Basenji's 2 foot Nano - New pics 27/1/12

[Basenji]

Introduction:
This tank journal has been on my "to do" list for quite a while.
It relates to a 2 foot nano tank that I have been running since 2003. It has been through a number of different phases and 2 house moves in that time, but I've somehow just never got around to posting a Tank Journal thread. I have posted information on various DIY projects and tank inhabitants over the years, so some of the pictures may seem a little familiar.

The intention of this tank started out as being that I wanted to run it as inexpensively and with the absolute minimum of technical equipment that was possible. Over time that has expanded a little, but it is still a nice basic setup that hasn't cost me the earth to put together. The challenges of running such a small water volume have provided many learning experiences (and a few painful lessons) over the years, but it is currently a very stable little system that provides me with a lot of enjoyment.





System Objectives: Current system focuses on providing a habitat for a pair of Amphiprion ephipium (Red saddleback anemonefish).

System Type: Currently fish focused, with a few corals to fill out the look of the tank.



Display System:

Strike up Date: 2003

Display Tank: 24" long x 12" wide x 18" high.
Water volume approximately 50L.

Deep Sand Bed of crushed marble (pool dust and 00) and some coral sand.
Average depth would be 100mm across the tank, with actual sand depth varying between 0 and 150mm.

Display Lighting: DIY 4 x 24W HO T5 fluorescent with individual reflectors


Stand: Standard retail-purchased open pine stand, retrofitted with pine doors.


Hood:  DIY open topped pine hood with T5 lighting fitted.




Sump: No sump. Tank does run an Eheim hang-on-back filter with no filtration media to provide additional water circulation, provide surface water movement, and to provide a location freshwater topup and occasional placement of activated carbon or mechanical filtration.

Refugium: None

Refugium Lighting: None
 
Support systems:

System Water: Natural salt water

Display Water circulation: 2 x 3000 LPH Hydor-copy propeller pumps

Return Pump: Eheim hang-on filter.

Skimmer: None

Evaporation Top Up: Auto topup with Reverse Osmosis treated water, with float switch and Williamsons peristaltic pump

Chemical Support:

Calcium Addition: Daily manual additions of calcium chloride

Alkilinity Addition: Daily manual addition of sodium carbonate (baked sodium bicarbonate)

Other Chemical Maintenance: Regular manual addition of Magnesium chloride.

Current Water Chemistry:
Nitrate: Undetectable (Salifert)
Phosphate: <0.03 ppm (Salifert)
Alkalinity: 9-11 dKH (Salifert)
Calcium: 380 - 420 ppm (Salifert)
Salinity / Specific Gravity: 35 ppt (Refractometer)
Magnesuim: 1250-1300 ppm (Salifert)

Images:
Istiblennius meleagris


Favia sp.


Xenia sp


Acropora sp. frag donated by Zeason99. Doesn't display as the nice purple that it does in Zeason's tank, although it is encrusting and growing nicely.


I hope to expand this journal over time to include some background on the historical stages this tank has been through, as well as recording further progress and development moving forward.

[sydneydrewid]

wow, great to see you've started a tj, i guess the saying better late then never comes to mind

But serious, great to see and one im definitely going to be watching:)

[mnemonix]

Great little tank Colin.
This goes to show that you don't need all the bells & whistles to run a successful tank longterm. We could all learn a lesson from it.

[gaz]

Nice "simple" tank, looks good you should be proud of it

What do you attribute most to keeping Nitrates at an undistinguishable level?

[Basenji]

What do you attribute most to keeping Nitrates at an undistinguishable level?

A few factors:
- Well established tank.
- Well established Deep sand bed
- Low fish load
- Light feeding

I'd like to be able to say "regular water changes", but to be blatently honest, they don't happen nearly as regularly as perhaps they should. Lucky to be every couple of months.

To be honest, I've never really stressed about nitrate.
This tank has been through some nasty periods in the past with hair algae and cyano growth, and all through that period I was never able to detect nitrate, and only ever low levels of phosphate.

I'm convinced that algae problems are more to do with chemical and biological stability issues, lack of herbivores and "infection" with nuisance species than they are to do with high nutrient level per-se.

[gaz]

Thanks for that, may take a leaf out of your book and plan on a similarly deep sand bed in my upcoming tank, in addition to a planned refugium it may just help nutrient export once established.

[Paul_D]

Is this the old horsey tank Colin?

[Basenji]

Yes, seahorses was one of the "number of different phases" that this tank has been through. Sadly I don't have very many photos of the seahorse days.

[Basenji]

Here's a moderately amusing video of the reaction of the female A. Ephippium to me doing a little tank maintenance.
She's a bit of a [censored] really. (and I mean that in the nicest possible way)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqaHTdxh4vc

[Basenji]

Well, this tank journal doesn't get updated very often, but the tank is still motoring along.
It doesn't get a heap of attention, with water changes and glass cleaning far too infrequent. It is a bit of a tank of pestillence, being dominated by brown/green zoanthids and a sea of Xenia, and I have a running battle with bubble algae and hydroids. (But happily, no Aiptasia)

It still houses my pair of of Amphiprion ephippium. They regularly clean a spot as if they are nesting, but as yet haven't ever spawned.
The female is wonderful and big, but truly is a nasty piece of work. (and I mean that in the nicest possible way ). Putting hands in tank for maintenance is always a nerve wracking experience.

In November I retired the old timber hood, and put a 2 foot Inwatter over the tank. Must say I've been happy with my first toe in the water with LED's. Not keeping any stony corals at the moment, but the softies are all pretty happy. Under the blue lights only during dawn/dusk, even the ugly brown zoanthids look bright orange.

Anyway here's a few pics:







She's got teeth, and knows how to use them ...

[dejavu]

Nice to see some photos of this tank, Colin! It's been a while since the last time we bumped into each other. Hope all is well.

You gotta show us some pics of the LED light doing magic turning the brown zoanthids into orange ones!

I loved xenia, and admittedly, this coral got me into this hobby. Does yours pulse at all? Mine never pulsed in my 4 foot tank, so disappointing!

[Basenji]

Hi Louis, good to hear from you.
The Xenia does pulse quite vigorously if I turn off the pumps. However under normal water movement conditions I find that it doesn't appear to pulse noticeably.

I don't have any photos of the morphs under blue LED's. I haven't tried, but suspect I may have difficulty replicating what the eye sees.
I'll have a shot at it over the weekend. Will need to clean the glass first

[Basenji]

I had a shot at trying to photograph it over the weekend, but was not able to replicate what the eye sees. No matter what I tried, the fluorescent orange came out in the photos as yellowy-green.
But there is no doubt that blue LED's do some freaky things with fluorescing colours.

Totally off-topic, but I visited an LFS last weekend that had many of their corals on display under blue LED's. It was interesting to see as an effect, but not at all helpful to me as a prospective buyer trying to assess whether or not to purchase a coral, I must say. Suffice to say, I didn't buy anything from that tank. (Although I did buy a frag that they had displayed under full spectrum light).

[Marine freak]

Hey Basenji, looks to be off to a great start mate.

I know how you feel about the LED, every photo i take looks terrible compared to what i see, i almost feel embarrased posting the photos i take.

[LPS fan]

10 years in and you're off to a great start?
Cool to see such an old nano, gives us all hope that it isn't just the larger tanks that can survive long term.
Has it been the same substrate/live rock this whole time?

[Basenji]

10 years in and you're off to a great start?
Cool to see such an old nano, gives us all hope that it isn't just the larger tanks that can survive long term.
Has it been the same substrate/live rock this whole time?

Has pretty much been the same rock all along. There may have been a piece or two swapped out in that time.
The substrate has been topped up from time to time, so whilst it started out as being purely crushed marble, it is now a mix of crushed marble and coral sand. There would be some of it that was original from 2003.

This tank is scheduled for shutdown in the next couple of months as it is being replaced by my 3x2 project. The fish will be moving across to the new tank, but the rock, zoanthids and xenia will not be making the move. This tank is back to running on T5's at the moment, as I have moved the inwatter LED across to the new tank.

[ecotech_boi]

looking good so far mate..any reason you went with t5 n not LED?

[Basenji]

looking good so far mate..any reason you went with t5 n not LED?

Please re-read the thread and your question will be answered.
You'll find I have been running LED, but have redeployed the LED fitting on a new tank. Have reverted to T5 for a short time on this tank before it gets decommissioned.
Also worth noting that LED aquarium lighting was still only a dream when this tank was established.

In terms of a longer answer, LED isn't the be all and end all. All lighting systems (MH, Fluorescent, LED) have their list of pros and cons, and it comes down to what you want to achieve. T5's still present an extremely viable option. (intensity, colour flexibility, proven track record ... )