Reefkeeping South Africa » Marine Aquariums of South Africa

Condy's Crystals

Posted: April 30th, 2010, 12:36am CDT by XV3

Hey guys, I read up on Condy's Crystals aka potassium permanganate or vise versa, anyhow does anyone maybe know of a source for this product or what supplement if any contains this product ?

Permalink for 'Marine_Aquariums_of_South_Africa/2010/04/30/Domino_Damsels_spawned_today_'

Hectic, first I noticed the yellow bellies have spawned and now also
the Dascyllus trimaculatus.
I got that pair dominos maybe two weeks or so. I haven´t even paid them yet. Shame on me. Tomorrow I will pay for them, promise!
There is not much known about raising the domino damsel and about their larvae development.

It should be similar to the yellow belly damsel larvae.

They spawned all along the glass. The cluster eggs is around 10 x 20 cm in size.
I found records on the web, that they lay clusters of around 20.000 eggs.
From what I know about my yellow belly damsels, the cluster from the dominos must be 25.000 to 30.000 eggs or more.

Hopefully I got only 1% survival rate with them.:P
I guess we have not enough nano tanks going in the country to give all of them a home.
Dominos are growing very big, getting very aggressive when they reach maturity and are not so nice and dark black anymore.
I reckon, from all the dominos that were sold so far, the majority ends up in the toilet.

For the domino larvae I will also post pictures of the larvae and informations about numbers, losses and survival.

Who is going to do plumbing for me in the next few weeks? I don´t think, I will have much time to do my real job!:(

Dead corals

Posted: April 30th, 2010, 10:26pm CDT by betty

Hi everybody
I have received some dead corals - can I use this in my tank and how must I go about cleaning them

Yellow Belly Damsels spawned today!

Posted: April 30th, 2010, 10:15pm CDT by LuckyFish

Today my Chrysiptera hemicyanea spawned. Around +1000 eggs. Should hatch on coming Monday night. Then the real work starts.
Have to prepare more algae and rotifer as they need to swim for 3 weeks in green water and fed of rotifer only. Copepod naupli would be better, because they are much smaller than rotifer and easier to diggest.
Will post some pictures of the larvaes and some informations about numbers, losses and survivors.
If I can get as much damsels as Brenda got horses through Meta, I will be more than satisfied. But not for long!;)

MistaOrange's about time tank pics

Posted: April 30th, 2010, 9:07pm CDT by MistaOrange

Hey guys I know how you guys are over pics & sorry about pic quality I had to use my mobile as I'm still waiting for my camera. It's not much but at least I finally posted some pics!! :thumbup:

my purple nudi was awsum to watch but sadly it got sucked up by pump & no more nudi;(

more to come!!:thumbup:

Reptile show

Posted: April 30th, 2010, 5:46pm CDT by Moolis

Hi Guys

I am going to the reptile show @ Emperors now.

those of you that are interested in visiting - do not miss Pet Stops stall!!!

2 reasons for not missing Pet Stops stall:

We will have a free entry lucky draw for all visitors to the value of R500:thumbup:
We will sell Zoo Med products at less than normal wholesale prices.:slayer:

Yet another great service form Pet Stop.

red nori/green nori

Posted: April 30th, 2010, 5:16pm CDT by dropzone newbee

hey guys
been wondering
what is the diff' between the noris ( and the smart a@#$ses please dont say colour :slayer:)
i mean , is there any diff in nutriotanal value etc ?

thanks

clint

How to stop a nennie from walking over corals

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 9:41pm CDT by Dikdaan

Hi all, i just got a nennie and he was fine yesterday in his spot but he is starting to move in the tank. How do i stop him from moving over my corals?

Octopus keeping & Info

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 8:56pm CDT by zombie clam

I have seen so many people talking of all the neat exotics and it makes for interesting info, but why do we not see anyone keeping an octopus?

What is it about them which seems to stop people from keeping them, I know nothing about them other than they have 8 legs with funky suckers underneith and they just look really different than anything on planet earth - it would be interesting to learn a little about them, they are part of the ocean too after all.

vorteck 40

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 8:13pm CDT by aminyassien

hi everybody

does this vorteck 40 is suitable for 400 liitre tank or it will be too strong ??

because i will get one from a friend

best regards

Amin

My New Sump By Pete !!!

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 7:48pm CDT by shaun70922

:void(0)" target="_blank">

$Permalink for 'Marine_Aquariums_of_South_Africa/2010/04/22/Calibrating_Refractometer'$

Calibrating Refractometer

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 6:07pm CDT by Singularity

Hi there, i have a refractometer that does not auto compensate for temp. The question is can i simply recalibrate by using water with SG of 1.025 @ 20C (which it is currently calibrated at) and then raise the temprature to 25C and then test again and make adjustments ?

Cheato wanted for Refugiums !!!

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 5:40pm CDT by shaun70922

Hi There,Is there anyone that can give me some Cheato or mangroves for my sump?? I'm in Centurion.

Gixxer's NEW Sps reeftank

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 5:15pm CDT by Gixxerk4

Howsit guys/gals

The time has finally come where I can now start planning my new SPS reeftank

. It's been 3 years since my last reeftank and i've been itching to setup a new one. Just had to sort out some other priorities first tho...like getting married lol.

The last setup i had was more of a testing ground for me to get the feel of keeping SPS and fish successfully. I made lots of mistakes in purchasing cheap inadequate equipment and then having to pay for it later by having to buy other equipment again. I still managed to make a success of the tank though with really basic equipment (most of which was DIY'd), LOTS of research and some good advice from Liaquat.

These are some of the last few pics that was taken of my previous tank just before it was shutdown.

My new setup will house mainly SPS and a few LPS. My goal for the new tank is to get the colour of my sps popping without using Zeovit..

The specs for the new tank are as follows:

Tank:

1300mm (L) x 900mm (W) x 650mm (H) in 10mm glass with Euro bracing. Tank is going to be built by Adriaan from Idol Marine and will have the skinny overflow along the back panel. I'm a big fan of wide tanks coz you just have so much more possibilites for aquascaping and ofcourse more space for fish to swim.

This is a quick diagram i put together to show the scale of things.. If i'm not mistaken i think Adriaan said he's going to build the stand in 50mm square tubing.

Lighting:

I've always been a fan of halides on my previous setup but eventually got onto the ATI T5's and fell inlove with them. They give off less heat which means no chiller and kick out more than enuf par to satisfy the needs of SPS corals. I decided to light this tank a 6x54w ATI Sunpower Module. It's pricey but worth it in the long run i believe. Will be ordering this unit in a couple of days time. Can't wait for it to arrive!!

Here's a taster of what the Sunpower units look like.. (hope the pics come out)

Flow:

In-tank circulation will be provided by Tunze. Not sure exactly which ones i'll go for when i'm ready but most likely 4 x 6105's on a multi-controller 7095. May possibly add another 2 at a later stage again.

Calcium Reactor:

I will be using the DIY reactor from my previous setup which worked brilliantly IMO and should be adequate to handle this system until I can buy another reactor. It's being shipped up from CT as i'm typing this.

Here's a couple of pics of what it looks like...

Sump Layout:

Still planning this but will definitely be going the Carribsea DSB route again.

Skimmer:

More is better..right? How bout ...3 or 4x more lol...With my previous setup I learned that this is actually the heart of one's tank and didn't wanna compromise so I decided to go with the Bubblemaster 250 skimmer for this tank which is rated to handle almost 4x the capacity of this tank. Still need to order this baby.

Substrate or Barebottom:

I decided to go with a more natural look and feel plus i like the snow white look so i'm gonna be using substrate in this tank.

Still need to sit and plan aquascaping and which fish i intend keeping but would definitely like to keep some schooling fish and Tangs.

That's all the details for now....as soon as I make any more progress I'll be sure to keep you guys/girls updated.

Ciao for now

Gix

Wrasse

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 5:14pm CDT by shaun70922

Is this guy coral friendly ???

is it algae ????????

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 4:03pm CDT by badbiker

Hi

My 3 weeks old liverocks seems having some kind of algae problem so I dont no which kind of algae is that her is pic can any one help me (How to remove it from the rocks)

k

Hennie Please can you help - Chemicals

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 2:01pm CDT by vatso

Hi Hennie

there is so much info on chemicals we can use that just starts getting me head sore.

Right I use the following in good amounts & am looking for a cheaper option.

I am looking for really like for like. is this right & will there be a build up using the cheaper option?

Gebluste Kalk / slaked lime = Kalk Wasser (Shops Sell)
Baking Soda = KH Buffer (Shops Sell)
???? = Calcium (Shops Sell)
???? = Magnesium (Shops Sell)

I know Kalk can assist with CA needs but am looking for a CA only product as well

thank you in advance

Vatso

Adding herbs n spices...

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 1:04pm CDT by Garethmur

Howzit,

Jus wondering,
When you do the whole mixing the salt and ro thing...
they speak about quality of salt, better quality having better or more minerals n stuff...

My Question:
What additives can one get at the chemist to increase quality of the water in a marine tank.
seeing that the nutrients n minerals get used up by the live stock n filtration systems...

Huy to all and thanks in advance

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 12:13pm CDT by Markos

:thumbup:Hi i got my self a Boyu TL 550 unfortunately i only started reading your forum after i got it now i need to make the best of it. I have not desided what i am going to put in it yet i have put the sand i was given looks like pieces of shells and i have put water and salt I also put in for a start two pieces of live rock. I have had it cycling for two weeks . Unfortunately i didnt have a test kit so i did not monitor the cycle how do i know if the water is ok.:) Nice to be around people that know what they doing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Permalink for 'Marine_Aquariums_of_South_Africa/2010/04/22/new'

new

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 11:47am CDT by vinnyn

Hi there!

New to the game...

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 10:27am CDT by SKAZ79

Hi everyone...I have a 500L tank and want to make it a Malawi tank..
Can anyone advice to how to set it up..and how many fish I can put in my tank...
Posted via Mobile Device

Playsand VS Aragonite

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 8:27am CDT by mandarin

I want to remove all the playsand in my DT and replace it with aragonite because i just have this feeling that the playsand is the cause of all the algea problems i have since i started my new tank. I've spend to much on additives, water changes and what else to control this outbreak. The tank is running now for 15 weeks. The DSB also got playsand in ( 180mm ) but would rather leave it as it is. I've replaced all the filters and membrane on my RO unit so the TDS is correct. Please help.

Older model ts4 skimmer

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 6:45am CDT by shane

HI,
Has anyone with an older model TS4 skimmer changed the needle wheels in the OTP 2000 pumps to pin wheels?
What changes were noticed if any?
Cheers

How long to store salt water

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 11:00pm CDT by zombie clam

I have heard some really random ideas/opinions, but I need confirmation.

Is there a limit to how long you can keep salt water in a container? Does it go "off" and also with RO water.

ie. Could one have say 2 x 25L containers, one with plain RO and the other with salt mix or would the water become un-usable?

Hermits climbing out of tank

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 10:11pm CDT by zombie clam

Here is an add one, I have a bunch of little hermits in my refugium (tried them in my DT but they just wreck the place) and for some unknown reason they climb up the silicone (no clue how they get it right because it is smoothed off well) in the corner and drop off either into the inlet chamber or outlet chamber. They go one way but won't go back, I got to keep fishing them out to put them where they are meant to be

Why would they do this and how would I stop it?

New member

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 9:14pm CDT by JAYMEG

Hi

I am Willem, four months in the marine aquarium hobby. Glad to join the site and hoping to get advice from as many people as possible.

The lil dude down below...

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 9:00pm CDT by Garethmur

Howzit,
Got a lil Cardinal Shrimp... think thats the one... Bright red with lil white spots...

What are they good for or are they a not so good fella to have?

Anyway, also wana know if its ok to leave him in the sump, he does count as cleanup crew does he not? will he eat the algae and crap down there? should i still gooi some food in there for him or will the crap he scavanges in the sump be enough?

hey there

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 6:17pm CDT by Cabby

hey, my name is christo. i just signed up to the forum today... i bought a 702 litre as my starter tank.. but i'm busy doing all the research of keeping coral, maintaing coral growth and how to maintain sump/ protein skimmer filtration system.. looking at a tank that's completley empty.. should be fun!:lol:

Hello to all

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 5:20pm CDT by Reef surgeon

Hi there all just thought I would drop a thread to welcome myself onto this site. I need all the help I can get. I have been keeping marine aquaria and corral for over 10 years now and I have finally built my dream set up 2 x independat displays 1 x x 5ft 800 litre and 1 x 8 ft 1400 litre. the 5 Ft had a successful instant set up with all my current stock and the plan is to share and learn more in the art of corral husbandry and to start collecting and sharing frags with any of you who may be insterested. the 8ft display is essentially going to be a hard corral habitat with species of acropora, stag, montipora and the like. I am keen on these given the right conditions they can grow very quick. Any of you who may have something along these lines, I will be willing to buy or swop my frags and or host colonies of LPS.
As soon as I can Figure it out I will post some photos showing the two setups.

Regards Reef surgeon ;)

Soft Red Coral the size of a bucket to swop!

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 4:12pm CDT by brentv

Hey Anyone in Durban or the south coast of KZN
I have a Big bright Red and white soft coral the size of a bucket with 2 white porcelain coral crabs to swop!!!:thumbup:
Collection or delivery in these area only (coz it's to frikkin huge to ship!)
You gotta have a very beeeeeeg tank!
:void(0)" target="_blank">

New fish at idol marine

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 4:02pm CDT by Bob the (reef)builder

NEW FISH AT IDOL MARINE :thumbup:

HI ALL,FISH HOLDING TANKS ARE FULL OF LIVESTOCK.

WE WILL BE OPEN ON FREEDOM DAY.IN CELEBRATION WE
WOULD LIKE TO LIBERATE FISH TO YOUR TANKS............

WE WILL OFFER 10% DISCOUNT ON ALL FISH.
WE WILL BE OPEN FROM 9AM TO 2PM FOR ALL YOUR
REQUIREMENTS ON TUESDAY.

BE WELL AND BE FREE
CHEERS FOR NOW,
IDOL MARINE CREW.

Blue Spotted Puffer

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:43pm CDT by scubaninja

Hey guys, i caught a Blue spotted puffer, i think two weeks back, tiny little bugger, about 3 cms. Quite a lot darker than the one is this pic from liveaquaria, which is a blue spotted puffer just incase you are wondering.
I had mistaken it for a valentini puffer(i think we get them here) because it was so dark and only realised it after putting it in the tank. But thats not a stress, it has the most docile and friendly nature of all my fish, i caught it in a rather barren rock pool, and when i say barren, i mean there was no algae on the rocks even. So this little guy must have been starving as it immediately began accepting what ever food i offered, from my hands no doubt and pecking at the rocks. It eats nori from the clip, as well as sleeps on the clip at night! It nestles into the hollow of the clip and doesnt flinch when i come close. Its only puffed up once, when my sailfin tried to eat it, and it puffed up to about 2.5cms so it looked like a perfect sphere!:lol: But since then there is no aggression at all from the fish and i think it has been cleaned by the fire shrimp too so no parasites hopefully.

The question i have is about the toxicity of a puffer. I believe that if it dies in your tank/gets stressed it releases a toxin? Can anyone shed some light on this? When i first got him and had a good look at him i thought it had little spines on its side, but i cant see anything now, does anyone know if they have? Because it follows my fingers a lot and i dont feel like being wacked by them.

:popupWin1('/product/detailed_image.cfm?pCatId=232',%2050,%2050,%20596,%20616)" target="_blank">

Two Seaturtles looking for a lift

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 2:52pm CDT by Steve Warren

Two Seaturtles looking for a lift
Hi, there are two stranded seaturtle hatchlings looking for a lift from Mossel Bay to Port Elizabeth. If you think you can help please get hold of me.
Regards Steve

Tank Base

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 1:54pm CDT by Neil H

Ok so the standard is to use polystyrene under the base of a tank

What are the alternatives out there????

Tank 2 years old.

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 1:34pm CDT by gharris2

My tank is now 2 years old . I have the nitrate levels down to zero (finally). This was done through the use of RO water. What I dont understand is that the Hair Algae has increased and is more difficult to control. Could it be the posphates.?

Newby to the world of marine aquariums

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 12:56pm CDT by gawie

Hello everyone. I'm Gawie. Currently I have a Cube (Boyu TL-450) which is 58L total capacity. It is quite small but I figured to start small and learn first.

At the moment I'm looking at a tank that only has water in it. :lol:

I look forward to learn from you all in doing marine aquariums the proper way :thumbup:

DSB Transplant

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 12:23pm CDT by poiromaniax

Hey guys,

The time is getting closer to me switching over to the new tank (YAY)

I have a nice mature DSB running on my 1.2 and would like to move it to the 1.5 when the time comes. The DSB in the 1.5 will be significantly bigger than my current one, so Im gonna have to add alot of fresh sand and add the current DSB to it:

How and when should I move the DSB over?
Do I take out the entire DSB in one go when I move over the LS? or do I only take out the top half and use it to seed?
Do I wash the DSB sand with salt water when I take it out?

If I move over the DSB and add it to the fresh sand, will my LS be ok? or will the tank go through a massive cycle? (I will be dosing Seachem Stability when I switch the LS over)

Thanks guys

Hailea 6540 Vs Astro 4000

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 10:52am CDT by Nixxon

Hi All,

Since I last posted I upgraded from a BOYU TL550 Nano Cube to 500l tank... Some would say I got bitten HARD by the bug...

Now, I have been reading up about circulation and flow and I am convinced that my water doesn't cycle quickly enough in my Tank :(

I currently have and old ASTRO 3000 and was looking at upgrading it to either and ASTRO 4000 or a HAILEA 6540, can anyone give me any advice on which pump they think is better?

I have also heard that you want to cycle your tank about 60 times per hour, is that really true? That would mean I need a pump that can do 30,000l an hour and that seems REALLY Excessive?

Thanks guys and girls :)

Nixxon

ID these bubbles pls.

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 9:58am CDT by neo

Hello,
these bubbles are popping up all over,
the pics are from my sump as the DT lights were out but they are in the DT as well, in the DT they are on a few red pathes on back pane and on substrate against front pane.
They have a silver mercury appearance, I had a look at pictures of bubble algea but these dont look the same.
They are like sticky air bubbles and once dislodged they will float around and pop like an air bubble, not able to catch them between my fingers.
Some of them, once popped, there is a very tiny small root-like thing that i can see.
Pls. help

Live foods info

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 9:32am CDT by FransSny

I have been seeing a few mentions to the feeding of various forms of live foods (FW feeder fish, brine, krill etc etc). I thought you might find this interesting...it helped me get my "head around things" when I started.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...003/invert.htm

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...004/invert.htm

Although the articles are not "brand spanking new" I still think it is very relevant

my 4ft DSB build on the way

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 9:27am CDT by robertkukla

Hi all i have started building my 4ft dsb this will house my skimmer and ATS

this is what im planning

Hi from the noob

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 7:32am CDT by Jc Germ

Hi all

Just joined was told to post and Introduce my self so!!!!
Hallo im JC hahahaha
been in the hobby for about 3 years and love every second of it
had 5 tanks but only have 2 now the 3m display and 2m breeding tank (clownfish)
looking forward meeting you all and sharing and learning more and more see you all on the forum:thumbup:

Cheers JC Germ

Is this possible or not? V2

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 10:07pm CDT by neil.h

Skimmer for my tank has been ordered from George, but the problem is, its only arriving in a months time. Stupid volcano! FW stock should be going over the weekend, so prep should start next week.

Now I'm getting cured LR from Furbz and possibly the substrate as well. Would lights off, no throughput through the skimmer ie no sump = massive die off on the LR?

Or run with only a DSB till my skimmer arrives?

DIY RO top up tank

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 9:55pm CDT by butcherman

Planning to build a RO topup tank next to sump. the space is limited so the dimentions will be 85cm x 10cm x 30cm giving aout 25lt of RO water to topup with which should last about 10 days in my system. im thinking about making it from 5mm glass and it gives a safety factor of 4 using the online calculator.

concerns i have is should the glass from the sump touch the glass from the RO tank it might cause the glass to crack, any ideas? maybe i should build the RO tank as an extention of the sump making the use of one common pane of glass.

any ideas or comments?

Salt water molly

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 7:51pm CDT by Greenreef

Are mollies happy to live in salt water, has anyone every bread mollies in salt water? I was thinking that maybe I could use their fry as food. Has anyone got any advice?

Feeding baby lion fish

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 7:42pm CDT by Greenreef

Hi, becides using live brine shrimp, what is a good substitute to feed baby lion fish, they are about 2cm long?

Reason for not sending messages to the thread

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 6:15pm CDT by saheed

I am happy to be part of the association,I shall be sending a messages to the forum from now on.I am doing some research work on some particular specie of fish since last year,for this reason I had always been busy at the farm.
I am also saying hello to all members.

Building a 500 Litre Dream Tank.

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 5:13pm CDT by Dasher

Hello Everyone.
I'm building my own marine aquarium at the end of april.
The problem is that i don't know what materials to use
or how much it is going to cost,i can put about R2000
into it each month but no more than that.so i would be
greatfull if someone who has expience building marine
tanks can help me out here.(it also needs to be able to fit thru a door)

Zoanthid Collection

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 4:42pm CDT by Jaco Schoeman

Hi guys and gals...

Okey, so, let us see your zoanthids, palythoa's and parazoanthus. This will be a thread dedicated to these three species of softcoral. You need to post ACTUAL specimens, not the nice one's you googled please...;) If you also could elaborate a bit on their position in the aquarium, lighting, feeding and age.

I know this opening up a can for people who will be wanting frags, so please guys, keep the frag requests strictly to a PM basis, and not open forum. This is only for photos and care discussion. :biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

catching my tang

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 4:21pm CDT by paul bloem

Hey guys

Just want to get some advice and hints on how to catch my tang, because I introducea copperband in my tank and the tang keeps on attacing it. I tried with nets for an hour but nothing.

Paul

Play Pen Sand?

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 4:11pm CDT by SaltyReef

I have heard that guys are using play pen sand for kids Sand Pits in their Reef tanks. Is that a good idea?

Introduction

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 3:52pm CDT by Charlotte

Hi, I'm completely new to the marine tank world, and what a process it has been till now, luckly the 8 weeks 'waiting' peroid is over now and I can start adding fish and live plants to my tank.

The life rock addapted well, end we'll see what happens over the next couple of days after adding some "real" life.

I'll keep you posted on my progress!;)

Is this possible or not?

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 3:01pm CDT by mariusmeyer

If I wanted to keep corals in a tank for 5 weeks while waiting for my big tank to cycle, do I need a complete filtration system running? So its like a QT for corals. The corals dont add much to a bioload so a bag of purigen in a HOB filter should be enough to absorb any nutrients. They are all corals that dont need special feeding so lights will be enough to keep them alve.

What do you guys reckon?

Your Cardinal experience ?

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 2:54pm CDT by neo

Howdy,
I have taken a liking to the cardinals.
being nocturnal, does this imply i wont see them during light-on time ? and can I mix diff type of cardinals ?

What is your experience with them ?

DIY Canister Filter with Heater

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 1:33pm CDT by Scarlet

Hi everyone,

I've decided that my next DIY project is going to be a canister filter with a built in heater. I don't like seeing the heater in my tank.

I want it to look something like this...

What do you guys think??

Hi all

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 12:53pm CDT by king squish

Hi all great site you guys have here, just moved back to JHB from durban so my tank is still on its way, it was a simple system a fish only tank with sump, it will be up and running again, never really got to the lighting, so what sort of lighting would i start of with for a fish only tank with a few low level light critters? The tank is a standard 4 foot with 3 foot sump. deep sand bed reeftek TS1 skimmer.

Banged up Banggai...

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 12:47pm CDT by Mudshark

My Banggai cardinal got knocked up about 3 weeks ago. Junior doesn't look anything like me, but I'll let it slip this time. I've only seen one young in it's mouth. It must be about 4mm long already and fully developed. When will it be released to fend for itself? The adult(male if I'm not mistaken) is getting quite thin as it hasn't eaten anything that I can see since it started brooding. Is this a normal viability rate? Seems very low to me. Seems a pity that the kiddo will just get nailed when he takes his first steps(should that be strokes) into the big bad world.

Lighting Build...

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 12:23pm CDT by Garethmur

Howzit,

We still gota build the canopy for our tank, and need to descide how the lighting will be installed.

Here is a lil example diagram of what i was thinking... please suggest what T5 tubes you would use, gona use 54W balasts i think ?!? each balast takes two tubes?!?
got a 8 output Siemens LOGO PLC that ill program as a timer for all the lights. including the sump lights.

Oh and i know not to use mirror but it will be sealed in the enclosure, no moisture from the tank should get to it(Hopefully)

aquamedic regulator blocked?

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 11:18am CDT by gaboon

This is hard to explain but here it goes...

I bought a reef octo calcium reactor, 5 kg bottle and aquamedic regulator and solenoid 2nd hand.

When I first set it up and activated the solenoid and adjusted the bubble rate, over the next 10 minutes it would slowly reduce the bubble rate and then nothing at all.

To get it to start bubbling again I had to turn the knob quite a bit to get it going again and it would all of a sudden come out at a helluva rate, then I would turn it down but 10 minutes later it would slow down again and stop. After a week of fiddling I eventually got it to work but have no clue what I did to rectify it.

Now, 3 months later I've replaced the 5kg bottle and its doing the same thing again.

I first thought it was back pressure but doubt it is that.

Please, does anyone have a clue whats going on here?

Urgent help needed Copper banded butterfly needed

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 11:04am CDT by splatacat

Hi everyone,
I have not been on here in a while.

I have a bit of a problem with aptasia at the moment and was wandering if anyone has a copper banded butterfly i can buy or borrow to help me sort out my problem.

Thanks in advance

Chris

ID and feeding info needed pls...

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 10:32am CDT by Jaco Schoeman

Hi

I bought a fish this weekend, and the LFS told me it is a yellow surgeonfish - but it can't be, as a yellow surgeonfish is a yellow tang - that much I know...

I thought it was a lemonpeel angelfish, and the fish I bought does look exactly the same, except it has no blue ring around the eye.

Can anyone ID please?

Then, I try and feed it Ocean Nutrition green seaweed on a clip, but id does not take the food. Even tried to tie it to a rcok, and still nothing. I have him 3 days now, and he is grazing on my liverock, but there is NO algae inside the tank, as I run an ATS.

What do they eat, and how do I get it to feed?

Thanks

What next!

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 9:44am CDT by Pads

Its bad enough you get poor service delivery from Eskom/City Power, then comes load shedding, we deal with it because what other choice do we have and they warn of the likely outtage times. Next they decide to re-align the amount we pay for electricity because of their inability to PLAN, so the people who do pay for electricity now get nailed again. Now for the last few weeks we have had the pleasant experience of having out power cables stolen. Last week it was out from Monday 12:30am until Tuesday 10:00pm. This morning I woke to find the power out since 12:30am. I can't be certain but my gut tells me the cables have been removed again. Seriously! How long before City Power gets the point and encases the cables or submerges them. We cannot go on like this. Rant mode off!

Started up my big blue.

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 8:35am CDT by Creep

Hi ive started up my tank on saturday, done some water tests on monday and my ammonia is already high. Got my first bit of brown stuff in my skimmercup this mornig.

But gee-wizz the Kenya LR I bought stench and now my whole house reeks. Any idea what to do? Im planning a 20% water change on sunday.

Will post some picks later the week.

ID this fish please have pic. red sea fish

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 2:02am CDT by layla13

they also have a poitny scale on their heads like a horn lol and stay in pairs most of the time.. reminds me of a hawkfish but has a horn and diff. design thanks

Urgent help needed help moving tank in pe

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 11:26pm CDT by Dale6

hey guys does anyone have means to transport a 2.4m tank frm summerstrand to lorraine?will pay for assistance .please if anyone has at trailer or truck let me know

cleaning off silicone

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 10:41pm CDT by Norman_the_fish

I recently bought a lil'tank with cool lightin unit for a mod and in my purchase excitement failed to note some extensive scratches on the front pane. i bought a new pane of glass and siliconed it on but mid-way it slipped (dont ask how) and i quickly had to grab it before falling, got silicone finger marks all over the inside and altho now dryin is quite a mess. any household products i can use to rub out the silicone once the pane has set? i'm not keen to try and scrape it off with a blade so any suggestions would be most welcome.

thanks,
N

PH Controller advice

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 10:27pm CDT by Marine4Life

Hi All

I just purchased a Aquamedic CARX, soleniod and regulator, all AM aquipment.

Can i run this without a ph controller? Or is it unsafe due to the fact that the PH can drop below 6.5 in tank and cause death.

Also, what options of ph controllers do i have? or does it need to br aquamedic because all the other equip. is AM.

Thanks

Pete's little piece of the ocean

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 7:56pm CDT by Pete

So here we go after Lanzo telling me I must post some pics of my tank and the wife deciding to spoil me a little bit and I mean only a small tiny little bit with one condition is that I have to rescape the tank. So before we do the rescape on the next public holiday this month I thought I would take some pics and post them
and use this thread for the before and after.

Now this I'd lke to have ......

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 7:23pm CDT by chikaboo

Weird creature measured 6ft long

A mysterious creature horrified holidaymakers after it washed up on a beach on the Gower Peninsula in Wales. The writhing mass of tentacles, which measured at least 6ft from end to end. The barnacles long writhing stalks or pendulates, tipped with shells are normally found deep below the waves, but were washed up clinging to a log. This barnacle may look like a mollusc but it is in fact a crustacean related to shrimps, lobsters and crabs. The goose barnacle or percebe thrives at the oceans foamy edge. Slammed by boiling sea waves, laved in saline by constant saltwater surf, the percebe thrives clinging to wave-lashed crags of the sea, to coastal rocks in narrow inlets called surge channels up which the ocean thrusts oxygen-rich waves tumbling and roiling to wash over the barnacle colonies, thus providing tiny planktonic food to be caught by the winnowing fan-like legs poking out and up from the barnacle. Barnacles attach themselves to rocks by their heads and feed by means of their feathery legs.

a sick wrasse with pop eye

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 6:43pm CDT by layla13

hello.. i have a wrasse that was in a tank with ich. i treated the tank because all the fish had it but the wrasse has no white spots. then i noticed his eyes were swollen one more then the other. i put in alone in a hospital tank and he is alive but just laying there and not eating. his eyes look somewhat better one is almost normal and the other one is smaller then it was. i hope to get antibiotics for him tonight. is this a good idea? will nature run its course and he can heal on his own? i have a pic to show. also no one in the tank or this fish is eating for a few days now. thanks for your help in advance..took this pic today

Cheato to nothingness...

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 6:27pm CDT by Garethmur

Howzit,

Got a Cheato question here...
Why does it seem that the ball of Cheato we got from marc is like... withering away...
when we got it it was like firm and bushy but now jus over a month later its like brittle and mushy, what we doing wrong that could be screwing up the Cheato ? i thought all it needed was light, we got a 11W energy saver continuously on in the sump. too much light? not strong enough light?

Bubbletip with inmates

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 5:47pm CDT by Slummies

Hey guys.

i caught two fish today. a Halfmoon trigger (which will come out sometime but not in near future) and a Semi angel.

My question is, will either of these two fish cause harm to green bubble tip that i got my eye on?

thank you

Urgent help needed klunzinger wrasse with pop eye

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 5:39pm CDT by layla13

hello.. i have a wrasse that was in a tank with ich. i treated the tank because all the fish had it but the wrasse has no white spots. then i noticed his eyes were swollen one more then the other. i put in alone in a hospital tank and he is alive but just laying there and not eating. his eyes look somewhat better one is almost normal and the other one is smaller then it was. i hope to get antibiotics for him tonight. is this a good idea? will nature run its course and he can heal on his own? i have a pic to show. also no one in the tank or this fish is eating for a few days now. thanks for your help in advance

Feeding fry

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 5:30pm CDT by Kevin

I know absolutely nothing about breeding fish or raising them, but from what I have read here and from other sources, feeding them seems to be a problem.

I have one doff question. Why cant they be fed micronized fish food?

I did a test in my lab and I can quite easily mill fish pellets down to 212um in size. I can even go down to 110um in size.

Will baby fish eat normal fish food if made small enough and put into the water stream?

This stuff is basically finer than dust particles so filtration and skimming will have to be stopped during feeding or it will remove the food quickly.

I am sure this has been tried before, but I am interested into why the baby fish would not attempt to eat a lekker instant meal.

Liverock calculator

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 4:50pm CDT by leslie hempel

this is pretty cool..

[www.ultimatereef.net]

Aquarium bred fish

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 4:37pm CDT by Moolis

Hi reefers

I went away for a short while and look what landed while I was away:yeahdude:

Orchid gramma / purple dotyback + Cinnamon clowns

These Orchid gramma / purple dotyback are brilliant and the clowns are not far behind, especially for clowns @ R75

Hydor Koralia Nano

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 4:33pm CDT by dizzyg

Hi Guys

anyone know where to buy Hydor Koralia Nano pumps in South Africa? tried searching the web and the few sites I found import them from the US so they 110V not 220.
Preferably someone in Durban or someone that would ship to Durban.

Thanks

A lucky sea turtle

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 4:30pm CDT by Steve Warren

[www.dict.org.za]=

Stock available 2010-04-19

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 4:28pm CDT by Moolis

Hi Reefers

Back from a short holiday :thumbup: and looking forward to get into the swing of things again:)

Shawn got some great stock in while I was away - even some aquarium bred fish:slayer: (post to follow)

Regarding corals - we have LOTS & LOTS of corals in stock and combined they are too many to mention:

SPS - we have +- 40 SPS corals in stock
SPS frags - we have more than 50 frags in stock
Hard corals - We have in excess of 100 hard corals in stock
Hard coral frags - we have 50 + in stock
Soft corals - we have in excess of 150 +++
Soft coral frags - 100 + in stock

This is some of the inverts we have;)
Algae eater snail
Anemone shrimp
Camel shrimp
Cleaner shrimp
Hermit crabs
Porcelain crabs
Red star fish
Sea urchins
Sexy shrimp
Starfish Blue
Starfish Brown
Starfish mottled
Orange koko worm
Arrow Crab
Horseshoe Crab
Bumblebee snail
Blue=+Red leg hermit crab
Peppermint shrimp

This is the fish list we have in stock today:yeahdude:
Coral Beauty
Eibli angel
Rock beauty
Copperband
Blue eye cardinal
Striped cardinal
Yellow striped cardinals
Percula clown
African brown and white clowns
Clarks clown
Maroon clowns
Saddle back clowns
Tomato clowns
Blue/green chromis
Yellowtail damsel
Leopard eel (Zebra eel)
Zebra eel
Black & White Henniocus
Camel Cow Fish
Chalk basslet
Red Hawk fish
Coral hopper pigmy
Frog fish
Green mandarin
Bicolor blenny
Black combtooth blenny
Goldhead blue barred goby
Citrus goby
Diamond goby
Fire goby
Neon goby
Forktail blenny
Pink bar goby
Red spotted shrimp goby
Salarias goby
Sand goby
Signal/oscillated goby
Snyder's sand perch
Tiger goby
Valencia goby
White sand sifter goby
Yellow blenny
Yellow tail blenny
Yellow watchman goby
Yellowhead Goby
Barred rabbit fish
Naso Tang
powderblue tang
Yellow tang (med)
Yellow tang (large)
Brittle tooth
Brown scopas tang small
Fox face yellow
Sailfin Tang
Yellow fin tang - Tomini
Yellow eyes tang
Yellow Tang
Bursa trigger
Undulated trigger
Blue spotted wrasse
Carpenters wrasse
Cleaner wrasse
Filament fin wrasse
Flasher wrasse
Red breasted maori wrasse
Yellow Wrasse
Royal Grammar
Orchid dotty back - aquarium bred
Cinnamon clowns - aquarium bred

So come and brows,;) I guarantee it will be worth your while:thumbup: even if you are in Jhb:whistling:

Marine n00b

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 3:59pm CDT by Dasher

Hi,i'm new to marine aquariums and know a bit about fresh water,i'm going to start building 2x 500 Litre tanks at the end of the month,one of them is going to be a marine tank,the other will be a planted freshwater tank,i joined because i need help planning on what i need for the marine tank and to meet new people who also own marine aquariums.

P.S GrAmEr NaZi as charged:razz:

pH, Ca & C02

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 3:45pm CDT by Ross

Hey Guys

I currently have my pH probe in my sump as I keep forgetting to bring my C02 unit back from Idol when I go there. The Ca reactor is just ticking over.

I know the idea is to put the pH probe in the Ca reactor, then set it at 6.5. Any changes and the C02 should sort that.

What would happen if I leave the probe in the sump, surely pH changes will affect the C02 in the same way and trigger the solenoid, or am I way off. (I just like seeing the 8.2 on the display :whistling: )

ID needed PLEASE ?

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 2:46pm CDT by wors143

Hello all

Please can you help with an ID on the Coral please?

Freebie frags in Joberg or durbs?

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 2:15pm CDT by Dane

Hi all!

This is just a quick plea going out to any generous fraggers in Joberg or Durbs. My dad is spending the next week in both cities and I wanted to find out if anyone has some spare frags they'd be willing to contribute to the development of my nano? Would be massively appreciated!!

Kind Regards
Dane

Mantis shrimp Available - Pretoria

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 2:09pm CDT by Thinus

Hi, My LFS recieved 2 x peacock mantis shrimps they did not order
They are not geared up for them so would like to sell them asap
Anybody interested please pm me and i'l give you there contact details

Stainless Steel canopy inner frame

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 1:35pm CDT by mandarin

Good day everyone, i want to use (316 grade) stainless steel to make two inner frames for my new light canopy. Would it be safe or not or must i rather go for aluminium sheeting.

Noob

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 12:50pm CDT by Immo

Hi Guys.

This is my first post here.

I have been browsing around and reading through some of the threads relating to setup.

I have not yet got my Tank, but plan to get it within the next month or so.

I just want to know, because im on a budget, a very tight budget, what can i expect to get for around R5000.

I recently went into a pet store in Durban, and was quoted R4500 for a Boyu 450 tank, complete setup, without Fish, Live Rock, Sand...

Can you please give me some advice.

Also, would appreciate it if someone could let me know if they know of any retailers in the Durban area that they would recoomend, i go see..

Thank You

two tanks one sump

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 11:58am CDT by robertkukla

Hi all
i have a 4ft DT and busy changing my sump to a 4ft with a ATS , i want to know if i can setup a new 2ft tank that i can connect to the same sump , will this work or should i go for a new sump for it, i want to try and keep sea horses i know they must have very litte flow,actualy my wife wants to setup a tank for sea horses , i just want to connect it to the same sump , is this posible or are there other things i need to take in consideration

Aiptasia Question Here...

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 9:12am CDT by Garethmur

Howzit,

I think i got 1 lil Aiptasia thingy growing on 1 of my pieces of LR, I have gathered that this is a bad thing, but can someone tell me why, what does it do thats bad or why is it bad? should i like tear it off the rock or what?

Thank,
-G-

Freeze curing LR infested with aptasia

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 8:29am CDT by leslie hempel

hey guys

i moved a tank for a guy and couldent get all the LR into containers with circulation and heat but noticed that the next morning alot of the aptasia had detached from the rock.. i checked the water and recorded a temp of +-10 deg celcius..

i then left them out again the next night to see more polyps fall off and die.. some were sliming..

i have simply been draining the bucket and replenishing with new salt water daily.. i have discarded the rock of hundreds if aptasia..

so my question is is: it not better to put these buckets in a freezer to help with the eradication of the aptasia?

so far i am having success and the rock is looking good.. i understand that the anerobic function of the rock is affected by the flushing of the drums daily but it will re-establish when put back in the tank..

has anyone heard of the opposite to "cooking" as in "freezing" LR..

should we term it "Freezcooking" LR? :lol:

GI Marine first setup

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 8:07am CDT by GI Marine

After planning my tank for about 18 months, I took the big leap on Saturday. Had extra water and live rock delivered and started the system. Every thing running smooth at the moment. See my photo's for pic's.

new member

Posted: April 18th, 2010, 1:34am CDT by freedom

Hi,
I'm pleased to be a new member ! I'm a middle school teacher in Canada. I've been in the hobby, in and out, for over 20 years. My tank is a 67 gallon, ran Berlin (organic filtration), with several invertebrates and only 3 fish.

Freedom

Comedy errors

Posted: April 18th, 2010, 11:35pm CDT by zombie clam

I was thinking that over the time I have dealt with tanks, spent many years on freash water and now getting into reef systems nicely, I have heard of and seen many funny mistakes.

What mistakes have you made or seen/heard about and when realised it, either felt really stupid or just had a really good laugh.

After rebuilding my tank I had "dust" all over the place, nothing I could do but wait for the tank to settle down. Once it was almost clear I cleaned the inside of the glass a bit and then saw dust on the powerhead, I went along and waved my hand close by and the bulk of it just "puffed" away but there was on little corner which still had dust on, I was so caught in the moment in staring that I kind of forgot about the glass between me and the powerhead and gave a nice blow at it just to get it gone - after teh second more gentle blow it dawned on me...needles to say I felt like a prize chop right then ;)

New Nano startup

Posted: April 18th, 2010, 8:05pm CDT by zombie clam

I 2 have a smallish tanks (empty), sitting in my office at home, they are crying out to be turned into nano's instead of dusk collectors. I then have another 2ft tank, currently my refugium which is going to become free soon too.

How much work is it to get a nano up and running? It is basicaly the same thing as setting up a large tank or more complex due to it;s size? I don' know anything about Nano's at this stage ad just thinking about it a lillt before I dive into it and just create large problems for myself.

The though was to put the tank on my desk in the office to give me something good to look at, I am not going to do anything until I have a whole bunch of info about them and the filter systems surrounding them.

I have an Atman External filter (450L/h), it was a thought to maybe make use of that as the main filter setup but am not sure how it will do. I definately need some help and advice before I do anything

Need urgent electrical help

Posted: April 18th, 2010, 12:14pm CDT by manta

I have wired up my T5 lights yesterday afternoon and have a problem with 4 out of the 6 lights.

The lights come on and then 7 seconds later switches off by itself.

here is a photo of the balast I have used.

These are electronic ballasts so I assume that they do not need starters?

Between connection 5 and 6 there is a little star. What does this signify??

The lights I have installed are all brand new and are as follows

3 X HO 54W 12000k
2 X HO 54W Actinic
1 X HO 54W Coral Blue

Thanks

new sump

Posted: April 17th, 2010, 2:36am CDT by badbiker

Hi guys

want some advice about making new sump for my 25 g 100L aquarium so what size shall I make and how many compartments to be in it. need some explanation PLZ how it will work (I m new for this all:whistling::whistling::):):slayer:) and is it necessary for my livestock? is hang on skimmer not enough to do the job ??

thanx

skimmer to swop for tank

Posted: April 17th, 2010, 11:32pm CDT by mandarinman

apologies as i have tried to post in hardware and photos wont load. i have a weipro sa 2014 and 2011with 2000lph pump to swop for a 1200mm x 450 tank, ct only,collection only

My Tank Rebuild

Posted: April 17th, 2010, 11:07pm CDT by zombie clam

Just rebuilt my tank today, exchanged for another tank with a surface skim overflow for a siphon arrangement.

This is a before pic, took it the other night. One the way to bed I quickly switched on some light and snapped it but only ralised after that everything is "sleeping" - so it is a bad one - but still gives you an idea of what it looked like before.

The new tank, just cleaned it and ready for the "big day"

The new tank waiting to be put into place, this was a night shot with my phone and it isn't the bast at night pics.

I missed out on the "action" pics but here is my wife busy doing the aquascaping for us.

Another of her enjoying herself - she had a blast doing that.

We eventually got the canpoy on an switched some lights on - the dust was quite a thing, put fine filter matter in the mix to try clean the water

This is the end result...still some clearing of the water to happen but I anticipate it will be clear bu the morning.

You think I did good, bad or just gone sideways??
I was aiming for an improvement...

To all fellow reefers

Posted: April 17th, 2010, 6:41pm CDT by Scarlet

Hi everyone,

I'm very excited to join this awesome and enthusiastic community. Also relatively new to the hobby......got my first 5 frags today at Sam's aquarium shop :) - It's the best place in CT!!!

Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself...

New and confused

Posted: April 17th, 2010, 6:03pm CDT by Potjie

Hi all!

My name is Rayno and I have had various fresh water set ups over the last 8 years and now I think it is time to move to bigger and better things!

I have a 4 foot tank with sump, protein skimmer and a T5 light fitting with 3 tubes which stopped working a week ago :(

We are moving to a new house in 2 weeks time and I need some advice...

While I am going to have to move my tank, I want to find my current Malawis a new home in preparation for starting my new marine tank...

So my priorities are as follows:
1) Find a new home / Trade in my Malawis. About 18 (3 different colours) Malawis and 2 Malawi Catfish. Any suggestions on a LFS / person in Joburg area that would take them and give them a new home?
2) New T5 light fitting. I have a deep tank, so I thought about 6 to 8 tubes? Any thoughts about what to get for a decent price?
3) RO unit for water...

Any assitance/ guidance would be much appreciated!

Thinking of starting a new reef tank.

Posted: April 17th, 2010, 5:12pm CDT by fish4life.

Hi All

Some 33 years ago I had some great marine tanks, manged in some small way to breed a few seahorses. And most of all had fun.

I looking at a area in my home in my kitchen that would be great for a reef tank with front and top views.

Size of tank I looking at is 2800Lx400Wx400H or 500H. I have a lot of space under the tank but not all is easy to get to once tank is in.What thickness glass would I need for no brace and what type of glass. I want it to be clear.

I have a very large skylight over the tank roof area, but feel I would need more light.

Years ago it was a task to keep marine, but I would like to look at the best way to set up this tank that would allow for the lowest amount of work on it, once set up.

I can build the tank my self and the stand, but if there is persons wanting to do it and the cost :peroni::peroni::peroni::peroni:are good please email me. I would also consider some one looking after the tank for me every month/ week - but I would like a really competent person to help me on this. There own tank would be a good reference.

Thank you in advance.

Fish4life.

Another shipment

Posted: April 17th, 2010, 12:56pm CDT by Naiema

Another new shipment landed@Sams Aquarium: ie Japonicus, Clams,Orange Shoulders,Mushrooms, Sponges &more. Please call us tofind out about our week-end specials on Nemos, Green Chromis, Banngais&Pyjama Cardinals as well as Damsels. 0217122534/0826368990

CT Reef Junkies - Next get together !

Posted: April 17th, 2010, 11:02am CDT by FransSny

Guys when we having the next meet ? I was thinking round about end of April.

Who is volunteering their tank / house for inspection :P

Greetings to all

Posted: April 17th, 2010, 9:58am CDT by frontosa

Hello to all members of this forum and thank you, I am currently cycling my nano one: Nano resum DMS-400, 48L, I'd like to put two young ladies, especially these: Chrysiptera parasema and Dascyllus melanurus, the quedria get both at the same time and some soft coral, question is whether I would get in trouble if I put these 2 fish in the aquarium, especially for their aggression?, thanks

Permalink for 'Marine_Aquariums_of_South_Africa/2010/04/16/Hi'

Hi

Posted: April 16th, 2010, 10:57pm CDT by DOHCTOR

New to the forum,have browsed a few times and think u guys are doing a good job:thumbup:

can there be too much feather duster worms

Posted: April 16th, 2010, 8:40pm CDT by Wolve

do i need to get some fish that feeds on these things. they are starting to cover up my rocks

Random Pics

Posted: April 16th, 2010, 8:27pm CDT by xtreme

Hi SM's and M's and admins:P

Is it possible to put a specie name on the random pics?
There are so many Bfull pics, and if there is a name on we newB's can look it up!!
:thumbup:

Removing scratches

Posted: April 16th, 2010, 7:21pm CDT by Annoying

:cursing:
Hey Ok so my tank is full and I sprayed the back pane black and WOW it really brings out colour BUT the scratches on the front pannel look horrible!!! Now I can empty the tank again and try to remove the scratches but I want o know how? How can I remove the scratches. The glass is 10mm and 1.8metres long and 60 high, any ideas on what can work PLEASE!!!

April Nominees

Posted: April 16th, 2010, 6:46pm CDT by dallasg

JacquesB and Bushmen!!!

since this is new i will ask both.

please provide questions you as the community would like to know...

fire away and in the meantime i will notify them

Positioning of Tunze's

Posted: April 16th, 2010, 4:48pm CDT by Adee

Hi Folks,

Any ideas how to mount another two Tunze props. I have total of 6 for my new system.

Need some advice on how to conceal wire/cabling. This is a rimless tank, really would like to keep things hidden though. need to position two pumps on the opposite end. The other 4 will go on the wall end side at the overflow end.

Under the two rock islands is a closed loop running off a MD70 pump.

Here is pic to illustrate...comments welcome.

Nennie ID

Posted: April 16th, 2010, 4:29pm CDT by deadmeat2016

is this a malu???

water temprature

Posted: April 16th, 2010, 4:02pm CDT by rudivh

Hope i dont ask to many questions here, but what should the water temperature in the tank be? The guys at the store said it must be 28 degrees, and i set my heater to that. I then noticed the water temperature went up to 30 degrees. My house is quite warm, so i turned down the heater but the water still stay that temperature so now i dont know if there is a problem with the thermomitor or is the water will be fine for fish.....

Thank you all so much for the help!

My engine room powerd by Power Lab

Posted: April 16th, 2010, 3:18pm CDT by callie

Reef octo kalk stirrer

Posted: April 16th, 2010, 1:49pm CDT by aslam

Ok,so I cracked both the plastic nuts that connect the otp 1000L to the kalk stirrer by over tightenning.Can these be replaced.I know the plastic piece that connects to the top of the pump from the bottom of the stirrer can be replaced as this piece can be unscrewed and removed.Im worried about the plastic nut that connects the pump to the middle of the stirrer.Appreciate your thoughts and thanks.

Can i get an Anemone

Posted: April 16th, 2010, 1:00pm CDT by Wolve

Hi All, my tank has now been running for more then a year, all liverock and most livestock were moved over from my previous tank which was about 8 months old.
the tank is 1800x600x400 high lighting is via 2x250 watt 20,000K metal halides.

Hey guys

Posted: April 16th, 2010, 12:18pm CDT by nazeem

Hi people i'm nazeem could someone please advise me as to what pump i should use for my 300l freshwater tank.:wave2:

what to do with my clown

Posted: April 16th, 2010, 12:09pm CDT by robertkukla

hi all i want to know what i can put in my tank to stop my clown hosting my bubble rock , my tank is to young for a anemone , or will the bubble rock be fine , im just concerned the bubble rock wont like the clown hosting it

thanks

What would have caused this

Posted: April 16th, 2010, 11:36am CDT by nick_fraser

Hi All

What would have caused a die off in my sump. Last night when i got home i checked my sump noticed everything in the one chamber was dead(Last checked was monday night).

My sump has 3 chambers inlet chamber, DBS and return chamber. Everything that died was in the inlet chamber Peacock shrimp and 4 Hermit crabs (hermit crabs looked like they climber out of their shells). The hermit crabs in the rest of the sump is fine and everything in the Display tank is 100%.

My tank has been running for 5 months now with no issues.
My peramiters are all in check.
NO3 =0
Nitrites =0
Nitrates 0.01ppm
Salinity 1.025

ANy ideas?

Urgent help needed How the heck do I fix this???

Posted: April 16th, 2010, 9:46am CDT by danimal

Got home last night to find the baffle containing my DSB has broken.... the return pump is functioning alright for now as the sand has piled up at the rear of the pump. I have no idea how to fix this short of draining the sump and removing all the sand, leadding to massive die-off.... and even if that were possible, once the sand is put back in, my bacteria colony will be back at square one (maybe two :P )

any ideas???

Coming Soon number 2

Posted: April 16th, 2010, 9:22am CDT by ziyaadb

130*70*55 - my tank

Stand being taken away in background to get cabinet made

Urgent help needed nitrit and ammonia

Posted: April 15th, 2010, 11:26pm CDT by badbiker

Hi;

I tested my aquarium and i found that nitrite is 1.0ppm and ammonia is 2.0ppm and found one of the fish dead. So as action I changed 50% of my tank water. so need help for more advices.

for info I have 7 coral and 4 fish.

thanx

Need help for new HAQOS WP2000 skimmer

Posted: April 15th, 2010, 11:20pm CDT by badbiker

Hi every one;

I just bought haqos skimmer.So dont know where to keep water level and how long shall wait for dirt accumulation in the cap.

Thanx for Help

Base rock required?

Posted: April 15th, 2010, 10:39pm CDT by zombie clam

I am about to rescape my tank, reasoning behind that is exchanging one tank to another - same size, just outlet is better...so...

I might as well scape the thing nicely with base rock which will eventually be covered by who knows what the future brings but I want to get the shape together - all of this is happening on Saturday so I got to get moving on this. Yeah, I know, maybe left it a little late to think about this sort of change but got some ideas only recently from other reefers and now I have a situation...

Where do I find base rock that isn't going to set me back and arm and leg for and also doesn't look like polished porcelain/bleached pure white stuff??

Vortech: 2 pumps on 1 controller/power supply? possible?

Posted: April 15th, 2010, 10:29pm CDT by leslie hempel

ok i recently acquired a fairly old Vortech mp40 pump, it still hase the old driver and for some reason the previous owner put another type of power supply on the pump..

when i initially tested it all was working 100%. not it is faulty....

so after stripping the item down and trying various options i have put the pump onto my old driver /power supply and it works fine.

what is to stop me from joining both pumps together and then to the driver?

will it work?

from my understanding they will then both act as one, is this not true?

a new driver is on the cards but i was wondering if i could not use a laptop power supply?

all just questions, im eager to get it up and running to see if the idea will work...
please post opinions..

Spirulina?

Posted: April 15th, 2010, 7:41pm CDT by xtreme

This one is from clicks, tablets

See the red line?

And I learned, no copper :nono:

Dismantling Tank

Posted: April 15th, 2010, 5:08pm CDT by DeanVand

Hi Everyone,

I understand this is not in the classified section, however I am desparate: I am moving from gauteng in 1 week and need to send some fish to new homes:
Emperor Angel (Med) R200
Yellow Goby (Med) 100
Tomato Clown (Med-Lrg) R100
Lyer Tail Anthia R50
Cardinal R50
Percular Clown R50
Moray Eel (small) R100
Banned Shrimp R100
Colt Coral R200
Leather Coral R100
Green Mushrooms (Large) R200
Hawkfish R100
Hammer Coral R150
Unknown Hard coral R100
Polyps R100
Thank you
Dean 0748252138

Crabs, salt, and live rock

Posted: April 15th, 2010, 4:31pm CDT by rudivh

Hey there. I bought a new tank last weekend, and i put all the water and salt and stuff in. The guy at the shop told me that once the salt is right, i can put some live rock in so speed up the process of the water.

Can anyone tell me firstly what the price for rock is, as he charges like R250 per kg for fegi rock. It is prettier than the normal rock, don't know what their called.

Well anyway i bought some of it, and later when i put it into the water i noticed there are a small crab in the water. Haven't seen him since, guess he is in the rock someware. Is this normal and should i worry about it?

Thank you

Looking for T5 light unit

Posted: April 15th, 2010, 4:09pm CDT by dan2381

Heres my problem, I have these T5 4 x 14W units and they suck, lol.
Im looking for a single T5 unit that would have around 6 to 8 24W T5's in one single unit and so far googling hasnt helped me find anything, or anything local atleast.

Would it be better to say have 4 x T5 and one 150MH? where can i find these at a reasonable price?

I think the biggest problem is that i need one thats gonna sit ontop of the tank, and my tank is 800 long, does anyone have any ideas? PLs help, im sick of these baby T5's, i Have used 24W bulbs in these units but then its only a 14W ballast and i dont c the point in changing the ballast in these cheap chinese products, i would rather just get a complete fix for my problem and then never have 2 worry again.

Any help would b appreciated, and prices are really important at the moment, lol.

Deionised water

Posted: April 15th, 2010, 3:25pm CDT by nakoma

Does anyone use deionised water to replace evaporated water instead of using R.O water ?????

New slim 3-pin SABS approved plug

Posted: April 15th, 2010, 1:54pm CDT by neo

for an alternative to the normal 3-pin plug have a look at
http://www.crabtree.co.za/modules_fe....asp?newsID=19
its smaller - less space - and SABS approved, handy for our sump areas.

Skimmer Plumbing

Posted: April 15th, 2010, 1:35pm CDT by poiromaniax

Hey guys,

Got me a new setup and skimmer (DNW 200 recirc) and now Im wondering the best way to plumb it:

Should I run the skimmer using a feed pump or tee off the overflow pipe, add a ball valve and run the skimmer from that.

Something like this super advanced hand drawn sketch that took me 3.5 hours to complete (including all the details) :P

Advantage of not using a feed pump (that I can think of)

Less heat transfer
Less power consumption
I can make a larger DSB
Can finely tune water input
Cleaner sump appearance
Lower cost involved (dont have to buy a pump)

Disadvantage:

Ball valves can get blocked, reducing skimmer efficiency
Higher cost of plumbing
There is the problem of skimmer "burps" and the level rising and falling - hopefully the ballvalve would prevent that

Those are all I can think of and so far its looking like there are much more advantages. Can anybody offer some input?

Ceramic/Bioball Removal

Posted: April 15th, 2010, 12:44pm CDT by gMAN

Hi all:wave2:,
I'm in the process of removing all the ceramics & bioballs from my sump and replacing with chaeto. I've removed some ceramics last week and added the chaeto already as per the advice i got, my question is over what period should i remove all the ceramics and bioballs so that it does not cause any spikes in my tank?
Any & all advice much appreciated :thumbup:

Anemone in a Nano tank

Posted: April 15th, 2010, 12:19pm CDT by Kevin

I have upgraded my lighting to 3x24w PL tubes in the Boyu TL550 and I have added a 60L sump with a DSB.

Is there an anemone which will survive in my tank and one which my clown fish will adapt too?

My tank is about 16mnths old and I have excellent water parameters excpet for the nitrates which hover around 15. Hence the reason I added the sump.

I really want an anemone for the clowns, they look lost without one.

Stunning Marines

Posted: April 15th, 2010, 11:15am CDT by Naiema

Wanted to tell you abut 2 new shipments.... Stunning fish ie.. Navarchus,Blue face, Banngais,Sailfins,Clown,Picasso&Niger triggers,Regals, Yellow,Blue&Kole Tangs, Pepperment Shrimps,Blue line,Blue legged&Red legged hermits, Magnifica foxface, Snails, Diamond back gobies &Selaris as well as Anemones and more . Please call us on 0217122534/0826368990

Bali Live Rock

Posted: April 15th, 2010, 10:59am CDT by Jacojs

Hey everyone.

Anybody know if this is any good or any bad for that matter :) and the difference between it and Kenya, location only?

Seachem Phosguard and brightwells extraxphos - who uses it in an sps system?

Posted: April 15th, 2010, 9:24am CDT by ziyaadb

Hi All

Been doing some reading and these are bad in that they leach aluminium into the water and cause choas for leathers(serch phosguard on google). I dont care much for leathers but love sps and lps any one use the products listed long term with no ill effects?

Predator Tank Wish List

Posted: April 15th, 2010, 9:06am CDT by FransSny

Ok for those not in the know yet, I am buying Rob's old 2,6 mtr to convert to the ultimate predator set up.

If it was YOUR tank, what would your wish list be

Most Beautiful / Favorite Fish

Posted: April 15th, 2010, 8:30am CDT by Tiger

Hi,

During my time with this marine hobby I have come across stunning, scares, expensive, cheap, comon and all types of different fish.

I know that each reefer has their own specific taste when selecting fish for their systems, but it got me wondering..... . . . .

If you have to select just one fish for your system, which one will it be? This has to be your favorite fish of all time regardless if its comon or cheap. I have found fish with the most caracter and personality like the Percula clowns are cheap but an all time favorite.

I know this is difficult and all of us love all da fish in da see, but lets put together a list of the most sought after fish.

My all time favorite, and I honostly can't really put my finger on this, is the Naso Lipstick Tang! I get so excited when I see this fish. It has these clear eyes that stare right through you with loads of personality and stunning colours when it reaches adult phase.

Youngest reef keepers

Posted: April 14th, 2010, 10:46pm CDT by zombie clam

Who is the youngest knowledgable reffer on MASA, or who is the parent of a young reefer within MASA?

My daughter is 8yrs old and she shows a keen enthusiasm and learns all about what I am up to, the how's and why's and in's and out's and is maybe a few steps behind me now in terms of the technical knowledge - not by far though, but in some areas advance beyond me when it comes to labeling fish & LS.

Title Rankings

Posted: April 14th, 2010, 10:00pm CDT by zombie clam

As one grows with MASA, ones "profile unit" is "upgraded". At what milestone does one change and or how does one accumulate to the next "creature" ie.

Plankton, Copepod, Bristleworm...

How many diferent "creatures" are there to change into and what are teh "milestones" to reach the different ones?

Ivan Penny

Posted: April 14th, 2010, 9:26pm CDT by Ivan Penny

Hi
I have just joined the community and look forward to adding what limited knowledge I have, but mostly learn from all the Guru's within this community.

Currently my tank appears to be behaving, except for green bushy and feathery algae, where I appear to be loosing the battle.

Can anybody help me or give me any suggestions in order to defeat my foe.

Thanking You in advance

KInd Regards

Ivan

New Member

Posted: April 14th, 2010, 8:27pm CDT by Clive K

Hi I am old school Tropical fresh water but just started marine tank 250l three weeks back and alls well so far.

Dorry Pets CT Competition

Posted: April 14th, 2010, 6:28pm CDT by FransSny

OK I need some "art" for the shop. Thus here goes...I would like all with kids to submit a drawing, painting of something marine related.

I will post the pics / scans & we all on MASA will vote for a winner. Dad (winner's) will receive some free Omega One foods for his tank, the winning aspirant reefer will receive a cash prize to the same value

BTW : Doesnt have to be your own kids , use the neighbors, friends etc LOL

Crabs - problem or not?

Posted: April 14th, 2010, 6:23pm CDT by zombie clam

I noticed some of those little hairy crabs some time ago which came with some LR, that didn't last long as they sort of disappeared...

I now have another concern, I switched on the light last night to just have a look at something and saw a light brown crab about the size of a R1 coin, never seen it before and no chance of a photo because it was super quick in ducking into one of the rocks - so it is clearly a nocternal fella. I don't see obvious signs of dammage other than hollowing out my rocks - to what degree I wouldn't know for sure but there is some debris on and around his little hole.

Would this crab be a problem?
Should I look at trying to remove it and if so - how?

Stray voltage in your tank: You should be worried

Posted: April 14th, 2010, 6:04pm CDT by Manic

Hey everyone,

Just thought I would share this with you. Every time I worked in my tank without shoes on I would get a slight shock as I put my hand in the water and as I lifted my hand out. I thought nothing of it as I knew what was causing it (Pump on my one reactor). Anyway about two weeks ago my sps started bleaching and some soft corals just suddenly died. I tested all parameters and everything was fine, I hadn't changed anything in the tank for a while so I was kind of confused as to the cause. After lots or reading and research I came across this, it is scary as I had a few pumps, heaters and skimmers that have done this in the past:

http://www.farmertodd.com/library/rk...lectricity.asp

I've read on many of the reef central threads about people complaining about sudden deaths of fish and clams, with this being the probable cause.

I changed the pump two weeks ago and my sps are already encrusting over the dead skeleton.

Fish ID needed

Posted: April 14th, 2010, 5:06pm CDT by Tim S

Hi all,
Can someone ID the puffer and wrasse for me please. Cannot find in the books I have looked in.

Thanks

Cellphone Pictures

Posted: April 14th, 2010, 5:03pm CDT by sean_koekemoer

While downloading pics from my cellphone, I thought of sharing some with you, as I know that some guys always complain about cellphone quality pics :P :whistling:

And this was taken over the weekend- especially for those guys living at lakes where everything freezes over :whistling:

Poiro's 1.5 Upgrade

Posted: April 14th, 2010, 4:58pm CDT by poiromaniax

Hey all,

So, after being in this awesome hobby for quite some time and paying many "school fees", I have finally decided that the time has come to upgrade.

I just bought BARBAREK's old 1.5M (that used to belong to PalmerC).

Im gonna have quite a few questions WRT plumbing and moving stuff over. I want to take it slow and make sure that everything is to my liking before I switch everything over.

This is going to be a mixed reef, softie dominated (mainly zoas) with some LPS and SPS thrown into the mix

Here are the specs:

Display: 1500X600X600 (12mm glass and bracing)
Sump: 1100X450X480 (1 baffle is broken, so I will replace it, but not too sure about where yet - it all depends on if I choose to plumb the skimmer directly from the overflow or if I run a feed pump?)
Skimmer: DNW 200 Recirculating
Other: Phosban reactor

Total system volume : 710L!!

Lighting:
2 X 150W MH
4 X 54W T5's

Flow:
Hailea 2500LPH Return
Koralia 4
Seio Prop 3500 LPH
Seio Prop 5000 LPH
Seio 2500 LPH
(Will add more when cash is more available :lol: )

Now, the only thing that worries me at the moment is that while we were carrying it, a small piece of glass on the base chipped (see pic 1 & 2) The chip is tiny (prob about 2cm) and is directly under the bracing - Is this going to be a problem?

Enough talk, heres some pics:

Tank head on (my other tank is in the way so cant get the whole thing in the frame)

Tank from the side

Sump

Skimmer

Id starfish please !!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted: April 14th, 2010, 4:56pm CDT by sean_koekemoer

I sometimes see these starfish here by us. Is it the sand sifting starfish that Dean was talking about on Scuba's thread???

To the Pic Gurus-Do not judge the Pic quality, it was taken with a cellphone:)

And this snail looking thing, it has the body of a Jelly fish, yet the spots of a leopard ray???

This week's shipment 2010-04-14

Posted: April 14th, 2010, 4:55pm CDT by Moolis

philippines and
America
green chromis
arrow crab
blue eye cardinal
horseshoe crab
golden head goby
bumblebee snails
red hawkfish
rock beauty
salarias goby
neon goby
pink wrasse
pink tip anemone
percula clown
blue leg hermit crab
firefish goby
white gorgonia
carpenters wrasse
purple whip gorgonia
camel cow fish
royal gramma med
chelmon butterfly
florida ricordia orange
green mandarin
potters angel
black and white henniochus
florida ricordia green
blue face trigger
florida ricordia bright green
red legged hermit crab
flame angel
peppermint shrimps
yellow tang md
yellow tang small

Wood trimmings

Posted: April 14th, 2010, 1:27pm CDT by danimal

Hey guys

Building a new cabinet and canopy for my new tank, gonna be making it out of either pine or marine ply.

Where can I get trimmings to cover up the edges so that the finished product has a more 'professional' look - want to do this properly this time :P

Cheers
Dan

Are they reefsafe?

Posted: April 14th, 2010, 1:18pm CDT by herkie

I caught some small Moonies(2-3 cm) and a soul of the same size last night and would like to know if the can be kept in a reeftank. - like the moonie shape and the soul should be interesting to watch. :biggrin:

Are they reefsafe?

Posted: April 14th, 2010, 12:18pm CDT by herkie

I caught some small Moonies(2-3 cm) and a soul of the same size last night and would like to know if the can be kept in a reeftank. - like the moonie shape and the soul should be interesting to watch. :biggrin:

Cheato dying or not ? why ?

Posted: April 14th, 2010, 11:57am CDT by neo

Howdy,
I added some cheato to my DSB approx 2-weeks back.
The cheato is going black on top and there is also some part turning an ash grey color, is the cheato dying ? I have one 18watt energy spotlight (par 38 style).

Might it be starving i.e. not enought nitrates/phosphate in water?

Permalink for 'Marine_Aquariums_of_South_Africa/2010/04/14/Hi'

Hi

Posted: April 14th, 2010, 10:56am CDT by Dillah22

Hi,
I m Dillah new here.
Happy to become the part of this community.

Dillah

New Tank

Posted: April 14th, 2010, 9:43am CDT by Johan Luus

Hi my name is Johan, i live in Witbank i will be starting a new marine tank in Mei.
Any advise?

Clean your siphon break

Posted: April 14th, 2010, 9:25am CDT by Rory

Just a friendly reminder to clean your siphon break (the little hole thing at the top of your return pipe to break the siphon when the elec goes off) so your tank doesn't end up all over your floor like mind did last night... :(

Best product for a ATS

Posted: April 14th, 2010, 8:53am CDT by robertkukla

which would be the best product for my ATS that im building , i am between minds of using perspex , shade cloth or glass , maybe if anyone has a better product i can use your help will be appreciated:thumbup:

Great Barrier Reef

Posted: April 13th, 2010, 7:57am CDT by mandarin

A Chinese vessel was stranded for one week on the Great Barrier reef causing significant damage to the corals, about 1km long.The toxic paint they use on the hull is also spreading and killing everything in the surrounding area.These stupid people took a shortcut route and look what they have done, i get realy mad.

Moving tank??

Posted: April 13th, 2010, 10:09pm CDT by Evo R

Hi all.

How do i move my nano from my office to the living room at home?And will the tank have to cycle agian? Tanks running almost 3 months and hassome softies and a blenny and 2 chromis in.

Any advice will be much appreciated!!!!!!!!!

in NEED of protein skimmer

Posted: April 13th, 2010, 8:46pm CDT by layla13

does anyone know where i can get a low cost protein skimmer shipped to egypt? the few saltwater dealers here are crazy with the costs. thanks

Dorry Pets PTA closed from 15th -18th

Posted: April 13th, 2010, 7:28pm CDT by lanzo

Hi guys

DP PTA will be closed from the 15th - 18th...

i will hopefully meet up with some of you guys at the last MMC2010 i know Sean Koekemoer is also going:thumbup:

All orders wil be sent out before Thursday 12h00 orders that will be placed between the 15th and 18th will get processed on the 19th

For any info or trouble please contact Frans at:

frans@dorrypets.co.za

Happy Reefing Guys :peroni:

poor mans moorish idol

Posted: April 13th, 2010, 6:58pm CDT by Fredy O

hi there, can anybody plz tell me what they know about this fish, girlfrend ordered it and its arriving on thursday

Cool to be here

Posted: April 13th, 2010, 6:16pm CDT by lionfishleon

I'm Leon and passionate about anything living in saltwater. So many questions, so little time. Finally took the time to sign up, great stuff!

Seeding dead rock in rockpools

Posted: April 13th, 2010, 3:41pm CDT by Dane

Hey all,

If this were hypothetically speaking legal, or if one were able to get a permit for this, what do you think the results would be?

Obviously one would hypothetically have to boil the rocks nice and long to make sure there are no nasties before dropping them off in a local shallow rockpool.

Surely they'd get nice crustose and goggas? Anyone heard of a hypothetical situation wherein such an experiment was performed? Hypothetically, of course.

Hypothetically, would rockpools species (able to tolerate a massive range in temp, salinity etc) even on the cape town coast (warmer side) be able to colonise it and do ok in a tropical tank? (bacteria, macro, pods etc).

d

Urgent help needed Serious algae problem

Posted: April 13th, 2010, 2:32pm CDT by PeterLoubser

I have a Boyu 550 nano which is just over a year old. I am starting to get seriously despondent and desperate as I have a green algae problem that is slowly starting to choke the life out of my tank. Generally my tank parameters are good and after chatting to the LFS I bought a phosphate test kit as well as a phosphate reducer to try and clear the problem but to no avail.
I do water changes religiously every 2 weeks, clean the protein skimmer regularly, make sure I dont over-feed, etc. etc. Every time I do a water change I harvest as much algae as I can but over time it has now just about taken over everything. Any coral I had has been choked and died, as well as my tube worms and snails. I have a spiky urchin and crabs, and shrimps that are doing ok as well as a small number of fish that are fine, but if I cant get rid of the algae I am seriously thinking of packing it all in. HELP!

April 2010 meeting

Posted: April 13th, 2010, 2:25pm CDT by Mekaeel

The next meeting will be held on the 29/04/2010 at the UKZN dive club. See you all there at 19:00 :thumbup:

greetings

Posted: April 13th, 2010, 1:04pm CDT by Semi

:thumbup:Hi.my name is Andre,and live in durbs.am very passionate about marine aquaria.i have been going at it for about 12 yrs,and learn something new daily.ihave recently returned from England,and set up a nano tank(fish only).it has been running now for 3mths,and so far so good.will soon post my specs and pics.

Boyu TL550 with sump

Posted: April 13th, 2010, 10:17am CDT by Kevin

After a year or so, I have finally installed a sump for my TL 550.

I will post pics of the modification soon.

I have drilled a 32mm hole into the back of the tank for the overflow and a 20mm hole for the return. The back of the TL 550 is glass not acrylic so I had to source the drill bits. Builder warehouse have got in diamond drill bits from Torkcraft. I paid R129 for the 20mm bit and R169 for the 32mm bit.

Drilling was a breeze, but I did quite a bit of practise before hand on old glass.

The overflow, will start to operate from tonight. I have split the overflow into the sump into two lines. One line will run over an ATS and the other will flow directly into the chamber of the return pump.

I have set up a DSB underneath the ATS in the main chamber. The sand is playsand at a depth of appox 12cm. On top of this I want to put in Chaeto and some other macro algae.

The return pump is 2000L/hr, I dont know if this is too much for the tank. Advise will be appreciated.

I still need to install some lights in the sump for the ATS and for the algae growth.

Space is limited so I am going to put 2x50w downlights for the sump and try and squeeze in a 23W CFL floodlight for the ATS. I hope this is suffiicent or is it overkill?

After all of this, if I still have space, I want to chuck the Boyu skimmer as far as I can throw it and put in a lekker skimmer in the sump. Any advise here would also be appreciated.

Here is a pic of the sump. It is approximately 60L.

Boyu TL550 with sump

Posted: April 13th, 2010, 10:17am CDT by Kevin

After a year or so, I have finally installed a sump for my TL 550.

I will post pics of the modification soon.

I have drilled a 32mm hole into the back of the tank for the overflow and a 20mm hole for the return. The back of the TL 550 is glass not acrylic so I had to source the drill bits. Builder warehouse have got in diamond drill bits from Torkcraft. I paid R129 for the 20mm bit and R169 for the 32mm bit.

Drilling was a breeze, but I did quite a bit of practise before hand on old glass.

The overflow, will start to operate from tonight. I have split the overflow into the sump into two lines. One line will run over an ATS and the other will flow directly into the chamber of the return pump.

I have set up a DSB underneath the ATS in the main chamber. The sand is playsand at a depth of appox 12cm. On top of this I want to put in Chaeto and some other macro algae.

The return pump is 2000L/hr, I dont know if this is too much for the tank. Advise will be appreciated.

I still need to install some lights in the sump for the ATS and for the algae growth.

Space is limited so I am going to put 2x50w downlights for the sump and try and squeeze in a 23W CFL floodlight for the ATS. I hope this is suffiicent or is it overkill?

After all of this, if I still have space, I want to chuck the Boyu skimmer as far as I can throw it and put in a lekker skimmer in the sump. Any advise here would also be appreciated.

Here is a pic of the sump. It is approximately 60L.

Boyu TL550 with sump

Posted: April 13th, 2010, 10:17am CDT by Kevin

After a year or so, I have finally installed a sump for my TL 550.

I will post pics of the modification soon.

I have drilled a 32mm hole into the back of the tank for the overflow and a 20mm hole for the return. The back of the TL 550 is glass not acrylic so I had to source the drill bits. Builder warehouse have got in diamond drill bits from Torkcraft. I paid R129 for the 20mm bit and R169 for the 32mm bit.

Drilling was a breeze, but I did quite a bit of practise before hand on old glass.

The overflow, will start to operate from tonight. I have split the overflow into the sump into two lines. One line will run over an ATS and the other will flow directly into the chamber of the return pump.

I have set up a DSB underneath the ATS in the main chamber. The sand is playsand at a depth of appox 12cm. On top of this I want to put in Chaeto and some other macro algae.

The return pump is 2000L/hr, I dont know if this is too much for the tank. Advise will be appreciated.

I still need to install some lights in the sump for the ATS and for the algae growth.

Space is limited so I am going to put 2x50w downlights for the sump and try and squeeze in a 23W CFL floodlight for the ATS. I hope this is suffiicent or is it overkill?

After all of this, if I still have space, I want to chuck the Boyu skimmer as far as I can throw it and put in a lekker skimmer in the sump. Any advise here would also be appreciated.

Here is a pic of the sump. It is approximately 60L.

My Latest Sump

Posted: April 13th, 2010, 10:16am CDT by Creep

Hi guys.

Attached is a pdf file of my sump I had made and it was suggested I rater go with this sump as with the one I desighned. Ok this is officaly my third sump.

It's got 5 chambers First is the inlet, second is for the heater third is for the skimmer and return pump, fourth is for DSB and the fifth is the refugium. Afer I got the sump i saw a problem the flow ower my DSB as my return pump is in the third chamber i would not get any flow ofer the DSB in the fourth chamber. Now i would like to know would it work if i pump water to my DT from my DSB from my third chmber with a piece of pipe.

OR any suggetions?
Attached Files

sump.pdf (25.2 KB)

My Latest Sump

Posted: April 13th, 2010, 10:16am CDT by Creep

Hi guys.

Attached is a pdf file of my sump I had made and it was suggested I rater go with this sump as with the one I desighned. Ok this is officaly my third sump.

It's got 5 chambers First is the inlet, second is for the heater third is for the skimmer and return pump, fourth is for DSB and the fifth is the refugium. Afer I got the sump i saw a problem the flow ower my DSB as my return pump is in the third chamber i would not get any flow ofer the DSB in the fourth chamber. Now i would like to know would it work if i pump water to my DT from my DSB from my third chmber with a piece of pipe.

OR any suggetions?
Attached Files

sump.pdf (25.2 KB)

My Latest Sump

Posted: April 13th, 2010, 10:16am CDT by Creep

Hi guys.

Attached is a pdf file of my sump I had made and it was suggested I rater go with this sump as with the one I desighned. Ok this is officaly my third sump.

It's got 5 chambers First is the inlet, second is for the heater third is for the skimmer and return pump, fourth is for DSB and the fifth is the refugium. Afer I got the sump i saw a problem the flow ower my DSB as my return pump is in the third chamber i would not get any flow ofer the DSB in the fourth chamber. Now i would like to know would it work if i pump water to my DT from my DSB from my third chmber with a piece of pipe.

OR any suggetions?
Attached Files

sump.pdf (25.2 KB)

? on Changing Impellors

Posted: April 13th, 2010, 9:59am CDT by Pads

Yesterday I had a break through with the help of Neil. I thought that the little Resun 2000l/h pump lying around was not gonna give me adequate return flow as a return pump. So when I got home I connected everything up and it works brilliantly apart from the noise. This could just be a noisy brand or the impellor. This too seems to "stall" which plays with my water levels. Now my question......

What are the chances of finding a generic impellor to swap. Currently its got a paddle wheel, I was wonder if there is a more efficient impellor before I decide that the noise warrants a new pump.

Any feed back would be appreciated. Thx ;)

? on Changing Impellors

Posted: April 13th, 2010, 9:59am CDT by Pads

Yesterday I had a break through with the help of Neil. I thought that the little Resun 2000l/h pump lying around was not gonna give me adequate return flow as a return pump. So when I got home I connected everything up and it works brilliantly apart from the noise. This could just be a noisy brand or the impellor. This too seems to "stall" which plays with my water levels. Now my question......

What are the chances of finding a generic impellor to swap. Currently its got a paddle wheel, I was wonder if there is a more efficient impellor before I decide that the noise warrants a new pump.

Any feed back would be appreciated. Thx ;)

? on Changing Impellors

Posted: April 13th, 2010, 9:59am CDT by Pads

Yesterday I had a break through with the help of Neil. I thought that the little Resun 2000l/h pump lying around was not gonna give me adequate return flow as a return pump. So when I got home I connected everything up and it works brilliantly apart from the noise. This could just be a noisy brand or the impellor. This too seems to "stall" which plays with my water levels. Now my question......

What are the chances of finding a generic impellor to swap. Currently its got a paddle wheel, I was wonder if there is a more efficient impellor before I decide that the noise warrants a new pump.

Any feed back would be appreciated. Thx ;)

Live rock chewing gum or what?

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 12:51am CDT by Garethmur

Howzit again,
Please someone tell me what the heck this is, my live rock seems to be blowing jelly like bubbles?

flipc-Yank semi-newbie

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 11:11pm CDT by flipc

Been trying to keep a small (55ga) tank w/ a few fish and some coral. Been at it a few years, but much time on road made proper attention difficult. Retired now, recently back from an Australian vacation, snorkeled on Great Barrier Reef, and found out what it's really like. With rekindled enthusiasm, I have purchased a 29ga glass tank, got plexi baffles, skimmer,bio balls, hang on overflow box, return pump and misc plumbing parts. Have done some research on sump/refuge design, but am confused as to best configuration. I woul greatly appreciate any guidance as I stand, silicone at the ready.

Looking for some chemical compounds for the tank ??

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 11:02pm CDT by Singularity

I have used these guys a couple of times, last order was a couple of things from germany, expected arrival time was 4 weeks, but it arrived today only two weeks after order. You can find almost anything, also look through the lab equipment, might be some things that can come in handy with your tank :P

[www.bmscientific.co.za]
[www.bmscientific.co.za]

ATS setup

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 10:21pm CDT by llewellyn

Please help??
I'm not done with this setup. But before I go any furthur...Is it okay to have the mesh in this position?
:baffled:

Interested in Moon Jellyfish

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 9:39pm CDT by Daniel van Wyk

Hi
I am new to this. I am very interested in Moon jellyfish. I would like to know where i can get hold of these, thier accessories and the tanks.Can anyone assist?
Thanks
Daniel

pumps

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 9:39pm CDT by ian11

hi everyone.. any info on which pumps are readily available in RSA that can deliver large volumes (20 000l plus) but really cheap to run, trying to save on electricity:thumbup:. using .75kw spek pumps at the mo.

Gatvol with skimmers

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 9:38pm CDT by mariusmeyer

I am getting very gatvol with skimmers now. I exchanged my OCTX200 internal for a bubble blaster 2000 due to the sicce pump making a huge noise as the pinwheel mulches up the bubbles. Got the bubble blaster today as it is supposed to be super silent and hooked it all up, just to find a freaking humming sound that is lowder than say 3 air pumps running at the same time. The mulching of the bubbles are dead quiet but the humming is terrible. It is quite a bit louder than my cheap lifetech return pump that pumps more than twice the amount of water.

I can not take i anymore. You spend close to R5000 on a skimmer that is supposed to be quiet and then you get the humming? Am I missing something here or am I wanting unrealistically low noise levels from my equipment?

Is internal skimmers noisier than external ones? Cause I listened to the external bubble blaster at idol marine and I had to put my ear right next to the 7000LPH pump to hear if it was on. So why is my 2000LPH noisier?

Sorry for the rant but I'm running out of ideas here. Maybe I should just go skimmerless and build a mother of an algae scrubber.

Cycling

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 8:36pm CDT by brendanpre

Hi everyone

More newbie questions. What lifeforms on LR would typically survive cycling? I know there are a lot of variables like the quality of the LR, how much die off there is, how big the spikes are, etc. Also, should you still do water changes during cycling? What happens if you put more fresh LR in when the cycle has stopped? Do you get more die off and more cycling or does the bacteria in the system keep things stable(ish)? Would more life survive on the second round or not?

Water for marine tank

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 6:25pm CDT by Devank

Hi All, I was just wondering if buying a Ro filter for around R1500 (5 stage) and buying marine salt for around R700 per 20Kg is the correct thing to do. What brands are recommended? I made teh mistake of bring sea water from DBN only to find out from the pet store that this increases the nitrogen levels.

Thank you for your time.

pic of your favourite zoa in your own tank?

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 5:55pm CDT by mandarinman

i am in the process of gathering zoas for my new tank and i am really curious to see what is in south africa. my current favourites are...

Help needed!!

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 5:45pm CDT by b-rad

Hi guys
I just came home to find some crab in my tank that I have never seen before which must have been in some live rock of mine. But wait there is more, it was eating one of my goldies Holy shit, problem is as soon as I try catch this thing it goes under a rock. How do I catch this thing? its on the sand under a rock, please help me so I can catch this bastard and flush it where it belongs.
Many Thanks
Brad

Keeping Aquarium Glass Clean

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 4:27pm CDT by Trine

Over the past few days I have seen some beautiful reef tanks on this site and also on google images. I noticed that some of the tanks are immaculate. The glass is spotless whereas others have different types of growth on th glass and look dirty. Im new to this so Im wondering what is right. I kind of like the glass being clean, slightly obsessive some might say. What is best??

DIY fluidised reactor

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 3:48pm CDT by Tim S

Hi,
I'm looking at using a canister type container for a fluidised purigen filter. The type of canister you find on the RO units, but a see-through one so you can see the medium and the effect of the flow. Has anybody done this or have reports or pic's on how well it works?

Livestock wanted

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 2:33pm CDT by Tim S

Hi Frans,

I don't know how you select or order your stock, but here's my shopping list which I desperately want.

Yellow tang
Leather coral
Green Bubble tip nennie
A nice colourful blennie to churn over the substrate (not too big).

What can you get for me,

Tim

Got this today

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 2:21pm CDT by FransSny

Anyone want to come and look at WICKED pics, I got this today, amazing

http://www.amazon.com/Oceanic-Wilder.../dp/1552979997

Sand Stirrer

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 2:06pm CDT by scubaninja

Hi guys, i'm looking for ideas for a fish/invert that will stir up my sand. Hopefully something that does not eat pods, or is a ferocious pod hunter cause i'm trying to increase my pod population at the moment. The reason is i've now sorted out my flow in the tank just the way i want it. Detritus in suspension goes over the overflow, a the wavebox picks up detritus from the top of the sand bed. But nothing picks up whats in the sand itself, unless a fish swims past in a hurry and stirs it up.

So what will unearth the detritus from INSIDE the sand continuously so i do not have to rake it myself? I've heard of a burrowing star-fish? I'm not so sure of sand sifting gobies cause of their pod eating needs.. so ideas? Prefferably from your own experience?

Water clarity

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 1:52pm CDT by Tim S

Hi all,

What's the secret to crystal clear water. Looking through my dt end on, the water has a greenish / yellow colour to it. I have a big skimmer, 7 layers of filter wool and a vortch with sponge which collects a massive amunt of stuff. I do have a bit of slimy algae growing. Could this be the cause? I had some carbon in the sump but did not seem to make any diffirence.

Any advise please.

Converting Tropical to Marine & secondhand

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 1:48pm CDT by Trine

Hello everyone :wave2:

I have spent a few hours on this site and learning a great deal. Im at the confused stage as I have no real knowledge about Reef aquariums. Im sure I want one though. I have a 3ft (200L)tropical at the moment and I would love to set it up as a marine. My funds are tight so I was wondering if anyone thinks its worth buying secondhand stuff.

I want to start with fish only as this is leat expensive I belive????

What is ok secondhand and what is best to get new?

Can I use my fluval 205 canister filter for the marine setup?

The thought of having a marine in my lounge is very exciting:slayer:

New 5Ft

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 1:25pm CDT by PostersPlus

Hey guys
I just got a new 5ft tank and super excited.
I need help with setup please.
I will try upload pics for you tonight.
The tank dimensions are 1500 x 450 x 500mm the water level is at about 450mm.
I plan to make it a reef tank with fish, inverts and softies and much later when the tank is well established anemones.
Any ideas on what lighting a should use i am completely clueless when it comes to this.
Not sure what skimmer to run just yet but definatley want a reef octopus?
Also gonna run a DSB in the sump.
Any help will be much appreciated.

Squid vs. Sea Lion video

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 12:33pm CDT by Jaco Schoeman

Hi guys.

Came across this amazing first time ever footage of a sea lion vs. a squid...

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/...topus-vin.html

Enjoy!!! ;)

What easts brown algae?

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 11:42am CDT by Garethmur

Howzit, tanks been cycling for about 2 and a half months now, seen a lil itsy bitsy snail and an itsi bitsy (that thing with the flat shell you see on rocks) thingy... the feather worm i got from mark is thriving in the sump, and now there are like 5 of them... so something must be going right.... but i got a lot of brown algae growing in the sump and want to know, besides turning off the light in the sump, what lil creature can i get that will eat the arlgae? and be happy in the sump, and not eat the feather forms?

Canada super size Reef

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 11:13am CDT by Renannchen

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1811725
Hey been following this thread for a while now, very nice build!

150W MH Diffusers

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 10:58am CDT by Tim S

Hi,

I have 2 x 150w MH's in round diffusers. I looks like the round ones dont distribute the light evenly in the tank. Where can I get rectangular diffuers with no gear etc.in CT? Any suggestions on types?

Thanks,
Tim

Training fish caught in rockpools to eat prepared foods

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 10:53am CDT by danimal

Hi guys

Had a good weekend where I caught several really cool specimens. Among those are a doublesash butterfly and a semicircle angel (he might be a koran/old woman, not 100% sure). The semi is doing very well, I have noticed him taking a few nips at my pavona coral which had closed up. He doesn't seem interested in any of my softies (yet!)

How do I train him to not eat corals? Has anyone had any success in this area? He's a real beaut so I don't want to part with him if I can.

Second question is on the doublesash - he is very healthy and fat, but has anyone had any success with these? He sniffs at my homemade brew (bloodworms, krill, mysis, nori, garlic all blended together) but I haven't seen him take any.

Last question - there were a few stunning racoon butterflies that I didnt have time to pursue, would love to get one next weekend if I can. What are your experiences/opinions on these?

Thanks

Skimmer theory ?

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 10:12am CDT by Neil H

some generic questions for the Skimmer / skimmer DIY guru's

if one were to build a skimmer using the HX series (the new low wattage ones) of pumps would you feed the skimmer with a 3000Lph pump and use a 5000Lph pump to recirculate? or the other way around and how would this effect the skimmers performance / rating?

Why is it that larger skimmers tend to be short and fat as opposed to tall and thin? surely the more contact time a bubble has in a reaction chamber the better ? my gut says tall and thin is better but then why are the commercial skimmers short and fat ? is this a space saving thing only??

Starfish ID please

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 9:49am CDT by Jaco Schoeman

Hi gents and ladies

My dad got these two starfish from the Portugese Islands this morning. He placed them in his sump for the time being, as we need to establish what they are, and whether they are reef safe.

Can anyone ID please, and if possible, identify if reefsafe or not. Thank you in advance. ;)

1.

2.

Fish from Idol

Posted: April 12th, 2010, 8:56am CDT by mariusmeyer

Hey Guys.

I vaguely remember something about Idol marine keeping their fish only tanks at a lower salinity, so how do you acclimate these fish? Do you keep them in a separate holding tank and slowly raise the salinity by 0.002 per day? I think the shops water is at 1.017 and my tank is sitting at 1.025

Please advise.

Goby Nightmare!!!!!!!

Posted: April 11th, 2010, 12:16am CDT by MistaOrange

Hey guys this past week I was in Lusaka Zambia & while I was away my father thought he was doing me a favor by doing a water change but couldn't find my salt mix so he ventured to the Blouberg beach & collected some sea water about 100L & did a 30% water change. When I arrived saterday morning the first thing I went to check up on my tanks. What a disaster the tanks were green, greener than our lawn but the fish looked ok until tonight I noticed that my yellow shrimp goby is looking a bit strange. the front half of his body is ok but the back half looks pale, white & tail fin looks half chowed & him tummy loos bloated. What can I do now? must I take him out? I don't have a QT but the other tank has less fish in it or put him in the sump? Please help?

torch coral trouble

Posted: April 11th, 2010, 12:07am CDT by Diveshan

Howzit guys i have abit of feather duster worms on a particular piece of rock in the display and my torch coral is on the same rock, it appears that these little feathery things have grown up the skeleton all the way to the coral tissue, they are now opening extremly close to the actual flesh, Do i have a problem here and will they affect the health of my torch?
Thanks

Turbo Snail Poo

Posted: April 11th, 2010, 11:44pm CDT by AntS

Hi Guys,

Started the cleanup crew on my first tank today.

Added just one snail as thats the only one they could find at the LFS. Its pretty big (prob 3.5cm diameter) and is doing an amazing job cleaning the rock and getting rid of hair algae.

Only problem is it seems to crap a hell of alot (must've counted over 20 pellets caught in some hair algae after being in the tank for 12 hours).

Is the normal? and is the poo going to drastically affect the chemical balance of my water (58l nano)? If so - what should I do?

Pre Filter (Milkfilter)

Posted: April 11th, 2010, 11:39pm CDT by LuckyFish

Hi guys,

I posted this pre filter, made from milk filter socks, in the DIY section!

[www.marineaquariumsa.com]

It is actually a mechanical filter, so I should be found here as well.

Exchanging tanks

Posted: April 11th, 2010, 11:31pm CDT by zombie clam

I am changing tanks this week, the "new" one simply has a drilled overflow arrangement opposed to the siphon system I am currenty running.

Are there any factors or things I need to pay specific attention to in order for the least distruption? Moving my entire tank over from one to another is going to throw out the entire system for sure, that stands to be obvious.

I am just unsure if there is something one would take special precautions to with regards to the change over...

Boyu TL-550

Posted: April 11th, 2010, 11:12pm CDT by rudivh

Good day

I bought a marine aquarium, model nr TL-550. There are no instructions in the box on how the pumps and the filters must be set up. Can someone please explain.

There are 4 compartments at the back of the tank. On the left there are a pump and filter that is fixed to the tank that I cannot move. The next one is where the heater comes in according to the box. In the 3rd compartment is the 4 bags of ceramic beads, and the round balls, and in the 4th (right hand side) compartment is where the skimmer comes in and the sponge filter. I am not sure if the sponge filter must come in another compartment. I am also not sure how the skimmer must be installed and where and how the pipe must go that is on the skimmer.

Can you also explain the use of the skimmer and what it does?

Thank you

Rudi

Night Life

Posted: April 11th, 2010, 10:43pm CDT by gMAN

So tonight for the first time I actually observed tank with lights out and a blue bulb LED flash light, all the fish are asleep and it's like a whole new breed of species take over!
The one that caught my attention is a worm like creature white in color that swims in a cork screw like motion, when attached to the glass, it walks almost like a centipede (even has as many legs like a centipede). Anybody else seen this worm like creature? Couldn't get a picture as it's too small..

Prefilter (Milkfilter)

Posted: April 11th, 2010, 10:36pm CDT by LuckyFish

Hi guys,

I posted this thread, because of problems with high nitrate. The bioload in a hatchery is much bigger than it was expected from my side.

[www.marineaquariumsa.com]

Oom Hennie came up with a brilliant information. The use of milkfilter socks.
I thought, it might be interesting for everybody who could plumb in this kind of prefilter. Especially the LFS should think about it, because the milkfilter socks are so fine, I don´t think parasites like MI will pass. If MI breaks out, it will not spread into all the other tanks from the same system.

The prefilter has to be plumbed into the overflow pipe. In my case, into three central overflow pipes. All the water coming back to the sump has to pass the filtersock first. All waste products get caught in the filtersock before breaking down to nitrate and phosphate. Cleaning tanks in now fun, because everything can go down the overflow. Aptasia can´t spread any more, free carbondioxide gets taken out and the water gets enriched with oxygen.

The most important requirement for this kind of filtration are easy maintenance and little running costs.

The mik filter sock I use, are 90mm wide by 700 mm long. Both ends open.
My first trial was with a sock, cut in three equal pieces. 233mm long. Didn´t last for 24 hours in my growout system. The second trial was with a half sock, 350 mm long.
Last for around 18 to 20 hours. The long sock last for 24 hours in the broodstock system with 5 tanks and the short sock last for 24 hours in the broodstock system with 3 tanks.

The square silver bucket is a normal dustbin and I skip the part how to drill a hole in the bottom and to fit a tank connector or something similar. Everybody should know how to do it.

I paid for 100 milk filter socks 90 x 700mm, 110 Rand. Cut in half, which will be efficient enough for any normal system, will reduce the price for each sock down to
55 cents. 55 cents per day and you can throw the used sock away.
Little running costs!

Changing the sock had to be easy and quick, otherwise it becomes a burden.

So I had to buil something, where the sock holder can slide in and with the use of two sock holders, changing the sock will take 2 seconds!

I found this piece of acrylic in my garage, so I bend it to a sort of a bracket that fits over the edge from the bucket(dustbin).

That´s how I build the sock holder.
A normal stop end 110mm and 50mm, and a ring cut off from a 50mm connector.

Cut a 53mm hole into the 110mm stop end and a 40 mm hole into the 50mm sto end.
Cut off a ring from a 50mm connector.
Cut off a piece of around 15mm from the 50mm stop end.

That´s how the holder needs to be glued together.

That´s how the sock holder will fit into the bracket.

The bracket needs to be cut like that, so that the sock holder can be easily changed.

The one end of the sock has to be closed with a small cable tie and the other end has to be turned over like a hem.

The sock has to be pushed in from the top down, so that the hem is over the edge of the 50 mm stop end.

Now the sock has to be secured with the ring from the 50mm connector.

Now the holder slides easily into the bracket and if the sock is clogged up, the water will flow directly over the edge of the 110mm stop end into the bucket(dustbin).

Here are a few used socks. None of them were longer in use than 24 hours!

The result is just amazing. Imagine all waste products, fishlarvae/shrimplarvae, floating algae or nori pieces, aptasia larvae, parasites, etc. gets caught and taken out on a daily basis.

Special thanks to Oom Hennie. Without him, I never would have known, that a milkfilter sock exists and I never would have build this fantastic pre filter, which is so easy to handle!

Skimmer "Boiling" - HELP!!!!

Posted: April 11th, 2010, 9:56pm CDT by zombie clam

I have an aquamedic T1000 and was doing some work around the tank today and then got to target feeding my plant life, I switched off the skimmer in the target feed and got every one's belly nice and full:thumbup:...then all hell broke loose:(...

I switched on the skimmer and instead of it producing a nice fuzz of air inside the tube it now includes large bubble crating a boiling effect , no matter what I do I just can't get it right. Even just tried letting it run for a while and maybe let it "settle", that makes zero difference and it just won't come right - I need to fix this because after feeding I have awesome cloudy water and need to sort this out ASAP - Skimmer has to come into action!!!!

!!!!! PLEASE HELP !!!!!!!

Urgent help needed help goldies dying

Posted: April 11th, 2010, 4:11pm CDT by dropzone newbee

please could someone shed some light at the end of this dark tunnelll pleeaasse..
im sadened to say that 12 of my 15 goldies have died in 2 days :(

its is so strange as all my other fish are super healthy, eating etc ...
i had these goldies for about 4 weeks and had lost 1 or 2 ......
my parameters seem all fine . only thing that is slightly low is KH at 6 . i have added kh now ...

any advice would be great :(

Sea Sand

Posted: April 11th, 2010, 12:05pm CDT by Tremayn

Hi guys! Im gonna start my marine tank in the june hol. I was thinking of putting beach sand as substrate in my DT to help cut costs.

Was wondering if this would be ok, as I can just ask my neighbour to bring me a bag full when he goes on a fishing trip. Will this be live sand or just normal sand? Coz the sand will be in the bag for a good 12hours or so. Also was wondering if he brought some sea water with if it would be ok to add to the tank.. Believe he will go durban side

Also the LPS said that with fine substrate it tends to get into the sump and stuff. I dont see how the sand could go to the top of the tank into the over flow..? :slayer:

New To This

Posted: April 11th, 2010, 11:47am CDT by Arries

Hi there im Armand..
Well im new to this stuff and need to learn a lot about this..
Im doing as much research as i can but what can beat experience?
So any tips will be greatly appreciated specially on the sump side...
:thumbup:

Vacation

Posted: April 10th, 2010, 1:32am CDT by andries

Hey Guys

I would like to know what do most of you do with your tank if you go on vacation?:) Cause as far as I know you can't really leave them alone?

live rock

Posted: April 10th, 2010, 9:11pm CDT by Johnken

Hello everyone im looking forward to share my questions with you guys its nice to know theres someone that can give you advice when you need it. I just want to know how long for my new aquarium to stand before i can put in some live rock? Thanx Johnken

big egyptian marine snail ID

Posted: April 10th, 2010, 8:27pm CDT by layla13

does anyone have any info on giant egyptian marine snails lol i have one and its weird looking pyramid shaped buit round and has points all over it. prob. like 4 1/2 inches tall and 5 inches around i think.. i dont know what its called and need to mkake sure its safe to have in the tank with BT anemones and maxima clams. im a newbie but live on the red sea so i find all kinds of interesting friends from the sea lol

Hi Im layla from red sea, egypt

Posted: April 10th, 2010, 8:22pm CDT by layla13

i am sure i will have many questions.. thanks for the welcome. i have 3 saltwater aquariums. BT anemones, maxima clams, butterfly raccoon fish, clownfish,kluzinger's wrasse(my fav) striped damsels, dark damsels, threadfin butterfly fish and all kinds of clean up crew lol. its a hobby that started out with one tank now have 3. lol in just a few months. lol i live on the red sea so its easy to get live sand, water and anything else. thanks for the welcome mike:)

Feeding of Corals

Posted: April 10th, 2010, 6:59pm CDT by b-rad

Hi Guys
I was just wondering what sort of supplement you all using for feeding corals?
I have quite a few corals mainly softies but have a few sps aswell. They all seem to be growing fine but was wondering if there was anything I could feed them to make them flourish even more
Thanks

Permalink for 'Marine_Aquariums_of_South_Africa/2010/04/10/Ocean%c3%a1rio_de_Lisboa'

Oceanário de Lisboa

Posted: April 10th, 2010, 6:35pm CDT by RiaanP

I'm in Lisbon, Portugal. And this is some photo's of their aquarium

Enormous Tropical tank. (Wonder if my wife will allow me...:whistling:)

How is that for depth....
Those striped ones in the bottom of the pic is about 40cm each.

Smaller connected tank. 2 viewing panes. Left side

Right side

Wish I had a better camera...

coco

Posted: April 10th, 2010, 6:16pm CDT by coco

Greetings to all , feels great to be a member of the masa team

Agro Orangetail blue damsel

Posted: April 10th, 2010, 4:42pm CDT by jumboswart

I have just introduced a fire goby to my tank but the orangetail seems to be harrassing him constantly. Do I remove the orange tail or will things settle. If I need to remove him then there is 1 orangetail going free as I only have a nano tank. Suggestions please?

First marine tank. please help.

Posted: April 10th, 2010, 4:24pm CDT by Daniel Boshoff

I have got years of exprience with freshwater but finaly decided to
take my chances and attemp starting a marine tank. Always wanted
to, but never really had the funding or bravery to tak it on.

Anyway. I have got a 600L (1.7m x 600mm x 600mm) tank.
Filter - don't know make off hand but it is a ( C-1600 canister filter)
I know I'm going to need a skimmer but can you recomend which one
to look at buying? Also can I connect the skimmer inline with the canister
to avoid extra pipes running into the tank. There are also no holes drilled
into the bottom of the the tank, would you recomend I get one drilled.
Should I also fit a sump or is the canister sufficent?

Will be needing lighting still so what would you advise me to look for as
a starter with regard to the size of the tank.

Looking forward to your feed back and still have many more unanswered
questions.

How to stick ABS sheeting onto glass

Posted: April 10th, 2010, 1:53pm CDT by shane

Hi All,
How do I stick ABS sheeting onto my tank?
Are there any proven adhesives other than silicone?
Cheers

New Arrival

Posted: April 10th, 2010, 12:10pm CDT by Naiema

To let you whats available at Sams Aquarium: Powder blues, Lipsticks,Scopas, Emperors,Butterflies,Shrimps and more.Lotsa instore specials on Seachem and Ocean Nutrition.PLease call us on 0217122534/0826368990

Hello from Turkey

Posted: April 9th, 2010, 12:11am CDT by sismand

Hello to all,

I'm a reefer from Turkey. I am breeding marine fish & corals and try to breed new species.
You may see my aquarium at CORAL magazine Sept/Oct 2009 [www.marineaquariumsa.com] .

With salty hands...:-)

My MASSIVE DIY SKIMMER

Posted: April 9th, 2010, 11:23pm CDT by lIghty

Hi all

Decided to get my A into G and start building my DIY skimmer....:)

Here's some specs to tease you:P

Chamber Dia = 300mm.
Chamber height = 700mm.

Holding about 50ltrs I could always use it as a nano tank :biggrin:

Watch this space!!! :yeahdude:

Good LFS in PE

Posted: April 9th, 2010, 1:33pm CDT by manta

I will be visiting PE next Saturday. Could the local guys please give me pointers as to who to visit in PE (LFS) and addresses please.

thanks

Skimmer Position

Posted: April 9th, 2010, 12:55pm CDT by robertkukla

i have a 4ft DT and i want to build a 4ft DSB on that i want to put a algae scrubber, i would like to know where the scrubber should go , is it before the skimmer or after the skimmer , i will add a simple diagram , if there are any other ideas on how to do this it will be appreciated,
i have a 4ft tank that i want to convert into a DSB, i need to know how many compartments this will need...

Flow suggestions ?

Posted: April 9th, 2010, 11:59am CDT by neo

Hello,
your suggestions for flow in my DT will be appriciated.

My DT is 370l volume wise, taking rocks/substrate into account i guess water volume of 300l.

I'm currently running two 6000l/h pheads alternating between the two on a timer.
the pheads are on the back pane on left/right side of tank aimed to middle of tank.

by looking at the 'stuff' floating around flow is random and good, although i dont know what 'good flow' should look like.

do i need more flow ?
do i need more linear flow or is random flow fine ?
should i rather aim the pheads to the surface ?

i want to add 2 more small pheads, about 2000 - 3000 l/h each and have them run both continuesly with the bigger ones alternating like now and then switching the big ones off during the night, is this scheme ok/flawed ?

thx.

Shark fishing to be banned in Maldives

Posted: April 9th, 2010, 11:05am CDT by leslie hempel

see the link to the article below..

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.u...n=April_8_2010

Candy cane frag by mistake

Posted: April 9th, 2010, 10:38am CDT by Kevin

Last night I was rescaping my tank and I moved my candy cane to the bottom of the tank to move some rocks arround. I never realised how heavy the candy cane was and the rock it was mounted on fell over causing a small rock fall in the tank.

I now have four candy cane corals as the mother broke into four where it brached off at the base.

I only want to keep one, as they grow quickly and I only have 103L nano tank.

Anybody want to swop? I am looking for a small frag of bubble or hammer coral.

ID Needed

Posted: April 9th, 2010, 9:50am CDT by FransSny

Has anyone have an idea WTF this is.

Was sold to a customer of mine

And yes I know it is a skimmer of sorts...just never saw one like this

Another newbie

Posted: April 9th, 2010, 9:30am CDT by neil.h

I blame Slagter and Singularity for me coming over to SW!

I've been keeping FW for about 2 years now and fishkeeping has lost my interest so I thought i'd try out the saltwater side :thumbup:

I'll be using this tank

120X60HX45W with a corner overflow into a 3ft wide sump with a Real Ocean 8X39W T5 unit. Biggest problem so far has been the stand. Its a 500 high stand, leaving on 400 high for a skimmer.

Thats where George came in. :) Busy ordering a Tunze 9211 Classic skimmer

Uncured live rock at set-up

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 7:36am CDT by GI Marine

Need some advice, I have read that you have to first full the tank with the sea water (mix) run the system for a week and then add the uncured live rock. Somewhere else I read you can add the uncured live rock and sea water at the same time and start the system. Which is more correct or doesn't it matter?

Saddle nenie or not

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 9:33pm CDT by xtreme

Hi all

Ok in previous pics of mine you told me my nenie need more light, I took the pic with the tanks night light on, but after that wasnt sure any more, so moved nenie to new tank and use small light for a week and then fitted a second one, ( ok normal bed lamps with energy saver, its my QT tank) The nenie is still sticky as hell and eats like my dogs, just to make sure if he is ok I rather ask you guys, he was in front of the tank but moved during the day to a shadier spot, just ate and while posting this expended 2 times the size then now, ok, is he fine? and what is his true name, swoped it for a hippo tang:P

AOR's Let's get it started ....

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 9:26pm CDT by AfricaOffroad

Seems like I just crack the "Supersized Tank" category at a calculated 1040L, this at operating water level and all rocks and sand installed. (maybe the use of the word "crack" isn't such a good idea:whistling:)

So here is a schematic of the system (Schalk, I need lessons in Sketchup !:P).

Okay, so where are we at the moment:
1) Tank (12mm) and sump (8mm) ordered and paid for
2) Stand built, but sent back for further bracing. Its a monster, made out of 80mm section angle iron (8mm wall thickness)
3) Most equiment bought and stored at home incl -
Skimmer - AM Turboflotor 3000
Sump pump - AM Ocean Runner 3500
2 x 15000 AM programmable Oceanprops
2 x AM Aquastar light units with 150wMH + 2 x T5s ea
(pays to have friends in Germany:1:)
RO unit
Top up RO controller
50L Pirex bottle that will be used as RO gravity supply
4) Big hole in the wall, with stone cladding and matching kitchen cupboards

Pics to follow.

Cloudy water

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 8:23pm CDT by spamhood

I am in the process of redoing my second 55 gallon tank. The one houses four rams, two veil tail angels, two pictus cats and two bristle nose. The other is home to a black convict, two green terrors, two jewels and a jack Dempsey. Both setups have two wal-mart brand filters rated at 40-60 gallons a piece. Every time i do a water change it seems to take a week or more before the water clears back up. I am using aqua safe with the water changes and i have tried dosing the tanks with nitraban after the water change is complete, nothing seems to help. I am new to these forums so any help would be greatly appreciated

Setting up a tank

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 7:14pm CDT by CoolBeans

Hey
Im new:thumbup:

Anybody wanna be my friend??? lol
Need help on setting up a tank, any takers?;)
xxx

Green Light

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 7:03pm CDT by poiromaniax

Take a read,

interesting stuff

http://reefbuilders.com/2010/04/06/g...orescence-red/

UV lighting

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 5:48pm CDT by zombie clam

One hears of people talking about UV lighting but I haven't heard abot any details about it.

What is the purpose of UV lighting and or is it used in a reef tank environment? Can I get some of the "lighting experts" in on this one for some detailed information about UV lighting in a marine environment.

Green hair Algea

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 5:06pm CDT by luwaynecrous

Will using a uv filter reduce the amount of green hair algea in my tank?

Maintain it on the Cheap

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 4:20pm CDT by Jacojs

Hey everybody.

Need some help, I want to start this hobby very badly but have a limited budget, I need to find out how to maintain a Marine Aquarium cheaply, I can't spend R1000+ a month on running costs alone :(

I do still however need to get all my equipment together so where should we start? Tank size?

I was thinking 4ft, 700mm wide, 500mm deep. Das is good ya?

Jaco.

sun corals

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 12:36pm CDT by robertkukla

i want to bye a sun coral for my tank , i just want to know if i can only three months into having my tank or must i wait for it to mature more , also does it need alot of lighting or must it be placed in a shaded area ?

Glass Question

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 11:30am CDT by jumboswart

Obviously reading the thread on the curved glass aquariums that crack, I have decided to do a DIY cube 600x600x600. My question is if I go for starfire glass from Rene Turck does it have to be toughned if it is 10mm, or can it just be float glass?

Multibarred angelfish

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 11:27am CDT by Marlin Fischer

I recently, after trying to order them for months, aquired a pair Centropyge multifasciatus, commonly know as Multibarred Angelfish. I have read some info on them including info posted on WWM. Anyone have these angels or had any success with them? I believe they are pretty difficult to keep and get eating.

BTW they are beautiful!!!:)

Any advice?

Gauteng meeting April

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 10:53am CDT by mnd123

Hey PTA boys and girls

Please note that I have posted a general get together for all members here for the April meeting:

[www.marineaquariumsa.com]

Hope to see you there

M

Gauteng meeting April

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 10:53am CDT by mnd123

Hey Joburg boys and girls

Please note that I have posted a general get together for all members here for the April meeting:

[www.marineaquariumsa.com]

Hope to see you there

M

Gauteng Reefers Meeting: April

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 10:51am CDT by mnd123

Hi all,

As promised at the last meeting, we have managed to cajole Julian (Kingfish on SARK) to open his doors to us reefing hooligans for a morning of frag swapping and general mayhem!

Date: Sunday April 25th
Time: 11AM to 1PM (or longer....)
Place: Julians house: Fourways Gardens Estate

Julian, who is a chef, has agreed to make a curry, but please bring your own drinks!

I will send out details and directions closer to the time.

Please try and make it, Julian really has an awesome setup that not many folks know about.

Cheers

Marc

Changing overflow

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 10:33am CDT by danimal

Hi Hennie

I need some advice - I need to move my tank to another spot in the lounge (the wife has decided it will look better over THERE....:whistling:) which is fine, my only problem is that the outlet pipe from my overflow is on the side of my tank; the gap in the alcove is not big enough to accomodate the tank + outlet pipe on the side. If the outlet was at the back that would be fine.... so my question is can I drill the tank? It is a 32mm hole. If so, where would be the best place to get a circular drill bit suitable for glass?

My previous thought was to just get a hang on overflow but the only one I could find was R1100. I'm no genius at DIY but I can make stuff (I built my own system) however at this point in time I don't really have time to make my own. If it's impossible to drill the tank then I guess I will have to though.

Anyway, any advice you can give is much appreciated.

Regards,
Dan

Dust/floaters in water ?

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 9:59am CDT by neo

Morning all,
I've seen some tanks with crystal clear water and tanks with 'cloudy' or 'murky' water.
My tank seem to have 'dust' or 'floaters' in the water, sometimes bad and some not so bad.
Is this normal ?
I have an open top tank, would closing it up help at all?
Filter socks ?
How does places like IDOL have such clear water ?

Dorry CT closed for today

Posted: April 8th, 2010, 8:02am CDT by FransSny

Hi guys,

I am doing a new tank move / installation today and thus wont be at the shop untill late afternoon.

I will be available on my cell though

Hammers dying

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 7:19am CDT by Phyrannus

While other corals are doing good, all my 4 hammer is dying in a week..What is happening to my tank?
Here's my water param.
Nitrate- 0ppm
Phosphate- 3-5 ppm
Calcium- 420ppm
KH- 6kdh
Ph- 8.2
SG- 1.025
Temp- 29(ooow it's hot)..:(

how important is skimmer in FOWLR tank

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:10pm CDT by toppdogg

Hey guys just a quick question
i am thinking of starting a FOWLR tank and wanted to know if skimmer is required ?
will be predetor tank (triggers,lionfish ect )

Great Service!!

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 10:27pm CDT by Slagter

I just thought I'd say thanks to Marco for the awesome service and the super products he has!

I ordered the Reefmaster plus from Marco a couple of days before he ran his special. I Asked him about the special and he sent me the extra goodies at no extra cost! I also included a little TDS meter in there as well.

But once again, thanks for the awesome service Marco. I'll refer everyone to you!!

The Waterboy now has another dedicated loyal customer! :thumbup:

Sean

Urgent help needed Naso Tang

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 9:08pm CDT by JDgr8

Hi All

Please help URGENTLY with advice for my Naso

He's been in my tank for +- 6 months. We were away for Easter and the regular baby sitter took care of the fish. We noticed last night that he wasn't as "energetic" as usual and hardly ate.ormally quite keen on mussels and pellets, however, last night, showed no interest in either! We checked all water params, they were fine. Missus took water sample to LFS today to test, same result.

All other inmates are acting and feeding like normal. Last water change done on Thursday last week (10%).

He looks like he's chewing on something (never noticed this before) and my missus just called to say it looks like his tummy area is thinner than usual (looks like he sucked in his tummy) - hope that makes sense.

Urgent advice will be appreciated!

Is this possible

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 8:36pm CDT by manta

I need to some input please. I have recently (27/03/2010) started up a new DSB and refugium.

See thread [www.marineaquariumsa.com]

I have used sea sand for DSB and refugium and have added a bacteria culture. Tested water yesterday for the first time and got the following results.

Added about 5kg of live rock from an established tank and filled up with NSW from aquarium.

Test kit used is a Sera bought over the weekend.

Nitrites = 0
Nitrates = 0
Ammonia = 0
Specific gravity 1.025

Took a sample of water to LFS yesterday to confirm and they confirmed my reading.

Is it possible for the cycle to have completed in such a short time? If it will be great or should I wait for the spike to come still?

will this fish's behaviour change?

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 6:48pm CDT by frankie fish

I am having the following situation. I can get a large lipstick tang 4 free,but it's very aggresive in the current tank ( 4ft). I'm having a 1.8m tank,lots of swimming space and place 4 hiding. The fish in my tank currently is a regal tang,(large), indian sailfin tank(med), african clown(large),pygmy angels(bicolour& coral beauty),cardinals and a lionfish(med). Will the fish's behaviour change if i take it,or will it also kill/attack my fish?

Correct glass thickness please

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 5:21pm CDT by bennie.snyman

Hi there to everyone.

I am new to this site and would appreciate some advice please. I am building a tank of which two sides will form part of my house structure and the remaining will be glass.

It will be L = 1.5 m
W = 1.5 m
H = 2.1 m

I am really stuck as I am not sure on the correct thickness due to the extreme pressure on the glass. I received various differant opinions but would appreciate advice from you guys.

Kindest regards

Bennie

How Long does it take for coroline to grow

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 4:35pm CDT by robertkukla

i have a simple question , how long onn average does it take coroline to start growing in your tank , i have a 4ft tank with a fair amount of live rock with coroline on it

Starting a Tank

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 4:25pm CDT by Anthony

Hi Hennie,

I want to start up a Marine Tank. Where is the best place to go to get the right equipment?(I live in Mossel Bay) Is it better to start up with a cold water tank and then later convert to a Tropical Tank? Is it better to use normal sea water or better to make salt water?

I don't want to start off wrong and buy a whole lot of equipment that I won't need or that I have to upgrade too soon.

I am thinking of a Tank about 1000mm x 500mm x 600mm high.

Please help,

Thanks,

Anthony

Fans on sump or tank

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 3:15pm CDT by Ross

Hey guys

My tank is getting warm with the MHs on.
I have some fans blowing onto the sump but would it be better to put them directly above the tank surface?

My tank is rimless so it will spoil the look.

A chiller at this time is out of the question.

Oh the room is airconditioned.

Ta,

Ross

T5 Reflectors

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 3:11pm CDT by viper357

Hi Guys

Do you sell your T5 gullwing reflectors separately, anywhere in the UK or Europe?

Plumbing Thread?

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 3:10pm CDT by Croaky

Can somebody please let me know where I can find a good plumbing thread with lots of pictures that a n00b can learn the basic fundamentals and principles of marine aquarium plumbing from?

RO Unit

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 2:13pm CDT by Jacojs

Hey peepz!!

Kay so I thought starting with a RO unit would be the best as it will give me a limitless supply of RO water for the tank :thumbup:

Started to think about getting a system for home use and sommer can then use it for the tank as well......bonus.

THEN I read somewher that it has to be a marine grade RO unit!! How the hell am I going to run this past the wife? Oh honey I was thinking we should install a water purifier so I can use the water for my tank, but the water can only be used............for the tank (insert facepalm from wife here)

Or will the water just be cleaner than with a "normal" RO unit and still be useable by us hoomans??

Jaco.

This weeks shipment 2010-04-06

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 2:02pm CDT by Moolis

Sri-Lanka
powder blue
Nigricans sergeon
clown
valentini
eibli
multispinis
redtail goby
green bird wrasse
heniochus small
heniochus medium
cleaner wrasse
naso med
naso large
blue ring small
blue ring med-large
adult small imperator
anemone crab

Andreas's New 1.50.70.8 Tank

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 1:27pm CDT by Andreas

So the 1.8m tank has seen the last of me:p

Decided to go the wider route so a new 1.5*0.7(H)*0.8(W) will now be keeping me busy;)

Built the frame yesterday but I'm not sure about the structural strength of 38mm square tubing(Wall thickness 2mm):whistling:.

Here is pic of the stand I built yesterday.

Zeolite filtration

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 12:39pm CDT by Kevin

What is Zeolite filtration and can it be used in a nano tank?

Almost ready to start up!

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 12:24pm CDT by Creep

Hi guys, Ok I can finally start up my tank this coming weekend afer nearly a year Im just waiting for my sump.

I want to give this a try. Dont know if "try" is a good choice of word after all the money I spent on this so far.

After I bought the tank and all the stuff and doing my research it all sound so complicated- the lights, flow rates, size of dsb, cooling, compatibility of the inhabitants, different opinions and and and... Think I will find some clarity once I start up. Hope i dont kill someting.

My tank is going to be dark for the maturation period. I heard that it matures faster.

Any good books for more research before I start up?

Frag / cora/ colonies

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 12:17pm CDT by Jaco Schoeman

Hi guys

Is there a rule of thumb wrt when a frag is a frag and when a frag is a colony / parent?

For example: Zoanthids - if I were to sell a piece of LR with 10 polyps on it, is that a colony or a frag?

Another example: Kenya Tree - if it is 10cm tall, is that a frag or a "coral."

Or a Monti - a piece the size of a R5 coin : frag / not?

Do you get what I mean? Can you guys post what you see as frags on different types of coral species please?;)

Nano sized skimmers?

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 12:11pm CDT by Jaco Schoeman

Hi guys

What skimmer can I get for a small 50-60litre system? I only have a few softies in it and my mantis shrimp.

Tank dimensions are 2x 2foot standard tank, and I already have a DSB installed.

Constructing reflectors please advise

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:49am CDT by Trev

Hey O's I am wanting to build some reflectors for one of my tanks and I am looking for ideas on whats the best material to use. I have used polished alum before on one of the other tanks but would like to use something else as I dont think I can get the alu shape again.

Thanks
Trev

is this worth it?

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:09am CDT by Tremayn

Hi guys, I saw this guy selling a marine tank but Im new to the marine world and read that a 4ft tank with a 3ft sump is a really nice beginner set up. Recently my mate told me this guy was selling a tank. I want to know if its worth it, as the sump does look small. Please give me some advice :wave2: ...This is what he said and I'll load some pics. he wants R3500

AQUA H2O 3foot marine tank, in dark wood cabinate with plastic hood,
tank has bent corners (no joints in front)
overflow with inclosed sump so moisture is kept away from wooden cabinet. the tank is in very good condition and the sump is brand new. excludes plumbing and
accessories.

ID of this growth ?

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 11:00am CDT by neo

Anyone able to ID this,
spotted it when I added lights,
it's just bigger than 5mm I'd say, there's another on the same rock but smaller.

Newbie

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 10:09am CDT by jumboswart

Hi just a hello from a newbie in Johannesburg
My sons jbj 24g

My aqau h2o

Looking to get a nennie

Posted: April 7th, 2010, 9:25am CDT by Trev

Hey guys I have decieded its time to look for a nennie to enhance my tank but I would like some ideas from the public. My current lighting is 6 tubes 4 white and 2 blue I have the space to add another two if needed. The tank is 700 deep and all the other corals are halfway up/down the depth was thinking of creating another ledge for the nennie but hey he might not aprove anyways. I was thinking of a bubble tip. what do you guys recon? Also would anyone know were I can get one or if you may have one thats up for grabs.

Trev

Back ground - paint

Posted: April 6th, 2010, 7:59am CDT by GI Marine

I am slowly setting up my first marine tank. Have visited marine aquariums sa a couple of times and scanned for tips and extra. I have my tank in place, did most of the plumbing and sump light fittings. I want to paint the back ground blue, but the local paint shop said I had to paint a primer first and then the blue paint. But then the back ground would be white and not blue. What paint can I use and where can I find it? I would like to do a fresh water run in the next week or so to test for leaks and any other issues, doing this with tap water and then draining it, won't have any long term issues like some metals or chemicals staying behind?
Ah Yes my tank is 1500mm x 600 x 650 with two corner overflows and a 1300mm x 450 x 400 sump with space for DSB and auto top up.

5ft tank lighting for lps

Posted: April 6th, 2010, 10:27pm CDT by SchyffS

My future tank dimensions r 1.5x0.8x0.7 with a water level of 600mm. I would like to know what is the min and max lumens required. Also 3 options, namely t5 or mh or combination of both with t5 as the main source of lighting.
Posted via Mobile Device

Skimmers - Pump head height Theory?

Posted: April 6th, 2010, 10:22pm CDT by lIghty

Ok, just want to though a bit of "theory" out there and see what the scientists have to say, it all about water levels, head height and "vacuum" pressures.....

He's my thoughts........ but first an illustration to show what I'm talking about.

Hope this makes sense?????:whistling:

With the internal unit, the pump supplies the both the internal water level (WH) and well as the air sucked though the venturi (AH), now this is a balancing act, since if the skimmer sits in deeper water the head height (WH) decreases (water flow increases), BUT more vacuum is require to suck air down deeper into the water and therefore air flow is decreased due to the (AH) height increased, and visa versa.

By the nature of how a venturi works, to more water flow thought it, the more air it suck, so how do we calculate the best level to get the best ratio? Is the relationship between the two linear?

With the external unit, there is only one factor, AH, this is basically determined by the height of the skimmer. There is no actual water head height on the pump, since it form a closed loop. Only the supply pump has a head height to pump, but this doesn't affect the system.

Now here a idea.....:whistling:

What would happen if we moved the circ pump closer to the surface, is would reduce the vacuum AH need to pull the same amount of air into the pump, but it would create a new obstacle, the pump would now have to force the air down wards to the bottom of the skimmer, which is below water level......:whistling:

And now for another question, how do you calculate the maximum air flow through the pump without it starting to cavitate?

Any comments? (PLEASE, I ASK TO KEEP THIS STRICTLY ON TOPIC, IT'S A CONFUSING ENOUGH TOPIC ALREADY, THANKS)

Ideas needed

Posted: April 6th, 2010, 10:14pm CDT by andries

Hey People

I finally got the time so here's my old freshwater tanks specs, what can i do with this?

smaller tank front glass broken: 456 x 303 x 308 mm with glass thickness of 4mm

bigger tank: 610 x 299 x 329mm also with 4mm glass thickness.

My new TL-450

Posted: April 6th, 2010, 9:16pm CDT by AntS

So I've just bought and setup my first reef setup this weekend - a new TL-450.

I've added 4kg of live argonite, and 6.7kg of live rock, as well as disabling the UV filter and adding some filter floss.

I set it up 3 days ago and everything looked great - pH 8.3, normal alkalinity, S.G = 1.025

Over the last 36 hours however, the S.G slowly dropped to about 1.018. I removed some water to add salt and I've raised the S.G to 1.020 - I don't want to increase it to quickly and shock the critters that came attached to the live rock.
My question is - is this normal, and am I doing the right thing to solve the problem?
I'm using a swing arm hydrometer btw.

On the subject of my live rock (pics to follow), I seem to have gotten more than I've bargained for.
I've spotted at least 2 tiny crabs and at least 1 shrimp that I can't identify because it won't show more than its eyes. I also seem to have a tiny slug, as well as quite a few little tube like molluscs/animals (not sure what they are, I'll get pics for you guys to help me out). There is also quite a bit of what look like clusters of small green sacules/pollyps. The guy at the lfs told me that this was some type of coral - I'm not so sure.

LeMotte Test Kits

Posted: April 6th, 2010, 9:12pm CDT by Pete

Can anybody tell me where I can get LeMotte test kits from in SA:whistling:

Dane's low-tech nano

Posted: April 6th, 2010, 7:03pm CDT by Dane

Hey all,

So, been saying I'll post pics for ages... Here you go.

Standard 70L tank - 4ml sides and 6ml base. I don't run a skimmer or a sump, but do a 25L water change every week. The internal powerhead currently has charcoal and filter floss - which I change every few days. Will add some more flow and remove filter media soon... Tank is settled nicely, I don't really have cyano problems and crustose corraline has started growing really nicely (that large white rock in the middle was put in about an hour before these pics) I seeded the tank with live sand and one chunk of live rock (which also has a gazillion aptasia on it! grrrr), and there are a lot of false scroll coral skeletons, which I like - because they provide excellent surface/area to volume and are a refuge for pods etc. WILL definitely remove the calurpa - and burn it!! Will eventually add a fuge next to the tank with cheato in it and a extra light. Some of the zoas look fantastic under actinic, but my camera can't handle the correction.

The three little xenias started out about 3 months ago as a fingernail sized frag, and have recently got a few more zoas (sorry some are closed, just did water change before the pics). Also still need to get in a good CUC - just have two cushion stars at present.

Current tank list
3 x baby false occel.
2 x cushion stars
Pulsing Xenia
5 x zoas spp

Lighting
2x 15watt 6400k CFL
1x Actinic Hagen "marine-glo"

So, pretty basic setup and I'm trying to keep it that way :-P

Thanks for your time/comments

Please excuse my rather... "rustic" attachment methods :-P

Which Trigger?

Posted: April 6th, 2010, 6:04pm CDT by AfricaOffroad

At first I thought it was the long nose puffer - Cathigaster Valentini.
http://www.reeflex.net/tiere/270_Can..._valentini.htm
But then I saw it pop up its trigger fin.

Has those same black saddles on its back - its not a Picasso.

Saw a juvenile in a rockpool today, keen to figure out what it was????

Itchy fish?

Posted: April 6th, 2010, 5:10pm CDT by Tim S

Hey all,
Every now and again my fish are lightly scraping themselves on the rocks. I've seen this behaviour before but cannot remember how to fix it. I tested my water and found nothing wrong.
PO4 -0
Nitrate - 0
Salinity 1.022

Can someone advise me on this.

Reeftek kalk stirrer mod help

Posted: April 6th, 2010, 4:58pm CDT by gaboon

The clamp thingy that the pump turns into to hold it in place is broken, how do I remove that? I want to seal it off somehow as I do not need the pump anymore, mine is fed RO through a high pressure pump which adequately mixes the kalk.

Have any ideas?

Hermit crab changed colour

Posted: April 6th, 2010, 4:11pm CDT by Kevin

In December, I collected a few local hermits from Eastlondon. They are green in colour with yellow spots on their feet. These guys really mow down hair algae and macro algae.

All of them are doing fine, but one has decided to change colour. It has gone a dark blue colour. I thought it was molting but it has been like this for a few weeks now. It is very active and is eating well.

Anybody here know why hermits change colour?

Australian onyx clown

Posted: April 6th, 2010, 3:16pm CDT by clown

Hi Guys,

I want to know if any one have these clowns Australian onyx clown.
I would like to know where I can get them.

I dont know if any one is selling a pair.

Lighting and pricing question for hammer coral

Posted: April 6th, 2010, 2:34pm CDT by Dane

Hey all,

Wanted to get some feedback on LPS corals, particularly hammer coral.
I'm running two 18watt 6400k CFL's and a T8 hagen marine-glo actinic tube on my 70L nano, and my zoas and xenias are all doing very well.
A friend of mine who copied my setup exactly has candy canes doing very well too.

So, I would love to get an LPS - particularly the bright green hammer (or frogspawn if I cant find a hammer) but I wanted to get a ballpark figure on prices.

a) I've been told on a few of the international forums that these LPS would be fine mid or high level in my tank (not very deep), what do you guys think?
b) What would expect to pay for a small head/frag of these corals? I seldom see them in my LFS and I would much rather buy from a local reefer that is fragging it.

Thanks in advance for the advice, and if you know of a fragger in cape town with these available I'd be very interested!

Kind Regards
Dane

Hello Everyone!!

Posted: April 6th, 2010, 11:23am CDT by Jacojs

Howzit people!!

Name is Jaco. I am very interested in starting a Marine tank and have a lot of questions :thumbup:

For easy reading sake I will not ask them all at once, just to keep things neat ;)

My first concern is moolah :( How rich does one have to be to have a Marine tank, I will not be able to buy a skimmer, a sump a display tank and cabinet plus live rock all at the same time not to mention pumps, power heads, salt and then some!!

Can this be done little by little and what should I look at starting with??

I know all the peeps here will have answers for me and I have to say that I already have a brainchild for my sump but we'll get there in due time I suppose :yeahdude:

Thanks.
Jaco.

Lighting heat issues

Posted: April 6th, 2010, 9:50am CDT by Riddi

Hi All

Firstly I have done a lot of reading wrt to lighting and the different pros and cons of the different lighting solutions but am a bit unsure of which solution to use on my new build maily due to the temperature aspect of the tank which the light have a great effect on.

What is the approx temp difference between running a MH (150w) with 2x T5 39w VS 6 x 54w T% light units.

I do not plan to have a chiller imediately but will be running six fans (pc style) cooling the sump and two over the DT

Thank You

Posted: April 6th, 2010, 9:42am CDT by robertkukla

I had a major 4ft tank burst on Saturday morning and i would like to thank Benoni Aquarium and pets for there help , he built me a new tank that i could collect the Sunday morning , i managed to save all my live stock so THANK YOU :thumbup:

Please ID this

Posted: April 5th, 2010, 2:02am CDT by LikesFish

I caught this guy eating my Colt Coral. I guess he is about 20cm long. Any ideas? If it will not become a 2m monster and is beneficial I will place him in my sump. Otherwise he gotta go.

GroTech Magnesium Pro Liquid

Posted: April 5th, 2010, 9:58pm CDT by brentnorm

Does anyone use this product and if so can you please share your dosing regime. There are no instructions on the bottle. Many thanks.

Mine is BIG but not as BIG as Hers ......

Posted: April 5th, 2010, 8:28pm CDT by Neil H

one word

WOW.......:razz:

Hi there

Posted: April 5th, 2010, 7:58pm CDT by eb.adam

Hi there.

My name is Adam. I'm looking at the possibility of keeping a marine tank. Can i have a list of what is needed in terms of equipment? What's the smallest tank i can have? I'm pressed for space.

Thanks

So I found a tank, now what!?

Posted: April 5th, 2010, 7:30pm CDT by Croaky

Howzit to everyone who reads this and thanks in advance your patience, I'm going to ask ALOT of questions!

Ok, so I'm moving over from a single sp. hobby to a multi sp. hobby and the amount of info out there is staggering, basically the fundamentals look the same but the devil is in the details, there are many different ways and opinions to go about the same processes...

Basically I would like the end result of a 1.8m tank to be the ideal environment to house a dropoff style reef leading to open sand.

Residents I'm thinking of are mainly soft corals and invertebrates, inverts being shrimp, nudibranchs and seahorses. I am open to the possibility of a few fish, not many though.

Does this sound viable?

Right, now the questions come!

Are there any special waterflow hardware considerations other than normally advocated pumps and skimmers?

What does the 'Aqua Medic Wave Controller/Maker' actually do and is this a necessary piece of equipment?

How difficult is it to get ones hands on Live rock and live sand?

I'll leave it at 3 questions to start with, don't want to bore anyone!

Anthias locking jaws

Posted: April 5th, 2010, 7:07pm CDT by b-rad

Hey guys I have had one anthia in my tank for a while now and put three more in my tank today and now they seem to be fighting , locking jaws etc what should I do? don't want them to kill eachother

ID Nemi Please

Posted: April 5th, 2010, 6:04pm CDT by HAMMY

Want to know some more about this Anemone that found his way into my tank from amongst a bunch of Zooanthids that were collected on the eastern seaboard intertidal zone of the Indian ocean. Although his been doing realy well and made himself at home right away, i was wondering what his needs might be, food light etc?
He is still very small +_ 5mm across, bright orange. I have often seen these in the Natal region amongst the rock pools, attached to rocks.:void(0)" target="_blank">

:void(0)" target="_blank">

Help with torch coral

Posted: April 5th, 2010, 5:59pm CDT by danimal

Hi guys

the one head of my torch appears to not be very happy - any ideas? do i need to remove it?

this pic was taken this morning, when i got home this afternoon those tentacles that are there have completely closed up now.

thanks

Dorry Pets Cpt Service

Posted: April 5th, 2010, 4:21pm CDT by Atilla

Hello everyone

I would just like to take a moment and tell everyone of the great service of Frans from DorryPets Cape Town.

Ive never met Frans (just spoken over the phone) and he didnt hesitate to help me on a day that he was not open for bussiness over Easter. The livestock he kept for 3 weeks for me with no hassles and was reluctant to sell a fish to me that he felt was not 100%.

There is so much threads and articles about LFS's lying to people and not really taking the time to help a client (and not there own pocket) with the necessary advice etc...

So im saying to all the newbies who have the chance to deal with this person - you have my vote!!:thumbup:

WOW thank you for your support

Posted: April 5th, 2010, 3:54pm CDT by Moolis

Hi Reefers

Thank you for your incredible support the last few months :thumbup: and all:P the new guys & gals I met, It was great meeting you all. :lol::lol: Hope to see you all very soon.

Due to you all regular customers (YOU ROCK:yeahdude:) and the new customers (hope we see you again:)) we had a best month in our marine aquarium department, again.:slayer::slayer:

As a token of my appreciation you all could look forward to great specials when I come back from holiday in 2 weeks.

I am going to be on MASA till 20H00 tonight then back in 2 weeks.

Shawn will pop in regularly to update you on new arrivals etc.

Sri Lank shipment are landing early tomorrow morning:thumbup:

big crab

Posted: April 5th, 2010, 2:24pm CDT by watermelon

hey guys, i have a big brown crab, about 5cm. Im worried it will eat my goldies, since they sleep by the live rocks at night. please let me know if i should take it out and how to take it out. i really like the little guy but my goldies are more important!! thanks:)

new dsb

Posted: April 5th, 2010, 10:26am CDT by Fredy O

Hi, my pipe from my overflow to my sump broke the other day, i lost water but that is all, i took the opp to change the sumps stand, i do have a dsb in my sump, so this is what i did.. I took out 5cm of sand and put in buket 1 another 5cm in buket 2 and again 5cm in buket 3 as to try and keep the bakt in place, changd the stand and threw in the sand in reverse order, my question is, did the bact survive, did i release all that No3 into my water, and please tell me from a professional view point what u think , thank u plenty

bonjourno

Posted: April 5th, 2010, 10:15am CDT by Fredy O

Hi, my name is Fredy, and i love marine

Hows this for a DIY skimmer

Posted: April 5th, 2010, 9:23am CDT by FransSny

Just found this by accident on the net, not the neatest build but seems to work

[home.wavecable.com]

LED light for PICO

Posted: April 4th, 2010, 12:24am CDT by wukkie

Hi guys, I am looking for a LED light system for my PICO. something that I can clip onto my tank.
do you know where I can get one in JHB.

LFS Expectations

Posted: April 4th, 2010, 8:13pm CDT by FransSny

Been reading another post regarding bad serve, poor advice etc from the LFS. Now here is my Q...what does a reefer expect, and I would be irresponsible in saying that a lot of the mistakes we make are not from our own making / stubbornness.

We have ideas, thoughts & plans... we want to follow these , sometimes no matter what advice we get

Comments would be appreciated

My Rant regarding this hobby

Posted: April 4th, 2010, 5:04pm CDT by vatso

Hi all

as you know I have and will always do my own thing

Lucky I also have access to the internet & ask lots of questions...

I have been to a few LFS & their are some that are just worlds apart!

the sponsors here all love the live stock & do their best to give the right advise. I must say thank you to the sponsors & my local LFS for all the great advise.

I have been to a few other shops & even for me who is not a bunny huger - I just want to take all the Live Stock they have as they live in really crappy conditions!

what worries me is all the poor people that buy from them & their stuff keeps on dying they just don't stand a chance!!

Vatso

Greetings

Posted: April 4th, 2010, 1:47pm CDT by Thaun

Helo there,

Looking fwd to getting back into this been out of action for about 10yrs, need my own piece of the ocean in JHB.

Cheers,
:peroni:

Bold Names

Posted: April 4th, 2010, 1:38pm CDT by zombie clam

Can someone inform me why it is that on the right, where one sees the members listed of who is currently online, some of the names are in bold?

White cocoon?

Posted: April 4th, 2010, 12:46pm CDT by Jano

Hello all, I just registered now so still very new. I have a qeustion hope someone can help, been surfing the net, but no luck. I have seen this morning on the bottom and attached to the side of my tank a white silky cocoon, like spiders make. Is this fungi of rotten food particle or ?

It is about 2 cm by 2 cm dome like shape, white and silky.

Hope this is enough info to make a calculated identification. The tank is about 2 months old, 3 fish, one tube worm, one anemone and a large piece of polyp rock and live rock.

Thanks.

Jano

betty

Posted: April 4th, 2010, 11:12am CDT by betty

Hi to all
5 months ago I acquired a tank from someone else - 1.2x450x600 with pumps filters and chiller with live rock. Since I have acquired 1 anenome with clown 4 yellow tail damsels 2 striped damsels 1 yellow wrasse 1 hermit crab 1 snail 1 domino 1 box shrimp whos name is Cedric 1 leather coral 1 torch light coral 1 cristmas tree coral some plyps and mushrooms. Cedric has eaten a cleaner shrimp and a fire shrimp as well a a damsel - he has shed his outer at least 5 times already. Has some experience with bristle worms that took quite a lot o PT to get rid of. Last night spotted a red worm with white stripes - should I get rid of it or not. Something that bothers me is that some of the live rock suddenly has white blotches where red algae was, the water was tested recently and all was ok is it perhaps too much lighting as the tank is close to a window but not with direct light as there is a patio beyond the windowas you can see I am a newy and need to still learn a lot but with all you guys I am sure to have extreme pleasure out of this wonderful hobby

Who has taken their time - honestly

Posted: April 3rd, 2010, 3:37am CDT by zombie clam

I was talking with a friend and something struck the thought, it is known right across everyone who has a reef aquarium that the one of the key elements to achieving your desired reef aquarium correctly is to have it happen over time.

We all know there is certain time frames required for cultivation etc...How many people can HONESTLY say that they have waited a few weeks between progresses as the general prescribed thing to do and how many have HONESTLY waited the approx. 6-9months before puting in your first anemone?

Chaeto Needed - East Rand

Posted: April 3rd, 2010, 3:26am CDT by zombie clam

I am looking to get my hands on some chaeto for my refugium ASAP, I am getting tired of being sold either infected junk or ripped off by dead junk, the local pet shops on the east rand (:thumbdown:) need to get their act together because it is making this hobby very difficult to maintain. No matter about them - different time, different place maybe.

Does anyone have some "healthy" chaeto they would be willing to assit me with - paying isn't the problem I have, it is simply getting a trustworthy supply.:please:

!! Overflow system !! I need good input from experienced tank builders.

Posted: April 3rd, 2010, 1:35am CDT by Schalkdk

I have been wondering why you need to have an Original design overflow chamber; it just steals volume and gives nothing back in return, see below.

Why not lengthen the pipe that should drain your normal overflow to the same height as your overflow chamber, and remove the chamber.

Same system with minimal volume loss.

Hot DVD&Video Software Downloads in 2010

Posted: April 3rd, 2010, 4:24pm CDT by GeorgeBush886

1. Flip Video Converter Free Trial
The Flip Converter can convert Flip video created by the Flip family: Flip Ultra, Flip Ultra HD, Flip Mino and Flip Mino HD as Flip Mino HD files conversion tool. With this Flip Video Converter, you can convert Flip video to any other video/audio formats MOV, M4V, AVI, 3GP, FLV, HD video and AAC, MP3, OGG, WMA, etc audio formats for all the players.

2. HD Video Converter Free Trial
HD Video Converter is best HD Converter to convert HD video to general video, convert to HD video such as AVI to HD, or among HD videos. So it fully supports most HD(High-Definition) video and general video decoder and encoder.

3. Blu Ray Ripper Free Trial
Blu Ray Ripper is the perfect M2TS Video Converter for converting blu-ray M2TS video to various video formats for playback on your Apple TV, Xbox, or mobile digital media devices. This blue-ray converter converts blu-ray videos to High-Definition as well as Standard-Definition video files.

4. iPod Transfer (Windows Version),(Mac Version)
iPod to iPod/Computer/iTunes Transfer automatically transfers your iPod and iPhone music, video, playlist, photos back to computer and iTunes. Backup all your music and video in a couple of clicks. If you own more than one iPods, AVCWare iPod to iPod/Computer/iTunes Transfer can simultaneously manage all the iPods in the same interface, you may transfer files among these iPods by drag-and-drop.

5. MOD Converter Free Trial
Mod Video Converter can convert MOD,TOD,MPEG,MPG, MPV,MP4,VOB files to all popular video and audio formats: MPG, MPEG, MPEG2, VOB, MP4, M4V, RM, RMVB, WMV, ASF, QT, TS, MKV, AVI, 3GP, FLV, MPV, MOD, TOD, MP3, MP2, AAC, AC3, WAV, MID, MIDI, WMA, M4A, RA, RAM, etc. with fastest conversion speed and excellent image/sound quality. For example: convert Mod to AVI, Mod to MPG, Mod to WMV, Mod to MPEG, convert Tod to MPG etc.

6. DRM Removal Free Trial
The outstanding feature of this DRM removal software is that it supports most DRM video Audio files: WMA/WMV/M4A/ M4B/M4P/M4V/ASF, HD video: M2TS, TP, TRP, TS, AVI... and other popular media. With this excellent DRM free removal software, you can enjoy all music and movies on any digital players: iPod, Creative Zen, Zune, iPhone, PSP, Archos, etc. without restriction.

7. DVD Ripper (Windows Version), (Mac Version)
Best DVD Ripper software, that could easily rip DVD to MP4, H.264, AVI, MP3, WMV, WMA, FLV, MKV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, 3GP, 3GPP, VOB, DivX, Mov, RM, RMVB, M4A, AAC, WAV, etc. with super fast DVD ripping speed and excellent image and sound quality. So you can easily rip your DVD to PSP, iPod Classic, iPod Touch, iPod Nano, iPhone (3G), iPhone, Zune, Zune 2, Blackberry, Nokia, Creative Zen, Sony Walkman, iRiver PMP, Archos, PS3, Apple TV, Xbox, iPAQ, Pocket PC, Mobile Phone, etc. It is really outstanding DVD Ripper software.

8. Video Converter (Windows Version), (Mac Version)
It can convert between any video formats including MPG, MPEG, MPEG2, VOB, MP4, M4V, RM, RMVB, WMV, etc and extract audio from these video. It also converts between all audio formats including MP3, MP2, AAC, AC3, WAV, MID, MIDI, WMA, M4A, RA, RAM, OGG, APE, AU, FLAC with excellent conversion speed and quality. Then you can easily full enjoy your portable player.

More>>

Welcome addition or a potensial problem

Posted: April 3rd, 2010, 2:34pm CDT by hypn

Hi Guys,

My starter dwarf sea horse tank has become a host for these guys (photo below) and they are not shy at breeding and growing.

Should I be concerned and start getting them out of the tank or are they beneficial. Please remember this would be for a dwarf seahorse tank and a small sting could kill them.

Amphipods and copepods are now everywhere and I would hate to clear out the tank and lose all the good hitch hikers in the tank

Any and all opinions appreciated

Andre

Id needed

Posted: April 3rd, 2010, 10:24am CDT by gMAN

Morning guys n gals, found this on a piece of LR that I got last weekend, was sort of tunneled in the rock (pic taken last night)

then this morning was out on the substrate

does this mean it's dead/on it's way out?

also found this hitchhiker:

Something is eating my crabs

Posted: April 2nd, 2010, 2:05am CDT by samier

Hi guys, i had about 6 crabs in my tank last month, now i only have 2 left. I found My crabs legs floating in the tank. I only have a maroon clown , midas blenny and cleaner shrimp.

What can be eating them. Never saw or heard any signs of a mantis.
If it is mantis what all must i look out for.
Can it be the other crabs fighting for shells?

newbe

Posted: April 2nd, 2010, 12:49am CDT by Africano

hi everybody,
hope to learn alot, hope to meet old friends, and make new friends

Urgent help needed Zoas vs Lawnmower Blenny

Posted: April 2nd, 2010, 10:33pm CDT by Boegie

I need some urgent help.
I bought 2 live rocks with Zoas that has just been imported. The Zoas have been out of water for the trip, therefore caused the Zoas to be in a bad shape and need time to recover.
Now, my lawnmower blenny is having a feast between the zoas and in the process braking them.
I have just covered the zoas with net as a temporarily measure. What do you recommend and what is your experience in this regard? Your help would be highly appreciated.

Greetings!

Posted: April 2nd, 2010, 9:59pm CDT by Croaky

Hi -

I am new to marine tanks and will need advice on how to do this successfully.

I have had success with fresh water tanks up to 6ft but I'm aware that marine tanks are a totally different kettle of fish (sic), and require ALOT more attention to detail.

I have been told by the chap at my LPS that a 4ft tank would be a good starter, is this good advice?

Thanks in advance for any and all help!

Would this work?

Posted: April 2nd, 2010, 5:49pm CDT by brendanpre

Hi guys and girls

I have a question. Today I was told that if you only want to keep three or four fish, on a micro bodget, you can get 2 foot tank, undergravel filter, 1 powerhead and lots of live rock. The guy said that the live rock does enough filtration to sustain this setup.

I'm new to this, but this seems to go against everything i've read so far with regards to build up of nasties in the water.

So, what do you think?

Brendan

Alternative to PO4 remover...

Posted: April 2nd, 2010, 4:30pm CDT by ml

Hi guys,

I would just like to find out if there is a alterative to liquid phosfate remover or the normal phosfhate remover like phofban an all the other brands.

I would like to make my tank more natuaral as possible.I want to take out the cemicals like PH buffer , PO4 remover, NO3 removers and NH4 remover all those camicals I want to avoid.

Thanks
Mornè

My new setup

Posted: April 2nd, 2010, 4:30pm CDT by martinkeyser

Hi there, it`s running..... eventaully!
still need to get the wood work done

with all the lights on

Alternative to PO4 remover...

Posted: April 2nd, 2010, 4:30pm CDT by ml

Hi guys,

I would just like to find out if there is a alterative to liquid phosfate remover or the normal phosfhate remover like phofban an all the other brands.

I would like to make my tank more natuaral as possible.I want to take out the cemicals like PH buffer and PO4 remover NO3 removers NH4 remover all those camicals I want to avoid.

Thanks
Mornè

I'm new..

Posted: April 2nd, 2010, 1:11pm CDT by FiShLoVeR

Hey, i'm FiShLoVeR.

I am new to MASA but have been doing marine fishtanks for a while now. I don't have my own tank but I am helping a few friends with their tanks. I know a thing or to but stil have a lot to learn...

Well hope to give and get some advise.

Thanx FiShLoVeR
:yeahdude:

Easter weekend specials - pet stop

Posted: April 2nd, 2010, 9:55am CDT by Moolis

Hi reefers

For those of you that are not going away this easter weekend AND
Those guys visiting Pretoria !!!!

We have good news:slayer::yeahdude:
We will have a special (to be anounced by Shawn) each day!!!!:P

Pet Stop will be open:
Friday 09H00 to 14H00
Saturday 09H00 to 14H00
Sunday - rest day;)
Monday 09H00 to 14H00

We have lots of hardware, corals, inverts and fish in stock:thumbup:

So come ad visit us this easter and share in the easter feeling with us.

New tank

Posted: April 2nd, 2010, 9:52am CDT by brettd

Hi All

Looking for some info.I'm new too the marine game.I would like too start a marine tank, preferably in the 4ft range for fish and some live rock. Could some one give me an idea of how much would i pay for a reasonably priced set up and the cost of a sea salt additive.Oh yes battling to find info on maintenance of the tank and the time period between adding sea salt additive.

thanks

Remote DSB

Posted: April 2nd, 2010, 9:07am CDT by sandlewood

I have decided to install a remote DSB as my existing DSB in sump is to small. The remote DSB currently had its inlet via a pump in the return chamber of the sump. The water flows through the DSB which is in a plastic container above the sump (sump is outside) and back into the first chamber of the sump housing the skimmer.

My concern is that the effectiveness of the DSB will be reduced because the water is flowing directly to or from the dispaly to the DSB and so the DSB is being fed partially filtered water all the time. Is thsi a factor?

Also the additional pump required to feed the DSB has increased the through-flow in the sump and may effect the efficiency of the skimmer.

What do you guys think?

hello new member

Posted: April 1st, 2010, 8:19pm CDT by brettd

Hello All

Just want to introduce myself. Im new to the marine aquariums.looking forward to browsing your site.Oh yes can some one help me. I have kept fresh water tanks all my life even though i lived in Durban. I now live in Ladysmith and are keen to start a marine tank. I have heard of products that you add to purified water.How does it work? What is a good product? and how do you keep a tank going for a long period?

Thanks

New guy

Posted: April 1st, 2010, 2:38pm CDT by Riddi

Hi all

New to the forum and to the marine lifestyle, currently not in possesion of a tank but one of the current sponsers (PhutureLab:thumbup:) are building me a setup.
Will post pics the moment it is completed

painting rocks in marine tank

Posted: April 1st, 2010, 1:30pm CDT by robertkukla

I would like to find out if ther is a paint you can use in the tank to paint false rocks that wont harm the live stock

Fake marines

Posted: April 1st, 2010, 12:48pm CDT by neo

Went to dinner at Menlyn CTFM last night, they have 2 marine tanks, one is FOWLR and the other a reef tank, the FOWLR looks nice and well maintained with good looking LR and coraline on the LR, had a close look just before our food arrived.
The other 'reef' tank was blocked by a table with about 10 people, but i studied it while waiting for our food, looked realy great with some awsom rock-work and good looking corals with a very nice open brain and some other i cant id (my knowledge not that good on the corals).
just as we were finishing the party at the reef table broke up and i could walk over and have a closer look at this prestine reef....
FAKE!!!!!:eek:, the rockwork, reef, corals all FAKE:dft007:, I felt lekka dumb:banghead:, the water and fish were real but the rest all fake.

bubbles

Posted: April 1st, 2010, 12:37pm CDT by regis

Hi all, quick question, I have started getting small bubbles in my dt, could a dirty impellar be the problem?

DP pta will be closed on saterday

Posted: April 1st, 2010, 11:03am CDT by lanzo

Hey guys

Tomorrow i will be open from 9am till 1pm
Saterday closed
Sundays always closed
Monday open from 9am till 1pm

Those that will be leaving for the Easter Weekend.....please drive safe....and enjoy the holidays:thumbup:

return pump flooding sump when off

Posted: April 1st, 2010, 11:01am CDT by nathen

Q how to prevent return pump from siphoning water back to sump when return pump is off

Easter Weekend Trading

Posted: April 1st, 2010, 10:35am CDT by FransSny

Sorry guys I will be closed tomorrow & sunday (Andrew I will wait for you Sunday morning though as arranged)

Will be business as usual Sat & Mon though

Will be available on my cell though.

Frans

Need your ideas on fish

Posted: April 1st, 2010, 10:08am CDT by xtreme

Hi guys

The wave tank i'm making will need some fish!!!!!

tank size 100cmLx 55cmHx 50cmW, true water area
sump (didn't make it yet) 100cmLx 50cmHx 35cmW

So, need small stuning fish that will not grow to big and are friendly!!!
This is going to be my show tank with coral (hopefull a blue monti from Lanzo:P)

Gobies: I've got my breeding pair yellow watchmans
Chromis: the new ones I ordered from Lanzo (only six will go in)

So what ells would you advise me?

Thanks guys;)

Please id Wrasse

Posted: April 1st, 2010, 9:47am CDT by robertkukla

hi got this wrasse and i would like to know what kind of wrasse it is

Urgent help needed Bubble Coral

Posted: April 1st, 2010, 8:34am CDT by Francois

Guys something is wrong with my bubble coral, have anybody seen this before? It looks like it's tearing from its skeleton or splitting? There is absolute very low flow in that area so it is not flow. Plz help.

Reefkeeping South Africa » Marine Aquariums of South Africa » April 2010

Feeds

Marine Aquariums of South Africa

Posted: April 30th, 2010, 12:36am CDT by XV3

Posted: April 30th, 2010, 10:31pm CDT by LuckyFish

Posted: April 30th, 2010, 10:26pm CDT by betty

Posted: April 30th, 2010, 10:15pm CDT by LuckyFish

Posted: April 30th, 2010, 9:07pm CDT by MistaOrange

Posted: April 30th, 2010, 5:46pm CDT by Moolis

Posted: April 30th, 2010, 5:16pm CDT by dropzone newbee

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 9:41pm CDT by Dikdaan

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 8:56pm CDT by zombie clam

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 8:13pm CDT by aminyassien

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 7:48pm CDT by shaun70922

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 6:07pm CDT by Singularity

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 5:40pm CDT by shaun70922

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 5:15pm CDT by Gixxerk4

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 5:14pm CDT by shaun70922

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 4:03pm CDT by badbiker

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 2:01pm CDT by vatso

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 1:04pm CDT by Garethmur

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 12:13pm CDT by Markos

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 11:47am CDT by vinnyn

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 10:27am CDT by SKAZ79

Posted: April 22nd, 2010, 8:27am CDT by mandarin

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 6:45am CDT by shane

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 11:00pm CDT by zombie clam

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 10:11pm CDT by zombie clam

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 9:14pm CDT by JAYMEG

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 9:00pm CDT by Garethmur

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 6:17pm CDT by Cabby

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 5:20pm CDT by Reef surgeon

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 4:12pm CDT by brentv

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 4:02pm CDT by Bob the (reef)builder

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 3:43pm CDT by scubaninja

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 2:52pm CDT by Steve Warren

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 1:54pm CDT by Neil H

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 1:34pm CDT by gharris2

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 12:56pm CDT by gawie

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 12:23pm CDT by poiromaniax

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 10:52am CDT by Nixxon

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 9:58am CDT by neo

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 9:32am CDT by FransSny

Posted: April 21st, 2010, 9:27am CDT by robertkukla

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 7:32am CDT by Jc Germ

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 10:07pm CDT by neil.h

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 9:55pm CDT by butcherman

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 7:51pm CDT by Greenreef

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 7:42pm CDT by Greenreef

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 6:15pm CDT by saheed

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 5:13pm CDT by Dasher

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 4:42pm CDT by Jaco Schoeman

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 4:21pm CDT by paul bloem

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 4:11pm CDT by SaltyReef

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 3:52pm CDT by Charlotte

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 3:01pm CDT by mariusmeyer

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 2:54pm CDT by neo

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 1:33pm CDT by Scarlet

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 12:53pm CDT by king squish

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 12:47pm CDT by Mudshark

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 12:23pm CDT by Garethmur

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 11:18am CDT by gaboon

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 11:04am CDT by splatacat

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 10:32am CDT by Jaco Schoeman

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 9:44am CDT by Pads

Posted: April 20th, 2010, 8:35am CDT by Creep

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 2:02am CDT by layla13

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 11:26pm CDT by Dale6

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 10:41pm CDT by Norman_the_fish

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 10:27pm CDT by Marine4Life

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 7:56pm CDT by Pete

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 7:23pm CDT by chikaboo

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 6:43pm CDT by layla13

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 6:27pm CDT by Garethmur

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 5:47pm CDT by Slummies

Posted: April 19th, 2010, 5:39pm CDT by layla13