illumnae
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Posts posted by illumnae
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New Life Spectrum Thera+A formula
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For a 2ft you could try using a Mazerra Razor 120W
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The putty really messed up my tank. I'm hoping the ricordeas and yumas get over this episode with minimal casualties - I see 2 of them which looked ok this morning scrunching up now.
The super glue used was BCI-IC glue. Specially meant for gluing corals one. The putty was also for marine use.
I think it's the excessive use in a nano that created issues, since I used quite a fair bit of both to glue down 7 plugs worth of ricordeas and 1 large super sun coral. The oil/fumes released which pose less harm when diluted in a big tank was probably too large for the small 34L tank to overcome, which led to livestock demise.
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Yup lesson learnt the hard way! Next time I'll stick the corals in one at a time to prevent a repeat of this.
Thanks for the sharing on your experience with your PAR led. I will try with my current setup and if it's not enough, I'll change from the current clip on to the "rest on glass" type recently released by Evo (seems identical to the beamswork). It's also 6x 3w, but rest on glass instead of clip on, so it will be closer to the water surface = higher intensity. It will also allow me to put 2 lightsets instead of 1, which makes it 12x 3w instead.
intend to start dosing either Polyplab One or TLF C-Balance as calcium/alkalinity supplements once I start SPS in this tank. Have also ordered Hanna checkers for Calcium, Alkalinity and Phosphate. Polyplab One is tempting as it allows for 2x/week dosing without having to do actual measurements.
As this tank is overskimmed, I do 15% wc once every 2 weeks (vs the recommended 10% per week for unskimmed tank). I use DD H2Ocean salt for my water changes to keep magnesium levels high enough.
I also use prodibio nano reef kit to keep nitrates in check, and recently added Seachem Phosguard + Matrix Carbon (DIY Seachem Seagel) in a filter bag in the IOS to keep phosphate and other chemicals in check. I intend to replace the Seachem mix every 1-2 months depending on phosphate readings.
Do you think the above is sufficient for SPS + my maxima? -
Experienced a tank crash over CNY
I did a massive rescape just before the CNY holidays and finally created my "ricordea garden" by using bsi-ic gel and TLF AquaStik putty to stick all my ricordeas (total of 7 pcs of florida and yuma) to a single rock space. However, I think the total amount of glue and putty used was too much for my small volume tank, and I ended up losing all my fish as well as 1 snail. The other invertebrates showed signs of stress too (sun coral closed up, anemone shrank up). Skimmer went crazy too and had to be switched off.After a 15% followed by a 30% wc over 2 days, the tank seems to have stablized. The anemone has opened up again and the skimmer is no longer crazy. The peppermint shrimp and maxima clam I added over CNY (after the 2 huge water changes) seem to be doing fine too. Only the sun coral hasn't reopened yet.
Very sad that all my fish is lost
Will probably do another large water change on schedule next week before restocking the tank again.In the meantime, I'm getting an sps starter pack from cedricang over the weekend. Do you think my 6x 3W is sufficient for sps? If not, I will switch to 2x lightsets instead of the single one I'm using.
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No idea what causes brooklynella. I've lost a few clownfish to it as well in both my tanks - Henry told me it's water conditions causing the clownfish to be stressed and thus succeptible to the brooklynella. I've had better success with tank raised percula (from iwarna) that are acclimatized very slowly to the tank.
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For a HOB you can try Bubble Magus e3. It's rated for 100-300L so you'll be pushing the boundaries, but having a skimmer is better than no skimmer.
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Try and keep your tank covered. Otherwise particles may fall into the water and dissolve, making the water contain impurities. My TDS in my covered RO/DI barrel remains constant even after a week (it's covered), so I think you should be fine having yours in a storage tank.
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both my clownfish died today ... tested water perimeter... all ok. probably because I didn't acclaim it well. I bought it 2days ago and today, it had white stuff and patches all over its body before it died..my peppermint shrimp however, is still doing good..
Sounds like brooklynella that killed off your clownfish. I lost a few pairs to it too
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Main reason anemone die is poor water conditions. However, anemones are known to move around on their own if they dont like the location you put them in. Sometimes, they wander up your glass and into your wavemaker, where they get chopped up. Realistically speaking, many more anemones survive than get chopped up. Horror stories like this tend to get exaggerated
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Very interesting external fuge... can share where to get and cost?
I have an rbta in my 34L Ocean Free and i am running a koralia nano. My rbta hasn't moved since day 1. The trick is to place the anemone in a place it will feel comfortable since day 1. In my limited experience, btas like places with direct light, high flow, and there must be a deep crevice it can stick its foot securely into. With these conditions in place, the bta should secure itself and not move.
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The basslets didn't make it
They were doing so well, then one Monday I came into office to find one of them stuck at the wavemaker and the other hiding... one day later the other one disappeared. The blackfoot clowns look perfectly fine though (I wish they would learn to start hosting @ the anemone!)Still hunting high and low for helfrechi. Any other suggestions for other tankmates?
P.S. Would it be ok for me to add a small clam to this tank, or is the tank too small to support a clam?
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Thanks all for your suggestions! Wanted to go buy a FragX cutter, but MadPetz was out of stock with no new stock coming in till after CNY. What I ended up doing was trying out the small shears from my toolbox again. Instead of just trying to cut through the entire stem, I applied force, then rotated abit, applied force again till i get a "bite" into the stem, then rotate abit again so on and so forth. After awhile, the stem gave way from the applied force from all angles (I think each time I got a "bite" from the shears, a small crack was created inside the stem, which eventually joined up and weakened the entire structure) and cracked off.
Was time consuming and my hand hurts now, but I finally removed the stems from all 5 frag plugs!
Now just need to wait for my ricordeas to recover from the stress of being removed from the water and manhandled, and I will glue them in place to create my ricordea/yuma garden!
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What kind of cutter should I be looking for? If I go into a DIY shop and ask for a cutter I think they will ask me what type
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I've glued my ricordea/yuma onto FragX frag plugs, and would like to glue them onto my live rock. However, to do so, I will need to chop off the "stem" of my frag plug so that I can glue the base nicely onto my rocks. I've tried using small garden shears to cut and pliers to break, but neither worked. Anyone can recommend any equipment to cut, and where to buy such equipment? Will the SPS cutters sold by MadPetz work?
Portion I want to cut off as circled in image below:
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Iwarna's PBT look stable. Was told they were treated with Paraguard and Prazi before being put into the tanks. The helfrechi at iwarna still not stable yet...pity cuz I really wanted a pair
Hope they stablize soon!Ah Beng and Iwarna both have Bartlett's Anthias, and Ah Beng also has some nice flame angels available at a good price!
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Best I got with the iQ skimmer is green tea. Not super efficient, but something is better than nothing imo, especially for just $20+
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Yes, but rowaphos requires placement in an FR for maximum efficiency. You put in in a filter bag and given its small grain, it will compact over time and you will just get bypass flow over it. Remember, fine mesh filter bag also restricts water flow, and we all know water takes the path of least resistance. End up with super low efficiency which is likely to be surpassed by even seachem phosguard.
Sometimes you need to match the product to your limitations - in ideal vs ideal circumstances, rowaphos surpasses phosguard. But in a situation where you have no FR and only a small hob to place a filter bag in, then logically you shouldn't be using rowaphos.
Just my opinion.
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red starfish available at CF.
I'm still looking for helfrechi firefish. Anyone seen any?
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Depending on whether you believe that aluminium will leech into your water, you can consider using Seachem Phosguard instead for your nano. I used it in a filter bag in my OF 24L (the previous office tank)
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How much is the pellet feeding powder blue tang and size?
Powder blue.. Size ranging from 2.5" to 3.5"... Pricing for the smaller size is 20.. Many been reserved already Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk 2
The one I got was larger in the large tanks near the entrance, not the smaller reserved ones in the tanks at the back. About 5" and I paid under $30 (can't remember exact price, but it was between $25-30)
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From the Bubble Magus website, the dimensions of the QQ are: 140*95*395mm. You can fit the entire QQ inside 1 compartment if you custom the tank. Just purchase the QQ beforehand and pass it to your tank maker with instructions that it has to fit inside the IOS. Alternatively, you can use the e3 like me, hanging it on the back of the tank.
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34L put 2 basslets? won't that hike the po4 up?
I am massively overskimming the tank (using a Bubble Magus e3 rated for 100-300L) and dosing the Prodibio Biodigest system to keep nutrients low.
Not a good idea, since most dwarf angels need at least 30 gallons of water and there's a chance that it might nip at some of your lps. Juz my 2 cents.
That's a good point! I'll just stick to the original plan for a helfrechi then and hope that stock will come in soon. The tank is a lot more exciting now that the basslets come out. I was getting a little tired of having a tank that looked "fishless"
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After 2 weeks in the tank, the Swalesi basslets are finally losing their shyness and coming out into the open. In the first week, I could barely see them...in the second week they only came out briefly to feed whenever I threw pellets/mysis into the tank. Now they're out in the open a lot more, and I see them protecting their territory against the more active blackfoot clowns I added last week.
Here's an updated picture of the tank. Forgive the ricordeas lying all over the place. I need to find a cutter strong enough to cut away the base of the frag plugs I glued them on so that I can stick them to the designated "Ricordea corner" in the front of the scape. For now, they are mostly lying around on the sand waiting to be placed.
I intend to add an open brain coral where the currently bleached looking yuma is sitting (to the right of the super sun) as well as a green/purple hammer towards the right back on the ground.
Livestock wise, I'm hoping to add a helfrechi goby and a mandarin once I manage to source a pellet trained one. If I can't manage to get my helfrechi, do guys think a small flameback angel would do ok in this tank? My only concern is that it would harass the swalesi basslets and keep them in hiding all the time.
My diy light stand
in DIY Forum
Posted
Where is the aluminium profile available from? Dama as well? Does it come in larger sizes?