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Most overflows can easily handle a small tank. My concern if any would be with a HOB you carry the greatest risk of major catastrophic failure. If for any reason the siphon breaks then you will end up with an overflow (as the sump continues to pump all the water into the tank). Further any auxiliary items like chiller will also shut down / damage due to lack of water. Thus, this maybe something you would want to reconsider... Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Overflows act as barrier reducing risk of pipe blockage and (assuming is an external overflow) typically allow for easier access to plumbing. Disadvantages (few)... added cost, tank needs drilling. Regarding size.... well that depends on two factors. One is the amount of water needed. So a 20g would need just 450L/Hr of flow for 5x turnover. Which could be handled by as little as 12mm pipe (Although best to size up to 16mm). The second factor is the type of overflow you plan to use; Durso, Herbie or Bean Animal? Bean Animal is possibly the most popular as it is regarded the safest and the quietest method. The type you select will have either one or two main drains with potential of an extra emergency in case of Durso and Bean Animal. Manufactuers typical have size ratings for their overflow boxes so check them out when choosing box size. But, regarding actual size of pipes you need, well sometimes this is dictated by the overflow manufactuers, however a good rule of thumb is that the drainage should be able to carry at at least three times as much volume as the return line. So a 16mm diameter pipe has an area of around 200mm2 whilst a 20mm pipe has say 315 and a 30mm pipe around 700. So a single 16mm return would need either 2x20mm drainage pipes (bean animal) or 1x30mm (for Durso or Herbie method). Hope that helps. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

This could be a 'white sponge'. (As I cant see any 'spiderwebs' on your photos but rather a blanket of grey white), hopefully other reefers can confirm this. Most sponges are harmless, but need to be kept in check. To treat use hydrogen peroxide or hot water. I don't recommend you try and remove manually by brushing or scraping as it will spread. Problem with sponges is if you treat they can rot in the tank so suck out the water and flesh around the area you are treating. Also be prepared and have plenty of salt water available to replace displaced water and for subsequent water changes. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

My system is over 500L. My experience is that Co2 scrubbers certainly have their place (and I am currently designing and experimenting with a completely different scrubbing approach... sushhhh is secret hahaha). My tank's ph is currently around 8.2-8.3 so is marginally less then the peak obtained when I had a scrubber. However, if I implemented a scrubber now after implementing other methods the impact would be less (although the media would last much longer). So the order you implement various solutions also impacts their individual benefit. Good luck Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

I used about 1.5 to 2L of soda lime and it lasted around 3 weeks. In my opinion it ate media hahaha (even if I used damp air technique). In all honesty I moved off traditional scrubbing media sometime back as was too costly (for me). I found running a simple airline hose through a carbon filter from outside and into my skimmer worked well. I further added an additional skimmer for the sole purpose of increasing surface area and thus gas exchange (bubbles produce loads of surface area) worked well enough and it meant I wasn't reliant on obtaining the costly media. Note. The second skimmer is not set up to skim btw, just produce bubbles. This also had the impact of increasing my dissolved oxygen levels. Which I found to be of benefit. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

You say you have been running a lot of phosphate remover, then this would make me think that your phosphate level was much higher recently. Phospate remover strips out not just phosphate but other elements too. So maybe you stripped out too much and that impacted the corals. Corals dont like change. If not it could be bacterial, did they produce any brown jelly? (Although I doubt it is bacterial) I suggest a couple of water changes. As for the coral you can give it an iodine dip. You could also place in different tank area just incase it is a lighting or flow related but I doubt that also. Typically once they disappear into their skeletons it is hard to get them back. Wish you luck. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Yes they can help... but there are a few things to consider. So first off coral growth is linked to ph. Higher ph has been proven to improve coral growth. Relating to a co2 scrubber my experience is that it's effectiveness is subject to whether you have a ph problem in the first place, and if so, what that problem exactly is. Running a calcium reactor may reduce your ph. Low alkalinity can also lead to low ph. Carbon dosing the like of vinegar also can be another reason of reduced ph. So the effectiveness of any co2 scrubber and thus the impact on coral growth could ultimately be limited by these and other factors. So after removing other ph limiting factors then a co2 scrubber will help. I personally found that a scrubber increased my ph by around 0.2 points (from 8.1-8.3 to an average of 8.3-8.4) which is quiet a big difference given ph is logarithmic scale. Corals seemed happy with the change. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

There are several things you can do... Brightwell alternatives are Sodium nitrate based. (Can also use potassium nitrate then blend with sodium to make exactly same product as brightwell). As for plain simple sodium nitrate Check out if Laudwolf sodium nitrate 99.6% (food grade) is available in Singapore. I saw it for sale sometime back but haven't seen, or been looking, lately. If find search up "James planted tank dosing calculator" to help calculate mix. From that approximately 44g of sodium nitrate in 1L of water would raise 7.5ppm for each 1ml of dose used. So you don't need much. ...Also check out dry fertiliser that some planted tank people use... some may contain potassium nitrate. (Calcium nitrate is also a possible alternative) Secondly, you could adjust down the photo period on your refugium to slow down the rate of growth. Thus your macroalgea would absorb less. Increasing your levels. Or simply remove more macroalgae. You could Remove a mechanical stage of filtration. This way more 'larger chunks' (hahaha still tiny) of waste will enter the system and decompose, thus entering the nitrogen cycle. You could turn off skimmer for a while. Although I believe skimmers are great at releasing carbon dioxide and thus, this could impact your ph. Most simply... You could get a few more fish. Fish poop is a great coral food. Look at adding fatty amino acids... either as fish food supplement or directly to your tank, although aminos can impact your PO4. As overfeeding typically leads to phospate issues. Anyways good luck. Be interesting to hear what other methods there are. Tell us what you decide to do and how it turned out. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

If you can place some of the new rocks into your current sump. That way they will start the process of gaining bacteria, reducing impact of any move. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

I found my roller filter was pulling too much, so I like your set up as is good idea to split the returns. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

What a great setup. Nice job. The ATS will make a great addition and will do a good job of controlling Nitrates and Phosphate. Could you describe the water flow in your sump? It looks like not all the water from the tank goes into the roller filter (i may be wrong. But that is interesting, possible way to keep some nutrientscin the water?) Plus cannot see how the ATS is plumbed in. Either way. Nice set up, great job. Keep the posts coming!! Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Patience. Your levels are as should be expected.. take your time and all will be well. Your tank is starting to build up the necessary bacteria it needs to sustain life.. although you may need to give it a nudge in the right direction. Tools like GFO do a good job of controlling phosphate, possibly too good, as they are rather strong chemicals that not only bind with phosphate but also other important trace elements. The issue is that Nitrates and Phosphates are not horrible poisons that need to avoided at all cost, but rather nutrients that corals need to stay healthy, and should be managed accordingly. As such I would suggest you use the GFO very lightly (if at all), and utilise water changes instead correct any future imbalance. But there are other courses of action you can investigate and potentially take... Regarding macroalgea... whilst this is a more natural way that targets both nitrate and phosphate, it would be difficult to sustain enough macroalgae given the small amount of nitrates your tank will produce. So what to do and why are your phosphates high? Well at this stage it's due to biology, more specifically the polyphosphate accumulating bacteria and the sulfate-reducing bacteria are dominating. As they compete with other biological denitrifiers (under certain circumstances) they release phosphate, hence, your elevated levels. What you may want to look into is the likes of Tropic Marin's NP series of carbon dosing. These products promote the correct biological adaptations in your tank. Tropic Marin have a range of dosing liquids that are blended for different phosphate levels, promoting heterotrophic bacteria. In your case, their 'elimi NP' can be used if you have high concentration of phosphate. More is explained here It's all about biology... give it time and the good bacteria will win out (if you let them). Good luck. Sounds like you are on a good path. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Blast from the past... do they still make these?? Suggest you speak to@Evolutionz who is both wise and learned, if they don't know then I am unsure who else would. Good luck! Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

How did you solve?? (Move to Mobius?) Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Personally my advice is to have a very clear idea of the asthetic you want to achieve and simply copy that. A well set up and carefully stocked 60cm cube, is way better than a half setup large tank! That said, if your dream is to have a larger tank, then try not to compromise, go with the biggest tank and setup you can afford. Strangely it will save money in the long run as you won't be re-buying things). The tank bundles you get in shops are actually are a great starting point. But... do set yourself a budget. If you want to save some money look out for someone decommissioning their tank & setup. You can also save money by being smart on what you buy as you dont need that much gear. (Although I have found that cheap comes at the cost of needing to invest more time). And yes do get a chiller (I used to be more diplomatic when answering 'do I need a chiller' questions, but now I simply say its essential). Basically it increases your chances of success (plus adds loads of other benefits like increase disolved oxygen which promote bacterial growth) and anything else in Singapore is honestly an unrealistic compromise. If you really need help/guidance PM me and I would be most happy to walk you through step by step. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Agree compressed air is a good option. However For a deep clean you can take the top off and removing the light (if confident enough). I recently took a H380 apart so this is what I did... take lid off by unscrewing two special screws from the lense side (can get star shaped screwdriver for $2 from sim lim tower... I took my light and tried various screw drivers until I found the one that fitted). Once you undo the screws you can pop the top lid off, there are a couple of tabs that need depressing. This way the whole light can come out and you can clean the heat sink as well as the fan. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Check out Sea Life Aquarium, (Indus Road, Tiong Bahru). Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

FOWLR tanks may not need as much lighting horsepower as that of a full blown reef tank. However, you still want enough to grow macroalgae in the form of coralline algae, whose growth will be very dependent on the light sources used. You won't need much power, 75 PAR should suffice. As such some T5 lights would suffice. Depending on depth of rockscape I would recommend a four tube set up well spaced (2x2) mounted at 10 to 12 inches off the water. A mix of ATI blue plus and Coral Plus bulbs should give a good spectrum and aesthetic, as well as bringing out the colours of the fish. Equivalent LED options are also available but you won't need break the bank here. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Both RODI and distilled water are fine. Most long term reefers go with RODI as it removes all the impurities in the water from chemicals, to the heavy metals (even the odd radioactive isotope). The reason RODI is preferred is due to long term cost associated with other clean water sources. (If your tank is small then it may be ok to just get distilled). I would NOT go with tap water in a reef tank, even with the chemical agents used to treat the water it holds on to too many impurities which will build up in your system. Hope that helps. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

If you don't have any live stock in the tank then you can lower the salinity to around 1.15 - 1.18 and increase the temperature slightly to 28. Adding an air stone may also help (assuming you are not running your skimmer or wavemakers) as bacteria consume oxygen. These things will aid bacterial growth. Fyi, 4 is absolutely a good number at this stage. You don't want to go down to zero for neither Nitrate nor Phosphate. It's all about stability. Soon you will be ready for a starter fish. So think about your choices ahead of you. Good luck but sounds like you are in a good position. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Love the aquascape. Haha. Minimalist is the way to go! Just a hint for cycling. Bacteria use energy creating a membrane to fight off saline water. Hence if you lower the salinity to say 1.15 or 1.18 then the bacteria will replicate faster as they dont need to expend energy just trying to survive. Also as they reproduce the oxygen levels in the tank will reduce, so make sure the water is moving around a little to allow for gas exchange. Looking good. Can't wait to see the tank progress. Good luck. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

agree with my fellow refer, what are your aims? Just to help you, here is some info on lights... The strength of light is measured in PAR, and the different colours refers to the lights 'SPECTRUM' (also look for high PUR in this regard). as such we tend to look at lights for our reef tanks in those terms, rather then just Watts. But there obviously is some correlation. A very rough rule of thumb would be to have 4 to 8 watts of light per gallon, but that is old school measure and not always representative. Here is a good resource that discussed PAR values for corals... Also this channel has loads of info on lighting and reefing in general. Basically corals use light energy to grow...more accurately the microscopic zooxanthellae that grow inside the corals Epitheliomuscular cells use this energy and produce byproducts which then the corals consume.conversly the corals also capture the nutrients that the zooxanthellae need to survive. One cannot survive without the other. (Back to lighting...) Getting the right lighting regime is important to allow corals to thrive. SPS corals do well under stronger light sources 330 par plus, whilst soft corals do well under weaker sources 75-125 Par (and LPS is inbetween). However, I would suggest not to get too hung up over this, most modern lights from notable manufacturers have proven track record of producing the right environment for coral growth. So check out AI, Radion (both owned by same company - Ecotech), kessil , Orphek, Reef Brite. Note most LEDs are aimed at producing good PAR values at low energy usage, and within the 'correct spectrum'. This 'correct spectrum' that these light manufacturers chase after is typically very close to - if not identical to - an older technology that being the T5 light bulb, principally the ATI blue plus bulb. The issue is that the T5 is fairly weak. Hence it may produce the correct spectrum but cannot grow SPS unless you have a lot of them (see the ATI 8 bulb system for example). Metal Halide is another old technology, not many people use it, as it uses loads of electricity and gets very hot (so not great in beautiful Singapore). That said it is a proven technology that will almost certainly allow corals to flourish (I predict a comeback for this technology). Personally I have both LED and T5 combined. I run an aquaticlife hybrid system with Radion xr15 and ATI T5 bulbs, also supplemented with my own made 'orphek' bar. Anyways possibly too much info. But I hope it helps. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

I have to agree with my fellow reefers. Back in the day I used exactly the same racking system as you for a 200L tank. I knew it wasn't perfect but it was all I had. How I made it work was I got some additional supports for each of the corners. This took the form of four 2x3inch lengths of wood under each corner basically taking the weight. It worked fine.. until after a year when I noticed that the structure was starting to twist and the metal frame was bent. The tank wasn't level anymore and i reckon it would have given up anytime soon. If you have more tanks I think would be worse situation. Aluminium is a much better alternative. Check out Teck Cheong Aluminium for prices. Sorry if it sounds we are bombing your plans just as you start out. Just passing on experience. Good luck. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

What an interesting new product! That should work well given they have combined with an ATO. Looks like a great choice. Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Well you gotta be happy with that. Looks great! Orphek recommend a high mounting height for blanket coverage, so is looking rel good. But final height should really be set by your corals and their needs. Note 'SubzeroLT' has a PAR monitoring service so you can touch base with him once you have your aquascape all sorted. Keep up with the updates! Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app