250G 6x2.5x2.5ft Reef Project

[jervismun]

Bro adicjazz, wht's your current tank temperature since u r not using a chiller!!!

His wireless thermometer shows 30.2ºC Still acceptable I think...

[lyz77]

His wireless thermometer shows 30.2ºC Still acceptable I think...

Shd be ok cos my tank oso ard 31 deg initally when I do not have a chiller! Both fishes and mushroom still surface since day one!!!

[jervismun]

But those photographs (the sump showing the thermometer) were taken at night... so I am a bit concern if the temperature will rise to 32ºC during late afternoon Bro Acidjazz, what's the highest temperature of the day?

[southpaw23]

Stocking levels aside....i must admit, the sight of all the blue and yellow tangs looks great.....

[acidjazz]

But those photographs (the sump showing the thermometer) were taken at night... so I am a bit concern if the temperature will rise to 32ºC during late afternoon Bro Acidjazz, what's the highest temperature of the day?

In fact the temperature only rise to maximum 30.2 degrees at night. In the day the temperature is usually between 29.5 degrees to 29.9 degrees.

[acidjazz]

i went reef depot to buy sulphur beads earlier, total manage to put 3.2kg of sulphur beads into the reactor, and top up with a layer of agronite calcium media. Entire denitrator is fixed and ready to hook up when delivered to my place.

[jervismun]

i went reef depot to buy sulphur beads earlier, total manage to put 3.2kg of sulphur beads into the reactor, and top up with a layer of agronite calcium media. Entire denitrator is fixed and ready to hook up when delivered to my place.

Wow... can post some pix? Exciting new toy

[acidjazz]

Wow... can post some pix? Exciting new toy

Yup no problem. Will post the pictures once the reactor is here. Problem is i don't have salifert testkit for No3. LOL. Afraid my current testkit might not be as reliable.

[jervismun]

Yup no problem. Will post the pictures once the reactor is here. Problem is i don't have salifert testkit for No3. LOL. Afraid my current testkit might not be as reliable.

Go get a set lah... you should've gotten it from RD since you were there just now... can't wait to see your modified toy leh... maybe I can "copy" you design lah Those sulphur beads from RD cost quite a lot right?

[acidjazz]

Go get a set lah... you should've gotten it from RD since you were there just now... can't wait to see your modified toy leh... maybe I can "copy" you design lah Those sulphur beads from RD cost quite a lot right?

I think u can purchase e deltec denitrator from RD which already comes with the media. If not the sulphur beads are priced at $30/kg. The general rule is 1kg for 1000litres of water. Top up the sulphur beads with a layer of calcium media, and tt's about it.

anyway u already running a aquamedic denitrator already wad!! but i read from most sites that the sulphur based denitrator actually do better than the aquamedic demiballs.

[Ferrari]

hi bro Ferrari, thanks for your compliments. I did a calculation previously and its rated to be 280 gallons. However, you have to minus off the sand, the liverocks and the equipments in the tank to get a more accurate reading. 250 gallons is probably a closer estimate to the water volume in my tank.

Both ATI and Aqualight are made in Germany. You are right to say tt ATI is better, but at thrice the price of Aqualight. eg. a 4 ft aqualight tube is priced at $18 currently whereas a 4 ft ATI tube is priced at $50++. I do not see a point in paying thrice the price when the difference is just 20%? Besides, a fowlr tank does not require tt strong lightings.

I understand why some reefers will be shocked at the way i stock up the fishes. I have to admit i am being rather over confident in this set up. Its definately not recommended to stock up so many fishes at one shot. Some of the fishes are transferred from my previous tank, which have been with me for more than a year. Those fishes which i just bought are all feeding and itch-free. So far no casualty recorded. However, it will take a couple more weeks or a month to see the aftermath.

You got it wrong dude... the unwritten "standard method" is to use the water volume in the tank... the rocks and sand and equipment that displaces water is replaced by the volume of water in the sump... kindda surprises me that someone of your experience would not know that....

No offense bro... but the ATIs are now at about $30+ each... and from my understanding is that the tubes are good for up to 2 years with minimal spectrum shift... The Aqualight tubes I used to have lasted me only 9 months... based on that, the ATIs are still better in terms of value and like you've mentioned, the Aqualight tubes are nothing compared to the ATIs... Suggest you change to ATIs lah... you spent so much money on the tank, why save on tubes by using those lousy brands like Aqualight?? Not all things made in Germany is good... :D

Luckily none of the fishes die... else you would have become the biggest sinner!!! Just joking... Anyway, just to remind you that it doesn't mean when the fishes dun die or when they're eating does not mean they're not stressed... the lack of swimming space and lack of sleeping place at night can give rise to long term stress to the fishes and cause death to the fishes in the longer term... and when that happens, people do not realise that your love for fishes has inevitably killed them...

Though I cannot understand why you're so impatient in adding fish and that your experience in this hobby should have told you better.... I think the best thing to do now is to remove some of the fishes and give them away to better homes....

You've made the 1st wrong step in putting them in, do the right thing now by removing them...

Juz my $0.02...

[acidjazz]

bro Ferrari, i do understand the general rule but its still not accurate. Anyway the 10-20 difference in gallons does not really make that much of a difference since i prefer to buy oversize equipments for the tank, rather than undersize.

Regarding T5 tubes, its all up to individual preference. If you do read zeovit, reefcentral etc etc etc, you will realise that ATI are not the best T5 tubes in the world. Unfortunately, we do not have other brands of t5 tubes to choose from currently. i believe 4 ft ATI is still priced at $52 each, anyway i dun keep corals, so i pretty much do not care about the spectrum of the tubes. I have not tried every type of german lighting yet, so it wld be unfair for me to judge what's good and what's not.

i believe a few reefers, some of whom i know personally keep up to 60-70 fishes in a six footer tank. I am not saying that its healthy neither am i promoting it. However, if the fishes are all small-medium size, its very different from having 40-50 monster size tangs. Its not my intention to compromise on the well being of the fishes, therefore i am doing every best in my ability to provide the optinum environment for them, including upgrading to better equipments etc.

[acidjazz]

Just to add, i am curious what brand of T5 retrofit you are using since the ballast plays a part in the lifespan of the tubes as well.

Local DIY sets which uses Ebiru ballast will tend to shorten the life of the tubes.

cheers.

[Ferrari]

bro Ferrari, i do understand the general rule but its still not accurate. Anyway the 10-20 difference in gallons does not really make that much of a difference since i prefer to buy oversize equipments for the tank, rather than undersize.

Regarding T5 tubes, its all up to individual preference. If you do read zeovit, reefcentral etc etc etc, you will realise that ATI are not the best T5 tubes in the world. Unfortunately, we do not have other brands of t5 tubes to choose from currently. i believe 4 ft ATI is still priced at $52 each, anyway i dun keep corals, so i pretty much do not care about the spectrum of the tubes. I have not tried every type of german lighting yet, so it wld be unfair for me to judge what's good and what's not.

i believe a few reefers, some of whom i know personally keep up to 60-70 fishes in a six footer tank. I am not saying that its healthy neither am i promoting it. However, if the fishes are all small-medium size, its very different from having 40-50 monster size tangs. Its not my intention to compromise on the well being of the fishes, therefore i am doing every best in my ability to provide the optinum environment for them, including upgrading to better equipments etc.

Get your info checked dude!!

The ATIs are at $30+ And if you have indeed read RC, ATIs are the best tubes in the world, unless you wanna name an example of a better tube than ATI??

Actually I do believe that you have immense love for fishes... but the more this discussion goes on, the more I feel you have been irresponsible towards the fishes... how do you even proclaim that you're providing the best for them when you added so many fishes even before your skimmer came? And if you indeed buy over-sized equipments for your tank like you mentioned, you would need at least a Deltec 1004 or equivalent for your kind of bio-load.... I'll be keen to see your revealing of your newest skimmer!! :P

Anyway, a last ditch effort to replace the skimmer AFTER you have the fishes in the tank may bode well with some reefers (God knows why?!), but the fact is that you have been very irresponsible with the way you stocked after only less than 3 weeks! The colourful language you've employed like "Its not my intention to compromise on the well being of the fishes" doesn't disguise the fact that there has been a grossly inhumane act committed by you!

Even if there are others who stock that heavily in their tanks, I dun tink they did it in the same fashion as you.... and they probably have bigger skimmers than you. No disrespect to the bullet skimmer, but with a MD40 pump?? Do you even know that the MD40 pump is not suitable for a beckett skimmer???

I'm sorry for my outburst, but I prefer to state my point across rather than acting like some goody-two-shoes... I'm not someone who listen to other people's lame excuses and gullibly believe them. I just tink that you're someone who cant wait to show-off your fishes and when the issue of over-crowding comes up, try to diffuse the entire situation by claiming your friends got 6-footers that have 60-70 fishes... geez... show me some pics!!

[acidjazz]

Deltec 1004 wld be seriously over powered for a tank size like mine. Its rated 4500 litres for heavy stocking and 6000 litres for normal stocking. that's about 3 times the water volume of my tank.

The bullet beckett works perfectly fine with the md40 although a pressure-rated pump such as md55 wld be a much better choice but electrical consumption is tremendous. So far i have not heard of md 40 breaking down bcuz of the beckett, but i do hear people who have issues with pumps such as Rio or Atman. i do undrestand the need for pressure rated pumps for beckett, but how about those lfs who package their beckett skimmers with Rio or Atman pumps and tell their customer that it works perfectly fine?

Its not my last ditch of effort as i have already plan for a new skimmer long ago. Initially it was to get Deltec 851, but i will be looking to test out another skimmer which is rated for 3000 litres and on the way from Germany. At the same time, i believe the denitrator will help cope with the excess nitrate.

Like i mention previously, different people stocked up differently. Minus away the 20 chromis, i only have 20 plus small-medium size fishes other than a display tank size regal tang. The rest of the blue tangs are 2-3 inch. You are right that i played it a little too confident for this set up. If you have the chance to take a look at my tank personally, its seriously not as overcrowded as it sounds.

No hard feelings man, we are all here to share our experience.

[Ferrari]

Deltec 1004 wld be seriously over powered for a tank size like mine. Its rated 4500 litres for heavy stocking and 6000 litres for normal stocking. that's about 3 times the water volume of my tank.

The bullet beckett works perfectly fine with the md40 although a pressure-rated pump such as md55 wld be a much better choice but electrical consumption is tremendous. So far i have not heard of md 40 breaking down bcuz of the beckett, but i do hear people who have issues with pumps such as Rio or Atman. i do undrestand the need for pressure rated pumps for beckett, but how about those lfs who package their beckett skimmers with Rio or Atman pumps and tell their customer that it works perfectly fine?

Its not my last ditch of effort as i have already plan for a new skimmer long ago. Initially it was to get Deltec 851, but i will be looking to test out another skimmer which is rated for 3000 litres and on the way from Germany. At the same time, i believe the denitrator will help cope with the excess nitrate.

Like i mention previously, different people stocked up differently. Minus away the 20 chromis, i only have 20 plus small-medium size fishes other than a display tank size regal tang. The rest of the blue tangs are 2-3 inch. You are right that i played it a little too confident for this set up. If you have the chance to take a look at my tank personally, its seriously not as overcrowded as it sounds.

No hard feelings man, we are all here to share our experience.

The 20 chromises in your tank eats like crazy! they may be small, but they have a huge appetite and if you feed enough, the die easily... since you mentioned you haven't lost any fish, they must be eating tons!! That would mean your bioload is extremely high... together with the tangs that poos like crazy, I rest my case...

Anyway, we all know how the manufacturers can "over-rate" their skimmers.... Seet at Reef Depot would tell you that the 1004 is ideal for your tank and load... 851? Still too small IMO... maybe a 902 would be a better choice! I thought you always wanted the best for your tank and would overdrive the equipments, dats not overdriving IMO...

If you have gotten a 1004, it would have been really efficient in removing the DOC which will lead to much lesser no3 and hence no need for the denitrator right??

Which LFS package their beckett skimmers with Atmans?!? Care to share??

[newmarine]

Hi was add bro acidjazz place to view the tank... Super nice setup. Now I am tempted to upgrade mine too...

Love the nice and neat setup that he has.

Bro acidjazz, nice tank...

[godzillaliu88]

hey chill... chill.

[acidjazz]

Hi was add bro acidjazz place to view the tank... Super nice setup. Now I am tempted to upgrade mine too...

Love the nice and neat setup that he has.

Bro acidjazz, nice tank...

hey mate, thanks for the compliments. My set up is actually not tt impressive, there are several reefers out there with better systems. Most and impt, skimmer, lightings and chiller for corals tank.

If u decide to upgrade, drop me a ring. i will try to assist you in finding a suitable tank. However, still have to say 3x3x2.5 is a very very nice size. i am sure lots of reefers wan it.

[acidjazz]

bro ferrari, if i put aside the price of the skimmers. Here are my choices (not in order):

1) Bubble King-300 external

2) Deltec 702 or 902

Deltec1004 is definately gonna skim a lot, but not so practical for a 6 footer like mine. You are right that most manufacturers do over-rate their skimmers to a certain extent, best is buy one model higher than recommended.

Anyway denitrator coming in a couple of days. This will not remove the Nitrate completely, but at least ease e pressure on the skimmer a little.

[jervismun]

Since we are into the skimmer topic (more than ever)... I just want to highlight the energy consumption aspect... as a lot of reefers tend to oversee this when they purchase a protein skimmer:

Just as an example:

Deltec 1004

• Around $4500

• Consumes 320W (4 Eheim) - excl. feeder pump

• Approx. $45.00/month running 24/7

Bubble King 400

• Around $5000

• Consumes 68W (1 Red Dragon)

• Approx. $9.50/month running 24/7

The BK 400 costs $1500 more than the Deltec 1004. And based on the energy savings... one could recover the costs in 42 months (based on 2006 energy changes) = 3.5 years.

Interesting to know... isn't it

[acidjazz]

jervis, thanks for the extra information. If i am not wrong, Deltec1004 sld be using eheim1260 pump which is 65 watt, thus 65 watt x4 is 260 watt which is still a lot. I mean the reason why people want to switch from beckett to needlewheel in the first place is bcuz of the high energy consumption! Buying a 260 watt needlewheel wld defeat the purpose.

Bubbleking is ranked first in the reefing community for their low power consumption, yet able to achieve impressive results. Seriously, BK is a great choice except for the short of spare parts. At least Reefdepot do provide spare parts for Deltec.

[jervismun]

jervis, thanks for the extra information. If i am not wrong, Deltec1004 sld be using eheim1260 pump which is 65 watt, thus 65 watt x4 is 260 watt which is still a lot. I mean the reason why people want to switch from beckett to needlewheel in the first place is bcuz of the high energy consumption! Buying a 260 watt needlewheel wld defeat the purpose.

Bubbleking is ranked first in the reefing community for their low power consumption, yet able to achieve impressive results. Seriously, BK is a great choice except for the short of spare parts. At least Reefdepot do provide spare parts for Deltec.

Agree on the spare part issue... I think BK will not enters the mainstream unless they can find a local distributor that can provide spare parts and services... but I do hope the local distributor will also sell the parts indiscriminately to all BKs (not just those bought from the same distributor) as in the long run... supporting the second hand market is also crucial in maintaining presence (and relevance) in the market. Any idea how BK fares in the "used" market?

Emm... I got a feeling you might yet change your mind again on your protein skimmer

[Ferrari]

Since we are into the skimmer topic (more than ever)... I just want to highlight the energy consumption aspect... as a lot of reefers tend to oversee this when they purchase a protein skimmer:

Just as an example:

Deltec 1004

• Around $4500

• Consumes 320W (4 Eheim) - excl. feeder pump

• Approx. $45.00/month running 24/7

Bubble King 400

• Around $5000

• Consumes 68W (1 Red Dragon)

• Approx. $9.50/month running 24/7

The BK 400 costs $1500 more than the Deltec 1004. And based on the energy savings... one could recover the costs in 42 months (based on 2006 energy changes) = 3.5 years.

Interesting to know... isn't it 

do you seriously tink that the BK3000 performs the same as the Deltec 1004?? I tink you better stop doing reviews...

Wat's the point of measuring the cost of running it when the performance is totally different??

Might as well compare a Ferrari and a Mercedes....

[jervismun]

do you seriously tink that the BK3000 performs the same as the Deltec 1004?? I tink you better stop doing reviews...

Wat's the point of measuring the cost of running it when the performance is totally different??

Might as well compare a Ferrari and a Mercedes....

Bro open your eyes bigger... it is BK400