Quote:
Originally Posted by sleepydsm
Cool tank, Matt. Is it a huge bitch to keep that salt water tank going?
|
I have it very automated, a computer controller runs the heater, lights and all the pumps. A line runs right to the tank from a reverse osmosis/deionize water filter that turns on for about a half hour a day to top off the water (evaporation). Digital light timers operate two peristaltic dosing pumps to add calcium and an alkalinity solution to the tank on a daily basis to aid in coral health.
This is the madness in the stand that you don't see normally. The middle section is a refugium, an area for small critters (little bug-like things called copepods) to grow without being wiped out by the fish. It is filled with a little sand, some rock rubble and an algae called chaetomorpha. These "bugs" eventually make their way to the main tank and are a natural food source. On the left is a GFO (granular ferric oxide) and carbon reactor which I have since removed, I was running it to help clean up some nuisance algae.
Cleaning the glass, changing 10-20 gallons of water every 1-2 months, and feeding the tank every day or two are the only manual tasks I deal with. Granted it took me a year (and some money) to get this far, but I don't test the water nearly as much as I used to because it's very stable now. I could leave the house for a week and not worry.
Threaded Mode