Reefkeeping South Africa » Items by danimal

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Items by danimal

Marine Aquariums of South Africa

• 

  Need to rethink my filtration

  Posted: February 15th, 2012, 10:58am CST by danimal

  Hey guys
  
  The last few months I have become more and more convinced that my filtration is not working to its' full potential. I think it my DSB is too small, and I cannot go any larger. I am also running a DSB above it. my system is around 400 litres total, display tank is 1m x 0.5m x 0.5m, with a 3 foot sump below. running a TS2 skimmer.
  
  So... here are my options as I see it.
  
  1. NP pellets. I can DIY a reactor, which will keep the cost down. It seems people have mixed results with these... from the people who do have, what is the maintenance regime like? How often do you need to change the pellets? Are they as effective as people say they are?
  
  2. Bacteria dosing. I have been using MB7 for a while but have not seen any great results. prodibio biodigest, seachem stability, microbe splecial blend... how are are these for you guys?
  
  3. keep the DSB. well im sure I can find an improvement, so not really keen on this option.
  
  @Tony, @RiaanP, @Tobes, @Nemos Janitor, @crispin, @FransSny... you guys are the gurus, share some love :)
• 

  Is this green cyano?

  Posted: January 17th, 2012, 11:40am CST by danimal

  
  
  
  
  slimy to the touch, goes away at night, comes back in the day.
  
  all parameters normal.
  
  how do i get rid of it??? tried upping my alk, didn't do much.
• 

  Toadstool leather - sarcophyton in Durban

  Posted: November 28th, 2011, 11:01am CST by danimal

  Hey guys
  
  Looking for a decent sized sarcophyton frag. Battling to find in the LFS.
  
  Similar to these:
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 

  Purple shrooms bleaching

  Posted: September 12th, 2011, 4:34pm CDT by danimal

  Hey guys
  
  Had these shrooms for about 2 years and they have been doing really well (as shrooms normally do, lol) until about a month ago. They have started bleaching and withering away. I have about 5 species of shrooms in my tank, and the rest are all doing fine - it's only the common purples that are suffering.
  
  I started the microbacter7 regime a little while ago to help get my nitrates down, which it has. I am wondering if this could be why they are unhappy? I have tried target feeding them, but no luck so far.
  
  I also have a variety of LPS, leaters etc that are all fine. I'm very confuzzled.
• 

  Snowflake vs honeycomb moray?

  Posted: September 6th, 2011, 10:25am CDT by danimal

  Hey guys
  
  So I'm thinking about getting a small eel, trying to do as much research as possible before going ahead.
  
  First off - there are plenty of both species near Durban - are there any restrictions on catching them? (i've got the standard marine collecting license)
  
  Secondly - what advice can you give? Which one is a better candidate? I know they are both escape artists, and can give your filtration quite a klap. Also that crustacenas and shrimps can and will be preyed upon, there are stories that if they are kept well fed this is not much of an issue.
  
  A question I have is that when diving I often see caves shared by coral banded shrimp and morays - why is this, if they are its natural prey?
  
  Anyway, any thoughts/advice would be appreciated.
  
  Cheers
  Dan
• 

  Sigma 18-200mm Good lens?

  Posted: September 1st, 2011, 4:09pm CDT by danimal

  Found a good deal online for the Sigma 18-200 F3.5-6.3. I've been looking for a general purpose zoom such as the 18-135 (I have a Canon 450D body) but not find anything that shouts great deal - until this one.
  
  Anyone got any experience with this lens? I know it is not the most fantastic, but for me and my general purpose walking around photography it should be fine. Just need a few second opinions.
  
  thanks
  Dan
• 

  H. Magnifica for sale: Durban North

  Posted: August 25th, 2011, 10:53am CDT by danimal

  All other livestockCommon Name:

  H. Magnifica

  Scientific Name:

  -

  Size

  15-20cm

  How long have you had it?

  2 months

  Shipping or Collection only:

  collection

  Your location.

  Durban North

  Price:

  R300

  Photo's:

  
  
  

  Notes:

  I have decided to sell or swop my my H. Magnifica for an RBTA. I thought it was a Malu when I bought it, but was mistaken. Lesson learnt.
  
  The nennie is fine in my tank, eating well and has maintained its colour. However, given the track record for these nennies I would rather get a BTA or similar less demanding nennie.

• 

  Shore entry spots near Durban

  Posted: August 19th, 2011, 11:36am CDT by danimal

  Looking for some spots other than the usual Vetchies/Limestone, Odd, and rockpools etc. Scuba or freedive, wanna find some new spots for collecting. Anyone know of any?
• 

  Canon 450D freezing

  Posted: August 18th, 2011, 2:39pm CDT by danimal

  My 450D is about 2 years old, never had any problems, never been dropped...
  
  All of a sudden it is freezing when I press the shutter. It remains frozen until I turn it off and on again. I checked batteries and firmware updates; all fine.
  
  I also noticed this morning that if I try take a picture in Live mode this does not happen - the picture takes normally.
  
  Any ideas?
• 

  Diving/Collecting Richard's Bay

  Posted: August 10th, 2011, 4:43pm CDT by danimal

  Going up to Richard's bay this weekend, any good spots around?
• 

  Is this definitely a Malu?

  Posted: July 15th, 2011, 12:08pm CDT by danimal

  Sorry about bad pic, snapped quickly on the cell running out the door this morning. It's a beautiful specimen, really happy with it.
  
  
• 

  How do you guys mix your salt water?

  Posted: July 13th, 2011, 11:49am CDT by danimal

  Hey guys
  
  Got a bucket of that Seachem Reefsalt. Just curious - the directions state that 34g of salt will make 1L at 1.021. Therefore a 25L bucket should take 850g, which I did, stirred a bit and left for a while. But the salinity was only 1.005... ***? As far as I can see there is no undissolved salt. Am I missing something?
  
  And no, my hydrometer is not out (not that much anyway, my tank water reads 1.024)
• 

  Canon Powershot SX130 IS - R1800

  Posted: June 24th, 2011, 12:08pm CDT by danimal

  Brand new powershot for sale. Still in plastic packaging!
  
  Here is a review:
  Canon PowerShot SX130 IS Review - Watch CNET's Video Review
  
  Asking R1800
  
  
  
  
• 

  Goldie changing sex?

  Posted: June 10th, 2011, 1:21pm CDT by danimal

  
  
  Recently my one goldie has grown a fair amount larger than the others, and it's fins have started going darker on the tips. It has also been acting a wee bit agro lately. Sorry for bad pic, cellphone + agile fish = argh.
  
  Is this the start of sex change or is something else wrong?
• 

  Brown jelly?

  Posted: June 9th, 2011, 6:38pm CDT by danimal

  
  
  Is this the dreaded jelly?
• 

  Refrectometer/Glass hydrometer needed

  Posted: May 4th, 2011, 9:18pm CDT by danimal

  Hey guys
  
  Does anyone have a decent refracto or glass hydro that is properly calibrated that I can use to check my own hydro's calibration? I've just got one of those cheapo plastic hydros, and am not convinced as to its accuracy.
  
  Thanks
  Dan
• 

  High nitrate in 18 month old system

  Posted: February 22nd, 2011, 9:50am CST by danimal

  Hey guys
  
  For a while now some of my corals have been a bit worse for wear. My alk and calcium were a bit low, so got that sorted with randy's recipe 2, and now maintain levels with kalk. Things did not improve, so I re-introduced carbon to the system, no effect. Also checked salinity, nothing there.
  
  I'm now thinking that perhaps my lights need replacing (T5's in conjunction with leds - long story, but at the moment I am waiting for the bulk of my leds to arrive, so only a few running at present) the T5 bulbs are about 6 months old, so probably are due for replacement.
  
  Last night I checked my nitrate - still had the kit from when I started up 18 months ago, not used it since the cycle was complete. To my shock and horror it's reading around 50ppm!!!! :eek: Think I've found my problem...
  
  So... immediately cleaned my scrubber (normally scrape it clean every 2 weeks or so, must admit I've been a bit slack with it in the last month or so). Cleaned out skimmer cup as well. Had some prodibio start-up from when I moved house, so dosed some of that. Also increased the flow over my scrubber slightly.
  
  This morning, no change in reading.
  
  I normally feed twice a day, because I have a school of goldies - had them for about 6 months.
  
  Tonight I will check my scaping for dead spots and accumulation of krap etc... will also be cross-checking readings with another test kit, seeing as mine is quite old.
  
  FWIW, my scrubber is single sided with a warm white energy saver globe driving it. Growth on it has slowed somewhat lately, leading me to think that nitrate and phosphate levels were low, hence me being slightly slack in cleaning it... although that is probably more due to laziness if I'm honest.
  
  My DSB is around 16cm deep, and looks fairly healthy. Lots of pods running around etc. When I feed, it's generally 2-3 pinches of a flak/pellet mix. Every 3 days or so I defrost a marine mix instead, and generally give around 1-2 teaspoons.
  
  Also running a TS2 skimmer, slightly wet.
  
  So.. any ideas of what else I can do, or what the cause may be?
• 

  LPS/ softie frags wanted, Durban area

  Posted: February 14th, 2011, 11:45am CST by danimal

  Hey guys
  
  Anyone got frags they're willing to swop/sell/give away of the following:
  
  Candy cane coral
  Trumpet coral
  Bubble coral
  Brain coral
  Fox coral
  Pincushion, kenya tree, pulsing xenia, etc...
  
  Thanks :)
• 

  auto kalk stirrer/ top up

  Posted: January 17th, 2011, 4:03pm CST by danimal

  hey guys
  
  decided it's nigh time i added kalk to the mix. here are my plans, tell me what you think:
  
  
  
  the idea is that the high pressure valve is controlled by a float switch in the sump. when sump level drops, RO turns on and begins filling the bucket. a timer will then control the feed pump which forces water into the reactor, stirring the kalk and forcing water out the outlet and into the sump. the valve between the feed pump and reactor will control how fast water is added to the sump. hopefully i can match this to the rate of evaporation :)
  
  at the moment this is just an idea. reading up on everyone's different methods of dosing and trying to come up with something that will suit me. I am looking for a good combination between automation and simplicity.
  
  ideas, thoughts, crits, suggestions? :)
• 

  Sun Sun Pumps Reversing - Danger!!

  Posted: September 6th, 2010, 12:32pm CDT by danimal

  Hey guys
  
  Bit of a sad story. I (like many other reefers on this forum) have noticed that occasionally my SunSun powerheads run in reverse, which is quite annoying but nothing major... or so I thought.
  
  Normally when feeding I pause the internal flow, which turns back on automatically after 10 mins. Now since noticing this pump reversal phenomenon, I ensure that I don't leave the flow to turn on by itself, I always put it back on manually.
  
  On saturday morning I was in a rush, and so fed as normal, but got distracted by something and then left the house. Now my foxface (who I have only had a week) loves to graze on the algae on the pumps, especially when they're off. Well you can imagine what happened... I got home later that afternoon and noticed the pump was running in reverse :nono: Sorted that out, and then noticed something stuck in the housing... :(
  
  The foxface was obviously having a nibble at the front of the pump when it turned back on, sucking him in... :( what a horrible way to die. I know this is due to my own stupidity which makes it even worse. I had gottednn quite attaced to the little guy, even in the one week.
  
  Anyway just thought I'd share my experience - we live and we learn hey! Needless to say there is now a grill on the front of the powerheads, and as soon as I've got some spare cash I'll be upgrading to something more reliable!