Marine Aquarium
Brighton, UK
Introduction
Been into the hobby now for about a year, started with a small freshwater tank but soon after I wanted bigger and better and a greater challenge so I got my first marine tank this Aqua Reef 195 cube. The plan is to keep a small number of fish and create a natural looking coral reef.
Filtration
I use live rock in the display tank and sand for natural filtration. I also have a Bubble Magus Curve 5 protein skimmer in the sump. I also use Seachem PURIGEN in the sump to deal with any excess Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates. Though before I used this I only had slightly elevated levels of Nitrates which is fairly common in young tanks.
Lighting
For lighting the tank I use a single EcoTech Radion XR30w Gen 3, it has about 8hrs of daytime lighting and 4 hours of moonlight. This insures a consistent schedule mimicking the natural environment.
Flow
For water movement I've got a Maxspect Gyre XF150 mounted horizontally on the right-side of the tank. It's configured in the A-A alternating flow configuration with it set to reverse every 5 minutes. The are few dead spots in the tank and good amount of random movement.
Magnesium
Phosphate
pH
Temperature
Calcium
Alkalinity
Nitrate
Salinity
Nitrite
Ammonia
I've got a Christmas Wrasse who is very attractive, two Blue Cheek Gobies which are paired and are real characters though they do tend to make a mess. I've also got 5 Chromis who tend to shoal together, these were the first fish I got along with two young Clownfish.
I've also got a range of CUC which I've kept including 4 halloween hermit crabs, some turbos, a fire shrimp who spends his time hiding, a cleaner shrimp who spends his time exploring and half a dozen nassarius snails who pop out of the sand when it's feeding time.
I've also got a range of CUC which I've kept including 4 halloween hermit crabs, some turbos, a fire shrimp who spends his time hiding, a cleaner shrimp who spends his time exploring and half a dozen nassarius snails who pop out of the sand when it's feeding time.
10 Coral
11 Fish
17 Invertebrate
Equipment
Additive
Aquarium
AutoTopOff
Controller
Food
Seaway Aqua Covert 7
Vitalis Marine Flakes
Vitalis Marine Pellets
Lighting
EcoTech Radion RMS XR30 Tank Mount
Media
Powerhead
Reactor
TMC V2 Bio 600F
Refractometer
Aqua Marin Refractometer
RODI
Mudder TDS Meter
Skimmer
TestKit
Seneye Plus Slides 3 Pack
In regards to params my goal is just to keep things stable. This is from what I've been told is the key to a healthy aquarium. I feel some people tend to get too fussy about reaching specific numbers when actually it's more important just to keep things stable.
Dosing See more
Red Sea Reef Foundation B 20 ml · Red Sea Reef Foundation B 20 ml · Sodium Bicarbonate 6 g · Sodium Bicarbonate 6 g · Iodine 5 drops · Salifert All In One 10 ml
The only thing I'm currently dosing is Iodine as this has been recommended to improve growth rates for soft corals but the jury is still out on this one.
I plan on getting an automatic dosing pump when I attempt more LPS, SPS corals but for now I'm not dosing anything extra as most nutrients are already in salt mix.
I plan on getting an automatic dosing pump when I attempt more LPS, SPS corals but for now I'm not dosing anything extra as most nutrients are already in salt mix.
Feeding See more
Fed Covert 7 0.5 cap
Tend to feed frozen Mysis Shrimp and pellets as well as flake food. The corals also get a feeding of Covert 7 (Phytoplankton , Zooplankton) once a week.
Maintenance
I do a 10% water change once a week, and dose Iodine.
On average you perform a 13.4% water change every 7 days.
0% total water change in 2024-12-01T03:26:57.216724Z[GMT].
Inspiration & Goals
Inspiration comes from mature reef tanks that I constantly photos of on user groups which are just stunning. I can only hope to have a tank half as good one day. My goal is take one day at a time, research and go slowly and learn from my mistakes. Read lots and try to understand the natural reef, maybe even visit one one-day.
And of course go bigger and bigger, already planning a 4-foot tank.
And of course go bigger and bigger, already planning a 4-foot tank.
Words of Wisdom
Research, ask questions, don't rush to shop and buy fish without understanding what you're getting, make sure fish are suitable for your tank, don't always believe what your LFS is telling you most are trying to make money. Things will go wrong and when the do don't be disheartened just learn from your mistakes and move on.
Always buy the biggest tank that you can afford and make sure you have space. Starting off small can actually end up costing most as you'll soon want to upgrade. It's also easier to maintain levels when you have a greater volume of water.
Always buy the biggest tank that you can afford and make sure you have space. Starting off small can actually end up costing most as you'll soon want to upgrade. It's also easier to maintain levels when you have a greater volume of water.
Disasters & Regrets
No disasters, only regret was not being a part of a community before I bought my fish tank, as there are so many deals to be had as people are always breaking down their tanks and selling stuff off cheap. I spent a lot of money to get a smallish tank setup.
Don't buy a Bicolor Dottyback! Nightmare of a fish, attacks everything, I had to remove all my live rock and fish to catch the little bugger. Don't be fooled by it's stunning appearance, it will dominate your tank and all your other fish will be stressed out and have very little territory to feel safe in.
Don't buy a Bicolor Dottyback! Nightmare of a fish, attacks everything, I had to remove all my live rock and fish to catch the little bugger. Don't be fooled by it's stunning appearance, it will dominate your tank and all your other fish will be stressed out and have very little territory to feel safe in.
