SubzeroLT

Looks like a intenteresting build coming up. For auto water change, since you are on the ecotech ecosystem, 2 sets of Ecotech Versa will fit in. Keen to see the close loop design. If without one, consider an MP60 + 2x MP40 Good plan to reserve space & plan for future upgrade / supplement with a calcium reactor. Though there is an initial learning curve, there is much less intervention in the long run. Noticed you listed Mastertronic & Dosetronic only. As highligted on Focustronic facebook page " Note that Mastertronic will not be controlling dKH (Alkalinity) with Dosetronic because the kh testing is limited to once per day due to the fact that if dkh needs to be controlled, it needs many data points per day and not just a few". That means you need to have an Alkatronic if you want dosetronic to auto dose. Consider battery backup for wavemaker

The nitrates usually hover around the 10ppm range. Just that its slightly lower during this measurement. That's a regular dremel tool. With diamond wheel + #A550 Rotatary Shield

Good that you brought up this fact check! Thanks for highlighting. Its correct that UV does not break down organics. The spectrophotometer of the Mastertronic measures the color which uses it as a proxy for organics levels.

Parameter levels measured via Mastertronic today : Nitrates 2.77ppm. Typically hovering around 2-10ppm. Phosphate 0.2ppm. Typically running around 0.1-0.2ppm range. OLI (organic levels) - 1u. Not bad. The AquaUV is doing its job. AE Cleanse. You can get it here : https://www.reefmarketsg.com.sg/aquaticexclusive-cleanse-ready-to-use

Some pics taken tonight. Blueish chalice with orange/gold patches. Not sure of the ID Must always check for fish in the wavemaker before turning it back on.

You'll be amazed at how much broad flow the MP60 can provide compared to other wavemakers. Crazy powerful. I used to run it at higher 50% speeds but it shifts the large 3mm grain sand from the middle of the tank till the bare glass bottom can be seen (unsightly). 20-30% speed would probably be OK for the sand. But I've just set it a lower speed as I find there to be sufficient flow for my particular rockscape & layout. I'd choose the MP60 any time over an MP40 or any other wavemaker. This is a quick video taken around 11am this morning showing the flow in the tank. Still get sufficient flow at the SPS.

I brought my CO2 tanks for top up the other day @ Lim Yew Siong (22 Woodlands Link #02-66). Got this link from fellow reefer & was also shared in SRC Whatsapp chat group earlier. They topped up the CO2 tanks on the spot. $25.68 for 2x 5L tanks. A small saving compared to LFS but not exactly worth the effort to drive all the way there. Not easy to transport 2 CO2 tanks in the car too.

I have a total of 3 wavemakers in the tank. On the left wall is an MP60 & MP40 what's just in front of the SPS & hammers. On the back wall near the right side is an MP40 that provides flow to the torch. Left view Each wavemaker runs on a different schedule so it provides more random flow (supposedly less chance of detritus gathering at one spot). But in reality, it does not really matter since the sand bed is full of corals & rocks. Some will surely get trapped anyway. Nevertheless, the following are screenshots of the setting at various times of the day. MP40 Left MP60 Left MP40 Back/Right

Sometimes Birdsnest Corals are under-rated. Love the pink and also the lime green round tip variant This palm sized tabling acro started out as a single stem a few years back. Grown too big & blocking the other SPS below it. Lovely blue base with blue/purplish polyps. Will be posting the colony in pasar malam soon Got this from Reefing Reality. Thought it was a blue stag but turned out to be a green stag with bluish tips in my high nutrient tank.

The current light setting & dosing regime seems to be running quite well. Corals are doing OK. In the process of sourcing a larger capacity calcium reactor. Some pics from today : Aussie SSC. Bali Shortcake (with yellow filter) Royal Blue Millie Overgrown candy cane. This is just part of the colony Hammer garden

Did some housekeeping on the table next to the tank in prep for new equipment to come. Made a stand to mount the Mastertronic above the Alkatronic. Fabricated a small stand with aluminum profiles from Prestech. And used some scrap material around the house to finish it up. As it was sitting on top of the table, i wanted to secure the new rack to the lower table frame (below the wood table top that was wider than the table leg). Hence a couple of 3D brackets were printed for this purpose. Much neater now.

Bump for fellow reefer. Tank grown gonios are the proven to be very hardy.

Random shots from today : A frag from Alex (Thanks!!) Divaricata growing quite fast. Need to relocate some other corals around it. New hammer addition in the middle

The one on the left is a prata (from Seasonal). The one on the right is a lobo (from Oceana). Both places gave very reasonable prices. IMO, Lobophyllia seem very under rated. They have lovely colors but not many rush for them.

Side view tonight

Close up pics of the money cowrie. It came as a tiny hitchhiker on a coral colony many years ago. Grown a lot. It was crawling above the fiji pipe organ this morning. This is what the underside looks like This is what the top looks like. Interesting to see the shiny shell. And if it feels safe again, the feathery tentacles appear through the shell within a couple of seconds. Top view

Did some quick inspection/maintenance of the UV sterilizer today. Last bulb change was in October 2020. While the bulb will last 14 months with 24/7 usage, its probably good to check to make sure its running efficiently. Specifically, I'm looking out for quartz sleeve totally caked with dried salt - this can happen if the water stops flowing (accidentally switch off water pump?) but UV light is still on. Or hazy quartz sleeve - if moisture seeps into the seals. Checked the bulb. Looks ok. Bulb is clear. Checked the quartz sleeve. The main body of the sleeve is clear (good). Only the top part which is above the water line is crusted with salt. This is normal since that portion is above the water line & hot. Did a quick scrub down with some acid to remove the mild calcification and its good to go.

Found this pest crab in one of the SPS colonies. They seem to survive coral dips. Need to inspect the colonies more carefully in future. Hairy crabs are known to eat the tips of SPS slowly causing the tissue to die off. This crab has been there for about 2 months. Coral looks OK with the naked eye but I just noticed from the picture that the tip of the SPS in front of the crab looks chewed up. Love the Christmas Tree worm. Plan to get a bigger rock if budget allows. Hosting this Looney Tunes Stylocoeniella for a friend. Pic taken with iphone Interesting tip on these polyps

Well done!! Not easy to raise them to this size!!

Soaking the wavemakers with Aquatic Exclusive's citric acid based cleaner. Product is called "AE Cleanse". Citric acid is less harsh on rubber & seals compared to vinegar. Particularly important if you are using wavemakers with attached power chords. At least there is peace of mind when leaving it to soak for longer periods - it just makes it easier to remove the coralline algae. Original condition. Can see the coralline algae bubbling away After about 2-3 hours of soaking, I just gave it a quick brush scrub & scrape (with an old credit card). Good as new now.

Its been a year since SRC's Stay Home, Stay Safe Reef At Home contest. This was the 12th prize courtesy of Suprem Corals. (Thanks!!) July 2020 : I left them on a frag rack together with 2 frag plugs of Captain America Zoanthid. This is what the rack looks like now. Hopefully my fav zoanthid, the XC Arnold Schwarzenegger, is still alive & hidden between the others. Gonna check it soon. July 2021 :

Got some emerald crabs from Coral Farm recently. In the past, I tried to get a mix of male & female in an effort for them to breed in the tank. That never happened. In any case, this is a male. Restocked on salt It appears I'm one of the very few reefers who remix the salt to ensure they are homogeneously mixed. This is to ensure maximum consistency of the entire bucket. Regardless whether its synthetic or evaporated salt, not all particles will be of the same size. And there is a natural tendency for large particles to be at the top. And small particles settling at the bottom of the bucket during transit vibration. This is fundamental physics - something called granular convection ( Wiki : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granular_convection)

Hello neighbor. Looks good!! @ Larry, i think the blue dragon is the one behind/left of the tabling acro.

iPhone pic of the Bugatti Chalice. June 2021. Just realized that the mouths look much larger now compared to a year ago. It grew about 1.5cm radially but has since been trimmed. June 2020

Very nice eel. How often do you feed it? Do share more pics