Kelmen

From my reading from my frequent forums, I'm yet to see a bad feedback on it, but then maybe vert few ppl pet them. Or also very likely since its night-timer, so observation is less. If you really interested, pick a small one, and post us any "bad" experience. IMO: if you see any obvious weapon by any pets, it mean very simple, they can be very mean. Well, if one can feed them good-good, maybe they can be tame....

how about softie ?

my is about 2' L x 1' W x 1' D. the biggest fish ever quarantine is mid size YT. hang-back-filter and a small pump. I'm seeking a small protein skimmer, but those available's water inlet is fixed position. 1' QT would be sufficient for small-mid size fish, but tang may find it too small

cto: http://www.thekrib.com/TankHardware/glass-thickness.html as a guid HTH

it also depends on the height\deep. For <= 2' deep tank, the thickness is on the "standard" margin. 10+mm thickness is generally recommended. HTH

Brother Gouldian does have a good point. As I only have experience with 6 lines wrasse but not mandarin, as so those my prev personal feedback. my 6 lines indeed a bully king to my new Nemo, which I eventually put it into my refugium about 6 months ago. I believe the pods are very hardy and can breed easily, so prevention from total-annihilation should be very easy to manage. and I personnally would advise you against from flushing them with tap water. No need for such harsh treatment. Not only the freshwater will\may help remove the pods, it probably will kill other your desired stuffs.

but say, when the middle drum are rotating, as most time the 3 holes are not adjusting directly, aren't such will create "stuck" for the return pump? will such degrade the pump reliability?

Personnally, the 6.5K or 10K boths look "yellowish" to me. Not "as white as" I expected, but the LFS claims its white and the "bit" yellowish is expected. So, ask the seller test it out on spot. If its "a bit" yellowish, I guess its okay guah. If you didnot noticed any yellowish at all, pls kindly PM me. IMO: I would put the near-white 6.5K or 10K wholely, except you gonna keep some deep-deep specises. As many recommended putting more blueish light can enhanced or bring out more the pretty coral colourful pigments, I would go for actinic instead of 15K or 20K, as the later 2 just seems to me are suppose for deep water stuffs. As a bro decribed, the eballast generally is controlling 2 bulbs, I would go for 2 or 4 white bulbs and 2 actinic blue (get different brand for actinic, as many recommended). Then I would set the timer for the blue one on from 12PM - 12AM (example), while white from 2PM-10PM. HTH

How that work? is it the inner drum with holes with rotate by the motor constantly, and when the hole match the outlet pipe, so water rush out?

Mandarin may do good in initial round, but may not do well if you can't supply it live pods in future. Many wrasses are known as bugs eater, you can try some. In my case, 6 lines wrasse seem pin my pods population down to a level. But be warned that some wrasses may be bully king.

the Aquaz 20K bulb wear out its blueish after 6 months in my tank. As for the white light, I can't really tell. But I did replaced 2 6.5K -> 10K liao, seems like some coral not doing so good with the old bulbs, but quite open and active after I replaced the 2 white bulbs . > 6 months too.

What's is it? doesn't look like starfish, nor snail. Somekind of round-shaped sea-cuke? It loos like a "叉烧包" (Char Siew Pau) to me... do it perform surface sand-sifting, or digging too? is it hardy?

they are generally known to snack on small invertebrate (shrimps, snails etc) and small fishs. as whether would eat coral, that's dunno. Probably certain specises will favor certain type of coral.

Its highly is amphipod. Its harmless, they seldom getting any bigger in our tank. At most I believe is about 5+ mm. chk an article by Dr Ron on such bug, if you interested: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/author/rs.php

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/index.htm thinks there's an old article on such thing about the salt, chk out its archive. else try this one: http://www.reefkeeping.com/ GL

Honestly, if you really wanna go for naturalist, dont bother about fish and coral and marine invertebrate keeping. Whatever the reefers or other fish-keepers telling you that, puting a coral in his\her tank is doing a good for the coral so their wont extinct are totally bullshits. Its a "beautiful" lie. Human are nature-destroyer, 1 way or another, anyway, whether be it the ocean or the forest.

Unless the nitrate testkit is faulty, or you missed some steps. Else that would be ok. Since you only stocked invertebrate in the tank, which are not much output to nitrate. Fishs are the main nitrate cause, through their (big-big) feces. Dunno that ich would cling onto glass tank, so you can assumed those are som micro living things not-ich.

I would really recommend you work up the carbon things now. If all the water parameter looks no out-of-ordinary, then we have to put the cause is at some un-detectable through hobbyist testkits. The carbon will at least play some role in it. And mean while try the ReefCentral chemist subforum, the expert there may have some idea about the red symptom GL

They "eventually" will. But the problem is we dont know how long and when. And generally we believe it will take "damn long" time. So, in short, the more LR you have, the more easy live things (LR) will colony over dead spots (DR). GL

if you are talking about those doctor or cleaner wrasse, no. they only known to eat bugs/parasites on fish bodies, and only certain types of parasites only. if it can take other bugs as food, it would be more hardy, but they are not.

I advise you DONT'T put or lay wire on ground. there are just tons of reasons for such not to do so, its basically "a recipe for disaster", either bad to your tank, or your home, or both. a very good one. 1 day, someone trip the wire on ground, and didnt notice. and the power is loose. No power to your fish tank. Later you come back found your fishs floating on the surface doing become birds....

brother, that maybe a peppermint shrimp, because I read that they a preference over stinging coral, like anemone. Aiptasia is anemone. Peppermint has somekind of mechanism (or biological control or weapon) to sustain stinging coral retaliation. From my reading camel shrimp are known to disturb other timid corals like mushroom or soft corals.

Do you aware that hermit crabs do molten once aware? What you saw may be the molten carcass. Even the hermit will eat their own molten carcass, recycle. I dont think banded coral shrimp will attack a hermit, if its the other way around, that's a possibility.

live stocks in sump or refugium generally are not that well compare to main tank, especially those need light for energy. Unless one have a sys which provide same output\throughput in both parts - main tank and sump. You shoud move all your corals to main tank. We put plants in sump\refugium, because they generally not demanding, a simple and the right one light will be good enough for them, like a 30+W PL. consider your main tank as "master room" while your sump\refugium as "Indo maid room", to help you ease of understand.

So the kalkwasser will be KH buffering for sys with CR? But then with boths running, wont they give too much increase in Ca?