Roidan's Reef (II)

[roidan]

yeah...talking about the CF tank,

i also amazed the fishes can squeeze in the tank, so many rocks until they have to travel at a fraction of their usual swimming speed...

i think bro deepblue setting up a 6ft FOWLR soon..

bro deepblue:

will it be something like the CF FOWLR tank with many tangs and angels?

[weileong]

and best of all the fishes there seems super healthy one! fat fat pui pui... I would be happy to have a tank like that but then probably you need a quad beckett with 1ft dia and 16" tall foam tower

[roidan]

bro deepblue:

you heard us,

make us drool with envy with your 6ft FOWLR

[Acanthurus pyroferus]

I already going to fall asleep soon

I hope AP tank won't end up with a ref in the main tank. Nice green "grass" growing eveywhere. Talking abt this also makes me scared. Later I get algae bloom I cry.

Better run another return pump tonight to increase the sump turn over, will be buying the fittings later.

Choi....choi....hope no bryopsis happen in my huge cube though.....he...he

thats why i am particular about daily maintenance....

wah bro Weileong buying another pump ah....your water temp sure go up one degree....he..he

[roidan]

aiya..u all running artica chillers, run how many pumps also no problem one

[weileong]

Water temp? No problem, I got an oversized chiller. Got up 3 degs also no issue. Moreover this MD40 will be place externally

[Acanthurus pyroferus]

AP: i think with your tank size and RSB combine..

can keep up to 100-150 fishes...sure no problem...

swimming amongst your sps reef...i am sure even our boss AT will be in awe of your pro reefing skills 

weileong:

dun curse AP's tank lah...even if grow algae will be good exercise for AP to weed them out...or chance to put more tangs to do grazing 

Bro. Roidan..... ...... thanks for the vote of confidence.....wil need to show how SPS and tangs get along together.....have stopped doing a refigium which gave me alot of problems earlier on. Now the water conditions have improved tremendously since i shut out the light from my refigium.....

apologies for hogging your thread bro. Roidan.....

[roidan]

er..wat problems u got from the refugium?

share with us....so that we dun go the same way also

[Achilles Tang]

If you want to keep lots of fish that requires a lot of feeding and SPS you really really need to have a very good skimmer or your corals will suffer. You also need to have a very low phosphate levels or I can guarantee you every exposed area of your tank will be colonised by nuisance algae... green hair algae, bryopsis, caulerpa etc.

I still have some irritating stubborn patches of bryopsis that won't go away... and they even grow on the dead parts of corals, threatening to choke, irritate and kill.

Nutrient control is what a reef tank is all about. What is in balance today may not be in balance tomorrow...

[AlfaRomeo]

Weileong, MD40 pressure rated or not?

[roidan]

boss,

have u tried the red sea berlin classic? coz AP used that for a 6ft sps reef tank previously and totally no such nutrient problems at all.

according to AP, the sps were vibrant and well, but sadly no pictures taken at that time before the tank was torn down and sold...

maybe the isrealis did make a great scientific innovation in the small RSB classic, compared to the giant powerhungry usa becketts or energy efficient german needlewheels

[Acanthurus pyroferus]

er..wat problems u got from the refugium?

share with us....so that we dun go the same way also

for starters my NO3 wouldn't go down and PO4 levels shot up like never before thats why I had a problem with red slime which I never did with my 6 footer some years back even with a 3 inch DSB.....RSB was working well but it didn't help either and strangely stopped fractioning skimmate for some reason..... Thought i was wrong on the skimmer but didn't give up hope and decided to add more bioballs in my sump and cleared out the refigium with the T5 lights.

Viola my NO3 dropped to 0 and PO4 levels has gone down to 0 at this point....my LPS were shrinking and refused to open but now they're like under a MH which I am only using 6 x 55w PL. Even a dead fish or two doesn't really effect the NO3 or PO4 now......erm

[roidan]

but the bioballs will end up becoming part of your problems in future again leh...

anyway, i dun think 3inch sandbed can be considered a DSB

[Acanthurus pyroferus]

boss,

have u tried the red sea berlin classic? coz AP used that for a 6ft sps reef tank previously and totally no such nutrient problems at all.

according to AP, the sps were vibrant and well, but sadly no pictures taken at that time before the tank was torn down and sold...

maybe the isrealis did make a great scientific innovation in the small RSB classic, compared to the giant usa becketts or energy efficient german needlewheels 

man I wish I had the pics to prove what I was talking about.....

but will get the chance to prove it again......

I think husbandry is most crucial which I think I am stringent on....

[Acanthurus pyroferus]

but the bioballs will end up becoming part of your problems in future again leh... 

anyway, i dun think 3inch sandbed can be considered a DSB 

not really this time though because I found that the bioballs have reacted as a denitrator which in my previous 6 footer applied the same procedure. I listened into doing a refigium and it almost made my tank crash...... So I've gone back to doing what I know best at.....your bioballs need to be half submerged and not fully dry as a trickle filter like most reefers might think.

[Achilles Tang]

Roidan,

A skimmer is a device which makes foam to capture proteins to be exported out. Regardless of brand, a skimmer has to achieve the best possible foam and it has to be suitably matched with a tank of a certain bioload limit or it will be useless or ineffective.

It's foolhardy to even assume a triple beckett will mean your tank will be perfect. Everything has to be balanced in a reef tank. There are 'perfect' tanks around even without skimming... well... up to a certain point. Remember... its all about BALANCE! What goes in must come out.

A change in water volume, or livestock or even a change in the type of foods fed will mean an increase or decrease in nutrient load levels.

Perhaps AP's tank in the past was in a perfect state of balance for her RSB skimmer. Remember, the biological system of a reef tank is in a constant state of flux!

[roidan]

ah...tat's why i remember saying that if given time and patience,

even skimmerless systems can be done...slowly allowing the system to come to equilibrium upon each new change

u are right boss, must be in equilibrium...yet we must accept that there is constant flux in our systems

anytime there is a sudden change in equilibrium, be it new additions to tank, or deaths in tank, decide to do a 6th feeding of the day or watever, a good skimmer can buffer the changes and bring the system back to equilibrium again..

tat's why i remembered bro seahorse has such a nice sps reef with only a weipro skimmer

in order words, as long as your

nutrient addition to the system (add more fish/more corals/ more feeding/deaths.......)

= nutrient export out of the system (skimmer/ natural biological breakdown in LR/DSB/refugium / water changes......)

then u get so called equilibrium where levels like nitrates/phosphates will be steady at present levels...

if nutrient addition is more than the export...then u can only see the levels keep rising each time u take a reading...

if the export is more than the addition....u will see the levels maintaining at worse or reducing...

and having a good skimmer adds more weight to the export side of the equation...ceteris parabus

[roidan]

so if you guys find nutrient levels rising day by day, meaning LHS>RHS...means you have to increase the right side (export) of the equation by making changes to the variables on the RHS...

and that often means....better skimmer...more water changes....more liverock..

or better still....reduce the LHS of the equation (nutrient addition)....remove fishes, less feedings...take out dead stuff whenever posible....if you can't make changes to the RHS

it's like playing on a see-saw

if the see-saw tilts to the left...then your tank nutrients levels will rise with no stop,

if it tilts to the right, then the levels will drop....

if it's in balance, then u stay at your present nutrient levels

[Achilles Tang]

Yups!! This info is too valuable to be lost in this thread.... Roidan.. you should post this in the Newbie Forum...

[roidan]

Yups!! This info is too valuable to be lost in this thread.... Roidan.. you should post this in the Newbie Forum...

boss,

give me some time...i will work on better words and descriptions...

can i refine this and then post as sticky under newbie's thread as?

Roidan's SeeSaw Theorem (RST)

got equation leh...wait till i bring in all the betas and coefficients into this equation...

kidding lah...everyone knows this....just not all newcomers to this hobby imagine it to be a seesaw

[Achilles Tang]

I know what you mean... there are so many brands of skimmers in the market, catering to different market sectors.

Yet, each brand has their own followers and promoters, and it is really up to the majority to do their homework and see the pros and cons of each brand. Cheap vs Good vs Overpriced vs workmanship vs reliability vs good engineering.

Throw in some people who THINK they know everything best and they will influence decisions of those who are easily swayed.

Of course, a good marketeer can convince Eskimos to buy snow... so again... the wise reefer is one who spends his money wisely and not just believe that expensive equipment means a nice reef tank.

I see too many reefers who have only expensive stuff but their tanks... sigh.... simply put, dedication + adequate equipment + correct application = nice tank. No dedication + $$$ branded stuff + incorrect application = not so nice tank.

Now, one of my such friends have quit the hobby also.. sigh...

[roidan]

yeah..dedication is an important factor...

if no dedication, even got alot of money to burn, will leave the hobby in no time,

if alot of dedication, even no money, will make this a lifelong hobby with a humble setup...

er...the fren of yours not in here hor.....

wat's he doing with the equipment of his?

[Achilles Tang]

Oh... he has already posted sales of his equipment recently... trying to convince him to come back into the hobby when he moves into his new home one day... He's TTboy lah... my dive bud!

[roidan]

oic..yeah...

TTboy....hope he comes back to this hobby soon

[Hon]

I see too many reefers who have only expensive stuff but their tanks... sigh.... simply put, dedication + adequate equipment + correct application = nice tank. No dedication + $$$ branded stuff + incorrect application = not so nice tank.

I know who you referring to lah