Saving a Failing Reef Aquarium

It’s always nice for our team to install new aquariums, but it’s equally as satisfying to be given the chance to save a failing reef aquarium.

The Brief

We were contacted by a residential client in Cheshire who had expressed concern that there custom reef aquarium, currently being maintained by another party, was not performing as well as it should. The tank was suffering from nuisance algae growth and corals were dying.

Our Findings

Upon our first visit to view the tank and perform a survey, we found a number of faults with the set up of the aquarium, its water parameters and general cleanliness. The tank was in rather poor condition.

 

Examining the sump filter tank housed below below the aquarium revealed much of the same. There was again excessive detritus waste and a lack of maintenance. The phosphate filter which is designed to reduce algae growth was completely clogged. The protein skimmer which reduces tank nutrients was not functioning at all and very grubby.

To add to the growing list of issues, the aquarium water was at 30 degrees which is dangerous to livestock health and had already caused coral bleaching. Upon testing the waters salinity, we found  it to be far too low.

Desperate action was required to save this tank and so we advised it would need 2 of our technicians a full day to remedy the problems.

Our Actions to Save this Reef Aquarium

We first started by completely cleaning the aquarium panes to remove all algae. With the system turned off this algae would drop to the bottom of the tank. Here it can be siphoned out and we also clean the sand bed and perform a 300 litre water change!

Allowing the algae to settle helps to siphon it out

Next the sump tank is stripped down with all components being removed for a deep clean. The reverse osmosis filter which supplies fresh water to the aquarium requires its filters changing about every 6 months. We change these filters as a matter of course.

Reef aquarium refurbishment
Sump tank is stripped down

This large wall reef aquarium relied on a thermostatic heater to maintain its water temperature. This type of heater is fine for a smaller aquarium provided its changed every 12-18 months. However due to the size and sheer value of this tank a dedicated temperature controller is far more suitable. This controller not only controls our newly installed titanium heater but also a set of cooling fans.

Reef aquarium
Job finished!

We are continuing to provide our fish tank maintenance service for this reef twice per month. As time progresses and the tank is serviced it will once again become a fabulous, healthy live coral aquarium.

Please keep an eye on our blogs for future updates.

Tel: 01457511138

Email: info@oceanlifeaquatics.net

Aquarium design

 

Aquarium Mock Up Design Service

Interested purchasing an aquarium but want to get an idea as to how it will look? Ocean Life Aquatics now provide an aquarium design mock up service. Here’s one produced for a client who requested to upgrade the size of their current built in wall aquarium.

Mock ups are a great first step to provide an idea as to what a finished fish tank design will look like. We are able to supply mock up photos or diagrams with dimensions if required and even too scale. Depending upon the projects theme, we can produce the mock up with vast array of different fish, eg, tropical plant theme, rocky aqua-scape or coral reef theme etc.

If your aquarium is sitting on a cabinet or being built into a wall?

We are able to supply several mock ups each with different coloured or wood effect panels. This gives our clients the chance to try out different finishes to see which suits best. We have a vast selection of different finishes for aquariums using panels to clad the aquarium and cover access points, moreover, we are even able to edit your mock up to show different numbers and sizes of doors.

A Small Selection of Finishes Available

gloss-wood-finishes
Wood effect gloss finishes
gloss-finishes
High gloss finishes
wood-finishes
Wood finishes

The cost?

A basic mock up starts at £75. The price may rise depending upon the amount of work that’s involved, however, a quotation is provided before any works are commenced.

 

CURRENT WALL AQUARIUM
CLIENTS CURRENT WALL AQUARIUM

The top photo was taken by the client. With the information they provided, we produced the below image showing a new larger aquarium design.

Fish tank mock up
CLIENTS PROPOSED NEW WALL AQUARIUM

Please contact us for more information on our aquarium design mock up service.

 

Visit our aquarium site

Web – www.oceanlifeaquatics.net

Email – info@oceanlifeaquatics.net

Built In Wall Fish Tank in Newcastle

In Wall Fish Tank

In wall fish tank installation in Newcastle completed today. This custom aquarium is located in a brand new nursery.

Its decorated with a colourful coral theme and characters from Finding Dory.
The tank measures 1.2m long x 0.4m deep x 0.6m high and stands between the nursery’s reception and sensory room. It’s lit by automated blue lighting and contains a range of tropical fish.
This custom tank is fitted with an automatic feeding system. Thus ensuring the nursery staff only need to performed very little maintenance.

 Fish Tank Maintenance

Additionally, the nursery have chosen to employ our Newcastle fish tank cleaning service to keep the aquarium in tip top condition. During each maintenance visit our technicians perform a water change, water test, tank and filter clean. As well as change the decoration inside the aquarium to freshen up the fish tanks display.
Interested in a built in wall aquarium?
Aquarium cleaning company