Modification/Problems.

Powerheads.

There is very little return flow with the Orca. I added a Maxi Jet 300 pump to the spray bar. You can purchase some 12mm Plastic hose from a DIY shop which will fit perfectly. Simply use around 9” length bent in a question mark shape. Originally I used a short piece which over time came loose leaving me with wet floors.
You may need to take off the spray bar and submerge it, as trapped air can cause a whistling effect.

Link to further help with the above:

http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?t=209444

Bio Balls.

I removed the bio balls and ceramic hoops because I have plenty of live rock that’s doing all the filtration. You can if you wish add some live rouble to the rear left chamber, I used bits left over after breaking up a large rock I wanted split in two.

Breaking live rock is not difficult, use hammer and chisel on large pieces. Simply take the rock out of the tank, I placed it onto a plastic sheet. The rock will crack into large slices rather than straight in half.

The Skimmer.

Skimmer issues are well known with the Orca, I had thousands of micro bubbles pouring into the tank. I tried everything to stop them but failed. It was turned off for months and never had problems with water quality. But my system has a very small bio load.
I did however purchase a ‘Boyu WG-310’ skimmer of EBay for around £8, it fits perfectly into the system.

Once the old skimmer is out you will have to direct the filter pump manually though the hole as it won’t be bolted on anymore. This is a real pain if you clean the filter sponge as it’s a very tight fit.

Link to further help with replacement skimmer:
http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=14227&viewmode=flat&order=ASC&type=&mode=0&start=0

Blackout.

I got home one day to find my electricity had been off for 9 hours. The tanks temperature was down to 12 degrees C. Both Common Clown were floating on the surface but breathing.
This is no time to panic, I ran the hot tap and filled the sink testing temp with my hand. Quickly grabbed some sealable food bags and filled with tank water, put all the live stock in the bags and bought up to temperature.
It took around two hours for the tank to get back up to temperature. During that time I noticed all live stock was coming back to life.
Once back in the tank only one common clown seemed to be suffering a little, but was fine by the morning.
Despite the cold temp the cleaner shrimp, False Gramma and hermit crabs did not seem bothered at all. Even the corals came back to life after a week.

Pests.

Pests can be a problem, some people trap bristle worm, but have never had a problem with them. If anything they help keep your tank parameters by eating decaying food. I do however have something eating its way through my live rock; it seems to be on the outside of the rock, building a hard shell out of substrate. Mail me if you can identify it please.

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