My Salty Oasis

[Otaku Reefer]

Today Zhng my chiller day.

Hailea internal temp probe seems not very accurate resulting in often switch on and higher electric bill.

Bought from our favourite shop TB the external probe


Open the front cover, Look for the internal probe connector, disconnect original one and connect to ur new external probe


Remember to secure the probe, best is to buy those screw on for specifically for hanging probes. I haven buy yet so use tape as band aid first. This is important as probe is the heart of chiller system, this one comes loose, will be GG.


The front cover hole can fit the probe dimension so can go thru it for neater look, without the need to drill additional holes thru the chiller chassis.


Disclaimer: Just for sharing and if u follow me and screw up ur chiller dont come after me k! Experiment at ur own risk.

Thanks for reading and happy reefing.





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[Otaku Reefer]

Day 16 post hatch update

All 9 fries doing fine and have grown alittle more, some have started feeding on TDO, mesh up to fine powder before feed. Mainly still on Baby brine shrimp with enriched selcon/ reef roids. Only feed once a day. Seems fine no need constantly feed.




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[Otaku Reefer]

Quick update after Zhng my chiller

After zhng my chiller with external probe, only on for 1 hr and off 2hrs. Meaning every 3 hr only on 1 time which is a big difference compared to using original hailea probe.

See the seneye tracking data, black arrow represents point of change to external probe. Before that, tank temperature is very stable but its like on once every 20mins zzz. After change the temperature fluactuate slightly more but its only like 1 deg +/- so dont think is harmful, shall monitor for longer to see if that translate to electricity savings.


Jialat give them anemone dun wan to host now disturb my torch. 人算不如天算.


Thanks for reading! Covid cases coming up, stay safe and happy reefing everyone!



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[Otaku Reefer]

Quick update

Just got the bill

Seems like got effect, not sure if due to other savings, comparing Jan, March to May (unestimated readings, May is month i switch to ext probe) seems got cost down. Mine is fixed rate so probably not due to retail price drop. Will monitor and update. Wah inefficient chiller makan so much electricity...been running like this for years.. morale of story, dont procrastinate and just do it!




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[Otaku Reefer]

Quick update

Lost 4 of the banggai fries due to rookie mistake, was doing a transfer of the isolation box to do cleaning and i left them out of water for too long, was only about 10-20s, when put them back in water some fries immediately belly up and cant balance. GG after awhile, feed the dead fish to anemone, circle of life and nothing is wasted. Lesson learn as baby fries are too sensitive to leave out of water..rest of fries doing ok and grown bigger, now feeding to TDO readily, hope can continue. Wild Adult banggai ignore prepared food so really must train from young





Going back to TLF Acropower to steady daily dose, can feel the colors better and corals more vibrant.

Thanks for reading. Happy reefing!





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[Otaku Reefer]

Received a few pms from kind bros asking if the banggai fries for sale, they currently not for sale yet as still small, i will sell them when they bigger and more stable. Thanks!


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[Otaku Reefer]

Happy Father’s day to all reefers!

Update of the tank

Preparing the ultimate coral food
Mix up all the big brand food and target feed hehe

1. Red sea AB+
2. FM min S
3. Reef roids
4. Goniopower
5. Brightwell coral amino



Trying this regime for a few weeks, scoly mouth swollen after makan, feeding response is good



Somehow feel my symphillia wilsoni (not 100% sure ID) color better and more fluffy flesh since i feed, maybe my imagination haha



Water change day, switch to “high tech gear” from dearest shop TB to do water change, can drain until very little water, last time gong gong go scoop by scoop waste time and water drip everywhere..this i tink reverse engr from sicce zero pump..damn ex lah, for water change not worth…



Baking time! its weird i never bake any cake b4 but go bake for reef tank lol…the things reefer do for the tank Following randy recipe 160g to 1 liter RODI and bake for 1 hr, trusted arm and hammer brand, really save a lot $$ for me as my tank makan alk fast. able to raise PH to 8.2, in future consider put kalkwasser to target holy grail of pH 8.3. Essentially 2 part dosing but baking drive the CO2 out of the bicarbonate to become carbonate. Remember to seal the left over in ziplock bag others will absorb moisture.





Thanks for reading and happy reefing!



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[Otaku Reefer]

Post hatch day 64 update

Change to bigger box to allow for more growth, this isobox design quite good, with many holes for gas exchange and prevent detritus accumulation in the box. Got it from supreme.



Prepping the food. Using TDO chromaboost, if u can buy the smallest size, but do take note smallest size mostly expired in LFS as nobody buys them. Do check the expiry date b4 purchase. Alternatively like me u can mesh it up to fine powder.




Feeding time

i use a coral feeder to feed so i can control the amount of food. “Pellet trained” hehe


Size comparison
Day 1, tiny winie fishies


Day64, grown bigger liaoz, i only feed once a day sometime lazy, once every two days.


Interesting and fun side to the hobby! More reefers shld try this out, they are easy to breed and care for, just need a little bit of TLC. Stay safe and happy reefing!



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[haloworld]

Interesting, good job bro

[Otaku Reefer]

Interesting, good job bro

Thank you for the kind words bro, just sharing the info/tips so others may benefit as well.


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[SubzeroLT]

6 hours ago, Otaku Reefer said:

Day64, grown bigger liaoz, i only feed once a day sometime lazy, once every two days.


 

Well done!! Not easy to raise them to this size!!

[Otaku Reefer]

Well done!! Not easy to raise them to this size!!

Thank you bro, was actually quite surprise myself as this was their first clutch and my own inexperience in raising fries. Although lost some along the way, can say its an interesting and enjoyable journey


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[Otaku Reefer]

Quick update

Just received my neo nitro and MB7. Big bottle hopefully can last a while. New train of thought on the ULNS system, instead of ULNS,i wan go towards ULPS (Ultra low Phosphate system). Seems like having slightly higher nitrates (5-10ppm) and lower phosphate (0.03-0.05) corals seems happier compared to ultra low nitrates ultra low phosphate. Hoping to dose nitrates to keep nitrates up and phosphate low, meantime adding MB7 to help with the process.




Trying my hands on NPS, whats a mix reef without NPS Sun coral seems to be the easier NPS, just feed it pellets and scallops every 3-4 days. Hopefully can keep it alive. Keeping in the shaded part of my tank to fill the space




This weekend saw the introduction of blackstorm to my tank, was keeping my finger crossed as my display has already a established wild false percula pair.



Didnt see any aggression(hope dun jinx myself ), actually my establish pair seems afraid of the new panda. Probably first time seeing freaks of nature and they thought is new species .

Keeping the distance


Minding their own business


Some zoas pic to brighten the rainy day


Thanks for reading, happy reefing!



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[Harlequinmania]

What does the neo nitro does ? New to me
..

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[Otaku Reefer]

On 7/10/2021 at 9:44 PM, he said:

What does the neo nitro does ? New to me
..

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Oh its form of nitrate dosing, my main form of export is scrubber and fuge so seems to remove more nitrates compared to phosphate, so hopefully dose this can balance out and eventually keep phosphate low without GFO. 

[Harlequinmania]

23 hours ago, Otaku Reefer said:

Oh its form of nitrate dosing, my main form of export is scrubber and fuge so seems to remove more nitrates compared to phosphate, so hopefully dose this can balance out and eventually keep phosphate low without GFO. 

Ah i see.. then it make sense . 

[Otaku Reefer]

Update on my reefing journey

Day 90 post hatch

Remaining 5 Baby banggai fries survive and continue to growth spurt, aggressively feeding on TDO chromaboost. Already showing aggression to each other even though siblings, such is the cruelty of mother nature.



Trying my hands on coral grafting no jutsu haha
Can see the montis growing into each, i just place 2 montis and make them touch and hope for the best hehe…Think more established coral grafting is like make a hole in the monti and slot in another color monti and glue together. Its like fusing 2 pizza together, slicing a piece of hawaiian pizza out and slot in pepperoni pizza in its place, voila! u have 2 pizzas to enjoy hahaha..dont think is so easy, but try try and enjoy the journey.. But there is chance both corals will die, try at ur own risk..






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[Otaku Reefer]

Update

Been dosing neo nitro for a while now, can see my nitrate is higher now, hopefully corals will like it



Bought stuff from ah ma zone again
Got this 10ml scientific pipette not cheap ah, but sick and tired of using the syringe for hanna test cos the 10ml syringe doesnt seem to match the hanna glass bottle 10ml line. Had to bend down and see and adjust the volume..so decide to get this try lol. Bit of luxury item but makes things easier, 1 shot 1 kill


Coral grafting no jutsu update

compare with photo few weeks ago like growing into each other more, red monti like more faster grower. Next step maybe frag out the fused portion and let it grow naturally.

previous photo


latest photo


Thanks for reading and happy reefing!




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[Otaku Reefer]

Quick update

Helping a bro nursing a lobo.

Initial 3 months back


Currently


Seems getting better. Been feeding a concoction of coral food.

1) Reef roids
2) Brightwell coral amino
3) FM minS
4) AB+
5) Coral Frenzy
6) Goniopower

Seems over i know lol, but i am coral food junkie haha, i tink those corals which evolve mouth, is best to feed it even though photosynthetic. The mouth is there to eat! haha. The key is to control the feeding and not over feed and crash your tank. I killed a number of acros by using too much AB+ and has since learn my lesson. This is what u call paying tuition fee in reefing

Surprise to find the Pom Pom crab after so long, got it before covid and tot is dead but here i find it waving its Pom Pom in the dark. The Pom Pom is actually anemones,another interesting symbiosis from the ocean, but would not recommend getting them as cant really see them in action, think they only come out in the nite.


Got another interesting inverts, a pair of Harlequin shrimps, this reminds me of the suicide squad crazy lady . Similar name and crazy coloration.

Very interesting creatures, the way they move is also mesmerizing. One caveat in keeping them is they are obligate feeders of starfish. Just nice i am “aquaculturing” asterina stars to feed it . Great at hunting asterina stars, the poor starfish hiding in small crevice also manage to find it. Another cool point is both shrimp always hang out together and never far from each other. Are asterina pests or no? So far they dont seem to disturb coral but population seems to explode so some form of biological control is necessary.



Thanks for reading and happy reefing!


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[dtdream]

3 hours ago, Otaku Reefer said:

Quick update

Helping a bro nursing a lobo.

Initial 3 months back


Currently


Seems getting better. Been feeding a concoction of coral food.

1) Reef roids
2) Brightwell coral amino
3) FM minS
4) AB+
5) Coral Frenzy
6) Goniopower

Seems over i know lol, but i am coral food junkie haha, i tink those corals which evolve mouth, is best to feed it even though photosynthetic. The mouth is there to eat! haha. The key is to control the feeding and not over feed and crash your tank. I killed a number of acros by using too much AB+ and has since learn my lesson. This is what u call paying tuition fee in reefing

Surprise to find the Pom Pom crab after so long, got it before covid and tot is dead but here i find it waving its Pom Pom in the dark. The Pom Pom is actually anemones,another interesting symbiosis from the ocean, but would not recommend getting them as cant really see them in action, think they only come out in the nite.


Got another interesting inverts, a pair of Harlequin shrimps, this reminds me of the suicide squad crazy lady . Similar name and crazy coloration.

Very interesting creatures, the way they move is also mesmerizing. One caveat in keeping them is they are obligate feeders of starfish. Just nice i am “aquaculturing” asterina stars to feed it . Great at hunting asterina stars, the poor starfish hiding in small crevice also manage to find it. Another cool point is both shrimp always hang out together and never far from each other. Are asterina pests or no? So far they dont seem to disturb coral but population seems to explode so some form of biological control is necessary.



Thanks for reading and happy reefing!


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Hey, just wanted to ask, how do you know you used too much AB+ and that that was the reason your sps were killed?

[Otaku Reefer]

Hey, just wanted to ask, how do you know you used too much AB+ and that that was the reason your sps were killed?

Oh was dosing AB+ everyday and i noticed sps browning out and start stn, checked nitrates and phosphate were super high, stopped all AB+ dosing and perform water change over course of few weeks, stn gradually stop and measure the nitrate phosphate were sort of back to normal. i overestimated my filtration . hope got answer ur question.


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[dtdream]

19 minutes ago, Otaku Reefer said:

 

Oh was dosing AB+ everyday and i noticed sps browning out and start stn, checked nitrates and phosphate were super high, stopped all AB+ dosing and perform water change over course of few weeks, stn gradually stop and measure the nitrate phosphate were sort of back to normal. i overestimated my filtration . hope got answer ur question.


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Def answer my qn thank you! 

[gnolard]

Thanks for sharing.


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[Otaku Reefer]

Time for tank update

Recently got my hands on live phyotoplankton, tink is tetraselmis.

Day 1


Day 5


Seems growing, previously also tried but not using the F2 fertilizer and using skimmate as fertilizer, was thinking why not? supposedly phytoplankton are suppose to take in waste so just use skimate as fertilizer, so culture crashed even before started

My Otaku setup as usual , very chin + cai, will upgrade if successful next time haha


Also started Culturing Apex pods


So far still alive, not sure if reproducing, fingers crossed.

My cha pa lang tank, so far some corals died, some corals thrive, so just move forward 1 step at a time.


Thanks for reading

Happy reefing!


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[Otaku Reefer]

Harvest time,

Phytoplankton tetraselmis growth looking good- Green green water, seems very susceptible to cross contamination from what i read, need to handle with care


Apex pods seems growing also, little
buggers crawling around. Phyto and pods are
good to add to tank bio diversity.


Coral grafting no jutsu update
Seems to be infusing more and more, red covering green, green covering back. Hopefully end result will be good. Seems only for plating monti and not all types suitable, tried dino egg monti but coral warfare . Next up get purple monti and see if can fuse. Maybe only red and green can graft otherwise market shld be alot of grafted variety. But just try try and enjoy the process.


Helping a bro with Lobo recovery update
Initial


Currently, need ensure no algae growing on skeleton to help with recovery and feeding variety of coral food


Original as purchased- colors are sick


Hopefully will make full recovery and color up.

Time for fishy update
Baby bengal cardinals growing fine, feeding on TDO pallets and frozen mysis. Still looking for forever home; Pls PM me if u interested



Mandarin dragonet, beautiful fish, contrary to common belief that these fishes are difficult, i find they are relatively easy to keep, key is letting ur pods establish and dun go clean ur sandbed too much to prevent killing the microfauna. I actually dont siphon my sandbed at all . Not too sure if barebottom
can support though. The pods need to be bottom dwelling (tisbe) and not those free floating like tigger pods. Disclaimer: All above my personal opinion


My algae blenny- looking dope as usual


Famous yellow tang, got it for like $60 last time, now $400-$600 ridiculous pricing due to hawaii fish ban, morale of story, like bit coin u never know when the price go crazy . So just buy the fish u like, who knows u huat big big next time.


One of the most useless fish in my tank lol, seldom see it pick algae, just waiting for pellet food, got it like 50 cent coin and grow freaking fast. Super lazy and naughty fish which will splash water out asking for food and keep attacking my coral feeder thinking its another tang. if not for the movie dory, not likely to get this fish lol.


Next is the MVP of my tank, the foxface, i called it PX1 the bubble algae terminator, eats hair algae too!


Next is one of my favorites, Anthias, but i not sure what species, i also didnt feed “4 times” a day for this anthias, just once a day. Probably its the easy species of anthias that dont require constant feeding. I think it’s important the fish need to fit to ur schedule rather than u fit to fish requirments, not sustainable in the long run.


My clowns as usual clowning around , surprisingly all three get along fine and no aggression seen, everybody just mind their own business


Lastly one of my favorites, reef safe angle, swallow tail angle, liked the yellow hue on its forehead and back, very graceful fish



Thats all! Thanks for reading my ramblings and happy reefing. Wish y’all a great week ahead.


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