junkitu
New member
Thanks to everyone for the great turnout this month and special thanks to Victoria for making it all happen. I feel very fortunate to have won against the stiff competiition from anguswu, 1cenine2005, duec22, and rockindacheeks. I am very excited that my little office softie tank was selected as the nTOTM for January.
WELCOME TO MUSHROOM HOUSE
Introduction:
Like many folks on this site, I've kept freshwater fish on and off for most of my life. I've always admired the beautiful colors of saltwater aquariums but thought they were too hard to keep. Last April a friend of mine at work helped changed my opinion. He had decided to upgrade his 80G reef tank and offered to give me some live rock from his old setup to help get me started. Needless to say I took the plunge and have enjoyed every moment of it.
Before starting, I tried to read everything that I could find on the internet about nano reefs and found many threads and pictures of beautiful tanks. Ironically, I came across 1cenine2005's tank thread 9 months ago and it inspired me to try to create a relatively moderate/low light tank with colorful soft corals and invertebrates. I started out with a ton of green mushrooms which came on the live rock and quickly added some striking color with a yellow fiji leather and some zoas. I was hooked. My tank became my obsession and I’ve been trying to continue to add more amazing color to it ever since.
A good friend of mine who has been keeping larger tanks for years likened nano reefing to keeping a bonsai tree. The placement and shape of every little aspect of the tree is critical to the overall aesthetic outcome. I totally agree. I’ve found that color, shape, texture, and placement are the raw materials for a beautiful nano tank and you have to be patient in selecting the right specimens and in putting them all together.
Thanks again and I hope you enjoy my tank.
Here is a slideshow that shows the progression of Mushroom House over the last nine months:
http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i251/junkitu/?action=view¤t=1170373984.pbw
Tank Parameters
Ph: 8.1
Temp: 78 - 81 degrees Farenheit
Ca: 450
S.G.: 1.026
Nitrates: 0
Nitrites: 0
Ammonia: 0
Circulation:
I run a Maxi-Jet 900 on the return, a Mini-Jet 606 with a HydorFlo, and a Mini-Jet 404. These pumps combined with the powerheads on my chiller and skimmer result in approximately 20X circulation.
Controller:
A Premium Aquatics Lighthouse controller manages my chiller, skimmer, and the dawn to dusk cycle of my lights. It also monitors my Ph and temperature.
Filtration:
I have a Sapphire Aquatics skimmer that runs in the right rear chamber. It is designed to fit under the Aquapod's hood and works well. The controller runs the skimmer from 8pm to 8am every night. Live rock and live sand perform the only other filtration in my system.
Lighting and Photo Period:
1 x 40W Current USA Sunpod Dual Daylight (8am - 5pm)
1 x 40W Current USA Sunpod Dual Actinic (6am - 6pm)
2 Moonlights (always on)
Chiller:
Temperature control is an issue since my tank is at the office and HVAC system doesn't operate in the evenings or weekends. I've installed a Nanocustoms ICA chiller. The controller turns the chiller on when temps hit 81 degrees.
Feeding:
Spectrum and Formula 1 marine pellets (5 days/week)
Kent Marine Zoe (5 days/week)
Cyclopeeze (3 days/week)
DT's Phytoplankton (1 day/week)
Maintenance:
Kent Marine Nano 2-part additive (Monday, Thrusday)
20% water change (C-Pure seawater) once a week
Scrub and scrape algae once a week
Top off with RO/DI as needed
Here’s a shot of the color on the top shelf of my aquascape.
A closer look of the rics and coco worm on the right side.
Here’s my little zoa and paly garden.
WELCOME TO MUSHROOM HOUSE
Introduction:
Like many folks on this site, I've kept freshwater fish on and off for most of my life. I've always admired the beautiful colors of saltwater aquariums but thought they were too hard to keep. Last April a friend of mine at work helped changed my opinion. He had decided to upgrade his 80G reef tank and offered to give me some live rock from his old setup to help get me started. Needless to say I took the plunge and have enjoyed every moment of it.
Before starting, I tried to read everything that I could find on the internet about nano reefs and found many threads and pictures of beautiful tanks. Ironically, I came across 1cenine2005's tank thread 9 months ago and it inspired me to try to create a relatively moderate/low light tank with colorful soft corals and invertebrates. I started out with a ton of green mushrooms which came on the live rock and quickly added some striking color with a yellow fiji leather and some zoas. I was hooked. My tank became my obsession and I’ve been trying to continue to add more amazing color to it ever since.
A good friend of mine who has been keeping larger tanks for years likened nano reefing to keeping a bonsai tree. The placement and shape of every little aspect of the tree is critical to the overall aesthetic outcome. I totally agree. I’ve found that color, shape, texture, and placement are the raw materials for a beautiful nano tank and you have to be patient in selecting the right specimens and in putting them all together.
Thanks again and I hope you enjoy my tank.
Here is a slideshow that shows the progression of Mushroom House over the last nine months:
http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i251/junkitu/?action=view¤t=1170373984.pbw
Tank Parameters
Ph: 8.1
Temp: 78 - 81 degrees Farenheit
Ca: 450
S.G.: 1.026
Nitrates: 0
Nitrites: 0
Ammonia: 0
Circulation:
I run a Maxi-Jet 900 on the return, a Mini-Jet 606 with a HydorFlo, and a Mini-Jet 404. These pumps combined with the powerheads on my chiller and skimmer result in approximately 20X circulation.
Controller:
A Premium Aquatics Lighthouse controller manages my chiller, skimmer, and the dawn to dusk cycle of my lights. It also monitors my Ph and temperature.
Filtration:
I have a Sapphire Aquatics skimmer that runs in the right rear chamber. It is designed to fit under the Aquapod's hood and works well. The controller runs the skimmer from 8pm to 8am every night. Live rock and live sand perform the only other filtration in my system.
Lighting and Photo Period:
1 x 40W Current USA Sunpod Dual Daylight (8am - 5pm)
1 x 40W Current USA Sunpod Dual Actinic (6am - 6pm)
2 Moonlights (always on)
Chiller:
Temperature control is an issue since my tank is at the office and HVAC system doesn't operate in the evenings or weekends. I've installed a Nanocustoms ICA chiller. The controller turns the chiller on when temps hit 81 degrees.
Feeding:
Spectrum and Formula 1 marine pellets (5 days/week)
Kent Marine Zoe (5 days/week)
Cyclopeeze (3 days/week)
DT's Phytoplankton (1 day/week)
Maintenance:
Kent Marine Nano 2-part additive (Monday, Thrusday)
20% water change (C-Pure seawater) once a week
Scrub and scrape algae once a week
Top off with RO/DI as needed
Here’s a shot of the color on the top shelf of my aquascape.
A closer look of the rics and coco worm on the right side.
Here’s my little zoa and paly garden.
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