bawater

No its not 6500k. LH don't need light to grow but corals do. So you need to change the tube, and most probably add 2 more 15w tubes(total 3 tubes) or change to PL altogether. run them for 10-12hrs a day. You need to look into your light issue. Links are right here on SRC All You Need To Know About Lighting, for the marine aquarium! Leather corals are perhaps one of the easiest corals to keep in any reef tank. They are often recommended for beginners because of the ease of keeping them. They contain zooxanthellae and therefore need light to survive. Just ensure that you provide the right kind of lighting. Your buttons are suffering the same fate. Should the stalk of the leather shrivel up or should it become flacid and bend, something is wrong with your water quality. The usual problem is pH but it can be a number of reasons. Adjust the water quality levels by ensuring that the dkH, salinity and temperature are correct. rgds If you have a lighting question,go ahead and start a new topic (as it is a different subject).

No! it is not the nitrate which is the immediate factor giving the problem. Yes, the mucus layer is normal. tropical light meaning pink tube? or plant light (6500k) 1 or 2 tubes i think this dragging on very long so here goes: Tank size: ? Lighting used: 15w FL .....? for how many hours. Water parameters: ammonia 0,nitrite 0, Nitrate 20ppm pH 8.2-8.3 Filtration:? A Picture will do wonders for answers.

normal lighting? The (mucus coat) the waxy layer you see from the leather is normal, they do it often- every few weeks or so. so the buttons do open, just not all of them. are they new? what is normal lighting? tank size, nos of light tubes, what colour,what kind?

i was plagued by them last year. i did the reading and it wasn't good.i did take pics a yr ago but i think i deleted them already cause i can't find them. i was curious to know what the hell they were so i let them mate. and lost about 4 colonies of zoos. If its eating your buttons(they crawl on to the individual button & suck the juice out of it), especially the red or browns ones- see if its the same type as in the pics below. It is in the family of Aeolids Nudibranch . The aeolid cnidosac is one of the most remarkable examples of recycling in the animal kingdom. These animals eat cnidarians and are then able to retain, at least some of the stinging cells (nematocysts},from the cnidarian, in a functional state so that they are able to reuse them in their own defence. Each species of nudibranch has a specific food source from which it derives these nematocysts. Therefore the addition of a single or small number of the same species of nudibranchs is not likely to decimate the entire invertebrate community. However, if these animals do find a coral to their liking it is very likely that the entire coral colony will be consumed if steps are not taken to remove the nudibranchs from the colony. Due to their poisonous nature these animals have few enemies and therefore will feed both during the day and at night. As a result they are relatively easy to see and attempt to remove. Despite being common, little is known about its biology except that it has small white eggs from which planktotrophic larvae hatch. They lay these eggs in circular or crescent shape patterns on the glass(the whole egg patch no bigger than 1mm) They are able to mate once they reach 4mm . i found the biggest to be 7mm They will crawl onto the front glass, and as soon as you see them- remove them WITH PINCERS. you can either squash them in a tissue or throw in a container of freshwater. When disturbed,the larger animals in particular, will bristle their cerata, and shake them about. i do not think you want them stuck in your fingers. i never tried Weird thing is, they never touch my green zoos which i have had for yrs. hmm..

Trunks: The depth of the DSB will Depend on the sand size you use. (e.g If you use NO.#5 Crush coral then maybe 10feet depth would be needed.) You can add new sand by washing it first then put into zip-lock bags or normal plastic bags, lower into the tank and pour around the area needed. The tank will clear in a day. 2" can be considered a sand bed. Not DSB. A DSB can take anywhere from 6months to a year to mature. Do not expect instant results before this. The 20% weekly partial water change sounds good. It would dilute your current troubles. sjsheng: A DSB will take 6mths to a yr to mature. To stress leathers & buttons i think there may be something else wrong and not only NO3. You did not list the full specifications so i make no assumptions. rgds

soz jc85, product reviews are for reviews only. i'm moving it to the correct thread.

None. you want an area void of oxygen. If you add uplift tubes then you turn it into a UGF spelt as Plenums http://www.thereefweb.com/plenums_old.htm

cyano & macroalgae are different things. cyano is a bacteria form & spores are so tiny...you wouldn't see them. Maybe there is something in the main tank which is stopping any new plague of cyano, but believe me- if conditions favour it...it will spread there. (e.g overfeeding,fish death,coral death,detrius build up) it seems the sea cucumber(donkey dung) does eat cyano(in thin patches)but if you have a thick coating of cyano most of the time you will see the cuke avoid eating those areas.It looks like it eats it but in fact it just eats the bacteria on the sand grains.....and cyano comes out at the other end. what goes in red comes out brownish/red(& cyano can regrow from this stage). Use it to turn over the sand bed to prevent the build up of debris and sand clumping.

If you drop the whole pack into the tank- only 10% will survive. The shock of different water parameters will kill them off. What you can do is, use a plastic tank & slowly convert them into the same salinity as the tank water. There will still be die offs from the weaker ones but you will get the majority of the ghost shrimps to survive. slow means maybe add a cup or two of salt water(tank water) a day to the tank holding the shrimps.Empty out half when it gets full then continue till you reach full salinity.They can be fed with frozen bloodworms or any dry pellet foods.

No, only underwater flares & weilding equipment can burn in water. If u see a powerhead burning in the water, do let me know & i'll avoid that brand. Worst case senario: it will short out & electricute the tank. The fires are from the overhead filters that are not really recommended for marine (cause it takes up precious space for lighting). Overhead filters can be bought at $18 or less...what do u expect? An eheim warranty? You trade price for quality & QC.

What i see is only in my tank because so far i'm the only one running it that way. but 1 in a million is not conclusive. there are other factors like my bigger refugium footprint & lower flow through the sump.(which totals not more than 800ltrs/h) Its my personal sump experiment for this year. most probably add in a few tweaks & rebuild a new one next yr based on the present results. The example is for pornstar to play around with & try because he will be using 2 identical skimmers and the results would be better if he ran in parallel instead of serial.(parallel allows more volume to be skimmed) that also does depend on how big the refugium is & how much flow goes through the sump. Of course a 1500ltr flowrate over a 5" wide refugium won't do anything to the water. But a 400ltr flowrate going through a 3ft or 4ft stretch of refugium should show some difference.(not in immediate NO3 levels etc, just the amount of skimmate) The end result for pornstar would depend on his preference and really how much space in the sump to mess around with. Although the only skimmers that i can think off that allow serial connection is the azoo/jebo ($40 type).... just have to wait & see what kind of results happen as everything is different(skimmers,sump,refugium,return pump/flowrate). pornstar, update us will ya on which pattern works best.

why would it eliminate nutrient export. isn't it already eliminated. If you worry about it affecting pods, it seems pods are much more clever than that. both me & rumour have seen pods running around in the skimmer it seems the turbulance didn't bother them. Having one at either end will actually show u the difference a refugium makes. the one pre refugium churns out kopi-o while the other churns out teh-o(if it foams at all in my case). i used my setup just an example- u may if you want run both side by side pre refugium or post refugium.There are no hard rules, as long as it works for your setup. just that the skimtration results(i just made that word up) are better that a serial setup.

1) in theory yes. but in practical, depends on the brand. Most asian models are under rated. 2) yes, twice as efficient. Running in sequence will give you a real 2nd pass skimmer. All those on the market that say double or triple pass don't count because water only mixes with air in one chamber. You only count how many times the actual mixing takes place. If the skimmer is pretty good at its job then on the second pass you should get little or no foam at all(which then makes the second skimmer a waste of space). If it does pull out thick foam then the skimmers are not that well designed or made. Running in parrallel would be a better option. placing the skimmers side by side or at either end of the sump will ensure that the total sump volume goes through the skimmers. You can't overskim(as u only skim the volume of the sump at any given time), it gives you more freedom in feeding. i run this method with a ruwal 250(1500ltr pump) and a weipro 2014(2000ltr pump)one on either end of the refugium.My sump is 3ft.

ervine, get a phosphate test kit to be sure of the levels. otherwise u won't know if anything is working. As for your first question, employ all methods. A DSB,A refugium and a DI unit. DSB would be the cheapest...but also take the longest to start (if your lucky by 6mths to a yr). You will need an area the same as your main tank to see the reduction capabilities of the sand bed when it starts to work. A refugium will remove small amounts of nutrients and works as a support to the DSB.The bigger the refugium, the more it uptakes. A DI unit will help in reducing the amount of nutrients you add in top off water & water changes. 10ppm is actually a little high for tapwater.(PUB site has 10ppm as the max allowed safe levels) high nitrates in drinking water can cause blue face babies (when newborn babies are not able to get enough oxygen into the blood.... or something like that) i read 2ppm in my tapwater.

if it was a clam only tank then fine....but how many of us just keep a tank with only clams? (maybe a tank of green hair algae doesn't look as bad as a tank covered in cyano)Hair algae may habour tiny microscopic animals, and release spore that may become a food source. (as depicted in algae turf scrubbers) High Phosphate in reefs is not good for anything. Just do a search on any search engine on the www High phosphate/nutrients in the wild leads to algae blooms e.g red tide High nutrients from land run offs is one of the major reef killers. You can check an example of this from the outbreak of caulerpa in the Mediterranean sea choking the local coral reef. They use phytoplankton as a food source when they are young & lack zooanthellae but once zooanthellae algae establish they become mostly self sufficient by using the sun's energy.(except the uptake of calcium & carbonate to build their shells). i still believe they will feed on phyto, just not as much.(everything that has a mouth & stomach/digestive track will feed on something won't it?) Clean nutrient void systems (which mainly refer to SPS keepers) don't have problems with clams-mainly because of the amont of light provided (which is a major key role in sps keeping) Our Home test kits are not really accurate for testing levels below 0.05ppm, so zero readings may not be zero after all and the clams will still have something to use.

tigger, the zooplankton that i and a few others culture are actually rotifers...they are pretty expensive to maintain(although easy) because they eat huge amounts of phyto i only keep small amounts of rotifers for personal usage.(they can eat more phyto than i can grow so i feed them frozen phyto) You can get a bag of rotifers from watercircle for $5, and maybe buy a few bottles of their phyto to feed them. terry, u mixed up already. Zooplankton & phytoplankton(DT) are totally different lifeforms / products. Zooplankton are higher up in the food chain and eat phytoplankton.

Brineshrimpdirect would be the only place left to get it...They have GP back in stockhttp://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/golden-pearls.html Hon, the freight from them is abt US$18 for small packages. It would be cheaper to buy direct. wedgee, maxima is right- u need to chk the food sizes, cyclop-eze is 750-800microns (bbs is abt 400microns), & if bbs is too big for sps how they gonna swallow cyclops. there is no fast rule on feeding if you can supply enough light,calcium & water quality but if u really want to feed sps, go for rotifers or a rotifer size supplement.(you can buy live rotifers from waterc*rcle) phytoplankton has been found in the gut of sps but it is not known yet if they actually digest it or are captured by accident.(i think the research is still going on) Phyto will benefit indirectly by feeding the other organisms which SPS may capture as prey. some links below regards to feeding corals- sps is covered in some of them. G.A.R.F Ron Shimek Sanjay Joshi Rob Toonen Eric Borneman

Zooplankton is made up of small water invertebrates feeding on phytoplankton. Even though “plankton” means passively floating or drifting, some representatives of zooplankton may be strong swimmers. The yearly plankton cycle consists of various phytoplankton species blooming in response to a particular sequence of changes in temperature, salinity, photoperiod and light intensity, nutrient availability, and a consequent bloom of zooplankton populations. Phytoplankton and zooplankton populations are therefore intimately linked in a continuous cycle of bloom and decline that has evolved and persisted throughout millions of years of evolution. There are three obvious advantages of using wild zooplankton as a food source: 1) As it is the natural food source, it may be expected that its nutritional composition maximally covers the nutritional requirements of the predator, especially with respect to essential fatty acids and free amino acids (shown in the tables below). 2) The diversified composition of wild zooplankton in terms of species variety as well as ontogenetic stages assures that optimal sizes of prey organisms will be available and efficient uptake by the predator during feeding. 3) It is relatively low in cost as compare to cultivating or trying to cultivate your own zooplankton. And having a few cubes in the freezer makes it readily available. This is a new product available and I have only used it for a couple of weeks but up till now I do not see any down side to feeding it(if you feed in moderation). In fact I welcome the new addition added to my feeding menu. Unlike other products that have national secrets on what ingredients are actually in the bottle. The Wild zooplankton is harvested off the coast of Philippines; dragging a 100micron mesh net through the sea, so in the bottle you do not get 1 type of plankton but a variety of zooplankton at 100microns and above. This is what the predatory corals feed on in the wild…. And this is what they now get in my tank. The Wild harvested zooplankton comes in an 180ml bottle There is no way these creatures can be kept alive to reach us in these little bottles so it is frozen with a little seawater. This is the only way of preserving it at the moment (they also use this method for scientific lab studies of wild zooplankton). No artificial preservatives or MSG To use it you will need to thaw it and store in the fridge. Remember that these tiny animals are flesh and blood so there will be a definite shelf life before decomposition sets in. Within the first week the contents will smell a little fishy and start to clump a little but it’s all right for our home usage. My guess would be a shelf life of about 1month to 2months in the fridge (frozen will keep much longer) There are no given instructions (only a label) so feed with care, start with a small amount and let your filtration get used to the extra nutrient load. Here I feed 5ml every other day or sometimes daily or 10ml twice or 3 times a week, this is not the only planktonic level food I feed…I also feed live rotifers, live baby brine shrimp, live phytoplankton and frozen phytoplankton (every food item has a different micron size) Another way of doing it is to defrost the bottle & freeze it into cubes; this makes feeding much easier and storage much longer. Thawing and re-freezing of foods is not advisable but for this instance you don’t have a choice if you want to portion it into bite size pieces, try to do it only once. Usually I only feed zooplankton foods after the main lights go off but for this demonstration I did it just before lights out. As you can see, the fishes go crazy once it hits the water so if I feed during light hours I don’t get as much to stay in the water. The fishes still swallow mouthfuls of it when I feed during actinic hours but they can’t see as much. If your anthias are not eating, this product is worth a try. Paradise Reef’s anthias were feeding on this stuff. Table 1. Free fatty acid composition (FFA; area% of total lipid) of wild zooplankton compared to freshly-hatched Artemia nauplii (AF grade) (modified from Naess and Bergh, 1994). Wild zooplankton--------Artemia (14:0) 3.4 ---0.8 (16:0) 16.9 ---12.6 (16:1n-9) 0.7 ---0.9 (16:1n-7) 1.7 ---4.0 (16:2n-4) 0.3 ---0.2 (18:0) 3.7 ---7.4 (18:1n-9) 2.9 ---22.5 (18:1n-7) 3.3 ---10.6 (18:2n-6) 2.0 ---6.8 (18:3n-3) 1.5 ---20.3 (18:4n-3) 1.5 ---2.3 (20:1n-9) 0.2 ---0.7 (20:1n-7) 0.6 ---0.1 (20:4n-6) 0.8 ---2.3 (20:4n-3) 0.5 ---0.6 (20:5n-3) 21.1 ---3.6 (22:0) 0.5 ---1.1 (22:1n-11) 0.0 ---Tr. (22:5n-3) 0.8 ---0.1 (22:6n-3) 32.9 ---0.2 (Sum (n-3)PUFA5) 8.3 ---27.1 (Sum (n-6)PUFA) 2.8 ---9.1 (n-6/n-3 PUFA) 0.0 ---0.3 (22:6n-3/20:5n-3) 1.6 ---0.1 Total lipid (µg.mg-1 WW) 13.0 ---13.0 Table 2. Free amino acid (FAA; µmol.g-1 DW) composition of wild zooplankton compared to freshly-hatched Artemia nauplii (AF grade) (modified from Naess and Bergh, 1994). Wild zooplankton------ Artemia (FAA) (Aspartic) 2.1--- 1.2 (Glutamic) 2.0--- 3.6 (Asparagine)1.5--- 1.3 (Serine) 3.8--- 2.3 (Histidine) 1.3--- 0.7 (Glutamine)2.8--- 2.8 (Glycine) 23.0--- 2.0 (Threonine)2.1--- 1.3 (Arginine) 9.9--- 3.6 (Alanine) 9.1--- 4.4 (Taurine) 32.7--- 7.6 (Tyrosine) 1.5--- 1.1 (Valine) 3.8--- 2.1 (Methionine)4.7--- 2.2 (Tryptophan )0.6--- 0.3 (Phenylalanine) 2.1--- 1.5 (Isoleucine) 2.4---1.5 (Leucine) 4.5--- 2.5 (Lysine) 6.6--- 3.9 (Total FAA)116.6--- 45.9 As for the corals, well, favias, favites,open brains and lobophyllia species will extend during the night anyway and acropora polyps are always out. So I can’t really say they ate it because it’s too small to watch a single zooplankton being caught by a small polyp of an acro (and remember the lights are off) but I do get good growth on LPS. My method in feeding corals is to bomb them with a range of foods and let them choose what they want to catch and eat (& my filtration evolves around that). I don’t target feed and keep a relatively low fish load. Wild harvested Zooplankton is available for $10 a bottle at a Paradise Reef near you. *CAUTION* *CAUTION* this product is an inert food (dead) and as all other inert foodstuffs can cause water quality problems if overfed. Do not overfeed.

good water quality,high calcium makes them thrive. its the correct thread.

i can't answer the first question of per gram of its mass. that's beyond my calculations man i think its on RC, as they did a few tests in germany on various medias. i think its in here: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.p...ight=contraphos As for the working wise, if you maintain very low levels of PO4 in the first place (& i mean 0.01-0.05)..you should get zero readings just the same as using rowa. If your levels are above 0.1 then just the same as rowa u will need more media or more frequent changes of new media to lower levels. I can tell u that it works twice as good as phosguard and for longer periods.

jas, check again using the correct spelling. GARF has some good articles ;http://www.garf.org/coralline.html Nickel- purple coralline dies when it turns white then flakes off(this happens when there is a sudden change in water quality or to a different system in which parameters are not optimal). If rocks drop off then its not coralline. Coralline plating Coralline Encrusting

To do a thread just for tank makers will turn SRC into another arofanatics....then one just for delivery/transport..then one just for commercial sellers(which SRC doesn't allow free commercials-that's why we have paid sponsors) To find any members,just go to the members at the top right of your current screen and type in the name: cookiemonster. you will get results just like this: http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php?showuser=667 on the right side is a communicate column, click pm To find the reef relief chiller, on the main page of SRC just scroll all the way down to the sponsors and to titanium chillers http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php?showforum=28. Dr chills contacts are there & u can chk with him about your queries(about cooling power for tank size etc.)

and the other nominees are Ocean Planet,Bukit Timah,Kwangs@onan rd,Rainbow,Halequin,Hawaii,Reefworld,Pac Marine,Topic Marine,Reborn,Marine image@yishun,superstar@pasir ris, Supreme aquarium@T95,keong seong@havelock & Petmart. Apart from marinelife,sealife,coral farm,LCK110,PR got to have a list to vote the top 5 right? There are a few new ones i haven't been to. could also include a vote for "Never visited before"

In marine aquariums, the optimum phosphate concentration should be kept below 0.015mg/l A rise in phosphate levels leads to unwanted algae growth and can inhabit lime synthesis in certain specialized organisms, such as calcareous algae and stony corals. To solve these phosphate-induced problems it is recommended to keep PO4 levels always below 0.1-0.3mg/l. There are various chemical media on the market that are made to absorb this particular nutrient, but it is what they are made of that we should be concern about when we deal with sensitive life forms such as the various corals that we keep. Aluminum based media can have disastrous side effects if use in big quantities….or maybe even in regular usage. (Studies and experiments are still going on but the recent findings is an eye opener) and you can read about them here Aluminum and Aluminum-based phosphate binders: Likely a Problem I am not saying they don’t work, they do but it’s the side effects of their usage, which turned me away. When you finally manage to stock a reef tank full of your favorite corals its better to be safe then sorry. So far, base on the results of absorption rates and safety use the iron-based (FE) media’s have come out on top. I have used Rowaphos for a while and it does what it’s suppose to do very well. No doubts about it. But Rowaphos is not cheap, at $60 for a 500ml tub (or $20 for a 100ml bottle) its like controlling phosphate on an installment plan. My usage is pretty high and I can go through a big tub in 2-3 months. Hence in came into my life CONTRAPHOS, which at the same volume was half the price of Rowa. So I can still continue to bomb my tank with foods but without the consequences. Contraphos is basically the same as Rowaphos except that contra has more light colored granules, they both use the same recipe in production and are made in Germany (if you use German products or equipment before, you know the quality that these products have). It was hard getting information (in English) on Contraphos because they did not cure a lake of greenwater before so they are not very well know, what I got was in German and since I was not born in Germany or speak German it wasn’t any use to me. I did do a search on Reef Central and it turned up some research results done in Germany on the absorption rate of FE based products against aluminum based products. All the tests were done using Contraphos and they skipped Rowaphos (because they said that it was identical to Rowaphos). That was enough for me. Contraphos is currently only available in 500ml packets and inside (at the side) there is a media bag and instructions…. in German. Well, just follow the same usage of Rowaphos or use 1.5times Contraphos amount. I use the same amount. 100ml or 150ml Contraphos for 100-200L seawater 250ml or 375ml Contraphos for 250-500L seawater 500ml or 750ml Contraphos for 500-1000L seawater 1000ml or 1500ml Contraphos for 2000-4000L seawater The lifetime of the media depends on the PO4 concentration in the tank (and don’t forget you add more and more in the foods you feed). However, regular phosphate tests will show the effectiveness of this product. When the phosphate levels begin to rise, you know its time to change media. Contraphos can work for several months depending on your initial phosphate levels. It doesn’t do miracles overnight, so I suggest you get a reliable phosphate test kit and test your water in the first place before running out and using another product without knowing what you want to achieve. In my case I employ various methods and media in my filtration I split the required amount of Contraphos into 3 bags place in different locations to maximize the efficiency of flow through rate. I also use Polyfilter pads (cut into strips) and I employ 2 skimmers along with a refugium filled with a variety of macro algae, live rock and the odd mangrove. My PO4 level hovers between 0 and 0.03mg/l and when it creeps up to 0.05mg/l, I know I need to replace the media. I use 1x 500ml packet to filter my 120gal (4ftx2x2) + the 30gal water in the sump…and I don’t compromise on feeding. A note to add is that you should rinse the bag/product in running water first to get rid of the dust particles which will turn the water into a rust colored, just give it a rinse or two just to wash off the dust sizes. There’s no need to wash till it’s clear otherwise you may compromise on its effectiveness (since its an absorption media). Any rust color that is in the tank will settle in about 15-20mins. At the moment Contraphos is only available in 500ml packets as far as I know, but at $30 why would you need something smaller? Contraphos can be found at a Paradise Reef near you.

YES if you got the old version of DT's which was a mono culture(single strain), but NO if you have the new DT's which is a poly culture(multiple strains). here's why, explained on the DT's site: Can I start my own cultures from DT's Live phytoplankton? The old DT's live phytoplankton that contained only one species of phytoplankton were very much alive and it was possible to start new cultures, and many people used to do so. The new DTs now has more than one species and although still very much alive, it cannot be used as a starter culture. The species will compete with each other. Many people think that the 'strongest species will survive, but the only thing that is likely to survive will . The color of that cyanobacteria will likely be green, and the unsuspecting hobbyist will be adding cyanobacteria to there tanks, thinking that they're adding some pretty green phytoplankton. To grow good clean uncontaminated cultures requires a lot of time and effort. Many people that culture even a single species of phytoplankton eventually end up culturing cyanobacteria, and many times not realizing it. If you are going to culture you own, we recommend taking the time to do it right. Start by getting a copy of the Plankton Culture Manual, by Frank H. Hoff and Terry W. Snell. Before growing your own phytoplankton think about the nutrients and metals that are needed to feed the phytoplankton and how you can be sure they are removed from your cultures before you feed your reef tank. then look at our Cleaned and concentrated page. www.DT phytoplankton another reason is that even if they survive, which strain will be the one growing? you would need a microscope to check and then identify the exact phyto strain that survived & outgrew the rest.