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Introduction
This modest little tank belongs to Luke who lives
in Durban and is six years old. The reason for
featuring this system is to show that sometimes
simple systems can be just as effective as expensive
high end tanks if done with care and regular maintenance.
I set this tank up for my son with bits and pieces
that I had lying around, hoping to spark off the
passion that I share for this awesome hobby. So
far it seems to be working...
The tank was set up in June 2004, as a standard
3 foot FOWLR. It had no sump and one 20w normal
output fluorescent tube. Filtration was provided
by an Aquaclear H.O.B filter. It was home to a
pair of Oscellaris clowns and a couple of hermit
crabs. Although not ideal the fish were happy
and the system was fairing reasonably well. After
about 4 months I started having nuisance algae
outbreaks and Diatoms seemed to cover the substrate
and glass literally overnight.
In March 2005 I drained the tank. An overflow
box and sump were added, with the view of running
a small skimmer in the sump. To date there is
still no skimmer on this system. The tank was
refilled and a few more pieces of liverock added.
A medium sand bed made up of live sand (locally
collected) was added to the sump and a very fine
substrate added to the display for looks. The
system has been running in it's current guise
for 10 months now. |
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Display
Tank Size in cm
Standard
3 foot
Sump Size in cm
90
x 30 x 30
Total system volume
Approximately 140 litres
Natural Sea Water
or synthetic?
NSW - collected at Cave Rock on the Bluff.
Tank Construction
6mm glass with 2 centre braces.
Cabinet
D.I.Y Laminated pine, varnished and sealed.
Location
Luke's bedroom |
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Mechanical
N/A
Biological
About 30 kg's of live rock in total with a medium
live sand bed in the sump.
Chemical
N/A
Other
N/A |
|
 |
| Sump |
Sponge growth in sump |
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Main
system lighting
2 x Phillips 20W Aquarelle 10 000k Tubes driven
off electronic ballasts in
an under counter fitting. 1 x Zoomed Actinic driven
off a magnetic ballast in standard aquarium fitting.
Photoperiod
12 hrs per day on timer.
On at 10.00 Off at 22.00
|
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| Lighting
set up |
|
Return
pump
Resun 2000l P/H powerhead
Powerheads
1 x Resun 750/ P/H |
|
Evaporated
water topped up with RO manually every second
day or so. |
 |
| Trachyphillia
Radiata (Rose Coral) |
Livestock
FISH
|
| 2
x Ocellaris Clowns, 1 x Purple Flame Goby
|
| SOFT
CORALS
|
|
1
x pin cushion (Sarcophyton sp), green mushroom
ears |
| LPS
CORALS |
| 1
x Trachyphillia Radiata (Rose Coral) |
|
OTHER
INVERTEBRATES |
3
x Bubble tip anemone's (E. quadricolour) One
of which has split.
3 x Hermit crabs, 3 x Turbo snails |
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Water
change regime
20 litres NSW changed every 2 weeks
How often lamps replaced
Every 8 months
How often major equipment
is stripped and cleaned.
Every six months, pumps taken out and cleaned
General system parameters tested
Don't test very often
Levels (Average or
when last tested)
SG.
1026
Temp (High/low)
25.5 to 26.5
PH
8.1
CA
Not tested
NO3
Not tested
PO4
Not Tested
Feeding:
Feed a variety of foods. Flake food, Formula 1
and Omega 1 soaked in Selcon or Aquamedic vitamin
supplement. Also alternate with frozen Brine shrimp,
Artemia, Krill and Marine mix. Frozen foods also
rinsed off with RO and soaked with vitamins. Feed
once a day in the evening. |
 |
| BTA
- Return from the grave |
| Q
& A (Answered by Luke with help from his
Dad) |
Things
I like most about my system.
It's simplicity and ease of maintenance. Also gives
me a nice night light :)
Things I would change
if I could do it over.
Make the overflow box bigger to accommodate a Durso
Standpipe.
Favourite online resource
Besides Sa Reefkeeping.com?
Reef Central, Reef Frontiers, ZEOvit.com, Cartoon
net work.
Best advice received
Don't push the magnet cleaner through the substrate,
it scratches the glass!!!!!!
Worst advice received
It's okay you can touch that anemone, it won't sting
you....
Favourite fish
Purple flame goby
Favourite coral / Invert
My small bubble tip anemone, which has kept it's
bubble tips.
My all time wish list
for a fish I don't have but would love.
Achilles Tang (Only because Achilles in Troy was
an awesome fighter)
My all time wish list
for a coral I don't have but would love.
A blue hammer coral. |
| Conclusion
Sometimes the abundance of technology and equipment
needed to have a successful marine tank can be
off putting and simply out of reach for some people.
This tank shows that small, simple systems can
also be effective and work. Granted they are very
limiting in so far as stocking and what can be
kept, but it's still enjoyable. Part of the success
of this system is that there is very little fiddling
that goes on. I hardly ever put my hands in the
tank and make sure that I keep up with the maintenance
regime. Of possible interest is that the small
Bubble tip anemone was taking on as a hospital
case and had been written off for dead. It was
completely bleached white when I received it about
7 months ago. It has now regained all it's zooanthellae
and has started growing again. Also to be noted
is the prolific sponge growth in the sump which
can be seen in the photo's. Sponges make excellent
natural filters.
Thanks to SARK for showing off my little tank.
Regards
Luke (Dragonreef's Son) |
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