probably take several pails if method one 2. For live rocks to live rocks sticking, epoxy or super glue gel or both. 3. I noticed that my radion Xr-15 is blue version. But read that the pro version is more versatile for mix community tank. Shop says can change since I have not open. Should I? Not sure which is better. cheers!

Yeah collected everything except for the tank…

Thanks bro!

Arrggh.. seen this too late. Gotten a Nyos Viper 2.0H. I don't supposed it is a DC pump?

Just an update. I pulled the trigger today as I managed to find a shop with the Red Sea Reefer 170. Tank set + Radion XR15 + BM C3.5 skimmer + Pumps + Filter media all come up to same price as if I get the Max E170. Shop owner told me worth it cos sump at the bottom and the light is good. Important is got stock so I just have to wait 2 weeks max I think.

Hi Everyone, Thanks for all the advices. They are all very sound and are real food for thought. Guess the end result I am hoping for is more corals and perhaps selective "beautiful" fishes. I understand fully on the itch that everyone is saying as I have some experience on this with freshwater tanks as well. But so far only kept it within 2 foot. The choices of what I can do is really limited I admit and after sometime, it can get boring. I definitely will not be going 4 foot and above in the near future as really lack the space (just don't see how). However, anyone has good tank maker can share recommendation too. Based on what I've researched, you need minimum 3 foot to have a meaningful sump at the bottom which at least has ATO and maybe space for refugium. I am not sure if I can stretch my 2 foot to 3 foot. One advantage of the Max 170 is that they have built in capability to upgrade to a sump at the bottom in future if desired so. But the real estate at the top remains the same. Budget is another constraint. I've calculated that based on the current setup which includes :- 1. Tank Set including skimmer & light. 2. Chiller + pump 3. Additional Wavemaker 4 RO/DI 5. Start - Live Rocks, Sand, Salt, etc All adds up to approximately $3.5k. I spoke to a few places and they told me that custom built a 2 foot tank including the above stuffs of similar quality will add up to that kind of amount as well. Please correct me if I am wrong ? If its possible to built one below that or even a 3 footer based on this budget, I can certainly think about it. Like Dtdream bro say, Red Sea gotta wait 2 months... kind of a killjoy. Lastly, I find this researching and taking advices a very enjoyable part of this hobby so thanks very much for all the inputs!

Good question. I agree that based on what I've read, most will say that the sump at the bottom will be more ideal. However, I am concerned about the following :- 1. 2 foot tank with sump at bottom means chiller have to sit outside. 2. If I get the reefer 170 with sump at the bottom, I will need to then get the following separately - skimmer, light, pump. I have very limited knowledge to get one that is good enough that will not burst the bank account. I did toy with the idea of custom build a tank to do the above, but most place work out the sum to be around the price of getting the Max 170 with questionable parts (e.g. lights, skimmer, etc). I am hoping that this tank, if done successfully can last me about 3 years? If the result is good, I think the family will be more acceptable of a bigger tank? lol.