Sob Sob ... Need some Advice ..

[VanDeam]

Guys I just Bought a 2 weeks Setup from Jireh .. UGF zz

was a complete noob .. didnt know UGF is a ticking time bomb ...

so i wanna buy a canister Or skimmer not sure wat i need ..

My Lifestock are doing fine .. but when i turn off UGF .. they are all starving for Oxygen .. so i had to run the Filter and UGF together .. here comes the thingy

I am intending to keep only corals and invert nothing more .

I have limited place so cant afford to place a sump and prefer Table top set up

can i get a good recommendation the type of gear i need ?

I currently have :

1 Bubble tip ane

1 Carpet Ane

1 Tube tipe Ane

1 Maroon clown

2 clearner shrimp

2 ######

1 blood shrimp

1 wanya shrimp

1 boxer

1 zebra crab

1 pompom

1 garden eel

3 snail .

and a colony of YUMA ..

I already got the right Light and my tank size 2feet sort by 1feet .

Please advice

[fongster]

what is your tank specs ? 2x1xheight ?

UGF some may say it is a time bomb, but not if you do maintainance, washing your sand/gravel now and then, maybe do portions of the tank weekly or fortnightly, will circumvent the tank crashing(you can get those sand washing stuff at clementi 328, shouldnt be too ex under $20. (ask the uncle for help, he gives better prices)

it seems that you only have one fish, and that is fine, keeping the bio-load to a minimum.

you want to keep corals what kinda corals ? you said that u have the appropriate light, so i take it that you would be keeping only soft corals ?

just wanna let you know that anemone likes alot to light, yah like 100w and up

anemone is not easy to keep and if they die, they will crash the entire tank for sure(since your tank is relatively small, and w/o skimmer)

actually i would recommend getting rid of your anemone, they are very precarious, and would probably sting your corals when they move around in search of the best light receiving area

in case you were wondering , no your clown fish does not require an anemone; it can even survive in a bare tank, quite sad la but true (i also like to see them "nua" inside the anemone, but they are simply too dangerous)

so next, would be a viable skimmer, i would recommend a red sea prizm(hang on top skimmer) for your tank size, it is relatively cheap(second hand, about $100) and would be effective for your tank, besides it runs on 9w of power, so no energy problems here ,

but you have to do some measuring to see if it would fit on your tank, pls measure b4 buying, to save alot of trouble

i understand that you were attracted by the initial promotional start up offer, w/o reading much into the longterm. But all is not lost, your cry for help is still in the early stages, so you can turn everything around if you decide to act

btw you can switch on your filter, it helps exchange oxygen with the air, i have a 2x1x1.5 qt tank, running on a hang on top filter and a air stone skimmer, 2 fishes inside are doing fine no oxygen problems

hope this helps !!

[VanDeam]

yeah i am trying to find a skimmer fast .

which of these suite my tank

1.5 by 1 by 1

Eheim 2213

Ehiem 1250

Prizim skimer

100as-100

As200 skimmer

which of these i should keep ?

i using T5 lighttube

[fongster]

perhaps other reefers have other comments,

but in my opinion since you are not using a sump, a prizm is more compact and does not look as unsightly as a macro, hanging by the side

if u want a cheap skimmer can even go for weipro 2012 should fit your tank, but it is as unsightly as a macro

[Soul]

Most skimmers would be oversized for ur setup cos they need to be immersed which takes up space. Try getting the hang on type but i aint sure if theres a small one for ur tank. The pump powering ur skimmer need not be too strong either or else the return water from the skimmer is gonna cause too much turbulance in ur tank.

My setup is a 3FT using weipro hang outside type 2011 and its the smallest size available for this brand so u can imagine how oversized its gonna be if u use it lol.

Alternatively what u can do is change 1/4 water every few days and add ur water supplements.

Also it depends what kind of food u feeding that will contribute to how fast ur water paremeters drop and require a change in water.

I am sorry it all seems so troublesome to u but a setup this small is often like this. Good luck and have fun~

[yooyoo99]

my opinion....add live rocks to house the bateria, get a hang on skimmer to skim and provide oxygen for your life stocks, weekly water change to maintain the water chemistry, good lightings. and most importantly, do not overstock.

[patrick123]

Interesting that LFS is still selling UGF.

[VanDeam]

Should I buy a MACRO AS- 100 for 60 bucks can it handle my system guys ?

Macro Aqua needle wheel AS-200 P skimmer at 80 bucks

guys any comment ? or should i just scrap this tank and start a new .

[Soul]

Ask yourself what kind of stuff u wanna keep first, if u mixing all kinds of LS then of cos it'll be wiser to get a bigger setup. (3Ft most suitable for beginners)

Then again theres no hurry to upgrade, use this current setup to learn and gain experience. Any kokup at least the damage is small to ur pocket.

Lastly, there are good enuf skimmers for ur setup going for less than 50.

[Melvyn Tan]

I run a Undergravel filteration and later shut it off to become a plenum (2-3 months ago), supported 4 tangs (chevron, atlantic blue, powder blue and yellow) + my fat spotted blotch hawk. All these without a skimmer (although i will be getting another skimmer soon as i will be increasing more tangs)

So whats wrong with UGF?

[k0na_scab]

theres no wrong in the UGF, as it provides a form of water circulation & aeration. even an airstone driven skimmer also does skimming

it dosnt increase the temp. of the water , only downside is that the airstone needs to be replace or washed after sometime

since u are aready using the UGF might as well get the air pump to drive an extra skimmer ???

[Dazza]

yes ntg wrong with ugf... my first marine tanks used ugf n a wooden airstone type of skimmer... worked for me for few yrs just that hv to do more water change tahts all