bawater

don't mind me saying but if u say No2(Nirite) is still testable, it simply means your biological cycle is not established and u stocked up with a number of fishes all in one go or your current filtration cannot cope with the current bioloads. You didn't list your filtration & wat u have in there,tank size,number of fishes & how old is the tank: without any details its a shot in the dark & u may get a wrong answer. i prefer the first as the power of bacteria is a force not to be reckon with- give them time and a place to call home & they work for free. You can intro some more bacteria by changing abt 10% or more with filtered seawater from LFS. In the meantime if u can lower your bioloads immediately it would help, then only stock up 1 or 2 fish at a time at intervals of a week or two. Ammonia & Nirites are Toxic & can kill(hence your death rate), Nitrates(No3) to a certain extent are tolerable for Fish Only Tanks,but high levels for long periods levels never benefit anyone. Here are some tables of parameters as guidelines:(guide only) saltaquarium fish only saltaquarium reef Your boxfish will spread to the other fishes, if it hasn't already.And garlic is more of a preventive measure that u have to feed on a regular basis rather than a cure. You can use medication but at your own risk. & i hope u understand that boxfish in general do have toxins which they released when stressed although the white one u have is not recorded to release them so easily & is quite tolerable. Food seems to keep them happy. i tried to rub mine but it still didn't release anything(which i don't suggest u do unless u willing to loose all your tank-i only did it in a hospital tank)and its learnt to spit water at me if i have food.

i've never seen it on mushrooms before(come to think of it i've never seen a mushroom die ) but i've seen the local brown bubble tip anemones do it just before it dies,picked it up & it wasn't worms(seen it happen twice). could have been its stomach but too slimy for me to attempt amatuer atopsy & answer my curiosity.

eerr carbon can be disposed by 2 weeks(some even consider this too long)- long term use just makes it media for bacteria. Yes - without protein skimmer u need regular water changes. Do u do one every week? For example: if i had 100ppm nitrates & i do a 10%-15% waterchange every 7days i end with 20ppm for the next 5 days or so, but if i leave it to 14days & beyond then it just goes up to 100ppm again. u can try seachem phosguard...follow instructions & change accordingly,every week or two. For a 4ft it takes abt 3weeks onward before u notice a huge dip in phosphates. Good luck

Food: Abalone eat marine algae. The adults feed on loose pieces drifting with the surge or current. Large brown algae such as giant kelp, bull kelp, feather boa kelp and elk kelp are preferred, although most others may be eaten at various times. Abalone tend to stay in one location waiting for food to drift by. However, they will move daily, seasonally or when food becomes scarce for a long period. The color banding on many abalone shells is due to changes in the types of algae eaten. Juvenile abalone graze on rock encrusting coralline algae and on diatom and bacterial films. As they grow they increasingly rely on drift algae. Age and Growth: Determining the age of an individual abalone is difficult. Unlike the hard parts of some animals, abalone shells have no marks or bands suitable for assigning age. However, juvenile abalone in aquariums grow an inch or more per year for the first two years. Tagging studies have provided estimates of age for larger abalone in the wild. Red abalone are mature at 1.5 to 2 inches when growth begins to slow with age. For instance, a seven inch red abalone may be 7-10 years old, while one only 3/4 of an inch longer may be 15 years or older. Habitat: Small abalone seek cover in crevices, under rocks or in the spines of sea urchins. This behavior probably results from an abalone's instinctive attraction to dark places, which protects them from many predators. Though small abalone hide during daylight hours, they are active at night. Small red abalone are known to move hundreds of yards. As abalone grow larger, and become less susceptible to many predators, they seek the open, more visible locations where food is more available. Fortunately abalone and most molluscs are prolific spawners but the mortality still probably exceeds 99%. Nearest i got was mussels & barnacles.

time to check all your water parameters, then list them up. What kind of filtration u using, what media do u use...these will help. from the results u will know which product to get. it looks like a diatom bloom...which may turn into cyano soon. pointing a powerhead at affected areas work,just as yazid suggested. But it looks like your whole sand bed has it. can't really say tune down your lighting cause its already low. Taking out the top layer & washing it works,but temporary- if u don't solve the nutrient source/levels it will come back in days. When u wash u also kill off the bacteria living on the top layer(but if your filtration has bacteria media of some sort or plenty of LR then it shouldn't affect too much). Same if u add new sand.

Chanbi can't log on either

No no, wrong point taken. A drilled tank is better anyday. i meant just a hole in the tank bottom without overflow(since u didn't want it in the corner). An overflow will keep the main volume out, not as much force is then put on the seal around the bulkhead(which will be located within the overflow compartment). Imagine without an overflow box or triangle stopping u pilling the rocks on and around the bulkhead. Imagine just a pvc pipe in the tank, Rocks resting against it,sand weight pushing down on the seal around the bulkhead. A slight bang against the PVC pipe & u have to hold your breath. Just think of the water volume pushing down on that bulkhead seal. If you are intending for just a bare holding tank- water & fishes then sure it might be safe. But with the amount of LR/sand that you have in an aquarium, its a risk u have to live with everyday.

Won't just having a hole in the tank fitted with a bulkhead affect the integrity of the bottom glass? Even 12mm glass would still make me cringe. Maybe 20mm i would have less doubts. U won't just leave the pipe standing there on its own right? sure to surround the area with Rocks,sand + the LR that we get are Indo rocks & they aren't exactly light weight. A leakage & u will have to drain the whole tank instead of just lowering the water level if u had an overflow. Just some 'what ifs' points to consider. cause u will have the sump below, & probably some wires there too. Electricity & saltwater is a match made in heaven but something i would want to avoid.

barra, can i use that formula to calc the total usage & costs? PH,lights,fans,chiller etc.....using the power source accordingly.e.g PH run 24/7(watts) +lights-12hrs(watts) etc.

valleyman, add snails but-pls FORGET abt adding a tang! u trying to reduce your bioload not increase it. & yellow tangs won't eat diatoms or cyano.AND if by chance u get a picky tang, it won't even touch green hair algae. Too many fish means a lot of food,means more nitrogenous waste,phosphates etc. Too many fish too fast means bacteria not able to cope with the increased levels immediately.

nleong, test again in a week. Ph should drop over time. i think can remove pigheart already. 1 or 2 days of rotting is enough ammonia already. i using coralife. Maybe just me but sometimes its 8.6,sometimes 8.2- 8.3 sometimes mixes clear,sometimes cloudy. But what the hell- u pay peanuts ,u get monkeys. i still alternate with other saltmixes.Usually when i need volume i use coralife. Not my test kit either cause i check all the tanks with an eco pen.Most times i cross check with a normal ph test kit(i can't remember brand) & also(LAB) PH test strips.

ya man, two words sum it up bad karma

i agree with wei, the tank can go skimmerless but at a sacrifice of very low bioloads.Even if the tank has established. A tank within 1yr old will get hit by algae, this i'm very sure cause the tank is empty so u rush to fill it up,then there are impluse buys- trying all sorts of liquid foods & the tendency to overstock(this happens to the best of us). DSB,NNR methods work but only when they established themselves & can support a certain ceilling of bioload. How long it takes to establish all depends on what fauna u introduce & can take a couple of months. Do u think u can watch a 4ft with 1 fish for a year? i can't. so i would skim a new tank. u won't need a $1000 skimmer,or a gold plated skimmer or a self cleaning skimmer that comes with a maid that also tops up water(i wish ) but u need a skimmer that works no frills & within budget(if u have $150,then go within the range & get a skimmer that actually skims or ppl give good feedback on). Maybe after a yr or 2 when u are used to the tank & can tell somethin is wrong just by looking at it & how to solve the problems that arise, u can stop skimming & watch the results. if it goes the wrong way then u know why & can rectify the problem(e.g lower bioload/lessen feeding/change foods). There's no point is sayin"i stopped skimming 3 mths ago & now i have a cyano or hair algae bloom, what to do- why it happened? u guys said it was ok". After all it is your tank & your decision on what u want to spend more on. There's still other things like lights,pumps,circulation devices,LR,sand,fans,chillers,additives,foods,chillers & reactors. And we never even counted Live stock. Slowly but surely it will come together & u will have what u want. BTW-3-4" DSB for a 4x2x2 is 80kg worth of your choice of substrate(according to the calc in RC) the finer the substrate, the thinner the oxygen layer in the top layer. But also the finer the substrate the easier it is to compact over time causing dead spots(& algae blooms). Either lay your rockwork first or use some sort of support for the rocks. your research into all these & patience will only pay off in 6mths or so, only then will u know u started on the right track or not. garf is a very good site for info,they also have a bulletproof calc(although old already): http://www.garf.org/ peace Brandon

abang i think u watch too much baywatch apa baywater la deh? the guy's email add. in your pm already. phang, don't frag untill all gone k- save some for me. will be ready in 2 mths. scared by that time you only left No.1 sand to frag for me.

aww too late, my test tank breaking down already. i already started taking out bio media & some sand to seed new tank week by week. so won't be able to handle any extra dead material,since its now also skimmerless.

oh Dino, don't forget your camera then can post in the DIY section. maybe a copper test kit will tell, but if u don't have one handy then no point buying one.

can't read the ingredients- very blur. can only make from the poissons de.... for aquarium fish & some storage details. nothing abt whats in it. crude/ash results etc can't tell much from there either. Saw a variety at halequin. $6 guess from the pic u gonna try first hand har dodo?

tank 3 1/2, i wish- then i can go swimming with Tangs No lah , extended the stand as high as he has ever made without topping over.I didn't know they would use 2"x1" metal bars or else i would have gone higher! Total height is 5.5ft , i'm 5.8ft so just right for me to rest my nose on the top edge to smell i have a habit of doing a smell check every so often. Dragonet: did the LFS mean total 4ft setup?including skimmer,lights, filter media etc etc...maybe comes up to the same. Bare drilled Tank with wood cabinet range from $1000 up to $1600:P

*bio ring *polyfilter *filter floss by using the last 2 means u have to service the canister more often. Bio rings provide more surface area than LR or coral chips. Another thing***do note that sand will find its way into the impeller & screw the canister up.or if your lucky it will find its way back to the tank.It will also impede the flow of water thru the canister if it does stay cause u r talking abt no.1 grains. i guess u can try LR but why waste space? u r already limited within the canister for media space. the working is the same as FW, either used as bacterial(biological),mechanical or chemical or with any combination. Later u will need to keep track of nitrates. Nitrates is the end product & is the least toxic but high levels are still not tolerated by most marine life. Fish can live in up to 100ppm of nitrates & still be happy but reports from public aquariums in the US show low survival(abt 50%)rate in 500ppm levels-tested on triggers. Corals don't tolerate high levels for long periods.

A Protein skimmer removes dissolved organics by foam fractioning, u get the brownish liquid called skim mate. A surface skimmer removes the organic film on the surface of the water only(it may look like oil but its just bacteria). usually used in planted aquaria because usage of co². For a 1feet, if u can have very good filtration or very regular water changes(every week)- with both even better then u can go without a skimmer(cause a skimmer in a 1 foot will take up 1/3 of the tank space). Regular water changes with filtered seawater from LFS once or twice a week is pretty good enough.

i got quoted 10mm 4x2x2(overflow) +2.5ft sump + piping + delivery $405 Glass is machine cut. cabinet $500 extra or iron stand $120 extra. i choose the iron stand & requested 3.5ft height. & i extended the sump to 3ft with refugium built in extra $20. if u need, pm me & i'll send u the guy's email. the price u got quoted was what my tank maker charges for a 8ftx2.5x2.5. undrilled.

They look like Hypselodoris bullocki . (Sponge eater) http://www.seaslugforum.net/hypsbull.htm or the could also be Chromodoris sp. (carnivorous) http://www.seaslugforum.net/chrosp6.htm which ever they are> they still don't eat algae. u can also read up all about nudis here: slugsite.us i just had an outbreak of spiky brown ones(i still can't id them). guess what they ate? 2 whole pieces of xenias in 2mths. i removed what i saw but i still lost the xenias.

lonteoh- Totally different, biomat is a home for bacteria, Poly filter absorbs toxic chemicals(like Activated carbon & seachem phosguard). $$ for biomat & $$ for Polyfilter very big difference. Brine shrimp & mysis shrimp are 2 different shrimp, look at the pack contents u will be able to see. Anakjoh, can also try frozen brineshrimp,chopped silversides & squid. Wrassy- No point in coral chips in the overhead unless u understand that it just becomes a home for bacteria like ceramic rings, Not much help from the bio balls in the overhead either(unless u got the 3 tier overhead). Maybe just ceramic & floss or just floss. Watch for salt spray on the lights & all over the filter- u will get tired of it soon.

feeding every 3 days for the rose anemone is really too much for it to handle,but with regular feedings every 7-14days is ample & more than enough(with adequate light). This is one with only monthly feedings(no increase in size since i got it 9mths ago) This is one fed twice a week with a single market prawn(it has doubled its original size,after 3 months) Blue terror- silversides u can get from NTUC(abt$2) but read the label closely cause sometimes these are packed already cooked. otherwise, i got a $2 pack from those LH shops which have posters up for silversides(TPY69) 1 pack last for months.

i also thought it was u kel so the mystery continues.................. will the real slim shady please stand up