nicholas_yeo

bro, actually 1000k are mostly 'fake'. Reason is it is very hard in mfg to make them above 800k, those cheapo ones below $20/- are all in 7000 - 8000k range (even if they mark it 1000k) Coz u do not have the measuring equip. Anyway, I saw b4 in reborn and other LFS in Pasir Ris. There is also a light shop at level 4 or 5 in Sim Lim Tower that sells PL 36W (8000k). I bought my last pc there but I have test it on my fish tank. So can't guarantee that it works fine.

Hi hobgoblin Nano is not really a easier tank than a standard 3ft or 4ft tank. It has its pros and cons. I have a 2ft by 2ft. It was my 2nd tank and 1st one was even smaller (1.5ft by 1ft). Starting out small helps with the learning and prevent killing alot of livestocks. But it is very difficult as well coz nano tank is hard to stablise parameters since it holds very small amt of sea water compare to a 4ft tank. One dead fish or overdosing of additives or overfeeding can cause alot of problems to nano tank. Andy is right. PLs dun keep anemone... too hard to keep it and not suitable for small tank. I was also very tempted but managed to stay off it. Rather than RO water, pple who keeps nano tank usually buy distilled water to top it up as tap water will have too much TDS. U need to explore all this b4 putting one nano tank in service. Otherwise, u will have a hard time to maintain it. Atos: The Nano tank from Tapio weblink was awesome. new things to learn.... 2ft with SPS.... thats really hard....

Spider, 480W PSU is more than enough. In fact, u can run 8xx series Dual Core processor with it. I dun think it is related to the games. PSU is a difficult part to make and very critical. Cheapo PSU usually do not have what we call good OVP (over voltage protection) and uses lower end component to make up. Like what Coralreef is saying, u should invest in a better one.. a 480W PSU can easily cost more than $150/-. By the way, higher power rating is always good coz PSU will degrade over time and it will give less power... getting abit of margin will prevent alot of problems down the road like abrupt shutdown / restart issues... By the way, U dun need the 6pin power for 6600GT. It is build in for 6600 GT only coz GT version carries SLI capability which will need it when u go to tandem cards. For single cards, I understand only 6800 series above needs one. Anyway, if u need more info, visit VRforum.com

I use it too. JBL woolfilter... very fine and a big bag for $8. Yes, it build up alot of detritus in it and have to clean every 2 days. Still I find it useful. But if u are those type that didn't like cleaning it, then it will build up nitrate and clog up your coral chips / bio balls if those are deploy in the next chamber. I neglected it once due to travelling and took me hell lots of time to clean them up. I heard some guys actually build a reflow pipe that channel all the incoming waste into the skimmer pump directly.... so that u dun have to use mechanical filter and just stick to skimmer and biological method.... In fact, it depends alot on your sump design.

bro, uhm... your starfish is not a reef safe invert...looks like chocolate chip starfish... it will start eating soft corals if it grows bigger or run outta of food. U better check b4 stocking anymore... otherwise, u may start losing some of your stocks..... Also, the guys are right on LR, u need more. Need to increase your LR for bacteria growth.

Thanks guys for all your inputs. The disaster is finally over. The tank is clear after 3 days of running. But the causalties are great. KIA List 1) Yellow Tang x 1 2) Cleaner Shrimp x 5 3) Damsel x 2 4) Clown Fish x 1 5) Turbo snail x 1 6) Sand shifter starfish x 1 7) Finger Leather x 1 Survival list 1) Blue Tang x 1 2) Clown fish x 2 3) Hermit crab x 3 Sickbay 1) Hammer head - partially reclining 2) Mushies x 2 3) Sun Coral - emergency ward...on life support liao... One thing I learnt though. The cleaner shrimp are very sensitive. They are the 1st to go when the tank got problems. Too bad I couldn't understand the symptons and react quick enough to save the rest. Now, I will try to maintain the rest of the fish / corals by improving the water quality and add small dose of iodine to help the recovery. Still... I dunno how it occurs. I know the like what Fuel is saying. The Dinoflagellates is a bacteria bloom and it basically overcome the tank by consuming the oxygen. But I didn't know exactly how it got started. I clean my coral chips monthly and never did this happen b4 and only this time is I never put it back. But I am not willing to try it again.... my karma can't take this.

Reading the red tide symptons are making me believe it is more and more similar to my tank condition!!!! http://www.botany.uwc.ac.za/Envfacts/redtides/ Theory: If this is the case, thats mean the culprits - dinoflagellates planktons was there all along and some how the water change causing it to bloom suddenly and deplete all the oxygen in the water.... Now my problem is it suppose to be happening in coast of florida or mexico. How did it end up in my tank in singapore..... 2nd issue is no website talks about how it subsides and dies off.... so how long am i suppose to wait. Should I tear down my tank and rebuild again.... (uhm.... sob sob.... so much work)

nakazoru: Yes, U shared your view. I clean my coral chips and wash it monthly as well. But this time, the only different is I took it out. But I do not believe this is the main cause. My oxygen level should be holding up. My venturi skimmer is full blast with the 10 times return pump. No skimmate out yet; must be affected by the toxin level. As u said, now I just put back all the chemical and filter media and wait for a wk.

dreamzcape: Yah, I stopped a few days ago. Maybe it is due to the mineral water content but it wasn't added anymore. If the problem is link, then it is odd that it happens after I do 20% water change which should dilute it rather than kill my fish. ervine: I understand the risks, hence, no poisonous critters or anemone in my tank.

yah, I heard of red tide. But things still didn't improved. The rest of my stocks now is under quarantined in a bucket with air pump. Still kicking - hope they will live thru. Very sad that my YT died.... it was a beauty. Now I noticed my caluerpa are absorbing the 'toxin', its leaves are turning red. May&Bruce: I initially believe taking the coral chips should kill anything but I am not so sure now. I agreed that water change should dilute the toxin rather than spike it. But I not sure what else can cause the displacement. Maybe some odd kinda of chemical reaction that is like 2 things are not suppose to be mix together.... but I got no idea where those are ... urgg.. driving me nuts.... Or could it be the polyfilters are fake and it is leeching some chemical instead of absorbing it..... just a theory... madmac: The fishs was lerthagic and was gasping for air. But not like they died with mouth open.... I understand sealife boss uses RO unit for his water source, so I thot it is a much safer judgement. Still, this is an unsolved mystery........... looks like my tank has to lay dormant for a month to purge out all the toxin first. Now must find my remaining clowns and blue tang a new home.

Thanks Guys, but those are not it. I talked to Sealife boss. He said I shouldn't remove all the coral chips - claimed the bacteria will release 'toxic /poison' into the water... Anyway, I ask him for advise, he do not believe I need to change more water and let the tank stablise down. Anyway, I wasn't overfeeding anything; use ocean nutrition formula one and two. Was doing good last few wks. May&Bruce: My water turn rate is about 10 times. It is about 100 litre tank with a 1500L/hr return pump with 2 elbows. Ligthningstrike: I agreed with u. I think the spike from the coral chip removal is a main contributor..... very sad. Wrong move - should have done 50% only. nakazoru: I did replaced the GAC partially and Rowaphos. But those are not the contributor since I have been running it for a long time with it.

This is the color of the polyfilter. I never seen it in red b4. Usually it is a dark brown after exhausting it. I use it for the last 8 mths and this is the 1st time. The instruction saids Polyfilter leech nothing into the water; so I initially concluded that it is absorbing 'whatever' stuffs is giving me problems now but I decided to take it out.

Hi all My tank crashed today and I couldn't quite figure it out. Due to high nitrate recently, I did a 20% water change and took out all the coral chips which having alot of detritus in it (nitrate factory). I replaced the polyfilter sponge as well. I observed for 2 hrs and things looks fine. This morning I came in, all my corals closed up and some of my fish/ invert went up the lorry (YT, Clown fish and 2 cleaner shrimp). I measured my parameters and things looks okay Salinity = 1.020 at 25DegC (I know this is border line) Ammonia = 0 Nitrite = not measured Nitrate = down to 25-50ppm Ph= 8.2 Tank size: 2 ft Cube table (~45 gallons). Water Change = about 8 gallon from Sealife Chemical medium: Rowaphos / Aquaz Carbon and Chemi-pure / Polyfilter Skimmer: Macro: ASF500 Daily topup water: I use mineral water for the last one 2 wks - Ice Mountain brand. Previously used tap water. I was testing it coz the sand bed was covered with diatom (Red) and I believe my nutrient from the water is too high. No $$ to invest in any DI/RO unit so can't tell. Observation: All the chemical medium and skimmer was all the same. I didn't change anything. The filternets for medium and Polyfilter has turn red instead of the usual dark brown after long usual (Not sure why?) Anyone has similar problems b4? I couldn't figure out what is the cause of it. I believe sealife water is clean as they took it from their topoff tank that is also use for their fishes. I can only think of the polyfilter and mineral water for topup as likely causes which are changed recently.... can anyone help here? nick

Hi Ian Your tank thread is really interesting. Good information on keeping gonio. Mine tank is directly the opposite of yours and it was very high flow rate. I use to thot low flow rate is really difficult to maintain but your tank looks great. Can u share on your wkly supplement routine (eg: trace, iodine etc)? I will be interested to know how u keep your parameter check yet Gonio is still so lively. regards..nick

it comes from the pellet food since it is all processed. Dun try to use towel or tissue anything like dat. it get more messy. Just get a surface skimmer and hook it up. Will get rid of the oil constantly. Also, the layer of oil will reduce your oxygen level in the water due to the entrapment. Hence, this is a must have for surface skimmer since it is a perm fix.

I use it to cure ich on my clown fish. But did that in a quarantine tank rather than dose into main tank. Afraid that the corals will get affected. Took only 2-3 days and my clown fish is all bubbly again..... better not dose into your main tank. Try do setup a 'trap' to corner your tang to swim into the netting rather than chase it in your 5ft tank.. .too difficult....

for such a small tank, u can't put BT in there, also, can't mix fire goby into it as it is too timid with tangs swimming in it.... Anyway, Tangs are big eaters (bioload), it will reduce your setup to waste in 3 mths after they start to put put, I kept 2 ft cube with 1 BT and 1 YT, fire goby got so scared that it refused to swim out... just keep nano fishes and as many LRs u can squeeze in there; helps on the load and keep your tank nice and colorful unless u can get an imported CPR Bak Pak from USA, heard it is a really good combo filter with skimmer.

kareen is right. Piezo electric system is kinda of tricky. Sure u can buy DIY parts (piezo plates + power supply + heatsink + fan) but this system require very high power wattage (will get very hot). Besides, DIY it will inevidently make your 'product' very big..... maybe much larger than your tank Finally, u need to consider safety issues since u are using AC source to DC which means u have to worry about fire safety and good reliabilty transformer etc.... The return of cooling is efficient in very small application but will not good if u use it for larger tank in terms of cooling vs cost.

hi shoelevy I am talking about item 7 from seareefer..... This bottle has some 'mix' that MW claimed it helps to cultivate those expert level' corals like goniopora. If u read the threads.. alot of folks here having problem keeping gonio. MW website claimed the products help to maintain the growth. But I never see it in action yet.... U can get that in Sealife as well. I am currently using coral vital - looks pretty decent. I did notice my coralline algae developed a more saturated purple / red now.... still monitoring if it is just due to supplement and not calcium alone. Ha... u wait long long... the black powder is over $40/-.... I dun think he is gonna give u for free... Heard that some shops carried the sampling $20/- version of MW's black powder and spectra vital... it comes in a smaller pack for trials.

it is called leaking current. Sources from your submerged pumps and devices. In the water, it is open circuit so the live stocks dun feel a thing. But when your hands get in touch with it, u create a closed circuit and without grounding your feet, u will get electric shock. I agreed with Limpc. It is quite debatable if u wanna add a grounding probe. Coz u are causing current to travel to the probe.... my designer frens insist this will create more problems for the fishes.... Mine is still the same with leaking current. I just leave it alone. All my stocks are doing well. If u really need it, go to BioAquaria - saw them carried a rustproof grouding probe the last time.

dude, marc weiss product is quite a controversy in the industry coz they dun review their ingredients. Some like it but others dun. U mean to say Black powder right? This was claimed to be a 'booster' for reef tanks - I have never tried it coz it is so expensive. But my fren has one and did not have much improvements. I am trialing their FORM which is the a mineral based source of trace elements and additives.... (claimed a partially fossilized deposit of aragonite). It suppose to be contain almost (calcium, magnesium, strontium, trace elements and iodine) except carbon hardness. Well, if it works, it will save some cost since 5 bottles of additives are already over $40/- compare to one bottle of FORM. Currently, in 2 wks of trials and see if this can be maintain over time as I slowly remove additives. I was looking for Reef vital as well if that helps with difficult corals like flower pot. If u have frens from US, it was extremely cheap to get it there. I got my fren to bring a bottle of FORM for less than $20/- compare to Singapore which is over $45. Reborn and Aquamart both carry them at a decent price here too. Hope this helps...

Go to Reborn. They carry in alot of green frog spawm this wk..

a picture of my whole family

finally my sun coral opens up its bud.... took about 4 wks of target feeding..... now on time for makan at 5.30 to 6.30pm....

a rare outing by my blue star fish.... only sticked the glass for 5 mins b4 disappearing in the rocks again