Congratulations to Kayleen for being selected for our June Reef Profile! His 30 gallon shallow nano reef aquarium, residing in Jakarta, Indonesia, has come a long way in its first year, quickly growing into a vivid SPS garden. Below is the aquarium profile he has written for us sharing his experiences in the hobby and his aquarium's progress over the past year. See what he's been up to and share your comments and questions in Kayleen's featured reef profile thread, or in the comments below. Be sure to also check out his aquarium journal in the members aquariums forum for more information about his aquarium.
From Passion To Mission
I started my first reef tank in 2008, but due to my business-expansion demands that required me to travel in and out of town on a regular basis, I reached a point where I didn't have enough time to take care of my tank, or even to enjoy the tank for once. So, sadly, I had to let go of my tank in 2009. I always hoped to get back into reefing again some day.
Tank Specs
Display: 24" x 24" x 12" 10mm Glass Aquarium
Lighting: 2 x Ecotech Radion Gen 1 with TIR Lens
Protein Skimmer: Reef-Indonesia Protein Skimmer with Aquabee2000i (recently switched to a 2nd hand Bubbleking Mini 180)
Wave motion: 2x Ecotech MP10wES and 1 MP40wES, Waveline DC5000 Return Pump
Chiller: Resun CL 280
Filter Media: Reef-Indonesia Zeovit Reactor with 350ml of Zeovit stones, 200micron filter socks and 50ml of AquaPharm BlackGold carbon
Dosing: Bubble Magus BM-TO1 3-Channel dosing ALK, CA, MG Grotech
Established June 2012
Maintenance Routine
• 10% water change using Seachem sea salt once a week.
• Test my KH and Ca twice a month, and PO4 weekly after water changes. KH and Ca tests performed with Salifert, and Hanna photometer for PO4.
• Clean my glass using Easy Blade Algae Scraper every two days for viewing pleasure.
Zeovit Routine
• Pump the reactor twice daily to release MULM from Zeostone
• Zeostone are replaced every 6-8 weeks
• Carbon replaced every 4 weeks
Zeovit Basic Dosing
• 2 X 0.15ml of Zeostart 2 times a day
• 2 drops of Zeobac 2 times a week
• 1 drop of Sponge 3 times a week
Zeovit Suplemental Dosing
• 2 drops of Pocci Glow 3 times a week
• 1 drop of Potasium iodide fluoride 3 times a week
• 2 drops of Coral Vitaliser 3 times a week
• 1ml of Pohl Xtra 3 times a week
• 5ml of B balance weekly
• 2-3ml of Coral Snow after weekly water change
• ½ teaspoon of Zeozym mixed with some tank water weekly
• 1.5ml of K balance strong when needed
• 2 drop of Biomate twice weekly
• 1.5ml of Zeospur when needed
Fish
• Yellow Tang
• Purple Tang
• Pair of Snowflake Clownfish
SPS Coral
• Pink Millipora
• Green Staghorn
• Green Stylopora and Pink
• Pink Poccilopora
• Acropora Tenuis
• Gomezi
• Green and Red Digitata
• Bali Tricolor Acropora
• Miscellaneous Other SPS
Other Coral
• Assorted Ricordea
• Doughnut Coral
• Green Star Polyps
• Blasstomusta
Invertebrates
• Five Sexy Shrimp
• Turbo Snails
• Emerald Crab
• Pom Pom Crab
History
Since the day I let go of my first reef tank, I thought about what improvements I could make if I ever had another aquarium in the future. I often found myself imagining what my preferred tank set-up would be, and eventually I pushed myself to be more active on several reef forums. As years passed by, I felt like I couldn't resist my passion any longer for having another marine aquarium. This is where I realized that for the first time, my hobby had turned into a true passion.
So, in June 2012, I started all over again and began to build my own nano reef tank. I had fallen in love with shallow tanks, and I decided to make mine a shallow reef tank with the Zeovit System. I wanted a simple setup, and with Zeovit I can have a healthy and colorful aquarium despite the simplicity.
This time around I try to manage my time really well, so that I can spare a little leisure time to maintain and enjoy my tank, besides work & family. Even better, my 6 year old daughter seems to love my tank. I sometimes watch her wiping the tank glass from the outside, so that she can enjoy a clear view to find and feed her 'nemos'. It feels like it's now a family mission to keep my tank alive, clean, and colorful!
Advice For New Hobbyists
Do plenty of research before deciding to choose your aquarium, or purchasing any equipment, as well as livestock. Moreover, do not hesitate to ask others who have more experience in this field. By sharing and communicating your experience with others, you will get good feedback for your own benefit. Nano-Reef.com is a good and resourceful forum for you to start with.
Words of Wisdom
Setting-up a mature reef tank requires huge amounts of patience. Be prepared for it to be time consuming. For me, the more time I spend with my tank means the more fish and coral I am interested in, and more challenges I will face to create a better reef tank for them. Of course it will take quite a while the tank itself to mature too! However, all the hard work pays off when I realize that I can enjoy my own little ocean in the corner of my family room.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank everyone who has supported me in setting up my tank. I got a lot of good information, knowledge and techniques from the Nano-Reef.com community and forum. I would like to dedicate my special appreciation to wife Irene, who has been taking care of my tank while I was away, and of course my little girl Kayleen, who does the glass cleaning before I get home. And special gratitude to all fellow members on Nano-Reef.com and Christopher Marks who nominated me this month to feature my tank for its 1st anniversary.
Kayleen
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