Phang

oops..... a ballast freak????

Wahahahahahahahaaaaa....... Now that's really funny.......

Hmmmm.... let me check the specs of the ballast that I got ........

Thanks for the offer.... But I have a DIYed Beckett already and its waiting for a suitable partner..... A pump is what I need.....

Hey guys, Thanks for all the advice and offers..... Ok.... go with the advice for dips...... Dun think a whole reef nuking session would be good....... Maybe if these critters multiply, then would need to activate the Special Flatworm busters unit.....!!!! Hmmm... the offer for a T loan Alvy foamer does sounds a little tempting......

The flatworms are located on rocks as mentioned... I have so far returned the pieces to a fellow reefer..... however did spot some on the bare skeleton of one of my stylapora frags..... Was wondering if they would grow into catastropic numbers if left alone.... from my understanding, excellent lighting is required to sustain them and I definitely have one ***** of excellent lighting!!!! Hmmmm..... *Siren sounding...* All Flatworm busting units prepare for activation!!!!......

Think its gonna take me donkey years to ever get this far...........

Latest reef pic........

Er.... Booboo.... your avatar's giving me a splitting headache... Trying to... erh... focus.... but keeps wriggling around.....

Just need some confirmation on this... Read from somewhere that the Radium is not a true 400W bulb.... in fact, they are rated at 360W for commercial usage.... Reefers use them for their blue look..... The higher PPFD might be the result of the generated wattage of 430 usual from E ballast... therefore when ran on a standard ballast with a 400 rating, bulbs appear blue and generated less PAR.... However, theres a ballast that is known as High Pressure Sodium Ballast (HPS) that generates 430Ws..... these should also give the similar PAR readings generated by the E ballast.... I'm using a HPS currently...... The tests made from Sanjay .... http://www.geocities.com/justinbaldwin/Sanjay.html Pospeh, the 250W Sakis generated 140.7 PAR...... Its unlikely any bulb would match a Saki in terms on PAR generation....

Let me confirm this then.... Mine has started turning brown already at the undersides .... and they are sitting directly under my 400 watters...... <_<

I have a toadstool for trade... BTW, the term "fire" doesn't sound very finger safe.... they venomous???

BEWARE THEN....!!!!! I have 2 and 1 already RTN..... so its not only a good system but a excellent one that A. tortuosa can be kept in.... Guess I got to work harder to get them into right conditions.... Hurgh...... difficult specimens.....

Er.... Quinine's from Morgan so assume indirectly from you....... I was thinking of maybe soaking the affected pieces into the quinine solution.... need to know how much parts to water concentration.... And I dunno wan my acros to bleach.... BTW, it is ok to leave them there... Got a Leopard Wrassw but I think hes a idle king....

Urgh!!!!!..... Maybe I should jus hyposalinate my reef......... if i know what that term is first.... OK.... the facts.... I found some of the flatworms on a rock which came with a clam.... apparently these clam came from my friend who had seen ATs tank and wanted to do a re furnishing due to new inspiration....... and this clam came from a LFS thats known to have flatworms (lots of them) in their quarantine tanks..... So.......... i managed to scrub the worms off that particular piece of rock... but wanna play safe and decided to do a mini nuke to my reef.... But as usual and a common practice which I have learned from SG REEF.... always seek advice before jumping......

Hey reefers, Need to know how much quinine to administer to a reef with Flatworms... anyone kind enough to let me know how much I should dose for a 650 l setup...?? Thanks....

Hey.... you are very wrong..... we have other die hards here hehhehheh... Congrats to that reefer who got the pretty large piece that looks more like a colony to me.......

Hey Reefers, Due to recent incoming stocks of these beautiful specimens and the many questions asked about equipment and SPS,..... decided therefore to start these thread regarding SPS Keeping.... This is the place to post information for reference either gathered from other sites or through practical and personal experiences.... Topics included would cover fragging, equipments, difficult species etc... Would also like to start with some valuable information posted by Robe in another thread... ================================================================================ == For all those contemplating having SPS, (PART 1) If you want to keep SPS get some experience first by keeping hardier corals like soft and LPS. IF you can keep them and grow them then you have gained enough experience to try SPS. I only kept SPS after two years when tank conditions and equipment enabled me to keep them alive. You will require the following to keep SPS: 1) Deep pocket - this is a committment and its not cheap, expect $100+ a month for your electrical bill and this is just for a 4 footer, that excludes your additives, investment in good equipment like skimmer, MH lighting, chiller, pumps, calcium reactor and depending on your area an RO system for top-up (old estates with cast iron or steel pipes) 2) Passion, patience and interest to learn- money is not enough you need to have passion to keep you going throgh failures, patience to keep you from overloading your tank on the first month keeping SPS is measured in months not days or weeks, your reward in having a growing and thriving SPS tank is only after spending time that is measured in months to years. interst to study and learn even when your tank is successful but of course learn before you even take the plunge. 3) Equipment requirements: Skimmers - big and high throughput skimmers required 3-5 tank turnover per hour (thats measured through the actual water coming out of your skimmer, not you pump. Tunze, Red Sea, Sanders, Macro, those that has foam riser tubes less than 3 inches in diameter are not up to the job. You need big H&S, Euroreef, ETSS, MTC, BIg Turboflotors and other high capacity skimmers. Lighting - most important equipment w/out which you can forget keeping SPS especially acroporas. Minimum required is at least 150 watts but only if you want them brown and barely growing or unless your tank is only 18 inches deep. For SPS like acroporas, 250 w every 2 feet of tank lenght is recommended (yup 750 watts for a 6 foot). For best growth and some color use 6500K( cheapest), color and growth but may not be as rapid 10000K (most expensive), for coloring up certain acros but little growth (20,000K moderately expensive). For ballast normal magnetic ballast will do the job, spend your money for the other equipment . Electronic ballast only if you're pocket is very deep. Last but not the least change bulbs at least once a year. Lifespan 20000K shortest 8-10 months, 10000K (8-12 months depending on brand), 6500K Iwasakis ( 12 months at least) Pumps - a yes another expensive piece of equipment. IF your pocket is deep go for Iwaki otherwise settle with the China made pumps but one important requirement for your SPS tank is flow, lots of it. If your coral polyps does not wave then you don't have enough current flow in your tank. For those with really deep pockets then go for the Tunze wavemaker pumps whether it's the older version or the new propeller pumps. ================================================================================ == All reefers with valuable information are encourage to post up tips and what they have learn here for the benefit of others. Please do keep this thread as a purely information and reference thread.... If you have questions, create new threads with references to here.... Thanks Guys....

Are they easy to maintain.... cos in my reef, find these guys pretty demanding and will RTN on you if you slip....

Well, the one with the full fledged SPS reef and IMO, one of the most knowledgable and practical here has spoken.... heheheh..... BTW, when's the next frag trade.....

DO take note that the 250Ws and 400Ws Radiums have different colours in terms of blue... personally seen the effect of the bulbs with magnetic ballast... the 250Ws are more bluish and would help more in balancing the yellows in Sakis are the intended lights...downside is the low PAR... For the 400Ws, they appear less bluish and might have difficulty in balancing yellow dominated light sources.... on the advantage side, higher PAR generated.... Think got something to do with the wattage... From what I have gathered, a Radium 400W blue bulb actually runs on 360W, placing a HPS ballast which have a activated wattage at around 430 W, overdrives the bulb, creating a whiter light source, but lowers the bulb lifespan...... about 9 months.... HPS ballast are available locally....

One of the forumers actually called me yesterday, said that there's a model similar to a Iwaki... brand Sunta... 70 l/min with max head space of 8 m...... quoted $380 for price.......

Yes, you are right...... so whats the issue that concerns you????

Most anthias are considered difficult only because of feeding habits.... unless you can get a good source of nutritional live feed constantly, they are bound to starve to death... the other alternative is to get them to feed on frozen foods.... and this doesn't happen all the time.... Suggest you do a search on anthias to get information ..... quite a number of threads here on the different kinds and their difficulty levels.....

Ok... thanks... made a call jus now.... Pricing is incredible.....!!!! but they have models with self priming chambers....