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January 2005 - Tank of the Month
Connie Perkins
Check out the PowerPoint presentation on
Connie'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: Connie Perkins
Location: West Jordan
Occupation: Medical Office Manager / Mom – this one is my favorite
job
How long have you been in the hobby? 5 years
How long have you been a member of the club? 1 year
How did you hear about the WMAS? Looking for club in my area started
looking on the web.
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: 120
Dimensions: 48 x 24 x 24
Age: (how long has the system been running) 10 months / I had a 45
gallon for three year and transferred it to the new system.
3) Describe your lighting system, including your photo-period. Add
what you would change if you could.
I run 3 250 10K bulbs for 12 hour every day. They come on at 9 am go
off at 9 pm. I have two Blue lines on the outer sides and a whiter
bulb in the middle. My refugium is running RD for 12 hours a day. I
also run a moon light for 12 hours.
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.
My sand bed is 6 inches deep both in the display and the ref/sump I
have 150 lbs of live rock and 5 different macros in the ref. I have
10 lbs of live rock in my sump for extra filtration. I also run a
fiber mesh 24/7 which is changed weekly. My ref/sump has its own
clean up crew of 25 hermits, 1 sand sifting star, 25 snails, and one
crab with only half its legs.. Keep reading, I explain this later.
My main tank clean up crew consists of 5 cucumbers, 5 stars, 75
hermits, 100 snails, 2 cleaner shrimp, 1 coral banned shrimp, and a
fire shrimp. I have a DIY spray bar for my return which is powered
by a Iwaki 40 RLXT which has a return rate of 1400 gallons per hour.
Three 1200 maxi-jets which are hidden in the rock that run off a
Tsunami wave timer to change the current every 15 mins. I run my
skimmer 24/7.
5) What are your maintenance techniques? Include water change
schedule.
I run carbon 24/7 (for smell) I use filter floss 24/7 which is
changed weekly, I only do a water change every two to three months.
I run an auto top off and use only R/O water.
6) What additives do you use? Kalkwasser, Strontium, Molybdenum,
Iodine, Magnesium, Other
I dose 5 oz of B-ionic 3 to 4 times per week. I really need a
reactor.
7) Describe your feeding philosophy. Include your schedule, and what
you prefer to feed your system?
My fish only get fed if they take the food from my hands. The reason
for this is when I am at the tank the fish are all out and at
attention. None of them hide. I can also pet almost all of my fish
even when I am not feeding. It makes them more of a pet then just
something to watch swim. I make my own mix which contains: Blood
worms, brine, squid, clams, silver sides, mysis, Cyclopeez, seaweed,
and garlic extreme. I feed everyday but Sunday and only once per
day. 2 to 3 times per week I feed 3 diff sizes of golden pearls,
phytoplankton and feed my tangs fresh food from the ref 4 times per
week.
8) DIY ie, Calcium reactor, stand / hood, skimmer, sump, ect. Any
Do-it-yourself items of interest? Web-sites that you may have
referenced?
I did do all my own plumping under the tank from the overflow and
made my spray bar. My light bracket was made by a friend. My stand I
made but am embarrassed to admit it. Some things are better left to
a pro. It was a quick fix just to cover the front. It has a pull
away front so I can access the entire set up within seconds. Eric @
Marine Aquatics is going to redo wood work after the holidays.
9) Stand and Canopy
Wood: Oak
Color: Oak
Special Characteristics: I bought my tank from Ryan Wilden off the
board.
10) Interest: Favorite or unusual Fish, coral, or invertebrate
Favorite Fish: Purple tang He hated me when I first got him. It took
two weeks for him to even come out when I was by the tank but now he
comes up just to get a daily rub down from me..
Favorite Coral: Small frag I got from Danny Luek. It is not much now
but in a year it will be a show piece. Members or fellow fish geeks
seem to like my purple tri-color. For those not in the hobby
everyone seems to have a favorite and it is very seldom the same
one. Its fun to see how everyone can find beauty in something
different especially when they don’t know the price.
Favorite Polyps: The ones I got from Jason (reptoreef). They are
stunning.
Favorite Sponge: Red ball, it is growing not shrinking as everyone
said it would.
Favorite Crab: I have a little guy in my sump that I did not want in
my main tank. I pulled off all but one leg from one side trying to
get him out of the main tank and he still manages to get around.. I
respect him for that, so he is my favorite..
Favorite Worm: Tube, I have has him for over 3 years. He has only
eaten two purple fire fish in that time. Not bad….
Favorite Clam: I have 6 and really like them all.
11) Can you include a table showing your elemental levels of Ca+,
alkalinity, S.G., temperature, pH and other interesting testables?
I do not run a heater or a chiller. Since my top is open, my tank
stays at 78 pretty much year round.
Side note: I really do not know a whole lot about the chemistry of
this whole thing. I only know what the test kits say it supposed to
be and how it fix it if my levels are not right on. I really think
you take the fun out of things by over analyzing them. Besides, I
have JFinch for that. I must say that the members of this board are
the reason for the success of my tank. I have had more people
willing to come to my house and spend hours trying to teach me how &
why thing work. You really could not ask for a great bunch of
people. I am really proud to say I am a member of this fish geek
club.
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?
I keep my system heavily stocked with fish and skim excessively to
ensure they do not overload my system. I like a lot of movement thus
a lot of fish. My list includes:
1 Purple Tang 1 Kole Tang
1 Hawk Fish 1 Coral Beauty
1 Cortez Angle 1 Bangii Cardinal
1 Royal Gramma 1 Purple Pseudo Chromis
5 Reef Chromis 5 Bartlett Anthias
2 Oc Clowns 1 Orange Spotted Blenny
I think I might also have a barnacle blenny but have not seen him
much. He could have become food…
I did nothing the way I was supposed to. I started with a 45 gallon
that was not drilled and got my first piece of live rock form the
boys at the Aquarium. Matt got me a piece that had a small ( very
small ) coral on it and that was it. I did not do all my rock work
first. I added it all as I went also. I would buy a few corals and a
few pieces of rock at the same time. After time I had a 45 gallon
that could not fit one more piece, I added a 35 gallon tank to the
closet and ordered 75 lbs from the Florida keys. Then I put up my
120. I already had all the rock ready to go. I had no cycle period
at all.
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