damsel-in-distress

Jas, I think the whole concept of artificially lighting up a mini reef is to simulate the real stuff - ie. dawn/sunlight/dusk in the open sea. Hence, most reef lighting systems incorporate actinic blue lights timed to come on go off approx. 1 or 2 hrs b4 and after daylight hours (ie. the MH/PL "white" lights come on for about 8-12hrs, especially in the tropics. Intermittently switching on and off lights during the photoperiod only confuses the tank residents. I suggest that in your case, if you are unable to follow the lighting schedule of our typical day, you can set the light timer to come on later in the day and go off 8-12 hours later. That is why it is always preferable to locate a tank setup away from natural sunlight so that lighting can be controlled if and when required. My tank is in my living room and I prefer to view my tank in the evenings. Hence, my actinics is timed to go on at 10am, followed by the MH coming on between 3-11pm. Actinics then go off at midnight. I bypass the OFF timer if I entertain visitors in the living room pass midnight to prolong the viewing phase. Hope this helps your cause.

Hi InfiniteReef, I definitely have had a recent algae bloom after I changed from using NSW to IO synthetic salts. I see the light now! The water purifier I have is a straight deionizer canister with a disposable resin cartridge, with no RO accompanying units. Its manufactured by Atlas Filtri in Italy. Do you know the brand? The water quality TDS meter is a part #578 you can get included in a set of RO/DI units that Filter Direct Co., in the USA sells. The manual does not say it requires any caliberation .. actually mentions that any temperature variance ia automatically compensated. Isn't the fact that I did a comparison with distilled water to show zero readings show to some degree it is accurate? I suspect the DI resin simply requires changing as I bought it secondhand, "only v. slightly used". I will this further but appreciate any further thoughts to my above comments. Many

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Come on people, Doesn't anybody have the answer to my question or can advise where I can find the answer? .. pretty please!

Fellow Reefers, Just wanted to share some data on water purity in my area. I just got my new TDS meter from Filter Direct Co., in the USA. Here are the readings: tap water = 60ppm (Holland Road vicinity) deionized water = 29ppm bottled distilled water = 0ppm To interpret the results of the tests, the instructions on the meter say to divide the DI reading by the tapwater reading, substract the result from 1 and multiply by 100 to give you a rejection rate, which in this case works out to be 51.7%. It says the RI resin needs to be replaced if the rejection rate reaches 80% or below. However, the above calculation is relative. In absolute terms, can any of the gurus out there enlighten me on what is the acceptable amount of total dissolved solids (TDS) that is allowed in a closed aquarium setup and point me in the direction of reliable research?

Holy cow, Jimaroon, where the hell did you get that photo from?? ... don't burst my bubble, man!

Is it 90 or 900? For sure' date=' the TDS of distilled water is always 0, whereas RO water is 0 when filter is new, and could be higher later. For DI, I get about TDS of 30. My tap water measure about 120. Hi Fellow Reefers, Just wanted to share some data on water purity in my area. I just got my new TDS meter from Filter Direct Co., in the USA. Here are the readings: tap water = 60ppm (Holland Road vicinity) deionized water = 29ppm distilled water = 0ppm To interpret the results of the test, the instructions on the meter say to take the tap water reading and by divide the DI reading, substract the result from 1 and multiply by 100 to give you a rejection rate, in this case works out to be 51.7%. Therefore, the RI resin needs to be replaced if the rejection rate reaches 80% or below. However, the above is relative. In absolute terms, can anyone enlighten me on what is the acceptable amount of total dissolved solids that is allowed in a closed aquarium setup and point me in the direction of reliable research?

It is not practical at this stage of the tank setup to look into NNR method like a DSB as that would mean basically removing everything and starting from scratch, something I am not prepared to do. I have got at least 150kg of LR and my LS level is way under, for the size of my tank, so I am alright in those areas. After 3-4wks of using AZ-N03, I WILL consider investing in a denitrator for the long term reduction of nitrates, the problem is figuring out which brand, capacity and what would fit into the v. limited space in the sump cabinet!! ... and I would need someone to set it up for me as I am not good at DIY stuff! ha,ha is this a typical lady reefer or what! Can anyone shed light on their experience with denitrators?

Thanks all for your feedback. I have still not started on the AZ-N03 project .. need to set up my aeration devices in place b4 I start. Anyone else wanna share their experience with the use of the AZ-N03 product?

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Hi, Just tried to look at the Indo. marine forum ... its is in Indonesian Malay language? Is there an icon you can click on to get the English version??

I have an existing control box under my tank installed a year ago which controls 6 pcs. of equipment under the tank. I think it is a Lexis MicroRex D22 control panel which operates: 1) TE Control 2) Lighting 3) Ca Reactor/pH-C02 control 4) Filter pump 5) Topup pump 6) Recirculation Pumps I have since upgraded 2pcs of equipment but the supplier did not know how to connect or make these work via the existing control box and has bi-passed it direct to a AC wall socket. I would like these new equipment connection to be reinstated via the control box so I can use the wall electrical points for installation of a denitrator and the new protein skimmer which now uses an additional pump. Would really appreciate if a qualified electrician (among you reefers or if you recommend one) who has had experience with servicing control panels used in marine aquarium setups pls. PM me how much it would cost to get my system in order. Many

I need some fine-media filter bags. Where can I get these cloth and soup bags from?

Woah, Thanks for that quick bit of advice. Glad I asked b4 I did anything drastic. I have already removed 20% of the bio-balls 2 days ago. You're right in that my tank filtration system is the trickle filter/wet-dry. I will take your advice and start building on the sandbed. Slight problem in that I will have to put the sand AROUND the rocks. I don't think I wanna rescape the whole tank! BTW, how long will the "seeding" of bateria process take - about a month?? Details on the bioload of my tank: - 17 fish: all not > 2" in length as they are juveniles - 5damsels, 1tang, 2percula, 1tomato, 2dottyback, 3yellow wrasse, 2angels, 1 lawnmower blenny - invertebrate: 6cleaner shrimps, 2emerald crabs - coral: polyps, fans, clam, 3 leathers, bubbles, 4 brains, 2 pratas, cocoworm & 3-5 SPS. - feed LS once a day (pellets, spirulina flakes), DT every other day, zooplankton/mysis/BS - 3x/wk. I hope this is sufficient info. to ascertain my tank's bioload.

Thanks guys for all your constructive comments. Bawater, I will take your advice and start the program after I've removed all the bioballs. I read the manufacturer's update on the AZ-N03 product and understand that increased water movement is required during treatment to assist in upping the oxygen levels. They also recommend having BioOxygen tablets at hand to assist the ORP levels if there is a need. I will endeavour to do this with temporary powerhead and aerator ... but does anyone know where to source the BioOxygen additive? Yes, I've already seen the prowess of the RowaPhos product. I used it first time 2 weeks ago and my tank's PO4 levels dipped from 0.5 to 0.1mg/L. I am testing for phosphate every week and will change when it becomes necessary. Yes, I saw the BioPhos II product that PR brings in. I'm planning to get some today to try out. Wish me luck!

Hey Vince, Thanks for your 2cents worth, man! I think my system is some kind of German-style setup where no sandbed is used. I am not sure what it is actually called. It utilises a trickle-filter flow with bio-balls underneath. I am in the process of slowly removing them (I was told to remove a quarter every week or so) so that the system doesn't go through a "shock", so to speak! I think the tank has a few hundred of these things! As for fatalities, I've had 1 or 2 LS and 3 baby claims in the last month but am never able to retrieve the LS carcases as they just seem to die somewhere behind the rocks. Blast! During feeding time, I always switch off pumps to the filter (1/2 hr)and the protein skimmer (1hr) but leave the circulatory pumps on.

Hi, Been reading and following the various discussions on the use of AZ-NO3 with regards to the chemical reduction of nitrates in aquarium tanks. I have battled with this problem for since Aug. last year and the several methods I have done to reduce N03 so far are: 1) reduce feeding of LS to 1/day, coral feeding to every other day 2) increase water changes to every 10 days instead of fortnightly 3) pumping water through 1kg of Seachem de-nitrate filter material 4) upgrading my protein skimmer to the AquaC EV400 model 5) using small amounts (undosing) Bio-Live, a bacteria agent which takes care of NH3, N02 and the end product of N03. In 6mths, the above has shown a downward trend on the nitrate level (from >70mg/L to the present hovering around 30 mg/L). I now want to try AZ-N03 but am hesitating because of the fact that I am also currently using RowaPhos to battle a recent algae bloom caused by excessive phosphate levels (which I never measured b4 till 2 weeks ago!). In 2 wks, the P04 has dropped from 0.5mg/L - 0.1mg/L. I'm v.pleased but wonder if using using AZ-N03 will cause any problems when used simultaneously with phosphate removal filter media? For background info., my tank vol. is 1000L, 13mths old and has I think, about 150kg of LR, no sandbed (I put a little on the bottom of the tank for decorative purposes). All water parameters are currently stable except for P04 and NO3. Appreciate if any of the more experienced reefers can enlighten me with some constructive comments. Many

Yeah guys, They are all more than a year old, so I think they are all adults and full grown ... I think! Well, anyway, the domino is a good 2in long. Hammer99, I remember you took one of my damsels that I managed to trap not too long ago, right?

Giving away my domino, humbug & 3 yellow-tailed damsels ... if you can catch them this weekend? PM me if interested.

Watch out, I'm a BRUCE as well. Wail.....

terror izit? ...

Deepblue, I am trying to catch out my damsels: 1 domino, 1 humbug, 3 yellow-tailed from my tank the last few months. Got its brothers 8 but the rest seem to have learnt not to enter the old dreaded trap. Can you help? I will pay anyone $10 if they can remove all 5 buggers from my tank without disturbing surrounding coral. And they can take away the damsels, if they wish. I am also giving away a large (6in.) finger leather coral as reward. So, any takers ... anyone?

I have been informed by the supplier of the original bulbs that the blue actinic lights should only be changed when they blow out. Does anyone have any experience with this? I have new 10KK and 20KK bulbs for my MH150W pendant to accompany the actinics.

This is what I have discovered after numerous requests to various LFSs! Am still looking .....

Assilian, Can you give us an update of what's left?