bawater

Hi Labu, you won't find many using it because its quite new in the market and marketed mainly for koi use, aro keepers are taking to it. One or two are starting to use it in marine but it takes a few months for results to show(so you won't know for a while). Yes you can use it in marine- maybe leave it in an area of the sump with a gentle flow around it. (unlike recommended as a trickle filter media). Place it after all mechanical filtration so only clean water flows around it as you want to make use of its internal structure. It is quite porous and will aid nitrification on the outside and allow anaerobic bacteria to colonize the inside (like Live Rock). If you have read the review on aro , it does reduce nitrate in freshwater a little so no reason why it won't in saltwater. It won't give you zero nitrates but it will help. Its not cheap, but since you have it there's no harm in using it.(soak it in tapwater for a few days before using)

Whichever advanced you choose, you will be issued that course card & cert after completion. Going from one course to another be it Naui,Padi or SSi you may need to show your previous level card(open water diver) and maybe answer some simple questions. Like remembering how to hook up your BC. There are so many dive centers around , but choose an advanced course conducted somewhere near like tioman will give you better confidence levels because the water is clear. Its good that when you learn it's in water that you can see what you're doing. Depending on your dive center, your advance will include : -basic search and recovery procedures -night dive -multilevel or deep dive *-Underwater Navigation *-Drift dive I did the last 2 in basic but it may be in the advance Padi course.

Hi derrick, Your multitest won't really give accurate results- just a gauge. Apart from the pH (1)? the rest are ok for a 7day old tank. You still haven't begun to cycle. But if you have just made the saltwater - its more like pH 8-8.3 calcium at 400ppm is fine. After your cycle you may need to bump up your kH. You can put in livestocks slowly after you reach ammonia 0 and Nitrite 0, In about 20-30 days. That's also why individual test kits are better, it allows you to monitor just a single parameter to what you like if you dose something. you need at least a test kit that can test for pH range levels 7-9. Your ideal would be within 8.0-8.3 or 8.4. (not more than 8.6)

nope its alk- short for alkalinity or kh or Dkh or carbonate hardness very different -kalk is kalkwasser (calcium hydroxide) which will raise pH,Kh(alkalinity) and calcium all in one go.

Red Sea cal test kit measures in 50ppm jumps. And you have to follow the instructions very closely and do the correct addition then multiplication of drops to get your rough results. ('rough results' because 50ppm is a big window) Hi Metabolic, If your corals are uncomfortable they will already have shown signs and retracted.(this reaction is almost instant in LPS and softies) Usually 800ppm is the calcium concentration of kalkwasser water at full saturation. but in saltwater usually calcium precipitation occurs at 600ppm (giving you a in-tank snow storm) before you do a water change, mix your saltmix, then use your current test kit & measure the water and see what reading you get. If your newly mix salt water is also 800ppm- its either your test kit or salt, i would guess test kit problem. If you don't think its test kit error and if you are dosing any additives just list them down, also your salt brand, and very importantly what you recently did e.g water change or dose something.

Hi Patrick, aragonite can be used as a substrate to help buffer pH & calcium but you will need to go with a DSB(deep sand bed) to actually benefit from it. If aragonite(which is calcium carbonate) dissolves in regular seawater,there won't be any hard corals on earth or liverocks for that matter. Aragonite starts to dissolve at pH 7.5 or so - but our tanks are kept at pH 8+. In order to get this low pH environment you will need to have a thick enough sand bed where organics break down and lower pH enough. For this to work it needs to be deep enough and usually DSB's start at around 5-6"(inch) depths. The dissolving rate is also very slow. Coral chips will also do the same to a certain extent but you need grade #0 or #1, too big and they won't produce the environment you need. *The 1st generation of calcium reactors actually used coral chips as media.* (it is also why freshwater African chiclids owners use them as buffers in their tank as they keep their water pH around 5.5-7.5). If you keep LPS and maybe 1 or 2 small sps colonies - regular water changes of 10%, kalkwasser in water top off and/or calcium additives will suffice. The most important part of all this is a Calcium Test Kit and a KH Test Kit. Take a test at a certain time of day (e.g 9pm), take another test 24hrs later (next day 9pm). You get your daily consumption,or do the test a week apart if its very low. From here you will be able to choose your needed tool according to your volume. you can replenish up to 15-20ppm per day in kalk water alone depending on evaporation and tank volume, or just boost up by 50ppm weekly from additives. But what you need for sure is a KH additive(Alkalinity buffer) as a standby. It will be needed on occasions to buffer the water. Regards

Different clowns come in different sizes so its hard to state a standard size- but any adult clown(adult colouration) of the species can breed. e.g- Gold(or yellow) maroon clowns reach adult when they get the gold stripes.(they have white stripes as juveniles) Age for pairing really depends on the clowns themselves- anywhere from 12mths to 15mths to years. (In wild caught fishes u can't tell this way because you won't know how old they are)- in the wild a harem of clowns can consist of a few smaller individuals along with the dominant mating pair, these individuals can be of the same age but smaller in size. They need to get used to their environment and feel safe- same feeding times/same lighting period for a few months and when they feel comfortable - start the courtship rituals(which can take a few more months).

yes, epsom salts are magnesium sulfate = too much too often without regular water changes will leave behind high sulfate levels. And if you do regular water changes, magnesium is replenished from the new water anyway. your calcium is 410- so in balanced ratio magnesium levels should be 3x that (ard 1230 or 1280 range) and then only if you want to push that level up to 1300-1400 you use additives. Some people prefer higher levels but you only need to run elevated levels if you have lots of animals(e.g corals/algae) stripping it from the water 24/7. Currently@ 2 months with a few fishes- you should not worry. - SG, if you use a needle hydrometer (those plastic needle types) they are calibrated at 25c- so if your temp is higher than this- so is your SG. Most probably your real sg will be 1.023-1.024. Which is fine, 1.022 is also fine. so what to do then? - you are in no danger and the fishes will not be bothered by mg levels at 1000ppm, you have time to track back the source. Salt source? is there something wrong with the test kit? are the glass walls of the tank using magnesium to grow bigger? are the fishes constipated and need laxatives? 1) Mix half cup of salt in 1gallon(3.75ltr) of water in a container. adjust to 1.022 (same as tank). Test magnesium using test kit. if the reading is the same - try a small pack of another salt brand. (still cheaper than a new mg test kit).Small packs of salt cost less than $10 2) if the salts still give you low mg levels not beyond 1000ppm, then if you wish you can change test kit. so what to do with all those leftover epsom salts? hmmm, they can be used to treat pop eye as a medication or you can use it yourself to exfoliate. Epsom salt as fish medication Beauty care 13 ways of using epsom salts

hi keith yes its feasible with what you have, with a few modifications - 1)do not use NSW raw. If NSW is to be used, it needs to be sterilized. For a few ltrs u just need to microwave for 10mins or so on high, but for what you need- it needs to be 1micron filtered,uv and ozoned if possible. it works out to be more cost & sweat. NSW contains a lot of things that you don't want to grow as a culture. - Artificial salt works best and easy (just add tapwater, age for 24hrs,add fert & algae+ time = big tub of greenwater) 2) Most probably you have this- you need a seed source, a pure strain is the best e.g florida farms algae disks or from anyone else who is culturing locally. Contamination of cultures are common and you need back ups. If you culture rotifers too - you only need 1 to drop in and you loose the entire algae culture within 30days. (if we count that you hit the max density for home cultures@20 million cells per ml) 3) Most probably you have this too- you need fuel for the algae, to get a good density to harvest you need a fertilizer. If you rely just on whatever is in the water or use tank water - the density may just reach local waters. Scoop 1 liter in a bottle and u will see that local seawater does not have the density you want. 4) the sun will raise temps and evaporation will happen. You need to watch salinity, or over time your tank salinity will also start to rise from feedings. The temp should not kill the algae but this may depend on your strain. 5) the continous cultures over time will have settlements- will be back breaking to clean & restart. IMHO, hope it helps

Thanks, They're from England Augustine, the best place to start is the book 'CLOWNFISHES' by Joyce D. Wilkerson it has all the information you need from a-z to bring up a batch. various web base shorter versions are available through search engines - but the book is still a good buy.

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thanks madmac actually the 3rd stripe has appeared too. colouration starting, but will be a couple of months yet.

hi chung i saw your pair on RC (if that was u) they look around the same size. The female should be about 2.5-3inch (ard 5-6cm) and a inch wide. while the male is abt 2inch length. they are in a 4ftx2x2 .for size comparison- the purple tile(coralline encrusted) is a big 1ftx1ft tile and the smaller yellow one is a 6inchx6inch tile. they don't use the tiles. i scoop larvae out on hatch nights.

Any recommendation on product/ways to increase CA and KH (not going to have Calcium reactor)? Any supplements that have both elements? Kalkwasser has both in equal amounts. Read some articles that mention KW are used for maintaining Ca and KH? What do we mean by maintaining? Do we have to increase Ca and Kh first then apply KW to maintain? kalk contain ca & kh in equal ratio 1:1 and is balanced , when coral build skeletons(growth) it uses up in ratio- 1 calcium & 2 kh (carbonate). You don't have to increase anything if you don't know which to increase, you need frequent water changes. You need test kits to know which you need. Simple use is kalk(kw) as a supplement and only add CA or KH additives when you need them(e.g a certain parameter drops in measurement) Any other things other than Ca, KH and KW that I should take note of to keep LPS (other than Ammonia, NO2, NO3, water temp, light)? once the tank is cycled-for water you need to track the basic NO3,Temp, pH, KH, Calcium and Phosphate. ammonia/nitrite should not be issues(or it means your tank has not fully cycled)

i've gone thru all the posts - percula has only posted a mimic tang(abet a wrong id), majestic and this pair of maroons. (which as individual sales did not happen previously) @$15 for a pair of maroon is reasonable but it is up to the buyer to judge the quality/health of the fishes before they exchange money. There is no commitment until the exchange or unless you guys signed contracts. angelluv, the one you're referring to sell's mostly perculas & keeps using the same pictures, under multiple accounts which have warning% or have been suspended. percula, a normal whitestripe maroon sells @an average of $8 each in lfs. The golden maroons go for higher @ard $12 or more each. An actual picture of the actual fish you are trying to sell will help. if there is urgent need,sell at a loss or give it away. this is just a misunderstanding. peace

Yeh finally! took months to find a pair and half a year waiting on them. phew! finished the housekeeping and some beer, gotta go enjoy some beer induced sleep .....& be up for a 7.30am feeding.

up till now both batch#1 & #2 zero losses except the morning after hatch. hopefully i can ween the 1st batch onto frozen food by next week. These are now 2nd Generation aquacultured and raised solely on artificial salt mix (although i run new mixes through the 4ft broodstock tank first and then strained through a 53micron mesh) hope you enjoy, i gotta go do a water change....or two

15th day today- came home to another spawn in progress....they are 1 day early!!

14th day 7/8mm now - second stripe widening. Started them on a little of my frozen food (mashed through a fine strainer- washed into a 53micron mesh). Just a few drops for them to taste.

now i'm getting busy! caught the 2nd hatch on christmas eve- its a small one but number around 50/60ish i think. Day 1 - same as before, within 8hrs next morning removed the dead- this time 10 bodycount.

13th-moved them into a 1ft tank (because 2nd hatch came last night 24th dec)

close up- still look the same 12days - almost all have developed the second stripe. left 2 larvae that are still....larvae looking.

Culture container

Metamorphsis ! second line is visible on 1/3 of the larvae @Day 9

Got a shot of one feeding on a rotifer, eyes front during the strike.