jervismun

Guys, my pH is reading 8.8 now (after 7 hours of photosynthesis)... 9.0 this morning. Am I in big trouble? My Green Chromis is not showing any sign of distress, however, the macroalgae Caulerpa is acting strangly with dark green veins, slightly pale green and growing SPIKES!

Oh Gunzo I read that this skimmer is very dependent on consistent water lvl (as in many skimmers out there). That's why the ReefPack 500 comes with the Osmolator. In fact, both the protein skimmer and filter benefit greatly from consistent water lvl. That's what Tunze says...

Come on guys... this is not funny I am worry about my only Green Chromis in there... will it suffer big time? Any experienced reefers out there?

Someone in another thread suggested the algae is going asexual!!! Look at all the SPIKES that sorta grew within the last 5 hours... kinda sexual looking to me Oh yeah... my tank is going for a mass orgy, lol. But colour wise, it does look paler than yesterday, so is it dying? I need expert advise please... or my only Green Chromis will suffer Picture: Notice those SPIKES, not there a couple of hours before (see previous pix), amazing!

Uh oh... I think it is going asexual... look at all the SPIKES growing out of it... it does look kinda sexual to me What am I gonna do? Well, colour wise, I think it is slightly paler than yesterday. This is the reason why this hobby is so exciting and unpredictable.

Algae blenny is only good for scavenging the floor bed only right? If I have very little sand, will it also "lawn-mow" my LR for algaes?

Is 5 hours of 150W MH 14000ºK too little? Just ended cycle.

Yeah... actually I am thinking of moving to a slightly larger (and nicer) office mid this year... maybe I can introduce a SW tank in the waiting area or conference room. Nice

Can anyone help me with this? I notice the green veins all over it this morning, checked photos, the veins were not there last night. What's happening? Is my macroalgae dying? If yes, it's real bad news... imagine... a macroalgae died in my tank... must be hell water inside, lol. Urgent help needed

Exactly! Well, if I don't put a stop to it... it will get worse for sure... ok ok, the sump idea is way out of line... I shouldn't, might as well trash the NC and get a 2 feet tank with proper sump. So I will stick with what I have right now and wait 'n' see. If my tank crash, then do something radical. If not, I should be happy with what I have now... come to think of it... this Mod NC is way beyond my original expectations and way beyond my wildest dreams... it's not grand, but deep down... it is my dream NC.

Oh yeah... I can't wait for that day to convince my other-half... lol That's life I guess, you like something, you dislike something and there's nothing you can do about it MH is the biggest achievement in my mod NC IMO, so no matter what, the light will stay, lol. Yeah the shimmering effect on the rocks and floor bed, priceless!

Is it dying? I notice it is not as green as before :-(

Your tank is really looking good, esp with the new corals... great! Yalor, just wondering what kinda lighting you are using, coz it looks kinda mild to me.

So bro... how many tanks (or buckets of saltwater) u currently running? lol I think we are all mad... madly in love with the hobby... and I think this forum plays an important part in building that madness! We all go "koo-koo" already

Thanks bro! I will keep to that temp. Yalor... the noise... yesterday, I was reading a book near my tank (try reading under 14000ºK MH) and suddenly "kena-shock" by the chiller! lol And I have to use music to mask the sound of the chiller a bit... although no one complain yet la... but have to be considerate also ma... it's a torture actually for those who is not into the hobby... the sticky floor, the sound, the smell (sometimes) and etc. Agree?

Yeah that is without all the wires, cables, buckets & etc. surrounding it!!! Ok, I got your subtle point... will try to tidy the place a bit especially the electrical wiring and plugs. Yes, the "S" stand is pretty "gay".

Yeah the weather is like killing me... was at Orchard yesterday... just don't feel like shopping at all! Yes Firestarz, I think the CL85 is definitely too underpower for your setup. Luckily I didn't buy it as Reborn assured me it's good for my setup, knowing I will introduce MH (MH I bought from them). IMO 28ºC to 29ºC is still acceptable. So take some burden off your chiller and set for 28ºC lo. The lower you set, the more harder your CL85 have to work... poor thing. Of course it all depends on your room temp also la. So if your room is around 29ºC, then set to 28ºC is good. No point going any lower, the heat from the room will quickly get into the tank and the chiller will kick start again... and the cycle will go on 24/7. Bro Oxnviolet, is it ok if I maintain my tank at 28ºC - 29ºC? I will be keeping zoos, shrooms and some hardy corals (mainly shallow water corals). I can't stand the sound of the chiller... like running a washing machine in the study room.

Exactly, especially if you are asking for few days M.C... lol Then the doctor will ask... what the hell r u holding the sea cucumber for? hehe... u know what la!... and you blush so big time.

I chose TECO brand is because they are well established, manufacturing reliable chillers for many years (partly coz Italian brand). A lot of bros here use it to chill their 2 feet tank comfortably. So I will say 50 to 60g easily. And I purposely choose a overpower model to allow for my future upgrading (do not buy equipments for a nano tank... you'll be stuck), also so that the chiller doesn't have to run all the time (coz it cools faster). My chiller takes less than 15min to bring 1ºC down without MH, 20min with MH. So a small chiller (micro) will take forever... resulting in high energy consumption. Refer to attached pix for set up. I use normal rubber tube. Stock NC pump ---> Chiller ----> Stock NC outlet Got a feeling I might need a stronger pump, but can't "tahan" the noise. This stock pump is virtually silence.

I know... I even do things like this (refer to pix)... how disgraceful, lol! I sometimes think I mistreated Kina as a National Library. But I do buy books from them, sometimes. Yalor... so pretty right? That's why I can't depart with it. It's way too pretty to be poisonous... well at least the good attribute outweighs the bad one.

Hi Trenyce, guess what? I bought my NC from TM too! For $299.00 (tank) + $109.00 (stand) w/ 5% discount (I paid NETS, not CC). Personally, I think the $850.00 they asking for a little on the high side... but: 1. If you totally new to the hobby, I think it's not too bad for the experience sake. At least everything is decently put together and you will be able to continue the hobby without too much problem if you just stick to the LS they provided (even take out some of the corals). 2. $850.00 is very affordable as a start-up. One problem with custom tanks are, you'll probably end up spending 3 times the original allocated budget. Coz good equipments = ease of mind, so it always makes sense to buy the best equipments you can afford... for reliability, performance, blah. 3. Those fishes and corals selections are not too bad lah! I've seen them at TM, that inspired me to start this NC actually... 4. Convenient loh! Everything taken care of... set up nicely for you... but don't forget that setting up is the most fun part (just like everything else in life), after that it's maintenance... u know what I'm referring to in real life, lol. But before you rush down to TM, I want you to know that ther JBJ NC itself is flawed in design. The glass they used is a little thin and there are a lot of complaints in the US where their tanks crack big time. So do consider other tanks if you are free to shop around... don't rush things yeah? For a 2 feet tank, I will suggest you allocated at least $1500.00 to get a decent setup. Remember, those testing kits and additives are very expensive, easily cost you $300.00 along the way. So now, you are comparing $1000.00 (TM NC + other stuff) and custom 2 feet $1500.00 (everything)... I'll go for 2 feet custom any time! lol Visit my link below... hope this helps!

Hi Andy mind sharing a pix of your setup? I really wanna see how your DOC Skimmer fits into the tank/sump. Just to offer our readers more possibilities/ideas when it comes to fixing and layout.

Thanks for the link Ancelot That's it! I'm gonna get one for sure... Currently I do not have a DSB as space is precious, can't afford to lose another 5% of the total volume. You know what? I am exploring the idea of getting an external sump... I have way too much equipments/pumps connected to my tiny tank. Looks more like a experiment apparatus than a reef tank... Will keep u guys updated regarding the custom made sump tank.

Oh this algae is definitely too beautiful to just get rid of... I can't...

Wow only 2 days... they already rooted to my LR. Well, I shall leave it there and see how fast they grow. p.s.: I am really running out of pix to post, lol.