We all need inspiration for what we do in life and the same goes for our hobbies. What I am about to show you is a system that I am trying to model off of. The tank belongs to a hobbyist in Michigan that owns a very nice reef. His name is SonnyHarajly.
One huge part of keeping an aquarium is to keep it aesthetically pleasing to the eye. You want is so when people see your system for the first time they are blown away. It really takes away from it if it is dirty in any way. The best way to combat this problem is in incorporate a CUC, also know as "clean up crew". A CUC would be a battery of different invertebrates that would constantly scavenge for food in your aquarium by picking, sifting, and sucking on every surface of you tank. A few good choices would include hermit crabs, sand sifting and surface snails, crabs, shrimp, and sea stars.
This "crew" of invertebrates is a great way to keep up on your cleaning maintenance. Although you will still need to maintain there population due to some die off. In a small aquarium say around 60-100 gallons, you would have over 150 mixed matched species of invertebrates. They would die usually because of such issues as competition between them and unstable water conditions. You would usually expect to replace around 30% of the population every eight months.
This is a large topic that I will be covering in another post.
AmazingReef, How tranquil! Had a beautiful fish tank don't remember how many gallons. Bought a fish that was supposed to keep the fish tank clean by eating the algea. Instead the thing ate all of my beauties. I was not happy. After that the interest in the tank just sank. Are you making these for interested buyers or know anyone who may be?
Thank you, I do not do this as a source of income, merely a hobby and to help others with their reef tanks.
The fish you describe sounds like a plecostomus. They are commonly used in fresh water systems to help keep up with cleaning maintenance.
I have had that species in the past and I can tell you that they will eat most things that will fit in their mouth. The one that I had grew up to 15" in length before it went to another home.
My brother had a nice set up and one thing that happened to it is that would flood when the power went off and came back on, what's one way to fix this?
A great way of fixing this problem is when initially setting up the system. It sounds like he used a siphon overflow box to connect the main display and the sump. When there is a break in the siphon line( power loss), it needs to be properly plumbed so it does not break the siphon.
This method of transferring water from tank to tank works, but is not reliable. It could also fail if excess algae, or a snail could clog the pipe. A drilled tank would be the best design in my opinion. They are less likely to fail because they do not rely on a siphon.
Steve,
ReplyDeleteI had a 10 gallon fish tank before... they are not easy to clean, that's for sure! What are the secrets to keep it clean? :-)
One huge part of keeping an aquarium is to keep it aesthetically pleasing to the eye. You want is so when people see your system for the first time they are blown away. It really takes away from it if it is dirty in any way. The best way to combat this problem is in incorporate a CUC, also know as "clean up crew". A CUC would be a battery of different invertebrates that would constantly scavenge for food in your aquarium by picking, sifting, and sucking on every surface of you tank. A few good choices would include hermit crabs, sand sifting and surface snails, crabs, shrimp, and sea stars.
ReplyDeleteThis "crew" of invertebrates is a great way to keep up on your cleaning maintenance. Although you will still need to maintain there population due to some die off. In a small aquarium say around 60-100 gallons, you would have over 150 mixed matched species of invertebrates. They would die usually because of such issues as competition between them and unstable water conditions. You would usually expect to replace around 30% of the population every eight months.
This is a large topic that I will be covering in another post.
Hope this helps Lauren!
AmazingReef,
ReplyDeleteHow tranquil! Had a beautiful fish tank don't remember how many gallons. Bought a fish that was supposed to keep the fish tank clean by eating the algea. Instead the thing ate all of my beauties. I was not happy. After that the interest in the tank just sank. Are you making these for interested buyers or know anyone who may be?
Thank you, I do not do this as a source of income, merely a hobby and to help others with their reef tanks.
ReplyDeleteThe fish you describe sounds like a plecostomus. They are commonly used in fresh water systems to help keep up with cleaning maintenance.
I have had that species in the past and I can tell you that they will eat most things that will fit in their mouth. The one that I had grew up to 15" in length before it went to another home.
My brother had a nice set up and one thing that happened to it is that would flood when the power went off and came back on, what's one way to fix this?
ReplyDeleteA great way of fixing this problem is when initially setting up the system. It sounds like he used a siphon overflow box to connect the main display and the sump. When there is a break in the siphon line( power loss), it needs to be properly plumbed so it does not break the siphon.
ReplyDeleteThis method of transferring water from tank to tank works, but is not reliable. It could also fail if excess algae, or a snail could clog the pipe. A drilled tank would be the best design in my opinion. They are less likely to fail because they do not rely on a siphon.
Hope this helps!