SubzeroLT

Your parameters are actually in the normal range for a healthy reef tank. There will be some fluctuations within the day depending on CO2 levels but as mentioned, its all within a normal range. Note also that test kits have a small range of errors. So i'd not be too particular about the pH values of 8.0 vs 8.3. But to answer your query, to increase pH & KH, you can consider using kalkwasser. Many brands available. Do be cautious to drip this in slowly as sudden spikes can harm the tank.

Think PAR levels were at a healthy 600-700+ at top colonies. Around 250 on sand bed.

Do share your PAR readings

Finally get to see the FTS Nice!!

Nice! Looks like its filling up fast. Algae situation improving?

Really nice progress. Look forward to more photos

Nice pic of the plate Looks huge

Wow...nice new additions! Especially the UFO chalice & acans.

This is another one I used since my freshwater tank days. Not able to apply much pressure on the glass to clean it effectively. OK for brown diatoms but ineffective for green algae.

Nice.... I find that cleaners with attached blades quite good as its able to apply an even pressure on the glass. I've had bad experience with hand held metal blades. Think there could be a risk of applying apply too much force, leading to scratches. Just need to be careful.

Full tank shot for Jan 2016 Other updates : The elegance coral was quite large. It blocked flow which left detritus stuck around it. I made a small acrylic platform to lift it off the sand bed a little to allow some flow underneath it. Hosting a coral frag for a fellow reefer. Not sure of its ID Duncan feeding on market prawn Yuma having a slice as well Frag from Larry Green goblin. Blondie - I'm told that zoas won't grow on coralline. Need to scrape it off for it to cover the entire frag plug

Starting a thread here to share & seek ideas on cleaning the inside glass of the tank. Please share the products you are using. 1) Filter Wool - Cheap. Dispose after use. Or recycle to clean stuff like skimmer after than - Cons : Need to stick hands into the aquarium. Some rock work too near glass narrow for my hands to reach 2) Credit Card - Great for scraping the glass & sand bed area 3) Tunze care magnet - Saw a couple of reefers using it with good feedback - Seems good for large surfaces. Bcos its just a plastic blade, its great for scraping glass near the sand bed. No worries about sand getting stuck on the pads & scratching the glass - Cons : Does not float. Handle is not very ergonomic. You need to hold it with a 'pinch' grip but its manageable. 4) DD H2 Ocean Mag Scraper - My favorite glass cleaner so far - Super effective for stubborn green algae which was impossible to scrape off with the credit card. - The blade can reach the sand bed. Just need some care not to pick up sand between the pads. - Ergonomic. It floats. - The blade is removable 5) Kent marine scraper - Removable / replaceable blade. It also comes with a metal blade. - Still need to stick my hand into the water. I preferred the credit card to the plastic blade though 6) Long brush (Pure Aquatic Algae Grash) - Just a very long toothbrush. Quite good for hard to reach areas within the rocks if you cant or don't want to stick your hand in the water. Do share interesting practice or products ..................

You can get it at Madpetz. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Anemone typically do better in medium to high light. Their bubble tips will be pointy in higher light. In lower light, the tentacles tend to look deflated. I feed mine 1 slice of ~ 0.5cm slice of market prawn meat once a week. They will do fine if you feed 1-3 times a week. Give them 1-2 days to digest

Brown jelly? I read that its bad bacteria infection usually caused by trauma & non-ideal water conditions. And its contagious. If i get that, i'll try to rinse off the brown jelly or cut out infected parts immediately. Good to hear your tank is nice & stable now. As i always say...plenty of room for more corals

Not sure if its allowed to share prices openly so i'll just mention indicative prices. Mod, please edit accordingly. In any case, The big bottle shown in the pic is $50+. There is a smaller bottle. I recall its about $20+

For the past year, I’ve been using coral dips that smells like pine cleanser. Some work great. Some are known to be more diluted & work so-so (i.e. does not remove all pests effectively). Many are not effective against flatworms. A senior reefer recommended potassium based cleaners. I tried to DIY some with potassium chloride powder but wasn't exactly sure of the dosage. Just sharing something I tried recently & was pretty impressed with it. This product is supposed be formulated of Potassium + other salts. Potassium based cleaners work great Very effective against worms, crabs, brittlestarfish or the dreaded zoa eating nudibranch and Acro Eating FlatWorm. One nice thing with potassium based dips - there is no need to rinse after dipping. Just place the coral straight into the display tank (free dosing of much needed potassium). Potassium dips are supposed to be less harsh on corals compared to insecticides but yet effective against pests. With cleaner or insecticide based coral dips, one normally need to use 1 – 2 additional containers of tank water to ensure the dip is washed. We don’t want any of cleaning chemical/insecticide in the display tank. Used it on a couple of SPS colonies & LPS so far. Corals opened up again after a few hours. Very potent compared to what I've used before. Its not cheap but figured a bottle should last a long time. After 3 minutes. Flatworm? Instructions call for 45g (8 caps) per 4 litres of water. Graphically, it says: - - Take 4L of tank water. Place into a 5L container - - Add 45g of Reef Primter intl the 5L container. Dissolve powder - - Dip your corals for max of 5 minutes. Agitate the water. (I use a pipette or turkey baster) - - Put the coral directly into the tank. No need to rinse

Yes, i use with the 50mm diamond cutter. It fits

These are available at most LFS. Refer to store directory (@ Pasir Ris, Fresh n Marine, etc) Personally, Madpetz (@Gambas Ave) has a very wide selection if you are in the area.

It makes sense now. Live sand alone has a small beneficial bacteria population. It helps speed up cycling a little but 1 week is still considered very short. A typical time is 2-4 weeks (with rocks in the tank). The system probably didn't have enough beneficial bacteria capacity (related to surface area) to handle the decaying matter from the live rocks. To improve robustness of the system, add more live rocks or other kinds of biological media (eg. Biohome, Siporax, Marine pure). Also suggest using a good bacteria product to boost population (eg. Microbacter7 is just one example of a popular brand)

The live rock you just added may have some decaying matter. Hence this explains why there could be some Ammonia & Nitrite in the system. If your tank has been well cycled, it should be able to convert these ammonia/nitrites very quickly. If not, continue to cycle the tank. How long have you been cycling your tank previously? Did you have any biological media or rocks in the system previously? Are you dosing any bacteria product to boost the beneficial bacteria population?

My dremel tool has been a workhorse for about 8-10 years already. Prices seem to have dropped the past years. Very affordable nowadays. The shield comes with the black cap (see pic from the link http://www.dremel.sg/index.php/attachments/dremel-shield-rotary-attachment-a550.html) that screws onto the front of the tool. If your rotary tool has a similar screw cap, then it will fit.

Some of us use dremels for cutting corals. Makes a huge mess of the place as salt water & bits of corals fly off the wheel. Even for other home DIY, there is risk of stuff hitting your face. Got this Dremel Rotary Shield recently. Here's a link : http://www.dremel.sg/index.php/attachments/dremel-shield-rotary-attachment-a550.html Also available on ebay

Nice new pieces! The cherry blossom is very nice.

Thanks.. but i'm not sure what they are called.