My 2*1*1 RYBs mixed (up) reef tank and random reef thoughts

[asg]

18/09/14 - random reef thoughts

After much procrastination, I decided to create a post for my 2*1*1 Red Yellow Blues (?) tank. Why is it RYB? cos ultimately I would like to keep a Flame angel, a lemonpeel angel and two blue tangs.

Don't get me wrong, I do love corals, they are interesting to watch and to take care of. But there is nothing more fascinating than watching a bunch of colourful fish swimming in and out and out and in around the tank. Oh, and not to mention the joy of feeding them buffets.

dog will always say to itself: this human being is so nice to me, he must be my master. whereas in the case of fish, the fish might just say: this human is so nice to me, I must be his master.

anyway, that's all for now. Cheers and as always, happy reefing.

(how it started: )

FTV@18/09/14

http://youtu.be/n5xf47-RxYw

[Idil Stephanie]

Very nice

[asg]

19/09/14 - My filters

Just some write up on my filters to share with any interested bro/ sis here. As I regularly have to be away for two weeks, I try to have as many redundancies in my filters as possible.

Also for the reason that my tank does not have a sump so all my filtrations have to been done out of tank.

In a nut shell, I have three lines of filtrations (not counting skimmer) for my 2*1*1 tank:

1) Main: Tank -> eheim canister 1000l (filter floss, biohome, bio-sphere, chemi-pure blue, rowaphos) -> UV 9W -> hailea chiller -> tank

2) Supplementary 1: Tank-> HOB canister 500l (filter floss, biohome) -> TLF FR (bio-sphere) -> TLF FR (chemi-pure elite AC) -> tank

3) Supplementary 2: Tank -> HOB overflow filter 700l (filter floss, NP pellet, rowaphos) -> tank

One thing to note is that the sequence of the filters is always mechanical filter -> bio filter -> chemical filter. Also, as I have just added the FRs, thus the UV is off to allow bacteria to be established in the bio filters.

I am really running out of space behind and around my tank so hopefully with all these in place (there is only that much I can squeeze on the back of a two feet tank ), my water parameters can remain within the acceptable range (NO3 <10ppm, PO4<0.03ppm) after any two weeks away.

Any suggestion/ comment welcome.

Lastly, a thunder and cloud video to cap how I feel now - three days before another two weeks trip. Hopefully, no more than two mati cases this time round.

As usual, cheers and may the reef be with you.

and he says, let there be light... i mean thunder...

http://youtu.be/awEE8XTvhmo

weather update: cloudy day ahead... all fish please remember to bring umbrella...

http://youtu.be/NvzCdTj03cc

[joby553]

See you after 2 weeks!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[asg]

See you after 2 weeks!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sure sure. By then you should be -6 weeks to cloud 9 liao

[joby553]

Hahaha. I planing to get a fish after the Xenia attaches to the rock.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[asg]

If we use rubberband... you can get your first fish in two weeks time liao

[asg]

22/09/14 - When the night has come... And the land is dark... And the moon is the only light we'll see...

FTV @210914 Moonlight

http://youtu.be/FHqQChT4SAQ

-12 days till I am back to touch my tank. Till then, it is peaceful night, every night for my fish, no more alien hand in the tank moving sky and earth to scare them.

some moonlight (blue + violet light) pictures to share -

[shaohao85]

Nice pictures ^.^

[asg]

Nice pictures ^.^

Thanks bro. You have a nice parrot too

[asg]

24/09/14 - this is now, that was then.

haha, managed to find some photos of my old tank (4ft, de com @2006). It is sort of interesting to look at the selection of LS I have then compare to what I have now. For fish, my love is still on that few species. For coral, things have really change a fair bit for me. Was using T8/ T5 as my light and running without a chiller, plus the fact that my pocket is very much shallower then. So nothing fanciful then, but I guess the anemone, sun, bubble, leather were growing well then. Let's take a ride thro time and revisit 2006

P/S: pardon me for some of the repeated photos, I am unable to sort them out as I have no description in the file name.

[Bunster]

I like your moonlight pictures... very romantic...

[asg]

07/10/14 – The good, the bad and the ugly of reefing

FTV @07 Oct 2014

The bad

Sigh. The loss this round after the two week trip was more than what I anticipated. My elegant coral decided to expel itself from its skeleton completely to become a free soul and in the process ended up in between my small green Gonio and ACAN. The end result was that three of them up lorry together loh. Furthermore, one red Gonio disintegrated completely beyond recovery and one purple tip long tentacle plate was half dead (literally) too. I have no choice but to dispose all five corals.

What puzzled me was that the NO3 (5ppm) and PO4 (undetectable) was somewhat I expected and not sky-high (see picture).

So my guess is that either the flame angel is nipping one/ all these coral till one of the coral started to die and foul the water till the elegant cannot tarhan anymore and expel itself leading to all that happening.

The good

On a bright note, all my fishes were still alive and kicking. The biggest of the three blue eye anthias has even transformed itself into a male. I am expecting it to happen but did not expect it to happen that soon (shit, missed witnessing the transformation).

Was also relieved to see my remaining corals especially the golden torch and true octopus are still expanding itself happily.

The Ugly

Ok, the ugly here refer to me. Went to LFS immediately on Sat and bought a lemonpeel angel and a few coral to heal my broken heart (and yes, retail therapy works for guy too). Hopefully I won’t encounter any more up lorry cases in the coming weeks.

That’s all for this update guys, hope you enjoy the video (for better clarity please select HD in youtube) and pictures. As usual, any suggestion/ comments welcomed. Cheers and may the reef be with you.

FTV @ 07 Oct 2014

http://youtu.be/tIC8GFaTfHA

Feeding Frenzy

http://youtu.be/_B4TtldVjbI

Orange is the female form

Black is the male form

[Bunster]

Wow nice lemonpeel... Very striking yellow

[asg]

Wow nice lemonpeel... Very striking yellow

It is a nice fish. But now she is eating all the wrong thingy, nip at my tubeworm and claims... then when it is actual feeding time he just swim in between the pellets...

[reef garden]

It is a nice fish. But now she is eating all the wrong thingy, nip at my tubeworm and claims... then when it is actual feeding time he just swim in between the pellets...

Bro,

If it's any consolation to you, you do have an excellent specimen of the Lemonpeel Angel. Hopefully he will get used to pellets soon.

[asg]

Bro,

If it's any consolation to you, you do have an excellent specimen of the Lemonpeel Angel. Hopefully he will get used to pellets soon.

Hopefully he starts to eat pellets too. Have been feeding it frozen mysis (he ate) after feeding pellets loh.

[asg]

Day six since i got the lemonpeel... out of all food (four diff pellets and one flake, artic pod, pod max) i throw in... she decided to eat... doctor g anti parasites caviar... ok, better than only eating frozen mysis and brine shrimp

[asg]

10/10/14 – What I talk about when I talk about LFS

FTS@10/10/14

4 months back to reefing after an absent of 7 years and during these four months I have been visiting quite a number of LFS, I guess it is time to pen down the experience and feedback I have with various LFS. As I am staying in northeast, most of the LFS that I visit regularly (> 1 visit per week) are those located at east/ central. Thus a word of caution, what coming up next are based on my personal experience and might not coincide with your view of a particular LFS (read: supporter of respective LFS please do not flame me loh). And of course, the list is bias lah.

NG couples

Have been buying thingy from them since they just started their business 8/ 9 years back. Items on their selves are very very reasonably priced. AC, GFO, salt, etc basically all my replenish-able items are from them (except those brands that they do not carry). LS wise (like ah beng), gems are hard to come by but the normal stable are priced very nicely. Both the boss and lady boss are chatty (not pushy) and are willing to share their business experience. A good place for newbies to know the hobby and not feel intimidated.

I just hope that they have better white light in their tanks so that I can stop bringing my own torch when I go there. And yes, they need to have at least a NET machine loh.

Ah beng

Love Ah beng for the availability of the “normal” LS. It is in a way a nutc to me - you know the normal stuff that you want to buy will always be there. Price wise I believe they don’t practice two-tiers pricing i.e. chopper not in used and price is fair. Staff is almost always friendly and will answer my questions happily.

As the LS turnover at ah beng is one of the highest (in my view, it is the highest) in the market, fishes available in the shop might not necessary be of the best condition so you will need to be prepared and willing to put in just that extra bit of attention and care when buying LS from them. Also, BYO torch for coral viewing.

Iwarna

Iwarna has the biggest selection of SPS/ LPS among the three. There are gem from time to time available here and visiting them is always a refreshing experience to see those gem. It is also the only LFS in paris ris fish farm selling reef nutrition and doctor g refrigerated liquid food. LS Price wise I would say normal item is market rate while gem is priced at… well, to each his own (pocket) I guess. Worker is friendly so is the lady boss too, opening hour is the earliest in all marine LFS, 7 am in the morning (just nice for me before going to my game).

Aquamarin

Love the two huge DT at their door steps. I always advice newbies who does not know which type of tank they wanna have to pay a visit to aquamarin. If the SPS tank Wow you more, then you are a SPS guy. On the other hand, if the LPS tank Wow you more, then that's for you. Availability of LS can be very limited at times as most SPS/ LPS are gone few days within a shipment and somehow the shipments are coming in lesser frequency nowadays. But hey, it is the only air con LFS that are selling both fish and coral so no complaint there.

GO

Visited them 4/ 5 times in the last two months, most of the trips were on day(s) after their shipment. Bought corals on most of the trips. They have a very good selection of corals (SPS/ LPS) for every shipment. Price wise I cannot confidently say that there is no two tiers pricing as the workers seems reluctant to quote price for individually coral but would prefer me to choose a few corals and quote me a bundle price. Also the price is not labelled anyway on the tank. Nice shop nice coral, will continue to buy from them but I guess it is not a place to form a long mutual relationship (at least not to me)

TFC

As TFC is just across the road from FNM mini shop, I normally visit them both at one go. TFC has a nice shallow display tank and an impressive FOWLF DT and the boss is also very friendly. From what I observed, they are selling more of fishes than coral. The fishes are nice and healthy but the frequent ah hoc closing of the shop really disturbed the chance of me visiting and buying LS from them.

Sealife

Sealife used to be a much bigger player with a lot more tanks at their old location, their current shop is just too small compare to the previous shop. Visited them quite a few time but stopped doing so after driving all the way there and ended up disappointed with the limited LS available there. For bros staying nearer to them, it might still worth visiting them, they are after all, an old established brand in marine scene.

Jireh

Business environment is difficult nowadays, especially so for LFS. So I guess if I have nothing good to say about a particular LFS, I better don’t say anything at all. I have nothing to say about Jireh.

That all from my part, welcome to add in your experience with other LFS

Lastly some new addition to the family:

Mini Gonio

Monti

Haha, finding ways to take top view without reflection from the LED

[Edmund Koh]

Bro, I u know how some LFS have this viewing piece of plastic that u can use to put on the water surface to help u see corals better without the wave effect? I think that will help u with your top of tank shot without the reflection from the LEDs if you place your camera directly onto that piece of plastic.

[asg]

Bro, I u know how some LFS have this viewing piece of plastic that u can use to put on the water surface to help u see corals better without the wave effect? I think that will help u with your top of tank shot without the reflection from the LEDs if you place your camera directly onto that piece of plastic.

Bro i saw those viewer before too. But dont know where to buy them... maybe i will just go book store and buy a clear plastic container...

[tofubox]

I think reef depot has an acrylic viewer made by them, but not sure where can purchase. Anyone knows?

[starfish123]

http://m.fish-street.com/reef_glass_viewer

[reef garden]

Bros, Sorry for spoiling the market for the sales people but if you are not particular about very clear view and just wants to have a simple view of the aquarium from the top, you can use any transparent flat cover as a viewer. I use a Ferrero Rocher chocolate box cover as a viewer and have been quite satisfied with it this far. I hope this helps other bros who wants to save some money like me.

[asg]

Bros, Sorry for spoiling the market for the sales people but if you are not particular about very clear view and just wants to have a simple view of the aquarium from the top, you can use any transparent flat cover as a viewer. I use a Ferrero Rocher chocolate box cover as a viewer and have been quite satisfied with it this far. I hope this helps other bros who wants to save some money like me.

yo yo, bro i try out your idea, working well. now is just about looking for a plastic container with clearer view. I am thinking of buying some Chinese new year cookies and using it container