XPeriment 626

20 fish in 2 weeks is really too fast IMHO. Your fish will almost certainly be very stressed and all it takes is one fish who is not so well adjusted and one fish to be carrying ich and you will have outbreak immediately. What do you mean UV in sump? A light shining on the water or a UV sterilizer unit that water passes through? Only the latter (and a good model) will be effective in killing parasites. It definitely helps to reduce lighting hours. I have heard of people who do complete tank blackout for several days except for feeding. This not only gives the fish time to rest and fight the infection, but it has been documented that the ich parasite is much more active and effective in locating and attacking a fish host when there is light. So enforce a no-lights regime for several days and your fish should do better in fighting the ich.

ummm.. doing nothing and seeing your fish survive is like really heng suay kind of situation but not exactly recommended for other people to try. Like you stand in middle of xpressway never tio killed doesn't mean everyone else can do the same. i think ich best dealt with by combination of strengthening fish immune system (garlic and varied diet), low stress condition (good water parameter, less lighting so fish can rest) and some form of ich killer (UV, ozone, etc). Hyposalinating is a good idea as it actually de-stresses the fish but will kill inverts and corals so not always feasible.

ring for binding books made of metal. will rust. not good.

sally light foots. mmmm

wah, $3k for new tank... maybe you should check out Eaquarist offer... http://www.sgreefclub.com/forum/index.php?...ndpost&p=283492

yeah, try to "pet" it and see how many fingers you have left

start small, be patient, learn as you go along, and read a lot, either internet or books. don't be too ambitious at the beginning, this is an expensive hobby to ###### up due to over eagerness.

it is the surface tension of the bubble that brings the DOCs up the tube to be deposited into the collection cup. DOCs are the beginning of the nitrogen cycle as they become ammonia, then nitrites and then nitrates. by skimming as much DOC out as possible you cut down the other nitrogen cycle products and improve the water quality. wet skimmate is easier to clean but if you neglect it for a few days it can overflow and create one kind of mess. unless of course you pipe it off into a plastic bottle or something

yah... only $15 for 3.5" YT, i also want...

wow so much effort for a denitrator to work better to go for a DSB then...

not saying your tank is horrible, mind you, it's quite nice but a little artificial that's all. the problem for me is that after the nightmare of seeing the wisma tank, i cannot look at fake corals anymore without thinking of it!!

dunno leh. still looks a little artificial to me. and reminds me of the horrible horrible tank at the basement of wisma atria with the gross fake corals...

not always sugar daddy. sometimes it's the rich, successful guys who can pian any pretty girl they want to become their girlfriend mah... so probably driving bf's car, not her own...

i have this in my tank. some bits turning white

don't soak in fresh water. you will kill all the beneficial bacteria, in which case you might as well have bought a dead rock instead of spending $$$ for a live one. better to hypersalinate, by increasing the specific gravity of the water. it will kill the mantis but not the bacteria. this should be done in a separate tank before introducing into main tank.

it's not really a glow on the main body. at one end of the tube body there is supposed to be a light that indicates that the UV is on. you can't really "test" the UV... firstly you can't see UV and secondly if you actually look into it you could blind yourself. you have to trust the design that if the bulb is spoilt, the visible indicator light wouldn't come on. then you have to get the UV bulb inside replaced.

Deepblue, agreed that LFS might not properly filter the NSW. For me, where I buy from I'm quite confident they filter it properly as it takes a day or two of passing through filters before it is for sale. In fact, most of the water they prepare is not for individual buyers like myself but for the servicing of the many corporate tanks they maintain. I figure they would be extra careful as one major crash in businessman's tank can badly damage the LFS's reputation.

anyway turbo snails, algae blennies and sally lightfoot crabs all help to eat algae.

in fact, correct me if i'm wrong, it's unusual for a new tank to have zero nitrates as the DSB (if you have one) takes some time to mature...

actually are you new to marine fishkeeping in general or just reefing? if you have no experience in marine fish at all i think you should stay away from corals for a while until you get the hang of de-nitrifying your tank. basically start with a fish only with live rocks (FOWLR) setup and then progress to corals once you learn more. i could be wrong and you might already be experience in marine fishkeeping, but from what you're asking about the kinds of parameters to test for, I am guessing you haven't kept marine fish before. Best to not be too ambitious and start with fish first or you'll find the learning curve very steep.

The NP article quoted the fella as saying he's the first person to make a blood parrot survive in salt water (his fish supposedly 4 months in salt water loh). As BP supposed to be auspicious or something like that, he said his is special because you can put into a beautiful marine tank with corals and marine fish etc. So justify the $8888 price. Some crap like that. Scary thing is, some of these HK businessmen might actually pay that kind of money I think

BTW regarding the discussion on salt mixes v NSW, I personally use NSW cos I have not gotten around to mixing salt yet. Might try it sometime in the near future. While I think that there are good points made by the people quoted in favour of NSW, you have to note that the quotes are between 5 to 10 years old, and the research itself could be even older. Hence, the arguments might not longer hold true as artificial marine salt mixes are constantly being improved and fine-tuned and it is entirely possible that today's brands can offer NSW quality without parasites and impurities.

In the north you can try BioOcean, at Cactus road off Yio Chu Kang road. The location and opening hours can be found at the sponsor's area of this website.

i think lightningstrike mentioned the flame angel. isn't it a not-reef-safe fish?