tofubox

Sorry to hear about your wrasse bro. Always heartbreaking to see our pets pass on.

Got some queries on the Chill solutions CSXC-1, I'll just share my own review and opinions with everyone. The Chill solutions CSXC-1 is ok if your room is generally windy or cool, because it works by a fan. When water temp increases, the fan will kick in. If your room is hot and stuffy, the fan cant draw cool air and will take forever to lower your temp. Basically drawing in hot air is useless to the system. I.e my room in the day, i set at 26 degrees, the csxc only can maintain 26.5, and will run continuously all day. At night, when i switch on the air-con, it can maintain 26 no problem. By the way, my QT tank is only 10 gallons. Recommendation is unless u can get a 2nd hand unit that is in really good condition, for a good price, den its worth due to its small form factor. If not a normal 2nd hand chiller will be 10x more efficient. First hand for $400, definitely not worth, go get a Hailea HS28A. The unit will require some regular vacuuming and removal of dust (by using compressed air) to really be considered efficient. Take note, when you first use it, your temp will take around 24hrs just to reach your set temp. Goes to show already how much time it will require to cool your water. i.e from 30 to 26 degrees. (Specs on manual says it will be able to maintain -5 degrees for a 10 gallon) Reasons I will use it - Only if your tank is small Only if you plan to use it as a temporary solution (I.e its going to only be on my QT). I believe continuous use of the fan, it will eventually become harder and harder for the fan to perform efficiently (mainly dust / wear and tear due to fan switching on and off constantly.)

Got some queries on the Chill solutions CSXC-1, I'll just share my own review and opinions with everyone. The Chill solutions CSXC-1 is ok if your room is generally windy or cool, because it works by a fan. When water temp increases, the fan will kick in. If your room is hot and stuffy, the fan cant draw cool air and will take forever to lower your temp. Basically drawing in hot air is useless to the system. I.e my room in the day, i set at 26 degrees, the csxc only can maintain 26.5, and will run continuously all day. At night, when i switch on the air-con, it can maintain 26 no problem. By the way, my QT tank is only 10 gallons. Recommendation is unless u can get a 2nd hand unit that is in really good condition, for a good price, den its worth due to its small form factor. If not a normal 2nd hand chiller will be 10x more efficient. First hand for $400, definitely not worth, go get a Hailea HS28A. The unit will require some regular vacuuming and removal of dust (by using compressed air) to really be considered efficient. Take note, when you first use it, your temp will take around 24hrs just to reach your set temp. Goes to show already how much time it will require to cool your water. i.e from 30 to 26 degrees. (Specs on manual says it will be able to maintain -5 degrees for a 10 gallon) Reasons I will use it - Only if your tank is small Only if you plan to use it as a temporary solution (I.e its going to only be on my QT). I believe continuous use of the fan, it will eventually become harder and harder for the fan to perform efficiently (mainly dust / wear and tear due to fan switching on and off constantly.)

Nice skimmer! Whats your nutrient export going to be?

Some updates on the tank. One of the clownfish didn't make it , the one that was pooping white stuff. He refused to eat. Other clownfish was still ok throughout the medication process, and he's appetite has since really improved. Sad to lose one of them, but unfortunately i felt the odds of survival was quite low. Tried feeding both frozen, pellets, flakes, almost 7 different types of food, but he didnt even take a bite. I ordered in prazi pro from hikari. This medication is more widely used and there are better dosage instructions from other users on reef2reef for guidance. Future fishes will be qt with prazipro and then hyposalinity before moving to DT. Also, did some upgrades on the main display tank. Converted the overflow weir comb to the DD comb. My conclusion: It helps to overall lower the display tank water height by about 1cm and has improved flow generally. It was easy to install except I had to cut a piece for the side cover. Would recommend this to anyone who uses a IOS system and needs a better overflow to compensate for higher return pump flow rates. Also finally got about getting my red sea diy net cover done. Someone over on this forum has already posted pictures and steps on how to do it. I wont cover this again. My estimated time to complete was about 3 hours as i had to make couple bends and turns. As mentioned can be tedious, but a good hack saw makes a world of difference. Corals are also doing very well in the QT, its already been 2 weeks since i started the qt. Trying to keep my nitrates at 5ppm, but its tough when going fishless. Will consider starting to dose amino and coral food eventually. Once I get hold of an orange lens will try to get some pics to share.

Looking forward to the new scape, keep the updates coming!

Thanks bro Hey bro, yup ur right, im using the CSXC, my personal opinion is that this chiller only works great if your ambient room temperature is generally cool / windy. For my room, in the day, the chiller has trouble maintaining 26 degrees, it will fluctuate between 26.1 and 26.5, do note i am only using this for a 10gallon tank. My advise if if you can afford the space for a normal chiller, dont bother with the CSXC. On a side note, I previously bought a 1 year old 2nd hand CSXC from carousell. Worst decision. It was so dusty and the fan was underperforming, it couldnt bring the temperature below 29 degrees (worst than a fan). So my take is this nano chiller will probably under perform as time goes by, and the fact there is no replacement parts available i.e the fan, makes it a bad choice overall. The cleaning is also very difficult.

Beautiful selection of corals bro

Pmed you Hi bro, the algae reactor been running for two days. I did an initial nitrate test, will update again after running the reactor for perhaps a week?

I found these information useful and handy Coral and Fish QT and time frames Author @ Humblefish https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/coral-invert-quarantine-time-frames.334584/ Internal Pathogens https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/internal-pathogens.267419/ Fish Diseases and treatment options https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fish-diseases-101.189284/ https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/treatment-options-102.189658/ Medication Compatibility Guide https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/medication-compatibility-guide.313491/ Marine Ich Myths and facts Author @ Leebca http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forum/index.php?threads/marine-ich-myths-and-facts.23132/

When you start to take QT to a higher level. The clownfishes are doing fine after the Prazi dose, but decided to do a 70% water change so that i could dose some API General Cure which also include metroplex that helps to fight off internal parasites as well. The clown that had white stringy poop is showing good signs, no more white poop so far. Unfortunately both of them are still not eating, may be due to appetite suppression caused by the anti biotics. Will try again tomorrow and by adding some Metro + Focus + Selcon on their frozen mysis. Here is how my QT tank looks: I understand it is abit overboard, but everything is being staggered. Here is my plan: 4 weeks observation: Clownfish goes into DT Start QT for bristletooth tang, which will go into DT another 4 weeks later. so on and so forth for other fish additions. Corals will have completed 76 days of fishless QT, main tank will be established and completed 4 month cycle with cheato also completing the fishless 16 day QT. Corals that are added at different dates will continue to undergo the 76 days QT, when time is up, they will be moved to the DT. Do note, all these procedures are meant only to treat ich or marine fish parasites, it does not cater to coral parasites i.e AEFW, redbugs. (These will be countered by multiple coral dips with Bayer and coral rx at different points or if coral shows signs of infection) The fishless coral QT Weekly maintenance is just changing the filterfloss for all 3, and main tank water goes into QT tank, coral QT tank water goes into Fish QT tank. Coral QT does not have any dosing, but once a week i feed reef roids.

Things are starting to kick off. Did a test for nitrates on the main tank. Got a nightmare, my nitrates were close to 160. I believe this was the case as I have been doing a fishless cycle with no water changes. Constantly adding Dr Tims ammonia chloride resulted in the high nitrates after the denirifying cycle completed. Tank is officially cycled. With that, I decided to start my algae reactor. Thanks to a kind bro here, I managed to get hold of some cheato. Also got my Fish QT tank up and running. Decided to get a separate QT for fishes as I can medicate the fishes without harming the corals. So, I ended up having 3 tanks in the room. Using cycled media, I threw in the filter wool and bacteria housing from the main tank to the QT. I bought two clownfishes today, and immediately after putting it in the QT, one of the clownfish was defecating a long white stringy poop. Tell tale signs of an internal parasite or worm. Quoted from humblefish from https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/internal-pathogens.267419/ Intestinal worms - Symptoms: White stringy feces, pinched stomach, loss of color, fish eats voraciously but still seems to be losing weight. Treatment of choice: Praziquantel. Alternative treatments: Fenbendazole, Levamisole. Internal parasites/flagellates - Symptoms: White stringy feces, pinched stomach, loss of color, fish eats voraciously but still seems to be losing weight. Treatment of choice: Metronidazole. Sadly, my order for prazipro from ebay has not arrived. So I ended up using Eiho PRAZI Gold, which has active ingredients of Praziquentel. Dose the first round and will observe, subsequent dose on 3rd day. Hopefully it works out and the clownfish pulls through. Also might consider using API general cure + Focus for fish food. U can see from the pic, its pretty obvious. Lastly, got my skimmer couple days back! Cant wait to see it in action

Yes, bare bottom

Hi Bro, maybe I just share my own opinions. Size of the tank will depend on your Budget and space. Space goes without saying, my own thoughts is the larger the tank u can get, the better, main reason is for stability and any changes takes longer time to occur. I.e alkalinity will be more stable and less fluctuation in a shorter period. Budget - larger the tank, higher ur expenses, ur equipment will need to be larger and more. I.e more salt mix, larger water changes, bigger skimmer, larger chiller, more lighting, more media required for nutrient control, more dosing of critical elements etc etc. End of the day, size of the sump may be important, but it also depends on what u require from the sump. I.e do u need a refugium? If u can tell us more, maybe we can give you a better advise. What are ur tank plans? What kind of Equipment are u planning to run? Do you have a tight Budget?

Some side to side comparison of the before and after scaping.

Got my doser up today, but wont be using it until I have corals. I am using the Kamoer F4. Wanted to get a GHL initially, but it cost about 800+ (shipping included) with no after sales service as the unit will be imported directly. Have yet to test the Kamoer F4, but i chose it for its small form factor, and reliability. Here is a pic of the completed equipment Also decided to add more structure to the scape. I felt like the scape was abit empty and lacking something. So decided to add couple of small rocks around the base, as well as a mini Arch. Really happy with the result, this probably my favourite scape since I began this hobby. Now i have 3 different levels for lighting. Constructing the mini arch. I used Caribsea Life rock rumble. They sell this in a big bottle, plenty of options to create structures or attached to current rocks. Firstly, I glue all the pieces together, its a good idea to first decide on the length and require height, then just connect the pieces together. After which, I use 2 part epoxy to secure the rocks from the underside. Added another piece to the top to increase the total width. Epoxy the mini arch to the scape Final scape And of course the top down view, now even more space for corals without sacrificing flow Thanks for reading guys

Anyone seen small sized yellow eye kole tang? Preferably with white tail

Hey bro, not going to do auto water changes as the requirements for water change will differ from the different medications. Also the cost of setting up one is pretty unreasonable for a qt tank.

Also got my lights hung up this week. I will be using 2 x Ecotech radion XR15. Reason being i will be following WWC's lighting set up for their 293Gallon mix reef. The set up is very simple, with the lights hung at 20 inches above the tank. The radions also have had the most success across most of the nice reef tanks I've seen. I believe the AB+ pre program is also very well received. I had the biggest headache trying to figure out how to hang the lights. Eventually, I ordered my hanging brackets from amazon, I couldnt be more please with the end results. The bracket is capable of holding 136Kg. It is extremely sturdy and very well built. I will leave a link here for those interested. HOFFEN 2 Pcs Black Paint Folding Shelf Bench Table Folding Bracket, Powder Coated Short Release Arm https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073Y8DFRZ/ref=pe_2640190_232586610_pd_te_s_gc_im?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B073Y8DFRZ&pd_rd_r=19VN17KYA24W77R1B0XN&pd_rd_w=lpDXk&pd_rd_wg=kXeNF&pf_rd_p=a52fbed7-fa84-4127-8ee6-27a7e8a32481&pf_rd_r=19VN17KYA24W77R1B0XN The only thing is you will be required to drill a small hole for the hanging kit. Just a regular metal drill bit will suffice. There are many other ways you can hang, but I found this to be the safest and easiest method. The bracket comes in 8"/10"/12"/14" reach , 1" thick, Max.Load:220/300 lb. So you can choose the length that will best suit your needs for a wider tank. I prefer to use hanging kits instead of arms as I have the flexibility of increasing or decreasing the height of the lights. My plan at the moment is to have it about 12 inches high. Total installation time with the drilling is about 20 mins. For those keen on the full hanging kit, I am using the RMS Track, with the XR717 hanging kit, sliders and light diffuser. The drilling process Height adjustable all the way up till 20 inches high For those who want to try something else, you can consider putting a wooden board on top of the brackets. You can then drill the hanging kit straight into the underside of the wooden board. That way, u also get a shelf on top of the lights to put your fish accessories. The other method is to get 2 x RMS hanging kit. This will allow hanging the lights without the use of the RMS rails. For those who are keen on the arms, the biggest issue i found was the price as well as the fix 8 inch height. Last alternative is to do an aluminium extrusion L bracket. I did this previously on my 4ft tank, you can find the details in my old tank thread.

Tank has began its cycle. I am actually following closely what BRS/WWC is doing. I dose both Dr tim's Ammonia cholride, Dr tim's one and only bacteria as well as a mix of daily dose microbacter 7. For those who are keen on following the four month cycle, u can watch an in dept video on the bulk reef supply website. At the mean time, I have set up a QT tank. I will be doing a QT for all new arrivals before placing them in the main tank. Anything wet, including snails and invertebrates will have to go in the QT. Here is my set up for a QT IM nuvo 20 Marinepure Bacteria balls for bacteria housing 2 x PVC pipe Hailea HS28a chiller (Since I got myself an arctica for the main tank) 1 x Jebao wavemaker Tunze Nano osmolator ATO Will also be monitoring fishes when they arrive. 2 weeks of observation. Any signs of Ick will be treated with Cupramine, then another 4 weeks of observation. Else fishes will still be treated with Paraguard and Prazigold before transfer to main tank. This will allow the main setup to go through that 4 month cycle. Subsequently, tank will be bleached and corals will go through the same qt after dips. This may seem very excessive and extra work. But I have had my fair share of experience with pest and bugs. Considering I will be doing water changes of 15% on the main tank, this QT tank will only require 10L water change every week from the waste water.

Completed the aquascape earlier this week. 2 Main considerations. Maximize real estate space for corals Absolutely no dead spot and maximizing the flow throughout the tank Entire structure was made out of just 5 caribsea life rock Arches, with additional Rumble rocks epoxy to some areas to get even more space for corals. It may not look the best now, but hoping once the corals grow out, it will naturally take on a shape. Only issue I can foresee is bacteria stability. I am making it up with the use of almost 2 large boxes worth of marine pure bioballs. Also, tank will be cycled at 2ppm ammonia for 3-4months to ensure stability. This allows 100% flow throughout the tank. The top view will give a better idea of how much real estate there is for coral growth. Top down view, plenty of real estate. Keeping the sides clear to allow for monitopora caps to grow outwards If you notice, all points touching the tank bottom is hardly blocking anything. Feel free to comment =D would love the input

Hey bro, I ordered in the reactor direct from pacific sun. Unless you are ok with no after sales service support, then you can consider ordering one. I have yet to start using it, but will do a review in the future. Skimz has an in sump version which has good reviews. Only reason I am using this is cos I don't have a space for refugium, and this works externally. Hopefully the light doesnt fail on me, else its just a normal reactor body. Bro, no guru la. You guys are the experts, play reefing so many years, i not even close to your standards. Thanks all for the warm welcome!

Hey bro, I ordered in the reactor direct from pacific sun. Unless you are ok with no after sales service support, then you can consider ordering one. I have yet to start using it, but will do a review in the future. Skimz has an in sump version which has good reviews. Only reason I am using this is cos I don't have a space for refugium, and this works externally. Hopefully the light doesnt fail on me, else its just a normal reactor body. Bro, no guru la. You guys are the experts, play reefing so many years, i not even close to your standards. Thanks all for the warm welcome!

Hi bro, You can refer to a list of clean up crew i posted on my previous thread. For hair algae, I personally will go with turbo snails, trochus snails, urchins and sea hare(if your tank is large). Fish wise, if your tank allows, go for any bristletooth tangs, such as kole eye, chevron, tomini. These tangs are grow slightly slower and will munch on your algae. Please try to find the source of your hair algae problem first, that will be step one.

After careful considerations, here is my equipment list. Important factors was reliability and silent operation Equipment list: Return Pump: Maxspect Duo turbine - I can't hear a single sound when it operates. Wavemaker: Maxspect XF330 x 2 - Also another equipment that is silent Skimmer: Nyos Quantam 120 - Heard alot of good reviews, price is steep though Lights: 2 x Ecotech Radion XR15 with diffusers (Custom hanging kit to achieve almost 20inch high)- Good reviews, success in many reef tanks Aquarium controller - Neptune APEX EL with DOS automatic water change Auto Top off: Tunze Osmolator Chiller: Hailea HS28A - might consider changing to arctica in future No3,Po4 export: Pacific Sun Algae Reactor - running cheato, opposite light cycle (Ordered direct from pacific sun) Will do a review soon Doser: Kamoer X4 wifi dosing with skimz dosing container 2 x Glass Reservoir for mixing salt and storing RODI - Used for auto water change and ATO Jebao wave maker for salt mix station Electronic RODI unit Salt : Tropic Marin classic / pro (This salt maintains its salinity and calcium up to 3 weeks in storage and does not leave a thick residue in the mixing reservoir, ideal for auto water change) 2 part dosing with ESV Rocks: Caribsea Life rocks (Arch only) The entire system will be on automatic water change. This will be done using the Apex DOS auto water change system. I decided to go auto because on the days I am away, the water change can still be completed on schedule. The only work I will be required to do is putting salt into the mixing reservoir. Electronics are all mounted on a custom size plywood to fit the sides of the stand. Holes were DIY for cable management. The great thing about this is the panel can be moved sideways to do cable management from the back CLICK ON IMAGE TO SEE GIF