Japanese style reef tank

Dieing for a Drink

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 23, 2020
Messages
172
Reaction score
243
Location
Colorado Springs
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I built a reef tank in my loft at home.The preparations started in the summer of 2019 and the seawater was added on January 18, 2020. I'm going to show you the record to date. There is already an aquatic plant tank on the right side.I decided to make a tank full of coral on the left side of this one.

6C49E780-2712-4C0D-BD7D-83CB6902C828.jpeg

FE8FD70C-7EAA-4B9D-AE01-2873B95608C8.jpeg



And it was recently filled with coral.
3A82AB3A-84BF-4EEA-80FB-4EB6D2550BBB.jpeg

E86E0DF4-D4B3-4302-A02D-A1DC9BCFDC01.jpeg


This is my tank build thread.
Wow you are tidy it is a pleasure to look at
 
OP
OP
Takaki1980

Takaki1980

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 3, 2020
Messages
188
Reaction score
1,397
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Well I mean what made you choose 2 smaller tanks over one larger one?
I learned this method from my experience with aquatic plants aquariums.We sometimes have a separate aquarium from the main layout in our aquarium to stock the aquatic plants.This is just like the role of a canvas and a pallet.

Even in a seawater tank, a large tank and a small tank are connected by a sump, and the water volume itself is the same as in a large tank.I thought it would be useful to use a seperate tank to temporarily separate out unfriendly fish, feed fish that aren't feeding, cure corals that are not doing well, etc.

Right now my main layout is the larger tank and the smaller one is used to grow flags and trade badly colored corals. And I like the look of it more than anything else.
 

Kershaw

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 11, 2015
Messages
2,436
Reaction score
1,473
Location
sacramento, ca
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
One last question:

Did you make the overflows yourself?
Does the return for the smaller tank run inside the overflow?
Very interested.
Just seen this thought I’d share it.

3BAEFF86-1987-4CBF-B74F-91C234C17509.jpeg
 
OP
OP
Takaki1980

Takaki1980

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 3, 2020
Messages
188
Reaction score
1,397
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Just seen this thought I’d share it.

3BAEFF86-1987-4CBF-B74F-91C234C17509.jpeg
Thanks for sharing!
It looks like the flow system is slightly different, but it's also an overflow system with one hole.
 

ReefHomieJon

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 5, 2019
Messages
909
Reaction score
1,075
Location
Lake Elsinore
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I learned this method from my experience with aquatic plants aquariums.We sometimes have a separate aquarium from the main layout in our aquarium to stock the aquatic plants.This is just like the role of a canvas and a pallet.

Even in a seawater tank, a large tank and a small tank are connected by a sump, and the water volume itself is the same as in a large tank.I thought it would be useful to use a seperate tank to temporarily separate out unfriendly fish, feed fish that aren't feeding, cure corals that are not doing well, etc.

Right now my main layout is the larger tank and the smaller one is used to grow flags and trade badly colored corals. And I like the look of it more than anything else.
Yea I like the look too. I think it’s a pretty cool idea. Almost like when an artist will paint a picture on 2-4 canvases that are hung kind of close to show the whole picture.
 

Lowlandreef

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
May 11, 2020
Messages
245
Reaction score
430
Location
The Netherlands
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I just finished reading the whole thread, and I realize I'm a little late to the party. Awesome setup, one of the best I've seen so far!

I was wondering how you manage all your water parameters.
You use a skimmer, refugium and calcium reactor and dose 4 trace elements. Is that all, or do you do water changes & additional dosing?
 
OP
OP
Takaki1980

Takaki1980

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 3, 2020
Messages
188
Reaction score
1,397
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I just finished reading the whole thread, and I realize I'm a little late to the party. Awesome setup, one of the best I've seen so far!

I was wondering how you manage all your water parameters.
You use a skimmer, refugium and calcium reactor and dose 4 trace elements. Is that all, or do you do water changes & additional dosing?
I usually test the water quality with a Red Sea hobby kit.I test for alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, No3 and Po4 every week or two.I don't test for trace elements, so I recently sent it in for an ICP water quality test.The results will be back soon.

66DD283B-0531-4DDF-9A41-09CAD9F4ED14.jpeg


Water changes are done roughly every two weeks, with 20% to 25% of the total water volume being replaced with RO/DI made seawater.I think this should be done a little more frequently and the amount should be reduced. Alkalinity, calcium and magnesium are retained in the calcium reactor while the trace elements are supplemented with dosing.Nutrients seem to be removed by refugium.Water changes are done for the purpose of balancing the ions.

I also add bacteria occasionally to enrich the biological layer.l add coral food every day. In the future, I may add nitrogen systems as well, because the nutrients are a little too low.
 

marcwjj

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 22, 2020
Messages
104
Reaction score
154
Location
California
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Nice setup! I notice that you had algae initially and they went away, did you do any treatment ? I’m currently facing a similar issue with a 2 month old tank.
 

Robertellis30

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 2, 2019
Messages
546
Reaction score
497
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Curious what your flow schedule is for your Nero 5? I’ve been thinking about getting a pair to go along with my reefwave 25
 
OP
OP
Takaki1980

Takaki1980

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 3, 2020
Messages
188
Reaction score
1,397
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Nice setup! I notice that you had algae initially and they went away, did you do any treatment ? I’m currently facing a similar issue with a 2 month old tank.
I added hermit crabs, shells and emerald green crabs, but I'm not sure if it was a big success.

The best effect of long green slimy algae is to complete the water quality.It can be annoying when you first set up the tank, but I think time will tell as the bacteria grow and the water quality stabilizes.

In the beginning, I used to pick them back up by hand every time I changed the water, but they would soon return to being green and I felt like I was wasting my time.But after the water quality stabilized, the amount of green algae decreased little by little and I hardly see it now.
 
OP
OP
Takaki1980

Takaki1980

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 3, 2020
Messages
188
Reaction score
1,397
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Curious what your flow schedule is for your Nero 5? I’ve been thinking about getting a pair to go along with my reefwave 25
Water flow is my problem now!
Some seniors say that flow is the most important thing for SPS, while others say that a little flow is enough. Personally, I prefer a strong, big flow with random and full polyps swinging all over the place.But what's that?It's hard!I have no idea!

For now, this is the current setup.
I'm not sure if this is a good result or not. It is set up facing both sides of the tank and slightly above the surface of the water.I aim for it to be strong enough not to cause sand to fly. It's set up to be a little weaker at night.

775FE4A9-7878-47FE-9803-1682D5A30B10.png

C955B510-63D6-4B05-98AF-EFB3B4323273.png

If you know of a schedule that you'd rather recommend, please let me know.
 
Back
Top