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Thread: a newbie: need some help and advice on my 50x13x13" tank!

  1. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by whitefang View Post
    how much light is appropriate then? my corals are already dying.

    i live in marine parade.
    As mentioned in my previous post... those soft corals / filter feeders you have chosen are very difficult to keep alive especially in a relatively new tank. These inverts require feeding (using coral food formulated for filter feeders) as much as light... if not more in some cases.

    But you need to strike a balance too as these coral food will pollute the water real easy. My suggestion is to learn from their deaths and try to keep hard corals that rely on light for survival (photosynthesis).

  2. #22
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    oh dear.. =( seems i got off on the wrong foot, and the second step is not very sensible too.

    gee..

    the bottle of liquid plankton is not enough for the corals, u mean?

    what should i do then?

    how about the lighting? what is recommended for it?

  3. #23
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    maybe i should upgrade my tank to a slightly bigger one of 2 feet?

  4. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by whitefang View Post
    the bottle of liquid plankton is not enough for the corals, u mean?

    what should i do then?

    how about the lighting? what is recommended for it?
    Just like dosing nutrients/vitamins for planted tank... the owner must understand the requirements of his/her livestock, the type of food he/she feeds and the timing and sequence.

    You can read more about this in books, magazines and net.

    Can you take a photograph of your lighting unit and a shot of the tubes you are currently using?

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    Quote Originally Posted by whitefang View Post
    maybe i should upgrade my tank to a slightly bigger one of 2 feet?
    In marine... stability is everything. Larger water volume equates stability (in most cases). If you feel that the current tank is too challenging... I'd say yes, an upgrade to a larger tank will increase your chance of success. But in marine, a standard 3ft tank is still not considered large... that's the real challenge

    How's your water parameter?

    For this moment, these are the most crucial ones:
    1) Sg
    2) Temperature range (highest point ever, it doesn't matter if 95% of the time you are getting 27ºC, that 2 hours of 31ºC will ruin your reef tank to a point that it will take weeks to recover).
    3) pH
    4) KH

  6. #26
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    also u need coral chips....for bacteria.

    anyway if u passing by woodlands let me know,, dont mind teaching u for a packet of coffee... im staying at woodlands crescent....

    pm me for my HP..

  7. #27
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    this is the current lighting that i'm using. the LFS gave it to me when I bought the tank from him. its like, part of a package.

    as u can tell, since my tank is only 1 and 1/2 feet, i think the lights are only 1 feet (as it's shorter than the tank).

    there are 2 tubes in it, one white, one blue. it says 24W (so i'm not sure if its 24W per tube, or for both).

    the sand which came with it, he said those are coral chips. i'm hardly ever in woodlands (got no reason to be there).. but would still love to meet and get a tip or two from you!

    my number is 9752 4071. do sms me ur number!
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  8. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jervis View Post
    In marine... stability is everything. Larger water volume equates stability (in most cases). If you feel that the current tank is too challenging... I'd say yes, an upgrade to a larger tank will increase your chance of success. But in marine, a standard 3ft tank is still not considered large... that's the real challenge

    How's your water parameter?

    For this moment, these are the most crucial ones:
    1) Sg
    2) Temperature range (highest point ever, it doesn't matter if 95% of the time you are getting 27ºC, that 2 hours of 31ºC will ruin your reef tank to a point that it will take weeks to recover).
    3) pH
    4) KH
    my temperature used to be at around 29 to 30 deg C.

    But ever since I got the fan, it has been at a cap of 27 deg C.

    Do note that I got the fan before I got the corals.

    SG is maintained between 1.022 to 1.025.

    as for the pH and kH, I dont have any test kits for them.

    There seems to be so many kinds in the market, which should I get? I see so many in the shops, one each for pH, kH, nitrates, nitrides, ammonia, phosphates, calcium etc etc etc..

    I'm confused. Which should I get? Does it mean I have to get one of everything?

  9. #29
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    since the fan is doing quite well ( i think 27 deg C is quite ok, am i wrong? ) for a 1 and 1/2 feet tank,

    will it work just as well and adequately for a 2 ft tank? or do i have to get a chiller?

    similarly for the 2 ft tank.. will my dolphin C500 be enough for it too? or must i get a bigger one?
    Last edited by whitefang; 28th Oct 2008 at 18:56.

  10. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by whitefang View Post
    this is the current lighting that i'm using. the LFS gave it to me when I bought the tank from him. its like, part of a package.

    as u can tell, since my tank is only 1 and 1/2 feet, i think the lights are only 1 feet (as it's shorter than the tank).

    there are 2 tubes in it, one white, one blue. it says 24W (so i'm not sure if its 24W per tube, or for both).
    Yours is a 24W compact PL 50/50 (white/blue). Should be sufficient for most beginner corals. Don't think your light is the main culprit causing coral deaths.

  11. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jervis View Post
    Yours is a 24W compact PL 50/50 (white/blue). Should be sufficient for most beginner corals. Don't think your light is the main culprit causing coral deaths.

    oh dear. so what should i do? get every single test kit in the LFS to test? or only a few important ones? if so, which ones?

    by the way, must the light be on everyday? and for how many hours? if i skip a day or two, will there be damage done?

  12. #32
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    you will have to top up freshwater everyday to counter the evaporation

  13. #33
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    yup, usually abt alternate day or every two days.. i top up based on SG level.. if too high then i top up.. i try to keep it within the range.

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    Quote Originally Posted by whitefang View Post
    oh dear. so what should i do? get every single test kit in the LFS to test? or only a few important ones? if so, which ones?

    by the way, must the light be on everyday? and for how many hours? if i skip a day or two, will there be damage done?
    You can start with a few essential ones such as kH, pH, NO2 and NO3. Salifert is a good brand.

    8 to 10 hours daily... and why would you wanna off the light for a day or two? Algae problem?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jervis View Post
    You can start with a few essential ones such as kH, pH, NO2 and NO3. Salifert is a good brand.

    8 to 10 hours daily... and why would you wanna off the light for a day or two? Algae problem?

    ok i'll get those 4 types first then.

    do i need to get some calcium for my hermit's shell?

    (cos i'm usually not around for the weekend as i shuttle between two homes, i did tell someone at home to turn it on, but i'm wondering if he forgets and stuff)

  16. #36
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    ok i've gotten a test kit by API. these are my findings... (i bought the wrong PH tester, so i've got to get it changed before i can run a test on that)

    Ca: 520ppm
    KH: 10dKH (or 179 ppm)
    PO4: 0 ppm
    NO3: 5ppm

    == does this mean that its ok to add fish now? ==

    so i wonder what the problem is that makes my corals seem pretty lifeless. could it be that when I bought them, they were already in not-very-prime conditions?

    most importantly, how do i tell if they are dead? especially the carnation coral, cos the biggest piece cant seem to stand. its always droopy. And the blue sponge seems to be having a layer of dirt on its surface.

    like so? :http://www.centralpets.com/animals/f...s/swi1845.html

  17. #37
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    what "water" do you use

    my po4 is very high, 0.5ppm
    now using distilled water
    hope things will get better

  18. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by whitefang View Post
    (cos i'm usually not around for the weekend as i shuttle between two homes, i did tell someone at home to turn it on, but i'm wondering if he forgets and stuff)
    Huh? You shouldn't manually control your lighting. Get a timer dude

  19. #39
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    a timer sells for around $20+ at the LFS. am i looking at the right item? if yes, then i'll get them.

    MAJOR PROBLEM:
    I got a cleaner shrimp yesterday, and it died within an hr of hitting the water. so i got back to the LFS and he sold me another one at a discounted price. and guess what? the same thing happened too.

    can anyone enlighten me what could be the problem plssssss??

    2ND PROBLEM:
    i got a Blue Dorid nudibranch (it is the purple one right?) and after some research, i read that the lifespan of it is only a couple of weeks. is that true? if that is so, what can i do to maintain a nudibranch in my tank, and to have a constant resident in there? get a mate for it? or... ??? and better news, i've also read that it is a carnivore, and it eats corals and sponges. the diet is quite fussy. oh dear.... how?

    3RD PROBLEM:
    there is a mandarin in there too. i've noticed that it was being bullied at the LFS and i didnt want to leave it there, so i bought it home. the colour is a bit off, its not as vibrantly coloured as those pics that i see online. the colour is very dull, and in fact, there seems to be a white layer of slime on it too.

    how do i nurse it back to health? and as for its diet, it consists of mainly copepods right? do any LFS sell that? I patronise Iwarna and AM (katong branch).

    thanks guys for the help in advance. i'd really like to get some answers.
    all in all, i've been a great sinner, getting myself into mandarins and nudibranchs, which the LFS said are grazers and herbivores. guess i'll have to work harder to maintain them. pls help!
    Last edited by whitefang; 3rd Nov 2008 at 02:44.

  20. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by dnsfpl View Post
    what "water" do you use

    my po4 is very high, 0.5ppm
    now using distilled water
    hope things will get better
    the water is from the tap, then added with Crystal Sea brand of sea salt. the LFS told me that that can dechlorinate water as well, so that is adequate.

    is he wrong?

    so far, the tank is generally still ok. is it REALLY ok, or are my residents just a bit more of the hardy kind?

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