Brief Biography:
Have kept freshwater
aquaria since 1998 and marine aquaria since 2000, beginning with a 75
gallon coral and fish reef. In April 2003, we took the plunge
and began keeping our beloved H. whitei seahorses.
The
72 gallon bowfront aquarium was originally set up at the end of July
2003, as a tenth anniversary present to ourselves, to house seahorses.
However, after a series of events, we decided we could not handle more
seahorses. Instead, we decided to keep a fish and soft coral
reef.
In an effort to standardize our
tanks and stands, we had new ones made and the 72 gallon bowfront was
upgraded to a 120 gallon 48" by 24" x 24" high rectangular tank.
You may view the new tank here.
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Other Photos: |
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Main Tank: |
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Tank: |
Tank:
- 72 gallon Oceanic
bowfront aquarium.
- 48" long x
18" deep (at centre) x 21" high.
Cover/Canopy and Stand:
- Matching Oceanic
bowfront stand.
- Glass cover.
Heating:
- Two Tronic 150
watt heaters, placed at each end of the tank.
Thermometer:
- Hang in tank
glass thermometer.
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Filtration/
Powerheads/
Skimmer: |
Powerheads:
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One Hagen 101 powerhead, on high setting, placed in top left corner
on the side of the tank pointing directly to the left.
- One Hagen 802
powerhead with prefilter filled with foam, set on high flow.
This powerhead has been placed on the top left side of the aquarium
and its flow is directed toward the centre of the tank.
Cleaning Regime:
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Twice Weekly: Rock and sandbed are turkey basted and foam in
802 powerhead's prefilter is removed and cleaned in saltwater or RO
water.
- Weekly:
Hagen 802 and 101 powerheads are removed from the
tank for cleaning. Foam media is cleaned in outgoing
changewater. Plastic parts of the powerheads are cleaned
in tapwater with a never-used-in-the-mouth toothbrush.
Delicate impeller chambers.
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Lighting: |
Brand and Wattage of Bulbs in What Kind of Fixture:
- Oceanic 48" high
output compact fluorescent fixture with two GE 55 watt 9325K tubes.
- Oceanic 24" high
output compact fluorescent fixture with one GE 55 watt 9325K tube.
Daily Photo
Period:
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Lights are on a timer to provide a consistent 8:00 am to 7:00 pm
photoperiod, for a total of 11 hours daily.
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Maintenance: |
Daily Maintenance:
- Using an RO and kalkwasser mix, top up tank.
- Make sure tank temperature is
between 75° and 79° F.
- Make sure power filters, lights and
heaters are working.
- Feeder is suctioned out before morning feedings, and is also
suctioned to remove leftover food at lights out.
- Twice a week, the LR, sandbed and macroalgae are turkey
basted. Doing so enables detritus to become sucked up into the
802's prefilter foam media where it is trapped and later cleaned in
either tankwater or tapwater.
Weekly Maintenance:
- LR, sandbed and macroalgae are turkey basted.
- Inside front and sides of glass are cleaned with an abrasive
aquarium glass cleaning pad.
- 802 and 101 powerheads are unplugged and removed from the tank
for cleaning. Foam media is cleaned in outgoing changewater.
Plastic parts of the powerheads are cleaned in tapwater with a
never-used-in-the-mouth toothbrush. Delicate impeller
chambers can get very slimy and are thoroughly cleaned with Q-Tips.
- Ten gallons of water are siphoned out and replaced with new salt
water.
- Glass tank cover is cleaned in tapwater and thoroughly dried.
- Light fixture, outside glass, and metal tank stand are cleaned
with a wet cloth, then dried thoroughly with a dry towel.
Monthly Maintenance:
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Tank Chemistry: |
Salinity Range:
- Salinity is usually between 1.023 and 1.025.
pH Range:
- Ideal pH range I strive
for is between 8.15 and 8.3. I am currently using Kent
Kalkwasser to raise pH in the seahorse tank because it usually tests
near 8.0 before lights on each morning.
Additives and Buffers
Used:
- Currently use one
teaspoon of Kent Kalkwasser
in two litres of RO water, let it settle
overnight or longer, for increasing pH in the seahorse tank.
Each morning, using a small plastic cup, I slowly add the kalk mix
to the tank where the 301 powerhead flow is greatest until pH rises to between 8.15
and 8.20.
Nitrate Range:
- Whenever tested,
nitrate is usually 0 ppm. This is due to weekly ten gallon
water changes and weekly thorough foam media cleaning in outgoing
changewater.
Water Quality and
Chemistry Testing Regime:
- pH is measured on a
daily basis, especially while slowly adding kalk mix to make sure pH
doesn't rise too quickly as well as to make sure target pH is
reached.
- Specific gravity is
tested every two or three days.
- Test for nitrate once a
month or so.
- Since this is a newly set up tank, also test
for ammonia and nitrite every few days.
Testing Tools and Test
Kits Used:
- Hanna Instruments HI 931700 pH Monitor
and pH probe.
- Aquarium Systems
SeaTest Full Range Specific Gravity Meter.
- Aquarium
Pharmaceuticals Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate test kits.
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Live Rock/
Substrate: |
Live Rock:
- 85 lbs. of mixed
Fiji and Marshall Islands live rock.
Substrate:
- 120 lbs of
Saltwater Connection aragonite for an approximate depth of 3".
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Fish: |
Species and Number
of Fish Kept:
Length of Time
these Fish Have Been Kept:
Temperature Range:
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Feeding: |
Types of Food:
- A
mix of frozen PE mysis from
J&L Aquatics,
Hikari mysis, Hikari squid from the lfs.
Nutritional Supplements Used:
Number of Feedings per Day:
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Feed once in the morning and once in the afternoon each day.
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Invertebrates: |
Species and Number
of Invertebrates Kept:
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Hitchhikers: |
Species and Number
of Hitchhikers Kept:
- A
few worms in the sandbed.
- A
few bristleworms.
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Macroalgae: |
Species and Number
of Macroalgae Kept:
- Unidentified
green caulerpa.
- Unidentified red
macroalgae.
- One bunch of
halimeda.
Dealing with
Problem Algae:
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Have had no problem algae, but do remove over-growing macroalgae by
pulling it out.
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Sump: |
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No sump is utilized
with this aquarium.
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Refugium: |
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No refugium is
utilized with this aquarium.
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Hospital
Tank:
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A 10
gallon hospital tank is set up throughout the process of adding new
fish to the reef.
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Quarantine Tank: |
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A 20 gallon hospital
tank is set up throughout the process of adding new fish to the reef.
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Making New Saltwater and
Water Changes: |
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Type
of Water Used:
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RO water made from a Kent Marine TFC 24 gpd RO unit.
Brands
of Salt Mix Used:
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Either Kent or Instant Ocean salt mix is used. Usually buy
whichever of the two is least expensive when more salt is needed.
NSW
Mixing
Container Size:
- Ten gallon
covered covered aquarium.
Aeration and Heating:
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One Hagen 101 powerhead for aeration.
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One Tronic 50 watt heater with heater guard.
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Heated to 77 F. to match the temperature of the tank.
Length of Time Aerated and Heated Before Using:
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RO water is aerated and heated for two or three days before salt mix
is added, then aerated and heated at least overnight.
Equipment Used for Water Changes:
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One turkey baster to baste rock, sandbed and macroalgae to lift
detritus into the water column so foams can trap and remove
detritus.
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One small plastic medicine bottle to place over foam on filter
intake during filtration system removal to prevent accumulated
detritus from settling back into the tank.
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One 2 litre plastic container to hold filtration system and
powerhead that are removed and cleaned during water change.
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One five gallon pail to receive outgoing changewater.
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One 6' hose for siphoning two gallons of water from the main
tank.
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Additional Comments:
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Taking Time to
Set Up the Tank the Way I Want It:
- Kept adding
live rock until the desired tank space was filled.
- Rearranged
the rock several times to provide maximum tunnels and archways
for the fish to hide in and swim through. Some rock is
leaning against the back of the tank, though there is plenty of
space back there for fish to swim through.
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Macroalgae was scavenged from other seahorse and reef tanks.
Some of the unidentified caulerpa has become food for the
angels.
- Waiting
Until the Tank Has a Chance to Mature:
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Initially, this tank was meant to house seahorses that
were not yet available. For almost three months
the tank matured as a seahorse tank. However, when
we decided to house fish and soft corals instead, the
entire rock structure had to be rearranged to suit fish.
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