lduncan

It's a shame they don't bring in most of the corals i'm after though. Oh well, their loss I suppose, can't say I haven't asked. Layton

Why? Not planning on adding much more stock. Just more room for my acros to grow. Would like to get some 1 foot plus colonies growing. I'll need more rock though. Pies, i had that same feeling when I got my 6' into place. Seemed big when I ordered it. Not so big once you put it in place. I got the house in the end. The tank will defiantly be inwall. Kermit: Yeah this is one from Redwoods latest Hawain shipment. Not a massive shipment, but lots of tangs, of all sorts. Missed out on the Archilles though... thanks Steve . They just got their coral shipment in, after months waiting for CITIES. Layton

Would have liked it wider, but there isn't enough room... unless I knock some more walls out. 6' x 6' would have been nice, but just too big to squeeze in. And with the price of glass at the moment, would be very expensive, especially with one side diamant. The tank will be modelled on Steve Weast's (http://www.oregonreef.com). Layton

very nice!

No fighting, all my tangs are happy campers. Yes I am planning a new tank, looking to be 1900 x 1100 x 700 high. Just in the initial planning at the moment, I just finished exams on wed. finally, so i'll start to finalise some stuff like the tank size soon. Layton

No the one picture is not the actual one I got. The one I have is morphing between the juvenile shape to the adult shape and colour at the moment. Haven't been able to get a photo, cause like I said, it's a bit skittish at the moment like powder blues are when you first add them, the slightest movement outside the tank and they dive for cover. As far as size goes, they grow to about the same size as a sohal. Up to 40cm in the wild. Luck the new tank is comming. Layton

Just got a new fish today. Something a bit different. Ring Tail Tang - Acanthurus blochii Seems to behave much like a powder blue at the moment - a little skittish. No doubt it will settle down. Layton

Steve - Personally I don't think you have anything to worry about. Keep doing what you have been doing. Layton

Sand bed maintenance -I keep the sand in my display clean, because I don't like it looking dirty, and it's too coarse and shallow to act as a DSB. The DSB I don't touch. Layton

Just stir it up a bit. Most of the gas coming from DSB's is just nitrogen from the reduction of nitrate. But there are other processes going on which produce other gases, on of which is hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell) this forms an acidic solution when mixed with water, this can affect your ph and lower you alkalinity, if enough is released at once. There are also other not so pleasant intermediate chemicals formed, which, if exposed to the water column, can cause problems, if they reach high concentrations. Unlikely, but all the same it's still possible. Eric past couple of articles are defiantly worth a read. Layton

No problem. Layton

I assume you have no corals?

Crush coral would be all right for a DSB, but I wouldn't use it in a display. I use around 3-4mm grain size in my tank, around 1" thick. I keep it well stirred up to get rid of detritus. The problem with 1/2" of crush coral is that it's not deep enough to get the oxygen gradient necessary for all the process of a dsb to occur. So it does become a crap collector. With coarser sand in the display, you can stir it up to get rid of the detritus, without sand going everywhere. Personally I'd go for crushed coral DSB in the refugium, and the coarser stuff in the display. Layton

One other thing. I hear people go on about how feeding causes problems in their tank, so they feed less. I really don't like the sound of this. The amount of food fed should be determined by what your fish need, not by how much algae/cyano/diatoms the food causes. The tank will sort itself out given time and consistent feeding quantities. Layton

Three words. DSB (Deep Sand Bed) Make it an addition to your new tank. Make sure it can be isolated from the main system if all turns to crap. DBS's are extremely efficient at reducing nitrates and phosphates, along with many other complex organic molecules. I'm not for DSB's in display tanks, they look crap. Bed should be around 3-4" think, of the finest sand you can get. I have used plain old plasterers silica sand. Make sure it is washed well. The important part is that it has to be fine grained to be most efficient. If I could find carbonate based sand that fine, I would use it instead, but i've had no problems with silica sand, despite the unfounded myths that say it causes diatom blooms. What you are after is and oxygen gradient through the depth of the sand where various bacteria colonise and do their thing. If you see black streaks in the depth of the sand (through the side of the tank) this is a sign that some of the required bacteria has colonised. Most important thing is DON'T ever touch or disturb the bed. By exposing the inner layers of the bed, you expose all sorts of intermediate chemical, which are often very toxic, so they can diffuse into the water quickly, and kill your tank inhabitants. This is one of the reasons why I think they should be able to be isolated from the main system, if for whatever reason, the bed is disturbed, it can be removed from the system, so it doesn't affect your display tank.

Chimera, it's in this months reefkeeping mag. Always worth reading. http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-11/rhf/index.htm Layton

The rc type filter won't stop the bulbs acting like antennae at 30 to 100kHz though. This is usually more of the problem than the harmonics introduced into the mains from the ballast switching. Layton

Phosphates and growout systems don't mix. Layton

OK. Here is my opinion an algae "control". Reef tanks are all about equilibrium. When you change part of your routine, you upset the equilibrium which has previously existed. It then takes time for the tank to settle back down to another equilibrium. So as long as you are doing all the right things consistently, your tank will sort itself out given time. I have had outbreaks of diatoms, and hair algae. What have I done about them. Nothing, just let them be, and if your tank is skimmed well enough, you feed a consistent amount of food (whether it be a large or small amount is irrelevant), and water changes are consistent (again whether frequent, or not), then your tank will adjust to suit. When people recommend to do water changes to fix problems like algae, generally it's pointless. You are upsetting the equilibrium when you start doing more frequent water changes, but the when you settle back to your normal schedule again, you upset it again, resulting in the tank taking longer to settle than if you had done nothing. Having said this there may be times when things are so far out of wack, that a water change is needed. So I think the key is good general practise, and consistency in what you add and take from the tank. It took 6 weeks for my hair algae to disappear completely, similar for diatom blooms. Every now and then things out of your control can upset the tank. Just let it do it's thing. Layton

Alois, where did you get the dimante glass from. The starfire branded stuff only goes to 10mm? Is it still available in Auck? Layton

Yeah. I don't want acrylic. Looks like the low iron glass may be a no go. But I might check it out incase things have changed. (unlikely but worth a try) Did you ever get to see the difference in clarity in person? Layton

On the topic of glass and new tanks... Has anyone found any info on low iron glass availability in New Zealand? Pies did you investigate this for your tank? Layton

Zeovit? Isn't it the best thing since sliced bread? :lol: Salifert is the only other one I can think of that i have used. Layton

To be honest there is no sure fire way, other than finding eggs and babies. It's a guess at best. Males tend to have a more diamond shaped body, females are more oval. Some say males have longer banners, but i'm not sure on that one. Juveniles are even harder to attempt to sex. So short answer, even people that study these fish extensively can not sex them reliably from just looking at them. They may get it right only 75% of the time. Layton

Thanks Peter. What lines are you currently breeding? Layton