Tank Journal Archive

[NiCd]

Introduction:
So this tank has been up and running for a couple of years now, its had alot of changes over this time, so for the better some for the worse, i have put a brief recap so show some of the making of and various stages its under gone.

System Type:
Mixed Reef

Display System:

Strike up Date:
Jan 2010

Display Tank:
45cm cube, brace less, full starphire, miter joined, polished edges, ultra clear silicon and Japaneses style internal overflow.

Display Lighting:
Eco-lamp KR93

Stand: Stand specifications.
White backed enamel

Hood:
Nil

Sump:
Size 40cm x 35cm x 45cm
Specs; polished edges, double chamber layout, bubble trap separator, higher sides and rear to protect against splashes.

Refugium:
1 x Marine Pure 22cm X 35cm X 10cm refugium block
1 x Marine Pure 15cm X 35cm x 3cm refugium block
15cm x 35cm x 20cm macro area above the return

Refugium Lighting:
12w 6000k Energy Saver fluorescent (Bunnings)

Support systems:

System Water:
Artificial salt water - Brightwell ASW

Display Water circulation:
Vortech MP10ES

Return Pump:
Ehiem Compact

Skimmer:
SKIMZ SM121

Evaporation Top Up:
Aquamedic SP 3000 Niveaumat

Chemical Support:

Calcium Addition:
RS dosed through BM dosing pump

Alkilinity Addition:
RS two part dosed through BM dosing pump

Other Chemical Maintenance:
RS reef colour program

Current Water Chemistry:
Nitrates: Undetectable
Phosphates: .02
Alkalinity: 9
Calcium: 440
Salinity / Specific Gravity: 1.025
Magnesium: 1350

Current FTS

 

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FTS as a fish only system

 

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Photos of the mod's wier

 

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ok so as part of the upgrade to reef, the filtration systems hd to be upgraded.

The filtration system previously consisted of basically just matrix, which worked quiet well for FO but obviously not good enough for reefing.

So to try capture what waste I can before its broken down, a RO Classic 500L protein skimmer was added, this was gotten through Aaron at Aquarium Fanatics (as always top notch service)

 

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Next step in upping the filtration was phasing out the matrix.

I wanted to try have some where to harbor pods and also having denitrification, but didn't have enough room to try and squeeze in a DSB.

So I opted for Marine Pure/reefresh products being a 4" thick block (for pods and denitrification) this is rated for a 600L tank, so more than cuts it.

As well a the 3cm plate (rated as being able to handle the filtration for a 300lt tank) to eventually act as a sub floor and a macro binder,turning the return section of the sump into a macro chamber.

I decided to introduced the 3cm plate first (look to the left of the right hand chamber) and over 2 weeks slowly removed the matrix.

What really surprised me at this stage is that even in a short period of time the 3 cm plate actually worked better than the 4lts of matrix

 

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Next step was to bring in the big boy, the 10cm thick Marine Pure block, for those of you that are unfamiliar with this product it is a ceramic media that has a honey comb structure that interconnecting and large enough to allow pods to haven/roam/feed/breed though out it but dense enough to act as a denitrifier, the same way a DSB does.

The problem I had was that these blocks are not the same size as the area I have in my sump, so it needed a little cutting down, I was nervous that the block may shatter or that I needed more tools than I had (which is basically a chisel and a garden knife!)

Marking out with the garden knife, so far so good.....

Then the final hacked away result, it went surprisingly well, I recon you could actually do is with a butter knife it you wanted

I have mounted the block under the skimmer in the first chamber, definitely a lot neater than matrix!

Scraps have been put in the back of my BR400

 

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next step; transforming the second chamber of the sump into a macro area/fuge.

I used the 3cm plate to separate this new section from the return pump by cutting a hole in it for the return pump and trimming it down in the same way i did for the 10cm thick block, I then made up a few 10cm stands to prop this up.

overall it has ended up being a pretty neat job even if I do say so myself.

 

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For stability I have gone with an aquamedic SP 3000 Niveaumat as an ATO, they are a little pricey coming in at a bit over $300 but I have always been impressed with how well they work

Well that get us up to date, next up will be adding the macro and fitting the lighting for the fuge and then once things settle down decieding on aquascaping.

 

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Marco added

 

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First attempt at aquascaping

 

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Few more corals to brighten things up
Mussa & acan frags plus a toxic hammer

 

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Top down with a few more corals

 

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FTS with new lights- Ecolamp KR93, this is running White and blue at 50%, surprisingly it has a strong hint of purple

 

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A few new Acans and mushies

Clam colour has dramatically changed for the better, LED kick arse

Super man micromussa - center has grown out from 5 pollups to just under 20 in the last few months with bi-daily feeding

New Micromussa frag (centre right) and Acan frag (centre left) I am hoping to be able to achieve similar growth but I havnt been able to get them to feed yet, they are only newly fraged and are showing signs of stress

 

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some more clams added

 

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had been slack with water changes the last few weeks prior as i had been away so a bit of algae that i needed to get on top of. This was in my scolly and acan stage

 

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changing over to aquacultured clams

 

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This is when the SPS bug started to bite, the skimmer had been down for two weeks prior so the colours wernt up to their normal standard,but still pretty impressive

 

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[MTG]

still one of my favorite nanos mate! :D