Pies

Chocolate brown is not a natural colour for Acropora (although brown is). I'll take a photo of some of the chocolate browns i've had from Reef and show you how they look now. Good luck with the Zeovit. I would follow Brendons advice to the letter (don't change tact based on what you read here or anywhere else). I 'eased' my tank into it when I was using it, and had a few teething problems, but overall it worked exactly as stated, and if I could afford it I would still use it today. Pie

IRA - I'm in Auckland next week. If I get to a pet store and they have it, do you want me to grab you a tube? Pie

Yah they get large for sure. Not killing it shouldn't be an option. Get to it, I am finally free of Aipstasia and its a great feeling Pie

Love the colour of this monti. Interesting that its browner the lower the light. This is the common purple/brown montipora digitata that most of you will have: Poor clownfish kicked out of their anemone, they laid eggs about 1 hr afer this photo was taken today: pie

BEST - Building a dedicated room to house the sump and all the other noisey and messy equipment. WORST - Buying diseased fish and introducing them to my tank, the out-break killing many other animals including all of the newly purchased animals. Pie

Well we left for the Ski Field a week ago today, and its good to return home and see everything with the tank is well. So thats the first test with the new setup, completely un-attended for 1 week. Glass needs a clean, as does the skimmer, otherwise everything is as per normal. Even noticed a little bit of coral growth Pie

Ohh. Its splitting now, I have 9. My problem is getting them off the rock as soon as I go near them they shoot back into a hole the size of a pin head! As soon as I get get some out I will have them for trade. Pie PS: Last post, on holiday in 3...2...1....*now*

I have had a few corals targeted by STN as well. I have always assumed it was a bacterial infection (as per Bourneman). I can easily stop the STN by using aquakneedit at the base of the 'infection'. This has saved the coral every time its happened (maybee 3-4 times now). No other corals effected. I too have 0 Phosphate and Nitrates on the tests. I use phosphate remover (1x box) at a time, and change it every 6 months-ish. Pie

It gets skimmed out. Pie

Which anemone?

Things are going 'OK' in the tank. Pretty much just leaving it alone. I am always asked what addititives I am using on the tank. Currently CA reactor with 10% mg chips, Aquamedic phosphate remover. Thats all, not even using Kalkwasser at the moment, just water. I also use carbon, some cheap crap I bought a while ago (a sack full), which is going great. I use 2 litres at a time, changed every 2 months (ish). Coral growth appears to be steady, colour as always could be better. Water paramaters are all in the green. I am starting to get to the point where I am woundering what the point of testing the water is. This acro 'stag' coral is the common one with brown body and blue tips. Grows very fast. Note lots of new 'chutes' for new branches to start growing. Also take a peak of the purple monster in the background This photo just freaks me out: 7 feet of water: Looking good. This coral fell down, but it seams happy so its staying there: These anemones are awesome. I got 2 from a local reefer who has been lucky enough to have a few bud off. I've had great success with them and now have 9. The don't grow large (max size about as big as a choc-chip biscut). Stunning to look at. If I can figure a way to detatch them i'd like to spread some around: Gorgonian doing its thing: Reefscape: So not much to report. I am off on holiday for a week tommorow. People keep asking me 'whos looking after the tank' or 'whos feeding the fish'. No one. The tank and the fish will have to figure a way to survive without me for the week. I did however give in and feed the fish today. Chat with you all soon. pie

Just seems to have a single focus is all I am saying, has made his mind up and thats that. Interesting to see all the BB tanks he sites as proof of its success, but to me they look no better than tanks with DSBs. The BB tanks do like odd though, maybee they look better IRL than in the photos. Aestheticly they looks ugly. Pie

Bomber has some hatred though. Ever get the feeling like he is a little extreme and is on a real crusade against DSBs? Pie

Yup, no doubt. I have done a lot of reading prior to setting up my new tank. The more I read, the more appealing the DSB is for the type of tank I want keep. I am aware of the risk of the DSB crashing, but its managable and easily avoidable. The Auckland club had a DVD presentation on sand beds recently, be interesting to know what the 'real' experts had to say. YMMV. Pie

I would We could go back and forth forever quoting things found on the net from one source or another, neither of us will definitivly prove the other wrong. I think a DSB is an asset, infact I am so confident I have 2 in my system. Still maybee i'll get home and its all come crashing to an end, but I suspect i'll be OK Pie

IRA - Its a good point. I guess it depends on if you belive the DSB will 'fill up' or not. I think the older the sandbed the better. Pie

Copy my sump Its spot on, and its 7 feet long Your welcome, good luck with it. I can't wait to see the pics and one day see it for real. Good luck Pie

Very flattering thanks. The reality is my tank photographs better than it looks. You know how sometimes the photo doesn't do the subject justice? Mine is the opposite. I don't dissagree with the general 'flavor' of what is being said. Its just the results don't match. Its easy to say 'its heading for trouble', and only time will tell I guess, but people who uses these systems are not naieve (sp?) to what happens in there own systems, and none of them think its going to be a problem. And I can't keep comming back to the results. As for skimmerless, said this many times, I can't image doing it myself. I see so much brown shite comming out of the skimmer, I don't want it staying in my tank. Pie

? If there was truth to that everyone here that is using ROWA would have have stunning coral colour. A few people posted pics of how 'awesome' it was and after just days their corals had changed colour (and posted a pic of a brown coral), but no photos or info from anyone recently. I wounder why that is. That tank is a stunner, and if I could get my tank looking half as nice I would be impressed. As for its health, look at the growth since it was setup. Hard to critisise it, unless good colour and growth mean his animals are un-happy, and continue to remain unhappy and just appear to be doing well by showing awesome colour and great growth rates. Look at his tank, look at your own. Whos methodology works? Pies

I take the health of my animals and the colour and growth rate of my corals as indicators of good health, not the algae on my rocks. If a snail had zoomed over that rock a few minutes earlier would you have been saying 'wow great rock, its a good sign'? Pie

My tank must be in trouble then because thats how it looks. Infact if that algae growth shows rocks saturated with phosphate then my glass must be suffering from the same problem. Both pics looks pretty normal to me. The first pic has no corraline algae, which is when you get algae growth. I've seen this in my tank, coraline stops the other algaes from taking hold. Pie

My 5 footer (1600Lx700Wx650H) suffered under 2 halides. I belive it could have used the 3rd in the middle. I had 4x 85watt T5s but really felt it needed more punh and spread. If I had kept it I would have gone for a single 400 in the middle, and burned in as 'high noon' lighting. Pie

Every reef i've dived in the world must be in trouble then, cause thats what rock looks like under water. Significient covering? Did you upload the wrong picture? Pie

How does harvisting calurpa and gas exchange of phosphate end up back in the tank? You know when you harvest the calurpa you throw it out, right? If that was correct than you would also remove your LR for the same reasons. Layton - You seem to be paranoid that the sandbed is just a big sponge, and as soon as its full it will just all melt back into the water. the reality is this is not what happens. Worst case is it may become 'full' and not be able to do any more, it doesn't hit saturation and just explode into badness. I have had my sandbed running over 2.5 years, and I expect it to still be up and running and working in another 2.5 years. but you seem to have your mind made up. If all of what you are saying is true, why so many successful tanks running? Why don't tanks employing your ideas (like your own) look so much better than the dirty DSB tanks? DSBs work, like it or not, the proof is in the success of the people who employ them. Pie

Won't be an issue. Gravity doesn't care (there will be small reduction, but I suspect you have ample left over energy. ummmm why? I don't think you get it. Water is falling down. Pressure is applied. There is no reason why the chiller can't be on the ground, water will be forced in the top, pass through the skimmer and be pushed back up. Leave it on the ground, water can go up hill as well, it will just eat a bit of energy. No reason to build a shelf, it won't make much difference I wouldn't think? Also the further the water falls, the more pressure there will be to drive the water through the restrition of the chiller. Pie