ELIZABETH TURNER
An Artist's Peninsula
M
y love for aquariums arose from a more general passion for the natural world. Though I had many pets growing up, I never had an aquarium until my early 20s when, after a serious injury made it clear that I would be stuck on the couch for an extended period, I convinced my boyfriend at the time to buy me an aquarium for my birthday. I’ve had a tank ever since but only recently delved into the saltwater world. I’ve always enjoyed (perhaps to an obsessive extent) researching things on the internet, and this is 100 percent what put me on the path to success with my first saltwater aquarium. I was especially inspired by the visual impact of minimalist aquascapes that make use of negative space, like bommie-style tanks. I also have been very inspired by more natural aquariums and biotopes but couldn’t bear to be restricted to a biotope for my first saltwater tank. I wanted a mixed reef (one of everything, please!) but knew that it would be a challenge to create an environment that was ideal for multiple types of coral.
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SPECIFICATIONS Display: Innovative Marine Nuvo Fusion 20 Peninsula Dimensions: 30" × 12" × 13" Volume: 20 gallons Return Pump: SICCE Syncra 1.0 Rock: live rock Sand: CaribSea Fiji Pink, Reef Sand Lighting: (2) AquaIllumination Prime HD Heater: Cobalt Neo-Therm, 100 watts Circulation: Aqamai KPS, IM Spin Stream nozzle Skimmer: Eshopps Nano Skimmer Filtration: IM Custom Caddy with filter floss, Chemi-pure Blue Auto Top-off: AutoAqua Smart ATO Micro Dosing: Bubble Magus T11, BRS soda ash, calcium chloride Controller: Apex 2016 My reef’s inception was in an Innovative Marine 10-gallon tank. I’m an artist, and aesthetics were important to me during planning.