The tank in 2003. I do not use a sump on this system so I have  Maxijet 1200 and 900 powerheads for circulation.   The 1200 is positioned as close to the water line as I can get, without getting air suction, and goes straight across the tank from right to left.  The reason for this is simple:  I wanted more room for corals!  I have the 900 positioned in the middle of the tank blowing towards the front of the tank and to the right hand side.  This way seems to give it some nice turbulence.

 

Tank Chemistry:

Specific Gravity: 1.026   Alkalinity:  9 dkH    Calcium: 380 ppm   Nitrates:  5 ppm   Temperature: 79.9F

Nitrates have been a real irritation with this tank.  In the beginning, I overfed and my crushed coral sandbed just sucked up all the detritus.  I have been slowly removing the sandbed, but unfortunately its difficult to get under the rocks and I am worried about disturbing it too much.

Lighting and Photoperiod:

A single 175w metal halide bulb lights the tank.  Currently I am using a 12k ARC bulb.  The photoperiod is a bit long, from 9:00am to 10:00pm.  I am considering changing this but I have had no problems so far and everything seems quite happy so I have yet to decide. With the metal halide there is a good amount of evaporation, approximately 1 gallon per day.  I usually drip the freshwater mixed with Kalkwasser at night and dosing the Kalkwasser gives me the the added benefit of preventing nasty pH swings. Because of the metal halide, the heater only comes on during the night.  Heating the tank is accomplished with a modest 100 watt heater.  Cooling, on the other hand, has been a bit of a pain.   I have a 9 inch clip-on fan, blowing across the water from the back and then out the front.  This works great during the winter.  Now that summer is here, I had to purchase a AC unit for the room.   Without it my tank was going up to 85 degrees F in the early summer heat.   I can only imagine what it could have been in the middle of summer.  Plus, as an added benefit I get to enjoy a nice cool room!

 

Feeding and Maintenance:

Basically, I do not feed the fish very much at all.  They get scraps when I feed my Rose BTA and my various sun corals.  The BTA gets fed a chunk of prawn every 4 days while the sun corals get fed once a week with mysid shrimp.  I try to get every polyp but I have not noticed a difference in those polyps that miss out.  I also add DT’s Phytoplankton every 2 days along with live rotifers & brine shrimp, both of which I personally culture. Once a week I do a 5 gallon water change.  I use a turkey baster on the rocks to get as much detritus as I can into the water column before I drain the water out.  I also siphon the gravel in stages.  At the same time the skimmer cup gets emptied and cleaned and the wooden air diffuser is replaced.  Of course the glass gets cleaned when I have a moment, but usually during the weekly water change I break out the scraper and remove any coralline that I can reach.

 

Tank Inhabitants: 

Invertebrates:

Cerith Snails,  Brittle stars, Astraea sp. snails, Rose Bubble Tip Anemone 3-4”, Tridacna crocea clam , Sabella penicillus (Giant Hawaiian Feather Duster), Echinometra mathaei (Urchin), Lysmata amboinensis (Cleaner Shrimp)

Corals:

Pachyclavularia sp., P. violacea,  Sarcophyton sp.,  Sinularia sp., Anthelia sp.,  Xenia sp., Rumphella (sea rod), 16 species of Zoanthus, Rhodactis sp., Ricordia florida, Actinodiscus striata, A.cardinalis, A. coeruleus, Acropora sp., Acropora millepora, Montipora sp., M capricornis, Blastomusssa sp., Lobophyllia hemprichii, Caulastrea sp., Euphyllia parancora, E. divisia,  Tubastraea faulkeri, T. micrantha

Fish:

 Amphiprion ocellaris (False Percula clownfish),  Gobiosoma genie (Yellow Neon Goby),  Pomacentrus coelestis (Blue damsel)

 

Problems and Solutions:

Ok, so…I was silly and bought a Seaclone skimmer.   I did it because at the time I was having some problems with cyanobacteria and thought maybe a skimmer would help.   I didn’t really research enough (note to everyone:  research before you buy!) but all in all, I am not that upset as it does seem to pull a good bit of crud.  Of course I had to make a few modifications as it did not come with a pump or a venturi so I had to make something myself.   That seemed to work for a bit and then I decided to just make my own wooden air diffuser.   So far that has given me the best results.   In the photo you can see the modification that I had originally made for my venturi style Seaclone.

Needless to say working on this tank has been quite an experience for me.  This hobby has introduced me to amazing creatures that I never knew existed. It has also brought me a new understanding and respect for our oceans and coral reefs.  Although the days are numbered for my 20 gal nano, I know it will always be a great source of pride for me.   In the near future I will be upgrading to a 50 gallon tank with all the bells and whistles that I can afford!  I look forward to showing everyone its work in progress.   Until then, happy reefing.

 

Thanks to everyone at Canreef who provide their knowledge and experiences at no charge and of course my fiancé Rebecca for putting up with my reef obsession and humoring me while I talk about it.

Best Regards,

Chad     

 

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