Filtration
All 3 main types of filtration are utilized:
biological
mechanical
chemical
ran several marine pure blocks in the past but now removed, heavy 1:1 ratio of Fiji rocks to water volume
skimmer & carbon 2/3 cup (considered so/so mechanical )
n/a for ammonia | NH3 - Aquaforest® ZeoMix Zeolite Blend 2L in Zeovit reactor
for Nitrates - water change, n/aNopox or n/a1/8 tsp sugar + 5-25ml no longer add vinegar into kalkwasser solution
for Phosopates - n/aSeachem Phosguard, occasional n/aGFO Seachem PhosNet or Rowaphos
added refugium then ween the system off of GFO and similar purpose medias
run 2x refugium 6500k LEDs 24/7 or reverse light schedule; currently running 24/7
I tend to feed heavier in the winter time.
Lighting
running 4 Kessil a360we... just recently added a 4th
Time Color Intensity
13:00 10% 50%
17:00 40% 50%
18:00 60% 55%
19:30 70% 55%
20:25 50% 50%
22:00 0% 0%
Lighting System has been one of my fixed variables like using the same salt mix from the beginning I've only changed the lighting schedule handful of times
The most recent change was reducing the intensity while increasing the color percentage.
The first change was decreasing the photoperiod from 12hours down to 10 hours then 9hours now back up to 10.5 hours
The lights are 7-8 inches above the surface and spaced 11-12 inches apart.
All three are daisy chained into Kessil's Spectral Controller. Depending on Kessil's future controller updates considering a switch to Neptune Systems Apex Variable Speed/Dimming Module (VDM) for lighting control.
Flow
Tunze Storm Mode
2x 6095s
2x 6055s
Tunze 1073.050 DC return pump
Some of the outstanding inhabitants I was unsuccesfully but I'm about half to my Goal of obtaining the following 21 fish on this stocking list either for current reef tank or an upgrade:
n/a2x Banggai Cardinalfish
1x Coral Beauty Angelfish
1x Flame Angelfish
1x Flameback Angelfish
wishlist1x Fourline wrasse
wishlist1x Lemonpeel Angelfish
wishlist 1x Multibar Angelfish
1x Ocellaris Clown Fish
1x Purple Dottyback
wishlist1x Purple Stripe Dottyback
n/a Red Spot Glass Cardinalfish
1x Royal Gramma Basslet
2x Snowflake Clown Fish
9x Cerith Snails
0xNassarius Snails
2x Astraea Turbo Snails
5x Banded Trochus Snails
n/aTiger Fighting Conchs
2-3x Fighting Conch
15x Blue Legged Hermit Crabs
n/aGreen Finger Algae
n/aSmooth Leaf Kelp
Red Sea Star
Fan Worms
2x Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimps
n/aRose Bulb Anemone
Arrow Crab
Emerald Crab
Goby with Red Banded Pistol Shrimp
n/aDerasa Clam
n/aMandarin
lean towards enhanced coloration parameters with moderate growth as a backseat driver
Temp range 78.5 to 78.9F
salinity 35.5 ppt 1.026 S.G.
pH = above 8.0 but less than 8.41ph DT
Mg -1310 to 1350 ppm (sometimes as high as 1400)
dKH target 8ish but less than 9dKH with a baseline from Red Sea Salt blue bucket 7.7-8.2dKH
Ca 420 to 450
NH3 0.02ppm
maintain NO3 greater than PO4
NO3 between 5ppm to 10ppm
PO4 0.25 to 0.50 ppm
K 380 to 450
Feeding See more
San Francisco Bay Brand - Spirulina
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San Francisco Bay Brand - Mysis Shrimp
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San Francisco Bay Brand - Brine Shrimp
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POLYPLAB Polyp-Booster
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New Life Spectrum
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Polyp Lab's Reef-Roids
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Skip Feeding Day
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New Life Spectrum & Selcon
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spirulina fish food
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Red Sea Reef Energy A
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Red Sea Reef Energy B
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Freezed Dried Bloodworms
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NLS Sm Pellet .5mm
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Red Sea Coral Colors ABCD
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San Fran Bay Brand - Mysis Shrimp
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San Fran Bay Brand - Brine Shrimp
3 to 4 SFBB.com frozen cubes per day soaked in Selcon for the current 9 to 11 reef safe fish
Spot feed via a Turkey baster the n/aOrange Plate Coral and smaller Duncan's corals when I notice the n/aSun Coral decided to open usually with Mysis or Brine Shrimp thawed/soaked in the latest magical potion
Broadcast feed with return pump/skimmer off at least once sometimes twice every 10 days or so
Pump the n/aZeovit reactor once on alternating days in the evenings before lights out
Maintenance
water change every 30 to 45 days or so
Spring cleaning of Sump once a year
Clean skimmer quarterly or bi-annual
Clean pumps at least annual or more often
Inspiration & Goals
venture into SPS easy and intermediate Acroporas corals while still maintaining the tightrope dance of a mixed reef biotope
Words of Wisdom
Measure twice order once.
I personally would never order every single piece of equipment all at once in one massive order even if I know I could and although it feels awesome when the delivery folks roll up... it the quickest way to lose the upper hand as a consumer.
Patience | Patience | Patience
Disasters & Regrets
Wishing I had gone with the next size up but glad I did choose a rimless tank.
No matter what your budget this hobby will grab/demand more either due to a mistake or equipment issues or like in my case adding too many fish too fast.
I seen folks literally build their house around aquarium with all the latest and greatest equipment begin to stock it with corals and fish then proceed drive the system of a cliff.
I read about folks thinking surely 10K is plenty for a really nice system with above average equipment then wonder how there's only 1K remaining in the budget and they still have to fill the glass box up with RO/DI water.
This hobby is crazy like that but sooooooo much more enjoyable if you can hang in there for the long-run.
I already had patience before entering this hobby so I mostly developed my timing which connects back to patience and the understanding of the integration and isolating of variables as there are multi-layers to running a marine aquarium.
Similar to playing three dimensional chess game where chess pieces can move up and down from level to level, as well as, make traditional chess moves. Reef-keeping is a challenging hobby; however, it can be as complex or simple as you want it to be. There are multi ways of getting to similar outcomes of keeping a beautiful reef tank that 's you're unique expression of the hobby.