SubzeroLT

Send me the pic via whatsapp (92370381). I help you post

PowderTang, out of curiosity, how high are you hanging your Hydra26 above the tank?

Yes, I have Cheato but that's more for a place for pods to grow (trying to get a bigger population of large amphipods for my mandarin) Not so much for nutrient export. My gut feel tells me that reactors are more effective

I tap off the water from my return pump to run the reactors. From what I read, if you use a dedicated pump, about 600-1500/hr pumps are typically used. You want the bio pellets to tumble else they will stick together. I also read from BRS website that tumbling helps keep the pellet free of bio film. For rowaphos, the particles are very light. A small flow rate is sufficient. There are videos on youtube about the 'right' level of tumbling.

Biopellets need much higher flow to tumble than rowaphos. Hence I don't think they should not be linked directly for that reason. Not so much about chemical reaction. Mine are "linked" where part of the output of the bio pellet reactor goes to the rowaphos reactor. The rest goes back to sump. Water flow controlled via valves. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I use this as a reference in selecting corals. It has a brief description on requirements & areas to look out. http://www.aquariumcreationsonline.net/lps.html

Looking forward to updates especially the MAME overflow. Very nice sump. This design will fully utilize the full length of the sock unlike sticking a pipe into the sock itself.

C328 / PolyArt has them.

That's a Goniopora

Bubble coral : I've tried a more shaded area & lower flow but the bubbles continued to look deflated. The thing that helped was more food (thanks Admiraltian for the tip). Fed it a market prawn over the course of a week & it seems to remain inflated all the time now. It does seem like excessive food though.

What supplements are you adding to get such high calcium? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There are many brands mentioned in the forum. Skimz, Deltec, Bubble Magnus are some popular brands but these need a sump.

A protein skimmer is one notch up in terms of mechanical filtration than just filter wool. My suggestion is to add a skimmer in the system.

I also switched from freshwater to saltwater recently. Some thoughts : - A canister filter should function just fine. The basic principles of mechanical & biological filtration are similar. - A skimmer is for mechanical filtration to remove as much of the dirt before the water goes to the bio media. With a canister filter, you only have the wool to function as the mechanical filter. Hence the water is dirtier & nitrates in system build up quicker (since its not skimmed out). - Bacteria can survive well in the media of the canister filter. Nitrate is the end product of the nitrogen cycle & hence proof that the bacteria is doing its work. - In a FW planted tank with moderate load/fish, an acceptable practice is to change the wool monthly & rinse the bio media every 3-6 months. - I feel that the bio load of & type of food fed in saltwater tend to foul the water quicker (eg frozen Mysis shrimps). Whether its canister filter or sump, the wool should be changed weekly & media rinsed monthly. In your case, one option is to have pre-filter canister containing wool only & another canister for bio media only may be an option to make wool changes easier. - I use a canister filter for my quarantine tank. Works fine. I tested the water before. Ammonia & Nitrites = 0. Nitrates (end product of the nitrogen cycle) continue to increase as the days pass.

I'm not an expert in this area but this is what I would advise. - No need to change water during the cycling period. Just let the bacteria continue to colonize & eat up the ammonia/nitrites. I'd change water after cycling is completed (not during). By then your nitrates/phosphates would be pretty high. Water change would immediately remove the bulk of it. - Adding bacteria during cycling. Just follow the instructions on the label. Most brands would say to add bacteria daily/weekly during the cycling period.

Available at C328. OEM type.

Small clams at LCK201 seen on Sunday. Think these are pacific clams. About 1.5 - 2"

No light & chiller required during the cycling period to build up beneficial bacteria. Having lights will only lead to algae since there would be loads of phosphate & nitrates in the water. Optimum temperature for bacteria growth (according to internet literature) is between 25degC to 30degC. http://www.bioconlabs.com/nitribactfacts.html Cloudy water can happen after adding beneficial bacteria either through rocks or bacteria additive. Perfectly normal & good. Just leave it & it'll clear up in a few days. As mentioned before, even though you seed it with ammonia (eg with market prawns), ammonia & nitrites remain zero & nitrates shoot up, it means it is cycled. The longer you cycle the better. Minimum 2 weeks. Ideally 4 weeks or more. Longer cycling means there is more beneficial bacteria to handle the bio load of live stock added.

Using Apex Neptune controller here. - It is programmed to turn off the return pump & wavemakers during feeding. - At the 7 minute mark, wave makers makes a quick 5second pulse to redistribute food then stops again. It waits another 8 minutes before resuming normal operation.

Starting to feed it more starting this morning. Normally it gets a portion of about 1/4 cube of Hikari frozen Mysis shrimp each feeding (2x a week). I thought that bubble corals are photosynthetic & don't really need to feed much. Anyway, I'm trying your suggestion

Yeah, its quite a small tank, so i'll need to choose smaller & less aggressive species. Thanks for the tip on wrasses.

I have 2 anemones. The green one has stuck to its crevice & has been there since. The pink one moved 3x in the past week. Even moved to the back of the tank. It loosened its grip today & I managed to pry it off (after seeing how Henry did it) & moved it back. I'll need to make a deeper hole at the front of the rocks in the next days. And typo in the previous post. PH is 8.4 (not 6.4)

Thanks. Still reading up about which fishes to get.

It seems quite sparse when the lights are on. Fewer 'inflated bubbles'. I can see the 'flesh' & mouth when the lights are on. When lights are off, there seems to be more & bigger bubbles.

Seeking some advice. I have a bubble coral that's with me for 2 weeks. It looks quite full when the lights are off But when the lights come on, it seems to shrivel up. Bubble is placed at the far back corner of the tank with the least flow & light. I've seen the bubble spit out brown stuff. Does it mean that my light levels are too high? I've now put a netting above the coral to provide additional shade to see how it progresses. Water parameters : Ammonia : 0ppm Nitrite: 0ppm Nitrate : 0.2ppm Phosphate : <0.03 Mg : 1350ppm Ca : 410ppm KH : 8.9 PH : 6.4 SG : 1.025 Dosing regime : TLF C-Balance 15ml -20ml per day TLF Sea Elements 1x per week Brightwell Microbacter7 : 2 drops per day Brightwell ReefBio Fuel : 2.5cc per day Lighting regime: Maxpect Razor - 6am - 8am : Ch A : 0, Ch B : 5% - Lights out 8am - 3pm - 3pm : ChA : 0%, Ch B : 5% - 3.30pm : Ch A : 50%, Ch B : 55% - 9.30pm : Ch A : 55%, Ch B : 65% => About 6hrs of white light - 10pm to 12am : Ch A : 0, Ch B : 20% - Lights out 12am - 6am Feeding regime : For Scarlet Skink cleaner shrimp & goby : Frozen market shrimp or mysis shrimp 1x per day For LPS : Frozen mysis shrimp or Continum Zooblast 2-3x per week For SPS : Reef Nutrition Oyster Feast 2-3x per week Seeking inputs on the above regime. Aside from the bubble, everything else is doing great. Here are a couple of new additions. Red Zoanthids? Acans from a fellow reefer : Mandarin from a fellow reefer. Enjoying the colony of tigger pods. FTS :