shugaskull
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Nice to meet all of you, my name is Gabriel. Currently I am running a 55gal reef tank with a 10gal refugium. It is chem free and strong, though be it vicious, ecosystem. Using natural siphons to move the water threw live rock for filtration. Over 3-4 inches of sand in both tanks also give the aerobic and anaerobic basis of life room to flourish and filter as well. There are several different species of algae and plants in the refugium to assist in the processing of waist. Of course the clean up crew of hermit crabs and snails are a must. Unfortunately shrimp get eaten to quickly to have them though. A very veracious green brittle star lets me know what I can and can't have. It has been a very expensive learning curve. The more expensive the fish the more he wants to eat it. So I have 5 Damsel fish and a Tomato Clown that ironically enough is the green brittle stars best friend. The two of them are next to each other all the time. I keep expecting to wake up one day and see a clown fish sized bulge in the star but they have been together for months. A hand full of other baby brittle stars have been spotted and a blue sea star, that have all hitched rides on live rocks. My list of corals is in question right now unfortunately because a resent outbreak of fireworms are consuming them, but "say la vie". The tank goes threw shifts and I am looking into what creatures can be introduced to eat them (because traps don't seem to work), that can also survive alongside the great green terror of the sea. Even though the tank always seems to be balancing its self in some way I truly enjoy it. Still I wish all of my polyps and other corals had not become dinner. That is the tricky part about not using chems, it takes time for problems to right them self and there is some sacrifices that must be made to the gods. "Say la morte'' corals can be reintroduced, once the problem is fixed. So that's my tank. As far as myself, I am a tattoo artist that loves to paint. Who owns tons of different species of animals. Also, with the help of my ole man, is turning a quarter of an acre of land into a sustainable farm. We will be building a aquaponic green house soon for catfish and crayfish to feed the plants, via the plants filtering the water for the fish. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it.