- How do you keep the sand so clean?
- How do you reach all the way to the back of the tank or to the tank’s bottom?
- How much evaporation do you have?
- What’s the name of that (insert color here) coral?
- Do you have a livestock list?
- Why so many damsels?
- Do you feel that your fish load is high?
- Does your golden angel bother any of your corals?
- Why so few cleaning crew invertebrates?
- Do you sell frags?
- Where do you get those sliding rails for your light hood?
- How much did the system cost?
- How much is your power bill per month?
- Where did you get all your livestock?
- How do you clean the front glass if you have no frontal access?
- How do you deal with the humidity?
- How does your sump stay so clean?
- Do garage fumes affect your tank?
- Where are your chillers located?
- Why do you use uv sterilization?
- Can I see a livestock list?
My sand is not used for biologically filtration and is for aesthetics only. I vacuum and stir the sand frequently to remove any detritus and other debris. This constant stirring and vacuuming also requires that new sand is often added to maintain a sand depth of around an inch.
The suspended sliding light hood is the key here plus the over-sized stand. These features allow me to push the light hood completely out of the way while the expanded stand allows me to stand comfortably on any of the three open tank sides. No access is necessary through the front.
My system’s evaporation, including skimmer losses, is around 10 gallons per day.
I really am not good at identifying coral species; and as a result, I don’t try to identify species other than generally as an Acropora sp or a Montipora sp. I’ll leave that to others who seem to have a stronger grasp and desire to identify coral species to a greater accuracy.
Yes, for fish and the cleaning crew invertebrates: but, naming all the coral species correctly, to me, is an exercise in futility.
I like damsels; especially the margarite damsels that are really wimpy. They stay near coral heads and take refuge in them at the first sign of trouble. This is one damsel with personality without being a pest.
I do feel that my fish load is on the high side. I plan on reducing this load in the future through attrition and by removing some of the blue hippo tangs when they get larger. I ultimately would like to keep two blue hippo tangs.
Of course he does; but, he is so small and the corals are so many that he does no serious damage to any one coral. He’s certainly a favorite of mine.
I could probably use a few more snails; but to be honest, I’m the most productive member of the cleaning crew. The few number of invertebrates is a result of the tank’s large size. Small, interesting invertebrates just get lost in a tank this size. I would never see them again; and, why add to the bio-load if I can’t see them?
I’m sorry, I do not sell frags. I’m purely a hobbyist who will occasionally trade; but, never sell.
I got mine at my local Home Depot. They are made by Stanley Hardware and are available through their website as well as many home centers. The hardware is more conventionally used for hanging barn doors.
I get this question a lot. Most folks really don’t like to answer cost questions and I’m no exception. Suffice to say that a replication of this system will put you back about $20K, if you are handy.
I attribute about $300 per month of my PGE bill to my tank’s operation.
I have three local fish stores that frequently get high quality livestock. I’d say that 80% of my tank comes from these three stores with the remaining coming from online vendors and local trading.
I use a Magnavore 10 cleaning magnet. I first place a small piece of acrylic down onto the sand against the front panel. I then go the viewing side of the front panel and engage the dry part of the magnet. This prevents any sand from getting caught between the wet and dry parts of the magnet. I reverse the process when finished. I also use a Kent scrapper, very carefully, to clean the sand- panel interface. Keeping the sand depth at the front panel to near zero also helps to clean this area. One other thing that helps in this maintenance is the fact that tank is built into the wall cavity. The wall cavity actually shades the front 8 inches of the tank, resulting in less light shinning onto the front panel….less light… less algae.
I have an attic garage fan on a timer that, when running, can completely exchange the garage’s air volume with outside air every twenty minutes.
Every time that I perform a water change I completely drain and sponge down the sump.
No, I don’t run the vehicles in the garage other than the normal entering and leaving. Between the exhaust fan and the normal air exchange that opening the garage doors provide, fumes are a non-issue.
My chillers are actually located just outside of my garage. One Sequence 4300 pump draws water from the sump, pumps the water through my crawlspace to the chillers located just outside, and then returns the chilled water back to the sump.
I have found that the uv sterilizer does help in controlling bacterial and phytoplankton outbreaks which reduce water clarity. When the tank is as deep as mine, it is very noticeable when there is any particular matter in the water column. .
(4) bi-color antias........................................Pseudanthias bicolor
(2) bartlett anthias.......................................Pseudanthias bartlettorum
(6) juv. blue hippo tangs..............................Paracanthurus hepatus
(1) powder blue tang....................................Acanthurus leucosternon
(1) juv. chocolate surgeonfish......................Acanthurus pyroferus
(1) purple tang.............................................Zebrasoma xanthurum
(4) percula clowns....................................... Amphipirion percula
(10) green chromis.......................................Chromis viridis
(2) black saddle clowns................................Amphipirion polymnus
(10) margarite damsels................................Dascyllus marginatus
(1) golden angel...........................................Centropyge aurantia
(1) choati wrasse..........................................Macropharyngodon choati
(1) peppermint hog.......................................Bodianus sp.
(1) christmas wrasse.....................................Halichoeres biocellatus
(1) leopard wrasse........................................Maccropharyngodon bipartitus
(1) rabbitfish.................................................Siganus virgatus
(1) Flame boxfish..........................................Anaplocapros Lenticularis
(5) Schooling bannerfish...............................Heniochus diphreutes
(6) fire shrimp...............................................Lysmata debelius
(6) skunk cleaner shrimp..............................Lysmata amboinensis
(20) turbo snails...........................................Turbo fluctuosus
(2) serpent starfish.......................................Ophioderma squamosissimum
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