jervismun

Hehe that's a PICO skimmer, not a NANO skimmer

I think a few bros are also at the same stage as you... read their threads too

NO!!!! Cleaner Shrimps are very sensitive to water quality... don't waste money. I think you are referring to Market Prawn... hehe... Firstly, where you bought your LR? Do they smell badly? How long has it been in your tank? Are you running ur skimmer? What's your water parameters? Only then, we can help you further If your tank is ready... you can try adding some snails and hermit crabs... that is if you are in the algae stage.

If budget is not an issue, go for Aquabee. If not, Sicce pumps are quite acceptable. Don't waste money on other pumps, you will end up changing them 2 months down the road. Other extremely good PRO pumps are too big for your tank setup.

Live Rock...got a few variants. 1. Uncured - Buy from LFS, mainly in their tank, you see a lot of creatures and algaes (like they are freshly from the sea)... if you take out, may smell a bit too. 2. Cured - Very expensive if buy from LFS. Normally clean and no smell. Already contains beneficial bacterias, very good for jump starting the tank. 3. Matured/Cured - Best option IMO, get from fellow reefers who are giving up on the hobby. These rocks been in their tank for a very long time, hence full of beneficial bacteria and most probably free of pests and hitch-hikers. Some even contains red/purple coralline algae (shiok!) Normally not very expensive, as they need you to help remove it from their tank as much as you need them. Only go for (1) if you can't find (3). No point paying so much for (2). If you are going for (3), make sure the LR is not out of water (not even in pails with bad water circulation). Best is go to a reefers home, pick piece by piece from the main tank. Once collected, go home as quick as possible, make sure the water in your tank is ready beforehand. As a general guide, the reefer should not charge more than $3/kg. But of course, depending of what kinda rocks they have. If they have Tonga (looks like branches), then be ready to pay a bit more. Once you reach home, there are 2 methods to go: i. Start scaping your tank immediately. ii. Rinse the rock (with saltwater in a bucket), dip them in a very high Sg water (say 1.028 to 1.029) to get rid of any crabs, worms that may still inhibit the rocks. Dip for 1 to 2 minutes will do. Don't expose the LR to too much air... IMO 1 hour max. You MUST make sure your water is in optimum quality (esp. Sg, pH, KH, Temperature) before collecting the LR. The objective is to preserve as much beneficial bacteria as possible in the process. In other words, do not let them die-off and culture all over again... may take 1 to 2 months!!! If you go for 20 to 30kg of (3) LR, your tank will be up and running within 2 weeks!!! Remember, because you are not using uncured LR (1), you may not experience the typical so-called Ammonia Nitrite Nitrate cycle. Meaning, you may not even have an Ammonia spike to start with. Go to my thread and read the first few pages, it's not that hard IMO, don't create crisis in your tank, no need for that if you are going for LR (3). Don't try to introduce some dead market prawn to rot inside the tank... it's horrible and unnecessary. You may want to invest in a good bottle of Nitrifying Bacteria to speed things up. Run your skimmer from the start (if you are going for LR 3). Remember... top quality water is your aim... no compromise. If the LR contains Red/Purple Coralline, you may want to switch on your light for 3 to 4 hours daily. If not, don't bother as it will culture unwanted algae. Patience is important... but if you do it right at the beginning... your tank is already half way there

To be honest... how to enjoy without his fish tank? That's the problem... for my next holiday... I will be go half-heartedly coz I will be worrying about my fishes at home

Bro Maxstar... u a bit late lar... bro Qxn is busy "honeymoon*" now!!! Yeah yeah yeah * If you know what I mean

Oh dear... more drilling will weaken the structure... do plan carefully bro. I'm sure you will find a way... luckily you are not using MH, or else Fry Prata!!! Ok... it's not funny I lowered my chiller temperature to 26ºC to 27ºC, thanks to your advice My LPS will be very grateful to you

I will pass some Zoos to bro Altantis this week. So, yes more space for the Zoos. I think some thriving Zoos in his tank will calm him down a bit Yalor... the shrimps are working 24/7!!! That's why I want to introduce 4 to 6 more to help around... and I always enjoy watching them in action... since day 1

I am running some bioballs (Aqua Medic bactoballs) now. Basically Biohome and Cerapore are the same thing. The question is.. how much cash you willing to spend? If you can allocate $100+ for 2 to 3 boxes then of course better than conventional bioballs. But according to a reliable LFS (who also sells Biohome and Cerapore) the difference will not be too great. Bioballs = Nitrate Factory, Biohome less likely a Nitrate Factory... is still treated by many as an "urban legend" or a "myth". If you have budget control, might as well use that $100+ on something more significant that can help improve water drastically like invest in a better protein skimmer or a better wavemaker. That's why I am still using my bioballs

See who's in the "Car Wash"... I think much credits must go to these hardworking creatures... they are priceless!!!

Emm... a bit skeptical about "Henry's nano skimmer"... remember there's only a few good brands out there that can really make good protein skimmers. IMO smaller skimmers are harder to design than larger ones, so a good Nano skimmer is not as easy as shrinking the design but a balance of a lot of components. All the 3 brands I am familiar with introduced Nano models and all been tested by reefers here: 1. Aqua Medic Biostar Flotor (comes with a dry/wet biological filter too) 2. Tunze Nano 3. Deltec MCE600 (althought a bit overpower to consider a Nano, lol) Also, a very important component of skimmer design is the pump/powerhead. 1. Using Aqua Medic PH2000 2. Using Tunze 3. Using Aqua Bee IMO, all the aboves are superior pumps. Other brands... do treat with caution. Do treat other less known manufacturers with more caution... some of the Nano skimmers from US website... one look at it, you know it will never work... if it isnt very convincing at the point of purchase... most probably it will never do a good job. Jervis

It's amazing how you can DIY/mod everything

But confirm strong light and medium to strong current? Liveaquaria.com doesn't have Green Gonio's information, just the Red Gonio. I guess they are the same

His background came with the tank

Em... maybe I should set my chiller to 1ºC lower... since I am investing quite a bit on corals nowadays... the Goniopora I bought today refuse to open leh... what can be the problem? Is it true they need strong light and medium to strong current?

Bro I notice you only take ur FTS from the front... what about the sides?

What's the best temperature for LPS and Pratas? My setting is at 27ºC to 28ºC. Em... ur Brown Prata seems quite pale (white)... I hope it's just the lighting

How's thing bro? If you need test kits, do let me know. I have a full set of Salifert TKs. Since we stay so near Oh... I have some corals to pass to you too (once you tank settles)

Ok I've decided to add 6 more White-banded Cleaner Shrimps (slightly smaller specimens) into my tank this week Wow... gonna be orgy party every night The Fireshrimp I have is quite hopeless... hiding in a corner 99% of the time

Welcome back... wow so much progress... love the skimmate!!! I am starting to look for Pratas too... perhaps you can help me with some pointers

Emm... seems like the right people to do my next mega tank

Wah your Hermit is a hot-cake

Bro Altantis, I have a set. Since I have some corals to pass to you (Zoos)... you come over, I can help test your water for you also

Maybe something to do with your avatar... bad omen...