New 65 Gallon RR w/ Sump

I finally have my new 65 gallon RR system setup to the point that it’s worth introducing.  I recently moved into my 1st home and took the opportunity to upgrade from my standard 55 gallon reef to a much more advanced system.

This is my 1st “Reef-Ready” system with sump and it includes a lot of improvements over the former.  The display is an All-Glass 65 gallon measuring 25″ H X 18″ D X 36″ L. It has a 300 GPH weir that empties into a MegaFlow 3 Sump. While the intake hose is still stock I converted the return to rigid PVC that includes a “T” with ball valve that allows me to divert enough of  the MAG7′s 700 GPH return flow to the Remora Skimmer that sits in the 3rd chamber. This allowed me to remove a pump and thus some heat and electricity.

The 1st chamber holds live rock and water flows down into it from the display and through a carbon pad. The 2nd chamber is home to a giant ball of chaeto macroalgae, my 300w Azoo heaters, a small pump for the BRS P04 Reactor and one more small powerhead for flow. A 75W 6700k bulb provides light to the macro on a reverse light cycle. The 3rd and last chamber holds the return pump, skimmer, temp & ph probes.

I’m now sold on the notion that the benefits of a sump far outweigh any extra labor or risks. I’m adding more water volume to the system, providing better aeration, helping to stabilize my PH & export nutrients w/ macroalgae and hiding lots of equipment to name just a few.  It’s also MUCH easier to perform water changes from the sump….no more lifting buckets of water over my head!  I attached some hose to a powerhead that I simply place in the sump to drain directly into a waste bucket, then reverse it to pump the fresh saltwater back into the sump. Top-off is still manual but I’ve begun designing an auto top-off system.

In another big push to really make this a serious system I purchased Neptune System’s new Apex Aquacontroller. Though a little challenging to setup at first this thing is too cool! With it I’m now monitoring temperature and PH with lab grade probes & can now control up to 8 pieces of equipment. It also has it’s own built-in web server and I’m now able to access the system from anywhere in the world (including my BlackBerry!) to monitor AND control equipment remotely. I  have it setup to email me when certain parameters fall out of range, when there’s power loss, water on the floor and much more. There’s so much this thing can do (and it should considering the price) that I’ll leave the rest for an article dedicated to the Apex.

I have plans to add a conductivity probe that will let me monitor salinity, dosing pumps or a calcium reactor to allow me to maintain calc & alk, and will incorporate an auto top-off system’s float valves with the I/O breakout box that I picked up along with the main unit. Someday I’ll likely need to pickup another 8 outlet energy bar and will incorporate a “wavemaking” system perhaps with Vortech’s if they ever come down in price. Below is an example of the graphing that can be done.

More details to come on the new reef ……..enjoy the video & pics!

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Four Angel Sharks Born at Aquarium of the Bay
Very Rare Births Follow Natural Pupping Patterns

San Francisco, CA, May 26, 2009 — Keeping in line with the pupping season for many local shark species, Aquarium of the Bay welcomed the births of four Pacific Angel Sharks in its Under the Bay exhibit today. Aquarium of the Bay is the only nature center to consistently exhibit, study and care for Pacific Angel Sharks, Squatina californica.

We’re thrilled to have these rare births at Aquarium of the Bay,” said Christina Slager, Director of Husbandry. “Very little is known about the reproductive behavior of these beautiful sharks, so the information we gather from these pups will be really valuable.”

The Aquarium’s Husbandry team moved the neonates from the exhibit into behind-the-scenes nursery tanks where they will be monitored hourly and kept safe from predators. The four pups weighed between 115 to 120 grams at birth with a total length between 21 and 24cm. Angel Sharks are ambush predators with wing-shaped pectoral fins, flattened bodies and gray, brown and black coloring. They camouflage themselves by hiding in the sand.

Aquarium of the Bay Foundation is funding a research project related to angel sharks. as well as one focused on the largest predators in the San Francisco Bay, Sevengill sharks, Notorynchus cepedianus. Both projects launched in 2008 and utilize coded tags and acoustic transmitters to monitor the animals. Data collected will be analyzed to learn more about the animals’ breeding patterns and migration in conjunction with tidal cycle, current flows and oceanographic data. The information will also be available to government agencies, with the hope of protecting the animals’ habitats.

Click here for additional information on the Aquarium of the Bay Foundation’s research, conservation and educational programs.

Source: Aquarium of the Bay News

Featured: Hammer & Frogpawn

aquariablog.com is the log/journal of both a 32 & 2.5 gallon coral reef as well as a 55 gallon planted freshwater aquarium maintained in New York City. It includes profiles, reviews, pictures, video,  live webcams and more…

The site is primarily a tool for the reefer to accumulate information and to track chemical levels of these tanks but it is hoped that some of the information could be useful to other reefers. The owner has over 15 yrs experience in the hobby with both fresh & marine environments.

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Reef - March 2009

I wanted to finally get something out for the March Update as the end of April is fast approaching and I’m falling behind…

Planted Freshwater

• Sadly my Red Tiger Oscar – Wanda passed on after 8-9 years in my care. The lifespan of these fish is typically 12 years so depending on her age when I got her (unknown) she lived a pretty good life. My wife was particularly upset that we lost her. As you can see from the latest pic of her above she was not looking well at all though the other inhabs are perfectly happy & healthy.

• I performed my first pruning of my live plants in this tank as they were well on their way to overtaking much of the “swimmable” space available to the fish. I let them grow out this way for several months without interference so as to not stress them and allow them to grown naturally into their surroundings without interference.  This aggressive pruning (especially of the Amazon Sword) combined with the loss of the largest resident of the tank (Wanda) has left the remaining inhabitants with much more space. The tank is currently home to my TireTrack Eel, Flowerhorn Cichlid & a small Pleco. I also removed the enormous canister filter that I believe was just wasting energy & serving no purpose other then as a nutrient trap (bad) and water circulator (good). There’s now only a Fluval 204 running with no media that I use to power my UV Sterilizer but I plan to add some carbon soon. The plants appear to continue to do an excellent job of consuming excess nutrients in the tank. Lastly I removed one of the large lights on the tank for energy savings & aesthetics and I’m monitoring the effects of this change on the plant life.

• Though I’m still working through some “glitches” in my setup there is now a live webcam pointed at this tank for much of the day.

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Reef

• Things are going pretty well in the main reef though I have surely lost a few SPS that have been deteriorating quickly because of a bout with hi phosphate levels. Apparently the steps I’ve taken to reduce these levels came to late for some of the more sensitive SPS that I have in the tank. ALL of the other coals in the tank appear to be doing very well as well as the inverts & fish.

• I transferred some of the more aggressive mushroom corals into the refuge and the 2.5 gallon nano as they were really taking over and beginning to “nuke” some neighboring corals. There was one particularly large colony of green mushrooms on a fairly large rock that had to go so I had to split the rock up into 3 smaller chunks with a chisel. I managed to do this without injuring the colony and it is currently thriving in my refuge. I also moved the GSP out of the DT & into the nano as this is typically an incredibly fast growing “nuisance” coral and I can control it better in a nano then the main tank obviously. Lastly, I transferred the Anemone Shrimp along with 3-4 Nassarius Snails from the DT to the nano. I’m choosing to not keep a fish in the nano as I don’t want to have to cover the top and recently lost a Green Chromis that I put into it that went “carpet surfing.”

• I’ve switched to Reef Crystals salt from Instant Ocean as RC has among other things a much higher calcium content which I hope when combined with weekly/biweekly dosing of 2-part will keep my CA levels in the 450 range where I want them.

• I’m going to begin target feeding some of my corals with a diluted oyster egg solution using a turkey baster. I’ll be setting up a page on this site dedicated to tracking any increased growth that I see as a result of this specialized feeding.

• FINALLY picked up a Sixline Wrasse and 2 days later he’s MIA. I normally don’t by fish from the vendor I got him from and he DID look slightly amaciated but these fish are rather shy so I’m hoping he’ll pop up again one of these days. I’m really bummed about this as it’s a REALLY cool fish.

• Finally I did a LOT of rearranging of corals in the DT for several reasons including to break up a few fights, aesthetics & to give certain colonies more room to grow.

• There is no longer a live webcam on this tank as I kept losing the network connection on the Powerbook that was running it. I’m still working on this and the plan is to have a cam back up on this tank ASAP.

Nano-Reef

• Though this tank was referenced a few times in this update it’s very new and there’s not much more to report on it. More to come in later updates.

Unidentified Crab

May