I am from Ukraine. The first aquarium was a 450-liter planted tank.
Reef - this is my second aquarium after a long break - moving, changing jobs, etc.
Tank- Boyu 550 with rear sump, 130 liters, immediately I put the lid in the corner.
In the sump - a lot of Chinese bioceramics, a lot of Chinese plastic biocubes, a little broken IBS. Small bags with GFO and carbon. The skimmer was placed in section the overflow grate so Tunze 9004 can remove the surface film.
Light - Popbloom Turing 30, 100 Watt 720 PAR @ 25CM
Skimmer - Tunze 9004
Two pumps - Jebao SOW5W - one on the left wall from the upper-central third directed diagonally upwards and to the far right corner (on the drain grate.) The water supply pump from the sump gives a flow along the upper part of left wall. The second pump - on the right wall from below directed parallel to a back wall behind stones. So, there are three streams of water almost perpendicular to each other. The maximum flow on the upper platform of the stones and on the back wall. The worst flow is in the center of the front wall.
Dry rock layout - about 15 kg. Sand - 0.5-1 mm diameter (actually smaller) - about 5 kg.
Started the cycle - January 5, 2021. Cycling on dry rock, without life stock, one month I run without light, the water temperature was initially 26 degrees Celsium, then raised to 30 to speed up the nitrogen cycle. And after cycling I go back to 26. Bacteria - Aquarium systems - Start Your Tank 150l saltwater. Medical ammonia (ammonia) was added under control of tests, added a piece of boiled shrimp. I did not do tests for nitrite. Nitrates were reduced by water changes at the end of the cycle.
Water treatment - Water intake from the well - softening resin - RODI with one-component resin. After osmosis TDS - 8-12, after resin - 3-4.
Salt - Tropic marin pro reef, I make replacements for Fauna marin pro, after the start of baling I will switch to Tropic marin pro reef.
Parameters (Salifert)
- salinity 1,026 - refractometer
pH - 7.6 - 7.7 (I use air supply through a carbon dioxide absorber - analog of Soda Lime)
KN - 7.3-7.0
NO3 - 0.5
PO4 - 0.25
Ca - 500-450
Mg -1380-1350
The first inhabitants were launched on February 7, 2021 - zoanthus, lobophytum, columbella, ricordea, gorgonaria (it did not survive). Before that, I add about half a kilo (3 stones) of dry rock being more than a month in the old tank of an acquaintance, so my tank got bristle worms, copepods, gammarus, planarias. I have caulerpa and hetamorpha, the latter was almost destroyed by diatoms, disintegrated, but some parts survived and give some growth. Caulerpa looks very bad - almost transparent. Leaf form caulerpa which I add later grows well. There was a green plaque on the stones. Purple or pink coraline does not grow.
Tank got a diatoms bloom - the beginning was approximately 19.02.2021.
Unwanted animals: With algae I got a lot of aiptasia and two types of planarias - red and white. Despite all cleaning measures, 2 aiptasias got into the display, were removed with a syringe with boiling water. There are a lot of hydroids on the walls. I do not see other manifestations of hydroid growth. Wallonia came on the frags, which were removed mechanically and dipped in betadine at the same time. I do not see the spread of Wallonia.
Livestock in the display:
Algae: Caulerpa grape form and leaf form, chaetomorpha.
Snails: A lot of Columbelidae, 4 trochus, 2 strombus, 2 nassarius, 1 turbo, Limpet snails? (Lottiadae? Discurria insessa?) - about 10, There are 2 more snails, similar to Collonista.
Nano Ophiuroidea and Bristle worms.
Shrimps: a pair of Lysmata amboinensis,
Fish: a pair of amphiprion ocellaris, purchased in size S. ( In plans - Synchiropus splendidus, some blenny (such as Nemateleotris magnifica or decora,) Pterapogon kauderni or Sphaeramia nematoptera) last I will add Chrysiptera hemicyanea. I'm not in a hurry with the fish, because it's quite difficult to pick everything up without harming the fish (there will be no cover glass, there is a 1 cm mesh). There are no algae eater fish in the list, please give advise which fish is better to choose, some not expensive one.
Corals:
Mild: Anthelia, Papaya, Discosoma, Lobophytum, Rhodactis blue, Rhodactis green, Rhodactis fluo, Ricordea, Xenia, Zoas, Gorgonian (stressed, polyps do not fully open, too much movement of water, but I can not put elsewhere.)
LPS: Duncan, Briareum, Echinafilia, Euphilia, Favia, Leptastrea, WWC Jingle bell cyphastrea (?) – last does not show polyps
SPS: Montipora digitata “Forest Fire”, Montipora digitata “Red”, Montipora confusa green, Seriatopora histrix,
Reef - this is my second aquarium after a long break - moving, changing jobs, etc.
Tank- Boyu 550 with rear sump, 130 liters, immediately I put the lid in the corner.
In the sump - a lot of Chinese bioceramics, a lot of Chinese plastic biocubes, a little broken IBS. Small bags with GFO and carbon. The skimmer was placed in section the overflow grate so Tunze 9004 can remove the surface film.
Light - Popbloom Turing 30, 100 Watt 720 PAR @ 25CM
Skimmer - Tunze 9004
Two pumps - Jebao SOW5W - one on the left wall from the upper-central third directed diagonally upwards and to the far right corner (on the drain grate.) The water supply pump from the sump gives a flow along the upper part of left wall. The second pump - on the right wall from below directed parallel to a back wall behind stones. So, there are three streams of water almost perpendicular to each other. The maximum flow on the upper platform of the stones and on the back wall. The worst flow is in the center of the front wall.
Dry rock layout - about 15 kg. Sand - 0.5-1 mm diameter (actually smaller) - about 5 kg.
Started the cycle - January 5, 2021. Cycling on dry rock, without life stock, one month I run without light, the water temperature was initially 26 degrees Celsium, then raised to 30 to speed up the nitrogen cycle. And after cycling I go back to 26. Bacteria - Aquarium systems - Start Your Tank 150l saltwater. Medical ammonia (ammonia) was added under control of tests, added a piece of boiled shrimp. I did not do tests for nitrite. Nitrates were reduced by water changes at the end of the cycle.
Water treatment - Water intake from the well - softening resin - RODI with one-component resin. After osmosis TDS - 8-12, after resin - 3-4.
Salt - Tropic marin pro reef, I make replacements for Fauna marin pro, after the start of baling I will switch to Tropic marin pro reef.
Parameters (Salifert)
- salinity 1,026 - refractometer
pH - 7.6 - 7.7 (I use air supply through a carbon dioxide absorber - analog of Soda Lime)
KN - 7.3-7.0
NO3 - 0.5
PO4 - 0.25
Ca - 500-450
Mg -1380-1350
The first inhabitants were launched on February 7, 2021 - zoanthus, lobophytum, columbella, ricordea, gorgonaria (it did not survive). Before that, I add about half a kilo (3 stones) of dry rock being more than a month in the old tank of an acquaintance, so my tank got bristle worms, copepods, gammarus, planarias. I have caulerpa and hetamorpha, the latter was almost destroyed by diatoms, disintegrated, but some parts survived and give some growth. Caulerpa looks very bad - almost transparent. Leaf form caulerpa which I add later grows well. There was a green plaque on the stones. Purple or pink coraline does not grow.
Tank got a diatoms bloom - the beginning was approximately 19.02.2021.
Unwanted animals: With algae I got a lot of aiptasia and two types of planarias - red and white. Despite all cleaning measures, 2 aiptasias got into the display, were removed with a syringe with boiling water. There are a lot of hydroids on the walls. I do not see other manifestations of hydroid growth. Wallonia came on the frags, which were removed mechanically and dipped in betadine at the same time. I do not see the spread of Wallonia.
Livestock in the display:
Algae: Caulerpa grape form and leaf form, chaetomorpha.
Snails: A lot of Columbelidae, 4 trochus, 2 strombus, 2 nassarius, 1 turbo, Limpet snails? (Lottiadae? Discurria insessa?) - about 10, There are 2 more snails, similar to Collonista.
Nano Ophiuroidea and Bristle worms.
Shrimps: a pair of Lysmata amboinensis,
Fish: a pair of amphiprion ocellaris, purchased in size S. ( In plans - Synchiropus splendidus, some blenny (such as Nemateleotris magnifica or decora,) Pterapogon kauderni or Sphaeramia nematoptera) last I will add Chrysiptera hemicyanea. I'm not in a hurry with the fish, because it's quite difficult to pick everything up without harming the fish (there will be no cover glass, there is a 1 cm mesh). There are no algae eater fish in the list, please give advise which fish is better to choose, some not expensive one.
Corals:
Mild: Anthelia, Papaya, Discosoma, Lobophytum, Rhodactis blue, Rhodactis green, Rhodactis fluo, Ricordea, Xenia, Zoas, Gorgonian (stressed, polyps do not fully open, too much movement of water, but I can not put elsewhere.)
LPS: Duncan, Briareum, Echinafilia, Euphilia, Favia, Leptastrea, WWC Jingle bell cyphastrea (?) – last does not show polyps
SPS: Montipora digitata “Forest Fire”, Montipora digitata “Red”, Montipora confusa green, Seriatopora histrix,