UPDATE !!!

Hi there Everybody

After an extended absence things are finally starting to settle down again.

I have a new system up and running and feeling pretty good about life.

I will post some pics and updates shortly.

Happy Reefing.

Hilton

DOWNSCALE !!!

I have not been able to devote as much time as I would like to the tanks anymore.

This has made me decide to downscale and go for something a lot smaller and more manageable.

I have set a temporary tank up and will be moving all my "Keepers' over to this tank.

Once everything else is gone I will look at building a new tank .

Thanx for looking.

Happy reefing.

Hilton.

LIVESTOCK FOR SALE

SHOPS

Some really impressive shops I could spend a lot of time in ;-)

A NOVEL IDEA ??

Thought that it would be really cool to have your aquarium orders delivered with this truck ;)

ANOTHER UPDATE

I have managed to get the two main tanks - upper reef and open ocean plumbed together.

I have the overflow from the main tank running to the one below and this is introducing a fair number of micro bubbles at the moment.
I need to decide if this bothers me enough to want to do something about it or whether it is worth leaving as is .........
Time will tell ;)

SYSTEM UPDATE

Hallo again everyone !!!

This project has progressed somewhat .........the two main tanks to the system has been installed.

I have moved all existing stock over and final aquascaping needs to be done.

I have installed some of the lighting but the final components still have to be added.

The system has morphed into something slightly different to what I had started with.......

I will tell you more of this in future updates.

Thanx for reading this.

Happy Reefing !!!

NEW SYSTEM

I have decided to go for something decidedly different for my new tank(s).
An interconnected aquarium set-up comprised of several biotope-specific tanks .
A so-called multi-gradient system.

The breakdown of the system as follows:


A 350 litre near shore shallow reef display tank.(New)
A 420 litre mangrove root biotope tank.(New)
A 900 litre FOWLRtank.(My existing tank)
There are future plans for a sea grass biotope tank.

These tanks will all be linked in a U shape running of a central 500 litre sump.Because these tanks will be connected, the total water volume will be 1670 litres minus the volume of water displaced by LIVEROCK in the display tank and FOWLR tank and the deep sand beds of the mangrove tank.The sump is where all the needed filtration equipment will reside. This will be carried over from my current system.

A bit of information about what it is I am trying to achieve:

Let's start by looking at what a biotope is:

The word biotope is derived from the Greek words bios meaning life and topos meaning place. Thus it is the living place of a specific biological community. A captive biotope, such as an aquarium ,would aim to replicate the living conditions of a specific reef community. In the case of the system I am designing this biotope is located in the Indo-Pacific. The Indo-Pacific is home to seventy-five percent of the world's coral reefs, this is also where the majority of aquarium stock is collected so makes my job of selecting inhabitants for my tanks a little easier.

Whilst a serious "Biotoper" would want to be more specific as far as this biotope is concerned I have chosen to simply recreate a generic Indo Pacific Near shore Reef. I do not want to tie myself down to a specific area. It will be difficult enough to implement the discipline required to keep to the specific biotopes.I do not want to be concerned about the species to much.

The specific biotopes represented by each tank were chosen based on the critical role that biotope plays in the overall health and stability of the display tank's biotope. In other words, mangrove-fringed shorelines, sea grass beds and open ocean are all individual biotopes intrinsically connected to the coral reef ecosystem.

Mangrove Root Biotope – Mangroves provide a filtration system and provide a nursery ground for many reef species. Mangroves play a role in helping to control the reef's exposure to damaging UVB which leads to coral bleaching and detrimental algae outbreaks. I am hoping to nurse some juvenile fish species in this biotope with apogon species being the likely candidates.

Sea grass Bed Biotope (Future tank)– Sea grasses are efficient when it comes to nutrient export and provides a haven for many food sources consumed higher in the food chain. I have not found a reliable source for sea grass so currently this tank is not being implemented yet . For now this will probably be a refugium containing a DSBand cheato.

Open Ocean – FOWLR the water volume helps to stabilize water conditions that are essential for the survival of tropical reefs. In addition, this habitat is an important source of food supply for reef species. The raw water from this tank will feed into the sea grass habitat for processing.

A FOLLOW-UP

I forgot to say that I have seen and measured the tank I am interested in.

It would work very well with a few changes and would make for a very unusual display.

I just need to see what can be done pricewise. ;)

EDIT to add : This tank was sold before I had made my choice , it had been there for weeks ........go figure.

UPDATE AT LAST

I have been away for a while again. Not much has been happening on the tank front and things are pretty much "As Was".

I am thinking about building a multi gradient system and hope to have some more information to post about this soon.

I am going to look at a tank that could suit my purposes quite well and hope that we can negotiate a price.

Wish me luck !!!