SubzeroLT

My current Hydra26 setting : Just to share a method to get anemone to stay on a rock. Ideally get a rock with a small gentle recess for the anemone to stick its foot in. Then place a net over it for a couple of hours.

This method is for 'curing' live rock -> i.e. keeping live rocks alive & let the organisms that may have damaged/die during transportation to die off completely. A process that takes 3-5 weeks. As he mentioned - can be part of the tank cycling process. If you intend to 'kill' the rock, a typical method is to soak it in 50% bleach / 50% water solution for a couple of days. Then keep rinsing/soaking (a few days) multiple times with tap water + anti chlorine till you don't get any more bleach smell. You can also just get a chlorine test kit to verify (about S$12) An optional step is to do a vinegar soak. Hearsay it gets rid of phosphate. And it really gets rid of the bleach. 100% vinegar (eg. $3.50/liter from Seng Shiong). About 30min vinegar soak will suffice. Then rinse a couple of times with water (IMO, tap water will do) to get rid of the vinegar. Then let it dry completely.

Very nice Darren! Good set up. Look forward to updates. 3 clams now?

Yes, I currently have kalk in my ATO after seeing your system. It buffers it a little but not that much as to bring it back up to 8.3 levels. Probably need to add more.

A couple of months back, I stopped the sulfur reactor & switched to AIO biopellet. The sulfur reactor worked very well to reduce nitrates but had the effect of pulling down the system pH down to around 7.8 since the system water volume was small. However, the AIO biopellet wasn't working for me. The recirculating reactor clogged quickly & nitrates climbed to the 25ppm range. I restarted the sulfur reactor. Sharing some notes if you intend to use one : - Volume of sulfur approx 0.5%- 1% tank volume. (i.e. 1L of sulfur for 100L water) - Effluent of reactor is acidic (ph 7.5). So one should pass the effluent through coral chips to buffer/raise - Not a must to use an ORP controller but good to have (else tune it by testing the effluent with Nitrate test kit. Or just sniff the effluent for rotten egg smell) - When its first started up, open the effluent valve fully for 1-2 days to get rid of air pockets. After that, close it fully. - After a couple of days, ORP meter showed -300mV => low oxygen state. Open valve to drip effluent about 1 drip second. Check to ensure nitrate level is 0ppm. - During the cycling period, nitrites might be present in the effluent due to incomplete denitrification. Because salifert Nitrate test kits actually measure nitrite => a bit of nitrite will show up as a lot of nitrates (false reading). If nitrites are present, reduce the drip rate. Pic shows effluent nitrate at 100ppm even though system nitrate is about 25ppm - After 1-2 days, increase the drip rate a little more. If you have an ORP controller, you will observe the ORP reading dropping further (more -negative) every couple of days => system is catching up. - In steady state, the ORP reading will be roughly -150mv (+/-50mv) and yet able to give 0ppm nitrates with a fast drip Sulfur reactor effluent @ 0ppm nitrate.

Someone messaged me on my opinion on Nyos test kits after I posted an earlier picture : Generally, its a good quality test kit with clear instructions (graphical & text in a booklet). Comes with good quality syringes. For example, the 1ml syringe has this tip to avoid the small bubble we get from most regular syringes. A feature to ensure consistency. I find the Nitrate & Phosphate test kits particularly easier to read compared to Salifert. It uses a 2 color comparison method which takes out a lot less guesswork. Phosphate : Nitrate : Mg : Easy to use KH : The KH kit has a resolution of 1dKH. Results are very consistent & good enough for our purpose. Calcium :

The DD ocean scraper is really good. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My Skimmer (Skimz SV203) does not have a drainage tap. Hence i need to have an extra pump to drain the skim out.

With the Apex Neptune, its easy to control to turn off the lights if it exceeds a certain temperature limit. It also sends out an email. If you have the iSocket (environment version), you can plug in a temperature sensor - it can then send you an SMS & power off the plug (connected to lights?) as well. I'd always keep the wavemakers on - they provide circulation & oxygen for fishes/corals. Never turn it off. They don't give out much heat anyway. And to take care of drop in salinity due to skimmate removal, this is what i do for longer trips - Aqualifter pumps skimmate into a large container in the sump. The water displaced will maintain water level such that the ATO only takes care of evaporation only.

As with any glue (including good glue like BSI) , a 'film' forms on the blob of glue once it touches the water. You'll need to break the film by placing the frag on the rock, then wriggle it around a little. Then hold it for 1-2 minutes as what josephwzr mentioned.

I guess the best thing to do is to build in redundancies that can accommodate issues that arise. Just to share what i've done : - ATO - Extra large volume - Auto Feeder - trial 1 week ahead of holiday to be sure its working reliably & amount is correct - Power failure SMS notification (iSocket) - Backup power source - APC UPS + Ecotech battery for wavemaker - Apex Neptune control system. Float switch in sump & display tank to trigger action in case of overflow, email alert - OF Hydra Stream - In case 1 or 2 fishes die. Shrimps & other clean up crew will take care of dead fish. Hydra Stream will take care of ammonia spikes - Install Toms aqua lifter to drain skimmate from skimmer cup into a separate container - Web cam - Pass house key to a trusted reefing friend

Prestech is a popular vendor that is able to cut to exact length. http://prestech.com.sg/ For your purpose, a 2020-8 profile should suffice. The website has the necessary accessories (i.e. brackets, end caps, T nuts etc). Email them for quote.

I agree. Each tank is different. Better to start at lower setting then monitor & increase slowly.

There are several users using Hydra52 who post their settings here. Can check he's "1000 Gallon Tank in the Hole" thread I have 3x Hydra26 for a 3ft. My settings :

Camping here too. Look forward to more pics.

Good equipment there! Looking forward to updates. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wow.... Very nice! What about male splendid leopard wrasse? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Looking forward to more updates! Any pics of the sump? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

UV packs a punch. Suggest a lower setting first. Maybe start even lower & increase gradually over several weeks

Looking forward to updates! The skimmer waste looks damn potent. I suppose it contains loads of organics & bacteria to jump start the process.

1hp is about 745watts A 1.5HP air con draws about 1117W => 4.7A Most plugs are 13A => supportable. Singapore tarrif now is 16.8c per kWh => each hour will cost $0.20 to run Assume it runs 8 hours per day => $1.61/day or $48.38 per month. Chercm, the apex neptune energy bar6 specs is 1) Max draw per outlet = 8A 2) Max draw per energy bar = 10amps Typically you would give 50% allowance in case of spikes. Having said that, i'd rather not plug high drain device to the Apex.

Saw several online reports that there are products used in the aquarium trade that uses non-virgin media (i.e. used in water treatment plants for removing arsenic then re-cyled for aquarium hobby use). Quite scary indeed. Rowaphos is clear to state theirs are virgin material -> better capacity for absorption & less toxicity concerns. Sharing how I rinse new batch of rowaphos - run some tank water through the reactor during water change day

Measured potassium last week ....only 360ppm. Ideally it should be in the 400ppm range. After some success with the salts, I'm now starting to use the Aquacraft Potassium & Trace Elements. Quite affordable.

Look forward to the gathering. Informed you separately already. Thanks for organizing.

Very nice. Do share more of your equipment set up & dosing regime.