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August Tank of the Month
Jim Vanderwel
Check out the PowerPoint presentation on Jim's tank by clicking
here!
1) Your name, location and occupation. Include how long you have been
an aquarist, how long you have been a WMAS member and how you heard of
our club.
Name: Jim
Vanderwel
Location: Lindon
Occupation: RV Sales
How long have you been in the hobby? 8 months (reef)
How long have you been a member of the club? 7 months
How did you hear about the WMAS? Son-in-Law, Jon Finch
2) Describe your
tank. Acrylic or glass? Size in dimensions and gallons. How long has it
been set up?
Acrylic / Glass:
Glass
Size in gallons: 72 gallon Bowfront
Age (how long has the system been running): 8 months
3) Describe your
lighting system, including your photo-period. Add what you would change
if you could.
2 x 250 watt MH with
SE 10K Ushio bulbs
2 x 110 watt VHO URI actinics
Actinics come on at noon and off at midnight
Halides come on at 2 pm and off at 10 pm
Complete lighting system is DIY using Advance M58 MH ballasts and
Fulham Workhorse 7 VHO ballast. Reflector DIY (material from
Advanced Lighting). Canopy includes two fans for cooling.
4) Describe your
filtration system. Include: How deep is your sand bed, plenum, your
skimmer size and model and how long you run it, your circulation pumps
(how many and their size in gallons per hour), your sump/refugium
including Reverse Daylight, biowheels and skilters, HOT systems, clean
up crew.
The tank contains
approx. 65 lbs of Tongan live rock with a 3 inch Caribsea sand bed.
The sump is (DIY) acrylic. Custom Mazzei injector skimmer built by
Jon Finch operates full time and is powered by a Mag 12. Circulation
is provided by a Mag 18. Refugium is approximately 10 gallons and
contains Caulerpa racemosa on the same time cycle as the actinics.
And of course various crabs and snails.
5) What are your
maintenance techniques? Include water change schedule.
5 gallon water
changes are done weekly using Oceanic salt. B-ionic is dosed daily
to maintain calcium and alkalinity. The front glass is cleaned
daily.
6) What additives do
you use?
Lugols Iodine, Mark
Weiss Reef DNA, Thiel’s Liquid Gold trace elements. Chemipure and
activated carbon are kept in the sump filter bag.
7) Describe your
feeding philosophy. Include your schedule, and what you prefer to feed
your system?
Once a day in the
evening. I feed brine shrimp, OSI Flake and Emerald Entrée. Marine
Snow for the filter feeders and raw sand shrimp for the anemones.
8) DIY ie, Calcium
reactor, stand / hood, skimmer, sump, ect. Any Do-it-yourself items of
interest? Web-sites that you may have referenced?
The lighting system,
sump and skimmer are all DIY
9) Stand and Canopy
Wood: Oak
Color: Light Brown
Special Characteristics: Bow tank seems to enhance the view
of the tank inhabitants.
10) Items of
interest: Favorite or unusual Fish, coral, or invertebrate
Favorite Fish:
Flame Angel
Favorite Coral: Alveopora and Goniopora
Favorite Crab: Emerald
11) Can you include a
table showing your elemental levels of Ca+, alkalinity, S.G.,
temperature, pH and other interesting testables?
Calcium: 400
– 450 mg/l
Alkalinity: 2.5 – 3.5 meq/l
PH: 8.2
Temp: 79 – 80°F
SG: 1.026
12) What experiences
and challenges have you had with the tank? Any lessons learned? Is there
anything you do differently than others (or differently than
previously)? If so, why?
Maintaining balanced
calcium and alkalinity has been a good lesson learned. Also DO NOT
overfeed and watch your additives, as too much can create unwanted
problems. Stay on a regular schedule on water changes, skimmer
cleaning, testing and general maintenance. A little extra care goes
a long way.
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