kwirky
Community Member
Greetings! I'm a long time aquarist, keeping fish since the mid 90s, and decided to finally join this forum after starting my 4th saltwater aquarium. I left the reef hobby almost a decade ago, focusing on freshwater planted aquariums. Here's a photo of my 75 gallon planted tank.
It's a 75 gallon with a breeding pair of angels, a breeding pair of kribs, some SAEs, a 3rd wheel angel, an grizzled old pearl gourami, and some cories. They're all hiding in the plants in this photo. It's changed over the years and this is the latest aquascape, requiring little in maintenance besides daily dosing of seachem nutrients, pressurized co2, and weekly 50% water changes. It's clean enough for the fish to breed regularly but I don't put much effort in raising fry, instead letting the parent fish do that, due to lack of extra space for ancillary tanks. I stock it lightly like one stocks a saltwater to lower the maintenance burden & make for fewer problems. The angels have taken to breeding on the magnet cleaner so it doesn't get used. I scrape the glass with a razor instead because it's their tank, not mine
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I have a 40 gallon breeder reef which was recently started. It's going to be a mixed reef with a few SPS, some softies, and maybe some LPS if the water's not too fast & they don't have nasty sweepers. This is my 4th reef aquarium over the decades and is planned to be long term, now that we own our home and I can dedicate space. It already has a tail spot blenny, a fire fish, and a juvenile black cap damsel.
I'm actually solving for calc/alk/mag early this time around and have set up a dosing pump array. I really enjoy DIY projects. I have a few 3d printers which I've built & re-built a few times over from scratch. I have a solid beginner's understanding of electronics and we have a fairly good garage where I can woodwork, too. If I can build it instead of buy I'll do that because it keeps me busy & saves money. The lighting is a DIY setup using COB leds from aliexpress. I've dialed it way down to give 100-200 par throughout the tank, with a few hot spots at 300 par. The white balance isn't correct in that photo because there's some 415-420nm and 450nm leds which throw off digital cameras.
I'm fairly passionate about conservation and will choose captive raised livestock over wild livestock any day. I recycled used rock from another aquarist with a bleach bath to ensure I'm not contributing to habitat destruction. Lately I've found coral physiology fascinating, and how those learnings can explain what's happening to our coral reefs around the world with bleaching events & habitat destruction. I have little plaques like a zoo, educating house guests about the animals in the tank so that it's not just a decoration, but an educational tool. While I have difficulty remembering exact terms and animal names due to a learning disability I'm well read and have comprehensive knowledge on the husbandry of aquarium inhabitants.
Anyways, greetings, and I hope to contribute to the hobby and science in a meaningful way!
It's a 75 gallon with a breeding pair of angels, a breeding pair of kribs, some SAEs, a 3rd wheel angel, an grizzled old pearl gourami, and some cories. They're all hiding in the plants in this photo. It's changed over the years and this is the latest aquascape, requiring little in maintenance besides daily dosing of seachem nutrients, pressurized co2, and weekly 50% water changes. It's clean enough for the fish to breed regularly but I don't put much effort in raising fry, instead letting the parent fish do that, due to lack of extra space for ancillary tanks. I stock it lightly like one stocks a saltwater to lower the maintenance burden & make for fewer problems. The angels have taken to breeding on the magnet cleaner so it doesn't get used. I scrape the glass with a razor instead because it's their tank, not mine
.I have a 40 gallon breeder reef which was recently started. It's going to be a mixed reef with a few SPS, some softies, and maybe some LPS if the water's not too fast & they don't have nasty sweepers. This is my 4th reef aquarium over the decades and is planned to be long term, now that we own our home and I can dedicate space. It already has a tail spot blenny, a fire fish, and a juvenile black cap damsel.
I'm actually solving for calc/alk/mag early this time around and have set up a dosing pump array. I really enjoy DIY projects. I have a few 3d printers which I've built & re-built a few times over from scratch. I have a solid beginner's understanding of electronics and we have a fairly good garage where I can woodwork, too. If I can build it instead of buy I'll do that because it keeps me busy & saves money. The lighting is a DIY setup using COB leds from aliexpress. I've dialed it way down to give 100-200 par throughout the tank, with a few hot spots at 300 par. The white balance isn't correct in that photo because there's some 415-420nm and 450nm leds which throw off digital cameras.
I'm fairly passionate about conservation and will choose captive raised livestock over wild livestock any day. I recycled used rock from another aquarist with a bleach bath to ensure I'm not contributing to habitat destruction. Lately I've found coral physiology fascinating, and how those learnings can explain what's happening to our coral reefs around the world with bleaching events & habitat destruction. I have little plaques like a zoo, educating house guests about the animals in the tank so that it's not just a decoration, but an educational tool. While I have difficulty remembering exact terms and animal names due to a learning disability I'm well read and have comprehensive knowledge on the husbandry of aquarium inhabitants.
Anyways, greetings, and I hope to contribute to the hobby and science in a meaningful way!
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