Featured System - August 2009

FEATURED SYSTEM - AUGUST 2009

Our featured tank for August 2009 belongs to Mudshark!

Congratulations on a great natural tank!

Click here to comment on this member's system

INTRODUCTION

Many thanks to Dallas for his hard work in putting the monthly tank features together. My name is Broder Scharein. I am a manufacturing jeweller by trade and have my own studio here in East London. My other passions are windsurfing and growing bonsai.

I kept freshwater tanks for a short while many years ago, but always admired my friends marine tanks with their vibrant fish. About 4 years ago I bought a 1,8m tank, already stocked with fish, but it was about a year later that I had to try this fancy thing of keeping corals. I was absolutely clueless, and didn’t even have internet access at the time. Thankfully the local reefers are a patient bunch, so I muddled my way through with all of the usual money wasted at the local LFS on inappropriate livestock and equipment.

With my current system, I intended to start simple and then upgrade and expand as I went along. Then one day, or over the space of several weeks actually and some unpleasant treatment on another forum, I changed my philosophy on reef-keeping. It was the renewed interest in the algal turf scrubber that saw me building first one then another and another prototype. This system of filtration, if used as the primary means of dissolved inorganic compound removal, lends itself well to a very natural, bio-diverse, method of recreating as complete an ecosystem as possible. This type of system is at the opposite end of the spectrum, compared to some of the high-tech systems out there. I certainly don’t feel that the low-tech way of reef-keeping is better than these systems. It’s just a different road to the same destination. My journey down this road is far from over, and I still have much to learn, but I’m loving the ride.

DESCRIPTION AND SHORT HISTORY

My first marine tank still had the good old wet and dry filter complete with bio-balls. My second tank, a 1,2m tank with several upgrades in filtration, finally ended up with a DSB. That meant it was time to build the stand for my 1.5m tank as it is now.

I did all of the carpentry and built the tank myself as well. It has a double base and is made from 10mm glass. It’s 155cm long x65cm high x 60cm wide. This means that the total water volume including the sump and rock displacement is about 500 liters. It has Euro-bracing and a centre cross brace as well.

The DSB was allowed to cycle for several weeks before livestock and rock was moved over from the old tank. Note that I was still using a protein skimmer at the time, and I wouldn’t do it differently if I had to do it again. The tank must have stable water parameters and large bio-diversity before you can safely wean it off protein skimming.

The livestock all came from my second tank. I only started adding some SPS frags a month or two after this.

FILTRATION METHODS

I use an algal turf scrubber and 15% weekly water-changes, as the primary means of removing dissolved inorganic compounds. The water is pumped from the sump via a 3500 l/hr pump into 2 spray bars in the ATS(algal turf scrubber) from where it drains back into the sump. Lighting for the scrubber is supplied by 4 x 45w energy saver 4000k lamps. If anyone needs information on building a scrubber, feel free to start a thread in the forums and I’ll help as much as
I can. It’s a relatively unexplored field, so there’s plenty of room for invention.

Biological filtration occurs in a mixture of different rocks including local live sandstone, dead sandstone(now live), Kenyan live, Malaysian live and artificial bio-rock as well as in the shingle substrate and live sand DSB.
The DSB is now well and truly “alive”. I experimentally added some estuarine mud some months ago. I honestly can’t say if there was a difference in anything, although I’m sure that it must have increased the overall bio-diversity.

CIRCULATION / WATERFLOW

I have quite hectic circulation in my tank. The rockwork is built on top of 1.3 beer crates. This creates a massive cave for my fish to retreat into. I believe that unstressed fish are happier and healthier and it also allows me to raise my SPS corals closer to the lights. This requires a CLS through a spray bar under the crates to prevent detritus buildup fed by a 5000 l/hr pump. There are a further 7 pumps supplying a further 41000 l/hr flow and the return pump which pumps 5000l/hr. That gives a total of 51000 l/hr.

LIGHTING

The lights are all in a homemade pendant type setup. There are 8x 39w T5’s. 4 are actinic and the other 4 are 8000k. There are 2x 150w 20000k metal halide lamps.

The ATS is lit by 4x 45w 4000k energy saver lamps.

T5’s are on from 7am-10pm. MH’s are on from10am-10pm. Algal turf scrubber lights are on for 16 hours and off for 8.

OTHER EQUIPMENT

	Heating is supplied by 2x300w heaters and cooling is by various fans and an air-conditioning unit. Approximately 10 liters of water are replaced with RO water daily.

MAINTENANCE

15% of the water is changed weekly with natural sea water. I siphon off any unwanted algae when doing this. Carbon is changed roughly every 4 weeks. Windows are cleaned about once a week, and coralline is scraped off every 3 or 4 weeks.

One ATS screen is scraped per week, which means that they grow for 2 weeks each.

I only really test the alkalinity regularly with a Salifert test kit. Nitrate, phosphate, calcium, ph and magnesium are tested on a monthly basis.

ADDITIVES AND FEEDING

I feed my fish twice daily with flakes, bloodworm, marine mix, frozen peas and nori.

In the morning I add sodium bicarbonate to keep the level at 10 dkh. In the evening I add calcium chloride (technical grade about 80% pure) to keep levels at about 380ppm. I’d like this to be higher, but can’t seem to get it over 380ppm.

CORALS

Here are some of my corals. I could be wrong with some of the identifications. Any corrections will be gratefully accepted. Acropora Millepora or Rose Millepora. Purple Tip Acropora. Red Montipora Digitada. Pink Edge Montipora Capricornis. Green Montipora Digitada. Green Candy cane Yellow Stag horn. Various Zooanthus Blue Xenia. Blue tip Acropora Organ pipes with Clove Polyps at the base. Acropora Granulosa Heliopora. Green Montipora Capricornis. Montipora “Elkhorn”. Luminous green Acropora which refuses to colour up except on the one branch. Massive finger leather and Candycane in the foreground. Green Candy cane Coral Pulsing Xenia. Red ear Mushrooms. Toadstool Leather. Gorgonian.

FISH

Yellow Wrasse. Scopas Tang Blue streak Goby Fox Face. My favourite Convict Tang Regal Tang. 6 Line Wrasse. Clarkes Clownfish. All new additions are quarantined for 21 days before addition to my tank. These 5 Chromis should be in by the time this article is posted.

OTHER LIVESTOCK

I love the clumsy, yet comical local hermit crabs.

TANK SPECIFICATION AND WATER PARAMS

Tank Specifications

    Tank Dimensions:155cm x 65cm high x 60cm wide
    Sump Dimensions:
    Refugium Dimensions:
    Tank Volume:
    System Volume: 500 Liters

Water Parameters

    Temperature: 24C- 29C
    pH: 8.4
    Salinity: 1.026
    Ammonia: 0
    Nitrite: 0
    Nitrate:0
    Phosphate:0
    Calcium: 390ppm
    KH: dkh 10
    Magnesium: 1420ppm
    Iodine:
    Redox:

CONCLUSION

In closing I’d like to say that I love this hobby. I never thought of giving it up even during 2 years of fighting the algae monster. Thanks for this must go to all of the members and staff at MASA who contribute so generously of their time to share your knowledge with us, thereby ensuring that we have more success than failure.

A reefer wouldn’t be a reefer if he or she didn’t have plans to improve in the future. I have plans to expand on the natural approach to keeping reefs. Currently I’m a bit stuck on how to approach the lighting aspect, but the new system will definitely have a huge water reservoir and a huge DSB/refugium. Any criticism or corrections will be greatly appreciated.

Broder.