NatuReef's Featured Tank # 1...
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This month’s featured NatuReef® aquarium is a 125 gallon reef tank. The tank was originally set up in 1991 as a 55 gallon standard setup with a wet / dry filter and small skimmer. The nitrates quickly climbed to 80ppm and with this rise the anemones and corals did not last long. It was at this time that the owner, Robert Gomez, set up a NatuReef® model CDECX-1 denitrifier with the zero phosphate option. Within a few months the nitrates dropped from the 80ppm to zero! At this time "water changes were stopped" and the denitrifier maintained the nitrate and phosphate levels in the undetectable range. Robert did not change any water again until August 1995, when he outgrew the 55 gallon aquarium and moved up to a 125 gallon tank. The picture shown is a montage of three different pictures combined into one. As one can see in the picture, he is now ready for a larger aquarium.
System information is as follows:
Lighting - 3- 175 watt 55k metal halide bulbs, 4- 110 watt VHO florescent tubes.
Skimmer - Homemade venturi type skimmer with a total length of 6 feet.
Wet Dry Filter - 20 gallon homemade wet / dry sump.
Water Replacement System - NatuReef®’s automated freshwater make up system. This system consists of an electrical water level switch connected to an RO filter with a solenoid valve. This system maintains the water level in the sump automatically.
Trace Feeder - NatuReef® model TF-2A. This trace feeder is connected to the denitrifier's digital controller. Each time the denitrifier cycles the trace feeder drips 0.5 ml of Iodine Plus and Iron Plus into the tank.
Denitrifier - Model CDECX-1 with zero phosphate and trace feeder options.
Calcium Additions - Ca(OH)2 additions for all evaporated water. Ca(OH)2 added is the NatuReef® Reef Former Technical Grade.
| Water Parameters |
| Salinity = 1.023 |
| Calcium = 400ppm |
| Alkalinity = 2.5 milliequivalents |
| NO3- = 0ppm |
| PO4 = 0ppm |
| pH = ranges from 8.1 to 8.4 |
No Strontium is added because NatuReef®‘s Phosphagone contains Strontium and is added with each denitrifcation cycle.
| Aquarium inhabitants - Corals |
| Colt coral (2 big colonies) |
| Mushroom Anemones (purple, green, brown) |
| Acropora sp. SPS corals several growing colonies Green and Brown varieties |
| 4 Tridacna derasa clams (7.5", 6", 4", 2") |
| 1 Tridacna crocea (2") |
| Green Star polyps |
| Frogspawn coral Euphyllia divisa |
| Galaxy Coral Galaxea fascicularis |
| Hammer coral Euphyllia ancora |
| 3 Gorgonians Gorgonacea sp. |
| Several varieties of Caribbean zooanthids |
| Green Carpet Anemone Stoichactis giganteum |
| Xenia sp. |
| Fish |
| 1 Green Chromis Chromis caeruleus |
| 2 Three Striped Damsel Dascyllus aruanus |
| 1 Royal Gramma Gramma loreto |
| 2 Yellow tailed damsels Chromis xanthurus |
| 2 Clown fish Amphiprion ocellaris (mated pair) |
| 2 Fiji damsels |
| 1 Pseudochromis fridmani |
| 1 Scooter blenny Petroscirtes temmincki |
| 1 Bicolor blenny Ecsenius bicolor |
| 20+ Astraea snails and blue leg hermits |
| 2 cleaner shrimps |
| 1 Longnosed Hawkfish Oxycirrhites typus |
| 1 Snowflake Anthias |
| 1 High hats |
| 2 Pink Anthias |
| 1 Engineer Goby |
| 2 Blue damsels |
The Fish are fed generously once or twice a day. And still....0 ppm Nitrate!
Note: A total of 23 well fed fish and lots of corals.
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Blue and green mushroom anemones thrive with regular Iodine Plus additions. |
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A close up of one of the several Gorgonian sp. This species is brown and spends the daytime hours with polyps extended. |
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Green Mushrooms |
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A close up of the Caribbean Zooanthids. These colonial anemones grow so fast that they must be periodically "weeded" out. |
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Robert & Pam Gomez
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This next shot is a big picture of the old 120 gallon tank shown in the pictures at the beginning of this page. This tank is still doing great with little or no involvement from me. This picture show left side of the tank. Home to a mated pair of clowns and a 7" engineer gobie. The purple mushrooms have really grown and filled in all the available area.
That's it for now. Im getting real sick of my electric bill each month and the heat
from the lights, but that is the price we pay for an addiction of this magnitude.
Good luck with your tanks....
updated 04/19/04 06:33:48 PM