chimera

what's the best option to help keep my substrate turned over? obviously snails will help, but not enough. i was thinking sand sifting goby or sand wrasse or similar. brittle stars would also help i guess. however, i also have a mandarin and dont want a fish that will out compete him for live food. he was moderately skinny when i first got him but he's been slowly getting fatter as my pod population has increased. so, bearing the mandarin in mind, whats the best fish/invert/other to stir up the sand? oh, and this is for the main tank, sand bed about 1/2" - 3/4" thick. want to consider something for the fuge too, sand bed about 2" thick. not quite DSB (and not interested in going DSB yet)

true come to think about it, but only when it's full of water :lol: still, the reverse syphon effect would mean empty tank vs only the top inch or so assuming no valve to stop back pressure.

yup!

is there any way of putting it at the bottom or is the siphon in the event of power/pump failure inevitable??? way too risky - it will back siphon unless you have a valve to block reverse flow - but i wouldnt risk putting all my trust in it. i would imagine it would also place more back pressure on the pump because of the pressure exerted at the bottom of the tank restricting flow rate? probably not by alot. whats the problem with it going over the top anyway? you just want to be different? btw, i've got a 540 litre main tank and 460 litre refugium and sump. IMO sump is crucial as it is also a highly efficient way of aerating the water (outside of the obvious water volume, heater hiding etc benefits) the additional benefits (because im happy with a 5 footer) is as layton says, more room for LR (for biological filtration) without overloading your main tank and potentially ruining aesthetics. :lol: if only it were like that in the ocean!!!

looking great since last time i saw it - big improvement even in 12 weeks!

not that your test kit shows. im sure if you had a colorometer to test with, there would be traces of phosphate. i would ALWAYS use DI - even if it were for peace of mind.

thanks reef, just been reading about angels on various web sites. there are so many differing opinions, but the general consensus was the adult emperor was more prone to picking at corals - both lps and sometimes even sps. other sites said the regal is less likely to nip, love this fish too. perhaps i go with one of these instead. cheers

cheers all. i still love the emperor angel, beautiful fish and im willing to take the risk. here's a juvey and adult pic respectively...

how do you justify this? i've used hot glue with some of my closed loop - it is essentially a more difficult solvent to use (more fiddly and time consuming because pipes need priming first) but the strength is extremely strong. the glue dries solid (assuming you've scrapped off any excess glue) - i have heard or had no problems with it. the one thing i would say be aware of is there are pressure and non-pressure rated solvents. always make sure you use the right solvent for the right application - if unsure use pressure rated.

hmmmm, maybe an emperor angel juvenile then, less prone to munching on corals. hopefully if I train him from young he want become a troublesome teenager :lol:

do they have a habit of munching on corals?! i hear, as a rule of thumb, the juvie's are reef safe whereas the adults are not. still, a beautiful fish.

ok, other fish i'm looking at are: - powder blue tang - sailfin tang - emperor angel - majestic angel - bangaii cardinal easy/medium/difficult? approximate price?

not yet. might have to move the calcium reactor out to make room beer (kitchen) fridge is quite near the main tank. lazy boy,... well, that's me. i sit next to the fridge with view of tank. just LOVE it at night when only the blues are on and all house lights are off. way cool!

RnB - how is your CBB going? I'm keen on getting one but have heard they can sometimes be difficult to keep. Can you frag him for me? :lol: Anyone else have one? Comments?

cheers. finally, the capacitor arrived tonight and I installed in the OM. it's all hooked up and going. just need plumbing pieces to direct flow around the tank. the corals have certainly reacted already, softies are swaying around alot more, a couple of acro's toppled over! otherwise, it's all good. im adding a couple of seio powerheads in the next few weeks - no money for streams (just yet) and massive extension to house (doubling in size!) starting in about 6 weeks time. bank will only loan so much...

pretty much

it's a putty; safe for use in your reef tank. buy it from warehouse for $12.95 (or get ripped off and go to a building store and pay $20)

well pies, if it does all die off, you're more than welcome to some free xenia frags from me once it comes right

:lol: thats probably why it does well in my tank too

this might help... http://aqualinkwebforum.com/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/4956080522/m/8976080522/inc/-1

dont mean to state the obvious reef, but you sure your topup and ASW mix doesnt have PO4? from memory, you dont use RODI filtering but straight off the tap? (because of the waters source) or am i thinking of someone else? (like layton!) you appear to have tried for ages to get PO4 down, maybe it's not coming from your tank but the water you're adding to it?? or maybe your test kit doesnt work?!!!

interesting points of debate. how much carbon did you test with? i've read varying reports indicating to run carbon 24x7, to only for a few days every few weeks, but rarely not at all. i think the key to carbon is to use a portion small enough that it helps cleanse the water yet doesnt strip it completely. i recall reef that you accidentally used too much carbon which actually bleached all your corals? sounds logical if its used in moderation?

yeah the 2nd one is a little outta focus. just for the reference, it's "montipora digitata". ta,... ta

can someone id these pls?

:lol: