bivi

what model n how much u willing to let go?

Hi all, both my hubby and I used the same log-in name so hope u won't be confused by it. Anyway, we just started with our aquarium and we first have damsels in the fish tank. Now the damsels are getting big (about 7 of them) and we just started putting a few new fishes (blue tank, yellow tank and pink/purple anthias). The damsels started to chase them quite often, anyway to take them out of the tank? I think it's quite impossible, but maybe we'd try trapping them with food, hopefully works *sigh* My new cardinal is dead , not sure why.. but the last time my old cardinal dead we couldn't find the body.. but now, we know who ate the body.. the prawns!!! *yuck*

got any pics? and how heavy are they as well as size?

earlier suggestion by thomas would enable some of us to get the load of ur hands pc by pc rather than throwing away. i'm interested in some but not the whole load as my tank cannot take so many. if ur willing to sell loose, sms me 98416171.

any pics?

thanks for explanation... I have many qn as I read each of your reply: - What's ANN? ... oh, Ammonia-Nitrite-Nitrate? - I used Salifert tester, bought from Reef Depot (only place i know at the moment). Test kit showed the colour chart, but didn't say which is the 'safe' range. So far, the colour range seems to be in the middle of the chart so shd be 'average' cos don't fall in the extreme side. Well, I'm still waiting for Nitrate test kit. - As for Skimmer, I told my hubby to get $200+ skimmer and he gave me the 'shock' look and he said the current one is ok coz we have only small fishes so their 'dirty stuff' is diluted in the large amt of water so it won't affect the fishes so much. Hmm... is that right? It made sense though... (but once i got a job, maybe i'll buy a better one hihihi..) - My qn abt anemone is.. i have 2 anemone but only 1 clownfish. Will the anemone survives without clownfish? It just need light? - As for dead rock, i'm not too sure what's the reason hubby prefers deadrock. But he'll get LR he said.. prob later. - Hubby just got blue light but not strong enough so he'll get one more. He said it is moonlight, and shb be good for fish he thinks. Well, I'll rest for today and am going to prepare for interview tomorrow (Wish me luck!!). Please feel free to give advice. Basically, I think I need to read a lot more on this fish tank thing. Maybe getting a book is good so at least I could point it out to my hubby so he'll learn too. - Any good 'basic' and comprehensive book to recommend for beginners?

This is the other anemone, which i think looks better but somehow clownfish prefer the brownish one.

About Nemo and its dying anemone, will the nemo move to the other anemone if we take out the dying one? (I can't avoid using the word 'dying' since i hv the tank!)

macro skimmer $200+? sounds like my budget Where can i buy this from (other than pasar malam)? Frankly i don't mind getting the expensive one (investment, right?) but hubby will kill me.. coz i'm still out-of-job hehhe... So will get one to get by and let my current fish survive for the next few months. Once we got the knowledge level up, i think we could decide on the next upgrade. I think this is how 'ER' feels like... "emergency, emergency"

which one is the airstone'? the balls? the test kit for NO3 is sold out at Reef Depot. I just ran the test kit for ammonia and NO2. Did i tell you guys that I'm bad in Chemistry n Bio? Can't really match the colour lah... the NO2 light pink, so i think abt 1-2 Ammonia is a cloudy almost off-white so i think it's either <.25 or .25. I'll get hubby to run the test himself. Madmac, what is salinity? the level content of the water? I think we hv one. Will check it later. Heart attack! I think my brown anemone is not well!! it's shrinking and looks dying. Will ask hubby to take it out tonight if really the case. Gosh, i wonder if having a baby will be worse than this! My heart almost stops when i see the anemone. The clownfish tried to dig its way to the inside, prob to stimulate it. Sigh...

thanx Dazza, yep, my hubby is quite reluctant to spend on the skimmer, dunno why. But i've ordered test kits already: Ammonia n Nitrite (cos Nitrates out of stock). Do i miss anything else? Hubby has PH test though i have no idea how it works (will ask him tonight). OK, I know.. no more addition of fish or corals. I'll report the test results once the test kit delivery is here. So Live Rocks is ok to add?

thanks Gerrard, Is there a thread that reviews skimmer available? Reef Depot recommended me this big skimmer... but don't think there's enough space to put in the area below the fish tank. And it'll ugly to put it outside. Any good skimmer around that could fit 80cm x 45cm for a 4.5ft tank?

Side view of tank, can see the water flow on the side of tank.

The water pump (black one)?

The.... er, i dunno what it's called... filtration system?

The salt, filter and food.

The skimmer. I was told by Seet (Reef Depot) that it's not sufficient. But the prof skimmer seems to cost a lot, is ther other alternative?

Thanks Elune, I'm not even gonna ask abt introducing fish, pretty occupied to get the present fish to be healthy n happy. Qn again: - Is there a risk of overfeeding? I fed them 3 times already (cos the food seems to big n the fish keep missing the 'target') I tried diluting it with the tank water on 3rd try, better 'capture' rate. - AFteri diluted the food with water and fed the fish, I still hv some leftover in the bowl. Can I keep the remaining wet-food for their dinner? - So I need to get LR? I'll ask my hubby to get it this weekend. Any place to recommend? (nearby town one). - If I put LR now, is there any risk my fish or anemone be affected or die? - My Tank is 4.5 x 2 x 2 feet, how much LR will I need? - I have 2 anemone but only 1 clownfish. Should I get another one for the other anemone? What will cause anemone to die?

Let me talk to my hubby abt it. I thin his EGO has been crushed eversince I called him 'fish killer' so i'm not too sure he would take it if smbdy come and 'teach' him how to run his tank. But seriously I need help. I'm not sure if I have as much passion for fish as you all but I'm NOTgoing to have fish dying in the tank Er, I don't even know I have corals in the tank

thanks y'all, I think Fish tank looks cool and since my hubby and his uncle had done smaller fish tank before, I leave them with the Fish Tank n its work. I thought that I could just enjoy the fishes only Only when the fish started to die, i begun to suspect that keeping fish is prob not as simple as what hubby thought. (psst, hubby don't know abt me going on forum... dunno how he'll react) As for the last batch of fishes, I told him not to buy cos they'll DIE anyway (hubby banned me from saying the word "DIE" since then). Dragged him to Reef Depot yesterday to get test kits but bought fish food instead Now, to summarise what I should do first-thing: - Buy Test KIT - Buy thermometer (dont' think we have one, but i'll check) - Buy Fan (no idea where to buy....) - Test if whole tank infected with Saltwater Ich or Marine Velvet (no idea too, but will read up) - NO to: buying anymore new fishes, anemone or soft corals, rescape tank More Qn: - To speed it up, should we get more LR (live rocks)? - Is quarantine tank a separate tank altogehter? Or it's just putting the fish inside 'box' in the tank ?(I saw some tank have fish in separate container in the tank)

Oh no!! hubby just put it these new fishes on Sunday (14May), our 3rd batch!! - another Nemo (no:7), - 2 doctor prawn, - 2 white colour fish (which i think will not last cos keep rubbing body against sands and hide in rocks gaps) - 6 small fishes that go in groups - 2 Kaudern's Cardinal - 1 Royal Gramma Basslet I keep telling him to test the water or equipment first cos we lost 2 big nemo and 2 tang a week before that. Anything I should do in the light of these additional fishes in the tank? More bacteria?

oops, i think my re-size didn't work in last pics. Oh ya, the black fish could be seen clearer in this next pic. And we bought the sand-fish (that's what i call it) from the same batch. I know there are so many qn but on the basis of importance, is there anything that I need to do first thing tomorrow? (eg. if check/test the water, then i'll need to buy test kit) And I still need to feed the fish tomorrow and I just bought new food (Spectrum Tetra A)and fed them 1st time last night. The fish seemed to try to swallow/eat the food but not successful, the food came out and sink again. Is the food too big? Am I supposed to crush the granule smaller or mix it with water before feeding it to them?

hi Dazza and andylee Thanks for your comments n suggestion. How long does it take to cycle, cos we started it in mid March so it's already 2months. Is it not enough? Some fish from our 1st batch (bought 1mth ago) survived though, or at least one of each species we got. I will put the pic of some of them, although maybe a bit blur. Those that survived from 1st batch (sorry, dunno the actual names for them) a) the yellow one (not the yellow-striped one) the blue ones (used to have 4, left with 2) c) the black one with white dot (used to have 2, but 1 was attacked by yellow fish) d) the white one with blue fin/tail (also hv 2, but 1 was attacked by yellow fish) So since the 4 type of fish survived from 1st batch, does it mean the water has cycled?

TEST: we started this tank since Mar06, but never check the Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate level. Is it too late to do that? Or not necessary? CHILLERS: what does chillers do? Do we need it only if we keep corals? We don't have any fan blowing into the tank, will the rise of temperature (up to 31C, i read) affect the fish? Sorry to ask so many qn.. I still hv not found a website that covers the basic of marine fish tank.

Hmm.. i thot my hubby know a lot.... but eversince i found some dead fish in the tank, I think he is not sure himself. And after reading and looking at the 'equipment' of the some of the reefers... i have a guilty feeling that maybe we are not doing it the right way. I just want the fish to be alive and healthy, and not dying. I try reading up from the forum but there are so many things to read, I dunno where to start. Firstly, I think the skimmer we use is not sufficient for the tank we have. My hubby got one 'cheap cheap' one from his uncle. I was recommended a Deltec skimmers for 5ft and it cost >$1k. Is there a cheaper version, that could do the same job? What other 'basic' essentials that we need to have? Oh ya, i used to have 4 small clownfish but one by one they disappeared! No trace at all. I wonder who could've eaten them? Got another 1 bigger clownfish and also went missing. Before the bigger nemo went missing, it seemed to be stressed after hubby re-arrange and add rocks in tank. Since i'm trying to be 'economical' here, maybe instead of buying book, I could learn abt Marine Fish from internet? Sufficient? Sorry for all the fish we've killed (indirectly or directly). I had nightmare abt it (abt me cleaning the white spots off nemo to rescue it)