Building A Zero Impact Marine Aquarium
Part 2
When I originally researched and considered setting up the zero impact aquarium, we were actively looking to move house. Knowing what a long and drawn out process this could be (we had already had one failed purchase) I went ahead and set it up knowing full well it would have to be moved at some stage. That day finally arrived on the 14th June and this article deals with the trials and tribulations of the move.
Before The Move
On the basis of my research I began to put together the equipment I would need as well as a game plan for the day. Although I had built a new stand and hood, the actual tank needed moving. I therefore hired a large holding vat, of the type used to hold pond fish. The plan would be to move the contents of my tank into this, move the tank, then move the contents back.
The equipment I gathered was as follows:
- 8 insulated boxes (of the type used to deliver livestock to LFS)
- Lots of plastic bags of various sizes (for moving livestock)
- Elastic bands (to close the bags)
- 2 Heaters
- 4 Five gallon water containers
- Powerhead
- Plastic sheeting (to protect carpet)
- 3 Plastic storage boxes (for moving sand)
- Jug
- Length of tubing (to drain water)
- Thermometer
- Hydrometer
- Plastic Dustbin
- Clean dustpan (for scooping up sand)
- Extension lead
- 20 Gallons made up water
In the weeks prior to the move I began to plan, step by step, what I would do on the day. The actual distance of the move was not far (5 minutes by car) and being June, the weather would hopefully be in my favour i.e. not too cold. However I still wanted the move to be as quick as possible, so, by going over the plan time and time again, I was able to streamline it as well as identifying where possible problems that might arise.
In the end the plan looked something like this:
- Move tank stand and holding vat to the new house the night before.
- On the morning of the tank move day, aerate made up water and bring it up to the correct temperature.
- Deliver 15 gals of the made up water into the holding vat, set up heaters and powerhead.
- Return and bag up corals on small rocks and drain some water and deliver to the holding vat. Float bags and leave for the temperature to equalise.
- Repeat last step with all corals, rocks and livestock leaving the two clowns until last.
- Take out sand bed and put into storage containers with water. Move tank and associated equipment i.e. skimmer, powerheads, lights etc.
- Set up the tank on the stand and put back sand.
- Use a powerhead to pump water from holding vat into the tank.
- When there is sufficient water in the tank move across base rocks and gradually rebuild reef.
- Once all rock and corals are in the tank release clowns and mobile invertebrates.
Well, that was the plan, now lets look at what actually happened.
On The Day
Looking back in retrospect I suppose the move went pretty much to plan, although a few little hitches along the way did fray my nerves somewhat. I misplaced a big bundle of plastic bags (I later found they had fallen behind the tank). This meant I could not move as much rock/livestock on each trip. I also had to empty them each trip so that I could collect the next lot of rock/livestock. This really put me behind time. I underestimated the size of the holding vat. This ended up being full while the tank was still one quarter full of water. A mad panic ensued and one of my curing bins was brought into action. The curing bin sprang a leak that resulted in a rather soggy car! The process of moving the sand bed meant a lot of sediment getting mixed with the water. When it came to putting the rocks and livestock back, it was like trying to aquascape in milk!
The whole move began at 4pm and I finished at 11pm, taking rather longer than I had anticipated. Fortunately the people whose house we were buying were very understanding and just left me to get on with it while they got ready for bed. I went home that night wondering what sight would greet me the following morning. To my great relief virtually all the corals were open and apart from a dusting of sediment (looked like it had snowed!) it was business as usual. I had done it!
It is now two weeks since that day and the tank looks like nothing ever happened. There were no casualties as a result of the move and I am convinced several corals have put on a growth spurt (perhaps the 15 gal water change the tank received has something to do with it). I had intended to take photos at each stage of the move, however once it was underway, playing around with a camera was the last thing on my mind.
Advice For Moving A Reef Aquarium
I suppose the easiest way would be to already have a tank set up and matured into which you simply move your rocks and livestock. However, for most of us that would not be an option. There are nevertheless things you can do to make life easier for yourself on the day.
I think the key to a successful tank move is definitely forward planning; in particular a) know exactly what you will be doing and when, and b) have more than enough bags, containers, made up water, helpers etc.
Try to arrange the tank move either before or after you move the rest of your possessions. By doing that you will be able to give the tank your undivided attention and not feel guilty that your wife/partner/family are left having to deal with removal men etc. on their own. Try to give yourself as much time as possible. I was surprised just how long it took me - 7 hours without a break. If at all possible, try to move at a time when your LFS is open. That way if you can buy anything that was forgotten or replace anything that gets broken in the move.
I chose to remove the sand bed after hearing of others that had cracked their tanks by moving them with the sand. However in several of the articles I read, the authors (all from the US) suggest moving tanks with sand. Perhaps this is safe if your tank is acrylic (as I believe is more common in the US) but with the standard glass/silicone construction used in the UK, I would say you are always taking a risk doing it.
Well, that was the move, now for an update on the progress of the tank.
Livestock
Since the last update and prior to the move, I tried to hold back the urge to add further livestock. The only new additions being a few zoanthids, mushrooms and a brittle star. However since the move I have added a Royal gramma, Cleaner shrimp, some more Hermits and another pulsing Xenia (elongata I think). I now have two Xenias and these are by far my favourites. I hope to start propagating these soon and would love to hear from anyone who has other varieties to trade.
Setup Changes
When I moved, I took down my planted freshwater tank which left me with a few spare lights. So I've added an extra 4ft Blue Moon and will try to fit in another Triton, although this may prove a tight squeeze as all my tubes currently have reflectors and these take up a lot of the space in the hood. One observation I have made since this upgrade has been a change in colour of two of my colonies of zoanthids. One was a lovely vivid lime green but has now become more brown (bit of a shame!) while another has gone from green to a light blue. I should note that the tank was previously in my garage (no windows) and is now in the house next to a window, so it is getting extra light from that too.
Other than this I have made no other changes to the basic set-up but am currently looking into making a calcium reactor.
Feeding
I feed the tank each evening with frozen brine shrimp (1/4 - 1/3 of a block) and live newly hatched brine shrimp. I occasionally add a home-made mix of blended fresh cod, prawn, scallop, mussel and spinach. The Brittle star particularly likes a small lump of this.
I have also been using cryopreserved phytoplankton. I mix 1 drop of this with a cup of tank water and pour it back into the tank. I've been doing this roughly every other day. With all the current interest in phytoplankton additions, I was expecting to see dramatic changes, but the only noticeable difference has been the appearance of patches of brown algae on the substrate. Fortunately the reef janitors have kept this under control (so phyto is certainly good for them!). As I understand it, the phytoplankton feeds the bottom of the food chain, which in turn will feed the organisms higher up. Anyway, without the benefit of a 'control' tank (i.e. identical in every way) for comparison, it is difficult to judge what the effects of adding have been. Still, the tank is doing well, so I will continue dosing.
Conclusion
8 months down the road and the tank continues to get better and better. Coralline algae is now well established on all the rocks and they increasingly look more and more like actual live rock. In fact I think they look better than most of the live rock I've seen for sale. The corals are growing well and all new additions have thrived.
As a regular reader of many of the online discussion groups, I have followed some very heated debates about the Garf-style of tank (particularly on the Reefs Org BB). Opinion seems clearly divided with some arguing very strongly that the approach is doomed to failure and will not work, while those who have actually followed 'the recipe', sing it's praises. Based on my experiences to date, I am more than happy with the results and would not hesitate in recommending others to follow it. I think it just goes to show that there is no one single way of setting up a reef tank successfully.