comycus

yup tt's why cycling qt tank now (coz got no main tank to seed my filter), so that eventually when i get a main tank, i can cycle tt and start quarantining fish at the same time. tt way i prob save some time. no worries, qt tank is setup mainly for qt purposes only, so prob gonna keep 1 fish at a time n do 10-20% weekly water changes to maintain water quality. tt's my main concern now, coz i think my tap water is prob v. hard, which accounts for the high ph values, which also means i cannot just anyhow change water or risk wild fluctuations. read tt i could try to use Prime to remove chlorine, ammonia etc. dunno if tt will bring down ph. if all else fails i will prob leave buckets of water standing in my toilet at all times to facilitate water changes, and mix with distilled water if need be. any bros have any suggestions to help me? at the end of the day, i also want to be responsible reefer, tt's why doing all these research n testing now before i get LS better to be wrong n stupid now, than to gamble with the lives of fishes eh? cheers!

Thanks Fuzzy for the reply! sorry never replied to ure queries... sigh my tank suffered a small crack n started leaking like crazy, and i have to restart my tank... kinda got tied down on work the past month, but i definitely not giving up! will be looking out for 3 ft tank + sump + cabinet in pasar malam! think definitely gonna get a sump this time round... so anyway, i'm back! decided to setup a small 25g (1.5" cube) qt tank in my room for the time being. hopefully can get a main tank soon. The plan is to cycle main tank n start quarantining at the same time to shorten my wait. just started cycling qt tank last night. just a minimal setup for now. Pardon my noobness, but can any experienced bro advice me on whether i'm doing the right thing now? Added in some aquapharm bacteria starter to start the cycling process. seems like I'm getting the same sort of crazy ph reading again... I have not tested for ammonia, nitrate, nitrites, gh, kh. when should i start testing? my current readings are: PH: 9.58!!!!! Temperature:29.2 deg C Salinity: 1.022 i'm currently using tropic marin meersalz. My equipment is v. basic: 1) Huge sponge filter powered by some cheapo big boy 7000 air pump 2) small atman water pump, should be 300l/hr for circulation 3) 1ft light. tube says odyssea 36W 12K daylight. don't think i need powerful lights for qt tank right? oh, and i got this huge ans cooling fan 3000... i should be blowing it at the surface of the water rite? thanks in advance to any bro tt answers this!

Items Left 1) Deltec MCE600 $550 (retail price $669) 2) Eden return pump $80 (retail price $108, bought from AM, Italian brand, adjustable 3000L/hr) 3) PH Meter PH-025 $50 (retail price $72, callibration liquid foc) 4) Hopar light set 4X39W + 4 ATI tubes $200 (retail price $280, ATI Tubes alone already cost $120!! + extra 4 tubes original from lightset and auto timer built in) pls support! px negotiable

Hi guys have been getting alot of queries on pm. pls confirm/reserve items you are interested in. to be fair, will be letting go on fcfs basis.

upz... Price is negotiable, but no low ballers pls. all items are good as new, less than 1 week old.

Hi guys decided to stop even though I barely started. All items are brand new, bought less than 1 week. 1) Deltec MCE600 $550 (bought from RD) 2) Hailea chiller HC 150A 1/10 HP $350 (bought from AM) 3) Eden return pump $80 (bought from AM, Italian brand, adjustable 3000L/hr) 4) Hydor K3 $90 (bought from AM) 5) Refractometer $50 (bought from RD) 6) PH Meter PH-025 $50 (bought from AM) 7) Salifert test kit $100 (ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, calcium, kh and phosphate) 8) Hopar light set 4X39W + 4 ATI tubes $250 (bought from AM) Pictures can be found at the respective LFS websites. Can be assured all are in tip top condition with full warranties, and definitely below 1st hand price. Pls support!

Hi guys, would like to ask some noob questions. I just started cycling my 40g tank on Sunday with cured live rocks from fellow reefer. Using a Deltec MCE600 skimmer, Hydor K3 as powerhead and an Eden return pump (2000-3000l/hr). Have Sorb-4 in the skimmer's media chamber, and Pur-II in my filter chamber with some filter wool. 1) Just did an ammonia test last night, it came out undetectable. Is this normal due to the live rocks already fully cured by reefer? Or maybe 2 days still too soon, got to wait a bit longer? 2) Eventually decided on going BB due to shallow tank height. Problem is there will always be residual sand from live rocks that settles on the tank floor. Should I do anything about it coz the sand's too heavy to be float up to the IOS? 3) After running for 2 days, my skimmer still doesn't seem to be producing any skimmate. Could be coz the air intake has been set at 12 o'clock. Changed it to 2 o'clock position last night. Seem to be producing much more bubbles albeit a slight high pitched sound through the air pipe thingy. Anyone knows how long I have to wait for the skimmer to break in? 4) Using a callibrated PH meter. My water was at an obscenely high ph of 9.6 before adding live rocks!!! It has since gone down to 8.6 last night. Anyone care to share how the ph levels went down so fast? maybe it was due to live rocks? I'm concerned with my high ph levels, especially if i were to do a water change, hope to get some advice on how to control this. thanks v. much!

Hi hobbes, me newbie too... dun mind me hijacking, but yeah... would be great to know src "lau jiao" around upper bukit timah area so can tap on your experience! I just started cycling my tank this weekend... so many questions!!! lol we could hook up, although me not much exp, but think it would be great for us newbies to consolidate our learning journey too

Hi bro, you got pm!

Thanks bro! still learning... there's so much to read on! appreciate if any others have any comments. in the mean time, sneak some more questions during my lunchtime To assist those who think I'm too long winded, questions tt need to be answered will be highlighted in blue Will be getting my live sand and LR from a fellow reefer this sat. Hope to seek advice on cycling tank. There seems to be quite a few school of thoughts, just like to work out a time table to stick to. Day 1: Aerate Water. Day 2: Mix Salt, install wavemaker and return pump to aid mixing. Day 3: Test salinity, install mechanical filter (to clean daily). Add live sand, switch off wavemaker to let sand settle. Add live rocks and add prawn to kick start ANN process. Test and chart salinity, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate (once every 2-3 days?) Day 10: Install skimmer, test and adjust settings accordingly. Install PH meter, themormeter and lights. Continue charting ANN + salinity, phosphate, pH, alkalinity, temperature. Lights are switched on for 2 hours to measure temperature of water. Day 17: Install chemical filter: Rowaphos in MCE 600 and Chemipure + poly filter in filter chamber More charting, when cycle is finally complete… 50% water change, Install chiller, slowly add LS, corals 1) Clarify when to install skimmer due to contradicting info online. Since function of skimmer is to “remove certain organic and inorganic compounds including proteins and amino acids, fats, fatty acids, carbohydrates, metals, trace elements like iodine, detritus, phytoplankton and bacteria.†So I’m guessing I wouldn’t want to start skimming all that soon, sticking to after 7 days of cycling? Purpose of skimming now is more to test and make any adjustment to the skimmer than anything. Can probably switch it off once its redundant? 2) Again, contradicting info on when to install chemical filter. Function of Rowaphos is to remove Phosphate and Silicate, while Chemipure removes offensive ordors and removes toxic elements like copper & phenol. My rationale is to allow tank to cycle for a while before determining how much chemical filtration is needed? 3) Rationale for not changing water during cycling is to allow proper cycling (would rather wait to get healthy tank rather than hurry through it). Is there still a need to change water once cycled? All suggestions/comments are welcome!

After several false starts and reality checks, have finally gotten myself a used freshwater tank from a kind friend to start this hobby. Need advice on several noobie questions. Firstly, a few visuals of the tank: External dimensions of tank is 3 x 1.5 x 1.5 (6mm thick), taking away the section at the side for filtering, the actual tank size is ard 2 x 1.5 x 1.5, which works out to around 40 gallons. if you look closely, there are 2 glass panes in the filter section (let's call this the 1st chamber). My friend used this for an 'over and underflow' system to clear detritus through the small opening at the bottom. Water enters the 1st chamber through the 3 holes at the top, which are abit smaller than your 5 cent coin, passing through the filter, before passing underneath the center pane of glass into the 2nd chamber to be pumped back into the tank. 1) Firstly can this tank be converted into a sumpless SW tank? Based on my noob knowledge and from combing the library, forum and internet for information, I am thinking of getting the Deltec MCE 600 skimmer hanged at the back of the tank. Chamber 1 can be filled with filter media (any advice on what needs to be done here? Bio, Mechanical or Chemical filtration?) While chamber 2 will have the return pump back into the tank. 2) If I have enough LRs, does that mean I don't need anymore bio filtration? and how much is enough LR? based on the normal convention of 1 and a half pounds per gallon of water is a good guage? 3) How do I work out the flow rate needed for the return pump? absolutely clueless on what pump to get... maybe I can get those Hydor ones... can adjust the flowrate? 4) If i get a chiller, how will it be connected to this setup? Can I just depend on 1 main pump to do everything? or do I need to get 1 pump for chiller, another for return? 5) If I keep a sand bed, it will totally cover the small opening at the bottom in the outer glass pane in chamber 1. Will that pose a problem? (as in will i end up with sand floating into the filter chamber?) 6) Should I get 2 uber nano wave makers or 1 bigger wave maker? Prob only need 15-20x circulation, so thinking of getting either the Tunze 6025 (rated 2500L/hr which gives me ard 17x) or 2 Hydor Koralia 1 (rated 1500L/hr ea which gives me 20x) I intend to keep fishes, softies and prob LPS, think there is enough to play ard w/o going into SPS So to recap, here are the list of items I'm intending to beg, borrow, steal (ahem i mean buy) for this system, Do give me your recommendations/suggestions/advice? Shopping List 1) 25-30kg of LR 2) Sand bed of 1" (Or should I go for a DSB?) 3) 3 ft Illummax Pro 4 x 39W (dang they just raised the price zzz) 4) Deltec MCE 600 5) Rowaphos for the media chamber in MCE 600 (enough space to put?) 6) Some sort of filtration media to put into chamber 1 (help anyone?) 7) Return pump + Chiller pump? (thinking of either Hydor or Eheim, any recommendations?) 8) Hailea HC 150 1/10 Chiller 9) Tunze 6025 or 2 x Hydor Koralia 1? 10) Refractometer 11) PH Meter 12) Test Kits for Ammonia, Nitrates, Nitrites, Phosphate (will get the rest later...) 13) Themormeter 14) Auto timer plug for lights (anyone knows where to get these cheap?) 15) Tropic Marin Salt hmmm anything I missed out? paiseh i always tend to overwrite... thanks in advance!

Thanks Walter for being so understanding. Guys what are u waiting for? Great seller, fantastic tank! Upz for this thread.

Hi SRC Bros Would like to firstly step up and apologise to anfieldmad. I confirmed sale last night and settled all the logistics issues to moving the tank to my place. Anfieldmad was really kind to include EVERYTHING he had in the setup + extra freebies, and even helped me settle the tank movers. In all, it was a breeze conducting the sale with him. However, to my regret, I have run into some family financial distress. It was only revealed to me tonight, and within a blink of the eye, all my cashflow as of now is tied down. As unprofessional as it is, I have no choice but to back out of the deal. To exacerbate the problem, anfieldmad has not only settled the logistics with the tank mover, but will also be away from Sg soon as posted previously. Apart from a very big sorry from me, I would also like to appeal to all interested parties who are keen on getting the tank to do so asap. I feel it is a jewel from a ex senior reefer, well built with a well thought out design and excellent workmanship, and would be a wonderful addition to any bro looking for a quality aquarium that is tastefully done. It looks almost as good as new from the first post from the previous owner. You really have to see it to believe it. Hope anfieldmad accepts my apologies, and I will be following this thread closely to help him in the process of putting it back on sale.

ok cool just drop me a text on the timing thanks! (was me who smsed u just now) btw, no chiller?

I'm interested, you got PM.

Hi, does it include the pumps as well?

You got PM