Fernando's fun topics

Marine Aquaria

Amphiprion Ocellaris

The current tank is a 10 gallon hex tank that has been up and running since summer of 1991. It began life in Philadelphia and was moved to its current home in Baltimore in December 1991. The tank is a "Berlin style" microreef with filtration provided by 20 lbs of live rock and a homemade protein skimmer.

The reef is contained in a 10 gallon hex tank with about 20 lbs of rock. A four gallon sump is underneath the tank. I guestimate that the total volume of water in the system is very close to 10 gallons. Light comes from two 9 watt actinic and two 13 watt daylight bulbs, 44 watts total. (I'd like more light.). Water is circulated by a 20RLT IWAKI pump that is nominally rated at 420 gallons per hour. The water is delivered at the bottom and directed around the tank through a sawed off siphon tube. The high rate of water flow causes a gentle current to swirl in the tank. In addition we have a 36" high and 4" wide protein skimmer made from PVC pipe and a bag of activated charcol filter in the sump. NH3, NO2 and NO3 are not measurable. pH=8.2, Ca = 400ppm, T=78F. These values have stayed rock solid for two years except for temperature. The tank is lightly loaded.

The current population

1 clown fish (amphiprion ocellaris)
1 bubble anemone, red foot, (Heteractis sp. ?, approximately 6 inches across)
5 blue mushroom anemones (started from 1 specimen)
7 bright orange mushroom ( started from 1 specimen)
1 blue-green mushroom (hasn't reproduced in 3 years!)
1 colony yellow anemones (Parazoanthus axinellae, slowly dying off)
1 colony "dayglow" green corals with 8 tentacles (nearly expired!)

Generally, everyone recommends that you not mix big anemones with corals in a small tank because the anemones like to wander and damage other inverts. I was, however able to coax Heteracis to settle down to a stable state with his body projecting into the strong current and facing up, rather than climbing up the wall of rocks. It has not moved in 2 1/2 years! My main concern is that it is shedding nematocysts and slowly killing the more delicate inverts.

Recent goings on

I never cease to be amazed at the new life that appears in the tank. Most recently a population of some kind of Halimeda has established itself on one of the rocks. I've never seen it in the tank before. It grows slowly and produces chains of small green plates which are very delicate.