My New Tank 2.5 ft x 2 ft x 2 ft

[Allan]

Hi Guys,

I had a tank with fish only 3 years ago. Decided to start this thread to seek for advice from fellow reefers and to get myself enough posts to buy stuffs from Pasar Malam. A lot of stuffs I kept it from my last tank. Initially I put my tank in my office but I decommissioned it when I moved office. I find it hard to keep corals unless I have a permanent place where I know I will not moved for few years. Finally got my own home so excited to start to build my own tank again.

This tank I am thinking of keeping mostly LPS and a bit of easy SPS (if I able to achieve it).

Below are some photos of my initial setup tank. Hope you guys can help me with some advice.

 Thanks a lot.

[Allan]

My tank with rocks in it.

[Allan]

Filled with water and cycle completed in about 3 weeks. Put in 2 clown fish.

[Allan]

This is an update of my tank after 2 months. 

[Allan]

Hey guys my real problem comes now. 

My parameters are as follow:

NH4 - <0.25

NO2 - 0 

NO3 - 0.5

PH - around 8.0 

KH - 9.0

Cal - 400

I bought some zoas, feather duster and a torch corals. My torch coral has not opened. Are there any other parameters i need to check? 

[raynaz]

Hi Allan,

I have reason to believe your 3 weeks of cycling has not completed yet since there are traces of NH4.

NH4 and N02 should be zero and N03 has some reasonable values (N03 can be brought down by periodically water changes) - cycling completed.

No life stocks will survive long when there are traces of NH4 as it is toxin. My suggestion is to have your friend(s) to house all the life stocks for you asap.

Ps: Your torch do not look good and one head has receded and melted.

 

Good luck.

[Allan]

Hi Raynaz,

Thanks for the reply. I bought the torch yesterday. Actually my tank now is about 2 months. When i first saw it the torch is still opening a bit but not fully. Is the torch already unhealthy when i bought it?

I am using salifert tester for NH4. The lowest reading is <0.25 which is the lowest in the chart. I do not know does thisrepresent 0. I will test again later today after i come home from work. 

By the way is this bubble tip bleaching.

I have only 5 fishes n a prawn like animal. I tried to put them in slowly usually about 1 week interval. All the fishes are feeding well. This is the part where I am getting confused. 

[raynaz]

Hi Allan,

Maybe you should also check the PO4 and Mg.

Your Ca should be brought up to around 450, your Kh and Ph look ok.

What filter media are you using and what's your equipment list to support this tank?

Cheers

[Sharan Guna]

2 hours ago, Allan said:

Hey guys my real problem comes now. 

My parameters are as follow:

NH4 - <0.25

NO2 - 0 

NO3 - 0.5

PH - around 8.0 

KH - 9.0

Cal - 400

I bought some zoas, feather duster and a torch corals. My torch coral has not opened. Are there any other parameters i need to check? 

Your torch was already dying when u bought it. In this state its pretty much a goner. Healthy Torches that are not fully open will still have tissues covering most if not all of their skeleton.

[Allan]

I bought the torch from a reputable shop after some web reading i suspected that the torch is dying too as during I first saw it there is not many tentacles and it is not opening fully. Hopefully it can still survive.

Raynaz, i will buy the test kits for PO4 n Mg soon. I am trying to up my cal will dose again later today to bring it up. 

Thanks guys for the advice.

[raynaz]

Hi Allan,

I see that you are using DD salt and hope you are using DI or RO water during salt mix.

It is worth investing in either one when mixing with salt since tap water contains many unwanted elements which may cause you issue in the long run.

Good luck and most importantly have fun in this hobby.

 

 

Cheers

[leejwa]

I like your rock scape.. look abit like a shape of an animal lol

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[Allan]

Thanks leejwa.

Hey ranyz, my torch has offically died off :(. This morning i am seeing it turning brown with slimy things on its heads. 

Yeah i used RO water i bought my own 3 stages RO filter from Madpertz. 

Now probably let the tank cycle for a week to see how everything goes. Will update once I introduce more corals or fishes. 

Thanks will continue to monitor the parameters.

[Harlequinmania]

Look like brown jelly diseases in your touch. Next time cut off the affected one to prevent it from spreading.

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[Allan]

9 hours ago, he said:

Look like brown jelly diseases in your touch. Next time cut off the affected one to prevent it from spreading.

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Should I remove them now will it affect my other corals?

[Harlequinmania]

Should I remove them now will it affect my other corals?

Hey guys my real problem comes now. 

My parameters are as follow:

NH4 -

NO2 - 0 

NO3 - 0.5

PH - around 8.0 

KH - 9.0

Cal - 400

I bought some zoas, feather duster and a torch corals. My torch coral has not opened. Are there any other parameters i need to check? 

If it doesn't get better, better remove it

Sent from my SM-N920I using Tapatalk

[Allan]

Hey guys,

I am using Salifert to test my PO4 but the colour chart seems so hard to differenate. My colour can be 0.03 or 0.1 and I read online that if it is dangerous level at 0.1.

Anyone come across this problem before or is it better to use other tester. Anyone can recommend something?

Thanks.

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[amphiron]

Bro you may want to invest in Hanna PO4 checker. Just google for Hanna Singapore + phosphate for details.

[amphiron]

Bro you may want to invest in Hanna PO4 checker. Just google for Hanna Singapore + phosphate for details.

[SubzeroLT]

Specifically, folks usually get the Hanna HI736 Phosphorus Ultra Low Range checker. There is a conversion to phosphate ppm. Just google for the conversion.

 

If you don't want to spend so much, another option is the Nyos phosphate checker. It uses a 2 bottle comparison method & easier to read compared to Salifert.

 

[Allan]

Thanks bro i go check it out.

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[Admiraltian]

Hanna phosphorus checker is more accurate as it can detect really low level of po4 but u Hv convert it from phosphorus to phosphate urself.

[raynaz]

Hi Allan,

Nyos phosphate tester is good and straight forward to read and can't go wrong since it allows you to compare.

I am using that too with ease.

 

 

[Allan]

Ok thanks guys will get it this week

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[Allan]

Noticed algae starting to grow. A fellow reefer recommended me to get a FR yo reduce phosphate.