New Tank

[xersion]

i understand what u mean.. u gotto lower the skimmer.. or u got to self modifie it..

[princesseve]

Firstly, really gotta thanks all of u for helping me out.

ong2ah: i had a fan for ma fish tank. normally will switch it on during the noon time.

jervismun & xersion: my SO have help me modify the skimmer but we nt sure if it is functioning well. here is the pic.... Sorry abt the poor pixle cos it was taken by a normal hp.

Orginally... the height is too tall for my tank.

After my SO had modify it.

[jervismun]

Emm... I wonder how this skimmer works... doesn't look like a proper skimmer design to me

[princesseve]

err.... frmt he instruction stated on the box it say....

it prevent toxic tank syndrome by removing proteins and other organics before they turn into nitrogen compounds or other toxins that may be harmful to aquarium inhabits.. This skimmer utilizes lime wood air diffuser to create ultra-fine air bubbles for skimming efficiency. Proteins and other organic compounds in the water form a coating around bubbles as they rise to the top. The foam mixture of waste products been pushed up the column in the foam collection cup. Meanwhile, the water exhausted rich with oxygen

.

dats all....

[jervismun]

Yupe... that's the correct definition of what a protein skimmer does... Does the air pump comes together or you bought separately? Coz your air pump might be underpower therefore not enough bubble is created.

On the other hand... almost all protein skimmers have to go through a running-in phase (around 2 to 3 days) before they function properly... so it could be the reason... no harm letting it run for another 2 days before throwing it away

Another possible explaination is... you tank water is too clean... as this kind of air pump driven skimmer is not highly effective... it may take a lot more dirty water to allow the skimmer to work properly.

Hope this helps

[princesseve]

another thing.. why is my life rocks colour changing? most of them becoming orange and alot of the red algae are dropping...

[princesseve]

Bro jervismun, ur info is so helpful for a noob lyk me... *keke*

the air pump is frm my hse where last time my parent use to have fishes.. nt sure if it strong enuff but shall observe few more days....

As for the skimmer, todae me and my SO went ard looking for it, most of the shop owners said they onily have small skimmer for to be place in the fish tank, for those external one are for big tanks... tis is the smallerest ###### slimmest we could find...

can't wait to put some corals and fishes in it... as it is so lifeless now..

[jervismun]

another thing.. why is my life rocks colour changing? most of them becoming orange and alot of the red algae are dropping...

It's normal... don't worry so much... are you upgrading your lights coz 18W is not sufficient for corals in the long term... got a feeling you can't keep corals longer than 1 month, they will not die immediately but will starve and then die slowly. Look for stronger PL

[princesseve]

for my tank size, how much watt do i need? get wat type of lighting? currently im using PLC light 18watt

[jervismun]

for my tank size, how much watt do i need? get wat type of lighting? currently im using PLC light 18watt

For ur tank size, u will have to stick to PL (I think)... but I am no expert in PL... other bros can help?

[dkk08]

PLL got 36W and 55W... u can get the tube from Reborn, PR, ML and maybe AM...

I started out with 2x36W PLL Blue and white tube but eventually switch to 2xT5 as coral growth was minimum and it din seem as nice... and my office tank is only 18"x18"x10"

But my main word of advise is PATIENCE! LOTSA PATIENCE

Dun be like me and suffer 2 tank crash b4 getting my office nano and home tank stable and growing...

[jervismun]

Oh yeah... I remember now, I've seen some PL fixtures at AM (J. Kayu)

[dumdum]

PLL got 36W and 55W... u can get the tube from Reborn, PR, ML and maybe AM...

I started out with 2x36W PLL Blue and white tube but eventually switch to 2xT5 as coral growth was minimum and it din seem as nice... and my office tank is only 18"x18"x10"

But my main word of advise is PATIENCE! LOTSA PATIENCE

Dun be like me and suffer 2 tank crash b4 getting my office nano and home tank stable and growing...

wah.. bro dkk08, very pro liao leh

[jervismun]

[quote name=Dun be like me and suffer 2 tank crash b4 getting my office nano and home tank stable and growing...

wah.. bro dkk08' date=' very pro liao leh

After 2 crashes... surely learned a lot lah!

True sis, patience will do the tank good especially if you are new... take the time to learn more, ask more questions, read books (Kino very good one hor... I can sit on the floor reading for 3 hours )... and you need basic test kits.

What salt mix are you using? Here's something I learned recently...

1. Different salt mix (in terms of brand) comes with various composition. The most important elements to look for is KH, Calcium and Magnesium.

2. Some brands higher in Calcium and KH but very low in Magnesium. Some the other way round. Although very complex, all you need to know is all three elements are extremely crucial to the tank. You need all 3 to be in optimum levels to succeed.

3. I started my tank using Aqua Medic Reef Salt (quite expensive). I faced Magnesium problem as the composition of the AMRS is: Extremely low KH, high Ca, low Mg. Of all 3 elements, Magnesium is the most expensive to maintain... it's real damn expensive!!! So, after getting some advice from some bros here, I settled for Marine Environment Salt instead.

4. Marine Environment: Low in KH, high Ca, acceptable level of Mg. I am very happy I made the switch!!! KH is extremely cheap to maintain, so just bring up the level before changing water.

Hope this helps!

[dkk08]

wah.. bro dkk08, very pro liao leh

Wah bro dumdum dun suan me leh... me no pro pls Me just speaking from experience... bad experiences

[princesseve]

jervismun.. im using the same salt as u... for my kh im using aquapharm solution A & B to boost up... as for the lighting tat u guys are saying... can i go for a 2x24wat light? izzit too hot?

[jervismun]

jervismun.. im using the same salt as u... for my kh im using aquapharm solution A & B to boost up... as for the lighting tat u guys are saying... can i go for a 2x24wat light? izzit too hot?

Oh 48W is a big big improvement (compared to your current 18W). Personally, I don't think your double PL will create too much heat since you are already using a fan to cool the water surface. You getting 2 separate fixture? If yes, then you can have 1 white tube, 1 blue tube. Put the separate fixture on timer to create day and night views

[shoelevy]

your tank is small, which means u haf to watch for fluctuations in all parameters....temperature, kh Ca ph etc etc becos your tank vol is small and it takes only abit of stuff to make the parameters way out...so becareful

i would suggest u switch to seachem reef builder (POWDER form).

it allows for precise calculations on the kh boost (assuming u r good with maths and know abit of simple chemistry)

or u can opt for kalkwasser, boosts both kh and Ca

as for lightings, corals need good lights, which means there's heat involved

but not much heat is involved for pl or t5 compared to mh lights.

so using a fan should be able to keep your temp down. but do note, if u use fan your evaporation will be super high...everyday must top up, which means there'll be fluctuations in SG, so u MUST be patient in topping up water, don't go and 1 shot top up alot. slowly drip the water in. and if can use distilled water from watsons, those mineral water. tap water not good, alot of chemicals good for humans but not good for corals.

also, carbon is 1-3mths change 1 time. don't see instructions say 6mths u change then u change....lol, i can tell u by the time 3mths your carbon already very ineffective.

[w3ish3ng]

erm bro, i doubt mineral water and distilled water are the same. distilled water is 100% pure while mineral water contain element that will be good for our body, correct me if i am wrong.

[jervismun]

I think using bottled distilled water is the best! Make sure you recycle the bottles

[shootsimon]

Have used this exact bubble skimmer before. If you notice under the collection cup there's a divider or you may call it a piece of plastic dangling at the base. This is for tuning your skimmer to skim wet or dry. The more you block the water flow the wetter it skims. But like what bro jervismun said, it won't work if you are not using a strong pump to create more bubbles

[xersion]

Have used this exact bubble skimmer before. If you notice under the collection cup there's a divider or you may call it a piece of plastic dangling at the base. This is for tuning your skimmer to skim wet or dry. The more you block the water flow the wetter it skims. But like what bro jervismun said, it won't work if you are not using a strong pump to create more bubbles 

i used this skimmer be4 when i'm running my 2ft tank.. the skimmer is okie.. as for the pumb any normal pumb will do.. i used a adjustable pumb and i switch it to lowest also can work fine.. in fact for this skimmer the pumb ned not be too powerfull cause end up only got water go into the collection cup... take note do not keep on adjusting the cup.. cause the skimmer need at least 1hr to settle down, u will slowly see alot of foam collecting

[princesseve]

i jus changed my lighting bulb from PL 18W10000K/ Blue to a FPL 27W6500K/ blue... which one is better? the uncle told mi tat the bulb tat i changed to is a 2 x 27Watt PL light... how do i c?

[jervismun]

i jus changed my lighting bulb from PL 18W10000K/ Blue to a FPL 27W6500K/ blue... which one is better? the uncle told mi tat the bulb tat i changed to is a 2 x 27Watt PL light... how do i c?

Ah... good 50/50 Pl tube... from 18W to 54W... that's a great improvement!!! How about your skimmer?

[princesseve]

my skimmer is still the same... about the light i dunno wether is it really a 2 x 27watt leh.. the uncle dun sound convinced to mi..