# Tom's "Aquatics Live" Dennerle



## Tom (19 Dec 2011)

Here's what it's become! Dark side. 

I've recently moved my bits over from the P@H cube into here, and added a couple of clowns  It's going through a slight diatom bloom since the move, but if it's anything like the last one it will be gone within the week. Corals are still loose, so I will re-position them when I work out what I want to do. I'd also like some more height, so may probably get another rock or to to slot in the back. Will have to be cured in the old nano, although the quality of rock from the lfs is so good I've not seen a real cycle in 2 setups so far  Made sure it was safe before adding the clowns, don't worry 














Tom


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## Antoni (19 Dec 2011)

That is nice!

I'm tempted to try a marine setup too, but dont have the spare cash yet!

Congrats!


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## Tom (19 Dec 2011)

Thanks  I'm hopefully switching the heater to something a little more stealthy, and the powerheads to a pair of Koralis Nanos after Christmas, so it should look a little neater. Lighting too, I'm hoping to go with a PAR38 LED from marinereefleds, so just one unit and one plug. Then I'll think about making the layout look pretty as it's a bit all over the place at the moment.


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## Ian Holdich (19 Dec 2011)

love it Tom!

Nice bit of scaping as well. Looks really clean and crisp. This is what puts me off about marine...most of the tanks i see get really cruddy really quickly.


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## Tom (19 Dec 2011)

That's my thought too, I like a clean cut finish to a marine scape. I'm not going to let algae/coralline grow on the glass either, I don't like that look. I want a nice clean glass cube


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## George Farmer (19 Dec 2011)

Very nice mate.

I've always fancied going biotope. Just one or two species of coral and tiny critters/fish, all from the same location.

Too many collectoritis reefers out there IMO. Like kids in a sweet shop that can't say no!


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## Tom (19 Dec 2011)

I've been there done that with a FW community, so now it's my collectoritis turn with marine  Learn so much better when you actually try things. Going with the Cliche Clowns too! It's nice cause it's almost a different hobby. Adds some variety when my planted enthusiasm has it's blips. 

We had a reef at college completely dominated by Pulsing Xenia. Looked great to me, with a pair of Clowns and an Algae Blenny. Wish I'd been interested in marines then!


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## George Farmer (19 Dec 2011)

Tom said:
			
		

> I've been there done that with a FW community, so now it's my collectoritis turn with marine  Learn so much better when you actually try things. Going with the Cliche Clowns too! It's nice cause it's almost a different hobby. Adds some variety when my planted enthusiasm has it's blips.
> 
> We had a reef at college completely dominated by Pulsing Xenia. Looked great to me, with a pair of Clowns and an Algae Blenny. Wish I'd been interested in marines then!


Fair enough mate. I assumed you already had plenty of marine experience. Sorry.


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## Tom (19 Dec 2011)

Nah, well I had the Interpet RiverReef I got from PFK for a little while, but I never really liked it and didn't have the money to do it properly at the time.

Marine is no harder FW, it's just re-learning what goes with what, and who eats who. It's a bit like getting a new version of Pokemon... the format is basically the same, but all the creatures are different!


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## Morgan Freeman (19 Dec 2011)

George Farmer said:
			
		

> Very nice mate.
> 
> I've always fancied going biotope. Just one or two species of coral and tiny critters/fish, all from the same location.
> 
> Too many collectoritis reefers out there IMO. Like kids in a sweet shop that can't say no!



I never realised you could create Reef biotopes until the recent series in PFK!


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## Piece-of-fish (24 Dec 2011)

Nice one Tom. I'd like to have a little Marine at home. Funky style 
Planted just take all resources atm. One day I will do it for Sure.
Hei my aquatics live denerrle is a little Malawi reef


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## Tom (24 Dec 2011)

Thanks, yeah I know what you mean about tanks sucking resources!! I still have my 60P sitting empty, several months on. Just like my Mini M was. 

Marine sucks so much more money than planted though, on every level!! I'm hoping to get a few more corals after Christmas though.


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## flygja (28 Dec 2011)

Very pretty! Only live rock and sand bed for filtration?


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## Radik (28 Dec 2011)

Nice I want one small Reef too


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## Tom (5 Feb 2012)

flygja said:
			
		

> Very pretty! Only live rock and sand bed for filtration?



At the time, yes. I now have an Eheim Liberty HOB and a Koralia. The HOB just has floss and RowaPhos in. 



			
				Radik said:
			
		

> Nice I want one small Reef too



You should  They can potentially be done quite cheapy. 

Bit of an update here, didn't realise I hadn't put any pics up. Several more corals in now, along with a Coral Goby and an Angel. I want to move the softie that's currently back-right as it looks odd, but not really sure where to. I may swap it with the Pussey Coral. Actually, yeah that's a plan! Hadn't thought of that till now...


IMG_5418 by tommessengerhoto, on Flickr

CandyCanes

IMG_5382 by tommessengerhoto, on Flickr

Hammer

IMG_5419 by tommessengerhoto, on Flickr

Pectinia

IMG_5384 by tommessengerhoto, on Flickr

Goby

IMG_5566 by tommessengerhoto, on Flickr

Cheeky Pygmy Angel

IMG_5581 by tommessengerhoto, on Flickr

Clown

IMG_5391 by tommessengerhoto, on Flickr

Happily though, the attention has fallen back to the ADA 60P for this month. Should be planting up in a couple of weeks I hope. 

Tom


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## greenjar (5 Feb 2012)

Stunning and Really Really nice pictures Tom!!


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## Gh0st (5 Feb 2012)

that really looks great, i am jealous @ your photographs and your marine setup


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## Tom (6 Feb 2012)

Thanks  It's getting there...


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## NeilW (7 Feb 2012)

Looks amazing. I would love to do something like this but wouldn't know where to start... 

What put me off marine tanks was the 'fruit stall' look, ugly equipment, and coralline algae encrusted glass but this clean look is excellent.


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## Tom (8 Feb 2012)

If you clean the glass fairly regularly, the coralline won't be able to build up. I'm starting to get it growing on my Koralia and filter inlet now, but I quite like the look on equipment. I don't want any on my glass though. Marines can be as simple as you like. In a low stocked small tank, you're fine with just rock and a good powerhead in the tank. My filter is just for running some Rowaphos really. 

To start off, all you need is salt water and some rock. You can build up other bits as you need them.


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## Antoni (8 Feb 2012)

It looks great! 

Did you get the PAR38 LED? What are your observations on it?


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## Tom (8 Feb 2012)

I haven't got one yet - I still can't get my head around £80 for a lightbulb, but I would still like one.


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## Ian Holdich (8 Feb 2012)

looks great Tom, as said before it's great to see a clean Marine. Great photography as well.


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## Antoni (8 Feb 2012)

Wow, it is pricey bulb, but looks nice! 
36 Watts delivered from Cree LEDs, that must be a great light!


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## NeilW (8 Feb 2012)

Tom said:
			
		

> Marines can be as simple as you like. In a low stocked small tank, you're fine with just rock and a good powerhead in the tank. My filter is just for running some Rowaphos really.
> 
> To start off, all you need is salt water and some rock. You can build up other bits as you need them.



This sounds very tempting indeed. So in theory the rock and sand is the filtration media and the powerhead is the pump. I didn't know that the rock had that much filtration capability by itself.

Does that mean I could start off with an ADA cube, a Koralia, a heater and some LED lighting for hardware?!

Wouldn't have a clue what to stock it with   

Keep up the good work


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## Ian Holdich (8 Feb 2012)

this is were i have always been confused about SW tanks. Some say to use external filtration and others say just use live rock and powerheads??


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## Tom (8 Feb 2012)

NeilW said:
			
		

> This sounds very tempting indeed. So in theory the rock and sand is the filtration media and the powerhead is the pump. I didn't know that the rock had that much filtration capability by itself.
> 
> Does that mean I could start off with an ADA cube, a Koralia, a heater and some LED lighting for hardware?!
> 
> ...



Yep you can. There are different types of rock you can use. The best ones are very porous with holes all over, rather than a solid slab of stone. They work like any filter in terms of nitrification, but also perform denitrification further in where there is no oxygen. Over time it builds up to be very efficient filtration. You need to get as much flow around the rock as possible, even underneath if you can. The better distributed your flow, the more efficient the filtration. Provided you have decent rock, I can't see any need for other external filtration other than for some fine floss and PO4 control.


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## hinch (8 Feb 2012)

heavily stocked sw tanks need external filtration but the "nano" way of doing things works fine on smaller tanks providing you get a nice deep sand base and the right rock with good flow same principal can be used in freshwater tanks too but its not as "easy"


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## Ian Holdich (8 Feb 2012)

so, how long does it take to cycle then Tom?


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## Tom (8 Feb 2012)

hinch said:
			
		

> heavily stocked sw tanks need external filtration but the "nano" way of doing things works fine on smaller tanks providing you get a nice deep sand base and the right rock with good flow same principal can be used in freshwater tanks too but its not as "easy"



Yep, true. 

Cycling depends completely on the quality of your rock, how long it was out of water for transport etc etc. In the two marine tanks I've done recently, I've not detected a cycle and been able to stock lightly straight away. You usually get a certain amount of 'die-off' when setting up a new tank, as organisms die in the rock and create ammonia. I didn't notice this when testing though, and have not had any issues with stock. I had the usual diatoms about 3 weeks into setup, but went after a week. I then started Rowaphos when the green algae appeared, and it works wonders.


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## Tom (24 Feb 2012)

Latest shots of today, sorry for all the wires  - spent a while removing all the green spot algae! For some reason diatoms have made a comeback too. My yellow goby has disappeared, so maybe that has something to do with it :/


IMG_5798 by tommessengerhoto, on Flickr


IMG_5802 by tommessengerhoto, on Flickr


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## NeilW (27 Feb 2012)

So nice, i would love a set up like that. The 'weirdness' of marines is what makes it appealing for me, you could spend hours just looking at everything nose to the glass.


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## George Farmer (27 Feb 2012)

That's a lovely nano reef.  Not many that nice around.  Well done mate.


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## andyh (28 Feb 2012)

Looking stunning dude!

Makes me wanna cross back to the dark side!

Andy


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## Tom (28 Feb 2012)

Wow, thanks for the comments  Andy you know you want to... just a little one!


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## Antipofish (28 Feb 2012)

Tom, thats a pretty bl**dy awesome nano reef I must say !  Yellow gobies can be finnicky feeders, was yours eating ok ?  Often they need an established aquarium of at least 6 months.  That said you have some fine rock and corals etc in there so i would have though he might have been ok.  Definitely dont ever get a blue cheeked goby.  All they ever do is wither away and die unless you are very lucky.  I LOVE the look of that though.  Damn you ! lol.  Now I got the thought "hmm marine nano..." going on in my head.  And I already have too many other ideas.


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## Kristoph91 (7 Apr 2012)

That is BRILLIANT Tom.
Now I want one  Crap.

Very clean, I like that look.. You make it look easy! 
How much does it cost you to run, do you mind me asking?
Nice HOB too.

Where do you get your marine stuff from?
Obviously not Kesgrave or Viking!

Kris


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## Tom (7 Apr 2012)

Thanks Kris  It looks a bit different now that I have added the extra rock to increase the space and height, and it needs some time to colour up. 

Running cost-wise, I don't have a clue about electricity. I'm now just running 22w of light, a HOB filter, heater and a Koralia. Feed-wise, I've been using the PFK free sample for a while!! Other than that, I have the Tetra XS granules. I don't dose any supplements. Water costs about £3-6 per month, and £12 of salt every 3 months or so. 

I use Rats, Cats and Elephants in Capel St. Mary for salt, water, food and AquaEl lighting. The rest is t'internet. The filter was from John Allan wholesalers as I have a trade account for my setup/maintenance work.


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## Kristoph91 (14 Apr 2012)

You're welcome Tom. 
That's interesting!  I still have to go there, its crap not having a car! That's really not that expensive at all, free samples FTW   Oh so you got a discount on it then? That's handy  want to grab me one 
I'm mad for one of these now. All your fault LOL! 
Really looks great though.

Kris


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## Tom (14 Apr 2012)

I can see if they've got one for you, but they were very low on stock when I went and didn't have any plans to order any more as they don't sell. Your best bet might be from a company based in Germany that has a UK shop. Can never remember the name, so that's not very helpful!!


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## Kristoph91 (14 Apr 2012)

That would be nice of you Tom, thanks. If they don't have any its okay  haha at least you thought about it !
I've just PM'd you by the way with a bit of a query 

Kris


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