s00n's humble 2 footer FOWLR....

[Tigger]

Bro, seems like the hammer lost its luminous tips and have turn brown. Wat happen? This is how it used to look. Think u have to seriously look at yr tank condition. Pls ingnore the octo.

[jervismun]

Now I understand why...

[colinsoon]

i have positively identified the problem to that of my lights. and my camera. (and i using my hp to take the fotos, and camera fones are still camera fones at the end of the day mah.. everything dun look like wat they are supposed to be when they come out...) insufficient actinic blue, will be changing the lights after my exams. i am quite sure of the health of the hammers, the heads are still spliting. i have a total of 21 heads now.

[jervismun]

Wow! 21 heads? Can u show us a close up pic of the heads? Do they really grow so easily? I thought it takes very long for them to grow new branches.

[Terryz_]

Got so many... I kept my for a few months on one small mouth sprouting from the side...

[colinsoon]

okok, juz took another foto, off my lights for 2 hours already, and the colours of the heads are very evident...

[Tigger]

Bro, this photo is taken from a cheapo 150W 6500K bulb. The hammer has been under this bulb for a year at least and is able to maintan the luminous colour. Only recently, I added in a blue tube (which is not actinic strickly speaking).

From my pass experience with hammer ( 6-7 pcs at least), i notice that they will start to brown out then slowly withered away. I think it has to do with yr water parameter, but then, its just my guess nia. Have u been testing yr water w salifert? I only trust Salifert so far as my pass experience w other test kit is they are not accurate.

[Terryz_]

Wow... like that can frag liao... So many head... lol...

[colinsoon]

the hammers are from bro tigger, whom husbanded them very well, and when i took over there were 16 heads... new ones formed recently. the green tips will fade to a browner shade of green after long hours under my lights, from an initial green like the above. everyday. so i guess its my lights already... as my GSPs, after moving them upwards, are more greenish now, but still brown looking...

[colinsoon]

checked my parameters, they are all quite ok. NO2 had a lil spike cos of my overfeeding, but i tested it with tetra, dunno how reliable...

not i dun wanna go get new test kits, but no time. exams....

and i asked a few LFS on the colouration of my hammers, and they all told me that it is not the power from the number of tubes of lights you got, but the pwer from 1 tube itself. 14W NO, you can have 4 white, but the effect would be similar to that of 1 24W HO, as i was told.

[jervismun]

Bro Terryz!!! The Hammer u sold me also grow new head!!! Now got 3 in total... didn't really notice it coz it is partly hiding beneath the Frogspawn... So excited!!! My first head.... err... head... lol

[colinsoon]

bro Tigger, when you talk bout parameters, what exactly are you talking bout...? what must i look out for....?

[Tigger]

did u check for yr nutrient level NO3 and PO4. I would suspect PO4, becos my tank NO3 supper high, 100ppm . U have seen w yr eyes how my corals thrive despite having high NO3.

What u have not seen is my aglae infested tank phase(high PO4), that is when my corals colour brown out and slowly waste away.

[colinsoon]

ok PO4 might be possible, cos i am having qutie a bit of green and red algae bloom now. will chaeto help?

[w3ish3ng]

bro frag me the hammer!! haha

[Terryz_]

Bro Terryz!!! The Hammer u sold me also grow new head!!! Now got 3 in total... didn't really notice it coz it is partly hiding beneath the Frogspawn... So excited!!! My first head.... err... head... lol

Cool.. THats great... lol...

[hondaker]

ah soon, tank's getting nicer n nicer ah!

[colinsoon]

haha thanx bro, got your help to help me arrest that nipper mah, else my tank cannot prosper... but now the stupid chiller incident.. no wonder how come with chiller my evaporation rate still over 1.5L a day.. now it all makes sense...

[colinsoon]

bro frag me the hammer!! haha

haha bro.. i will i will.. let them grow more first.. cos i wanna move one frag back home when the tank at home is set up.. so must grow more first... and their skeletons still so stubby...

[chrisyew]

Hi Soon,

Are you using the ibox as overflow? What is the diameter (OD) of your piping? What return pump and rating are you using? How you configure your chiller? With another pump?

Sorri for asking so many questions and hope you don't mind. Thanks.

[colinsoon]

No problems bro chris. i am using an external overflow box, which is mounted juz over the side. think it should be the ibox you are refering to. the diameter of my piping for the whole pipe is 25mm, and i am using this japanese pump which is at 3000L. dunno wats the name, but the auntie at 328 referred me to this pump. said its reliable. as the return pump flows into the chiller den up to the tank, the headloss is quite high, resulting only bout 1600-1800L max return flow. i have tried juz hooking up the pump alone, operating at max speed. the box is able to handle the high flow very comfortably. there is a value at the pipe, which controls the amount of downflow you prefer, and its only at half way point. when i hook up the return pump straight up to the tank, the value is at 3/4. so i assume that the overflow box is able to handle around 4000L an hour. which is in my opinion really cool... very intrusive for a 2 footer though.

attached is the foto of my sump...

[chrisyew]

Thanks Soon, you are so helpful!

So the return pump is connected to the inlet of the chiller and the outlet of the chiller is back to the main tank right? Is the return pump noisy and what is the power rating (in watts) of the return pump?

BTW, do you have a float switch connected to the return pump in case the overflow box or pipe breaks siphon?

Thanks once again.

[colinsoon]

Yes, the return pump is connected to the chiller inlet, and the chiller outlet leads right to the tank. The return pump is not noisy la, no sound at all, if you consider that the pump will be underwater, so as long as it doesnt sound like a ground breaker, i think it should not be heard... duno wat is ther power wattage of the pump, cos i nvr required to check it. hostel paying for the whole bill mah, so i dun care...

Yes, i did consider a float switch, to cut off the pump when the water level runs too low for the return pump to work effectively without cavitating.. i am not so worried as to the overflow box breaking syphon, cos it should not be, unless there is an earthquake causing the U-shaped pipe to shift and break the syphon... nothing to worry there if the box is of a very soundly designed idea. anyway my box was DIYed by another fellow reefer, forgot who it is already...

dunno bout any overflow box threads, but this is an Overflow Pipes thread. quite a lot of reefers swear by it...

[colinsoon]

oh btw, i know i am this wonderfully good looking, helpful guy, to both sexs alike... hahahaaa

ahhaha, self praise is no praise. but who cares...

[lyz77]

oh btw, i know i am this wonderfully good looking, helpful guy, to both sexs alike... hahahaaa

ahhaha, self praise is no praise. but who cares...