SubzeroLT

Very nice eel. How often do you feed it? Do share more pics

Got a nice Aussie blue stag from Reefing Reality. Don't see stags in shipments very often. Hope I'm able to hold the colors

Yellow filter photos. Some love it. Some hate it. It provides a better representation of colors of certain corals we see under blue light that is typically not possible to photograph. At times it over exaggerates the fluorescent colors of LPS. Coral fluorescence is determined by the glow (or scientifically called "expression") of green fluorescent like proteins (GFPs). Even though the name says Green Florescent Proteins, they come in various colors - from cyan to red & yellow. Quick google research suggests that fluorescent proteins (FPs) are reported to play an important role as photo-protectants and antioxidants in corals subjected to stressful temperature conditions. That is, to act as a screen to protect the algal symbionts (zooxanthellae). GFPs have peak emissions around the 485nm range. OK....anything more is beyond my level of understanding. Let's just enjoy some pictures instead. White light (no yellow filter) vs Blue light (with yellow filter) comparison. No color enhancement via photoshop. Other pics with yellow filter (no photoshop) Miyagi Tort (frag previously from Mike Stone) Frag previously from Vik Hosting this pectinia for a friend

Some mobile phone pics. Tops down view. Love these lights. The basket across the middle brace is useful for clipping on a basket. That space is used for keeping max mini carpet anemone or any loose frags temporarily. White light view Water change over the weekend. Some out of the water photos. No issues out of water for 30min. If beyond that, i'll just splash some water on it. Holy grail out of water.

One week after harvest, the hair algae in the refugium is growing back with a vengeance. Light schedule for the AI Prime Fuge. About 6.5hours light off during the day time. Did some parameter checks over the weekend. Magnesium was found to be 1260, so I manually mixed some Magnesium & dripped in. Increment 100ppm in 1 day Potassium was surprisingly low at 320ppm, so similarly, I'm now raising it at incremental 20ppm per day. Target to reach 400ppm by Tuesday. Salinity was also found to be a little low -> 34ppt. So i mixed some super saturated mixture in a small tub to drip in. Do this a couple of times until 35ppt is reached. Found some media in a old CR secondary chamber reactor. Used that to top up the calcium reactor. In the meantime, I've ordered some new media from ReefmarketSG. Changed out the CO2 tank at the same time as the tank pressure started to drop from 1000psi to about 600psi. The last tank lasted 5.5 months. And as you can see, I label everything. Just in case I forget that the tank is empty & forget to bring it for top up.

Personally, i think a tank would look nice with a couple of large colonies. And have some nice frags along the side to grow it out slowly. Having more varieties is a good thing. Frags from very stable & home grown mother colonies generally tend to do better as they are used to home aquarium conditions.

Keen to learn from this impressive setup. Do you notice that the nozzles closer to the pump having higher flow than the ones further away?

Some random pics from the past few days. Male blue eye anthias and his harem of 3 females. The anthias' fav spot - within the branches of the bali slimer Tuxedo urchin on the glass Tunicates shedding its slime coat Harvesting hair algae grown on a mesh Grown in this 'refugium box' that's straddling over the sump. Lit by AI Prime Fuge

You can consider a container like this. Let the mushroom settle in before it is removed from the (SKP) container. Available at ReefmarketSG. Search for "Ric Saver Cover"

A video update this time round of topping up my DIY kalk stirrer. This was made from an old Skimz skimmate collection container that Larry passed to me some time back. Stirrer is using a magnetic stir bar & old PC fan underneath. Details of the build is in earlier posts in this thread. Kalk is dosed 24/7 but at a much higher rate at night than during day time using a Versa peristaltic pump. All ATO water passes through the kalk reactor - primary reason is to boost pH. Here is a video of the top up process.

Agree with earlier comments - compressor / drop in coil for 5ft is the most practical option. Personally i have a 1hp Daikin compressor next to my tank. The hot air in an apartment isn't great but got used to it. One thing to note is to design your sump such that you get good flow across the drop in coil for maximum efficiency.

Let me try

Abalone feasting away at the algae before the glass & wavemakers are cleaned. In an attempt to spread out the max mini carpet anemone, I pried one off the mother colony area. Placed it in a ricodea saver container with mesh top (https://reefmarketsg.com.sg/product/aquaticexclusive-ric-saver-cover/) Let it really sink its foot onto the rock for 1-2 weeks before taking it out of the container. Quick video from today.

Faced some Alkatronic issues the past few days. Sharing how to self debug & resolve. From the chart, it shows the reagent pump (C) is sensing that it is dosing a lot of reagent (hence the high KH). Two possibilities - the pink nozzle tip of the reagent is clogged. Or there is air in the reagent tube (and hence dosing less liquid that it really should be) A quick visual check confirms there is air bubbles in the reagent line after the peristaltic pump. No no air bubbles coming from the reagent container. Did a quick pump C prime to try to pinpoint the source of the hole. Found a pinhole at the fitting joint. Snipped the end off. Primed the hose & its its all resolved. Alkatronic has been running since Feb 2018. Hoses get worn out over time. Either change it as part of preventive maintenance or have some on standby just in case.

I realize my earlier comments may be misleading & does not paint LFS in a good light. To clarify, many LFS ensure corals are stable before selling. But very often, it is we reefers who rush to get the nicest pieces because the demand is high. And may end up getting newly imported or fragged pieces (which may have less time to stabilize) For a given amount of water, salinity change at various temperature because of water expansion/contraction. Hence the preference to use PPT (parts per thousand) instead of SG(Specific Gravity). 35ppt is 35ppt regardless of temperature.

Regarding salinity: Salinity is something to validate. Very often we think our refractometer is accurate but can be way off in reality. For mixed reef, the correct salinity of sea water is 35ppt = 1.0264SG. Many think 1.025 is the target number. This is acceptable but the correct target should be 35ppt (1.0264). Next, how sure is one that the refractometer is correct? Recently I was chatting with a reefer who was sure his salinity was correct at 1.025SG. But upon validation, found it is actually in the 1.03+ range. Optical salinity refractometers are to be calibrated with RODI at 20deg C (not room temperature). Do a simple test of going into an air con room & test your refractometer with RODI water. Check if its at the zero point. If not, there could a contributor to fundamental water issues. Old corals in the tank may be accustomed to it. New corals from LFS will be shocked by the difference & can shrivel up. Most LFS run their salinity a little lower. I make it a point to check the salinity in the bag. If its very far off, I'd acclimate over many many hours. I agree to the various points mentioned by otaku reefer. Also on the point to take your time to inspect without feeling 'paiseh'. Ideally, purchase corals/fish that are in the LFS for a couple of days/weeks (i.e stable). Flash sale or auction pieces are usually newly fragged pieces (especially for torch & gonio). This is a risk & trade off for getting good deals of beautiful pieces on shipment day. So weigh your options. Also, torch corals are known to be sensitive & finicky. Even seasoned tanks can experience similar issues with newly purchased corals.

The ones from LFS are the suitable species that will survive in our tanks (Oceana, Ah Beng, Iwarna, Coral Farm....) Abalone are grazers. So the film of algae on the glass/rocks work great for them. I've had mine for 4yrs so far. I hear they can live to 10 years. It is different from the cold water species you see at supermarkets (eg. Sheng Siong). These won't survive in most of our tank setups.

A couple more pics of diatoms They are in fact beneficial and always present in a balanced tank system. According to Wikipedia, diatoms in the ocean generate 20% of the oxygen produced on the planet each year. Diatoms are a form of photosynthetic single cell phytoplankton. While some reefers hate it, here are some fun facts on diatoms Diatoms take up silicic acid from the water to form a silica shell (a form of glass). Sources of silicon : silica sand/quartz sand (from the beach), tap water, marine salt mix Diatom chloroplasts (i.e. plant cell organelles that convert light energy into chemical energy via the photosynthetic process) are yellowish brown due to the presence of photosynthetic pigments such as chlorophyll (green), beta carotene (orange), and fucoxanthin (orange) Cell walls made of silica (glass). Their exoskeleton are made of 2 halves that fit inside one another perfectly. The walls are called frustules and have 2 main shapes – longish shape (called Pennate) and disc/cylindrical shape called centric) Diatoms are beneficial – they can outcompete the growth of other types of algae. And prevent HAB (Harmful Algae Bloom) – green water, cyanobacteria bloom, dinoflagellates Copepods eat phytoplankton (including diatoms) which in turn feed the fish Note that once silicates are depleted, other forms of algae can appear. Hence a good balance is required. Silica are in fact critical for the reef aquarium. Normal levels are 0.02ppm - 2.9ppm. Marine organisms that use silica : Marine sponges (beneficial filter feeder) incorporate silicates in their structure. Some mollusks (snails) have radula (teeth) to scrape off algae from rocks/glass. These teeth contain substantial silica. And of course, diatoms - benefits mentioned above. Credit : Pic from https://socratic.org/ In any case, if diatoms are a bother, especially when silica levels are elevated beyond the normal levels mentioned earlier, consider the following : 'Export' the silicates by siphoning out the diatoms when they form. Don't just stir or turkey baster it off the rocks/sand bed Use aragonite sand instead of quartz/silica sand Avoid using tap water. ICP test of tap water at Bt Batok has 1.12ppm of silicon. Use a good RODI filter to prepare water for water change & top up Use resins such as Rowaphos (and probably other similar products). These remove plenty of phosphates but also some level of silicates.

Starting a new thread journeying into the microscopic world of our reef tanks. Not all images are mine. But will also include filter/coral/wool samples that cross my path. Hopefully this thread will be a useful reference to shed light on issues we see in our tanks such as algae or even fish parasite issues. And to encourage discussion about the right treatment once we identify what it is under the microscope. To the naked eye, diatoms look similar to dinoflagellates but are actually very different under the microscope. The treatment path is also different. Applying the wrong fix will only results in prolonging the issue or even create new issues.

Its important not to let either nitrates or phosphates hit 0ppm for prolonged period as the imbalance can trigger dinoflagellates which is much harder to resolve. For phosphate resins, its best to put it in a reactor where you can tune the flow rate depending on the requirements. Lighting period. What kind of corals do you have in there? When you say 8 or 12hr lighting period, how much of it is strong lighting? How long is blue light? Typically a 4-5hr bright lighting is sufficient. But again, it really depends on your coral type. Its best to get a PAR measurement to take away guess work. Regarding pH. You do need covers else the clownfish will jump out. You can try lifting the cover a tiny bit just to allow more air exchange. My suspicion is the pH is inaccurate. What kind of meter are you using?

Sad to read about the AT & clam Which section did the compressor leak come from? FYI, I had a leak that came from the copper pipes rubbing the edge of the sump (something to keep in mind).

I have this particular pink birdsnest frag that has stubborn bubble algae that keeps coming back despite best effort to scrape off the bubble algae (out of tank). While we know that zoanthids in general are tolerant of diluted hydrogen peroxide dips, the general belief is never to let Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) touch SPS. As a last resort, I dipped it in about 0.3% H2O2 for about 1-2 minute after manually removing as much bubble algae as possible. You can see the frag bubbling away. That frag was dipped on 4th April. Its alive & growing well today Some will take the safer route of using Vibrant. But if you have just an isolated case & want to use H2O2, its at your own risk. Best to 'test' with a small frag ahead of time. Below is the dilution recipe for 3% H2O2 to 0.3%. Add 10ml of H202 (3%) to 90ml of RODI water (to make a final volume of 100ml).

Interestingly, the earlier post on brown jelly & ciliates was picked up by Reef Builders. https://reefbuilders.com/2021/04/21/reef-primer-demonstrated-to-effectively-treat-brown-jelly-ciliates/

Received some queries what I feed my tank, how if it affects nitrate levels, and my opinion on Reed Roids. I feed minced fish/prawn meat & pellet food to the fishes daily. And Reef Roids to the corals about 3 times a week. Specific for Roids Roids, it’s a very good zooplankton based food for SPS, LPS and filter feeders. Broadcast feed is perfectly fine. In my case, both the return pumps & wavemakers go into feed mode, so the bits float around the display tank longer and be captured by the coral polyps. Mix with a bit of tank water to make it relatively thick. But most of the time, I’ll turn off the return pump and wavemakers then target feed the corals. And enjoy the sight of the corals’ feeding response. After 15-20min, turn on the wavemakers to allow the food to circulate in the display tank. After a further 10min, turn the return pumps back on. No big issues with nutrients. A quick check last week showed its 6.3ppm, which is alright. Gonios love it. While some can get away with not feeding SPS corals, I find they fare much better with feeding. Also, polyps will extend more regularly, especially for millipora. It’s interesting to see how some LPS respond to fine food - they secrete a mucous layer to capture the reef roids then suck in through their mouth . A quick video :

Ha...did a short one during the last SRC Visits event on 21st March. Can always do another one if there is enough interest. But I think there are more interesting folks to chat with