madmac

Its always good to look at the bigger picture rather than a single instant of a parameter to tell the story. So what does 50ppm of NO3 tells us.? That they will die, that they'll brown or they'll thrive...? Conventional theories hv simply state that when it comes to keeping SPS to, keep ur nutrients low. They also tell of temps, flow and lighting needs for SPS. All of them can play a part in the overall look of ur corals... which if you happen to like then so be it... its your corals after all not mine. So I'll tell u wat 50ppm NO3 tells me... it tells me that based on the Redfield Ratio(RR) of N:P, i.e. 16:1, and I'm assuming that ur tank is balanced, ur PO4 is 3.125 ppm, that ur stoney corals will be growth limiited due to elevated phosphate levels which limits calcification; that you'll need to have very strong lighting, kept on for an extented time to work down and burn down the excess 'fat' produced by the excess zooanthellae for ur corals. It tells me ur corals will have thick skin tissue and dark, because the zooanthellae wouldn't need the use the waste produce animal in the coral, it can use the 'waste' from the water for its food... and before long, the animal in the coral will either expel the excess zoos because its there isn't enough "space" or jus suddenly RTN. You'll hv to keep things to a fine balance too. You hv a high load on these corals, its not to say they can't adapt and will die, but they wont thrive as what they were made out to be as symbiotic animals dependent on mainly light only to produce the energy for growth. Whether u test often or not, it wont effect how ur corals will 'perform', but a measure of 0.03 ppm of PO4, wud give on RR a N of 0.48 or 0.5 ppm NO3. Thats where these 'conventional' wisdom is derive from.. from scientist who have tested it and proven by years and years of hobbyist keeping them. So keep them where you'll like or how you like it... they'r ur corals after all....but when u say 50ppm and OK still... pls qualify ur statements.

The ARM media at the bottom of the tray (being held up by a sponge) doesn't move, .... because of the weight of the rest on top. Some little ones manage somehow to drop to the bottom... those bounce up/down like "fleas on a hot plate" . Pump is strong enough to move those right at the top.. can see the smaller ones 'fluidize'.

The ones that work in tanks aren't green mussels... they are the 'sand' mussels, they're aren't very common in the wet-market as these need the cooler fresh seawater to survive. Mostly sold in the food fish LFS or go the Chinese restaurants that sell live seafood. The smaller version can be found in our shores, the old Connie island(Ponggol) or Seletar island(Sembawang). Tiny 1 inch mussels, that require u to dig into the sand to find them. Surf clams(lala) also work qutie well... jus be careful to find healthy ones, before dumping them into ur tank.. enjoy.

and :

like this:

You need two pH calibration liquid to calibrate a pH pen, yes...?

It is a great product. A very happy user here. I'm using one for abt 1 mth with an aquabee 2000I, which is 2000l/hr at 18W. I've managed to fine tune and it sits pretty and quiet. I know I shd direct this question to Joe_P, ... what happens when the air in the bubble counter disappear... functionally it still works fine, only that when I first got it, there was half air/water inside the counter, now its all liquid.?

Wow!... a Plectropomus laevis... I can't believe you're trying to keep these sort of groupers... beautiful fish, but extremely difficult to keep alive anything past 2weeks, even for a 10 ft tank. Is it feeding? How big is it? A persistently low pH, is usually a symptomatic of high ambient C02 or a very dirty tank, i.e. time for change of water or change out the sandbed. Bicarbonate of Soda or baking soda, when added fresh will actually lower pH, but increase your Alk... to correct a low pH quickly, baked it for 1 hr at 250ºC, then use it.... correction will be short lived if the two conditions still exist... BTW... is it really pH of 6.8... at that level, any aragonite will melt... its the pH level of my CR!.. maybe good to validate your pH kits.

Tiny bubbles is good... better still if its dense. I just checked specs of Rio 6 is 15W for 350G/h at 1 feet. The last pump I used for a 2011 is an eheim 28W rated at 20l/min... used for a several yrs and serve me well. Venturi skimmers do very well with a pressure rated pump.

welcome to the reefing world, Darren. I've found that it takes a 1200l/hr pump to get the 2011 going good. Tune the gate valve (at the output) to bring the bubble burst level closer to the skimmer neck.

Try your best to get him to this, you need to be invited in... get a doctor to recommend you in : Singapore National Asthma Programme (SNAP) Your asthma related bills will be reduced by more than half. Curious to know if the hole has covered up for your daughter?

totoro, sorry to hear of ur unwell kid, I hope its not serious... and my best wish that he/she be well quick. PM me.

Bro, I know where all these snails are found. They're not suitable for our aquarium. Alot of them do graze on algae but stay out of the water when they feed, where there won't be predators. Your snails look pretty because they have been scrubbed clean. Most of these snails wont be able to right themselves up when they are overturned, they remain so until they are either eaten or rot away in the tank, contributing to more nutrients. Rocky shores on chek jawa the link shows those carnivorous snails you're selling and is taken from here : http://cjproject.blogspot.com/ Pls don't put links to foreign sites here, because none of your snails are from anywhere but here. I'm personally looking for trochus snails, they can be found here. IME, Trochus, turban and astrea snails are truly ideal snails for the marine aquaria.... and if you hv so much time in your hands, I'm sure there will be ppl here who'll pay you for trochus, for the right price that is.

you can't be serious!? trying to pass these off for sale here? Pls leave them where you found them. They don't belong in the aquaria... Nirite snails don't like to remain in water and can be found in their hundreds near rocky shores anywhere. Your pic of the thais snails is actually, Drills, also very commonly found here. They are carnivorous and like to feed on mussels and oysters, above water line. Here a short write up on it. : http://chekjawa.nus.edu.sg/ria/text/403.htm and your Planaxis sulcatus.... they don't remain under water, if they do its only during high tide, most times found huddled in hundreds... Sorry, bro, I'm reporting you in for the mods lock this thread.

I used to do it... for several months before the RO/DI... not negative effects whatsoevre. They're ok. I much prefer it to tap water due not so much because of chlorine, but metal toxins... copper/metal pipes. Nowadays its chloramine not chlorine anymore. harvesting them is rather cumbersome... its great when you're home and can wait for the first rains to go then start. Don't collect them from gutter run-offs, but in the open. The water has rather low pH... IHMO, I think its due to its purity and exposure to atmospheric gases particularly CO2. Sadly, I never can collect enough for tank use, before I run out.