brent

Hi. Are they A350 or A350w?

It's much better in a reactor. Did your phosphate levels drop after you added the rowaphos? In my experience the first time you add rowaphos it absorbs phosphates almost immediately and gets fully utilized within the first week. It's not like carbon where it needs to be changed out on a regular basis. you change it out when your measured phosphate levels rise. In any case, it's possible that the corals aren't fully acclimated. This is especially the case for wild or maricultured corals. You can also try dialing up the lights.

I've finally had enough of sand storms & sand drifts. Shallow tanks and sand just don't mix well. BB is my future

You are right. They are too small. Each one is about 1.5 L, which would have been fine on my old tank. When I designed it, I was dosing about 80ml per day in the rsm. I figured that i would be dosing 100ml per day in this one. I miscalculated. This tank's consumption has increased significantly and now I'm dosing 220ml per day just to maintain stable kh and ca levels. This only leaves me with 1 week of supply which is a real pain.

My controller has already proven some value. Even though I haven't had a chance to calibrate the ph probe, I still have it connected and it doesn't seem too far off. In any case, I was checking on something else and I noticed that pH graph didn't have the normal spike associated with my automatic doser adding alk every hour. I did a quick check of my dosing unit and it turns out that my dosing chamber had run out of alk solution.

GFO = Granular Ferric Oxide (most popular brand is Rowaphos) -- removes phosphates, use a media reactor like Phosban In order to avoid brown outs, when keeping SPS it is recommended that you keep your phosphates at 0.03 or below. Unless you have a massive tank, it seems like everyone who keeps nice SPS with fish needs to use GFO to maintain a low level of phosphates. I'm just a beginner but that's what I've learned talking to the more experienced reefers. High phosphates also inhibit growth and cause a greater incidence of STN. If you are feeding a lot, that should also be reduced. If you decide to get media reactor, try not to overdo it by bringing the phosphate down too quickly. As they say, "Only bad things happen quickly in a reef tank."

What are your phosphate and nitrate levels? Are you running GFO?

Thanks. Most of my SPS are from other local reefers. I bought a majority of them from Cedric's packages. Thanks. The problematic wild colonies came from GO but it wasn't a pre-order. One of the colonies immediately changed from white to brown. Another was quite beautiful for a couple of months and then started developing STN. I have a 3rd one that has done great. Last time I was at GO I bought some zoas and it had a small anemone that was purposefully placed on the rock. Luckily, I asked on the forum for an ID. It turns out that the anemone is was a Majano anemone, which is a terrible pest that is extremely difficult to eradicate after it gains a foothold in your tank. I nuked it before it had a chance to spread but after that experience, I'll never go back there. In general, I would say that local frags are much more stable and suitable for beginners. I'm sure there are a lot of beginning reefers who go out and buy a bunch of wild colonies. Their tanks look great for about 1 month but then they have a full a brownout and quit the hobby. Wild colonies are not very forgiving and so I would recommend against them unless you know what you're doing. Regarding the Apex controller, since I'm an American, it is much easier for me to get stuff from the States and a US warranty & 110V compatibility is desirable for me since most likely I will be eventually returning to the States. For Singaporeans, I would think long and hard about the delivery issues and warranty issues associated with buying something from the States. For my other tank (RSM), I've decided to DIY my own controller using an arduino board. If you are using Vortech pumps and dimmable LEDs like I am, I think they are great. If you are not using them, then I would probably buy something else locally. In fact, I think a lot of controllers support dimmable LEDs and so I would say that the real benefit of the Apex is the Vortech controller. That being said, being able to tweak things like Vortech modes and LEDs is really a luxury instead of a necessity. Unfortunately, there are no controllers on the market that will monitor the most important parameters for SPS: CA, KH, MG, Nitrate, & PO3. If you don't have good high quality test kits for these parameters, spend your money on the test kits and forget about controller. I think Salifert is a decent kit for the money but for some parameters like PO3, I really like the Hanna Checkers. In my opinion, API kits are almost useless for SPS since they aren't that accurate and don't measure low levels of either Nitrate or Phosphate. I have two full sets of API test kits that I only ever use when cycling a tank because I haven't bothered buying other brands of ammonium and nitrite test kits since I rarely use them. I would also buy an ATO long before buying a controller. ATOs are so critical for maintaining tank stability. It's difficult enough stabilizing CA & KH at a constant salinity. If you don't use an ATO and you're also chasing salinity, then just forget about keeping your other parameters stable.

Let us know if they have anything. I might try to get a clean up crew tomorrow and so I'm on the hunt for snails (ceriths and nerites).

Nice bro! I'm in!

Just in time for the holiday, the Neptune Apex controller I ordered from the States finally arrived. I have to say that I am pretty impressed with it. I haven't received my voltage converter and so for now I'm just running the main controller off of a standard 12V DC adapter without the outlets. However, if I did it again, I probably would have saved my money and passed on the power bar since I get most of the functionality without it. The Vortech module controls the powerheads and the variable voltage ports control the lights. Neither require a powerbar and the issues of converting a 120V powerbar to 220V. (Don't bother buying their Neptune 12V DC adapter. I used a standard 12V 1A adapter and it works fine.) I've set up the Vortech WMX module and it's pretty sweet. In just 30 minutes, I've got my MP40 synched with the controller and depending on the time of the day, it switches between Nutrient, Reef, and Lagoon modes automatically at various intensities. The light dimming function (0-10V variable voltage ports) works great as well. It has a setting where it will slowly ramp up the lights. I also have it configured to peak at 100% around noon and then slowly ramp down. Apparently, this also works for controlling Tunze pumps. Instead of spending $15 each for their special light dimming cable, I just used a standard Ethernet cable. Here are the pin outs if anyone needs one: http://web4.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1811885&page=2 They also have a free iPAD app that is quite functional and allows you monitor / change settings from anywhere. If you do decide to get one, I wouldn't order from Premium Aquatics like I did. They are real pain with credit card verifications. I had to submit a copy of my cc, proof of address, and they still wanted to make some some small charges & verify the values. When I ordered, I requested a different pH probe than standard. I also asked them to pack it in a small box to save on volumetric weight and not state the cost on the invoice. In the end, they sent me the standard pH probe in a large box with an invoice stating the purchase price. It was the first and last time I will order from them. Although I couldn't find any coupon codes, you might be able to get a discount if you email various suppliers. At least, this is what I heard after I had already placed my order. I don't think you will ever see the discounts listed publicly because it violates Neptune's reseller agreement. Since I also have an RSM, later I might decide to get another one. If do get another one, I will probably just get the base unit with a temp & pH probes and not bother with the powerbar or display, which is a savings of $180.

Gorgeous colors! Very nice

It sounds like money would be better spent on a battery backup for the reef controller and an sms modem. Or just a standard computer UPS backing up the reef controller and networking gear. You could probably just plug an adapter from the UPS to the Vortech backup power port as well to buy you a little bit more time

Thanks. I was thinking of doing something similar. It would also work to power my controller. BTW, how often are there power outages in SG?

Thanks bro. I think the growth speaks volumes of the benefits of getting frags from fellow local reefers. Most of the wild small colonies I've bought over the months have little to no growth and are browned out. Some of the others have STNed. The only issues I've had with local frags are related to parasites that most likely came from live rock. They've managed to survive the inevitable swings in parameters with no permanent damage.

double post. database error

Thanks bro I'm optimistic. Overall I've been quite happy with the growth in my other tank from the frags I got in September last year (5 months ago). Oct 2012 Pink Stylo Jan 2013 Pink Stylo Oct 2012 Yellow BN Feb 2013 Yellow BN Sept 2012 Pink BN Feb 2013 Pink BN Sept 2012 Purple Valida Feb 2013 Purple Valida

Hey bro. What's the damage?

You are definitely right on bro. At 50% the MP40 is still too powerful. Even if I didn't have the sand, it would blast the corals if I turned it up. In retrospect, I should have gone for 2 x MP10s. For now, I have added a couple of Koralia Nanos to keep debris moving. I plan to get a MP10w in the next week or so for the opposite side. Then I will just run the MP40 at slow speed & sync the two powerheads.

I've thought of DIYing my own backup power supply for my Vortechs since the EcoTech one is so expensive

Ca about 430 (I try to match it to the balanced level for my Kh which is 425 - 435) Kh varies between 9 - 10.5 I've had to start increasing my dosing significantly because CA/Kh uptake has really increased.

Left Side Right Side (I'm not loving far right too much. Also, my gorgonian looks upset that it's been moved out of the limelight. )

Hey bros. I finally got a chance to take some FTS. I can't say that I'm completed satisfied with my aquascape but I really don't know what to do about it. I guess that I'll just let it chill for a while until I get some inspiration. The pictures are quite biased towards magenta. I think that this is because the white balance correction takes out a lot of the blue, which then leaves the light from the violet LEDs. BTW, any ideas on how to keep the sand from being blown away by my MP40?

Frozen mysis always seem to work for me. Assuming that they have been eating at ML, they should be fine for at least 1 week without food. In fact, I think most people suggest not feeding them for the first day. Once they are feeding on some other food like mysis, one way to get them pellet trained is by mixing the pellets with the mysis.

Here's an orchid dottyback that I picked up a couple of weeks ago after my basslet disappeared: I also scored a helfichi at the same time: I seem to have a purple fish theme going on...