kraken

40% in one go? so in a month u would have change out 80%?

Do you guys prefer to conduct wc weekly say 10%, so in a month total of 40% or 20% bi-weekly or 40% once a month? what are the school of thoughts on the % and frequency? What are the pros and cons?

Angmoh, do you have space for one 60L black tub measuring about <40cm in diameter? space taken is not all that big really, you can mount the RO/DI unit also.

hi, yes it is copper coil and thermal wrapped with rubber sleeves, no problem at all. in fact, a better conductor than titanium. I dun see a problem of copper leeching since the copper itself is never in contact with the water.

my BT has Ich also, but I let it tough it out itself, survived and doing well, less stress and garlic soaked food weekly seems to do the trick for me

at times we need to 'train' the clowns to accept the anemone. it works for me

does one need to shift/rotate the chaeto? mine grew to quite a sizable bunch. I would believe the chaeto that is nearest to the sand bed may not get any light.

after cycling of new tank, you should bag each coral individually (zip lock bags come handy) and transfer to new tank within 1-2 hours of bagging. thereafter shift the equipment with priority to skimmer

Why dun u invest in a RO/DI unit? If u conduct wc 10% (in your case 20L) each time, it's better to make your own water.

How much is the hailea 1HP?

Since u r going to start a new tank, I prefer to start cleanly, take no risks

NO3 n PO4 is lousy API The rest is Salifert

my No3 is zero, well at least not detectable by my test kit. PO4 is between zero and 0.25 I read also that some do prefer to keep their tanks with a little of nutrients. by far in my tank, the zoas (and other LPS) and some SPS are doing fine with growth and colours (not very vibrant colours on sps though). I have high bio load of 17 fishes (including bombers like naso, BT and YT) feeding twice a day. manage to keep NO3 at bay, but PO4 is still detectable.

Having read lots of thread and googling. still having inconclusive 'ideal' water parameters for a mixed reef tank. What I gathered: NO3 = zero PO4= zero CA= 430 - 450 Mg = 1300 - 1500 Ph= 8.0 - 8.3 KH- 8 - 9 My question is, do you guys maintain the parameters at the higher end or lower or in between?

you can always use it as a QT tank.

1/2hp is a little under powered. do you want to consider a compressor? my 1HP compressor takes 2mins 30 secs to cool 0.1 deg.

it doesnt get out????? I need to make traps for the many crabs in my tank too. I think they are the culprits for my 'disappearing' zoas

try keeping chaeto in ref, my ref is a production factory of pods for my fat and happy mandarin

speaking of flow, how much flow is enough? do you want to see the polyps moving all the time or every couple of secs? I have random flow in my tank, polyps moving every couple of secs. is this consider enough flow for SPS?

used Derek's services, very well done, neat pipings and very good Daikin compressor, efficient and fast. Does a good job for my 5'

how much water do you change each time, it is more economical in the long run with RO/DI water done at home. Plus you can save the environment by using less plastic bottles from the distilled water you bought.

my YT and BT eats anything from pellets to mysis to nori to red bamboo and grapes. Its my naso that is very picky, it only wants the grapes and chaeto!

once a week is good enough, depends on the size of your anenome

Inverter systems cannot be controlled by external temperature controller, they rely on the fan coil since the sensor and thermostat is located. As such, for marine cooling using compressor, we can only use non-inverter types (3 stars ratings maximum). for 3ft and above tanks, it is more efficient and cost effective to deploy a compressor cum drop in coil solution for cooling. Other benefits including wife no longer nagging about the chiller's noise and heat in the living room (this is priceless).

buying sand from LFS is faster and easier, non live sands aint that expensive