Zak's 4ft

Im new to the whole marine scene, im a little concerned that the maintenance involved with coral might be a little too much, i dunno.. Still thinking about it before i start stocking..

Im currently running a TS3 and 1*54 watt T5 + 2400 lph return and a 3800lph flow pump.

If i go the coral route, what other equipment would i need?

What maintenance and is required to succeed with the apparently "simple" corals mentioned in Seans thread: Easy Soft Corals For Your Reef Tank - Marine Aquariums of South Africa

Advice welcome..
 
You pretty much have eveything that's needed to keep corals, only the 3 - 5 extra tubes dude and you set.

The thing is , if you keep soft coral all you really need is too stick with your water changes and that's it dude.

With just a fish only system you will still need to clean the glass so maintenance will be pretty much the same.
 
Guys, I purchased a 54watt Giesmann T5 tube about 2 weeks ago. By day 3 i noticed that there was a difference in brightness. 11 days later, its only about 10% of its original brightness!! Could a faulty ballast cause this? The tube has been replaced, im just a bit concerned that this could happen again if the ballast is indeed the culprit..
 
Hi ZAK
How is it going with your tank? It looked really good in the first few pictures. I'm interested in an update because you & I have very similar setups.:)
 
Thanks Winegums,

Tank running well.. Will update with pics later..
 
no idea about the tube getting dimmer, maybe its a faulty tube? Put some shrooms and zoas in towards the top and they should be fine
 
Week 10

Tank is now about 10 weeks old. My DIY T5 fixture housing 2 * 54watt tubes:

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With light comes algae :(

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Some sign of life in the substrate

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Added this little guy..

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He turned the substrate from this:

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to this:

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Another shot of the Goby, and the Anthea who loves attention..

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Lots of sponges, especially under the LR and spreading! Hope they no harm..

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Theres a purplish/white build up on the LR at the rear of the tank..

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Here's what the skimmer is pulling out, not that impressive by comparison to what iv seen elsewhere..

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A full tank shot..

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Hi zak

WOW your water looks so clear in that FTS. My TS3's collection cup looks exactly like yours with regards to how much it is pulling from the water. It really only foams when I feed mysis shrimp.

When you talk about signs of life in the substrate do you mean you are also getting bubbles forming in the substrate?

With regards to algae & light I seem to be having an outbreak of algae since I turned on my lights a week ago! Have posted a thread elsewhere to see if the guys can help me!
What type of goby is that & does he eat the algae?

Thanks for the update:)
 
Its an orange spotted, also called a diamond goby. Whether or not he's eating the diatom algae, im really not sure. But what he does is continuously turn the substrate around, thereby not allowing the algae to settle and grow. Another factor that i believe helped with algae, is the addition of chaeto to the sump. Big thanks to @inflames

I run an energy saver 24/7, theres lots of diatom algae in my sump..
 
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FTS

Another FTS. No coral yet :( Tank is in need of some color. Any recommendations/suggestions?

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get some zoas! With regards to the purple/white on the LR. Would you say its greyish? Look out for a gel being excreted from it. Then you know its sponge die off
 
This gel, is it any dangerous?

I don't think I'm experiencing sponge die off, not yet at least..

Getting zoas easier said than done.. Buying at lfs not an option, too damn expensive..
 
Guys, how frequently do I need to feed these fish:

1* regal tang
2* antheas
2* chromis
2* yellow tail blue damsel
2* percula clown

Please advise..
 
anthias need to be feed often. Several time a day. Rest of the fish can be fed like normal
 
Lol, that's what I wanna know, what's normal?
 
like 3 times a day. I feed my fish a little bit at a time, about 8 times a day. Lol Im on exam break so Im at home.. But I just feed pretty often.. they have hungry eyes :lol:
 
Zak you system is looking brand spanking new and very clean, i am sure you must fiddle on it daily;),

i i may make a suggestion, i would add a few more rocks at the base of the vertical pillars holding your structure up. this will offer a little more cober , perhaps fill this area with rocks of zoas. it will look very natural..

water looks crystals.. looking great..

will pop in from time to time to check the progress.
 
Good idea, thanks.. Zoa's won't have trouble surviving down under? Will try it out soon as I find some Zoa's..

Iv cut out the fidgeting after adding the regal, don't wanna stress him..
 
Hi Zak

How about a pic of that unstressed Regal?
Do you clean your DT glass often aswell? What type of maintenance do you do?
Looking good!:thumbup:

Cheers
 
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