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 Saltwater fish and reef tank keepers, All about saltwater creatures and reef

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sanjeevhsbc
post Aug 20 2013, 02:21 PM

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QUOTE(eternal555 @ Aug 19 2013, 11:03 PM)
Looking for seahorses... Called GV but no answer,  I think they've closed down?
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Try Batu Karang. SS15.
A lot there.
sanjeevhsbc
post Aug 20 2013, 02:41 PM

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QUOTE(defaultname365 @ Apr 9 2013, 01:28 PM)
Wow... there ARE places other than East Aqua?  doh.gif  Those guys at IKANO East Aqua is where I have been going 100% all the time. My experience has evolved in saltwater aquarium and my last post here was regarding how to restart my aquarium... well, believe it or not I have read a tonne of info and have become quite confidence. *Confidence in knowing what to do/not to do... not simply adding stuff  tongue.gif

Edit: I wish this hobby is more popular here... not many reefers around. I still consider myself a complete noob in this, but compared to when I started out, I would say I understand much more now. The one thing this hobby has taught me - - patience.  nod.gif  If you are not prepared to spend $$$, suggest doing something else or just keep a FOWLR.
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Have you noticed at East Aqua Ikano that their display tank looking less and less populated?
They even have a plastic jelly fish.

I bought a lot of stuff from them before. Equipment range is good.




Now Subang Aquatics is favourite choice for live fish, rocks and corals.

The only sea tanks without any disease problems was the one with some sunlight.

I stopped using Red Sea.

No skimmer and no ozonizer. Just power filter and live rocks.

Corals are doing well. Not into anemones so can't say.

Now all three tanks are placed near window/ glass panes.





sanjeevhsbc
post Mar 1 2014, 01:17 PM

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QUOTE(defaultname365 @ Aug 20 2013, 06:23 PM)
Ha ha... I can barely remember my last post here in this thread.

Anyways, Aquatics International Subang is THE place to go for corals, fish, and invertebrates. They have them in abundance. The first time I walked into it, I couldn't believe it (after going to East Aqua all the time). Folks building a big tank should go here. I still buy my equipment from East Aqua, stopped buying fish from them entirely.

Can you clarify on

The only sea tanks without any disease problems was the one with some sunlight.

and
why you
I stopped using Red Sea.?

I can't quite recall a tank not having diseases because it has sunlight. You can replicate sunlight in a tank with sunlight T5 lights. tongue.gif  If anything, direct sunlight exposure will cause unwanted algae growth.

As for Red Sea, I used to use their A, B and C formula for corals. I also still use their Coral Pro Salt all the time. Expensive, but I like it.

..................

On a different note, I have been trying to keep a Blue Tang and a Powder Blue Tang - - I always quarantine before putting them into my DT. They just don't make it after 2 weeks - - I blame it on tank size, nothing else. Need at least 75 gallons and a mere 15 gallons is ridiculously small as I have learnt the hard way.

I wonder if you guys QT your fishes as well... how you'll do it, what has worked, etc.. I am using Cupramine + Prazipro for my QT. After 6 weeks of quarantining my False Pecular Clownfish, I put them into my DT.

Just a few days into it, they started flashing and scratching to my horror. I started feeding them pellets with Beta Glucan and the flashing/scratching ceased. I read that Beta Glucan is a bit of a 'magic bullet' against diseases (can read on advancedaquarist.com) Looks like Brooklynella to me from the looks of one of the clownfish. I quickly purchased Paraguard and planning to start this week.

...........................

As for my corals... well, they all 'disappeared'.  sad.gif Long story short, I did a drastic water change and due to my tank size, the corals hated it. My absolute noob mistake. One by one, started dying and a die-off occurred. Two days later, all died. I was a sad chap.  cry.gif

Right now, I only have coral decors. I have decided to go with artificial corals for two reasons - for (hopefully) long term easy maintenance and two, in the event of a blackout/power failure/equipment failure, the chances of the whole DT coming down is lesser. I've tried corals, they were pretty and I'm done with them. That is why I plan on putting Paraguard directly into my DT since no corals. If any diseases brews from within the DT, hopefully Paraguard will help.

.......................

Planning to go big at the end of this year. The fear factor is there. Once I dip my feet into a big tank, the money will start flowing uncontrollably. Like a reefer once said :

"Saltwater aquarium is like a bottomless pit where you pour your money in"

There is no 'I am done with my saltwater tank'. It is always a work-in-progress hobby.
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I have been overseas. biggrin.gif

The main reason I stopped Red Sea was because my corals do not seem to last more than 1 - 4 months. Parts of it will go bald if not careful after a month.
With seawater available from Aquatics International, my fish became very resilient to disease. Fresh live rocks with purple and green plants play a huge part too. It is the high quality live rocks that filter together with the aid of surface water agitation by small pumps that make it sustainable.


Duplicating the full sun spectrum is impossible with the bulbs available. I agree one can achieve the intensity of certain spectrum but I think there is more to it. There are certain wavelengths which is crucial or missing from using specialized aquarium bulbs. If you knew marine manager from Subang Aquatics International, he may have shared with you his best experience to keeping a successful marine tank is one with some access (few hours) to full sun rays. Unfortunately that also means some glass tanks cannot last long under the sun rays. So steps must be taken to counter this as well as preventing the tank from getting heated.

I never lost any tangs or had any getting infection (white spots etc) after trying this method of keeping a natural marine tank. So far I lost one fish which was an Emperor Marine Angel.
sanjeevhsbc
post Oct 28 2014, 11:10 AM

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QUOTE(defaultname365 @ Apr 25 2014, 03:33 PM)
Corals not making it is largely due to water parameters - the stability or the lack of it. Whether SPS or LPS, corals need a constant balance of (as low as possible) nitrates, sufficient lighting and filter feeding. Calcium and Magnesium play a vital role to the vitality of corals as well.

When a coral starts to look bad, there has to be a parameter or two lacking. Test for Am, No2, No3, Phos, Cal, Mag, dKH and PH. Some dose Cal & Mag (2 part dosing), but to me, a constant and religious weekly water change should do the trick for depleted elements!  smile.gif  If the tank is stable enough (attributed from test results of test kits), monthly water changes should do it.

I have since found that no matter the brand of product, it all comes down to water params. You can't go wrong with it, unless the test kits are faulty/expired.

Exposure to sun light is interesting. Corals out in the ocean have natural sun light but in our closed-loop aquariums, sun light = potential for algae growth is much higher. The timing of the exposure is almost going to be non-consistent since sun light is not constant all the time (rainy days, sunny days, cloudy, etc.) And surely there has to be a better way since sun light on aquarium glass/acrylic = as you said, heat it, potentially a disastrous consequence in the making in the months to come.
By doing so the rocks essentially are 'dry rocks' instead of live rock. Not a bad thing, but you lose potentially some beneficial bacteria and some critters that go along with it. Doing this would also mean a less 'dirty' looking tank since it has been rinsed thoroughly and die-offs probably got rinsed away as well.

I would recommend cycling your tank with bacterial additives. The most effective (and proven to work) based on feedback:

- Tetra SafeStart
- Dr. Tim's One & Only
- Instant Ocean Bio-Spira
- Microbe-Lift Special Blend/Nite Out II

The above contain the 'exact' bacteria needed - Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter. It will take from 1 - 2 weeks to cycle, for the bacteria to grow on your substrate of choice (sand bed, filter media, heck even the sides of the glass plane). You need to add ammonia to "feed" these bacteria - a good and clean source would be mysis shrimp (e.g. Hikari Mysis Shrimp). Drop a cube or two into the tank and let it be. Ammonia and Nitrites would peak in first week, and drop in the next. Once Am and No2 are zero, do a water change = 30-50%. The cycling is then over.  smile.gif
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Which shop do you go to for marines?
sanjeevhsbc
post Oct 28 2014, 11:56 AM

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@calvinyoon

The safest way is to wait one month for it to mature. Liquid measurements are a guide only. For example they cannot tell if the newly bought artificial sea salt is of a bad batch or not.









As to live rocks, I still go for fresh live rocks that has been filtered for a few days such as Aquatics International. I do not have faith in barren looking live rocks.


I still think a successful marine tank requires a good current flow and surface skimming as part of water changes.


Having some window light helps as long as you got a good balance of living specimens inside.


I have some Caulerpa, Chaetomorpha, Halimeda and many snails. My blue tangs, green wrasse, etc do not disturb any of them as they prefer softer algae and the Hikari pellets.



 

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