Tank of the month: January 2020

GENNARO BAIA

My name is Gennaro Baia, I am 35 and I live in Villa San Giovanni in Tuscia, a small village in upper Tuscia in the province of Viterbo, about 80 km from Rome.

I have been cultivating this passion for fishkeeping for many years, ever since I was a child; at first I dabbled in freshwater then, little by little, over the years, reading a lot and researching the subject just as much, I discovered the beauty of marine reefs, the colours, the shapes and everything wonderful a reef aquarium can give you: a small microcosm right in your home!

My adventure with my first marine tank is fairly recent: in 2016 I set up my first marine aquarium, a 90x55x60 glass tank, 300 litres in total, run as a DSB; it housed both LPS and SPS. Like all beginners, at first I had my own husbandry problems, mainly due to undersized equipment, which I gradually corrected with experience. As soon as I managed to get the tank in balance I had my first satisfactions: the animals were in good health and, as a result, the first important growth began.

So within about fifteen months I decided to take another big step forward: a very important change of tank and a new reef setup! This was because I had by then gained confidence and experience, and so I took the plunge!!!

I decided to move everything, setting up a 120x70x70 acrylic tank, about 580 litres in total, starting a new 12 cm DSB with 180 kilos of aragonite. I reused the same rocks as in the previous rockwork, shaping a new layout, lower and wider, so the animals had the right space to keep growing.

And now the equipment. I changed absolutely everything: I chose to fit a Bubble King Double Cone 200 skimmer. Water flow is handled by two Vortech MP40s; the tank was set up for a double return, so I fitted two 3,000 l/h pumps. As for managing and balancing the triad, it is controlled by a home-made calcium reactor loaded with coral media.

As for lighting, I switched from LED to T5, choosing a Pacific Sun 10x54 watt light unit, split into 6 blue, 3 white and one purple tube.

The way I run my tank is very simple: since it was started only about a year ago, it does not yet have a fixed husbandry protocol; I just feed the fish daily and make frequent monthly water changes of about 100 litres at a time, using Royal Nature Ion Balanced Pro Reef sea salt. For my part, I prefer not to use coral foods and trace elements yet, given how young the tank is. Over time, with ICP tests in hand, if there is a need I will certainly add what is missing to get a good internal balance.

At the moment I mainly keep branching and table SPS; I am not a fan of rare "pieces", I enjoy creating a marine balance and harmony that are as natural as possible, even with so-called more common corals!

As for the fish, I currently keep:

a Flavescens

a Hepatus

a Nigrofuscus

a Sohal

four Chromis

four Anthias squamipinnis

an Ocellaris Gladiator

a Cirrhilabrus cyanopleura

a Navarchus

a Centropyge bispinosus

a Gobiodon okinawae

a Labroides dimidiatus

and various invertebrates... Lysmata debelius, Archaster and Strombus.

I thank the whole BallingMania staff; I am honoured and excited by the trust shown in me, for choosing my little reef as "tank of the month" and above all for giving me the chance to make myself known by sharing my experience with you.