January '05 - Nelson Pena's 1000 L Reef Aquarium. (Portugal)

The aquarium chosen for this month is a huge and beautiful reef created by a dedicated "coral collector". Portuguese owner Nelson Pena even travels to other countries to achieve his present collection of more than 100 different species. Unfortunately I couldn't establish further contact with Nelson so he could send me more information about what it's like to set up and maintain a tank like this, accessible to very few due to its sheer size and level of investment, but the photos and descriptions sent initially are enough to justify its appearance here.

Owner:	Nelson Pena, 20, from Vila de Conde (Portugal)
Website:	Livemarine.net
Setup:	January 2003
Dimensions:	200x70x70 cm
Volume:	1000 L (nominal)
Filtration:	260 kg live rock from Lombok/Bali (Indonesia); Sump 120x50x50 cm (300 L), half of which is used as freshwater deposit for refilling; skimmer Aquamedic 5000 Shorty 2; 180 L macro-algae refugium.
Circulation:	About 28000 L/h of circulation: 2 main water pumps Eheim 1060 (2280 L/h); 2 internal circulation pumps located in the sump with specific overflow; 1 internal alternated circulation pump Tunze Stream 4000/12000 L/h in conjunction with a single-controller Tunze; 1 continuous stream 6000 L/h; 2 water falls with output distributed to skimmer and refugium.
Lighting:	2x400 W HQI´s BLV 10000 K + 2x40 W fluorescent acrobuespecial + 2x40 W acrocolor + 3x9 W Power Compact; 1x70 W HQI for the refugium.
Substrate:	60 kg CaribSea Aragamax Sugar-Sized.
Others:	Refill controller/leveller Aquamedic Aquaniveau, Eheim 800 pump for freshwater refill, 180 liter macro-algae refugium.
Fauna:	Fish: 8 Chromis viridis, 2 Chrysiptera cyanea, 1 Chrysiptera parasema, 1 Synchiropus splendidus, 1 banana wrasse (Helichoeres chrysus), 2 Amphiprion ocellaris, 1 Amphiprion clarkii, 1 TMC clown Amphiprion ocellaris, 1 Amphiprion polymnus, 2 Gobiodon citrinus, 5 Pseudanthias squamipinnis, 2 Pseudanthias pleurotaenia, 1 Siganus unimaculatus, 1 Chelmon rostratus, 1 Pygoplites diacanthus, 1 Naso lituratus, 2 Zebrasoma flavescens, 3 Paracanthurus hepatus, 1 Acanthurus leucosternon. Invertebrates: 50 Marshall Islands bumble bee hermit crabs, 35 ophiuroids, 2 Tridacna squamosa Marshall Islands, 1 Tridacna maxima ultra blue Marshall Islands, 1 Tridacna hippopus Marshall Islands, 1 Tridacna crocea ultra Marshall Islands, 18 Turbo snails, 25 Tiger Tail Cucumbers.
Corais:	SPS: 45 assorted Acropora, 18 assorted Montipora, 9 assorted Seriatopora, 3 assorted Pocillopora, 1 Echinopora lamellosa, 1 Porites cylindrica, 2 Hydnopora rigida, 3 Stylophora pistillata pink. LPS: 2 Euphyllia parancora green, 2 Euphyllia paradivisa green, Goniopora lobata Marshall Islands, Goniopora stokesi red, Heliofungia actiniformis, Plerogyra sinuosa. Soft: Xenia elongata pulsing brown, Xenia umbellata pulsing white, Sinularia, Pachyclavularia sp., Palythoa sp., Ricordea, Rhodactis gigantea, 5 rocks with Actinodiscus, 2 Sarcophyton trocheliophorum, 1 Sarcophyton sp. Tonga.
Comments:	I'm Portuguese and the Brazilian version of the Age of Aquariums was among the first sites where I initiated the hobby. Since then a long time has passed and nowadays I have this 1000 L reef tank. It's not easy to set up an aquarium in Portugal, the equipment is expensive and the livestock isn't beautiful, so I travel regularly to the coral propagation farms in Germany to acquire what I have today. I'd like to see my tank distinguished on the Age of Aquariums.

If you'd like to submit an aquarium for Tank of the Month, just contact me.

Photos taken by Nelson Pena and displayed here with his permission.