melev
Melev's 280g reef - 5.5 years and counting
by
, 01-01-2010 at 01:53 AM (19313 Views)
Summary
- 280g Starfire glass Reef-ready tank
- 150g sump and refugium built by me
- Euroreef CS12-2 protein skimmer with two Eheim 1262 pumps
- Lifereef Calcium Reactor with a flaky Milwaukee pH controller
- Aqua Controller III to control lighting, heat, and log some parameters, available on the web and my
iPhone (AquaNotes App).- 55g water changed every two months.
- 100gpd RO/DI used for top offs and to make more saltwater. My tank evaporates about 5g per day.
- Kent Sea Salt or Red Sea Pro, as I always have both on hand
- For cooling, I have a 8000 BTU window A/C unit set to keep the fish room at a comfortable 74-76F, which keeps the tank between 79-81F daily during the hotter months of the year.
- The return pump is a Little Giant
- A Sequence Dart pump runs to a manifold that feeds water to many areas, include the Angled tank in my foyer and the Suncoral species tank.
- 3 Vortech pumps create the flow in my tank, and are connected to IceCap battery backups.
- A 6250w generator protects my system from power failures, which occur two or three times a year.
- 14g quarantine tank for all new arrivals
Here are some of the water test results I've performed this year:
Nitrates have been controlled with Vodka dosing, which I've been doing for about 17 months. Currently, I dose 15ml daily.
Phosphates are controlled with Blue Life's Phosphate Control. When they measure >.25ppm, I'll add 150 drops late at night to avoid having fish swimming actively through the flocculant. By morning the water is crystal clear.
Here's a peek into my fishroom.
And here's a view of the livingroom the tank is in.
Feedings
- I feed three times a day. Each "morning", 1/2 sheet of nori is quickly consumed.
- During the afternoon/evening, some pellet food (AquaThrive by Reef Nutrition) is tossed in for the fish to chase and devour.
- Every night around 9:15, thawed Mini Mysis and Cyclop-eeze is fed to the suncorals and then the remainder (or majority) goes in the reef.
Lighting
- 250w 10,000K - 400w 20,000K - 250w 10,000K in Lumenbright Reflectors
- VHO Actinics span the tank as well.
I love myiPhone 's AC3 application, and use it all the time to check on the tank.
Spring - 2009
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