** TOTM JULY 2011 - Chops **
Well done to chops for winning July's tank of the month. This tank build shows the true dedication to his tank and to the hobby. IMO and absolute stunning example of a soft coral tank. Well done matey and over to you...................
WOW..What can i say. i am honoured,gobsmacked and privelidged to have had my tank thought about let alone chosen for july TOTM.
My experience and knowledge is far less than many reefers but my enthusiasm is as big as anyone's.
Im not very good with words and writing long articles,so i will let the picture do most of the talking.
i hope you enjoy my piece of the ocean
I have been marine fishkeeping for 4 years now and in this time i have had 3 tanks.
I started with an Aquaone aquamarine 900,which quickly became to small for my growing addiction to anything salty.
I then upgraded to an ND Aquatics 48x24x18" tank,cab and pelmet and kept this for about 18 months before i wanted something bigger again.
I again opted for an ND Aquatics tank 48x24x30" (LxHxD) but this time i built my own cabinet and pelmet and this one has now been set up for approx 4 months, so its still early days.
This is my simple softy mixed reef setup
TANK... It is a 48x24x30" 500 litre tank + 36x18x15" 120 litre sump fed by twin 40mm stand pipes. Total after displacement is approx 550litres.
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LIGHTING... This is supplied via an ATI Sunpower 6x54w pendant running aqua medic tubes. 4 reef blue + 2 reef white 15k.
Photo period is..
12pm-3pm=blues
3pm-7pm=whites(all 6 tubes now on)
7pm-10pm=blues
REVERSE OSMOSIS UNIT... This is a 4 stage,100gpd unit. It takes me about 4 hours to produce 25litres of RO. I have recently got a 220litre water butt that i plan on having filled and ready at all times, just for those emergency occasions.
AUTO TOP UP... This is done by a diy unit. It is simply a float switch,Relay box a small pump and a 25 litre barrel. I currently go through approx 30litres per week in top up RO water.
CIRCULATION... This used to be taken care of via an mp40 and mp10, but i sold those not long ago and have now gone with a koralia magnum 5 and a koralia 4. As much as i loved the vortechs i felt that i needed a more directional flow
FILTRATION... I have approx 35kg of live rock in the tank. I know this isnt the reccomended amount but i believe that with the many other bio medias that we use such as biopellets/biopearls,zeo,redsea,etc, then we can supplement the
LR with these.
The skimmer aka "THE BEAST" is an aqua excel ae-ch, which pulls in 755L air per hour and is the dogs danglys. the amount of scum this thing pulls out is unreal.
I am now also using the red sea no3po4x.
There is also a phosban 150 reactor which i use for carbon or phosphate remover.
The twin stand pipes are fed into a 200micron filter sock which needs changed daily
HEATING... This is controlled via a TC-10 temp controller and a 300w heater. There are no cooling fans as yet but i do plan on installing two 12v computer fans to the back of the pelmet before the summer
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MAINTENANCE... This is also pretty basic and my main downfall. I hate doing water changes so i try to do a 100litre water change per month which keeps the salt costs down and the enjoyment level up. The front and side glass are cleaned every other day regardless of if it has any algae on,and the back glass is cleaned/scraped once a week. The weir combs get cleaned also at this time. The sump is cleaned out of any debris every month and i replace or renew any medias that need changed in the reactors.
FEEDING REGIME... Morning.. Ocean nutrition reef flake and herbivore flake
Evening.. 1 block of frozen mysis (Anthias love this)
Night.. DD reef paste
WATER PARAMETERS...
Temp-26.5
Sg-1.024
Ph-8.0
Ammonia-0ppm
Nitrite-0ppm
Nitrate-16ppm
Phosphate-0.36ppm
Calcium-430ppm
Magnesium-1290ppm
Alk-8.2ppm
CABINET... I decided on a diy cabinet build due to costs and size. This option has gave me loads of height inside the cabinet . It is made from 90mmx38mm timers,clad with 12mm mdf panels and finished with black gloss vinyl.This was all fabricated at home in between hangovers,kids and a not very impressed wife.(due to the mess)
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LIVESTOCK... As this is a simple softy reef,then i guess you will know it is made up of only soft corals,zoas and mushrooms.I have tried various LPS AND SPS before but i have had no luck in keeping them long term.This is my main goal for the future.
Fish stock consist of...
coral stock consists of...
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16" green star polyp branch
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large scrolling toady
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large finger leather
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cabbage coral
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ricordia rock (11 rics)
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various zoas
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green,purple and red mushrooms
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furry mushrooms
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several kenya trees
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pulsing xenia
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purple tipped anchor coral frag (cheers davyr)
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various frags of gsp,xenia and zoas scattered around the tank
inverts...
SUBSTRATE... This is tmc 3mm coral sand.
I have had the usual ups and downs with this hobby,The downs are the dreaded cyano,whitespot,diatoms etc, there all a pain in the backside but with perciversance i am overcoming them..With the ever increasing cost of electric i have often thought about closing the tank down, but then i think i would only just start again which would mean more expense, so i try to keep things as simple as possible.
The ups are that it is such an addictive and ever expanding hobby. The first thing i do in the morning is make sure everything in the tank is fine and feed them (before the kids,lol.) Then the first thing i do when i come home from work is get my hands wet and salty again.Im always fiddling with something tank related.
FINALLY SOME MORE PHOTOS OF THE FULL TANK AND ITS INHABITANTS
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to everyone for your help and support over the last 4 years
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** July 2011 TOTM **
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Originally Posted by bonsaisuper
