July 2008

Quoc Ho’s (eklikewhoa) 30 Gallons Reef Aquarium

The Tank:

Hi, I've been in the wet hobby for over 15yrs but it has always been freshwater, serious reefing for only the last year and a half. I have fiddled with salt tanks before but this was when I was probably about 12-13yrs old and the only real help I had was my father which was getting advice from the LFS. Back then the only successful SW tank we had was a 30g FOWLR which became more of a local collection tank.

This tank is a 30g Oceanic cube with Eshoppes RS-75 sump which was an upgrade from my previous Nanocube12g which is what started it all. The Nanocube was about a year old before it was in a need for an upgrade! The whole changeover happened in about late January of this year so that would make the 30g cube about 5months old so still very young and slowly filling in!

Lighting:

Lighting was a big issue with this tank when setting it up, the tank itself measures 20" and there is not much out there in that length. Also with the experience from my little NC12g which had 2x70w metal halides over it I felt that the little 150w halide system would not be adequate for this tall tank. Another problem I ran into was going to see all the other members' tanks and liking how the T5 supplements greatly helped the tank. So with both of these problems at hand the only fixture that fit my needs exactly or close enough was the Outer Orbit fixture which houses a single 250w halide and 4x 24w T5's. Bulbs used in this fixture right now is 2x 460nm actinics and 2x 420nm actinics with a Phoenix 14k halide bulb.

Filtration:

To keep the tank going I have the Eshoppes RS-75 which is about 10-15g worth of sump which has an Eheim 1250 return going out two outlets. Originally I started this tank with a PM Hot1 skimmer which after awhile is not up to my liking anymore, just this weekend I received my Octopus NW-150 which barely fits in the sump but it came with a shattered collection cup and needle wheel impeller. Other then the use of the sump/skimmer I have 2-TLF reactors on the tank to run rowaphos and carbon.

Circulation:

Right now I have 2x Koralia 2's in the tank pointed upwards and to the front glass which does really well for circulation throughout the tank. I have been tossing around the idea of placing an order for the Ecotech Mp20w for added circulation but so far what is in the tank right now is doing great.

Parameter:

This is a bit of a guess since I rarely test my tank unless I think something is wrong or if I am playing with chemicals.
Calcium - 450ppm
Alkalinity - 10ppm
Salinity - 35ppt
Magnesium - 1300ppm
Temp - 78-79
pH - 8.0-8.1
Nitrate - undetectable
Ammonia - undetectable
Phosphate - undetectable

Maintenance:

The only maintenance I do on this tank really is weekly water changes of about 5g at a time. Not really much maintenance or time is involved in the tank since most everything is automated, I did fiddle with the vodka method for a few weeks but not a really big difference for me to constantly have to do that.

The tank is controlled by the Digital Aquatics Reefkeeper2 and a JBJ AutoTopOff keeps the salinity in check

Feeding:

Feeding is done maybe 3x a week once a day, the first two feedings will consist of New Life Spectrum Pellets and usually on the weekends the tank will get a little bit or Rod's Food which is a frozen mix.  The Anemones will get a cube of shrimp mix which I make myself and freeze in egg crate/light diffuser.

Inhabitants:

As of right now for finned inhabitants I have are...
2-Onyx clowns which came from our local breeder theKarens
2-Greenbanded gobies
1-YashiaHaze goby which is mated with 2-Randall's Pistol shrimp
a lone McCosker's wrasse which would like a male partner if anyone knows where locally!
The tank also houses 5 BTA's, 3-Green bubbletips(one being purpletipped) and 2-Rose bubbletips
1- Bloodfire shrimp
2 - Harlequin shrimp.

Special thanks:

Just wanted to thank everyone for their votes!