Firstly I'm new to RC, so hey everyone!
Been following threads etc here for ages and ages but have never taken the time to register... until today.
Thought I would share my current tank, a 130 litre Boyu (I think its called an ORCA in the states) nano. I think that is about 30 US gallons.
It's been running since December 2013, so lets call it a year and a half.
I started off with the stock equipment and hood running PC bulbs... but that didn't last long.
To date all the stock equipment as well as the hood have been ditched...
Equipment list as follow per chamber:
1st chamber (overflow): black bio sponge, 2 layers of filter floss. (Sponge washed every 3 moths or so, and top layer of filter floss changed every 3 to 4 days. Bottom layer changed every 2 weeks or so). 150w heater. Also has the pick-up pump for the dophin slimline HOB filter(acts as refugium for copepods etc)
2nd chamber: tunze 9004 skimmer
3rd chamber: 150w heater, Bubble Magus WP1000 pump that feeds a Waterboy UV-X 3 in 1 (UV light and 2 reactors) running ati phosphate remover and ati carbon. Stocking with Seachem purigen hanging in the chamber with HOB filter return flowing over it. Lifetech pump feeding Hailea HC130 chiller
Chamber 4: 1400 lph return pump, stc-1000 temp controller for chiller and heaters.
HOB filter is filled with liverock rubble. I also built LED's into the filter lid for chaeto. It grew well at first but as the nutrients dropped off it started to die so I removed it.
In tank flow is provided by 3 x Jebao WP10 controllable pumps. One either side linked to the dual controller and the centre on on its own controller.
Lighting is a 120w full spectrum LED unit with 90° optics and 2 dimmable channels that I imported from China. I made a 70w DIY unit that I ran for about 2 months but then decided to give this chinese unit a go so I sold it. Contrary to popular belief about chinese LED's, it performs extremely well and I have nothing but praise for the unit. The price is the best part, total cost incl freight and import duties was R1900 (about $175).
Also have a acrylic 3 inch wide rim that sits on top of the tank to stop fish jumping out that has worked like a charm so far.
Current Livestock list:
2 x Snowflake Clowns
1 x Blue Streak Cleaner Wrasse
1 x Blue Star Leopard Wrasse (Bipartitus)
1 x Green Mandarin
1 x Harlequin Shrimp (almost 2 inches long now, bought him for my pico when he was just under an inch)
1 x skunk cleaner shrimp
CUC: local snails, a few turbo snails and hermits
All fish eat flake/frozen. Over a period of about 2 weeks I trained the Green Mandarin to accept frozen foods. I also breed brine shrimp and feed freshly hatched brine shrimp every day. Most of my picky eaters were trained to take preapred foods with brineshrimp. The bluestreak, bipartitus and mandarin have all been in the tank for over a year.
Corals:
Mixed reef. Softies, LPS, SPS, mini carpet nennies and a clam. Too many to list
Dosing:
All done manually. Daily dosing:
5ml Red Sea Nopox
Seachem Reef Builder
Seachem Calcium
Seachem Magnesium
Orca Labs Strontium
Orca Labs Iodide
Aquavitro Fuel and Seachem Zooplankton twice a week
Levels are as follows:
Ca: 460ppm (Red Sea)
Kh: 8.0 dKH (Salifert)
Mg: 1340 (Salifert)
No3: 0.25 On Red Sea Test Kit
Po4: 0 on Hanna Checker
Salinity: 1.025
I used to do regular water changes, normally 2 or 3 times a month. As an experiment though I haven't done a water change for 6 months (since beginning of December 2014)
Well that's about it for now. I have a few small plans for the tank, still wanting to put an ATU in and a perhaps change the lighting for a Kessil A350 etc. Time will tell though what direction I go in.
Well that my South African nano in a nutshell...
Some cell phone pics. Still waiting to get a new lens for my DSLR.
Been following threads etc here for ages and ages but have never taken the time to register... until today.
Thought I would share my current tank, a 130 litre Boyu (I think its called an ORCA in the states) nano. I think that is about 30 US gallons.
It's been running since December 2013, so lets call it a year and a half.
I started off with the stock equipment and hood running PC bulbs... but that didn't last long.
To date all the stock equipment as well as the hood have been ditched...
Equipment list as follow per chamber:
1st chamber (overflow): black bio sponge, 2 layers of filter floss. (Sponge washed every 3 moths or so, and top layer of filter floss changed every 3 to 4 days. Bottom layer changed every 2 weeks or so). 150w heater. Also has the pick-up pump for the dophin slimline HOB filter(acts as refugium for copepods etc)
2nd chamber: tunze 9004 skimmer
3rd chamber: 150w heater, Bubble Magus WP1000 pump that feeds a Waterboy UV-X 3 in 1 (UV light and 2 reactors) running ati phosphate remover and ati carbon. Stocking with Seachem purigen hanging in the chamber with HOB filter return flowing over it. Lifetech pump feeding Hailea HC130 chiller
Chamber 4: 1400 lph return pump, stc-1000 temp controller for chiller and heaters.
HOB filter is filled with liverock rubble. I also built LED's into the filter lid for chaeto. It grew well at first but as the nutrients dropped off it started to die so I removed it.
In tank flow is provided by 3 x Jebao WP10 controllable pumps. One either side linked to the dual controller and the centre on on its own controller.
Lighting is a 120w full spectrum LED unit with 90° optics and 2 dimmable channels that I imported from China. I made a 70w DIY unit that I ran for about 2 months but then decided to give this chinese unit a go so I sold it. Contrary to popular belief about chinese LED's, it performs extremely well and I have nothing but praise for the unit. The price is the best part, total cost incl freight and import duties was R1900 (about $175).
Also have a acrylic 3 inch wide rim that sits on top of the tank to stop fish jumping out that has worked like a charm so far.
Current Livestock list:
2 x Snowflake Clowns
1 x Blue Streak Cleaner Wrasse
1 x Blue Star Leopard Wrasse (Bipartitus)
1 x Green Mandarin
1 x Harlequin Shrimp (almost 2 inches long now, bought him for my pico when he was just under an inch)
1 x skunk cleaner shrimp
CUC: local snails, a few turbo snails and hermits
All fish eat flake/frozen. Over a period of about 2 weeks I trained the Green Mandarin to accept frozen foods. I also breed brine shrimp and feed freshly hatched brine shrimp every day. Most of my picky eaters were trained to take preapred foods with brineshrimp. The bluestreak, bipartitus and mandarin have all been in the tank for over a year.
Corals:
Mixed reef. Softies, LPS, SPS, mini carpet nennies and a clam. Too many to list
Dosing:
All done manually. Daily dosing:
5ml Red Sea Nopox
Seachem Reef Builder
Seachem Calcium
Seachem Magnesium
Orca Labs Strontium
Orca Labs Iodide
Aquavitro Fuel and Seachem Zooplankton twice a week
Levels are as follows:
Ca: 460ppm (Red Sea)
Kh: 8.0 dKH (Salifert)
Mg: 1340 (Salifert)
No3: 0.25 On Red Sea Test Kit
Po4: 0 on Hanna Checker
Salinity: 1.025
I used to do regular water changes, normally 2 or 3 times a month. As an experiment though I haven't done a water change for 6 months (since beginning of December 2014)
Well that's about it for now. I have a few small plans for the tank, still wanting to put an ATU in and a perhaps change the lighting for a Kessil A350 etc. Time will tell though what direction I go in.
Well that my South African nano in a nutshell...
Some cell phone pics. Still waiting to get a new lens for my DSLR.
