Jacobus's tank!

[jervismun]

Wah... so many questions... ok lah since I am on MC today I try to answer all lah

1) Super skimmer is a relative word... and depending on how much you wanna invest in... if Deltec/H&S/etc. is too much... then any reliable brand will do. Make sure you buy 1 or 2 sizes up for your tank capacity. Protein skimmer pump go for the best you can afford... this is a piece of equipment that will run 24/7 in your absence and breakdown can be fatal as no one will notice it inside the cabinet. Also can find ways to export skimmate out into a mineral water bottle or something... easier for your maid to help discard and replace.

2) Lighting... em... if ATI Powermodul is too big and investment... go for the SOLITE fixture. They are quite reliable for that price (slightly more than 50% cheaper than ATI). 4 tubes / 6 tubes up to you really. If you like the pinkish feel (and yes they do make your fishes look more beautiful) go for ATI Aquablue Spezial (4 tubes) and any brand Blues (2 tubes). Don't go for Actinic. I love my ATI colouration very much!!! I believe you will love it too Get fixture with built-in fans... and I believe the SOLITE T5 comes with fans. If you are not going for ATI Powermodul, don't invest too much in other brand as you will have to change to a new lightset once you decide to go back to reef. Don't waste money on NO.

3) FOWLR can be very stunning also! It's way easier to maintain, just teach your maid how to feed daily (and where to buy fish food). If corals... your maid will go haywire... all the target feeding lah... dosing lah... blended anemone lah... definitely give you a lot of heart attack... as if being bald (shaved) is not bad enough

4) Yes you probably do not need a chiller for FOWLR setup... I can still remember the RB upstairs FOWLR tank showing 33ºC in their digital thermometer!!!

5) Here's a list of items you may want to consider to make your maid's life easier:

a. Water top-up system

b. Extra bucket with prepared salt water

c. List of friends for your maid to call in case can't reach you (you can include my no.)

d. List of LFS for your maid (with map pls) for your maid to replenish stock/ask for help

e. List of fishes/inverts (with pix pls) printed nicely so that she can do headcount

f. A super reliable return pump!!!

g. A battery-operated air pump (in case of blackout) teach her what to do

Hahaha... I am so so "free"... nothing to do at home

[jamomatt]

d. List of LFS for your maid (with map pls) for your maid to replenish stock/ask for help

wah this oso ask maid go do

[jacobus]

haha ... i will go to petmart to buy huge supplies of food ... haha .. hmmm i was thinking of DIY-ing my lights la think will go for the lights you mentioned ... my hood comes with special holes for fans too ...

note : i prepare coral food into my daily feeding ..

1.brine(1 cube)

2.mysis (1/2 cube)

3.minute amt of cyclo

4.daphnia(1/4 cube)

5.phytoplankton( from IWARNA )

feed twice daily ... my corals all happy ... of course i will increase with the new tank ( if REEF ) u think if i prepare for 1 or 2 weeks in advance and freeze would it be ok ?

hmm.. think fowler would be best ... will try to look for a huge macro .. as for pump what to u suggest ?

[jervismun]

feed twice daily ... my corals all happy ... of course i will increase with the new tank ( if REEF ) u think if i prepare for 1 or 2 weeks in advance and freeze would it be ok ?

hmm.. think fowler would be best ... will try to look for a huge macro .. as for pump what to u suggest ?

Pump go for Eheim or Aquabee... it will be good not to overstock your LS too... how often to you get to go back home?

Frozen not too good... your food preparation looks too nutritious. You still have a couple of months right? Train your LS to take pellets/flakes... they are much more cleaner and convenient. There are a lot of very good pellets out there... surely your LS will be spoilt for choice

Also teach your maid to camp outside Irwana a night before shipment

[jacobus]

too nutritious ah ? is tt bad ? crap la ... everytime i see my tank and my gonios i just cant bear to sell them ..... arggh ...

[jacobus]

im back with more questions .. the tank i'll be getting has two overflow boxes .. which means i have two sumps ... my guess is tt its two 2ft sumps ... would running 2500l/h pumps be sufficient ?

next ques:

what inverts do not require chillers ?

black cuke, cleaner shrimps, feather dusters .. do they need low temp ?

also what softies can i include without a chiller ? ( im just considering it will most prob be a FOWLR) leathers ? toadstool leather ? zoo? mushies ?

thanks bros for answering ...

btw special note to bro colin and bro jervis

u two have been a great help to me ever since i joined the forum.. for that ... when my tank decom is approaching .. you two get special price and priority for any coral you like ... ( i know this isnt much .. but i still gotta get some money to pay for my upgrade .. haha )

[jacobus]

hmm no replies ah ? i need help guys ... haha pls advise !

[Altantis]

Bro, don't know how to advise on overflow.

But I think it better to have 2 small pump but must be those that generate min. heat... good pump esp from german, with cheaper one like sicce or aquabee is affordable

I'm using sicce extrema

My tank have once reach 29.9

With clown fish, shrimp, zoos, leather corals,mushies and various cleaning agents... they still survived

Before mid of may this year, I was only using fans to cool my tank...

But now set my living room aircon switch on 5hrs in the afternnon from 12.30pm to 5.30pm this month (increase from 2.5hrs onwards)

[jacobus]

wah bro ! like dat your bills how ? wont it be very ex ?

[jervismun]

Before mid of may this year, I was only using fans to cool my tank...

But now set my living room aircon switch on 5hrs in the afternnon from 12.30pm to 5.30pm this month (increase from 2.5hrs onwards)

Bro... don't say so loud hor... very soon people from GREEN PEACE will protest outside your house I'm sure you know using the air-con to chill your tank water is not a long term solution... (hint hint)

My new chiller only takes 150W leh... I think I've done my part for nature

[Altantis]

Increased around $50 from $110 to $160

Btw, do anyone have equipment for drilling a Big hole... at least the size of those hole on the computer table

[jacobus]

ummm .. nope .. dun have ... think tat kind must use some sort of special drill ? haha ... im thinking of my project now ...

eh ... think aircon will be a bad idea for me cause my living room is quite large .... so if i totally give up on cool water ... only fishes for me then ... maybe will buy a chiller later on ... but will cooler water mean happier fishes ? or does it mean nothing to the fish ?

thanks for the input guys ...!

[colinsoon]

wah bro jervis, can PM me the brand of the chiller? cos i am looking for a low wattage chiller, before my mum murders me over the bills.. which seems that my dad is bout to do so already...

anyway, bro jacobus, i juz came back from the airport after a whole 2 days. at 0430. haiz. anyway when i was keeping corals without chillers, i kept everything except SPS and a few LPS, so dun have to worry so much bout the temperatures. my 2ft tank in the past was at 30 degrees everyday, and the inverts and fishes and leathers and mushies are all fine...

[Altantis]

Jervis new chiller

Link to Jervis Product Review - Chiller

Jervis Tank Thread (4 months onwards) - Chiller

[jacobus]

haha thanks for the links ... thinking of getting the same brand ... but scared $$$$ not enough ...

bro colin ...30 degrees ? and all fine ? tts good ... might consider semi reef now ... btw ... u want my sun corals ? gonna start decom sales soon ...

[Altantis]

btw, can use resun is u are comfortable... as a 2nd hand CL650 is below $400.

softly...Bro Colin got it at a steal

[jervismun]

... but will cooler water mean happier fishes ? or does it mean nothing to the fish ?

Cooler water has the following benefits for your fishes:

1) Lower metabolism rate... they eat lesser... less wastes

2) Slow down any parasite/disease outbreak

3) Less agression/less active

many more... can't remember all... I just read it last 2 weeks

[jervismun]

bro colin ...30 degrees ? and all fine ? tts good ... might consider semi reef now ... btw ... u want my sun corals ? gonna start decom sales soon ...

Not a good plan... I will suggest not to try corals/sensitive inverts without chiller... during extra hot days (like last few days)... the water temperature can rise to 32ºC... what will you do if it happens... panic? Don't think adding more fans is a long term solution... bro... remember... you will be away most of the time... don't torture your maid lah

[jacobus]

hmmm ic ic ... maybe i will go semi reef with chiller .. just softies i guess... thanks guys ...

[jervismun]

btw, can use resun is u are comfortable... as a 2nd hand CL650 is below $400.

But beware of the power consumption there... CL650 uses 650W leh!!! That is if they are not under-stating their power consumption

For me... if you are talking about a 2 year period... a Resun and an Arctica will end up costing the same (as one consumes so much more power)

[Altantis]

Must also offer cheaper alternative .... new teco chiller

[colinsoon]

yeah, if you are gonna get a chiller, i recommend you to consider a better chiller. resun works well, but electrical bulls go up damn high too. argh.

oh, i dun mind the suns. anything else you wanna let go? i can help you babysit if you like..

[jacobus]

im letting EVERYTHING go !! haha ... will be a bidding system once its up ... but if u reserve now you dun have to bid ... only for colin and jervis though...

[jervismun]

im letting EVERYTHING go !! haha ... will be a bidding system once its up ... but if u reserve now you dun have to bid ... only for colin and jervis though...

Wah... good nice deal ah Must check your tank spec and LS properly already

[jacobus]

wait wait wait ! im letting go all my corals ... not my fishies ... haha ... btw ... i estimated my new tank's volume (including sump) to be around 800L ... how much salt would i need... ? currently i have 2.5 bags of coralife salt left ... lets take it as arnd 18KG of salt left ... is this enough ? should i get a box of coralife ?