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Introduction
Hello, my name is Marco, most of you will know me as The Waterboy. I began this hobby 5 years ago because of the fascination I had with lion fish. I started with a small 3 foot predator aquarium run by under-gravel filters. I then became bored with the lion fish and did not like the idea of having to feed live food, so my interest swung in the favour of the trigger family and thus I purchased a six foot tank and began to experiment with the trigger family, eventually I had a beautiful aquarium full with 7 different species of the trigger family among other fish, but the fascination with coral, colour, water movement still chewed the back of my mind, aswell as I kept going to friends houses and seeing there amazing systems, so eventually last year I stripped the aquarium down and began over as a reef aquarium… |
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Display Tank Size (mm):
1830 x 610 x 610
Sump Size (mm):
1220 x 450 x 400
Total system volume:
950 litres / 250 gallons
Natural Sea Water or synthetic:
Purified natural sea water
Tank Construction:
10mm glass, centre and side bracing
Cabinet:
Cherry royal, melamine cabnet with pine canopy
Location:
home office |
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Mechanical:
Reef Octopus skimmer, overflow trickle filter
Biological:
120 kg of live rock, dsb with caluerpa and chaeto separated.
Chemical:
the Waterboy 3 in 1 (carbon, phosphate remover and uv sterilizer.)
Charges with Malaysian coconut shell activated carbon and rowa phos
Other:
11 watt stainless steel ultra violet filter 24 hours a day
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Main system lighting:
2 x 10 000k double ended metal halides (venture)
1 x 20 000k double ended metal halide (venture)
3 x electronic metal halide ballasts (vossloh schwabe)
All on radiant reflectors
1 x aquablue plus t5 geissiman 54 watt tube
2 x actinic plus (blue) t5 geissiman 54 watt tubes
1 x actinic pure (purple) t5 geissiman 54 watt tube
All with deltec reflectors/Osram ballasts
Photoperiod:
Blue t5’s – 06h00 to 21h00pm
White and purple t5’s – 12h00 to 17h15
Metal halides – 16h00 to 20h15
Other lighting:
1 x deltec t5 twin with 2 x 10 000k
2ft tubes on reverse cycle
Photoperiod:
21h00 to 06h15
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Return pump:
Hailea HX 6550, 5500 litres per hour
Powerheads/intank:
2 x Tunze streams 6100 with Tunze 7094 controller
1 x Seio m1100
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Calcium reactors / Kalkstirrers / Drips etc:
Aqua-medic calcium reactor
Aqua-medic kalk-stirrer
Other additives you add to your system and how often:
Red sea calcium + 3, once a week
Tropic marin bio-magnessium, once a week
Tropic marin pro coral organic, once a week
Tropic marin pro coral mineral, once a week
Carib sea purple up, once a week
Top up is automated from the r.o. reservoir fed by a Waterboy Reefmaster plus r.o. unit, level controlled by a Saga top up level control system |
Livestock
| FISH
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| 7 x goldies (pseudanthias squamipinnis)
1 x midus blenny ( ecsenius midas )
1 x six line wrasse ( pseudocheilinus hexataenia)
1 x banana wrasse ( halichoeres chrysus)
2 xGemmatum tang ( zebrasoma gemmatum)
1 xRoyal gramma ( gramma loreto)
1 x purple fire fish ( nemateleotris decora )
1 x naso tang ( naso lituratus )
1 x yellow tang ( zebrasoma flavescens )
1 x cow fish ( lactoria cornata )
1 x scooter blenny ( sychiropus ocellatus )
2 x clarki clowns ( amphipion clarkia )
1 x yellow headed jaw fish ( valenciennea strigata ) |
| SOFT
CORALS |
1 x large finger leather ( sinularia sp. )
2 x kenya trees ( capnella sp )
2 x gorgonian ( ramphella sp. )
3 x pin cushions ( sacrophyton sp. )
2 x cabbage corals ( sinularia dura )
5 x large rocks of elephant ears ( corallimorpharia , discosoma sp. , phodactus sp.) |
| LPS
CORALS |
1 x Pine apple coral ( blastomussa wellsi )
4 x brains ( lobophyllia sp., favia sp. , favites sp. )
2 x trumpet corals ( caulastrea sp. )
1 x green pagoda ( tubinaria peltata )
5 x hammer corals ( euphyllia glabrescens (torch), euphyllia parancora, euphyllia sp.)
Organ pipe coral ( tubipora musica )
Fox coral ( nemenzophyllia turbida ) |
| SPS
CORALS |
1 x yellow (acropora millepora)
1 x pink (acropora millepora)
4 x montipora’s ( montipora sp / m. tergerescens ) |
CLEAN UP CREW |
Variety of serpent stars
Variety of hermit crabs
Variety of small cowrie’s
Turbo snails |
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Water change regime:
50 to 75 litres once a week religiously
How often lamps replaced:
Metal halides every 12 months
Tubes every 9 months
How often major equipment is stripped and cleaned:
Every 3 months
General system parameters Tested:
At the beginning a used to test every week, but I have now grown to read my sytem and now test only when I feel parameters seem out. Last tested a week ago
Levels
SG.: refractometer 1.025
Temp (High/low): high 28, low 25.4
PH: 8.1 to 8.3
CA: 400
NO3: < 5
PO4: < 0.02 (merc test kit)
Feeding
Type of foods fed:
Invert banquet
Cyclopeeze
Marine snow
Blood worm
Tetra bits
Matikulu flake
How often:
Alternate food types daily, feed once a day
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Things I like most about my system:
natural aquascape …..and finally it’s turning “PINK” hehe
Things I would change if I could do it over:
larger tank with very large sump and maintainence area
Favourite on line resource besides SA Reefkeeping.com:
reefcentral.com
Best Advice received:
a good hunter never shows his gun
Worst advice received:
jebo skimmers are the best…..sheez still cannot believe that
Favourite fish:
clown trigger………….in my system -gem tang
Favourite coral:
montipora
My all time wish list for a fish I don't have but would love:
acanthurus shoal ( majestic surgeon)
My all time wish list for a coral I don't have but would love:
superman montipora |
Conclusion
First and fore-most a big thanks to my wife jean-mari for always supporting me and motivating me to succeed at this hobby, and helping to mop the floors when the floods occur, and catch fish when need be. To all my family for inspiring me to keep my aquarium spotless and looking at it’s best when ever possible. Then a special thanks to all the sa reefkeeping members for all the great advise and company along this great road we travel in this hobby.
A big up and sincere thanks to Andrew Cherry for helping me when ever I need and helping me to accuire equipment that has transformed my system, aswell as accuirte coral I never thought I’d have……and for the good friendship. Thanks also to Alan, Niresh, Anthony, Cerven, Moorish, Phorax, and Viper for all the friendship, advise and frags…hehe
To anyone I have left out in this list, I'm really sorry but bare with me….it’s been a hectic month.
Thanks for nominating my system, it is an honour for me to accept this accolade and gives me the drive to continue growing with this fantastic hobby.
Help look after our oceans.
~Marco |
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