BOGDAN BORTA Images by Pataki Ciprian
A NANO REEF JOURNEY
M
y name is Bogdan Borta, and I am from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. I’ve been really passionate about the aquarium hobby for around 13 years now. Throughout that time, I’ve practiced freshwater aquascaping, but when it comes to reef aquascaping, I consider myself a novice.
clear, low-iron, rimless tank and added an external filter, swapped over from freshwater use. My main goal was to build a mixed-reef tank that was easy to maintain, using mostly the equipment that I already had. That way, I could spend my money buying live rock, corals, and fish.
I wanted to start this reef tank a long time ago, but it always seemed like it would be extremely complicated and costly. In the end, it still cost me an arm and a leg, but I no longer find it all that complicated.
SPECIFICATIONS
My reef journey started about 4 years ago when I visited a friend at his office and had the opportunity to see his mixed-reef tank. I was blown away by the fascinating diversity of corals and fish. So I decided that I must have something like that one day, a piece of the reef in my home! I spent the next year looking for information on dedicated forums and YouTube channels. Then I decided to go for it; I set up an ultra-
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Display: 24" × 16" × 16" Glass: ultra clear, low iron, 6 mm Lighting: AquaIllumination Prime 16HD Wavemaker: Jebao SW-4 Filtration: Oase BioMaster Thermo 350 Media: Seachem Matrix, Aquavitro Purfiltrum (100 ml) Live Rock: ~15 kg Salt: Red Sea Coral Pro Supplements: Red Sea Energy AB, Tropic Marin All-For-Reef Bacteria: Aquavitro Seed Miscellaneous: Vibrant Reef aquarium cleaner