Martin in China Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Hi, my name is Martin and I live in China (next to Hong Kong), I am a fish tank fanatic, but until now only fresh water tanks....now I am making space (2 nano tanks have to move out) for my very first nano reef (about 20 gallon). I am planning only to keep soft corals, mushrooms and such, next to some small fish, shrimp, snails, ...... The first item that will come into the house is a Puratek 100 RO/DI from Vertex the rest will follow after a few months (planning is no sooner than June to start/cycle) Other items on my list are; Tank 50x38x40cm with sump behind/attached the tank 10x38x40cm (total size 60x38x40 ..give or take 1cm) Yes, the tank is dieper than it is long.... Protein skimmer that will fit into my small sump Atman pump AT 104 2000 l/h LED lights Maxspect G4 -M40 As I have 3 compartments in my mega sump, I want to have a small Refugium in it as well, cooling and heating is still under construction. Any coments are most welcome. Link to comment
CJJon Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Welcome to N-R! Sounds cool! Keep us updated, just don't get caught using the internet! Link to comment
lkoechle Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Welcome to N-R! Sounds cool! Keep us updated, just don't get caught using the internet! Hong kong is not the prc. They still have more freedom then mainland china... Link to comment
CJJon Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Hong kong is not the prc. They still have more freedom then mainland china... Yeah, but Martin in China said he lived in "China (next to HK)". So I thought China. Link to comment
amphipod Posted February 7, 2015 Share Posted February 7, 2015 Welcome to N-R! Sounds cool! Keep us updated, just don't get caught using the internet! they have a full google ban but not an internet ban, if you want to know a popular search engine there look at baidu Link to comment
Martin in China Posted February 8, 2015 Author Share Posted February 8, 2015 Yeah, but Martin in China said he lived in "China (next to HK)". So I thought China. I am living in China, but Hong Kong is more famous than Shenzhen, that's why I said I am living next to HK.... Sadly indeed a Google ban here and even this forum is often of limit, don't ask me why... To make everything clear, I am a Dutchman living in China. Link to comment
CJJon Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 I am living in China, but Hong Kong is more famous than Shenzhen, that's why I said I am living next to HK.... Sadly indeed a Google ban here and even this forum is often of limit, don't ask me why... To make everything clear, I am a Dutchman living in China. Hi, Goedemorgen! (for me anyway), I do know Shenzhen! Lots of guitar factories there, right? Can you get cheap Epihones? LOL! The sad fact is, the US Govt. probably tracks more of it's citizens comings and goings on the net than China. Problem is, they are so good at it there is so much data it would take 1 million analysts 100 years to compile it all. By the time they get to this post, I will be long gone...(living off the grid on my solar powered bamboo hut island) Tot ziens! Link to comment
Marc.The.Shark Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 Welcome! A lot of good info here & people willing to help and share their experiences and knowledge of the hobby. If you have questions as you go, feel free to ask & keep us updated on your progress. Link to comment
amphipod Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 I am living in China, but Hong Kong is more famous than Shenzhen, that's why I said I am living next to HK.... Sadly indeed a Google ban here and even this forum is often of limit, don't ask me why... To make everything clear, I am a Dutchman living in China. I can imagine that's not the most fun, I have a friend who lives in Suzhou. Why are you in China now, work? Link to comment
Martin in China Posted February 27, 2015 Author Share Posted February 27, 2015 I can imagine that's not the most fun, I have a friend who lives in Suzhou. Why are you in China now, work? I came to China to merry the love of my live.....and she still is Link to comment
Martin in China Posted February 27, 2015 Author Share Posted February 27, 2015 Question; Is a bigger (stronger) pump in the filter better or a smaller one with addition of a wavemaker/ powerhead inside the tank? My tank will be 20 US Gallon and my filter/sump will be 4 US Gallon (in the sump I want to get a skimmer, some live rock with macro algae and the return pump with heater. Link to comment
Marc.The.Shark Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 There is a debate on flow thru the sump with macro algae, some say lower flow is better for nutrient export, which would mean a smaller return pump with the addition of a wavemaker or powerhead/s in the display. Others say it doesn't matter, so a higher flow pump is ok. Which to choose? Well, I decided I didn't want extra equipment in my display(8 gal), so I went with a higher flow pump in my sump/fuge(also roughly 4 gal Cube)with Cheato. I haven't noticed any ill effects & my macro algae grows like crazy & all my param's are good. In addition to the cheato, I run the Chemipure elite & Purigen. Nitrates = 0, PO4 = 0. I split 2 returns with a SCWD and it has been working out pretty good. Of course I have a pretty unconventional display tank, which contributed to my decision to not have any extra equipment in there. What should you take away from this? I think it'll work either way, but in a bigger tank you're going to have a harder time getting good enuf flow coverage with just a return pump. Link to comment
Martin in China Posted February 27, 2015 Author Share Posted February 27, 2015 I'm mostly scared that the pump will suck my tiny sump dry before it has a chance to refill ...... but I guess that also depends on how big the inlet slits will be. Link to comment
Marc.The.Shark Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 My over flow is 3/4" & my returns are 1/2", don't have a problem Link to comment
Steensj2004 Posted February 27, 2015 Share Posted February 27, 2015 I'm mostly scared that the pump will suck my tiny sump dry before it has a chance to refill ...... but I guess that also depends on how big the inlet slits will be. Wont be a problem, put a ball valve on the return line, and you can reduce/increase flow to match the overflow capability of your overflow bulkhead. like this: I used a ball valve on the return to the tank, an put a junction and a valve to the refugium. Welcome to NR! Link to comment
Martin in China Posted February 27, 2015 Author Share Posted February 27, 2015 This is my design for my tank with attached filter/sump (I don't know if you could even call this a sump) Give or take a cm..... Link to comment
amphipod Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 I came to China to merry the love of my live.....and she still is that sounds good how long you been married? This is my design for my tank with attached filter/sump (I don't know if you could even call this a sump) Give or take a cm..... it looks fine to me Link to comment
Martin in China Posted February 28, 2015 Author Share Posted February 28, 2015 that sounds good how long you been married? Almost 8 years now Link to comment
amphipod Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 Almost 8 years now that is good, what job do you have? Link to comment
Martin in China Posted March 1, 2015 Author Share Posted March 1, 2015 The back (between the tank and the filter compartment) will probably be black acrylic, but how to keep this nice and clean without scratching. I don't like to see a algae grown back. Link to comment
amphipod Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Small snails will keep it clean Link to comment
Rememberme Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Hey dude, I'm from HK. If you wanna try save some cash you could use TaoBao, i'd advise to use it to mainly buy brand name stuff like RedSea, Maxspect etc. that is good, what job do you have? lol bro, ur kinda getting creepy Link to comment
amphipod Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Hey dude, I'm from HK. If you wanna try save some cash you could use TaoBao, i'd advise to use it to mainly buy brand name stuff like RedSea, Maxspect etc. lol bro, ur kinda getting creepy its impossible to have anonymous friends Link to comment
Rememberme Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 The back (between the tank and the filter compartment) will probably be black acrylic, but how to keep this nice and clean without scratching. I don't like to see a algae grown back. most algae other than purple coral line algae is brown. It's unlikely that you'll ever see the algae (even green) especially when it has a black background, since the color contrast is way too small. My tank is about a year old now and I can't actually see any other color of algae apart from purple. If you don't want coral line algae then you can buy a small blue tuxedo urchin, since they eat coral line. An added bonus to the blue tuxedo urchin, is that the poop from eating coralline makes it spread more, as a result it gives your rocks a more purple color. Snails don't eat coralline/hard algae, but they can help with diatoms and hair algae. Link to comment
Rememberme Posted March 1, 2015 Share Posted March 1, 2015 Also, during the summer it's gonna get pretty hot in your tank. My tank at the peak of summer got to 30C, which was quite bad for my corals. You don't have to buy a cooler with that size of a tank (mine's a 20 gallon), just before summer buy a large/high powered computer fan and attach it to the first compartment of your sump thing. The fan increase the rate of evaporation, thus cooling the tank. The fan's drawback is that you'll have to do a top off everyday. If the Shen Zhen stores are anything like Hong Kong stores then I reckon they won't have CUC or only have a few types. Just pickup CUC at the beach, there should be turbo, zebra hermits and pistol shrimps there (i'd advise against the pistols, they were a pain to deal with). I usually get my CUC at Sai Kung, which is kinda close to Shen Zhen. Quite a lot of different corals there too, I've seen tons of zoas, a monti, sponges, BTA, fox face, sea urchins (mainly non reef safe ones though), sea cucumbers, porcelain crabs etc etc. You could try frag/ harvest some of them (although i'm not sure if that's legal), if you do make sure you coral dip, cause there's probs some pests (no need for CUC though). Zoas seem the most plentiful, given that in some areas the water can get a bit dirty. Link to comment
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