Graveyard

[tineng]

wow lau....his thread is generating more replies then mine showing dead SPS........ but jokes aside....

given that whats done cannot be undone, let see what suggestion we can provided to help him improved the situation....seriously, me no expert and has never in the type of predicament as he is now...but what i feel he can do is:

- I think he brought blue tang and not powder blue tang as he claims as he only spent about 10.50 each....in that case he might still stand a slim chance as these guys are much tougher then PBT....

- My opinion is to leave the BT in the tank (unless he has only put them in a beta box)....reason is that he might actually stress and damage them further if he tries to catch them

- give away all corals and inverts....he needs the flexibility to dose medication or lower the salinity if the need arise (but please ask the bro here for opinion before doing anything)

- monitor closely the NH4 level as this is the no.1 killer for the fishes. I think fishes can still tolorate a small amount of No2 so should still be ok...

- do water changes when NH4 raises or i'm not sure if should do it this way, get one of those NH4 reducer medication to keep the NH4 level...

-Really really cut down on feeding...do not throw in food and see if the fishes can finish them in a min....instead do this.....drop your food pellet by pellet maybe 3 or 4 pellet at a time....try to balance out a make sure each of them have at least 1 pellet (but do not be too concern with some missing their food)...keep feeding small if your fishes are below 2 inch, let them have up to 3 pellet will do...the idea is not to let them generate to much waste at this stage....

- Finally, your cycle is likely to take very very long to complete so don't add in any more fishes until you see at least the No3 and NH4 are at zero for at least 1-2 week duration....this time don't rush....i know you have money....but please save it...there are more purchases in the furture....maybe S$100 fishes....

[livebait]

bro,is this wad your tank looks like now ....but the fishes you put in really reminds me of this HK forum....maybe you are better off there jokes aside...

Bro lizard44 be it ignorance, impulse buying or attention seeking,let forgive & forget.Read through the advices again & do whatever you deem fit or necessary & have fun with this wonderful hobby.

[yiling]

woah who on earth had a tank like that ?

how long did the LS survived?

i bet less than a month ?

[tineng]

errr....i think that guy just put all the fishes in to take pictures....look carefully at the setup....looks brand new...very very clean, even the sea shells looks brand new.....the are also very little LR...so i think he plans on recaputuring them after the photo take...

so don't be deceive by the pictures and think you can get away with such a setup....

[yiling]

hey ....you got a point there...it looks brand new hahah

got me fooled

[lizard44]

hi guys (guys are more fierce, i guess)

relac lah ...

i don't doubt the noble intent of all bros here (don't know any sis). but, i believe there are more than one way to skin a cat.

some of you tried to suggest that there is only one way to keep a reef. i don't believe so ...

in the 60s, Lee Chin Eng, a reef-keeper who lived in Indonesia and later Singapore , reported great success with a rather elegant method of reef-keeping that he called "nature’s system" which uses LR as NNR.

in the 70s, some newer ideas and methodologies were developed and used in Europe, Peter Wilkens of Germany was the first to describe some of these innovations: trickle filters and protein skimming. he did not use Eng's method.

it was only in the 80s that the Berlin's method of protein skimming was firmly established. but at the same time, there were also discussions about using macro algae like caulerpa as NNR or algal turf scrubber method (Henry of ML uses one too ). in addition, Julian Sprung wrote the "Captive Reefs" article that pointed out that the level of nutrients on a natural coral reef are very low. In fact, Julian likened a reef to the desert and showed how the main source of energy on a reef is sunlight. good lights like MH were born. some like Smithson played with large-volume tanks. it was found that the larger the tanks the better and more stable (hence my 4-footer, i did not go for 2-footer (no offence meant to 2-footers)).

in the 90s, Wayne Blackburn proposed the "Ecological Use of Live Rock". further inroads were made by Leng Sy who suggested adding the ecosystem method with the use of DSB and later miracle mud as another source of NNR.(i did use both LR 30 kg but adding to 60 kg later (have to check tank specs first before adding, might crack the glass) and 130 kg DSB 4-inches).

all the time, some extremely successful systems used protein skimmer while others dont.

i have originally decided not to use skimmer to cycle my tank as i believe this will speed up the cycling process. as i used live sand as a primer, the NH4 and NO2 came and gone within 1 week. how do i know, i dont as i have not purchased any tests for them. i only have PH and NO3 tests. my NO3 started to grow after about 1 week.

why dont i buy the NH4 and NO2 tests. i felt there was no need. the tank will cycle and cut down on them, given time.

the decision to buy protein skimmer ahead of its schedule was when i got these cutey BTs (Dorys). don't worry, not PBTs. i will get better ones when i feel that the tank is ready.

my PH has dropped to 8.0 and NO3 grew to 40 now. i will take steps to lighten the NO3 and raise my PH to 8.3-8.4.

frankly, some bros are quite serious about helping the newbies here, whom i truly appreciated. one is bro SHOELEVY whom he helped me to bargain for an EXCELLENT protein skimmer. you guys should not flame him at all. he is a noble guy so why be so unkind to him. another one is bro MUAR CHEE. he called me on the phone to ask about me. i didnt take the call. was in JB cheonging. he will come over and provide some newbie help on another day when he is more available. his kindness is exemplary. others like bros tineng, eric and wayne also helped.

this thread was made this way because i really felt that i had made some unguided mistakes which could have been avoided if one is better informed. i dont mind understanding where and how i have gone wrong. hopefully it helps me and all other newbies to succeed in the game faster.

but alas, some bros chose to prove that they have been there and done that.

i truly believed there are many of us out there making numerous mistakes QUIETLY and not tell. my hands are definitely bloodied so i am not at liberty to laugh at others' misfortunes.

anyway, it is a long message here. hope you dont mind.

if the mod(s) feels that i should go away and forever keep my peace. please add a reply here. thanks.

(just one last thing, i am not offended by any of you guys' comments. so be chilled. i just felt a little cold, that's all.)

newbie lizard

[Gouldian]

I respect your reasoning!

As long as you know waht you are doing. Like you said "there is more than one way to skin a cat".

Cheers,

[shoelevy]

WA...from the way he put his last msg kinda shows he HAS been reading up on 40yrs worth of material! contrary to what we think

we've wronged him

sorry ah lizard

and thanks for standing up for me

[wayne]

come on.. lizard dont feel cold.. maybe words is a bit hrash to u but all of us just trying to help... i believe many of us will be very happy if one day u will to post here " my fishes is living happily in my tank" time will help u to learn

[lizard44]

sorri

i missed out mentioning bros moxa and tazzzz and RAV.

especially RAV

newbie lizard

[iori_del]

Good to see tat lizard grow up liao.

Hope his fishes will be more happy

[lizard44]

this is truly what i feared most.

by reading extensively doesn't mean a thing when it comes to actual implementation. there are practical issues that need real practitioners to show the shorter way.

anyway thanks to all who had participated in this thread.

for bros Gouldian and diabolus, i believe we almost met at ML that day. anyway, sorry for being too ignorant about marine life. i will try to keep up.

hope for better times ... i guess.

newbie lizard

[tineng]

best way to thanks us is to show us a tank shot now.....maybe 2 months down the road shows us again.....you would be proud of the progres that you make...

[shoelevy]

tink he no time for that since his tank leaking

[mUAr_cHEe]

wah..... now tank is leaking.....

even after reading for 40 years..... u cannot do anything about leaking tank... hahahaha...