bawater

i heard a rumour that damsels value go up according to what it kills so how much is mine worth with: a plate coral,2x orange firefish,4x common clowns,2x skunk clowns & drawing blood from my hand 4x times. but since i'm in a good mood- i will give it away for free. otherwise i'm gonna mash it up with a fork when i catch it. A 3" female domino(which killed a 4" O.niger trigger) i already took care off but still got a 4 striped one. i think they are nuclear proof just like cockroaches.

hmmm never thought of it but i don't know if there's any nutrient content in that,maybe help pollute the tank water but not enough to be counted as food,well!i don't think so anyway. I have a bad habit, i never defrost!. whole cubes just goes in- mainly wiped out by fishes,maybe bubble will catch a piece or 2. if u have good enough lights for the clam, i guess feeding is secondary. Also depends on what expense or lengths u want to go to provide food for it. Feeding phyto(be it frozen or live) is mainly for everything in your tank(including that clam direct & indirectly), you're wondering on target feeding the clam right,would be more trouble than worth as they are filter feeders,they take whatever food they need straight from the water & make most of what they need from the light u provide-no teeth to chew on anything so don't bother with the prawn thing.

ooooo "Feng Shui masters have long been known to recommend aquariums for offices and buildings to drive away the evil spirits and bring in the good luck and fortune. If they were right, then Aqua Works is critical in the outstanding success of Singapore." ooh maybe they should look after my tank then no more evil spirits & i can strike my toto. T2 too under them. that's sad. ok, one more to ask.who looks after Park Palais at upper bukit timah, they just lost a potato cod due to swiming pool chemicals leaching in. i'll see if i can get pics on setup.

coralife,red sea,instant ocean & marinemix(i just got a bag to try) coralife the cheapest next to buying LH salt.

ttboy u seen those kind of quality here? i only seen that kind in mail order from US- USD$20-30 each.So far local ones i've seen r ..................plastic crap which don't exist in the oceans,if it did then must have grown in a nuclear reactor. & who may i ask looks after the airport tanks? very sad fishes.

Nobody answered Ebi? u may separate the clams but only if u can provide the exact conditions as the main Tank,e.g water parameters,Lighting,Temp,water movement (basicly an identical tank)-if u really did this then might as well just have a clam/species tank. If u do separate into a container just for feeding- sooner or later the stress will affect the clam one way or the other.They are already jumpy creatures as it is if u noticed. Prawns too big, brine shrimp too big- in fact what u r seeing is the juices from the brine shrimp that attracts them(if u can mash up brine shrimp thru a very fine sieve/coffee decant paper filter then all the much better). Light is still their main food source for clams but u need micron size particles for supplemental feeding(probably make up abt 10% of their needs).Not to mention that the food will benefit other organisms in the food chain,take it that u r feeding your whole tank including the fauna. The species of unicellular algae typically used for the culture of marine invertebrate larvae are as follows (this information is largely lifted from Strathmann 1987,so this could well be outdated): 1.Cricosphaera carterae - gold-brown flagellate with cells in the 10-18 micrometer range. Particularly good food for small prosobranch veligers. 2.Dunaliella primolecta - green alga with cells in the 4-10 micrometer range. Particularly poor food for most species with the exception of asteroid larvae, possibly because it lacks certain polyunsaturated fatty acids (Peirson 1983). 3.Dunaliella tertiolecta - green alga with cells in the range of 10-15 micrometers. Easy to culture and nutritious, this alga makes a good choice for the culture of many echinoderm larvae, but apparently poor for prosobranchs. 4.Isochrysis galbana - gold-brown alga on the order of 5-8 micrometers which contain large lipid stores. An excellent food for most small planktotrophic species, especially in mixture with Dunaliella, Pavlova, or Thalassiosira. Recommended for mollusc larvae, copepods and rotifers. 5.Pavlova (=Monochrysis) lutheri - gold-brown flagellate approximately 7-10 micrometers. Tends to be a poor food source alone, and may be harmful in dense culture due to the accumulation of algal byproducts. There are better species available, so it is best to avoid this one, unless you are willing to rinse the algae before feeding. 6.Procentrum micans - large dinoflagellate good when mixed with Isochrysis for advanced larval stages or large larvae. 7.Skeletonema costatum - chain diatom, each cell being about 6 micrometers. Fair to good food for crustacean larvae such as barnacles. 8.Tetraselmis (=Paltymonas) suecica - tiny green alga, about 10-12 micrometers, recommended for rotifer culture, or when mixed with Isochrysis for molluscs. 9.Thalassiosira (=Cyclotella) pseudonana - small diatom averaging about 3 micrometers in diameter. A good food for molluscs and early crustaceans. When mixed with Dunaliella also for echinoderms. 10.Thalassiosira weissflogii (=fluviatilis) - large diatom, averaging about 20 or so micrometers in length. An excellent food for juvenile and adult bivalves, and a good food for echinoderms and crustaceans. u can read all abt the strains here: Roscoff Culture Collection of Marine Phytoplankton They maintain about 550 strains of marine phytoplankton with a particular emphasis on picoplankton in particular Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus and picoeucaryotes (Pelagomonas, Bolidomonas, Ostreococcus) so u see- the dinner menu is very big try some of the paste from pacificbetta & see for yourself the difference. Just Feed sparingly,i got hair algae from the reefworld stuff-but i was also feeding bottled liquids. But its convenient,saves time,saves space,simple & clean and definitely better than the dried or bottled stuff. The microalgae paste is highly concentrated using a low gravity centrifuge. The paste is so thick that it takes only one milliliter to make 3 liters of culture water (one liter of paste will make 3,000 liters of microalgae culture).The Tetraselmis paste has around 1.7 billion cells per ml. and the Nannochloropsis has 76 billion cells per ml(info from brineshrimpdirect). As compared to live phyto i measured at 2.9million cells per ml at 7days old.N.value start to drop on the 10th day if not harvested or split. At the moment i'm only using Nannochloropsis(which are abt 6microns)cause Floridafarms are out of stock on the remaining strains. There are just a handful(i think can count with one hand) of us in SG using live phyto,maybe its down to personal preference. Peace

so, correct me if i'm worng. A cheapo version of the reeftec would be: 1. an internal spare powerhead(flowrate to be discussed later) 2. a long shaft to fit the powerhead(e.g break a overhead filter pump for the shaft & cut to size) & extend out to fit on a propeller 3. the propeller to push & twirl the water. 4. some acrylic to make box/casing. some egg crate to cover too.Some pvc pipe to make the circle bit where the prop goes. 5. Timer- on/off 4 hrs interval(a $10 powerhead is expendable) i'm no good at drawings, but you've seen the reeftec so u got the idea. & a little searching ard i found it works: Follow this thread: DIY reeftec so anybody any idea how much is a prop?

another thing- once u delete your pm don't miss jumping to your..SENT.. box & delete in there as well or it counts to your overall pm quota.

lona- if u take from the wet part, u need to kill it first(soak in tapwater,change fresh water every 3days for 2 weeks). i'm more bothered that u make sure everything is dead then clean. its the same sand only that the bottom part is wet so colour difference. once u wet the collected portion it will be the same colour. i did get a diatom bloom on the sand- but no difference if i only used No.1 or No.3 or No.5(bloom still comes)its more to do with the cycle of your tank,& from my visits even LFS with pure No.1 get that bloom. If u get a hair algae bloom-let the algae grow long on the sand then use a cd cover & scrape off the top 0.5cm-1cm layer & u have another form of nutrient removal-harvesting on a regular basis or u can get a snail to graze. i will take green hair algae anyday compare to cyano or dino. i don't use a very big amount-on the one i tried i used 20kg sand to 20kg No.1 In my next maybe i will end with 10kg beach sand & 10kg quartz sand out of total 80kg, more just to mix & get an assortment of sizes.(the only reason i use quartz sand was cause i have a 10kg bag spare after a FW setup) i still end with No.1 on top for colouration & visual preference. Only other persons i know is bluebeard & his brother who are using high percentage of beach sand.i have used changi beach sand & pasir ris,i find that changi has a better whiter/greyish effect but pasir ris has more uniform grains. Yazid, its opp the MRT station/opp the central(up the slope head towards playground).

yazid, i read that article & some others as well-anything that is inert can be used as a substrate-it is because of the volume needed that u look for the most economical. Actually a mixture of sizes work best -just as in nature. My current tank i mixed no.1,no.3,no.5 & silica beach sand with big chunks of coral chips(those LH size).i saw that over abt a yr- all the fine sand will settle to the bottom & leave u with the bigger pieces on top. i had 4 yrs to watch what happen in the sediment. beach sand does not contribute to algae blooms if washed properly(as thought,yes diatoms use silicates to produce their shells but they would prefer glass'tank walls' as its harder to take from sand-and what is glass made of?). Finer substrate area is prefered by the worms My new one i'm using the same riversand but i lay 1" of that at the bottom layer-then no.1 on top. mixing it together is up to your visual preference -seems to naturally go back to the bottom anyway. actually no.1 is sort of the biggest size u should go for DSB. i'm using that quartz sand too(10kg of that & 5kg beach sand),although i would prefer something more white.

Don't rope me in on this AT me oredi married & under oath(although i can't remember the exact words,to love ...to cherish and always have a Tank in my house.... or somethin like that anyway!). Good thing wife dunt come here or else kanna husband abuse:ooh: dodo- u can have Gf but i can't or else something would be chopped into tiny pieces & fed to my tank. ,overfeeding will pollute my tank u know.

spade, at least they answered u- i asked but never got an answer from petmart. Hon, kwangs(was there last nite) & OP is out as well. i got the last 3 bags from halequin last week- dunno if they restocked. Got the remainder from Pac marine showroom at blk D- just by chance at the same time as wedgee(but they have stock from warehouse). everybody wanted $10 per 10kg bag.

yeh smilies r cool also the My assistant feature

Got mine on sat(it was cheaper from the states). when i blow into it,sounds like its working on gears- now dunno if i should put it into the return line or on a close circuit. 'wat if' it fails on the return line then i got a major problemo? Only can say later if when still running in 6mths without problems.

optimus prime- i don't get u on the bubbles not reaching the collection cup? if u follow the water mark as on the box it should reach the grill part-small or big bubbles(this is where it concentrates the foam & goes up into the cup). the ceramic airstone u have will work for 3weeks then u get big bubbles. should get the wooden airstone as standby to change, also requires monthly changing. u want the bubble chamber to be filled white with tiny mini bubbles. u can also get sanders from clementi C328 & the marine LFS at chinatown.

Try not to think of plain aluminium foil . 1. It dulls over a few months(very fast) 2. It crumbles & the dust size particles get everywhere. 3. Not very reflective if u get crinckles in them(which is easy). 4. better for food than Tank use. 5. did i mention they crumble?with or without salt spray. maybe those silver aluminium trays for barbecue work better-so far using them for DIY FL on 2ft but not for reflective measures,mainly for light direction. eerm i wouldn't think of using it for MH though. Normal aluminium reflector $10 for 4ft length. $10(& u can cut up as needed) compared to $100(does this included shipping?) of course commercial units will have lots of info to back up the product but do check out www.DIY spider Inspiration by phang .

sand for a 4ftx2 @3" DSB height no.1 sand = 80kg its $10 per 10kg almost everywhere now. i just pumped in 55kg & still a looks too little.(Halequin sells them in 5kg bags@$5) I mixed in some spare quartz riversand & beach silicate sand(i think another 20kg) to soften final cost- laid 1" beneath no.1 so can't see. LR is completely up to how much u want to spend, the more the merrier. phang, u didn't mention how much u used for the main 5ft $$$$$$

wrassy, what container r u using to raise the bbs? if its small u will encounter a very big die off within the first 2 weeks & u will be left with a few shrimps, if its square then there will be dead spots where some will find & die. They will reflect the colour of food that u feed(baker's yeast= white, spirulina= green). red being low oxygen levels in which their blood cells produce this pigment( chk out brine shrimp direct website faq files ) . if u cram them together then they turn red due to low oxygen levels.

u can get brine shrimp eggs at almost all the proper LFS, fresh water ones also carry them. usually used in breeding discus,bettas & other fry.just ask for brine shrimp eggs.Aquamart@paya lebar has them,so does K&K@tampines,C328@clementi & i think Keong seong@havelock too . i think available at 9g per package(small box contains a small vial) hatching instructions are on the box. $6-$8 Going by the brand name,the origin of these eggs should be low hatch rates from china.60% if i'm not wrong,although i get lower than this from them. baby brine shrimp(hence:bbs) are hatched in seawater. u can also use normal aquarium salt(LH kind) & dechlorinated water-mix according to the instructions on the box. trying not to repeat how to.... > there r some links below where they are covered. i'm using grade A eggs from Brine Shrimp Direct-but i seldom hatch to feed nowadays,i have a self-sufficient small culture 3ltr(mainly i just watch them cause production too little for big regular usage) but i think chanbi still doing it. here are some previous threads on feeding BBS/adult BS: link link AT did have a thread on How to hatch,along with pics of his hatchery but i can't find it -

Ok,SPS phang- i said i wasn't in the ring for sps but mine will be fully stabilized in abt 2mths but lighting i'm not sure enough cause its mainly for softies-but i will take excess frags-bottom of the list pls(only if there are small pieces or crumbs left-& then i'll get a calc reactor just for them) 1)Reef size: 48 x 24 x 24 2)No. of MH. Type and Wattage:1x AQI arcadia 10k 150w,4x 36w 10k PL & 2x 30w FL arcadia acitinics(hopefully another 2x 150w MH by above timeframe) 3) 4" DSB at back sloping to 3" in front. 4)Sump:3ft sump,small Wet/Dry,18"x18"x12" refugium with 4" DSB and algae for nutrient removal,12"x18" reservoir.additional 24"x12"x18" stock holding tank attached to sump(in the works). 5)Skimmer (Brand and Model): The biggest macro model,could be the same as spade(i can't find the model no. cause its old) 6)Calcium Reactor (Brand and Model): will get one by May if i end up with sps. kalk drip dosage in the meantime 7)PH levels: 8.3 (current) 8)Alk levels: 8dkh(current) 9)Calcium levels: not tested 10)Chiller (HP and Brand) : i have no idea on brand 1/2hp, it was donated. 6 head cooling fan main tank, 2 individual cooling fans for refugium. tank kept at temp 27c 11)Total System (Water exchange/circulation rate per hour): 1xReturn pump ,abt 3000 l/hr connect to a SCWD wave maker Additional 1800l/hr external canister filter for water circulation only,no filtration media. Fish load:1x4"Yellow Tang,1x2" flame angel,1x 2" scooter blenny,1x2" maroon clown,3x cleaner shrimps,1x CBS,1x yellow goby. Max another 1nos 2"fish leeway.

i think more like rotting fish or essence of dead rat with a dash of silent fart & a sprinkle of dead pigeon?. wah!purple.did u test ammonia? since there is no livestock at risk now u want to tahan also can,as Tanzy mentioned u can let it cycle on its own-will take a few weeks or so, but u can always opt for buying water to change.If u change your mind a 1.5ft not much volume to change. maybe u can try 2 bags of water,if got transport 3 bags better(i think will be almost 100%).

a $40 fan from the most LFS will keep the tank at 28c-very hot weather maybe 29c if u want 26c then either u need a chiller(if u say under shade meaning outdoors?) or position the tank in an aircon room. 30c will not benefit many corals. But fish do fine.

1. what u see is coral chips, coral sand come in many different sizes. No.1 sand is the smallest(sold out almost everywhere) but no.0(if i can call it that)is sugar fine(powder like).Limited stocks in SG. When u buy LS(live sand) usually u getting beneficial bacteria already colonized on the substrate.So since u can't see bacteria there's no guarantee its there unless u buy those retail advertised packs-mentioning that its live. Its not very live unless apart from bacteria u also get worms,miro-fauna & all the creepy crawlies so seeding yourself is a safer bet if this cost more than normal sand. marine parade...hmmmm if u go up the road(Joo chiat) to onan rd, kwangs is there,another LFS for u to visit . 2. i use that method of LR seeding live sand,it does work but take a couple of months. The grid(light diffuser) u mentioned is to stop animals moving the sand too much & also to support the rockwork so it doesn't compact the sand.u can separate the sand layers by using a fine mesh,but not many ppl bother with this. Me being one of them. 3. yes, that your volume,counting water displacement and since u not calculating the filtration turnover & only water movement then its not really accurate to just count turnover, u want circulation & pointing 2 powerheads at each other from opposite ends of the tank would provide much better movement than a big 2000ltr powerhead circulating water in one direction which doesn't seem natural does it?unless they live in a reef river where everything goes in one direction> how u move your water is your personal preference really,everybody got their own way. check out the reef thread- there a whole lot of posts on water circulation. 4. remember that sum is the total length the fish will grow to & not the size u got it at(e.g a small grouper u got at 2" will end up 12"or 15" in 15mths). again this depends very much on your filtration capabilities,for example if u use a under gravel for a 2ft- 2-3 clown size fishes will be safe but 6 of them & u may encounter algae problems,ammonia spikes etc. so this i cannot say for sure until i check,maybe others will help. 5. i don't want to give u wrong answers so i have to pass on this , i believe so as they are living creatures & some do excrete visible wastes,but stocking wise i can't say. usually your water parameters(u will be able to tell if u watch them closely) & lighting is your gauge on what & how much u can keep.

well, honestly i never cycled with prawns before in small tanks(only 2ft & beyond)-small tanks only used LR (tried it once & removed the prawn the next day,stinko) how big is small? that an airpowered skimmer can't fit?the foaming is protein. can u remove your lights first to fit in skimmer? how much LR did u put into your tank. Have u tested any water parameters yet-test everything that u have test kits for,even salinity? i have only come across smells like that when i decomission tanks or LR. once the bristleworms die,something seriously wrong with water(although the rock will survive). A Cycling process shouldn't smell like that. Now u can cheat a little since its a small tank, buy 50% filtered seawater from the LFS & change(a bag of water is $2=abt 2-3gal per bag).won't get rid of the smell immediately but will lower the stench by a lot. If its a really small tank(e.g 1ft) then might as well go for 100% change(but only with used water & not new). Maybe u put in too big a piece of prawn & the dying crabs and worms didn't help things.

i'm using it, but too soon to see results + i can't tell if its the solution or just natural. the ingredients are just a mixture of trace elements. i'll post here the what's on the label once i get home.