fantom

I just bought a yellow tang from Ocean Planet this afternoon. It's in Oxford Road. Think there are about 15 of them left - mostly small ones.

Material-wise, it doesn't cost a bomb but the time and effort involved does. The LFS at Balestier sells their own bare bones unit for about $120 (excluding pumps). I can do a full featured one for not more than that (more like less), inclusive of parts and labour, if anyone is interested. Actual cost will vary depending on features wanted. Please note that I don't include pumps - it's not appropriate as people would require or want different pumps based on likes and needs. If anyone is interested, please PM me. But please note that I will be away from 17/11 - 25/11 (that's why I made this unit :-) ) Adrianli, I suppose you connect the float directly to the mains? In my design, I don't do that. It's rather risky doing that. The float switch may not be rated for 240 volts in the first place. Should there be a short, nasty things can happen. I pump in only 12 volts to the float switch - you won't get an electric shock with this.

The last pic shows the second float switch which is attached to the pump. Anytime the water level falls below the float swtich (but still covering the pump), it will prevent the pump from being switched on.

Forgot to add earlier on that I used a two-pin connector for the mains. A three-pin connector (with a regular 3-pin plug) can also be used instead if preferred. The fourth pic shows the first float switch which is in the tank.

The third pic shows the insides of the unit.

The second pic shows the back of the unit.

Guys, I'm back with an updated version of the first auto water top-up device that I built. I've put everything nicely into a box and made some improvements. It has the following features: - Supports 2 float switches. One for the tank/sump and one for the water reservoir. The one in the tank/sump will turn the connected pump on if the water level drops. The one in the water reservoir will prevent the pump from running if the reservoir runs out of water. This prevents a possible trip should the pump be trying to pump air instead of water. Note that the second float switch is optional - you can do without it so long as you can ensure the reservoir always has enough water. - Indicator light which turns on when the pump is working. - Override button that allows you to turn the pump on although the water level may be still high. - Easy connection to float switches. Just press the lever and insert the wire to connect. This also allows you to use as long a wire as you like. - Only 12 volts of electricity runs through the flow switches. No fear of being electrocuted should there be a leak. - Has 2 connectors that allow you to connect 2 pumps, although I can't think of any use for the second one. See the attached pictures. The first pic shows the front.

Loonz, Where to get the Philips FL actinics? Thanks.

There's a bicycle shope in Balestier Hill Shopping Centre (where Nature Aquarium is) that's selling the titanium spokes for about $4.50 a piece. Currently, there's no stock yet but it should be in by end of the week.

Nature Aquarium Blk 1, Thomson Road #01-340 Balestier Hill Shopping Centre Singapore 300001 Tel: 62556051 (Opposite Thomson Medical Centre)

I'm using a 13W PL tube (Aqualux) - one side blue and the other white (9000K). I don't use a skimmer but I'm using a Ehein Liberty 150 filter. The Liberty provides the current as well as the filtering. I change about half the water every week. Besides that that, there's no other equipment in the tank. One thing good about placing the tank in the office is that the temperature is below normal room temperature. During weekends, it is at most at normal room temperature (the room is huge and so any fluctuation would be slow and not too large).

The sponge is still there, although it's not doing as well as the others, especially the anemone and the trumpet.

This one is from my office tank (a nano - 13 litres). It hasn't move from this position either, since I first placed it there. However, this one has eaten at least 1 damsel and 1 CBS - there was evidence in these two cases. It is a suspect in the disappearence of another damsel.

This anemone is from my home tank. I've had it for about six months now (I think). So far, no problems with it. It's in the same spot that I placed it when I bought it. It hasn' moved since then.

Actually, keeping a nano-reef can be quite successful. I have a 13-litre capacity tank sitting on my office desk for more than 4 months now. That's about 3.5 gallons. Take a look at the pic that was taken about a month plus ago. The only real problem that I had was loses to the anemone - probably because of the small tank size.