Angel-luvver's setup

[angel-luver!]

heya everyone! just thought id mention my (now old) tank on here.

this started off as an experiment.. turned out to be very worthwhile and very rewarding!
i dont have the tank running anymore as am moving house, but am looking to starting up a similar one after i move.

i basically wanted to set up the tank to preserve as much of the little creatures and various planktonic animals as possible, but also to still keep successfully corals and fish etc. the tank was first run with ur normal filtration as per standard marine tanks, i had a variety of fish and couple corals. i started by re-homing the live stock as did not want to harm anything. i went through various different ideas after discussing with various people... i basically needed a way of circulating water without using any kind of pump with a impeller that could damage things in the water. i set up several air-lift tubes dotted about the tank behing rocks.. down each tube i had airline running blowing bubbles in. the bubbles then created a current sucking water from the bottom of the tank and pushing it out the top of tube at top of tank. set up 5 of these spaced out. the water turn over wasnt great but was ample enough. with a little fiddling i managed to reduce the fine bubbles to a minimum.

this along with 2 55watt t5s above the tank completed the set up.
the tank at this time contained live rock, deep sand bed mixed with mineral muds, and different algaes growing about like caulerpas.

well after going for a while the life that began to appear was amazing! i cudnt even find identification of several of the various worms and other bugs that appeared. after a while i also ended up with a colony of small jellyfish pulsing about, the current wasnt too strong for them to fight against and even if they got caught in the uplift tubes there was no damage caused.
i slowly experimented with soft corals, they all did very well then i moved onto some easier hard corals like trachys etc, again all did very well, after the tank was going for almost year i added more delicate things. the fish also did very well. clowns/cardinals/dottybacks. with the set up like this along with all the interesting animals that appeared from the rock, i also witnessed my sun coral spawning, a fromia starfish spawned, both clowns and dottybacks bred also. i also tried (but failed) to keep a small bubbletip anemone, the reason for fail i put down to flow. i added a couple of circulation pumps (1x korallia and 1x tunze) to move the water around. unfortunatly i lost allot of the interesting animals after this but the flow allowed me to keep succesfully sps and anemones. i upgraded the light to 150w halide, and the light along with the 2 circulation pumps were the only mechanical parts to my tank. everything else was filtered naturally by rock, sand and algaes. water always tested out perfect despite no waterchanges or skimmers or filters. only dose and top up evaporation.

anyways.... sorry for the ramble.. wud like to hear peoples comments if interested and views.... and now for the pictures!!!!!!!!!!

[angel-luver!]

this is the tank a few weeks after setting up, when it had all the standard filtration.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/HPIM2674_1.jpg

[angel-luver!]

and this is it a few years on, being run just on 2 circulation pumps. it will prob look a bit messy to some of u but i hate my tanks looking neat lol
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/birthday 117.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/birthday 116.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/birthday 054.jpg

[angel-luver!]

few closer pics :D
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/birthday 082.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/birthday 049.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/birthday 085.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/birthday 115.jpg

[Sherminator]

Looking good!

:)

[Andy]

oooh this is what you were talking about

well tbh the algae took over the filtration so essentially it was a very self sufficient tank

kudos

[angel-luver!]

well tbh the algae took over the filtration so essentially it was a very self sufficient tank

cheapest phos and nitrate reducter i know off :D

[gedsta]

and this is it a few years on, being run just on 2 circulation pumps. it will prob look a bit messy to some of u but i hate my tanks looking neat lol




Even if you think it looks messy, it certainly looks natural. Well done!

I leave my algae where it is apart from the front glass. Food and of course natural for the inhabitants.

[angel-luver!]

more pics!! :D ive taken god knows how many over the years.. but pleased i did!
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/birthday 060.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/HPIM3448.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/HPIM3470.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/HPIM3478.jpg

[angel-luver!]

and a couple of little experiments... the acro was very bleached when i had it and the montipora was brown! the monti i had sittin in a dark corner and it still coloured up to this :D
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/HPIM3463.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/HPIM3559.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/james fish 117.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/james fish 133.jpg

[torfrida]

What an interesting tank! Not everyone's cup of tea but so much going on in there and looks more like the real wild world than many tanks, pristine and beautiful though they may be. Different, but I like it.

[angel-luver!]

Even if you think it looks messy, it certainly looks natural. Well done!

I leave my algae where it is apart from the front glass. Food and of course natural for the inhabitants.

What an interesting tank! Not everyone's cup of tea but so much going on in there and looks more like the real wild world than many tanks, pristine and beautiful though they may be. Different, but I like it.

cheers for the comments.. :D have put a lot of thought into it and am very proud to have done it! :D just gutted had 2 shut it down after it been going for so long :(

[jennybugs]

James that was one beautiful tank! I love tanks that look natural and that really did look like a proper 'slice of the ocean'!

Hope you get round to trying again when you've settled :D

[angel-luver!]

James that was one beautiful tank! I love tanks that look natural and that really did look like a proper 'slice of the ocean'!

Hope you get round to trying again when you've settled

i absolutly loved this tank! but was for the best shutting it down coz wudda been even more upset if i lost half the stuff during moving etc. ill deffo be setting up another one after moving to brighton (i hope the landlord knows how many tanks are gonna end up in the house haha) might set up a lil one just using airline again. oh and i still wanna set up my shallow shoreline with anemones lol.

[angel-luver!]

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/aug pics camera 006.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/birthday 073.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/birthday 109.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/HPIM3479.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/james birthday sarah baby 131.jpg

[marinenoob87]

i like this set-up, diff to wat u usually c on here.

[angel-luver!]

i like this set-up, diff to wat u usually c on here.

i like being different :D

[aqua56]

Brilliant tank!

[angel-luver!]

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/james fish 129.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/james fish 124.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/james fish 114.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/james fish 103.jpg

[angel-luver!]

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/birthday 051.jpg

[Andy]

more i see this more i like it, real shame you shut it down!

[angel-luver!]

more i see this more i like it, real shame you shut it down!

i know! its making me depressed looking at the pics lol but wanted to see what people thought of it. and do think it was a personal accomplishment too, even if its been done b4 million times.

[jennybugs]

Just keep focussed on what's to come James ;) you'll have the opportunity to do it all again soon :D

[angel-luver!]

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/aug pics camera 030.jpg

[angel-luver!]

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/aug pics camera 043.jpg

[Orca_Nano]

It must of been ared for you to break that mate! :(

Looks so natural and peaceful, you did a great job!

[angel-luver!]

It must of been ared for you to break that mate!

Looks so natural and peaceful, you did a great job!

cheers :D will be settin another up after the move (along with 10 more haha) i think im just gonna do away with furniture in my new home and have tanks instead!!

[mr-jimbo]

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/birthday%20054.jpg

My kinda tank "Untouched" Looks Brilliant:wub:

Jim

[angel-luver!]

My kinda tank "Untouched" Looks Brilliant

Jim
Reply With Quote

thats what i liked about it too.. kinda just let stuff grow where it wanted too (though did get a couple fights between corals as they grew into eachother!, but thats nature), like corals to look like they were ''meant'' to be there, not just placed there.

[jennybugs]

Hope my two tanks mature as beautifully as this one did James! If they look half as natural one day then I will be happy :D

[Andy]

i cant believe you told me you were too shy to post this up, i was expected the worst

you should get something similar setup

reminds me of the natural tanks of the 80s

[angel-luver!]

i cant believe you told me you were too shy to post this up, i was expected the worst

i kno, i just had to think of everything that could go wrong lol. and i know how easily u can get battered on here lol but then i thought everythings happy and has been long time.. what the hell! what could anyone possibly say thats wrong with it hehe

[angel-luver!]

reminds me of the natural tanks of the 80s

it still works :D

[angel-luver!]

took me ages to find these pics.. but pleased i did! these are my percs spawning! the mushrooms didnt like it very much!

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/fish 004_2.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/fish 005_2.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/fish 008_1.jpg

[angel-luver!]

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/aug pics camera 045.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/birthday 062.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/birthday 065.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/birthday 077.jpg

[angel-luver!]

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/birthday 105.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/birthday 110.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/birthday 119.jpg

[angel-luver!]

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/james fish 130.jpg

[angel-luver!]

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/james fish 128.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/james fish 120.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/james fish 115.jpg

[Andy]

no point living in the past, set it up again

[angel-luver!]

moving house first. pictures are getting me by for mean time, no sense setting up yet, but deffo gonna do a simiar one along with few other projects.

[angel-luver!]

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/james fish 021.jpg

[caffers0]

Superb tank very, very interesting

[angel-luver!]

Superb tank very, very interesting
Reply With Quote

cheers, slowly getting my nano to look bit more like it, just need more algae growing lol

[angel-luver!]

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/birthday 083.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/birthday 111.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/HPIM3232.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/HPIM3458.jpg

[angel-luver!]

http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/james fish 132.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2009Q3/james fish 066.jpg

[spiderdave]

a very natural looking tank
well done

[seren]

Just had a quick look at this and it's brilliant really natural will have a good read tomorrow and see if I can pick up a few tips, some really nice corals in there :applause:

[angel-luver!]

thank you! :D..... its mostly pictures tho lol..apart from the essay at the start of it!
but if u do have any questions the go ahead :)

Just had a quick look at this and it's brilliant really natural will have a good read tomorrow and see if I can pick up a few tips, some really nice corals in there :applause:

[seren]

thank you! :D..... its mostly pictures tho lol..apart from the essay at the start of it!
but if u do have any questions the go ahead :)


I will be asking :laugh: simular lighting to mine and my corals are doing OK but would like to try some hard corals later, but as i said before yours looks really natural and lots growing so it proves you don't need a LOt of light.

[angel-luver!]

yeh believe the water plays a much more important role than many realise. not that lighting isnt important tho also. :)

[hello]

very impressive.

[angel-luver!]

cheers. :D

very impressive.

[jankio]

just stumbled accross this by accident and i absolutly love it! Some of the tanks on here are amazing but for me you have captured a very realistic alsmost lagoon/rockpool enviroment. Pitty it isn't running any longer! Well done all the same great acheivement

[angel-luver!]

just stumbled accross this by accident and i absolutly love it! Some of the tanks on here are amazing but for me you have captured a very realistic alsmost lagoon/rockpool enviroment. Pitty it isn't running any longer! Well done all the same great acheivement

cheers, i kinda just let everything grow where and how it wanted, just occasionally cropping the macro-algae back as it started taking over.:)

[HarlequinTusk]

So this tank wasn't filtered?

Thats amazing!
Couldn't have anything like that with the amount of fish we have :rolleyes:

[angel-luver!]

So this tank wasn't filtered?

Thats amazing!
Couldn't have anything like that with the amount of fish we have :rolleyes:

yeh tank was not filtered by mechanical means (i.e external/sump/skimmer) just circulated by pumps. filtration was done by rocks/algae.

the stock list for my tank was as follows.. (the tank was 240l)

2x perc clownfish,
4x pj cardinals,
2x orchid dottybacks,
2x bartlett anthias,
1x rusty angelfish,
2x mandarins,
1x spikefin goby (though they are tiny),
1x cleaner wrasse.
plus countless corals and other inverts.

think there were a few more but cant remember now :)

[billijaywest]

looks amazing

[angel-luver!]

looks amazing


thank you.:D

[Andy]

when I spoke to you in amwell you were so shy about this tank, I dont know why the hell???!

I recon if you had kept this going it would have been amazing, the gonis alone are a testament to the sucess. shame really..

[angel-luver!]

when I spoke to you in amwell you were so shy about this tank, I dont know why the hell???!

I recon if you had kept this going it would have been amazing, the gonis alone are a testament to the sucess. shame really..

i kno i kno. it is a real shame, i wasnt going to shut down initially but was supposed to be moving at the the time but it fell through, unfortunatly id already shut down the tank. bloody people is all i can say!
i was planning on doing same with my tank i have at the moment, but then i started snorkling lots in the seas here and looking at my tank dont really compare with watching things in the wild. so im in two minds at the moment.
:confused:

[Andy]

oh mate, im going to start again also.

im off to phuket to do some snorkeling there for some inspiration :)

really i would setup something like this again, i see far to much pretty reefs, lovely to see something that looks so old school work ;)

[angel-luver!]

oh mate, im going to start again also.

im off to phuket to do some snorkeling there for some inspiration :)

really i would setup something like this again, i see far to much pretty reefs, lovely to see something that looks so old school work ;)

ive still yet to do snorkling somewhere tropical, just tried different spots around brighton when the water is clear. saw lots flatfish, swam in shoals of small fish (not sure what they were) saw some bream in slightly deeper water. also seen rays too. amazing to watch. hundreds of hermits scurrying around on the open sandy areas, and a few wrasse.
nothing quiet as colourfull as tropical seas but equally as interesting.
ive been all round cornwall this week, tried some spots there but currents much stronger and difficult to swim against while i was there.

ill have a think and maybe setup a similar tank... maybe with just cultivated things.