Articles

How to encourage Coralline Algae growth

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:03:44 +0000

How to encourage coralline algae ?
Encrusting Coralline Algae is what gives many saltwater aquariums their color and a good covering is the goal of most marine aquarists. Coralline Algae exists in a variety of different colors (green, pink, white, purple, red).
Unlike Brown, Green Hair and Red Slime Algae, which (frequently) grow in your tank whether you like it or not, Coralline Algae must be physically brought into your tank in order for it to reproduce and populate the various surfaces. Coralline Algae can be introduced to your tank by installing:

Coralline covered Live Rock
Coralline scrapings from another tank
Commercial Coralline Algae starter packages

The more types of Coralline (green, pink, white, purple, red) that you add to your tank, the more you will see growing on your Live Rock, substrate and aquarium walls. Once you have some Coralline Algae in your tank, how do you get it to reproduce and spread throughout your tank? One simple method is to turn off all tank filters and skimmers, leaving any powerheads running. With a single edged razor blade, scrape the existing Coralline off the front and side tank walls. The water current generated by the powerhead will spread the Coralline scrapings throughout the tank where they will continue to grow. After an hour or so, turn the skimmers and filters back on.

As with other forms of algae, Coralline Algae requires light. Exactly how much or little light is required for optimum Coralline growth has been the subject of many debates.

To simplify the outcome of most of the debates: it appears that some types of Coralline Algae prefer higher lighting, while others prefer lower lighting. Many aquarists have found that, as their tank lights get older and the spectrum and intensity fades, some of their Coralline growths actually increase and grow higher in their tanks. They also found that these growths die off in the more well lit areas and increase in the lower and/or more shaded areas of the tank when the lights were replaced, while other types increased under the more intense lighting.

So what type of lighting is best? There is no single answer. Some types of Coralline will grow better under certain lighting while other types will grow better under a different lighting. For the most part, it seems that Coralline will grow under minimal reef type lighting (our Corallines do well under 1.6 watts per gallon of a combination of 10000K and Actinic Blue). In his CORALLINE ALGAE PROPAGATION RESEARCH PAGE, Leroy at GARF states that: "Lighting the live rock grow out tank with 2 Triton 40 watt bulbs to each Blue Moon 40 watt bulb has produced the fastest growth of Coraline algae."

While lighting is important, maintaining excellent water quality may actually be the biggest factor in growing a good crop of Coralline. Like hard corals, Coralline Algae is calcareous by nature, requiring many of the same things corals do in order to flourish:

SG apx 1.024
Calcium
350 to 480 ppm
Carbonate Alkalinity
Between 2.5 and 4.0 meq/L (7-12 dKH)
Strontium
Low Phosphates (Close to Zero)
Low Nitrates (5 ppm or lower)

Many aquarists have found that performing regular water changes will keep the phosphate and nitrate levels in check as well as keeping the calcium, alkalinity and strontium at or near their optimum levels. Others have found that using Mangroves in their systems has been a simple and inexpensive method for reducing nitrates and phosphates and that using calcium and strontium additives produces the same or better results without the constant expense of sea salts and RO/DI water required for water changes. Many aquarists have also found that using a good protein skimmer goes a long ways towards controlling nitrates and phosphates.

Leroy, from GARF makes the point for the use of additives: "We have found that by using SeaChems Reef Builder and Reef Advantage (Compare Prices) in alternating doses in our make-up water we have had no trouble keeping both the calcium and alkalinity at the proper levels for rapid coralline growth. This simple method of treating our make-up water also keeps the strontium level in our grow out tanks high enough for the coralline algae to thrive."

Once they have established a healthy Coralline population in their tanks, many aquarists are puzzled by what appears to be a constant reduction in their Coralline colonies. Since their water quality (see above) is being kept at the optimum level, what could be the cause? Some possibilities are:

Urchins
Crabs
Snails

Spending some time watching your tank critters at work will probably reveal which of them is attacking your Coralline.

Keeping Mantis Shrimp

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:58:07 +0000

When considering the terrors of the deep, we usually think of animals like sharks, killer whales, giant squid, and other monsters seemingly able to gobble us up whole. While it's admittedly more fun to romanticize these immense beasts as a reason to fear and respect the ocean, some of the deadliest sea predators aren't much bigger than the index finger yu're using to scroll through this article.

The oceans are the one part of this planet we can't manipulate to better suit our needs. We can manipulate ourselves, whether through a breathing apparatus or an electrically charged pointy stick, but we can't change the fact that we're as out of our element in the sea as a fish is out of water. It's for this reason that ocean predators rded as much more dangerous than the would-be killers on land. Still, not all of the sea's most voracious hunters are large enough to kill us. In fact, some of the biggest ocean bullies have the smallest bodies there. Pound for pound, there might be no tougher adversary than a sinister stormapod called the mantis shrimp.

Neither truly related to it's fellow seafaring shrimp or land insect praying mantis, the mantis shrimp is so named for it's resemblance to both those animals. It's a crustacean from the same class as crabs and crayfish, which grows to a length of 10-12 inches. In truth, only the mantis shrimp able to live life to their capacity grow that large, as most found are much smaller. Armed with strong pincers and club-like appendages able to split your finger to the bone, it's more than just plain fish who should approach these creatures with caution.

First, consider the appearance. Some things have the ability to appear disgustingly frightening and beautiful at the same time. They resemble the shrimp, but the brunt of their bodies look more like lobster tails. They vary widely in color, from bland and pale yellows to amazingly intricate patterns combining a full spectrum of bright, almost-neon colors. A mantis shrimp's eyes are the stuff of legend, the kind of sight modules typically seen on 50s horror posters promoting terrible killer alien movies. While these are the more rudimentary features, it's the mantis shrimp's inbuilt weaponry that's helped it achieve it's reputation as trouble.

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To keep things simplistic and free of forty-letter scientific words nobody can comprehend, mantis shrimp are generally separated into two groups: the spearers, and the smashers. Spearers, who prey much in the same way as the more well-known praying mantis, are armed with two elongated spines topped with barbed tips. It typically hides in it's burrow, waiting for it's desired fishy food to swim by. By the time the fish realizes that it's not in friendly quarters, the mantis shrimp strikes forth with these pincers, impaling its prey. While being impaled certainly isn't the most pleasant experience in the world, the fish doesn't die from this alone. But since it's now trapped on the shrimp's claws, it's got nowhere to go and the creature is free to eat it at its leisure. If you're a fisherman, don't feel too terrible for the ones you catch. They can meet a much more grisly fate down below.

The spearers probably look more dangerous, but I'd rather try to hold my own against a horde of those than their relative smashers. Mantis shrimp are sometimes called 'thumb splitters' by divers: little monsters more than capable to slice your digits right in half. That reputation is thanks to the smashers - instead of relying on pincers, these nasty fellows utilize their blunt 'elbows' to literally hammer their prey apart. The force of their death blows is so strong, it's often likened to the force of a gunshot. Smashers prefer the meat of mollusks, crabs, snails and rock oysters, and their hammer shots enable them to crack the shells of their prey into pieces. Smashers, like spearers, are more than equipped to inflict serious damage on animals far larger than they are.

With man's penchant for owning pets ever increasing towards the more exotic, it's no surprise that mantis shrimp have become popular home aquarium fare. They're not terribly rare, either - one of my local pet stores almost always has at least one of the guys in stock. And always one per tank, and always one alone in it's tank. Mantis shrimp will attack and kill anything they can, even each other. Aside from the lionfish, putting one of these guys in a tank with other tropical fish is like throwing a stray cat into a cage full of hamsters. Though hardy, mantis shrimp aren't extremely easy to care for. The salinity of your tank's water must be kept at an exact specification, and they're fairly susceptible to disease if you're not the type who gets a kick out of cleaning your fish tank every few days. To their credit, anyone with the slightest bit of know-how could find caring for a mantis shrimp even easier than the most common saltwater aquarium fish available.

Still, in terms of price and space, there's few sea creatures that can provide such fascinating entertainment. Mantis shrimp don't need huge tanks, so right there you're saving yourself some cash. They don't feed on anything too particular, so buying them things to kill and devour won't put you in the poor house. There's a few things to consider, though. Mantis shrimp have a reputation for becoming agitated and literally punching through tank glass. It doesn't happen often, but it goes a long way in proving just how powerful these small devils really are.

I've talked to some people who were sure their tank was large enough to successfully contain tropical fish and mantis shrimp, only to find within a few weeks that the beast ate all their other pets. In other cases, people will notice their fish steadily declining in numbers, seemingly without the presence of a mantis shrimp. It's rare, but this does happen: sometimes, those who keep saltwater tanks will find a stowaway in the live rock they purchase. Mantis shrimp will hide in this rock, going unnoticed for months on end. The live rock can be transported from place to place with the shrimp intact, and it's not until it lands at its final destination that someone finally notices what's inside. For this reason, even plain ol' live rock should be handled with slight caution - you never know what's living in there.

Mantis shrimp are solitary creatures, who dig intricate burrows and spend most of their time hiding within them. They only seem to exit their homes to feed or relocate, and even a courting male might receive a few bashes on the head from a female while trying to mate. Their burrows are deceptively large and filled with channels, and this combined with the shrimp's impressive speed makes them tough to spot and even harder to catch. Considered a delicacy in some parts of the world, most of the mantis shrimp caught for food is purely accidental. Nets, which line the ocean floor and pick up whatever's living above them indiscriminately, often bring a bounty of several mantis shrimp. While the ones meant for aquariums must be collected directly, the shrimp picked up in these nets will often end up as part of an exotic dish. If that's your gig, by all means, be my guest.

People seem to disregard most crustaceans as 'stupid' - you see all those crabs and lobsters laying in tanks at the supermarket, and it's definitely not the type of thing that makes you consider their brainpower. In truth, some sea crustaceans are downright clever. The mantis shrimp is no exception - those in the unenviable position of having to remove one of these guys from a tank might find themselves pretty frustrated after the thirtieth failed attempt. My point is this: mantis shrimp are indeed scary critters, but they're unbelievably interesting to anyone who's had the chance to purvey them. There's really nothing in or out of the sea quite like 'em.

All too often, our fascination with sea creatures extends only as far as the ones bigger than our cars. As we've seen, sometimes the ocean's most impressive swimmers come in small packages.

Battling with Algae issue

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:52:11 +0000

Battling with Algae ..

Algae and "That Other Slimy Stuff"

There are many types of algae. There are also a few organisms that look like algae but not all are algae at all. In a healthy aquarium, the algae will be green, and if left alone, will grow hair-like in appearance. Algae that is red or brown may indicate a water quality problem, such as high dissolved nitrate or phosphate levels in the water. Red and brown algae are also common in new tanks, when the aquarium is not yet ecologically balanced. These types of algae are also quite common in saltwater fish-only tanks when the coral decorations are cleaned on a regular basis. The small round green "dots" that form on the sides of a tank are not algae. These are actually populations of Diatoms, microscopic animals that secrete a hard calcium shell on which green algae grows. This type of "algae" is the most difficult to remove.

An aquarium may occasionally break out with an infestation of cyanobacteria, a slimy growth that grows more rapidly than algae. It may be green, blue, black or red in color. Unlike algae, cyanobacteria is extremely easy to remove but very difficult to control. Even if every bit is removed, it can quickly grow back in only a few days. Cyanobacteria thrives in well-lit aquariums that have excessive levels of phosphate in the water. Cyanobacteria can also plague marine aquariums in which the coral is cleaned frequently. In order to bring cyanobacteria under control, the aquarium must be cleaned thoroughly. The amount of light the tank receives is dramatically reduced for several weeks. An organic chemical such as Boyd's Chemi Clean is also added to the water to inhibit the growth of cyanobacteria. Several treatments may be necessary before the problem is brought under control.

Although it’s rather unattractive, algae is not "dirt", but a primitive form of plant-like life. Green and some brown algae growth is normal and natural and occurs in nearly all aquariums. Like plants, all species of algae need light, water and nutrients to grow. Since an aquarium provides the water, we’re left with two factors that you can control to prevent the rapid accumulation of algae. These are: the amount of light the aquarium receives; and the levels of nutrients dissolved in the water. There are also tap water pretreatment, filtration and sterilization methods that can tremendously reduce the growth rate and accumulation of algae.

Lighting:

Limiting the light that the aquarium receives is the most important factor in controlling algae growth. If an aquarium is near a window, algae will grow faster, even if the aquarium does not receive direct sunlight. Leaving the aquarium lights on for more than eight hours a day can also cause rapid algae growth. We suggest that the aquarium be placed as far away from a window as possible. If an aquarium must be placed near or facing a window, blinds or drapery should be kept closed during the day. The aquarium lights should not be on for more than ten hours a day. Fish require no less than six hours of light every day in order to manufacture vitamin D. They also must have consistent lighting, with the lights coming on and going off at the same times every day.

We recommend that the tank lights be controlled by a timer. It is ok to adjust the aquarium lighting to coincide with your schedule, so you can enjoy the aquarium when you’re home, provided the lighting time period (photoperiod) is always consistent. If the light timer is set to come on in the afternoon, and go out late at night, the amount of ambient daylight the aquarium receives should be limited by closing blinds or drapes during the day. The light timer should be set to come on an hour before you get home, and to go off an hour after you go to bed. The aquarium lights should never be set to come on and off more than once a day. Please remember that fish should be fed twice a day. Fish will not feed in a dark aquarium. If the lights are set for an afternoon/evening cycle, feed the fish once when you get home, and once again before you retire for the evening.

Nutrients:

Like any plant, algae require food to survive. The three main nutrients that algae need are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. In an aquarium, these nutrients come from fish waste, uneaten food, the metabolism of beneficial bacteria, and the decay of other organics such as plant debris or even dead algae. There is also a surprisingly high amount of phosphorus in our tap water. You control the accumulation of nitrogen when you perform a water change. Phosphates may be controlled by using phosphate-removal media in an external filter or by using reverse osmosis water for the aquarium.

Cleaner Tanks Grow Algae Faster!

This is a difficult concept to understand. It is important to remember that algae growth is a natural, normal process in any aquarium. All aquariums grow algae in one form or another. Some algae grows naturally in all ponds, lakes, rivers and oceans. If a section of the ocean floor is swept completely clean of life by a hurricane, the first organism to start growing back is algae. When you clean your aquarium and all of the decorations thoroughly, you leave no algae behind. In this bright, squeaky-clean environment, algae grows back more rapidly than it would if you left a small amount of algae somewhere in the tank. This is especially true in saltwater aquariums, where the bright white coral and gravel reflect more light, causing algae to grow faster.

The reason for this is that if there is no algae left in the tank, there is no competition for nutrients that the algae feeds on. If you leave a few rocks or pieces of coral in a tank with a good growth of algae on them, that algae will consume nutrients in the water, which helps to control new growth.

The best way to illustrate this principle is to take a look at the two types of aquariums that are rarely plagued with heavy algae growth. These are: freshwater aquariums that are well populated with live plants; and saltwater live-coral reef aquariums. In these aquariums, the plants in freshwater tanks, and the photosynthetic corals, anemones, and other sessile invertebrates in reef tanks, compete with algae for light and nutrients. As algae is a relatively primitive organism, it doesn’t stand a chance when competing against the more advanced plants or photosynthetic corals in these types of aquariums. It is actually better for your aquarium to allow some algae to exist somewhere in the tank, especially if your aquarium has chronic algae problems.

What About Algae-Eating Animals?

There are very few fish available for marine aquariums that will eat the algae that grows in an aquarium. Certain tangs, parrotfish, and blennies will graze on some of the algae, but not effectively enough to keep the tank clean. There are quite a few marine invertebrates such as certain crabs, hermit crabs, snails and sea urchins that can eat a lot of algae. Unfortunately, few of these invertebrates can be kept safely in the average saltwater fish-only tank. These animals are the natural prey of many desirable saltwater fish, and your fish would willingly eat many of these expensive "snacks" if given the opportunity. These invertebrates can be kept in a marine living-coral reef aquarium, where the fish are smaller omnivorous species that will leave them alone.

Our Wonderful Tap water (or Things You Don’t Want to Know)

Almost all municipal water treatment facilities treat our tap water to kill algae, bacteria and protozoa before it is filtered and delivered to our faucets. Not all of the chemicals that are used get filtered out. On any given day, our tap water may contain fluoride, iodine, chlorine, chloramine, and traces of: potassium permanganate, magnesium sulfate, nickel sulfate, copper sulfate, various heavy metal-nitrate complexes, as well as pollutants such as lead, PCB, mercury, and silver nitrate. Yummy! More of these chemicals are used during the fall and spring when temperature changes cause a phenomenon called "Biannual Turnover". Temperature fluctuations cause the water at the bottom of lakes to rise, carrying silt and anaerobic material up into the water collected for our use. All of the chemicals used in tap water can be toxic to fish.

Although a good portion of our municipal plumbing systems have been modernized, nearly all of them still have old lead pipes in-line which can create deadly high-lead levels in our drinking water. The cost of replacing these pipes is astronomical, so another solution was found. Several years ago, water treatment plants started introducing a phosphorus compound into our tap water which binds to the lead in the pipes and coats them so that lead does not get into our water. Unfortunately, this has had the bad side-effect of creating rather high levels of phosphates in tap water. We have tested levels of over 0.50 parts per million in our tap water. Our test kits only measure up to 0.10 ppm, and we have had to dilute our samples by as much as ten times to achieve accurate readings! This high level of phosphates in the tap water has been a major cause of rapid algae growth in aquaria for the last few years. We lower these levels considerably by using phosphate-removal filter media in your external filter. However, every time you change the water, you actually add more phosphates to the aquarium. If the city uses more phosphorus from time to time, the algae can grow back almost immediately after your aquarium is cleaned.

Special Equipment to Control/Prevent Algae Growth

The Aquarium Professionals Group has installed many state-of-the-art aquarium systems which use various devices designed to prevent the growth of algae. Some of this equipment is impractical or too expensive for the average aquarium owner. The various equipment and/or techniques that can be used are: 1) Ultraviolet Sterilizers; 2) Ozonization; 3) Reverse Osmosis; 4) Resin Exchange Filters; 5) Algae Scrubbers; and 6) Using Reverse Osmosis, Bottled or Distilled Water for Water Changes.

We discuss all of the above filtration and water-treatment techniques in our newly expanded filtration section. The use of reverse osmosis water for the aquarium will prevent any excess phosphates or other chemicals from getting in the aquarium, thereby helping to control algae.

What You Can Do to Help Prevent Algae Growth

It is normal for algae to begin growing back in an aquarium within three weeks after the tank is cleaned. Please keep in mind that light and nutrients in the water are the major causes of algae growth. There are several ways that you can help control the re-growth of algae in your aquarium:

Don’t overfeed your aquarium. Follow our recommendations in the article on feeding.

If a fish dies, remove it immediately. Decaying matter creates high levels of nutrients in the water, causing rapid algae growth.
Keep one or several pieces of rock or coral in your marine fish-only tank that is never cleaned. Allowing a controlled amount of algae to exist in the tank will provide competition for new algae growth.

If you use decorative coral, bleach the coral in your marine fish-only tank every other month instead of every month. This works on the same principle as leaving some algae in the tank.

If you do not already have an external canister filter on your aquarium, install one. By using large quantities of chemical removal material in these filters, you can help prevent algae growth. Protein skimmers in marine tanks also help to reduce algae growth in the aquarium.

Unless your aquarium already has one, install an ultraviolet sterilizer on the tank. Besides controlling parasites in the water, these devices also kill algae cells in the water before they can grow in your tank

References ;
http://www.aquariump...les/algae.shtml

Sulphur Denitrators - 18 years and Counting

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 04:32:15 +0000

A recent post in Pasar Malam re-kindled my interest in Sulpur Denitrator.

Professor Guy Martin from Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Rennes was believed to be the first person to applied the sulphur denitrification into freshwater treatment for public. In 1991, Marc Langouet, who is a student of Prof. Martin decides to test this method on seawater. After 3 years of testing without apparent toxicity, Marc proposed the idea to Michel Hignette - Curator of MAAO Paris. And the rest, as most will say, "Its History".

I have a Korallin C1502 Calcium Reactor which I have converted to Sulphur Denitrator 2 years ago but disconnected after I kept Nitrate in check. However, as I added more fishes Nitrate began creeping up to about 4-5ppm. As I currently do not run any other Nitrate Reactor or Bio-Pellets Reactor, I decided to do a simple experiment before I install into my main tank.

In Sulphur De-nitrifications, Thiobacillus denitrificans and Thiomicrospira denitrificans, are able to use reduced sulfur compounds as electron donors and respire on nitrate in the absence of oxygen. What it means in layman terms is that the bacteria will strip Oxygen from Nitrate and by-product will be Nitrogen.

According to Randy Holmes-Farley, herewith is the equation - 2 H₂O + 5 S + 6 NO₃^- → 3 N₂ + 5 SO₄^2- + 4 H^+.

View attachment: Korallin Sulphur Reactor.jpg
Korallin Sulphur Denitrator, this reactor has be disconnected from my main tank 2 years ago, as you can see the media (Sulphur & Carbonate) has turn black in certain parts.

Water container A and B. Both container will contains similar amount of water from my current tank.

DD Test kit, in my opinion this is by far one of the best I have used. It allows you to both test for NO3 and NNO3.

Nitrate Test on Container A = +-4ppm

Nitrate Test on Container B = +-4ppm

Container A will be connected to the Sulphur De-nitrator while Container B will be Control.

Container A and B in position

Both container will remain in the semi-darken sump area of my tank for 1 week. No additional intervention.

.... Day 7 ....

Water from Container A of the left and water from Container B on the right. Notice water from A is brownish due to dirty Reactor. This picture is taken before adding reagent.

Side by side comparison of water from A and B. A with Sulphur de-nitrification read 0 while B is 0.50 on the low range test of DD test kit.

Pros:

Short kick-in time compared to carbon based de-nitrator
No hassle of constant feeding of ethanol
Efficient even for Nitrate below 5ppm
No need for additional feed pump (Applicable for Korallin and similar designed reactors)

Cons:

Prolonged used may lower pH

FAQ extracted from - http://reefkeeping.c...1/diy/index.php

How long does the media last? About 3 years according to the manufacturer.

Is it hard to adjust? Not harder than a calcium reactor. The only daily adjustment you have to make is to degass the system from the top valve. About 5 seconds.

What is the effluent's pH? The pH out of the effluent in my unit reads 7.5

I smell rotten eggs out of the effluent? The bacteria are not getting enough food (nitrates). At this point the unit needs higher flow or some of the media needs to be removed.

Can I store the media for later use? Yes, wash the media thoroughly with RO/DI water and store in a sealed container for future use.

Do I have to use aragonite on top of the sulfur media? No, but it helps to buffer the pH a bit and it buffers your tank at the same time. Don’t count on this to replace your calcium supplement anytime soon.

Do I still need to do those dreadful water changes? Yes, water changes help dilute some of the more toxic compounds in your water and replace all the lost and absorbed trace elements in your aquarium.

Do I need a recirculation pump? Yes, all figures are based on this. Recirculating reactors are much more efficient and are better at preventing media channeling. It also prevents air pockets within the media that kills the anaerobic bacteria which we're trying to culture.

Can I use a bigger recirculation pump? Yes, you will have to throttle it back with a valve to prevent the media from fluidizing and becoming mush in there.

Does Hydrogen Sulfide accumulate when using one of these denitrators? In most cases, no harmful concentrations of H2S will occur. If you are overly concerned about this there are two way to combat it:
(1) Maximize aeration. A high oxygen level drives hydrogen sulfide oxidation, and high aeration will drive some off as volatile H2S gas.
(2) Pass the water over iron oxide/hydroxide (GFO) to convert hydrogen sulfide to elemental sulfur.

What are the cons of running a sulfur reactor? Your Alkalinity levels will drop faster than without using a sulfur reactor. It is imperative that you keep an eye on this parameter.

So will I be adding this reactor to my reef tank? Yes for the time being as I am experiencing higher nitrate than I normally used to. However, I will dis-connect and reconfigure into a Calcium Reactor once I am done and have the CR run permanently when I am tired on dosing 2 parts solution plus magnesium.

Happy Reefing.

Ref:
http://www.aquarium-...seascope_gb.pdf
http://reefkeeping.c...1/diy/index.php
http://www.advanceda...003/8/chemistry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_national_des_Arts_d'Afrique_et_d'Oc%C3%A9anie
http://mars.reefkeep...atorSoufre.html
http://mars.reefkeep...rDenitrator.htm

Fish of the Week:Cirrilabrus Adornatus

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 18:40:17 +0000

Fish of the Week is being posted.

Click Here to find out more about the Fish of the Week.

SRC Tank of the Quarter Winner !! - Bel...

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 02:46:14 +0000

Singapore Reef Club (SRC) is proud to featured this quarter (March 12 ~ June 12) Tank of the Quarter ( TOTQ ) winner .Bellina Yu aka (Bellinayu) beautiful SPS dominated mixed reef tank to be be showcase .

Brief Introduction of your history of setting up your tank

I was drawn to this hobby when I was moving to a new home. Since I gave up diving, I missed the quietness and awe of the underwater world and thought how nice to have a slice of the ocean in my living room where I could just be in my own world. I got my husband’s buy in to this idea and I never looked back since then. I am very thankful to have his support in this hobby. He is paying for all the electric bills .

This was more than 6 years back. I started with a 4x2x2 LPS dominated tank and later changed to a 3.5 x 2 x 2 as I wanted the water change to be more manageable for myself.
My current tank is a SPS dominated tank. Having a small real estate space, I had to be very selective in my choice of corals and fishes. I’m particularly fond of these SPS species: digitatas, montiporas cap, milliporas, birdnests. I stay away from the more demanding Walt Smith Acroporas

Tank details and specification

Main Tank size ; 3.5 ft (L) x 2 ft (W) x 2 ft (H)

Sump tank size ; 80cm (L) x 43cm (W) x 47cm (H)

Types of Glass / thickness ; Normal / 12mm

Total Water volume of system ; About 435 Litres

Weekly Maintenance Routine

3 Oceanic pails of RO/DI water with salt mix
Siphon detritus from sump and overflow compartment
Wash / change cotton wool
Clean skimmer cup
Check parameters esp. KH reading
Dose bacteria

Tank system profile ( Equipments list and lighting period )

Skimmer ; Deltec AP850

Mechanical filtration ; Filter sock / cotton wool ect ?Cotton wool & fiter sock for my FR & skimmer output

Calcium reactor ; Deltec 501

Kalk reactor ; DIY Kalk reactor connected to water top up devise (built by Gary)

Dosing pump ; Marine Magic (KH & Mg)

Chemical filtration ; P04 remover and carbon : Rowaphos in a FR

Main return pump ; Tesino Amphibious Pump (GP-233 8000L/H 70W 4.5m)Wave maker ; Tunze 6085 & 6055

Lighting / period ; ATI Powermodule (8 hrs); 2 x Par 30 & 1 par 38 (5 hrs); Beamsworks powerstrip 35 for moonlight) (1 hr)

Addictive used

Please give some details of the brands/ types of addictive that you used and how frequent do you used it ?

Weekly dosage

Zeo Coral snow, Amino acid & bacteria
Feeding of sps after lights off (try to)

List of live stocks in your tank

SPS: Montipora digitatas, Montiporas capricornis, Montiporas foveolata, Milliporas, Seriatopora hystrix, Seriatopora caliendrum ,

Pocillopora damicornis, Acropora tortuosa, Acropora hyacinthus.

LPS: Cynarina lacrymalis, Scolymia vitiensis

Clams: 2 x Squamosa, 1 x mini Maxima

Others: Mini carpets

Fishes: a pair of Black Ocellaris clowns, a pair True percular clowns, a pair of Halichoeres iridis, Macropharyngodon bipartitus,

Black Cap Basslet

Cleaners: Astrea snails, Electric Blue hermits, Hairy Pincushion Urchin

Some personal Q & A questions

1. How long have you been reefing ?

Ans ; 6 years

2. How did you get into this hobby ?

Ans ; Refer to above

3. Are you a fish guy or a Coral guy ?
Ans ; Coral gal

4. What is your main concern when looking around for your reefing equipment
Ans ; Reliability & affordability

5. What is your favorite past time

Ans ; Water change , sports

6. What is the satisfaction you got from this hobby ?

Ans ; All the corals & fishes are doing well

7. Any advice for newbie in this hobby ?

Ans ; When everything goes well, the hobby can be very enjoyable but when things go wrong, it can be very discouraging especially when you have to deal with it yourself. This hobby requires a lot of patience and dedication. I have tasted my fair share of tank disasters – tank leak, equipment failures, power trip, algae outbreak...Knowing some nice reefing kakis do help in easing the burden.
For those who are considering to start a marine tank, a word of advise: do as much reading, research, planning and talking to as many people as possible. It’s really important to know your livestock andit’s compatibility with the rest of the other things in the ecosystem. Then chose suitable equipment to sustain your chosen livestock for the particular tank size. It pays to spend more time cycling your tank and to introduce your livestock slowly.
To enjoy this hobby fully, you have to pace yourself. This hobby is a marathon and not a sprint.

Final Acknowledgement and thanks you note ( If any ).

Thank You SG reef Club (SRC) who has set up this platform which enabled so many of us to share and exchange knowledge and tips so that we can learn from one another. This has made us a more informed reefer. Through SRC, I came to know so many reefing friends. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my reefing friends / kakis who have helped and taught me so much:

Drato – my sifu who lured me to the dark side of SPS.

Gary – the equipment guru whom I seek help and advise in the various aquarium equipments.

Gouldian, Rockyboy, Fuel, Lemon, Terryz – MASS buddies whom I came to know while setting up the society.

Ming, Cedric, Wilson, Joe – Sharing of knowledge and experience.

Acanthurus Achilles Tang ( The most handsome ta...

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 15:42:28 +0000

Other Common Names: Achilles Surgeonfish.
Hawaiian Name: Pa-ku-'i-ku-'i
Scientific Name: Acanthurus achilles (Shaw, 1803)

The Achilles Tang is often highly sough after and said to be the most handsome tang in the aquarium .

Identification

As you can see from the photograph, the Achilles Tang is very distinctive with its black body, large bright orange spot, and other white and orange markings. It is hard to mistake this fish for any other. It is a common fish found in Hawaiian waters, but the distribution of this species extends from Hawaii southward to central Polynesia and westward through Micronesia and Melanesia, but it apparently does not extend to the Philippine Islands, the East Indies, and the Indian Ocean.

Both adult and juvenile Achilles prefer to inhabit the oxygen rich waters in the shallower surge-zone area of the reef. They like rocky areas that have large cracks, caves and crevices to hide in. However, on one occasion we did find a small group of adults at a depth of 50-60 feet, and many times find juveniles residing in deeper waters outside the reef at depths of about 35-40 feet where they live amongst long finger coral.

Because of its close relation to the Goldrim Tang this fish is usually found living with, or in the same vicinity as this species. On a few rare occasions we have found Hybrid's of this fish, a mix of an Achilles Tang and a Goldrim together, which makes them truly a unique and rare fish.
The adults can grow to an average length of about 12 inches.

Characteristics

The Achilles is highly sensitive to damage from even minor ammonia levels and poor water quality. It is a fish that is difficult to capture without damaging them. The Achilles' skin is tender and easily scratched or marked. Its skin will show marks from any type of net, even a so called "soft" net. Given good tank conditions, and the fish is untouched once placed in an aquarium, any minor surface marks will usually clear up within a week. When collecting this fish, the larger specimens have the nasty habit of "crashing" the net.

That is swimming full force into it, then squirreling around, up and down the net, stripping the skin off the area of their mouth. When purchasing this fish look closely at the nose area. If damage has occurred during collection and there are any raw or open sore areas on the body, this can be a site for potential infection.

The Achilles Tang is prone to contracting Ich (Whitespot Disease). If you want a good Ich warning system in your tank, the Achilles will do it. Ich will show up on them first, long before you notice it on your other fish. If ich is spotted, immediate treatment is of the utmost importance.

Being in the Surgeonfish Family, this fish has sharp razor-like spur in the area where the body extends into the tail, do not get along well with other same or similar species, and needs plenty of room and hiding places!

Diet

This fish is a herbivore. Its main diet consists of marine algae, having an unusually long digestive tract to digest the plant matter they eat. They are constant feeders and in nature spend most of their day grazing. A habitat with algae growth is good for them, which in turn helps to keep the algae in an aquarium cropped and in check.

** Photo credit to saltaquarium.about.com

How To Keep Your Aquarium Safe during a Power f...

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:58:28 +0000

How To Keep Your Aquarium Safe during a Power failure

This may have been sound familiar to you or you might have heard it from a friend that one of the reefer decommission his tank recently due to a power failure which cause all his beloved fishes and corals to die.

Although, we are living in a country where power outages is not common, however it is wise to prepare yourself for such incident and taking some precaution to protect your valuable fishes and corals.

Unknowingly, a power outages can occur at any day or any time without warning, this might be due to power surge, a thunder struck or a failure equipment which breakdown and trip the whole house.

Therefore all aquarium owners should be ready to handle this situation at any given moment. Although the aquarium is generally safe for a few hour without filtration, the inhabitants especially fish cannot survive for very long without oxygen. Corals cannot stand the rising temperature if the weather is too hot or cold.

To prevent such a complete disaster from striking when the power goes out, some of the following tips below will help you be prepared to provide the essential life support your aquarium needs to keep it safe.

Battery operated air pump

This will come in very handy in the event of a major power outages where the electrical supplies for the whole building or area is down. With a simple battery operated air pump with air stone, this will provide basic water circulation in the water and providing oxygen in the water till the power restore.

UPS ( Uninterrupted power supply )

A UPS are designed to automatically kick in to supply power from it’s backup battery when the power goes out . This would be wise to connect the UPS to a single main pump so that in the event of a power outages, the UPS will be able to provide basic circulation in the aquarium until the power is restore. However, when investing in a UPS , you might want to consider a unit powerful enough that will keep things running for a substantial period of time until the power restored.

Aquarium computer

A good brand aquarium computer in the market come with the optional function to connect it to a sms module. A sms message will be send to the owner in such event of power failure in the house , giving you ample time to rush back to rectify the problem.

Getting someone to look after your tank if you are going for a long holiday

Consider getting a friend or family member to come to your house daily or every two day to check that everything is in order if you are planning for a long holiday .

Web camera

Having a independent web camera come in very handy especially when you can monitor your tank anywhere any time with access to an internet connection.

Maintaining your reefing equipment regularly

Your reefing equipment should be maintain regular to check or any failure or power leakages. If one of the pump you discover is not working well, do not continue to use it as you might not know when the pump will fail which may result in a power trip in the house. Go for reliable equipment rather than cheap equipment which may fail you one day.

Lastly if all else fail, and if you do not have any battery operated devices at home which can provide oxygen to the tank during the power outages . Consider doing it manually by simply using a cup and scooping out the aquarium water and pour the water back into the aquarium at some distance above the aquarium repeatly for number of time . This will generate oxygen into the water which will last for some time before the power is restore.

Ten Ways you can save money on your aquarium

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:20:58 +0000

Ten Ways you can save money on your aquarium

We have to admit that up-keeping a marine aquarium is not cheaper than keeping a simple freshwater tank with a few guppies or goldfish. Marine fish, corals and invertebrates is more demanding and the live stock usually cost more than freshwater fishes as well. But with some simple tips, you might find yourself saving a plenty from initial setup to buying equipment, livestock to ongoing expenses.

1) Get to know your fish before you Buy

Before buying a fish that caught your eye , make some effort to check or ask the LFS on the livestock you are buying. Since some critters just don't get together in the same tank. Don't spend money buying on fish or coral which is not compatible to be kept together. You may find yourself ended up spending more money on your corals being eaten up by your angel fish or fish that get bullied and die ect.. Do check on the compatibility before your next purchase, and you might be surprise to see how many money you save on your live stocks.

2) Selection of healthy livestock

You may find a LFS which offer a very good price for a fish you like, but the fish doesn't look healthy and most likely it's not. You may find yourself ended up paying a cheap price for a fish, but getting a dead fish or worst of all causing your whole tank inflected by a diseases outbreak.

Don't try saving on that plenty, but do consider spending slightly more money on a healthier livestock which will save you money on a dead fish.

3) Buying coral base on your experience level

Don't buy coral which you have no experience taking care of and not knowing of it's requirement. Those coral that may seem so colorful and beautiful in the LFS ,and may lead you to spend a small fortune getting it. But buying that coral which is beyond your level of experience and knowledge of keeping it may only ended up with a dead shell.

If you are staring out new on this hobby, try keeping easy coral instead until you gain the experience and confidence to move on keeping more challenging corals example hard corals. Do your research before you buy, and stock slowly and this will save you a lot of money.

4) Selection of equipments

Always try to buy the best quality equipment which you can afford. The cheap stuff is usually cheap for a reason either due to it workmanship , material or construction. When you are starting out on this hobby or even if you have been reefing for awhile, the cost of every equipment can be jaw dropping to you. The temptation to save a few bucks and buy a cheaper piece of equipment is always there, but you might find yourself paying more money to get it replace over a short period of time or livestock dieing due to equipment failure.

5) Do It Yourself (D.I.Y)

This might be the most cost saving method in reefing by doing it yourself (DIY ). Be it building your own tank, lighting or equipments you might be surprise to discover how much money you can save on it.

6) Coral Frags

Buying or trading of coral frags with fellow reefer can be cheaper than buying a whole colony of corals at time. This would help to save you some bucks as well to exchange your coral frags with others or buying one.

7) Water changes

Instead of doing costly water change regularly to reduce nitrate or phosphate , do some research or upgrade on your system how you can bring and maintain these down "Naturally " or "Chemically" using Bio pallet or setting up a refugium ect. This will cut down on the need for regular water change weekly to twice monthly or even monthly. Just imagine the amount of salt mix you can save on that.

8) Converting into other lighting source

For long term saving, do look around for other alternative source of lighting like LED lighting . The initial outlay of the cost maybe higher than "conventional lighting" but the payback and saving can be huge over time on the power consumption and bulb replacement.

9) Reef supplement

Buy supplement only your tank need to save you money. Also do remember to take some time to study the label of the supplement before your next purchase, and you might discover that although some of the supplement might be costlier, but the required dosage as compare to another brand maybe much smaller .Do some research and review or ask around in the forum for advice.

10) Using commercial supplement.

There are some of the alternate commercial supplements, which can be use on our aquarium. This could save you sustainable amount of money monthly. However, do remember to do more research on how to use it, and always start with a small dosage as a precaution. As with any commercial supplement, there is always a certain risk since it is not meant for aquarium usage.

Fish compatibility issue

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:26:27 +0000

Marine Fish Compatibility

You might have got yourself a new tank being setup, and finish the tank cycling. Now you think that your new tank is ready to populate with some fishes. But before go to the store and buy whichever fish which you like, these are some of the pointer that you need to take note of.

Populating your aquarium with fish is not exactly a straightforward matter, like simply dump all the fish into the tank , hoping that the bunch will get along. But often than not, you will see fish nipping at one another or sulking in a corner of the tank which may end up dieing without food after few days.

Fish vary in their need for companionship and some have special needs, whereas some do well with company of similar or same species of it;s own; or other can be downright anti-social with other species or it's own. It is thus very important to select the right mix of fish to keep in your aquarium.

Sociable Fish

The good news is that many types of marine fish tend to be gregarious. Not only they can live in peace with other species, and some in fact need to be kept in group of their own species in order to thrive and to give them a feeling of security.

There is also an aesthetic reason for keeping a group of similar species of fish on it's own, since a shoal of anthias of the same type often look much better than one or a few mixed with other fishes. If you like you can even consider setting up an aquarium consisting only of one kind of fish, and you might be surprised to be ended up with a very attractive display.

However, if you intent to keep a single specimen of any such species, the fish could run into difficulties, especially if it lives in an over crowded tank. Among other problems, such as diseases infection, the fish may not show its full coloration due to stress, or it may just keeping hiding in a corner all day long from bully. Worse, it could also develop a habit of nipping at other fish, though that could be a sign of boredom as much as a symptom of aggressiveness, Some species also require a certain "comfortable space" for it to swim and move around in order to be happy.

The Anti social ones

On the other hand, some of the species of fish tend to be the anti-social liners. These species can be very territorial, even with members of their own species. They may fight continuously among themselves if the tank is not large enough for each to have adequate space of its own. These skirmishes may become more frequent during breeding time as well when other fish swim pass it's egg.

Feeding habit can also cause problems in an aquarium. Bear in mind that carnivores may attach other fish, so if you have one in the tank, the other fish must be at least of the same size of larger, lest the little ones will ended up as food.

Compatible species of fish

Here are some Tips / consideration to be taken before introducing your fish;

- Shoaling fishes i.e; Anthias should be kept in groups and are compatible with other various species of reef fish.

- Different angel fish species should be kept singly unless it is paired by nature or precaution taken to introduce them together.

- Some fish should be introduce into the tank together to prevent aggression .

- If you intent to introduce similar species of fish from the same family, always introduce the smaller one before the larger fish.

- Get to know the aggressive level of your fish before buying. You can do some search on the internet or ask around in the forum .

- Get to know the diet of your fish before buying. Some of the LFS will tell you that the fish eat everything, but do ask around and do your homework yourself.

- A tank scaping with ample hiding space will have higher chance of success of keeping similar species of the family in the tank comparing to one which has not.

Why does my fish keep dying ?

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 14:20:52 +0000

Why does my new fish keeping dying ?

This could be a familiar encounter for new aquarist in the hobby, when many of their newly bought fish and coral die within days or week after their purchase. And very soon after , they might find themselves giving up the hobby feeling it is too difficult to setup a marine tank, and ended up giving up the hobby.

However , up keeping a successful marine tank is not as difficult as it seem if most hobbyist know the main causes of their fish death.

Top reason why Fish die

Overlook the Water quality is often the main and number one reason your fish don't survive long. If you look at some of the factors that determine the health of your fish most of them lead back to water quality.
For example, here is a list of the top reasons why fish become unhealthy:

� Over Feeding of your fish
� Over Crowding of your tank
� Lack of Tank Cycling especially for new tank
� Lack or not enough Water Changes
� Incompatible Tank Mates which lead to stress.
� Fish die from diseases infection

All of the factors in the list above, except incompatible tank mates, affect the quality of your aquarium water, but can be easily fixed with proper knowledge.

Over Feeding Your Fish

Do not to over feed your fish, and feed your fish more than they can consume in just a couple of minutes. Your fish may appear to be hungry every hour or every minutes, but in fact fish can also live on a small but balance diet. Overfeeding or overeat of your fish may cause some side effect on the fish as well as deteriorates the overall quality of your water.

Over Crowing of your tank

This is seem to be an easily preventable aquarium fiasco. Fish need a comfortable space to swim around in the tank, just like in the wild. Just imagine keeping a 10" shark in a 24" tank, which it has problem swimming around and having too many fishes in the tank that the fish get bullied ect are just one of the reason for the fish death.

Also, by keeping more fish in your tank , the more waste they produce and the quicker your aquarium water will deteriorates as well.

Lack of proper Cycling especially for new tank

This is the basic for setting up a successful marine tank, and before keeping a fish we must fist "rear the water" which also mean tank cycling or Nitrogen Cycle.

This step basically consists of building up a beneficial bacteria in the tank, so that they can break down your fish's waste products and uneaten food into less harmful substances.

Lack or not enough Water Changes

Apart from cycling your new tank, regular partial water changes is important as well as this will fix or prevent most of the problems in your aquarium.

It is recommend to do a small partial water change ( 20% - 30% ) weekly, rather than a large water change over one month to minimize the fluctuation of the water parameter in the system. Even by doing daily partial water changes , people have even managed to keep aquarium fish alive without any filtration. This is just to illustrate how beneficial water changes are to a tank. New water should be treated with anti-chlorine or leave to "Aged " before the water change and we recommend using a RO/DI filter to remove any impurity in the water . It is best to leave your new salt mix over night with some sort of aeration / water movement prior to the water change.

Incompatible Tank Mates which lead to stress.

Not all fish can be kept together in the same tank. For example you cannot keep a preparatory fish with a small fish which will get eaten up or stressed to death. Be a reasonable fish keeper by doing more research on the fish you are buying , or ask the shop owner on it's diet and compatibility with other tank mates in your tank before buying.

Fish dying from diseases infection

This is often seem as one of the common problem for newly bought fish from LFS. Since most of the marine fish is wild collect from the ocean, and during the transportation and storage of the new fish in shop. There is high chance that fish may get infected with diseases.
Do watch for any tell tale sign of infection during your next purchase and quarantine all your newly bought fish ideally for two week or at least 7 day before introducing it to your tank. This will prevent the diseases being introduce to your existing fishes, and allow any treatment to be done prior to adding to your tank.

By adhering to the following above suggestion, this will make your reefing experience happier, less stressful and more time enjoying your hobby and fishes.

SRC Tank of the Quarter Winner !!

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:52:12 +0000

Singapore Reef Club (SRC) is proud to featured the First Tank of the Quarter ( TOTQ ) winner . Jeremy aka (Eniram) beautiful SPS dominated mixed reef tank has been chosen to be showcase for this quarter.

Front View

Side View

Brief History of my Setup

Let me thank both the Singapore Reef Club staff and to everyone spending time reading this article. Really honored to be nominated TOTQ, but I believe there are more reefers out there who have just an impressive tank.

Reefing all began in 2001 when I chanced upon my uncles tank which was Fish Only With Live Rocks (FOWLR). It was ran with a canister filter, wooden air stone skimmer and only 2 tubes of T8 lights, NO chiller somehow that got me hooked on reefing, but the main catalyst that pushed me into reefing was when I was enlisted into the Navy where many exercises were held on the island P.Senang.

I was amazed by the corals and fishes that were within touching distance, sun corals growing on the jetty pillars, green turtles swimming past at night under the flood lights and the really rare chance to spot a school of dolphins off the coast of Singapore.

2003 I chanced upon SRC and the reefing poison slowly but surely kicked in. From there did a lot of research and got a lot of inspirations from our local and overseas reefing community. I remember heading down to Reborn, Harlequin, and another LFS around the area (had a seahorse logo, can't remember its name), Reef Aquarist along Koon Seng road and E-aquarist at Siglap. All these were my favorite haunts.

Due to financial constrains (straight out of NS) I got myself a 1.5ft tank with an IOS (Internal Overflow system), Weipro skimmer, some really cheap fluorescent lights that had blue and white infused into 1 bulb and a PC fan , but Keeping a reef with these equipments were a challenge, constant temperature and salinity fluctuations, PO4 and NO3 were going hay wire, red slime taking over my tank and countless unnecessary live stock and corals dying in my hands.

Furthermore it was making a mess in my parents place and work load took a toll on me and the tank. So I stopped reefing but was still hibernating on SRC, keeping in touch with the local reefing scenes.
2008 got my own place, by divine King Neptune's power of the trident, visited my wife's good friend and what did you know her husband aka Wilson had a 2.5ft cure reef tank!

The 7 year itch kicked in and the rest is history plus Aquarama 2009 happened to be round the corner, competition tanks were on sale, I told myself it's now or never or regret like a frogfish missed its dinner. This 3 footer lasted a year and by 2011 I got myself a new tank that is till today.

Tank details and specification

My current tank is built of a 12 mm thick glass, 48"x36"x20" 3 sides low iron glass. Sump Tank 36"x36"x12" the total volume of the system is about 200 US gallons. Decided to go bare bottom, this way I can maximize my wave makers without the sand storm.

Water circulation is provided by a Reef Octopus water blaster 5000 and a Ehiem 1262 that is linked to my chiller and out into Main tank.

Maintenance, Feeding & Supplements

To maintain calcium and alkalinity levels I added via a Bubble Magus dosing pump, which is used for supplementing all 3 main elements such as Ca, KH and Mg. Basically, I check the Ca and kH levels every second week and adjust them if it is necessary.
All water changes and top-off are done using DI water. I typically perform about 10% water changes every week. 20% every month, if not for the necessity of frequently trimming corals, the system would need little maintenance, which usually means emptying the skimmer cup, cleaning the tank's viewing panels, water changing, preparing Ca and kH solutions and replacing carbon. From time to time I check the most important parameters with Salifert testkit (Ca, Mg, kH) . Moreover, on a daily basis I monitor the salinity and feed my fishes, I don't feed my corals other then my super sun. I believe when I feed my fishes and the detritus that are floating around it feeds my corals.

Tank Equipments & system parameter

Calcium - ca ; 450~500

Alkaline - KH ; 8.5~10

Magnesium � mg ; 1450

Tank system profile

Skimmer ; Running a Reef Octopus 3000 INT with bubble blaster 3000 pump

Mechanical filtration ; Cheap filter wool (changed bi-weekly with water change)

UV ;36W Coralife UV

Dosing pump ; Bubble magus dosing pump of Ca, KH, Mg

Chemical filtration ; PURA Phos-Lock Filter Media and PURA Carbon

Main return pump ;Reef Octopus water blaster 5000

Wave maker ;2xEco-tech MP40Ws,2xTunze 6055, 2xTunze 6045

Lightings;
2 x 2 tubes of 54W DD lighting fixtures
1 x 2 tubes 54W Giesemann razor

Lighting period;
4 ATI Blue Plus from 1100-2230hrs
2 ATI Aquablue special + 1 PAR38 14K 40deg from 1600-2000hrs

Chiller; TECO TR15

Refugium

A simple DIY mini cheato box above sump, reason for making this box is so as to prevent unwanted broken off cheato drifting in Main Tank and clogging up return pumps.

Addictive used

Daily dose of Tropic Marine Lugols solution

More of this can be found on the forum here ; http://www.sgreefclu...quarter-winner/

Electricity saving tips for your Aquarium tank

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:28:20 +0000

Electricity saving tips for your Aquarium tank

With the increase in electricity bills , it is smart to take some time to think about how we can save some electricity bill while maintaining our beautiful aquarium. You can start of with carefully selecting of what equipments we use in our fish tanks, the monthly power costs of our system can be reduced significantly if the correct and good piece of equipment is being used.

Lighting
- Do not use more lighting or longer duration of lighting than what your system needs.
- Use a timer for setting up your daily lighting schedule.
- Choosing the types of lighting carefully. Do you really need a T5 HO or metal hadlies for your fish only system ect ?
- Consider using LED instead of other lighting since Leds draw much lesser power consumption than any other lighting.

Pumps
- Look at the power consumption when selecting your pumps. Take into consider the effectiveness of the pump vs the power consumption. Some pump produce the same output but uses three times the electricity.
- Select the correct pump for your tank size. Using a correct size pump with suitable flow rate will reduce the need for using a large pump for a small tank which consume more electricity.
- By using high flow power heads instead of a closed loop with a large pump, your power bill can be cut drastically.

Equipments

- Check the power consumption of your skimmer, as similar to return pump, some protein skimmer can vary widely in the amount of power consumption to get the same job done.
- Use an external skimmer instead of a in sump skimmer. The power head inside the in sump skimmer give out extra heat into the water .
- Do not use necessary equipment for your tank if it is not needed .

Chiller

Get a properly sized chiller for your tank. Chiller sized too large for a system may cause it to kick in and off too often drawing more electricity and shorten the lifespan of the chiller.

Tank

- Opening up your tank top to allow more cooling of your tank will reduce the number of time your chiller kicks in.
- Running a fan instead of a chiller to cool the water.
Keep an eye on your equipments, especially when a pieces of electrical equipments is malfunctioning, it can use draw more power than it usually does. Get a wattage meter to check out what equipments is using too much power.

Get a wattage meter to check on the power consumption. Not only it is great to see where power get wasted in your tank, but around the house too. You might be surprise to see that some of your household equipments is drawing more electricity than your tank.

How to Start Up Marine Tank? - A Step by Step G...

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:52:48 +0000

How to Start Up Marine Tank? - A Step by Step Guide to Setup a Successful and Colorful Marine Tank

Like what we do in life, if we fail to plan, we plan to fail. Out of all the potential problems that can occur in our aquariums, many can be avoided if we have plan ahead. Keeping a successful Marine tank require the same philosophy as well and knowledge is the key in the success in this hobby.

Always take your time when designing and building a new aquarium system.Before committing or buying your fish tank, firstly decide what kind of system do you want to keep? This would enable you to plan you tank setup with the equipments you need and your budget ect..

Using only high quality well-built equipment, starting with the aquarium itself. Buying your tank from a reputable tank builders who craft their aquariums with the proper glass/acrylic thickness suitable for your tank system will make alot of different with years to come.

Making sure all your slip PVC joints are glued correctly; use Teflon tape on all threaded connections. A small leak can become a big problem if it is not attended to ect. Check the volume of your sump to ensure it will hold excess water in case the power fails and your return pumps shut off as you do not want a flooded living room.

There are basically a few system in this hobby;

1) Fish Only tank are the simplest and easier to start a marine tank, but it can be upgraded to a more complex system if you decided to keep more dedicated species.

2) Reef Tank - Require more dedicated care and planing in the equipment and tank design setup in order to tackle the Ammonia, N02, P04 and N03 in the system.

There are basically two main types of reef tank

1) Delicate SPS tank - Tank filled with delicate SPS hard corals which required higher maintenance and water parameter.

2) Mix reef - Keeping a mix of both LPS and SPS corals. This can be a challenge since some of the requirement for the LPS and SPS corals is very different in order to do well.

Do as much research as possible on this setting up a marine aquarium tank to determine what you want to keep and the basic need to sustain it. You can find many information on this hobby in Books, internet or here in SRC. Preparing a checklist will help you to determine the equipment you need and the budget you need for your first aquarium setup.

The checklist should consist of some of the basic key reefing equipments as follows;

-Tank size

-Thickness of glass?

-Sump Tank

-Types of aquarium glass?

-Types of Aquarium stand? ( Wood / stainless steel )

-Placement of tank in the house ( Do consider factors such as; ease of access for tank maintaining, nature sun light, viewing angle, temperature, power point ect..

-Types of lighting

-Types of Skimmer ( In-sump / Out-sump )

- Chiller

-Live rock

-Sea water or Salt Mix?

-Aquarium substrate ( Live Sand / fine sand / bare bottom / Deep sand bed or crushed coral chips )?

-Filter media

-Aquarium background

- Pumps

-Power head - Wave maker

Protein skimmer ( The most important equipment in the hobby which you cannot miss )

Test kits

- Algae scrubber

- Fish net

- Clean buckets for changing of water.

-Aquarium thermometer

-Quarantine Tank?

-Saltwater Hydrometer or even better a refractometer to check water salinity?

- Piping and valves.

- Fluidized reactor

- Calcium reactor

- De-nitrator

- Chemical filtration media ( Active carbon, P04 remover media, N03 remover media ect.. )

- Ozone 03

- Optional but definitely recommend getting a Reverse Osmosis or RO/Deionization filter for the make-up water.

- Power Strip

-Power consumption of equipment?

Knowlede and patient is the key to success in this hobby, do more research on the fish and corals which you will be buy. You can look for more information on our discussion forum .

Happy reefing

Tips For Planning a Successful Marine Aquarium

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:49:18 +0000

** Photo extracted from glass box design

Tips For Planning a Successful Marine Aquarium

Setting up a marine reef aquarium tank is an oceanic microcosm in your home. It needs to be ecologically balanced in order to retain it's natural beauty. If it is maintain correctly, it will be a stunning pcs of decoration in your living room, or office. However having a overcroward tank, incompatible fish and a variety of other factors can ruin the stability of your tank overall eco-system. In this article, we hope to be able offer some guidance on correctly stocking your reef aquarium.

1) Planing - Choose the type of aquairum setup - This should be the first thing which come into your mind when you setup a marine tank. If you are setting up a reef tank, the selection of the livestocks / corals and fish must be comparable. You do not want your newly introduce fish eating up your expensive corals. If you are setting up a FOWLR tank which consist of only fish, you might want to do some research on the fishes which you are going to buy. Some of the fishes required special diet and requirement in order to keep it alive in a captive environment.

2) Fish Selection - It is very important to come out with a stock list ( Wish list ) for your tank setup, and try to stick to it and find out as much information on it as possible. You can also check out our fish data base on our forum Singapore Reef Club. The types of fish you are intent to keep will determine the comparability and success of your setup. Also the kinds of fish you are interested in keeping now and in future will also determine the size of your tank and the amount and types of support equipment you would required for keeping a successful marine tank.

3) Research for more resources- Even after your salt water fish tank is setup and running but this should not stop you from learning. There is ever evolving information when it comes to saltwater fish keeping. Some of the best information can be found in hobby magazines, on our Internet forum and through sharing information with fellow reefers,So How many fishes can I keep in my tank?

Having a perfect balance stocking in a tank is often debated, but as a rule of thumb by calculating how many fish and corals you think your tank should theoretically be able to accommodate is important. It is also important to differentiate between smaller and larger species, as larger species occupy more space for swimming, where smaller fish doesn't require so. Larger species fish also have greater appetites and generate more waste ect. For this reason the rules of thumb between small bodied and large bodied fish differ.

A general guideline is as follows;

- For small to medium fish, the rule is 2" of fish for every 10 gallons ( 40 litres ).

- For medium to large bodied fish, the rule is 1" of fish for every 5 gallons ( 20 litres ).

Do remember to include factors such as price, availability, hardiness in your decision making process during your next purchase. It would also be worth your while to pay a visit to a your local fish store where you can have the opportunity of looking at your chosen corals and fish in a real life aquarium setup.

Tips for Feeding Your Fish

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:39:19 +0000

Tips for Feeding Your Fish

Setting up a marine tank and maintaining it with a health school of fish may seem easy at time. However the unique nutritional requirements of captive seawater fishes was often overlooked by many hobbyists. Since most of the fishes was wild caught in the sea, each fish have individual food requirement in order to prevent the fish from malnutrition.

Many People tried using foods meant for freshwater aquarium to feed their marine tank, or flake foods of terrestrial origin and frozen brine shrimp of questionable quality to save some money without knowing that this is doing more harm to the fish itself.

Fortunately, all this is changing thanks to the knowledge share on various resources on the internet. Marine fishes need a diet primarily of marine origin, and we often recognize that a poor diet can equate to general ill health of your fish. Some commonly observed problems with poorly fed marine fish include lateral line and fin erosion, weight loss, color infidelity, listlessness and disease outbreaks.

The modern day marine fishkeeper now has access to many great foods on their local fish store. A good and easy example of a nutrition food for your marine fish is the fresh and frozen seafood; Shrimp, clams, squid and marine fish flesh, which are commonly found on our dinner table. These food together with simple preparation of fine chopped are great foods for the marine fish to fulfill the balance of nutrients of a marine fish needs.

Feeding frequency

The amount and frequency of feeding for any particular aquarium will vary between each reefer to suit the fishes being kept. Mainly, we can break down the various types of reef fishes into three general feeding groups: the herbivores, the carnivores, and the omnivores. (Additionally, zooplanktivores are open-water carnivores.)

During feeding, we typically introduce the food at the surface of the water and the fish feed on it when it start to sinks into the water, or as it is blown about the tank by wave maker. This type of feeding situation is simulate the natural condition encountered by zooplankton feeders in the wild when they pick moving food moving along of the water column.

The basic rules is to feed the amount of food which the fishes can consume within two minute, as overfeed will foul the water. It is better to feed lesser with more frequency .

How to cure your live rock when setting up your...

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:32:26 +0000

How to cure your live rock when setting up your marine tank ?

Setting up a marine tank cannot be completed with having live rocks in your tank. Live rock to put it simply, it is rocks which are normally found on the coral reefs sea . These live rocks were colonized with naturally occurring marine life - invertebrates, corals, sponges, and millions of beneficial nitrifying bacteria which play an important part in the biological filtration of your tank.

So so may ask why do we need to cureour live rocks ? When we place a piece of uncured live rock in our aquarium for the first time, there will inevitably be some die-off. This die-off will cause organic materials to build up in your tank and can lead to an ammonia spike which in turn can wipe out your tank. The best way to avoid having this ammonia spike impact your tank is to cure your live rock before putting it into your aquarium.

So How do can we cure our live rock to make it suitable to use on our tank ?

While you may cure your live rock in many different ways, the following method has been shown to be very effective. Curing of live rocks typically takes about one to three weeks.

Place the live rock in a new 30-gallon plastic garbage can.
Cover the rock completely with freshly mixed saltmix or seawater.
Create constant water movement with a powerhead or air stone.
Keep the area dimly lit to prevent algae blooms.
Perform at least 50% water changes twice a week.
Scrub the rock between water changes to remove dead material if any.
Consider adding bottom drains to the container to speed draining and water changes.
Do some water testing to check the quality of the water especially ammonia. When ammonia tests are negative, the rock is deem to complete the cycle and safe for use in your aquarium.

In addition, if you do not maintain proper aeration and temperature during the curing process, then high levels of beneficial nitrifying bacteria will die, reducing the initial effectiveness of the rock as a biological filter. Live rock is not difficult to cure properly and the benefits of high quality live rock are well worth the effort. Be sure to follow the simple steps above, and you can be confident that you are adding clean, healthy live rock to your aquarium.

How to prevent disease outbreak in your marine...

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 14:29:30 +0000

** Photo extracted from waterlife.co.uk

How to prevent disease outbreak in your marine fish tank

Throughout the years of setting up a marine tank, many of the emergencies of a diseases outbreak that we face in our tanks can be actually be prevented. For many who didn't know, diseases in a main tank can almost be 100% preventable by simply setting up a Quarantine tank and quarantine all your newly bought fish before introducing it into your main display tank. Most of the time we run into problems because we tried to take a shorter route or simply pour in the fish which look healthy. However, it is the responsibility of a fish keeper and not the fish for such diseases outbreak.

Parasites are something that are common in our tanks and there are mainly two forms; internal and external. The two most common external parasites found in the hobby are Ich and Flukes. Internal parasites are very common in wild caught fish, especially marine fishes since they are mostly wild caught. Prevention of all of these in the main tank is not as difficult as what people might think. All that is required is a quarantine tank.

Quarantine tanks do not need to be a full scale large tanks as they are only temporary place to house the fish for short period of time. Usually a ten gallon tank would suffice for almost all types of small marine fishes . All newly bought fish should be introduced to the quarantine tank and observed for six weeks before releasing into the display tank. During that time, water changes should be done every couple of days unless you are medicating the tank. Treatment of parasite in the smaller quarantine tank is much more cost effective and much less stressful on the other fish.

Also, if you never expose the others to the potential for these parasites then they are also better off. In the quarantine tank you may apply your preferred method of treatment for parasites without having to tear your tank apart in catching out the sick fish.

Do not introduce any newly purchase fish into your main tank, as this could cause all the other fishes in your tank get caught with the disease and slowly dieing one by one. The safer approach is to buy only from reliable sources, or from other reefer which has been kept for some time.

Whenever something goes wrong in our tank, it always point down to the fish owner / keeper. What are the action we took as a responsible fish keeper ? Have we done proper water changes? Have you properly maintained your filter? Are you vacuuming the tank gravel? The one thing that every fish keeper should do every day (besides feed the fish) is observe all the fish for changes in their eating habits or any signs of diseases on their body, this would the quickest and easiest prevention anyone can perform.

FAQ For setting up a new marine tank

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 06:54:56 +0000

Frequent Asked question for Newbie ( FAQ )

I have heard alot of people saying that it is expensive to setup a marine tank is that true ?

Setting up a marine aquarium do require more equipment and knowledge in maintaining the water condition, however with the advancement of the technology and very affordable products from china. It is no longer a hobby which some can only dream of having.

Is it difficult to set up a Marine tank ?

Unlike setting up a simple freshwater tank, most of the live stocks and corals is harvested from the sea, so to upkeep a successful marine tank, it require more knowledge in the upkeeping as well as the basic filteration system. However, with the advancement of the aquarium equipments available for this hobby throughout these years, it is no longer a very expensive and difficult in setting a successful marine tank.

Can I convert my freshwater setup to a marine tanks setup ?

It can be done provided your existing system can provide the necessary filtration system i.e; biological filtration for the bacteria break down, thickness of the glass ( since seawater is heavier than freshwater , it has to be able to withstanding the weight ) ect..

What is the tank size I need for a marine tank setup ?

There is no fix rules on this, however with a larger tank you would be able to stock more fishes, corals and easier in maintaining the water parameter . Try to get the appropriate tank size which is within your budget.

What equipment do I need for a marine tank setup ?

Basic equipment includes ;

Protein skimmer (Most important piece of equipment for a marine tank setup)
Return pump
Wave maker ( optional )
Fluidized reactor ( optional )
Chiller or Fan
Suitable lighting
Biological filtration media – Live rocks ect..

Do i use salt mix or natural sea water (NSW) for my setup ?

Both has it's pro and cons, salt mix can give you a better water parameter especially if you intent to keep corals. Whereas for natural sea water it is cheaper , more easier to use and it reduce the overall tank cycling time .

Can I use natural sea water collected from the beach for my fish tank ?

Natural un filter sea water collected from the beach may contain a lot of harmful toxic / diseases which is harmful to your fish and corals so it is advisable not to risk the valuable fishes / corals in your tank unless you are confidence of the source.

How long do I need to cycle my new setup marine tank ?

It would usually take about 4 – 6 week to complete the cycling of your new tank, however it depend on various factor as well.

What test kit do I need for a marine tank ?

Test kit is necessary for a marine tank especially if you intent to keep corals. You can start of with basic important test kit for Ammonia, and PH test kit for a fish only system ( FOWLR) together with more comprehensive test kit ; Calcium, Magnesium, KH, Nitrate, and Phosphate test kit if you intent to keep corals.

What is the ideal water parameter for a Marine tank ?

Fish only system ( FOWLR)

Salinity sg – 1.018 ~ 1.025 ( Some fish can go lower than this )
Ammonia < 0.1ppm
Phosphate < 0.03 ppm ( Fishes can tolerate higher level of Phosphate as well, but this together with high level of Nitrate will cause problem such as algae bloom. )
Nitrite < 0.2 ppm
Nitrate < 10 ppm ( fishes can tolerate higher nitrate level , but it will affect the fish coloration and health over the long run )
Alkalinity KH – 7 to 11 dKH
Temperature < 30 degree Celsius

Coral Reef system

Salinity – 1.025
Ammonia < 0.1ppm
Phosphate < 0.03 ppm
Nitrite < 0.2 ppm
Nitrate < 10 ppm
Alkalinity – 7 to 11 dKH
Calcium - 380 to 450 ppm
Magnesium – 1200 to 1400 ppm
Temperature – 25 – 28 degree Celsius

What types of supplement do I need for my marine tank ?

There are many various types of supplement in the market, however not all is necessary for your tank depending on your needs. Basic supplement for a fish only setup include, trace element, supplement for increasing your fish immune system and buffer solution in case your PH drop too much.

For a reef system, you will need the basic 3 part solution which is the mg, ca and KH which is important for coral health and growth , together with various coral foods , iodine to maintain it's overall health.
However, do not dose anything that you are unable to test, and always start with a smaller dose to observe any changes / effect before increasing the dosage of any supplement.

What are you guys talking about in the forum ?

We may use some of the reefing terms which look unfamiliar to you. To know more, do check out our Aquarium Glossary and the Acronym & Abbrev .

How often do i need to change water ?

Depending on the Bio-load of your tank, the water change frequency will vary. For a small bio load tank, monthly or every two month , whereas for a heavier bio load tank, weekly or twice weekly is advisable.

Is it true that captive fish and corals are easier to keep than wild caught one ?

Yes, it is very true that captive live stocks is easier to keep since it is culturing in a captive environment and adapt better in a home tank. Further more, by supporting captive propagation of marine ornamental, we are reducing part of the reliance on harvest wild stocks.

Million Dollar Shark

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:08:56 +0000

Million Dollar Shark

Below articles from reef tools..
A study conducted y the Australian Institute of Marine Science, concluded that sharks are worth far more alive then when sold for finning. Now, given, shark finning is just awful, and we are not suggesting that THIS be the reason to stop it. You don't need any other reason, just don't do it.

Anyways, sharks all over the world, are in serious declined, mostly in part to shark fin soup demand in Asia. It is estimated, that commercial fishermen kill up to 73,000,000 sharks a year�73,000,000!!! This is mostly done to supply the fin trade. Scientists estimate that upwards of 30% of all shark species are threatened, or near threatened with extinction.

A study initiated by the PEW environment group, demonstrated that profits from dive tourism, far outweigh the revenue generated from finning. This study, whose main focus is the Pacific Island of Palau, investigated the overall "worth" (terrible word, we know) of a live shark, vs one that is finned. Matt Rand, of the Pew Environment Group said "What we see in Palau, and other vacation destinations, is that sharks can be a significant economic driver. As a tourist attraction, reef sharks bring approximately $2,000,000 to the economy of Palau, over their lifetime." Of the 80,000 tourists who visit Palau, over 50% are divers, many of which come specifically to dive with sharks. The calculations used in this study showed that as a result, a single reef shark, that frequents Palau's reef, has an annual value to the tourist industry of $179,000, vs. only $108 when sold for consumption. So again, as disgusting and cruel a practice as finning it's also economically idiotic!

Palau declared it's reefs to be a shark sanctuary, several other nations and states, including the republic of the Maldives, Honduras, Guam, CNMI, Marshall Islands and Hawaii, have followed suit.

In conclusion, this study shows that in additional to it being a despicable practice, and one that could have dramatic ecological repercussions, we even have an economic reason to unite against it's continuation.