melev

I ran over to Bobby's house yesterday to get some pictures of his beautiful reef. There's something to be said for smaller tank, especially while the individual corals are smaller colonies. Everything looks cleaner, more tidy.

The other reason I'm sharing this is because of his gear selection. He's upgraded to a smaller tank with better gear over what he had previously.

This is a 58-gallon Oceanic Illuminata

It uses two Aqua Illumination SOL blue LED lights
Eshopps sump
Reef Octopus 110 skimmer
Mag 7 return pump
Aquacontroller 3
Two MP10w ES Vortech pumps

He set this up a few months ago, and acquired the various pieces of gear, and the tank has responded nicely. He had some cyano issues, but ran it without lights for three days, and that knocked it back. He runs Algone to remove nitrate from the water, which is clipped in the sump to keep it fully submerged.





Note how the Vortech controllers are secured within the stand. The LED lighting controller is on the left door. The AC3 uses a DC-8 to provide power to the various piece of gear, secured near the upper right end of the stand. A filter sock takes out the particulates, especially useful when I'm about to show up to take pictures.



Pavona sp.



Orange Fungia plate coral.



Purple Deaths zoanthids



Nuclear Greens palythoa



Acropora millepora



This is my lobophyllia that Bobby seized when the tank was leaking.



T. derasa - quite a large clam in this sized tank.







Tricolor Acropora sp.



Birdsnest coral.





Acropora spp.



Birdsnest



Neon Candycane



Favia sp.



Probably Bird of Paradise birdsnest.





I'm glad I gave a bunch of corals to my tank sitter (Bobby) last year, because in a couple of months I'll be able to get a few pieces for the 400g again. Here's a nice chunk of the Orange blob, which has grown into a notable piece.



Anacropora sp. Very frail, but doing quite well in his tank.





This tiny copperband was about the size of a quarter when I gifted it to him. He's still a cute little guy.





The Regal tang was another tiny addition that still fits this tank nicely.



A Six Line Wrasse patrols actively.



This is probably a Starry Blenny.




A picture with only blue LEDs doesn't come close to doing this tank justice. The corals pop with color.



The lights are suspended on these nice hangers.





By keeping the back wall clean, the reef stands out in stark contrast. When the Vortech pumps are clean, they blend in nicely, providing flow without distraction.









We look forward to seeing it grow in. Update us.