Gerbil's 15g Indo-Pacific Reef

gerbilbox

New member
I got my first two corals two days ago and I'm very happy about them. I've never maintained any kind of aquarium before, so this is a big and exciting milestone. It's about time I start my tank thread, so I'll start with the eye candy:

Zoanthus:
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Single head of branching hammer coral (Euphyllia parancora):
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Most Recent Full Tank Shot (right before I added the corals), January 2, 2011:
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Now that I have your attention, the technical details:

Equipment:
15g AGA tank
AquaticLife 2x24" T5HO lights
15 lbs. Marco Rocks, small fragments of live rock
15 lbs Caribsea Fiji "Pink" sand
AquaClear 70 HOB power filter (for Chaetomorpha under reverse lighting, activated carbon, filter floss)
2 heaters: 50w Eheim Jager and 50w Finnex Titanium
ReefKeeper Lite
Penn-Plax B11 emergency air pump
Autotopoff.com top off system using Aqua Lifter pumps
Grounding probe
Cheap eBay blue LED moonlight strip

Goals & Themes:
1. Indo-Pacific reef, specifically a back reef / reef lagoon as described in John Tullock's books.
2. As much captive-bred and fragged animals as possible, otherwise low environmental impact.
3. Emphasis on corals and other invertebrates. There will be one fish eventually, which will also keep the bioload relatively low.
4. One-to-two animal introductions a month to avoid issues of adding too quickly and keeping it easy on my wallet.
5. Vacation and failure proof.

Corals:
Zoanthus
Branching hammer coral (Euphyllia parancora)

Other Invertebrates:
Trochus snails
Stomatella varia snail
Dwarf zebra hermit crabs (Calcinus laevimanus)
Periwinkle snails (Littoraria)
Amphipods (Grammarus)
Bristle worms
Spaghetti worm
Sandbed clams (Tapes)

Most of the invertebrates came from Indo-Pacific Sea Farms to ensure a diverse clean-up crew that would fit my Indo-Pacific goal. I really like the animals I got from IPSF, especially the hermit crabs.

Hitchhikers:
Mini brittle stars
Sabellid and spirorbid feather-duster worms
Spionid worms
Vermetid snails
Peppermint snails
Several unknown corallimorphs, maybe tiny Pseudocorynactis

I have no idea if any of these came from the Indo-Pacific, but I welcome them into my tank since they're not really noticeable and there's nothing I can do about them now :)
 

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More Photos:

Night mode. I'm not sure if I like the spotlighting effect, so I may install another LED strip:
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View from above:
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The ugly equipment in the AC70. This will improve eventually, but it keeps the mess out of the main tank:
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The ugly wiring. Don't panic, the ReefKeeper is reporting the temperature in Celsius, so 25.3°C works out to be about 77.5°F. I'm a metric kind of guy since I was raised that way in college:
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Nice start :thumbsup:

I'm using one of these as a moon light on a ten and it works great with a diffused blue light spread throughout the tank.
 
Almost forgot .....

<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To The Reef Central Nano Forum</b></i></big></big>
 
Nice start :thumbsup:

I'm using one of these as a moon light on a ten and it works great with a diffused blue light spread throughout the tank.

I had to search for your tank thread, and that strip looks really nice, and affordable too! My 15g is about 4 inches wider than a 10g, so it should still be fine. Do you run your lights just for sunrise/sunset effect, or as a moonlight/nightlight?

I may have to upgrade my LED setup soon. Thanks!

Alex
 
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