SubzeroLT

Running the Continuum Power Cleanse - HM Heavy Metal the past 2 weeks. No negative impact to corals and seem to be getting better polyp extension with the milli colony. Unclear if its related to running this resin.

Thanks. Yes, that's a sea cucumber

I'm using the DD magnetic glass cleaner. The metal blade is very effective for coralline.

Not much updates this weekend. So just post a quick video.

I understand that the captive bred mandarins from Biota are ~ US$80 in USA. Not sure how much they will be in Singapore. I doubt it'll be in the S$30 range. Anyway, one option you have is to breed baby brine shrimps and feed them to your mandarins in the interim until you have sufficient pods. Baby brine shrimps hatch very quickly within 24hrs.

Most folks do not plug the lights directly to the Apex power bar as it may overload it. Most folks plug lights directly to a normal socket & use the original lights' app to manage light schedule. With an add on Apex WXM module, you can control Ecotech Vortech wavemaker & Radion lights (but not the Vectra pumps). Apex can on/off wavemakers (for feed mode) but has limited control for other brands of wavemakers (eg Jebao & gyre). An add on modules is needed but some wave profiles may not be available. Apex is good for switching on/off motors or pumps when it detects leaks (additional ALM module needed) or CO2 solenoid based on the pH probe reading. i.e. automate things & trigger action based on timing, pH or temperature. I'm using Ecotech Reeflink to control my wavemakers & return pumps as it offers better control. My AI Hydra lights run independently. Everything else is managed by Apex.

I won't recommend getting 316 stainless steel ones as well. Its going to be very expensive & that level of clamping force is not required. Aside from cable ties, nylon clamps are a good option if you need things more secure. https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=23427&catid=858 Monitoring temperature & tank pH is nice to have but not mandatory. Your chiller would already have a temperature display. Unless your chiller is out of sight, then have a separate temp probe/meter. Tank pH is good info, but for most folks, would probably be in the normal range & not do anything. So its probably lower on the priority list for a start. Apex Neptune is supposedly coming out with a Trident module that can measure Ca, Mg, KH. It was verbally mentioned as US$40 for 2 months' usage. Local prices are expected to be higher. Then with that measurement, you can use the Apex DOS system (need 2 sets of DOS) to dose supplements. No one knows the price of Trident but my rough guess is the full Apex system will probably set you back about S$3.5k-$4k. Don't get me wrong, the Apex is a fantastic tank controller & I'm a big advocate on such controllers to make reefing easier. Personally i'm using the Alkatronic (current retail price is S$1399) that measures KH & able to auto dose KH. Reagent is also cheaper ($109 that can last about 1 years' worth of measurement). It can control the power to any dosing pump or calcium reactor that doses Ca, Mg, KH in a balanced way.

Yes...nylon (cable tie) is generally inert & safe. Strong enough for this purpose. Typical 304 Stainless steel clips & screws will leech nickel & chromium into your water when it corrodes. Not good. 316 Stainless steel can hold up to corrosion better. 316SS cable clips are not common though.

Saw a video on BRSTV on tank design that its best practice to use a silicon hose to connect your pump to the return pipes. This is to minimize vibration from pump to the display tank. Apparently, solid piping all the way through is not desired. Something like this pic (found on the internet) Managed to get good quality silicon hose from ReefmarketSG. I'm told its "Made in Japan". Simple task of removing the piping. Take note of overall length of pipe. Cut away a short section (~ 1ft). Add the silicon hose. Measure that its of the same original length. Done in 10 min. One pump done. 1 more to go. Apparently, not all silicon hoses are suitable. Its related to the raw materials & the curing method used during the manufacturing process. Risk of leeching contaminants. One needs to be cautious of buying it from industrial sources or online as it may not be truly "food safe" even though its claimed to be. Check the source. PVC hoses are not as effective to reduce vibration and typically harden over time.

Wish I had more space. If I were able to re-do it, i'll have a separate electrical cabinet for better cable management & use the space for a denitrator. Thanks & noted on the Badabing ID. Also need to thank Nigel for that frag.

Overall sump view (as requested by someone). Quite cramp. ClariSea on the left side where the filter wool used to be

Review of the DD Clarisea Gen 2 automatic Fleece Filter Roller Mat filter systems provide robust mechanical filtration for extended periods of time are getting popular these days. I tried the SK-3000 initially & finally settled for the larger SK-5000 version. Disclosure : My unit was provided by Reef Depot as acknowledgement/recognition for the feature in the recent AI Hydra Signature Series. SK-3000 has 145mm x 205mm foot print. Handles up to 3000 l/hr SK-5000 has 145mm x 255mm foot print. Comes with a slightly wider fleece roller. Rated for 5000 l/hr For those who are not familiar with such products, its essentially uses a disposable roller made of ‘fleece’ material placed around the structure. As tank water passes through the filter fleece during use, it starts to clog up with detritus, causing the internal water level to rise. The high water level triggers a float switch and the integrated motor winds the fleece material by a couple of millimeters to introduce new filter fleece material. Flow Rates One point to note on flow rates. These filter systems can handle a lot of flow. Most of us may use return pumps that may have higher flow numbers. But note that the real flow rate is very much reduced after factoring head loss due to piping & head height. My tank is a 5ft 850L system running on Ecotech Vectra m1. First Impressions & features Assembly was relatively easy. Watch the online video to complement the printed instructions Good build quality. Acrylic pieces came with protective film. Dampen with some water to peel the protection sheet off. I’m impressed with the small foot print as it could fit the small compartment in my sump. No need to cut out panels of the sump to fit this in. It has an adjustable arm that allows you to re position the roller to various positions. This nice design idea is an enabler to for it to be installed in my system. A front flap can be rotated open if you want to bypass the filter (eg. During feeding or adding pods or rotifers) Float switch : Fleece material. Filters up to 20 micron particles. So this will outperform any filter sock of filter wool to keep the water crystal clear Typical filter socks are 200-300 micron. Filter wool will probably let larger particles through. One tip to prevent the take up reel from slipping during the initial set up is to fold the fleece back. Apply a short length of masking tape around the corrugated sleeve Then wind forward a little bit Plumbing Inlet attaches to a 1” pipe. Its quite easy to retrofit for existing tank systems. Depending on your downpipe, the easiest option is to get a pipe reducer. Then fit a plastic hose or silicon hose. A non kink food grade silicon hose is best as the smooth internal surface will ensure minimum resistance. Available at Madpetz or ReefmarketSG. Water enters the unit through this strainer. To optimize usage of the roller fleece, I found its best to raise the unit as high out of the water as possible with just the strainer submerged. The unit comes with adjustable hangers to adjust the height. In my case, i put some basket/egg crates under the unit. Control The unit has a small control unit that connects to the motor & float switch. There are a couple of buttons on it. Advance the motor to wind the fleece Alarm. This is triggered when the float switch is activated for more than a couple of minutes – an indication that the fleece is not advancing Usage Its been running in my tank for the past week. The fleece is 25m long & should typically last about 1-2 months depending on flow rate & water conditions. Once nice thing is that it does not smell bad. I read its a special low odor fleece material where there outer layer dries up & locks in the smell. Overall, I see 2 key advantages of having such a system : No more changing filter wool/socks every few days. Good for going on trips/holidays and for busy reefers Cleaner water with the 20 micron filter fleece. And filtered dirt is moved out of the water quickly instead of sitting in the filter wool/socks for days Another piece of equipment to make reefing easier

You can create a YouTube account. Load the video to YouTube. Then copy/paste the YouTube link here Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks. I see you are starting a new tank on your end. Looking forward to updates & pics

Valve & tubing connections : - Needle valve from USPlastic : https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?itemid=32208 - Tubing are PU CO2 tubing. From Aquatic Avenue @ Redhill area T off from pump to fit 1/4" RODI tubing & several flexible hoses. The Continuum Aquatics media is actually a resin. Similar size as that used for RODI filters. I was being cautious as i was using the BRS reactor for the 1st time. Its probably safe enough not to use the media bag

Available from Madpetz & Pacific Reef. My ICP test results showed some levels of copper (9.17 ug/l. Probably from dosing Zeospur some time back) and also aluminum (180ug/l. Folks commonly blame it on marine pure). Hence i'm trying this out. Probably a cheaper option than using PolyFilter media pad. Not sure about effectiveness yet ....will share my next ICP results.

Someone asked me via whatsapp what it means by "Alkatronic auto dose Alkalinity? It has a dosing pump?" The unit comes with 4 pumps. 3 are to facilitate the KH measurement. The 4th one at the bottom is to dose Alkalinity solution. Alkalinity "stock solution" are quite standard. The usual recipes for DIY or even branded products are quite similar. In the Alkatronic app, you enter your tank volume (eg. 850L). It uses an algorithm to quickly but safely bring KH back up. According to the manual : If the difference of dKH and low reference value > 0.14, then the half dose of lacking alkalinity is dosed. If the difference of dKH and low reference value < 0.14, then the whole dose of lacking alkalinity is dosed. If the difference of dKH and low reference value > 0.6, then Alkatronic will never dose more than 0.3 dKH at same time. If alkalinity is dosed, the unit will remeasure after 2 hours New livestock added over the weekend. One of my spotted mandarins was killed by the hungry mini carpet anemone. Got another one from Pinnacle last weekend. Placed it in a small container filled with baby brine shrimps in an attempt to get it to eat something. I think this helps it get some energy before release into the display tank. Improve survival rate.

Nice! What type/brand of gate valve are you using there?

Did a water 20% water change on Sunday lunch time with slightly lower salinity salt mix (1.026) as I noticed my display tank was hovering 1.027-1.028. That probably triggered a big reduction in KH. It was the same tub of salt but just lower salinity. Mental note not to do this in future. Anyway, Alkatronic auto dosed alkalinity solution (Nyos KH powder) to quickly pull KH levels back up. Didn't realize that until I looked at the chart last night. All is good now.

I like this pic

Respect the effort! Can consider getting a few spotted mandarins as in case the issue pops up again.

Trying out the DD Clarisea roller filter. It has nice design features that could amazingly fit into the tight space were the filter wool was previously placed. Will share a review of it soon.

Bought a BRS reactor from a fellow reefer over the weekend. I must say the reactor is very well built. Running Continum Aquatics Power Cleanse Heavy Metal removal resin. Someone asked me about pumps & whether to T-off the main return pump. Personally, I prefer NOT to T-off & have a dedicated small pump for the various reactors instead. 1) Easier to add 'extension' tubes if new reactors are added on. 2) Able to keep the reactor pump powered on during tank maintenance or water change. I'm using the S1. Ideal for reactors or for smaller 1-3 ft tanks. Added on a CO2 needle valve as the original Intense's lock nut was rusty & hard to turn to enable locking. Built a small protective cover to prevent accidental adjustment. Can swivel open. One bad thing about the pinch valve is that it probably puts too much stress on the polyurethane tube. The tube sprung a leak after 1 year. Replaced with a SMC needle valve.

How much per day are you feeding for your 3x2x2 tank volume?

Nice!! Are you still running the sulfur denitrator?