Rod's reef [Winner TOTY 2007]

[Rod the Reefer]

Winner TOTM March 2007
***Winner TOTY 2007***

I thought it was about time I put together my Tank Journal; sort of retrospect!

My fascination with all things aquatic began at an early age.

At just 13 I had aquariums in nearly every room in the house and was breeding fresh water fish. I had also set up my very first salt water tank. This was about 35 years ago, when information on keeping marine species was virtually non existent. Of course I made many mistakes, from trying to keep sea horses with lion fish to under gravel filtration.

Over the years my fascination hasn't diminished.

Back in 2001, after visiting a few local aquarium stores and seeing the array of marine species available I knew I couldn't resist any longer; I just had to set up a reef tank!

My current tank is the result of the progression of three tanks. Originally set up as a 9 Litre Nano and quickly moving on to a 75 Litre tank, which is now my son's mini reef.

9Lt Nano - Sorry about the quality of the pics.

75 Litre


My current tank was established in September 2003. It is made of 8mm glass and measures 4'7 x 18" x 20" with an internal weir feeding into a refugium housing live rock rubble and Caulerpa. A second sump provides additional water volume and an ideal place to hide equipment like the skimmer, heaters and return pump.

I liked the idea of keeping the system as natural as possible and based it on the "Berlin" system with lots of live rock and sand.

After cycling the live rock and crushed marble, the original inhabitants were moved from the 75 Litre.

There has been out breaks of nuisance algae, Aptaisia and flat worms, but with patience and perseverance all have been eradicated.
2003


To cope with the evaporation, I made up a 60 litre top off tank. To keep up with the coral's demands for calcium and carbonates, I installed an Aqua Medic Calcium reactor with a JBL pH controller. My original choice of protein skimmer was quickly upgraded to an Aqua Medic Turboflotor multi SL 1000. For both the closed loop circulation and the return pump I chose Eheim 1260 pumps. Considering I had more than one tank in the room I decided to air condition the room with a split system air conditioner for those really hot days.

I also considered "what if" there was a power outage during a hot period and not only have the tank shut down, but also the air conditioner. I overcame this situation with a mobile air conditioning unit and back up power from a generator.
Calcium Reactor

pH Controller

Portable Air Conditioner

Generator


The heart of my system's filtration is the 60 kilos of live rock and a deep sand bed. In the refugium I have more live rock and copious amounts of Caulerpa prolifera as an algal scrubber. From the refugium the water feeds to the sump and the Aqua Medic needle wheel protein skimmer and activated carbon. From the sump the return pump feeds the water back into the display.
'Fuge

Sump


Two x 150w Mh pendant style lights, along with three 15w Coralife actinic lights were installed right from the start. I was using the actinic lighting to simulate a dawn and dusk with this

Lighting Schedule:

9.30am - Actinics on
10.30am - First Mh on
11.30am - Second Mh on
8.30pm - First Mh off
9.30pm - Second Mh off
10.30pm - Actinics off




Recently I installed a skylight with three 250mm Solatubes to supplement the display with natural light. I have also replaced the actinic lights with a single 40w actinic bulb as I needed to make room for the tubes.
The solatubes are producing intense light during the middle of the day. During summer I am able to switch off the Mh's and not only conserve energy, but reduce excess heat over the tank.
The coral has responded to the sun light with growth and colouration.
Some of the added advantages of the skylight that I have noticed so far are a beautiful natural dawn and real moon light!



To see more detail of the Solatube/skylight install see here: <a href="http://www.masa.asn.au/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=169483&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=">Check my skylight out</a>

Water Parameters

Ca: 420ppm (Salifert)
Alk: 10dKH (Salifert)
Mg: 1350ppm (Salifert)
SG: 1.026 (refractometer)
Temp: 27deg Celsius
pH: 8.00-8.30 (JBL pH controller)
NO3: Undetectable (Salifert)
PO4: Undetectable (Salifert)

Current Livestock:

* Acropora colonies
* Pocillopora colonies
* Montipora
* Seriatopora
* Stylophora
* Echinopora
* Zoanthids
* Fungia
* Lobophylia
* Euphylia Divisa
* Tubipora musica
* Turbinaria
* Duncanopsammia
* Catalaphyllia
* Pavona
* Briareum
* 2 Tridacna maxima clams

Fish:

* Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma flavescens)
* Purple Tang (Zebrasoma xanthurum)
* Orchid Dottyback (Pseudochromis fridmani)
* Pair Fire Clowns (Amphiprion melanopus)
* Yellow Coral Goby (Gobiodon okinawae)
* Male Mandarin (Pterosynchiropus splendidus)

Cleanup:

* Pair Banded Coral Shrimp
* Cucumber (Burnt sausage)
* Trochus snails
* Acro Crabs
* Hermit Crabs
* Tropical Abalone (Haliotis varia)

Well, that's about it, other than a current full tank pic:


Rod.

[darkmuncan]

wow

Skylight is a fantastic idea.

well done mate.

[Guv]

Wow!

Love the progression, so... when's the next tank arrive?

[Mr Miagi]

And its better in person too! Nice work Rod.

[intergalacticjim]

Done well mate.

So thats the 9l nano hey? Never saw it but it consumed hours of my time!

[StripestheEel]

Looks great Rod,

I thought you had a tj, but then i realised it was just the skylight thread.

Love the colours in the SPS. Your tank is probably my number one inspiration at the moment.

[Rod the Reefer]

Thanks for the encouragement guys,

Wow!

Love the progression, so... when's the next tank arrive?

Just looking at re-modelling the house to fit the new tank in (Just kidding)

Hey Jim,

Amazing how something so small can consume so much of so many peoples time!!

Rod.

[KeithM]

Always an inspiration to come and check out info on your tank and to see someone doing things a little different.

[danger]

'Bout time you got a Tank Journal going Rod! Looks bloody great! Im sure it will inspire plenty of people to start thinking about knocking a few holes in the roof!!

Amazing transformation from start to finish! Just about time to start fraggin!

Good luck with it Rod!

[GJ]

IOriginally set up as a 9 Litre Nano and quickly moving on to a 75 Litre tank, which is now my son’s mini reef.

Hi Rod, your tank looks fantastic!

When you have a moment, do you mind letting me know what the lighting is on the 75L. I think I have that same tank ( Length 51cm) and am looking to put the same lighting on as you have there, but finding it difficult to find one that will fit with no overhang. Can u let me know the brand, length and wattage.

Cheers
Walshy

[bill]

what lighting is running in that bottom pic rod?

[KeithM]

what lighting is running in that bottom pic rod?

Looks like the solar tubes bill, i can see 5 round dark things above the tank .

[Rod the Reefer]

Thanks guys,

Hi Walshy,

The 75Lt nano is an Aqua One 580, which is 51cm wide. The light unit came with it. It is an Aqua One double 24w compact job which is exactly the same width. I am currently running 14000k bulbs. You may also notice a second light fitting in behind the original. I added a Heto AL-18s to have an actinic tube as well.

Hi Bill,

In the bottom pic all the lights are on and it was about midday, so there is light from the three tubes, the two 150w Mh's and the actinic.

Keith, the five round dark things above the tank are the three tubes and the two Mh's, alternating.

Rod.

[GJ]

pm sent

[dejavu]

Very nice Rod! Everytime I see that cucumber, I keep thinking it's a piece of LR that the clams are sitting on.

More closeup shots of the stock please! You got the gear and the skill, thus no lame excuses like "but but but..... my photography skills sucks!"

[Rod the Reefer]

OK, here's a couple more pics for you;

#1 Purple Lobo


#2 Organ Pipe


#3 Acro & goby


#4 Duncan


#5 Pink Pocillopora


#6 My clams


Hope you like them,

Rod.

[CheezotheClown]

Just fantastic and inspirational

Love the skylight tubes. In fact your whole lighting system is great, very professional with awesome results.

[Rod the Reefer]

Ok, It's been awhile, so I thought I'd share my skimmer update with you. It's been around seven weeks since installing my Reef Octopus NW 200-6540.

Here's a pic of my original Turbo flotor situated in my sump;



Here's a comparison between the Turbo and the RO NW200;



And here's the 200 in situ. Note how tight it fits. I have to remove the drawer of my cabinet to get the collection cup out. Also, I had to increase the height of the sump to cope with the increase in water volume that the RO holds.



And here's the sludge!!



First couple of weeks it was a bit ordinary but now it's awesome.

Today, I have just completed the famous Enkamat mod. on my 200.

I can definitely see an improvement, bubbles seem much finer. Generally bubbles look whiter, which I guess is smaller bubbles and more of them.

Before doing the mod. I measured the air flow with a Dwyer mini-master flowmeter and got a reading of 2 l/min. After doing the standard 1 layer mod. I now get a reading of 2 l/min. That's a pretty impressive improvement in my view!!

Anyway that's all for now. Overall I'm very pleased with the setup. I have a couple of Tunze Nanostreams on their way to improve flow.

Rod.

[Manaz]

2L/min to 2L/min - am I missing something? That's the same reading!

[Rod the Reefer]

Sorry, my typo. Two l/min to Four l/min.

Rod.

[StripestheEel]

Looks good Rod, it must be the season of upgrading skimmers from turboflotors!

Your tanks only going to get better with the new skimmer. Give everyone a chance to catch up please!!

[luzinit]

Love all your tanks! Good work there, one of the best setups I've seen!

[Rod the Reefer]

OK, time for some photos....................

My Zoa collection:





Lobo I picked up out of a live rock tank:



Latest acquisitions -
Acropora

A. Millepora


Enjoy, Rod.

[Rod the Reefer]

Here's a couple more:
Briarium

A. Torte & Okinawae

Pocillipora

Acropora & Histrio

Favite

Maxima & Porcelain crab


Rod.

[Cale W]

Great photos Rod, that milli looks fantastic. And that lobo thats what a keen eye can get you

[Rod the Reefer]

OK everyone, time to share a little more.

Recently I upgraded my flow from the original Eheim 1260 return pump, plus another Eheim 1260 closed loop giving me just over 10x flow. I have now added 2 x Tunze 6025's plus 2 x Tunze 6045's, giving me around 60x flow. Actually I don't like to use the term “X LPH turnover” when describing in-tank current. I believe that it would make much more sense to measure the flow of water at each colony. You could have very powerful pumps directed straight at the glass, for example and they would achieve very little. I believe the ideal situation is to have good flow around all coral and no dead spots.

I saw positive changes in my tank within hours. A table acro that browned out as soon as it was placed in my tank and has stayed brown and the polyps never came out, had polyp extension within hours of me placing a Tunze about 150mm away from it, directed straight at it! Just waiting for it to colour up now. Another acro was much the same, no polyp extension and not much colour. Now the polyps are noticeable and it's going a nice purple colour.

It looks like the whole tank is more "alive", even the fish seem more active!

Here's a couple of shots of the Tunzes;

Left hand side;


Right hand side;


And a couple of coral shots;

Stylo.


Acro.


And a full tank shot;


I have also upgraded my actinic lighting from a single Aqua One 40watt T8 fitting to a twin Reef Octopus 54watt T5 set up. I have upgraded the bulbs from the cheapies that come with the unit to Giesemann Actinic + and Pure Actinic. Looks great! I plan to upgrade the reflectors as well.

I made up an acrylic cover for it as the unit was designed to fit up under a hood, as you can see in this photo;


A couple more shots;



That's about it for now,
Cheers,
Rod.

[intergalacticjim]

No wonder I havent heard from you for a while. You have been busy! Looking good.

[majesticangelfish]

Looking good Rod! Next the.......

[Mr Miagi]

Next the.......

Poor, poor Rod.....dont let him talk you into anything else mate! Looking awesome! I think some time growth comparisons are in order!

[venus]

I must say Rod, you take some awesome photos


Looking magnificent