Tank of the month: June 2019

FRANCESCO TUMINO

For our tank of the month feature, today we are the guests of Francesco, who shows us his tank, mainly dedicated to keeping LPS. Francesco consciously decided not to tackle the complex and often frustrating world of SPS, yet he still created a striking aquarium, pleasing to the eye and rewarding, proof that great results can be achieved without necessarily aiming higher than needed. The colours and movement of his aquarium, a harmonious mix of carefully chosen animals, show very well what can be achieved with the right commitment even without extreme equipment.

But let's give him the floor:

"Hello everyone, I am Francesco and I live in Bellinzona, in the Canton of Ticino, Switzerland. First of all, thanks to the BallingMania staff for this rather unexpected recognition, given that I am almost a beginner in the marine world. Like most of us, my passion for animals and aquariums began when I was little; in my first studio flat I slept next to a wall of a dozen tanks, where I kept show guppies with fair success, then discus, and finally bred some South American loricariids. Then, growing up and having less free time, I sold everything, but I have never been without animals at home! Today I run a small hobby cattery of Sphynx cats and I have a nearly 40 kg Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy. But let's get to the point... the tank in question is a 70x50x50 started exactly one year ago, with a move behind it in August 2018. Lighting comes from a Radion XR15 G4 Pro; the skimmer, originally a Tunze 9410, was replaced with a better-performing and above all quiet Ultra Reef Akula UKS-160. At the moment I do not have a dosing pump yet, because I manage the triad with regular weekly water changes, manually supplementing only KH. I dose 150 ml a day of live phyto from my friend and adviser Sandro Jelmini, and iodine and amino acids a couple of times a week. As for corals, not being a big fan of SPS, I chose corals that are "medium-easy to keep", but picked those with the most unusual colours. The central part of the tank, next to a magnificent fluorescent green Australian Sinularia, is a small garden of Euphyllia. There are about ten, between ancora and paraancora; I have green, purple, orange, pink, fluorescent, yellow, bicolour and blotched ones. Underneath, instead, I have filled every inch with the corals I am craziest about: red and Superman Discosoma, fluorescent Rhodactis, and both Yuma and Florida Ricordea. I have kept one corner for some collector Zoanthus (Rasta, Utter Chaos, Sunny D, Gorilla Nipples, Watermelon). In the few cm of tank left there are 2 splendid Australian Trachyphyllia and 2 Protula bispiralis that embellish the rockwork. The rather minimal fish population consists of a pair of Ocellaris in perfect symbiosis with my gigantic yellow Indonesian Euphyllia, a pair of Kauderni and 1 Halichoeres iridis. Completing the picture are 1 Synchiropus marmoratus, a couple of wurdemanni and 4-5 Mexican Turbo snails."