arcanehacker

Actually waiting for them to sleep is a good idea.. they occasionally sleep out in the open.. they will look like dead pale fishes and best is they take a quite a while to wake up.. Best time to net them..

Prepare really BIG pails of saltmix water first.. depending on how much you need.. good to leave it for a day with flow. You can just put in a small pump or wavemaker. or you could just buy NSW but still check the salinity levels and buff up if required.. Amount would depend on how much is large water change. 50% can be quite stressful to the fishes. You can actually do 20-30% the next few weeks or every 2 weeks is ok. Then just siphon out water from main tank with a hose. Stop at the required level (this you gotta gauge). Then just fill up you tank with the newly prepared water. If you are using a sump, just pour the water in there and the return pump should do the work..

Suggestion, Since you are going for 2 return outlets, why not include 2 return pumps instead of 1 to a Y join? At least if one fails, the other is still returning water. You never know yah?

Yup.. agreed. They sorta belong to another group of fishes which do not have scales (eg box fish, eels).. Though they have a mucus layer to protect themselves, they are also more sensitive to medications and most probably salinity change.

I'm very sure no one can deny the excellent performance of a beckett skimmer.. but like you said, takes up too much power.. esp in Singapore where electricity bills are going up so high every few months.. Not only its about being green already.. its about retaining more colours in our wallets for other stuff.. hehe

Is it me?? ..hehe. I didn't change.. I'm running 2 concurrent models/brands in sump.. .. see above post. My opinion is surely an apple to apple comparison..

My take is looking at more general consensus on its performance.. and never just jump in to new skimmers.. wait a yr or more.. Skimmate is only one expect.. one might say not look at that due to feeding habits and stuff. Esp in LFS where they want to show the poweress of their new product so they overfeed the skimmer. However, based on hobbyist experiences on different skimmers, it should be reasonably accurate. I'm pretty sure very little would go all out feeding frenzy just because they changed a new skimmer. Ease of use I find is very important.. I have recently got another reputable needlewheel model and found out that it wasn't as I have expected. I don't think its broken. Its functioning but its really hard to tune the level.. and everytime I restart the pumps, its tuning time again .. I never had this problem with my concurrent running AP701 or previously used APF600.. Not to mention I cannot fine tune the skimmate as compared to Deltecs.. its mainly always wet. Yes one may say to makes no diff or wet is better. To me, to be able to tune wet or dry is a plus. (This brand is always used to compare with Deltecs). Reliability.. pumps must not break down.. at least not within the warranty period. Yes warranty is good but I'd rather have a peace of mind that its running smoothly for the next few years.. Build is only my last concern. Again the 2 brands I have mentioned on my second point. People prefer the built of the particular brand over Deltec so they go for that first brand. I only agree to half of it.. yes I must say, that particular brand has really strong built. The body/plastics/PVC are very sturdy, compared to materials used for most skimmers (inc Deltecs). I'm very sure they don't break as easily. However, because of my ease of use opinion, it really breaks the deal.. sturdy so what ..

hehe.. Nano shrimp tank would be very funny.. will be the first of its kind.. hehe. Well at least fire shrimps look way nicer and redder that those FW red shrimps.. and way more visible.. Upz for your great equipments.. tempted to get the MCE.. for future nano setup. hehe.

Nah.. Marine fish never have that kind of resale value.. besides the resale of Arowana is actually higher as it grows bigger.. marine fish grow bigger still can only fetch the same price.. if lucky.. else ones thread will just be another long lingering post at the buy/sell forum.. See the Gem Tangs fate we know already..

Come to think of it.. 2 months old tank. cycling process is about >3 weeks - 1 month+. Lets take it that all very matured rocks and using seawater and ANN cycle takes only 3 weeks.. which now only gives 5 weeks to kill off 6 Blue Tangs.. Every week buy one to replace the other? Or bought 1 shot 6 Blue Tangs?

??.. care to elaborate more? I presume your tank went through the ANN cycle with test? BTW white spots on Tangs can be due to stress. most species occasionaly have white spots (esp if they are new additions) but if tank conditions are good, it shouldn't die from it..

haiz.. all the basics not right.. dun use brain then it will be quite detrimental to your tank one day.. ich and skimmer no relation.. check if your other water parameters are correct.. if its reasonably good, fish will survive the ich and fight it off.. Currently high nitrate level can only be lowered with water change. Unless you use a denitrator, which wouldn't be an immediate effect.. And the basics of using a good skimmer is to skim waste out before they break down to nitrate.. External skimmer you have quite a few choices.. Redsea Prizm series, Deltec MCE series, AquaC Remora series.. depends on what price range you are looking for..

$60. well $5 difference take it as transport and time, depending on where you stay of course...

To me it looks like it works like its meant too. LED for a tank that size should be sufficient, if not, more than sufficient. Can't comment on the skimmer coz forgot what brand they use. However you can still change the skimmer anytime since its in the sump, you just need to get one that fits. But for the price I heard..hmm.

Shifted.. Jalan Lekar.. beside Qian Hu..

Excellent skimmer I must say.. used this model for 2+ yrs already.. still going strong as ever.. There is no water height requirements for this.. dump it in the sump and run the pumps.. you only need to control the level via the ball valve once.. then you only need to fine tune the air intake valve.. Does wet and dry skimmate.. As much as there are controversial reefer based findings, there is no such thing as overskimming IMO. Always good to skim out as much unwanted waste.. I'm currently running this and a A110 in a ~180Gal . I'd say get it if it fits..

erm.. that tank really small leh.. must be really hard to keep anything marine.. Anyway if you stay West can go C328.. they are also selling..

.. poison. Yumas are great.. the big one drapes down really nice.. I hope the small one makes it.

oooo... how I wish I had the bucks now.. ..

Do water change only after cycling phase.. meaning ammonia and nitrite is 0, nitrate starts to increase..

Then dun quarantine.. its call acclimatization..

Its ok to have these 2. Why are you planning to put in sump? If you are talking about acclimatizing, you can just use a pail and slowly add water from your tank. If you are talking about quarantine, putting it in your sump serve no purpose because its connected to your main tank..

Its just silica beads from what I see.. just mod a tupperware box so that both in and out is at opps ends. Then fill the box with silica gel.. Box - $1-$5 Silica gel - $3.50 for 500g.. You do the math..

Are copepods that big? I'm pretty sure the ones most reefers which they had are smaller ones.. They are slow moving also.. I've heard of a variant of pods that sticks to fishes like parasites.. not ich.. hopefully these are not the kind.. Anyway, harmful or not, you are surely not getting rid of them with what you got or water change.. Suggest you try with Mandarins, scooters or some other pod eating fishes.. if they eat, they should control the population.. if they don't, you still have cute little scooters swimming around.. hehe.

sounds complicated.. Keep it simple bro..