Tank Journal Archive

Ariels 80L Aquaworld all in one.
Reefing Since: 2010

System Objectives: Keep my very special fish happy and healthy :)

Type of reef: FOWLR

Display System: Aquarworld MT50D


Initial Fill Date: June 2010

Display Tank Dimensions: 45.5cmL x 40cmW x 50cmH

Display Lighting: Stock

Stand: Aquaworld curved stand

Sump Design: NA

Filtration: Live Rock :)

Support systems:

NSW or ASW: NSW, wont go any other way.

Return Pump: Aquarworld 1100lph

Skimmer:NA

Evaporation Top Up: manual


Chemical additions:

Calcium Addition: NA

Alkilinity Addition: NA

Magnesium Addition: NA

Prodibiotics Addition: NA

Coral Food Addition: NA
the tank at the end of cycling
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I originally started the tank for seahorses, i bought two captive bred coral seahorses after being assured by the lfs my tank was ready can capable to support seahorses happily, i also bought a Janss pipefish who was the very first fish to be introduced to my tank.
One of the seahorses i brang home after the tank finished cycling refused to eat, not live food or frozen or anything :( I took her back to the lfs after a few days incase it was my water quality or i wasnt doing soemthing right but unfortunately she didn't survive. The male was doing fine besides getting air in his pouch every week or so, i had then learnt that the horses were previously used for breeding. I purchased three more little sehorses, two coral one rainbow brumby. The condition of my first male seahorse was deteriorating due to the air bubbles in his pouch, it didn't take long to fill back up after i had enptied it and so I took advice from the LFS and dosed his pouch with antibiotics (cant remember the name of it) anyway he didn't improve him at all and i lost him too :(
I was very disheartened after the loss of the male horse and after constantly stressing i would lose the remaining three (their behaviour was constantly changing) i decided to sell them. I kept the pipefish as he seemed to be thriving, and i introduced a chocolate goby to clean the gravel and help eat the food that picolo the pipe didn't want.

Piccolo :) my first ever marine fish
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So by January my tank had been going well, and I had the itch again...i needed a new fish, after serious careful investigation i chose a flame angel.
I changed LFS because the other place had mislead me, they knew i was new to the hobby and yet they sold me a seahorse that was not eating (my fault too i should have checked) and one with pouch emphysema (i had taken photos of the horses in the lfs before i took them home, after i had learnt everything online about pouch emphysema i saw the clear signs that the male had it before i even took him home)
So my new lfs are great, i ordered my flame and when a lively colourful one came in and was eating frozens i was able to pick him up :)
I was concerned about the pipefish getting enough food but he is pretty fast for a pipefish! Turned out i was concerned about the wrong fish, the flame was thriving however the chocolate goby was always "in his way".
My flame isnt agressive but hes very intrusive, he was always trying to move the goby out of its caves by sweeping it with his side. One day i came home to find my flame with eye damage and damage to both of its sides, i assume the goby just snapped and attacked him as it was getting to that point. I gave my goby to my boss as she has a 3ft tank and wanted something new... its happy and she loves it.
My flame (molotov) made a full recovery and piccolo is still very happy. Molotov is definately in need of a bigger tank, he is very happy but also very very active and so my next mission is to possibly start a 4ft mixed reef. piccolo however will stay in the 80L... i would love to keep some horses again but until i hear some success stories im not going there.

Kachiri my healthy female
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King triton my second male -
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Skyla (this image is photoshopped, this was skylas natural colour however i like playing with the background colours to make her stand out :D)
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Seahorses are amazing to watch, they each have their own little personality but i would never ever ever ever ever ever reccomend them for a beginner! especially one like me who didn't even know that these forums existed and didn't really know the first thing about marine tanks.
Ill take a photo of my tank tomorrow, im having a hair algae issue so it doesnt look as attractive as it once did but i still love my live rock :D

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molotov :D
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My tank before Molotov - I aquascape alot :p it doesnt look like this anymore haha
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My newest addition is Bert... my little Coral Goby, so far he is working out well, molotov chases him a little bit if he is in the open swimming zone, but bert doesnt seem overly worried, he goes back to his perch on his rock and becomes 'invisible'. He is so tiny so not making a bad impact on the tank or overcrowding. Molotov basically has the place to himself as piccolo just cruises about when hes hungry otherwise hides away, and the goby sticks to things rather then swims about so hopefully this helps him with the tank size issue :)
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but on that note, i dont usually 'top up', because im a nazi with my water changes I only put in what i need to get the right salinity and ive only done about 10L in the past 4 months (been tested at the LFS with their better hydrometer.... not sure i really trust mine)
- would that amount of tap water affect the algae growth?
 

MTG

Moderator
Jul 10, 2011
10,664
2,149
Gold Coast
it has a lid but you would think it would still get evap. i would take your water and get it tested with a refractometer.
tap water can definitely cause algae spikes. can you buy say 20L of RO water from your fish store?
 

MagicJ

Moderator
Jul 11, 2011
9,650
3,761
Hobart, Tasmania
Worthwhile investment - you will find that there are phosphates, among other things, in most tapwater which will feed the algae.

And, you will save money on water conditioner :)
 
it has a lid but you would think it would still get evap. i would take your water and get it tested with a refractometer.
tap water can definitely cause algae spikes. can you buy say 20L of RO water from your fish store?
Sorry i meant refractometer when i said i took it to LFS to be tested, that was last week, i also bought myself a new hydrometer because i was scared my other one wasnt reading right.

So you don't have any loss of water through evaporation?
not any noticable loss, but like i said - i do water changes every 2-3 weeks, it might be a different story this summer if we get a hot one?
 

MagicJ

Moderator
Jul 11, 2011
9,650
3,761
Hobart, Tasmania
I get about the same Matt. I suspect that a fair amount of the evaporation occurs within the sump area where you have got a fair bit of surface movement with the water entering from the DT, skimmer etc. Ariel does not have a sump and with a lid on the tank evaporation may be minimal.