Chiller for FOWLR Tank

[Bluebeard]

hey do you guys use chiller for FOWLR tank?

i keep hearing that chiller is not really needed if we don't keep corals, how true is this? can most/all fishes/shrimps tahan warm water?

[hongqixian]

hey do you guys use chiller for FOWLR tank?

i keep hearing that chiller is not really needed if we don't keep corals, how true is this? can most/all fishes/shrimps tahan warm water?

Fish only don't really need lah, shrimps/crabs also not too important.

[Ah Teck]

waste electricity if you do so. my fish only tank is at 30-32 deg F at tmes.

not a problem.

[Bluebeard]

hey thanks!

i was worried there that some fish cannot tahan 30 degrees.

i just added 2 small clown fish, thinking of buying goby, they are very very nice but $8 each. do goby eat shrimps like fresh water goby do?

[hongqixian]

What size is the tank? Be careful not to overstock. What kind of goby do you have in mind? Generally some gobies are very timid, and so are firefishes which some still call 'gobies' but they aren't.

[Bluebeard]

ok, i won't over-stock.

i just bought a small goby, a small fish, 1 candy shrimp and 1 cleaner shrimp today.

i don't think i will be adding anymore things except maybe 1 or 2 orange colour hermit crab.

not total is

2 clown fish

2 fish (don't know name but small)

2 boxer shrimps

2 hermit crabs

2 red crabs

1 candy shrimp

1 cleaner shrimp

1 orange/purple lobster (i think)

is this overstock? i not adding more. i guess it should be ok since bio load for shrimps and crabs are lower and they are good for cleaning up. and i also control my feeding.

oh yes and also my filter is 3 layer top filter and protein skimmer. got live rock with plant.

[hongqixian]

ok, i won't over-stock.

i just bought a small goby, a small fish, 1 candy shrimp and 1 cleaner shrimp today.

i don't think i will be adding anymore things except maybe 1 or 2 orange colour hermit crab.

not total is

2 clown fish

2 fish (don't know name but small)

2 boxer shrimps

2 hermit crabs

2 red crabs

1 candy shrimp

1 cleaner shrimp

1 orange/purple lobster (i think)

is this overstock? i not adding more. i guess it should be ok since bio load for shrimps and crabs are lower and they are good for cleaning up. and i also control my feeding.

oh yes and also my filter is 3 layer top filter and protein skimmer. got live rock with plant.

Bluebeard,

Crabs and shrimp not a problem, and it is good to control feeding like what you're already doing:)

If you have a 2ft tank like me though, then the fish load (4 fish) is already overstocking. One of the clownfish if they're both small will become the female and grow much larger than the other. The goby I dunno what species so I can't tell you how big it'll grow. But the other fish is a problem... I've seen baby parrot fish for sale at 1 inch which will grow to at least 30 cm . That's why it's not a good idea to buy fish you don't know about

Also, if you see the mandarin fish(Synchiropus splendidus) or Psychedelic mandarin (Synchiropus picturatus) for sale, please don't buy them even though they look stunning unless you've prepared a food source because they only eat copepods and live brine shrimp and very seldom eat frozen food. They wipe out their food supply from a small amount of live rock in a few days.

Just my two cents worth of advice, wish you good luck!

Qixian

[Bluebeard]

oh shit!!!! i just got a mandarin fish(Synchiropus splendidus)!!!!

right now it's seems to be eating something i can't see on the plant i have... hope it will survive... hey thanks for the advice!

the fish i got won't grow big i think because i only choose fish which is small (or rather i don't see big size one around) so i assume their max is what i see at the shops. the biggest the fish can grow should be clown fish i think.

now i very worried of my mandarin fish, now it seems to be still feeding ok on the live rock, sooner or later the food will be gone. it look so nice..... feel so bad for buying it now.

i will try to buy live brine shrimps for it tomorrow.

[hongqixian]

oh shit!!!!  i just got a mandarin fish(Synchiropus splendidus)!!!!

right now it's seems to be eating something i can't see on the plant i have...  hope it will survive... hey thanks for the advice!

the fish i got won't grow big i think because i only choose fish which is small (or rather i don't see big size one around) so i assume their max is what i see at the shops.  the biggest the fish can grow should be clown fish i think.

now i very worried of my mandarin fish, now it seems to be still feeding ok on the live rock, sooner or later the food will be gone.  it look so nice..... feel so bad for buying it now.

i will try to buy live brine shrimps for it tomorrow.

I had this teeny tiny hunch it might be one..... If you feed it live brine then add vitamins to them. I add a vitamin C supplement bought at a petshop. If you need, you can get live brine shrimp at Clementi Florist and Aquarium, Clementi Blk 328.

Why don't you try feeding it a bit of live tubifex or daphnia as well? It may just eat some if you're lucky. You can try frozen mysis and krill too. Some mandarins just automatically eat them but it's not a common occurance.

Bluebeard, mandarins will eat baby amphipods and adult copepods(tiny white crawly bug things) These are common on rocks of macroalgae. You can try buying a caulerpa rock and another one to culture in a small tank. I have just set-up a small 5 gallon tank to culture some algae and those critters. But beware of the nitrogen cycle! It will happen in a small tank.

The caulerpa rock will provide some food but it is not a permanent source, just a temporary fix.

Live brine shrimp is also highly un-nutritious so you should at least add some vitamins. It's like fish junk food. Mysis shrimp is more nutritious.

P.S You should avoid keeping the goniopora/flower-pot coral (doesn't seem to last more than a few months in any body's tank) and don't buy bryopsis algae. It's a pest. It looks like caulerpa and Hong Leong Shopping complex is selling it for $5 a rock.

[Achilles Tang]

hey do you guys use chiller for FOWLR tank?

i keep hearing that chiller is not really needed if we don't keep corals, how true is this? can most/all fishes/shrimps tahan warm water?

Nope you don't really need a chiller for FOWLR tanks.

The only thing you have to note is that increased temperatures = higher metabolic rates.

So the fish will eat more and poop more. It may increase the pollution in your tank.

Colder water is usually recommended to lower metabolic activity and it also has a higher dissolved O2 content.

Corals benefit more from colder water.

Another point to note is that your SG meter needs to be calibrated for different temps should you be doing water changes as the SG changes according to temp.

[Bluebeard]

hey thank thanks for the advise,

i will try to try more live food for them, should be no problem since i got 3 other tanks of freshwater which can also feed on the same food.

i guess my tank will be more 'live' as i am using sand from changi beach because i see quite a lot of live things swimming in my tank when it's all empty and cycling.

hahaha... i have already got a bryopsis algae and it's almost botak now. i got another plant in my tank but don't know the name.

i'm using those glass floating type of hydrometer, should be ok right? i was told by one of the shop that it's better to keep salt lower than too high.

[hongqixian]

Another point to note is that your SG meter needs to be calibrated for different temps should you be doing water changes as the SG changes according to temp.

I think the swing needle hydrometers aren't temperature affected right? But they need some soaking in vinegar solution once in a while to maintain efficiency.

[hongqixian]

hey thank thanks for the advise,

i will try to try more live food for them, should be no problem since i got 3 other tanks of freshwater which can also feed on the same food.

i guess my tank will be more 'live' as i am using sand from changi beach because i see quite a lot of live things swimming in my tank when it's all empty and cycling.

hahaha... i have already got a bryopsis algae and it's almost botak now. i got another plant in my tank but don't know the name.

i'm using those glass floating type of hydrometer, should be ok right? i was told by one of the shop that it's better to keep salt lower than too high.

I've found changi beach sand to be quite dirty and cloudy even after quite a few washes. I think crushed coral sand (dolomite/aragonite/oolithic) is better. Anyway, you're lucky to find the crawly things, most likely sand fleas or amphipods. Hey, I just remembered that I used to catch sand bristleworms at Pasir Ris Beach quite a while ago, along with many small starfish. Maybe got time can get some for my tank:)

I think the glass hydrometer not very accurate and is temp. affected like Achilles said. I prefer the Coralife swing needle ones.

[Achilles Tang]

I used to use a swing arm hydrometer... they are mostly accurate.

How you can verify is to take natural sea water and use that to calibrate against your tank water at 1.023. There shouldn't be too much a margin ie. 0.2 difference.

Anyway, I use a refractometer to measure my salinity and that is the most accurate instrument available to hobbyists, but expensive.

[Bluebeard]

the sand at changi is quite ok, i run the sand in the water for a few days and did water change. why i prefer the changi sand before it's more alive.

what's refractometer? i don't think i saw them before at shops.

[hongqixian]

I used to use a swing arm hydrometer... they are mostly accurate.

How you can verify is to take natural sea water and use that to calibrate against your tank water at 1.023. There shouldn't be too much a margin ie. 0.2 difference.

Anyway, I use a refractometer to measure my salinity and that is the most accurate instrument available to hobbyists, but expensive.

Wow, very high-tech indeed! You must really love this hobby! Does a refractometer use light to analyze the salinity? I've heard about it but never found out it works.

[Achilles Tang]

The refractometer works by shining a beam of light through a sample of liquid.

The device measures the amount of light that is refracted (or bent) from the light path due to the constituents in the sample ie. salt crystals.

[bawater]

bbeard, get a pack of live adult brineshrimp from K&K $3- try to go before 7pm.(only place i know in Tampines got them,unless u see somewhere else,let me know)

& its not avail everyday.

Dun need to feed everyday ,a pack of live every 3-4 days enough for ur whole tank of fishes(also stock up on frozen for daily use)apart from ur other foods.

[hongqixian]

bbeard, get a pack of live adult brineshrimp from K&K $3- try to go before 7pm.(only place i know in Tampines got them,unless u see somewhere else,let me know)

& its not avail everyday.

Dun need to feed everyday ,a pack of live every 3-4 days enough for ur whole tank of fishes(also stock up on frozen for daily use)apart from ur other foods.

K & K have live adult brine? And to think I travel all the way to Clementi to get some when I can buy in my own neighborhood <_<

[Bluebeard]

hey bawater! thanks thanks.

i just saw the mandarin eat some worms! finally! anyway i will still go find brineshrimps and daphina. i haven't been able to get them because i have been home very late these few days and it's going to last for the whole week i think.

KK do selll brineshrimps, lots of places in tampines also sell them these days because of louhan.

[hongqixian]

hey bawater! thanks thanks.

i just saw the mandarin eat some worms! finally! anyway i will still go find brineshrimps and daphina. i haven't been able to get them because i have been home very late these few days and it's going to last for the whole week i think.

KK do selll brineshrimps, lots of places in tampines also sell them these days because of louhan.

Congratulations! What kind of worms (normal small bristleworms)?

[Bluebeard]

no la just common tubifex worms

[hongqixian]

no la just common tubifex worms

Izzit that you drop in in front of the mandarins so the worms die fast? If we can get mandarins to eat them then we will have an easier solution to keeping mandarins in captivity... I will try when I get my mandarins.

[Bluebeard]

ya lor

now my bro's tank got white worms, the mandarins do eat them right?

[hongqixian]

ya lor

now my bro's tank got white worms, the mandarins do eat them right?

What kind of white worms?