vipermako

couldn't agree more! btw, it should read "American Marine Pinpoint Salinity calibration fluid 53.0mS", just in case other Bro are interested.

i must say that salinity is real important. previously using those cheap floating glass hydrometer when i started my nano tank and my nemo [O clown] was so stressed that white spots start appearing on its body. later got a refractometer and discovered that the sal was about 38~39. shocked. Now they are very comfortable at my 36+ refracto reading. [most prob 35 ppt real value] will get a bottle from RD to rule out any unforeseen manufacturing defects. but i think most likely not as my instant ocean hydrometer reads about the same. but then, think it is better to countercheck. LOL

hi, can give me 1 or 2 to populate my tank. start to hv diatom liao:-)

thanks to BFG for the enlightening.

oops sorry, didn't see that BFG has already attached the article.

I think this is what you are referring to... http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1326143 seems that i am getting the right salinity because i always keep my water at 36.5 based on the zero calibration.

this is cool ! where to get this in singapore? was told by LFS to use distilled water :-)

start to see some black patches [like carbon soot]on the trunk of one of my euphyllia paraancora. Is this ok? also, there seems to be some pinkish growth at other location of the trunk. Looks like soft-type of tissue with pointed branches?

use distill water and cal to zero

i am using styrofoam [polysterene?] to hold my mangrove plant. is it safe? will it leach any toxic chemicals into the water?

hv taken it out just now. hopefully it hasn't splitted yet. lol btw, i heard nardoa star is a natural biological control for the asterina?

i don't hv any live rock. [got bad experience with unwelcome guests like this previously] my rock all sterilised liao before i put in. lol could be from the corals i bought. will take it out the next time i see it. Any chance that it has reproduced already? this is my tank. is that red coral at the center blasto? btw, when buying new corals, how to get rid of these pests?

thot i saw a little baby starfish [not confirmed] in my nano last night. It is a white blog about 5mm with some distinct star-of-david shape, greyish from top and white bottom. Observed under a toy microscope [belongs to my kids], the bottom matches that of a starfish. Moving quite fast across tank walls. wondering where did it come from? is starfish supposed to be 5 legged or 6 legged?

2 O Clowns, 1 boxer shrimp, 3 Euphyllia Paraancora in 4 gal tank, chemi-pure in filter. Has a 16gal water processing tank, where skimmer is, plus canister filter with chemi-pure, seachem denitrate, and phosphate absorber, chaeto [natural sunlight]. Weekly 25% water transfer from main tank to processing tank and back. So far has not seen any "product" from skimmer. Normal? last test yield calcium >500 Mg >1500 phosphate <0.03 near zero nitrate 25~50 KH 5~6

where did you get yours and how much did you pay for it? I might be getting one more if it is 20+

thanks, bro

ya, i also think so. small amt of nitrate should be still fine i think. I will try to target mine at 10ppm, as suggested by you

and this from About.com .... "In reef systems even a minor level of nitrate can cause damage as well as death to delicate corals, anemones and other invertebrates, as well as some crustaceans. The acceptable range of nitrate for reef tanks is 0.25 ppm, but not more than 5 ppm." do they mean Phosphate?

Read that "Nitrate increases zooxanthellae population density and reduces skeletogenesis in corals" "the population density of the zooxanthellae will actually increase significantly with increased nitrate concentration." "Maximum gross photosynthesis normalized to surface area was enhanced by nitrate addition, reflecting the increase in algal population density" "It is concluded that enhanced nitrate levels in tropical coastal waters will have a hitherto unrecognized effect on the growth rate of tropical coral reefs." F. Marubini1 and P. S. Davies

for water that is about a month old, is it 'dirty' enough for the skimmer to make some 'product? bioload 2 fishes, one shrimp, 4 corals, with chemi-pure in filter.

any type of distilled water? those from supermarket ok?

good. thanks. tested with salifert, phosphate was near zero [solution transparent with no visible blue], but nitrate was between 25~50 [cannot really interpolate the shade of pink]. Should be ok for my Euphyllia, but will try to reduce further.

between phosphate and nitrate, which one is more desirable to be kept near zero, in terms of benefits to corals?

vary a few salinity on my tank, surprisingly the euphyllia paraancora seems to like a value slightly above 36, judging by the amount of tentacles expansion? Not so good at 34. Slightly better at 35. Best at 36+. Values confirmed 3 times with refractometer. Is this normal? Thought NSW is about 35?

which hydrometer do you use?