Tank of the month: February 2021

STEFANO FERRIERI

It was 1970 when STEFANO FERRIERI, a fourteen-year-old from Milan, asked his parents whether he could fill the empty shelf under the family television with a small ten-litre goldfish tank. Now, half a century later, Stefano is enjoying his retirement and his family after a working life in supermarkets, yet that old passion has certainly not left him: over many years of fishkeeping he went from goldfish to the classic "mixed bag" tropical aquarium, "where my fish kept dying", then to African cichlids, then to American cichlids, and finally to the long-awaited marine tank. At first the classic big tank to learn the ropes, through a myriad of mistakes; then, four years ago, the tank you see in these photos, which we rightly decided to name February's "tank of the month". Why this choice? Because you rarely see a marine aquarium that, with few, very few coral species, offers such a triumph of life and colour. Just look at the photos...

So, Stefano, tell us a bit about this marvel.

"It is the aquarium where I moved many animals from my previous one, in a very quick and fairly risky move: it took about half a day in all, and I had practically no losses, neither fish nor corals. It is 120 centimetres long, 45 wide and 60 high, for a total of about 320 litres gross".

What about the equipment?

"It is a pure Berlin system, without sand. For water flow I have two 4,500 l/h Rossmont pumps working alternately at the surface, plus two 3,500 Sicce pumps lower down, behind the rockwork, also facing each other. The skimmer is an Ultra Reef 160, while for lighting I rely on four Easy LED bars: two Deep Blue, one Marine Reef and one Marine Blue".

Why Easy LED? Not many people use them.

"In the previous tank I had T5 tubes, but having to replace them every six months stressed me out, so when Easy LED bars came out with the same fittings I wanted to try them. I was happy with them, and I still am. In my opinion they bring out the colours incredibly well".

And what do you use to keep the triad stable?

"The Balling method, Triton Core 7 system. No reactor, I am happy this way".

Now let's talk about your animals.

"In the previous tank, until four years ago, I had practically only soft corals. I did not dare keep hard corals because I knew they are much more delicate and I did not want disappointments. Then one day I went to a big shop on the outskirts of Milan and could not resist. Montipora, nobilis and other not-too-delicate SPS... I went wild, I must have spent two hundred euros in one go".

And did everything go well? I mean, did you have any losses?

"Everything went well. The red foliosa spread enormously, and so did everything else. As you can see, there is also a lot of blue in my tank, thanks to the Collospongia sponge, which has spread beautifully, forming lovely "sculptures". Then there are Euphyllia, orange Discosoma and many other gems. All "easy" corals, but even easy things need to be shown at their best".

I also see fish in excellent health.

"Of course. My fish team is made up of Flavescens, Xanthurum, Centropyge bicolor, a pair of Percula, two Chrysiptera, Hexataenia, Ctenochaetus tominiensis. Plus a pair of Lysmata amboinensis shrimps and a wurdemanni".

What do you give them at feeding time?

"Hikari Seaweed Extreme once a day, and a cube of freeze-dried Artemia twice a week. Every now and then, a little nori seaweed".

And what do you give the corals? I imagine that with those colours you must have your secrets.

"Do you want to know my secret for corals? I do not dose anything at all. I have hardy species that are happy and thrive on plenty of natural and healthy... fish poo!".