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I would like to thank Advanced Aquarist for selecting my tank as a Featured Aquarium and for all of the fantastic information they provide in their on line magazine. I have found so much valuable information in the Advanced Aquarist articles.
I have been in the reef hobby for 10 years at the time of this article. From the start, I focused on keeping SPS corals and have experienced every mistake and failure an aquarist can think of. From tank fires to, basement flooding, to skimmate spills, to electrocution, I have done it all. I have killed every coral and fish in my tank multiple times. At this point, having learned everything the hard way, I have developed very simple systems that keep the tank running super stable with very little maintenance. It has been an adventure.
Post-fire mess!
I read the following in Eric H Borneman's Aquarium Corals Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History book. "Corals require an aquarium, seawater at the right temperature and salinity, water flow, light, food, bicarbonate/buffer, calcium and magnesium. Period. No other equipment, apparatus, magic potions, pills, voodoo, prayer, or other sacrifices are necessary."
I have taken this advice to heart and made it my philosophy. From maintaining my water parameters to my auto top off, my system is as simple as possible. I think simple is best as I feel I have achieved a beautiful reef with lots of time to enjoy, and little time fussing over it. I do not run any sort of controller or other sophisticated equipment. All my lights are on old style timers and my medical grade dosing pumps run 24/7. I do have a battery backup on a couple of power heads and a generator in ready for power outages. I do not dose anything but calcium via kalkwasser, supplemented with a calcium reactor (what I call the Kalk/Calc combo method) and magnesium (Randy Holmes Farley recipe). I keep my water very clean with macro algae, a skimmer, ferric oxide, and carbon. I run 250 w Radium halides and supplement with ATI AB+ T5s .
My main interests in the hobby are for sure the hard corals. I just love the complexity of their symbiotic relationships, their beautiful color, and their super unique growth forms. Being a mechanical engineer, I strive to keep my favorite SPS corals alive in as simple and cheap a way as possible. With that in mind, I very much enjoy building and have built a lot of DIY equipment.
My reef life started with a little 30 gallon and with it so did my DIY life. Here are just a few of my DIY projects over the years:
My aquarium history started June 2006 when my wife gave me a 30 gallon tank for our anniversary. It went fairly well for about 2 years, so I bumped to a 90. That tank was up for about 3 years before it caught fire and I lost it all. I cleaned up the mess and rebuilt into a 120. Well, after 3 months, the bottom pane on that tank cracked and I lost it all again. After a second clean up, I started over for a third time with the 150. It was up for about 2 years and was being overrun by purple shrooms. I tore it all apart in November 2013. I pressure washed every rock in the system and re-stacked. The current tank has been up about 28 months at the time of this article. You would think that after this many tank crashes my wife would have divorced me or strung me up. Although she likely regrets ever having given me that first tank, I think she appreciates the joy I get from the hobby. She has been very, very patient and considers the reef my mid-life crisis that kept me from buying a convertible (in the long run, the convertible would have been cheaper and easier).
My mixed reef is in a 150 gallon tank (48"w x 30"h x 24"d) with a 20 gallon refugium. It sits in the home office and has seagull/beach music playing from behind it 24 hours a day. It makes for a very soothing work environment. My focus is primarily on SPS, but I have some LPS in the tank. Oh, I also have some fish in there.
I have a Blue Line 55HD external pump (1,100 GPH) that returns water from the sump to the display. I have a Mag 9.5 (950 GPH) that drives a closed loop and then there are a couple of Tunze 6065 power heads mounted to 1/2" Sea Swirls (DIY) that swing back and forth across the corals.
I run two 250watt SE MH Radium 20,000K bulbs in Lumen Bright 3 Metal Halide Reflector (Large 19.5" x 19.5" x 9") driven by two 250 watt Reeflex Cube magnetic ballasts for the main lighting. I supplement with two 54watt ATI AB+ T5 bulbs running on a 660 Icecap ballast. I also have a 5,500K compact florescent located in the center of the tank that adds a little yellow to the mix.
The water if filtered by three primary means. I have an ASM G-3 Counter Current skimmer equipped with a Sedra 5000 pump, a 20 gallon refugium filled with Chaetomorpha macro algae, and I do 10% water changes every week. I farm out a softball size wad of chaeto every Saturday morning to keep the stuff growing fast. I believe the real winner here is the macro. I also run carbon and a small amount of ferric oxide 24/7 in a couple of small reactors.
I keep my alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium parameters at the proper levels using a combination of kalkwasser, a calcium reactor, and some Randy Holmes Farley recipe magnesium as needed.
I feed 2 large pinches of Ocean Nutrition Formula Two or Prime Reef flakes once a day. I also add 3 frozen cubes of Piscine Energetics Frozen Freshwater Mysis Shrimp. Twice a week I put in a good size sheet of algae in a clip.
If we ever move from our current home, I would find a house where I could build a dedicated fish room where I could easily reach all of my equipment, the back of the tank, and the sump. Currently I have to fit through a 2 foot square door cut in the wall behind my tank to get to the back of it. My friends and family crack up when they see me squeezing my old self through this little door.
My name is Jonas. I have been devoted to this hobby since 1992. I have had several aquariums with different profiles, and this is my latest one: a SPS dominated, 650 liter reef, one year after start. Some inhabitants and corals are from my previous smaller aquarium, thus some species are around 2.5 years old under my care.
I am particularly interested in the underlying biochemistry. I have always been fascinated by systems based mainly on natural filtration methods and have made an effort in writing some materials for my aquarium friends concerning biochemical issues.
The filter and water purification is based mainly on natural biological filtration in the form of a DSB and a Caulerpa macroalgae filter, both located in a refugium. The lighting of the refugium is reversed, thus lighting the macroalgae 12 hours at night to obtain higher pH at night.
I have minimized the skimming and only use a small skimmer (Bubble Magus Curve 5) at some hours during the night.
The Calcium and KH "issue" is solved by a Deltec calcium reactor (Deltec PF601). At the moment, it is running only in the daytime to minimize the pH drop at night. The return pump is a Jebaco 6000 producing around 4000l/h, and thus this is also the circulation above the DSB. Before the water enters the DSB+algae refugium, it passes a mechanical filter, and after that bioballs and Siporax to strengthen the biological capacity and make sure that the nitrogen cycle is completed in all steps.
I use no additives at all - no trace elements, no organic additives, only water changes of 15% every 4th week. I do not feed the corals but rely on heavily feeding the fish instead. I use some activated carbon intermittently. I use no GFO because my nutrients are very low already.
The circulation is handled by three Vortech MP40WES, regulated by the Neptune Apex cycling between a lot of different circulation programs during the day. The Neptune Apex computer also monitors and regulates the rest of my system.
I sometimes submit water samples to Triton Labs for plasma-analysis (ICP-OES) to be sure I am on the "way." My current water parameter is around:
I have a heavy loaded system with a lot of healthy fishes. No fish have died since i started.
The aquarium building at the Toledo Zoo opened in 1939. Originally housing only freshwater fish, this historic W.P.A. (Works Progress Administration) building gradually had marine exhibits added, starting in the 1970's. Through the 1990's to 2012, the number of animals housed in the building more than tripled, with an even greater emphasis on marine species.
During this time, salt from the marine tanks caused increasing damage to portions of the concrete infrastructure. Additionally, the life support systems for many of the exhibits were in need of an upgrade. Public aquarium design had changed greatly in the 70 years since the Aquarium opened; exhibits are larger and more closely replicate natural habitats. For these reasons, six years ago, a plan for a new, more interactive aquarium was developed.
In 2010, a project architect was selected (EHDD - who designed the Monterey Bay Aquarium). A local firm, Rudoplh-Libbe, was selected as construction manager. Two years of intensive design culminated with the old aquarium closing October 1, 2012. All of the fish were moved out and demolition of the interior began in January, 2013.
The exterior of this historic building is being restored, including restoration of an old entrance to the building that had been blocked off many years ago. The interior of the aquarium will essentially be completely new. Every existing exhibit will either be replaced with larger exhibits, or completely renovated. This new Aquarium will open March 27, 2015.
The water volume of the exhibits will increase from 46,000 to 178,000 gallons to accommodate 3700 animals of 200 species displayed in 32 exhibits. There will be two 2100 gallon live coral exhibits; one for stony corals and the other housing soft corals and a huge Tridacna clam. Life support systems will change from basic biological filters to foam fractionators (protein skimmers) ozone and drum filters. This $25.5 million project is supported through public and private funding; from a Lucas County capital levy and private donations.
The new exhibits will be much more interactive for the visitors; from a shark/stingray touch pool to divers in the coral reef exhibit talking to the audience through microphones in their dive masks. Visitors will be able to interact with invertebrates in a laboratory setting, change the color of the lights over the jellyfish to get a different view of these fascinating creatures. The electric eel exhibit will have a shocking interactive component as well! New animals include sea turtles, Pacific sea nettle jellyfish, bonnethead sharks and many more.
One of the most important tasks in preparing for this renovation was properly managing the animal collection in the old Aquarium building. Surplus fish needed to be moved to other facilities, and irreplaceable animals were retained at an off-site holding facility. One question that we hear quite a bit about our renovation is "Where did all the fish go, and how did you move them? All of the animals needed to be moved out of the historic aquarium by mid-December, 2012: We had 3900 animals of 380 species in 2010. This dropped to 1500 animals of 140 species in 2013. Some were loaned to other aquariums, others were donated to public aquariums, a few went to local pet stores and the remainder went to our new holding facility.
You cannot always rely on the technical data supplied by salespeople and vendors. In one instance, we needed a light to supply ultraviolet rays for the health of the sea turtles planned for the exhibit. The salesperson assured us that the plastic cover over the light fixture would allow the UV light to pass. A quick 15 minute test with a UV meter borrowed from our reptile department showed that actually, the plastic light cover blocked 98% of the UV light, so another product was selected.
We discovered that one type of protein skimmer removed about 20% more waste than the brand we had been using - at half the cost! Because protein skimmers vary in the consistency of their output, we used a spectrophotometer to dilute one sample so that it matched the other - then just comparing the relative volumes told us which skimmer was working the best!
We tested a variety of LED lights for over a year to determine if they could be used to replace existing lights, such as metal halide and florescent. In the end, after much discussion, we developed the following exhibit lighting plan:
A vendor supplied us with a large drum filter which we tested on one of our exhibits for four months. We regular checked water clarity using a turbidimeter, as well as monitored the filter's durability. Everything tested out fine, so we plan to be the first aquarium in the US to use this type of filter as the primary particulate removal system on its display aquariums.
We were loaned an exciting new water pump called the "Hydrowizard". Designed for public aquariums by a European company, Panta Rhea (who also makes a smaller, hobbyist model). Few people have actually worked with this pump, so we posted our report online for other public aquarists to refer to: http://microcosmaqx.typepad.com/jay_hemdal/2012/09/initial-testing-of-the-hydrowizard.html
A contractor built an electrical device for us that takes the discharge from an electric eel and converts it to a signal that can be used to drive a speaker, a light system, or both. Since the device arrived while we still had an electric eel on exhibit, we wanted to fully test its operation:
Now, when the new aquarium re-opens, we can be assured that it will work as planned with our new eel!
We also worked on developing video and photographic techniques that will prove useful in the educational graphics in the new aquarium. One interesting technique we plan to explore is time lapse photography:
The all-new exhibits in the aquarium will range in size from 40 to 90,000 gallons. They will all have state-of-the-art life support systems including full stream foam fractionators and side-stream ozone. Some of the most impactful exhibits are described below.
This exhibit will be the second largest of the project. It will recreate a rocky outcropping in the Gulf of Mexico. Bonnethead sharks will be one of the focal species. There will be a variety of stingrays living on the exhibit floor as well as cownose and spotted eagle rays swimming in mid-water. Other fish may include schooling jacks as well as a sea turtle. This exhibit will be viewable from two locations; once when visitors first enter the aquarium's lobby, and then again from the long west hallway, before they exit the building. These views will give different perspectives of the exhibit.
This exhibit, at 30 feet long and 16 feet deep, will be the largest in the new Aquarium. It will showcase swarms of colorful tropical Pacific reef fishes, including blacktip reef sharks, stingrays and a zebra shark. This exhibit will be the site for diver feeding demonstrations - speaking to the Zoo audience through a microphone in the dive mask. The coral decorations will be artificial; due to the predatory nature of some fish species (we will have live corals in two other exhibits).
As marine aquarists know, live corals require different life support equipment and a narrower range of water quality parameters than do fish and even some other invertebrates. Even then, not all corals are created equal, and one important consideration is that of the potential for "allopathy" or chemical warfare between species. Direct attacks between corals using sweeper tentacles is one way corals fight each other for space, but they can also inhibit the growth of other corals by releasing toxins into the water.
In our previous reef exhibit at the Toledo Zoo, we found that some species of soft coral would cause growth problems in Small Polyp Stony (SPS) corals. In addition, the SPS corals tend to have more stringent water quality requirements than many soft corals do. The solution for us was to develop two live coral exhibits: a Reef Crest dominated by SPS corals and a Lagoon exhibit designed to house soft corals and our giant Tridacna clam.
Lighting will be from six 400-watt, 10,000k metal halide pendant fixtures, as well as a "Sola Tube" light pipe. The exhibit will have a remote sump with two large skimmers and a calcium reactor. Water temperature will be maintained by a heat exchanger connected to the building's new geothermal system.
The life support system will be identical to that of exhibit 2.6A, except that the metal halide bulbs may be a lower color temperature and only one protein skimmer will be employed.
Selection of the fish will depend on their ability to cohabitate peacefully with the corals. Some fish will also be chosen for their ability to serve a function for the living reef; surgeonfish will eat unwanted algae, while we use copperband butterflyfish to reduce the number of the pest anemone, Aiptasia.
Although the three largest exhibits in the new aquarium will all contain tropical (warm) water, many interesting aquatic species also live in the temperate (cooler) waters of the world. For this reason, many of the smaller exhibits were designed using a chilled loop from the building's geothermal system, connected to individual heat exchangers to maintain a water temperature of 55 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit in each exhibit. Four of these exhibits will be stationed along the south end of the Aquarium; Giant Crabs, California Kelp Forest, the Deep Sea and Flashlight Fish. Gallon for gallon, these exhibits will house some of the strangest-looking animals in the new Aquarium!
Although a bit subjective, the following lists temperature ranges for aquariums that have specific groupings of animals that dwell within that range:
Some regions, such as the Gulf of Mexico have a temperature range that spans four or five of these zones.
A perennial favorite with visitors to the old Aquarium, these huge crabs get new digs in the renovated aquarium - at 4400 gallons, it will be four times the volume of their previous tank! We can also display other temperate Japanese species such as snipefish and Japanese roughy in the same exhibit.
This exhibit allows us to display leopard sharks and other coastal California species - including bat rays. The bright orange Garibaldi fish will stand out for visitors from across the lobby. A special Hydrowizard pump will produce simulated ocean swells and currents. This computer-controlled pump uses only 300 watts of electricity, yet can create waves as high as two feet in this environment.
Since 2000, the Toledo Zoo Aquarium has gained a wealth of experience in keeping deep sea creatures from Japan. One thing that we've learned is that "eat or be eaten" is a common trait of these animals, especially for crustaceans whose shells are still soft right after they molt. For this reason, our new 400-gallon Deep Sea exhibit will be divided into four compartments, separating predator from prey.
The eerie green lights of the flashlight fish have mesmerized visitors to the Toledo Zoo Aquarium since 1990. The new flashlight fish exhibit will be over twice the size of the old one. Here is an underwater video of the flashlight fish in the old Aquarium building:
This unusual exhibit is 10 feet across, 8 feet tall, but only 18" wide. With its 6 ½ foot wide viewing window, it will give visitors a panoramic view of the graceful Pacific Sea nettle jellyfish as they drift by. A translucent blue backdrop to the exhibit will display the jellies just as if they were drifting in the open ocean. Visitors often tell us that watching our old moon jelly exhibit was very peaceful, almost hypnotic…we can't wait to hear their reaction when they see this exhibit!
A signature exhibit in the old Toledo Zoo Aquarium was the Giant Pacific Octopus (or GPO in aquarium jargon). A major aquarium once sent a contingent of their staff to the Toledo Zoo to find out why we were so successful at maintaining this species. The new GPO exhibit will build on this success. Of all of the invertebrate species housed in aquariums, octopuses seem to be the most intelligent. We offer our octopus a variety of engaging items, including the jar with food inside pictured below. These creatures soon learn to unscrew the lid to get at the food, but to date, we've never been able to teach one to put the lid back on!
The Toledo Zoo staff is anxious for the new aquarium to open March 27, 2015 so they can show the building off to all our guests. Exhibit-wise, we think it will be one of the most solidly filled aquarium out there because so many new exhibits were fit into the existing 30,000 square foot building…and even with that, the visitors will have much more space to roam.
Once the building is open and operating smoothly, the aquarium staff intends to reinvigorate their marine fish breeding program and expand their efforts with the endangered Lake Victoria cichlids, as well as continuing with husbandry research.
While water flow is great, there are few pumps, and they aren't eyesores. Really, you can only see one when looking at the aquarium and it's not particularly noticeable, which I like very much. I'm not using any "regular" actinic 420nm bulbs, and I don't use a bunch of additives, either. In fact, the only additive that goes in is kalkwasser. There is no skimmer. Well, actually there is one in the sump, but I haven't used it in years. Still, I've had no algae problems, and there's almost none in the aquarium at this time. Sponge growth is like nothing I've had before, with much of the surface on the under/back sides of rocks being nearly covered. And, for the first time, I have copious amounts of zooplankton thriving in an aquarium. Lastly, with the exception of a single red open brain coral, every cnidarian in the aquarium originated from frags/cuttings taken from other specimens. I've easily produced over a hundred frags/cuttings for my own livestock, too. So, read on and see what my somewhat different recipe for success has been.
Over the last couple of years a lot of things have been placed in and taken out of the aquarium, seeing what works and what doesn't. I've had problems with some things, and great success with others. So, what I have now is the result of quite a bit of trial and error. I'll discuss some of the stocking problems I've had later, but here's the list of what's in the aquarium now.
In addition to these permanent residents, I have a pair of ocellaris clownfishes ( Amphiprion ocellaris ) in an aquarium system at school that sometimes comes home with me for the summer. They're rather easy to catch, so I'll bring them home for a while and take them back to school when classes start.
I also had a wonderful cherub angel ( Centropyge argi ) for a couple of years, but it disappeared recently despite being very healthy. I have no idea what happened to it... Also, before getting the Randall's shrimp goby, I had a pair of pink bar/aurora gobies ( Amblyeleotris aurora ) living with a Randall's pistol shrimp, but both gobies ended up jumping out of the aquarium.
I've had numerous aquariums over the years, big and small, but I've found a six-foot 125 gallon to be my favorite size. It's plenty big for housing lots of livestock, but not so large as to take up too much space in my current house, or require more than a standard 32 gallon trashcan of R.O. water for water changes. Of course, I also prefer reef-ready/drilled tanks with a sump so that the water level in the main tank stays the same regardless of how often I add top-off water to replace what evaporates. So, several years ago I purchased an All-Glass 125 gallon reef-ready tank (72"L x 18"W x 22"H). This tank originally had an overflow box in each corner, but I removed the box at the right end of the tank with a razor blade and closed off the plumbing holes in the bottom pane of glass. It just wasn't necessary, and removing it freed up a significant amount of space. Anyway, here's the list of all the other equipment I'm currently using:
An All-Glass 55 gallon tank (48"L x 13"W x 21"H) is used as a sump under the main tank for the collection of detritus and holding of chemical filter media. Again, I also ran a skimmer in the sump in the past, but no longer do so. I just haven't bothered to remove it, and figure it might be needed one day if some unforeseen water quality problem arises.
An Aquactinics Constellation T-5 fixture is used for lighting. This low-profile fixture holds 14 three-foot 39w T-5 HO bulbs (7 over each half of the six-foot tank) with an individual reflector for each bulb, and has three power switches.
However, for the last couple of years I've been using only 10 bulbs, with 3 Wave Point Super Blue Wave Actinic 460nm bulbs and 2 Wave Point Sun Wave 12,000K Super Daylight bulbs over each half of the tank. All 6 Super Blue Wave bulbs are on one timer and are turned on for 12 hours per day. The 4 Sun Wave bulbs are on another timer and are turned on for 10 hours a day, switching on one hour after the Super Blue Wave bulbs come on, and switching off one hour before the Super Blue Wave bulbs turn off. Again, no "regular" actinic 420nm bulbs are used. This lighting produces an overall color that I really like, which makes the colors of corals and such look good, and the 460nm bulbs are significantly brighter than the 420nm bulbs I've used, too.
A Taam Rio+ 2100 37w submersible pump serves as the return pump from the sump, with the twin-outlet return being near the top-left front corner of the tank (at position #1 in the photo below).
A Hagen Fluval AquaClear 70 20w powerhead is located at the top-left-rear corner of the tank (at #2, behind the corals), next to the remaining overflow box, and pointed straight across the back of the tank towards the top-right-rear corner of the tank. I positioned the rock and corals so that there's a gap of several inches behind them near the top of the tank, leaving an unobstructed path for water flow across the back of the tank.
A Reef Octopus Diablo 50w DC external pump is used as a closed-loop circulation pump, with the screened intake being next to the AquaClear 70 powerhead at the top-left-rear of the tank. The return is at the top-right-rear of the tank (at #3) and is pointed straight across the back of the tank towards the AquaClear 70 powerhead.
It's randomly (manually) turned on for a few hours a week at most (sometimes not at all), and when on, it's almost always run at only half power (approximately 25w). Again, the return is pointed towards the always-running AquaClear 70 powerhead at the opposite end of the tank, and when both are on and "fighting" against each other, a great amount of turbulent, swirling flow is generated in the open area in the middle of the tank, which then affects almost all parts of the aquarium. This stirs up detritus that accumulates in some areas of normally lower flow, and really gets the soft corals, etc. moving around a lot.
Last, is a Hagen Fluval AquaClear 50 12w powerhead, located at the top-right-rear corner of the tank (at #4), and pointed towards the front-middle of the tank.
Note that the devices above are the only power-consuming items in use. Not only is there no skimmer running, there's no chemical media reactor, no electronic controller, no chiller, etc. In other words, less electricity is used, there's less equipment to clean/maintain, and there are fewer things that can potentially malfunction.
A few years ago I was using a lighting fixture housing three 175w metal halide bulbs and two 165w T-12 VHO bulbs. I also used the same 37w pump for the sump return, two 20w powerheads, a 90w closed-loop external pump, and a 20w submersible pump running an in-sump skimmer. Total power consumption with everything on was approximately 1,042w, with 855w being used by the lighting and 187w being used by the pumps.
Now when everything is on, total power consumption is approximately 484w, with 390w being used by the lighting and the remaining 94w being used by the pumps. At night with the lighting and Diablo pump turned off, total power consumption is only 69w. That's a 54% reduction in total power consumption when everything is on, and a 63% reduction at night.
When it comes to maintenance, I've made an effort to keep things as simple as possible. I want a beautiful aquarium that I can enjoy, rather than a headache that I have to work on all the time. So, here's the routine:
I feed the fishes a mix of Ocean Nutrition Prime Reef and Spirulina flake foods, typically two or three times a day. However, there are times when it's only once a day, and every once in a while it's no times per day (when I'm away from home). A couple of times a week I also toss in a pinch of Ocean Nutrition Formula One sinking pellets and/or New Life Spectrum Marine Fish Formula sinking pellets. The fishes eat most of them, but the peppermint shrimp and skunk cleaner shrimp oftentimes grab a few, too. About once a week I also use a long piece of rigid airline tubing to target feed the Randall's pistol shrimp, with the Randall's shrimp goby taking some of them, as well. All of the fishes are very healthy and nice and thick, and the shrimps are fine and apparently find plenty of other stuff to eat, as I really don't see them eat much of the food I provide.
On occasion, I also feed the corals and such. I put some tank water in a small glass, set it on top of the lighting fixture and then drop in a few Sally's San Francisco Bay frozen cyclops cubes, brine shrimp cubes, and omega brine shrimp cubes. Once they've completely thawed, I stir up everything, turn off all the pumps, move the fixture, and use a turkey baster to target feed the things that I know will take it (button polyps do, but zoanthids don't, etc.). I used to do this about once a week when I was still adding things to the aquarium and trying to get good coverage over all of the rocks. However, I only do this once a month or so now that almost all of the visible rock has been grown over, typically a day or two before I do a water change.
In case you're wondering, nutrient levels don't seem to be a problem, regardless of how much food I put in the aquarium. While it wasn't the case early on, now there are hundreds of tiny mouths covering the rocks, and any bits of food that aren't eaten by the fishes, or caught by the corals when I target feed them, are most likely caught and eaten by something, somewhere in the aquarium anyway. Same goes for any dissolved nutrients, which are absorbed by many such things. The corals themselves are a nutrient control mechanism.
Anyway, usually every week to ten days I use E.S.V. or Two Little Fishies calcium hydroxide/kalkwasser to keep calcium levels up. I add it as a slurry by putting a heaping tablespoon of power into a plastic container and then adding a gallon of R.O. water, which is then fed to the aquarium by a length of airline tubing with a flow controller taken from an I.V. line. I attached this to the container by drilling a hole in the bottom corner and then screwing in a brass hose nipple for the tubing. Flow of the slurry is reduced to a slow drip so that it takes at least a couple of hours for the container to drain, with it dripping into the area over the sump return. So, it gets mixed into the aquarium's water quickly and thoroughly.
As was the case with feeding the corals, I used to do this more often when I was trying to get the stony corals to grow as fast as possible. Now they're growing out of the water and spreading laterally too, so I've cut back. I haven't actually tested calcium levels (or anything else) in a couple of years, but just keep an eye on things. As long as everything looks good, I see some coral growth, and new shell material is being added by my derasa clam, I don't feel the need to do water tests or make any changes to the routine.
For many years I also used Kent Tech I, and would see an apparent positive effect in the form of greater expansion and more rapid growth/reproduction of soft corals and such. However, I started adding it less and less frequently and completely stopped using it some time ago. Again, I no longer want greater expansion or more rapid growth/reproduction of anything in the aquarium. I don't use any other additives, either. Nothing goes in except food, kalkwasser, and water, which is next.
With an occasional exception when life gets in the way, I do monthly water changes using R.O. water and Instant Ocean Reef Crystals. I put approximately 16 cups of salt mix in a covered 32 gallon trashcan on the back deck and then fill it with R.O. water. I also put a powerhead in the trashcan to stir things up. I usually let it mix overnight, and the salinity is usually right in the range of 1.023-1.025 when measured as density using a swing-arm hydrometer. Note that 32 gallons is just right for a 25% water change when adding the volumes of water in the aquarium and sump, minus a few gallons for the rock and corals.
I use a 40 foot length of vinyl tubing with a Taam Rio+ 2100 submersible pump on one end and a U-tube directional return on the other to do the changes. Once the new water is ready, I turn off all the pumps and lights, place a second 32 gallon trashcan next to the aquarium, and use the hose/pump to quickly drain enough water from the aquarium to fill the empty can. The hose is then used to pump the new water from the trashcan outside into the aquarium. By using two trashcans, I never have volume issues during the process. Then, once the aquarium is refilled, I turn everything back on, turn the Diablo pump on full blast for a while, and use the hose/pump to drain the old water from the trashcan next to the aquarium into the bathtub. Yes, I have to move the hose and trashcans around, but the whole process is really pretty easy and takes no more than a half-hour.
After each water change is completed, I put approximately two to three cups of E.S.V. or Two Little Fishies HydroCarbon2 granular activated carbon and one cup of Two Little Fishies Phosban into a mesh bag. This is rinsed very well in the kitchen sink and then put in the sump in an open-top plastic box placed directly under the drain/down-pipe from the aquarium. Water thus flows around/through the mesh bag at all times, and this is apparently working well enough to forgo the use of a skimmer and any sort of reactor chamber.
I also change the bulbs about once a year, sometimes a bit longer. And, about once a year I use the hose/pump combo to suck up much of the detritus in the sump instead of taking all the water from the aquarium when doing a water change. There are so many worms and so much zooplankton in the sump that I don't want to actually suck it dry, so I just slowly move the pump intake around the bottom of the sump and get most, but not all, of the detritus. This always leaves some critters behind.
Other than that, the only other chore is keeping the corals and such in check. All of the branching stony corals and larger soft corals have to be trimmed regularly. In fact, I've had to pull out whole soft corals at times, as they just got too big/numerous. I also pull out a good bit of xenia from time to time as it reproduces quickly and springs up all over the place.
I've been able to trade frags/cuttings for supplies at a couple of local shops, and don't think I've paid for any supplies (other than a few bulbs) for a long time. I know that last summer I went snipper crazy one day and made 54 frags, some of which were pretty big, from the stony corals alone. So, I think a conservative estimate would be over one hundred frags/cuttings produced over the last couple of years, and the aquarium still looks "full".
Oh, and I clean the microalgae off the glass every few days using a magnetic cleaner, of course.
Okay, it isn't all perfect, and I've had some problems/issues. So, here they are, in no particular order:
When I decided to pretty much completely re-do this aquarium as a mixed-reef and first got it going, I didn't need the Diablo closed-loop circulation pump. However, as things grew and there were more and more branches sticking up into the water column, water movement was reduced by the drag all of these created. So I added the Diablo pump for some extra flow from time to time. While everything is generally fine without it, detritus accumulates visibly in the bottom left corner of the aquarium unless I turn on the Diablo for a while. From time to time, I also use the magnetic glass cleaner to stir up everything in the same corner while the pump is on, which really gets the sand cleaned up.
Occasionally, and with no apparent connection to anything I'm doing, a translucent film develops on the water's surface. I don't know what it is or where it comes from, but at least it's easy to get rid of. As the return from the Diablo is pointed across the back of the tank towards the AquaClear 70 powerhead and overflow box at the opposite end, I can turn the powerhead off and turn the Diablo up to full blast for a few hours. This literally blasts the film into the grate of the overflow box, and into the sump it goes. I don't know what happens to it then, but it typically doesn't comes back for weeks at a time.
When I was adding calcium more often, there was a lot more coralline algae growing in the aquarium. However, much of it has slowly disappeared over the last year or so. Fortunately, most of the lighted rock is covered by other things, while unlit surfaces have been largely overgrown by sponges. And, I don't have to scrape coralline algae off the glass any more, either. So, in some ways this isn't a problem after all.
Several of the stony corals have grown up to the water's surface and have produced little tables at the ends of their exposed branches. This doesn't seem to be any problem for the corals, except that the tables are increasing in size by growing laterally, and are increasingly shading things underneath them. I guess at some point, probably soon, I'll have to carefully trim these down with some snips. Still, I imagine there are some folks that would like to give me a kick in the rear for bringing up too much coral growth as a problem.
Anyway, I recently noticed that two of the largest stony coral colonies, one of the green slimers and one of the torts, were losing tissue at their bases. They've grown to a large enough size that their bases are heavily shaded at this point, and I assume the tissue recession is the result. I watched them very carefully for a couple of weeks, but it finally stopped and hasn't progressed any further in a few weeks. I imagine the areas of naked skeleton will soon enough be covered by button polyps and such, but these two corals seem to be very resistant to having their living tissue succumb to overgrowth by other things. We'll see what happens over the coming months...
Lastly, I've had some compatibility issues, which shouldn't be a surprise. For example, at one point I was about to tear out everything on the right end of the aquarium just to get rid of the fast-growing anthelia I had added. Don't add it unless it's all you want! I've also had and still have a few corals that refuse to grow at all, no matter where I put them in the aquarium. A couple of the fishes have started to have relationship problems, too. However, overall I think things have gone relatively smoothly considering the diversity of life in the aquarium. Regardless, I'll be doing a second article on this aquarium, which will focus specifically on compatibilities, what can/can't touch what, what grows fast and what doesn't, etc. So, keep an eye out for that one if you want a lot of information about mixing various fishes and corals your aquarium.
To finish up I have to say, no, I haven't accepted any sort of favors, payments, or free samples of the products I mentioned by name. The pumps may or may not be the best for your situation, the foods may or may not be the most nutritious for your livestock, etc., and I'm certainly not suggesting you go out and buy something just because I use it (or stop using something because I don't use it). I simply use what has worked for me over the long-term and is readily available at the local fish stores I do most all of my business with. Again, I often trade frags/cuttings for supplies, and take whatever they've got on hand as long as I know the product and have used it with success. You may be able to find something better (and/or cheaper) than what I use, but in my opinion, you really can't go wrong with these products, either.
I would like the thank Advanced Aquarist for selecting my planted aquarium as a featured aquarium. It's very exciting to be able to share this setup with fellow hobbyists.
I have been involved with aquaria for the better part of my life and have always been a gear-head (both in the hobby and out). Up until recently I kept a very successful 265 Gallon reef with enough equipment to automate the entire thing. Unfortunately, real life got in the way and a series of events led to the dismantling of my elaborate contraption. I parted out the tank, packed up all of my equipment and put it all in storage. Fast forward one year and I found myself desperately missing having an aquarium.
So what does a former reefer do with piles of equipment and no time or space to set up a reef tank? The answer for me was simple: high tech planted tank. I've been keeping planted tanks since about 2002, but took a lengthy hiatus when the reef bug bit.
The money I was able to recoup from the sale of my unused equipment and aquarium almost completely funded the purchase of this tank and the various pieces of equipment I needed to make it a reality. The remainder of my unsold equipment was reused to help create some of the more technical aspects of this aquarium.
Having an entire stockpile of reef equipment and lighting at my disposal was a pretty exciting prospect. From the get go I had intended this tank to be as technically oriented as my former reef aquarium had been. This meant that my collection of Profilux equipment and DIY LED fixtures would be put to use almost immediately.
I had 4 LED pendants from previous tanks that had a 50/50 mix of Cool White and Royal Blue LED's (I actually had 5 but I scrapped one later in favor of adding 2 T5s). While this had served me well for my SPS tank(s) it was far too blue for a shallow water planted aquarium. To combat this, I added several Red and Green LEDs to the mix.
The Profilux head unit itself did not have enough 0-10V ports to control all of my lighting channels, nor did it have enough expansion slots to add enough expansion cards. Thankfully I had an Expansion box kicking around and I was able to load it up with enough cards to provide all 10 ports I needed for the LED's and cooling fans. The cooling fans actually speed up and slow down based on the intensity of the LEDs, this actually keeps the ambient volume down in the room not having 10 fans whirring away at full speed constantly.
I made use of 4 x GHL Simu Spots to have dimmable moonlights. These units can do a pretty decent cloud simulation, lunar cycle simulation, lightning simulation, and you can dim the Red and White/Blue channel separately (you can also preset to blue/white level from white, light blue or dark blue).
In the end I came up with a light that has separately dimmable channels for every colour of LED, the left/right LED clusters are dimmable separately from the center clusters, T5's on their own lighting schedule and fans that change speed to keep everything nice and cool. In the event of a tragic overheating event the lighting will dim down, and eventually turn off if the temperature isn't corrected.
When you have this much light (which is honestly beyond ridiculous for most freshwater tanks) CO2 becomes an absolute necessity. If I go without CO2 for more than a week this tank suffers greatly. As such I usually have a supply of Gluteraldehyde kicking around as a liquid carbon source for emergencies (in the event of no-CO2 I have to dose 45ml per day to keep up with the plant demand).
The Profilux controls the CO2 injection for this aquarium. I manually adjust my kH to 6 dkH so that I can tell the Profilux to inject CO2 until I have a pH of 6.8 (this puts me at roughly about 30ppm of CO2). At night the CO2 control turns off and the pH is allowed to creep back up.
With lots of light and CO2 my fertilizer demands are pretty high. The growth rate in this tank is somewhat extreme and as such I need to dose a lot. I made use of my Dosing pump and balling chambers to automate the EI dosing method. I created stock solutions of KNo3, K2SO4, KH2PO4, and CSM+B (for micro nutrients) and have the Profilux dose them separately on alternate days during the week.
On the weekends I have to do a little bit more chemistry. Our tap water is extremely soft in my area with a kh of 2 dkH and requires some work to keep the pHstable. I usually just add baking soda to bring the kH up to 6 degrees during the water change.
The day following a water change (once the kH has stabilized) I add a mixture of CaCl2, MgSO4·7H2O and chelated iron.
While I would love to have a minimal fish selection and stick to a simple giant school, I am a sucker for brightly coloured fish. I selected fish that contrast against the greens and deep reds of the plants.
Like many, I suffer from a serious case of collectoritis. My selection of plants is always changing slightly as I experiment with different species. In my part of Canada selection is VERY limited, so it is a real challenge to find rare plants. Hopefully once the weather improves I will be able to bring in some more interesting species.
This tank was first filled March 8, 2013. It took one solid month to repair the old LED fixtures, build the canopy, wire everything, etc.
Unfortunately, the tank suffered from a rather significant disaster around May when the CO2 tank leaked (while I was out of town working). Lack of CO2 led to a nutrient excess, and when combined with high light it caused a massive algae bloom that annihilated most of the plants and some of the fish. It took several months to recover and regrow.
After the tank recovered I realized that my lights, while bright, were not putting out enough red for some of the plants. I supplemented with 2 T5s initially (2 x KZ Fiji Pink bulbs), but eventually added Red and Green LED's to help fill in some of the missing spectrum.
Future upgrades to the lighting are planned. Deep Red (660nm Red), more Green, and Blue LED's will be added. Filtration upgrades are on the horizon as well; I have my eye on an Eheim Pro 3e filter as I can use the Profilux to control it.
This aquarium does not adhere to any of the traditional styles of aquascaping. I am not patient enough to craft a "nature aquarium" nor am I a fan of the typical "dutch" style so I kind of do my own thing. I focus heavily on rapid growth so I can constantly tinker with different shapes and looks.
This aquarium requires constant pruning. Certain species of plants grow exponentially faster than others so I am often clipping off stems every few days. In a given week I remove about a cubic foot of plant material.
One of the things that frustrated me the most about reefing was simply how "long" positive change took to occur. The long term results were amazing, but I really like to get my hands in there and muck around (something that seldom does corals any good). This tank is completely different, and I have a blast knowing I can hack the plants down and in a few days they will be back up at the surface.
The net effect of this rapid growth and overall plant health is that maintenance is actually really easy (pruning aside). Every weekend I change about 30-35 gallons of water, and perform filter maintenance about every 6 weeks. I have to calibrate my pH probe periodically, and blow dust out of my chiller and fans but that's about it.
I've built this aquarium to automate a lot of the more tedious tasks (fertilizing, lighting, top offs (not implemented yet, but soon) to free up time that I can spend on the plants. The result has been a tank of endless fun that I hope will run for many more years, or at least until I upgrade.
You don't really get to see many tanks coming out of Australia so I am very humbled at the opportunity for Advanced Aquarist to feature my aquarium.
At first when I was contacted to do an article I was a little hesitant and worried that my tank, being so young at only 11 months compared to many you see featured around the globe, may not be quite up to the standard. However, having said that I borrow the quote: "It's not always about being where you are now but where and what you are striving to be." This is only the start of what hopefully will be a long journey with this tank.
I hope that you enjoy the photos and through them are able to feel the enjoyment and relaxation I receive from our great hobby. For as long as I can remember, I have always been fascinated with the ocean and diverse life forms it features. It is truly another world and I love that this hobby allows us to keep a small part of it in our homes. I am really grateful to be given this opportunity to share and showcase a little of what we 'Down Under' have to offer...
The sump is a custom built 6ft x 2ft x 2ft (180 gallon) tank with changeable filter sock section and three partitions to house skimmer, reactor and return pump. Built into the sump is a 100 litre RO reservoir.
I feed three times a day a mixture of Spectrum pellets, Hikari seaweed pellets and mysis shrimp. I will also give the tangs some nori twice a week.
I try and keep it as simple as I can in this area. I perform a 10-15% water change every fortnight using Brightwell Neomarine salt. I mix this up overnight in a 200L tub located in my laundry. The tank water is siphoned down a drain out the window. Topping back up is via a pump in the laundry tub connected to a hose, which I wind out to the tank. Quite simple and only takes about 30min a fortnight and avoids any heavy lifting which is great for me as I have a back condition.
I top up the cal, mag and alkalinity reservoirs as required. These are automatically dosed via the Vertex Libra system.
The top-up reservoir gets filled once a week directly from my RO unit via air tubing which I wind out to the tank … nice and simple.
I clean the glass front and sides every 3 - 4 days and the back glass gets a scrape every 3-4 weeks.
Skimmer pump and Tunze pumps are cleaned at the six-month mark.
Just like to say a big thank you to my wife for supporting me and to my fellow reefers who share my passion. I would also like to thank Reeflections Aquarium down here in Melbourne who has provided me with endless advice and awesome quality stock.
A few parting Zoa photos:
My name is Bryn and I'm an alcoholic … oops … sorry wrong AA article! In all seriousness my true addiction is to this hugely rewarding, massively frustrating and at times, all-consuming hobby of ours. Sometimes, when its 3 a.m., I've accidentally set my reactor CO2 rate too high, my media has melted causing my skimmer to overflow, which I've forgotten is linked to the main drain, meaning my tank is slowly going down the sewers, prompting my kalkstirrer to pour limewater into my sump at a rate of knots, and now my skimmer is fizzing up to such an extent that my garage floor now looks like an Ibiza foam party, the low water alarm is belting out, the wife is up and going nuts, I wonder … is it really worth it? Then a week later when the tank finally clears and the bruises the Mrs. gave me for making such a mess are starting to fade, I stand back, drink in the view and realize yes, actually it is!
I've been keeping fish on and off since I was 9 years old. I graduated to the salty world around a decade ago. Since then I've had three tanks. The first was an extremely poor and ill-conceived 190l fish only system complete with internal filter, air stone skimmer and tufa rock. I committed cardinal sins in fish choice/compatibility, buying on impulse based on the advice of the kid in the fish shop who assured me on many occasions that all of the fish they stocked were community friendly. Funnily enough my wolf eel, miniatus grouper and lunar wrasse didn't share the same conviction!
For the second tank I decided to step back and do my homework. I joined several online forums and was astounded at the true works of art people were producing. Then I saw an SPS tank being featured as tank of the month and I knew then I'd found what I wanted to achieve. This was it. I could see this guy's equipment list. All I had to do was copy him and I was home free! Simple. I then spent the next 4 years making every mistake possible in the reefkeeping world! Every algae, pest, parasite and bacterium known to man took their turns to make my life a misery. Somehow though, I eventually managed to achieve the beautiful SPS reef I had dreamed of.
At that point I decided that the best thing to do was tear it all down and start again!
The current tank is nearing 2 years old now and has been a comparable dream to maintain. It hasn't been stress-free by any means but overall I am very happy with the result. The display is situated in our kitchen and stands on a box steel frame which I DIY-cladded with white acrylic panels. The tank overflows and runs underneath our bathroom to the sump and filtration system located in my garage (notice the deliberate use of the word "my" here).
My nutrient export methodology is very simple. I have tried many approaches in the past: ULNS, vodka dosing, lanthanum chloride etc. However, I have found that for my tank, if I drop the nutrients too low I lose the vibrant colours. Many people have found the opposite but for my tank low nutrients are not the top priority.
I don't dose anything, no blue bottles or carbon source of any kind. I have a DSB that has existed in my sump since the birth of my second tank and cheato that I grow on top of it. I also run a DIY phosphate reactor that consists of 6 slim in-line de-ionisation pods, the first of which is filled with carbon and the five that follow with GFO. The reason I use the slim canisters is that I've yet to find GFO media that doesn't clump and channel so by extending the horizontal run I stand a better chance of making the most of it. I run a reasonably slow flow through this, I've never measured it but I'd guess it's about 10 - 20 litres an hour.
My experience with lighting has taught me that as long as you acclimatise your SPS slowly, most of them just can't get enough. As mentioned above nutrients aren't my top priority, lighting however definitely is. I'm no expert on the scientific side of the hobby. However, it seems logical to me that for animals that draw most of their sustenance from photosynthesis this has to be the key.
I run 2 x 400w metal halide lamps in Lumenarc reflectors powered by electronic ballasts. My bulb of choice is Radium 20,000K. I've tried many others but once I ignited the Radiums I knew I'd probably never change brand again. I supplement this with 8 x 54 w T5 with a mix of different bulbs that I change when the mood suits me. I love the flexibility T5 gives you to tweak and change the appearance of the tank. My current blend is all ATI with 2x aquablue special, 2x purple plus, 2x true actinic and 2x blue plus.
The halides come on at 12:00 and go off at 22:00. The purple and actinic t5's come on at 14:00 and go off at 22:30 while the aquablue and blue plus bulbs come on at 18:00 and go off at 21:30. I really enjoy the different hues and colours that the lights bring out at different times of the day. A further twist on the lighting is that I have two large skylights directly above the tank so in the summer especially (on the odd occasion we get a summer in the UK) the lighting effects can be spectacular.
For calcium I run a reactor with ARM media combined with all top off water running through a Kalkstirrer. Until recently this was sufficient for my needs however the rate at which some of my corals are now growing means I have to add a little bicarbonate of soda daily through a dosing pump. Magnesium and Calcium are occasionally corrected manually using Randy Holmes Farley's recipes although this is probably only a few times a year.
I have to admit this is one area of the hobby I have always loathed. I find the process of testing tedious and this is probably my biggest downfall. Like many I tend to base my corrective actions on the look of my tank. Certain corals I find a giveaway of something being out of step. For instance I have a particular acro that will stop producing its purple growth tips if the phosphate levels go beyond what many of the other corals can tolerate. I use this coral to tell me when I need to change my GFO rather than a test result. The only test I do with any reasonable regularity is KH, the rest I only test on occasion but for those I do test for here are the ranges I usually find.
With my filtration system being located in the garage, and the climate here cold for most of the year, keeping the temperature up rather than down is my issue. I have 2 x 300 watt heaters in the display tank and a further two in the sump. My sump is well insulated but the garage tank isn't at all, so for this reason I shut it down around November then get it back on-line around April. As it isn't heated it acts to keep my main tank at a reasonable temperature in the summer months. If we are lucky enough to ever hit some warm weather I have a large DIY twin pipe "bong" chiller that I can connect up but I've not needed to in the last couple of years.
Temperature: Winter 22C (71.6F) - 24C (75.2F), Summer 24C (75.2F) - 27C (80.6F).
Now were talking! Fish to me are what brought me into the hobby and to this day they are what keeps me in it. I'll never forget the first time I saw a Royal Gramma in a terrible local garden centre aquarium and was blown away by the contrast in colours. To this day it remains one of my favourite fish however over the years my tastes have changed and developed as I have started to yearn the more unusual animals.
I've always loved angels and butterflies. To my mind they are the ultimate reef fish. I always envisioned filling a reef tank with them. However, from my initial investigations it appeared the accepted wisdom was that they were massive reef no-no's. Then I came across John Coppolino's tank on a reef forum and it gave me the permission I had been craving to just go for it!
I think many people approach fish choice based on the corals they keep. My approach is the opposite. I select the corals with an eye on the fish I have or plan to keep in the near future. The term reef-safe is one we hear applied to fish all of the time but we never hear corals described in terms of the fish that won't eat them. I think it's a common misconception that fish are either "reef safe" or not. In my experience there are few fish that are totally incompatible with any corals at all,; It's just a case of finding the right blend.
For my own personal taste in fish it helps hugely that I've always preferred SPS as I've yet to keep an angel that has caused any real damage to them. My LPS choice is certainly limited and I can't keep much in the way of Zoa's or fleshy corals such as open brains but this is a trade-off I'm happy to accept.
In this tank my aim has always been to keep a member of each of the main Angel genus along with some other favourites.
I love my fish so I feed heavy. I have two auto-feeders containing pellets, both come on 3 times a day. The first holds 1mm NLS pellets; all of my fish love these. The second holds a 50/50 mix of medium size Ocean Nutrition Formula 1 and 2. I also keep a jumbo tub of unbranded marine flake near the tank and they get a large pinch of this probably 3 or 4 times a day. I feed D&D reef paste, RS Mysis, lobster eggs, cyclopeze and red plankton but there is no real schedule. It's just as I feel like it.
One of the things I love about this hobby is the phenomenal range of inverts that are now available to us. We have shrimps that clean fish, shrimps that live in anemone's, shrimps that live in a burrow with fish, shrimps that ride on the back of sea cucumbers, shrimps that prey only on starfish and that's just shrimps! I keep a reasonable range of inverts but this is something I'm keen on expanding in the future. When we have friends or family over the fish that get the initial attention but it's the crabs, snails and urchins that really hold their interest. The added bonus of these animals is the services they perform in keeping our aquariums clean and controlling pests. If there's a biological solution to a problem I'll always pick that over chemical.
As the photos demonstrate, the aquarium is heavily dominated by SPS corals. My personal favourites are Montipora species. I just love the solid colours and interesting structures they form, that and the fact that they are easy to keep! I also keep some LPS, mostly Euphyllia, as mentioned previously those that my fish don't like the taste of. I'm not going to attempt to name all the species as frankly I haven't a clue.
Unsurprisingly my plans surround fish. I'm happy with the corals I have now so I don't see myself adding many more. If anything I can see myself removing some. To me reefs with large colonies look so much more natural. Ralph Prehn's is probably the best example of this point. Fish-wise I feel I'm nearly where I want to be. However, deep down I know I'll never be fully satisfied and that can only mean one thing: a bigger tank!
I love the Roaps subgenus of butterflies. They are hardy and the ones I have kept haven't proved any danger to my corals. I have two but I plan on adding at least a couple more, I'm also keen on broadening my butterfly horizons and attempting some of the more risky choices such as C. paucifasciatus. There is also one angel that has eluded my attempts to obtain it although I'm not going to mention which one so I don't jinx my chances!
First and foremost I'd like to publicly thank my family for tolerating my piscine insanity! I'd also like to extend gratitude to Steve at Burscough Aquatics for providing the majority of my corals and the team at Abyss Aquatics for sourcing my fish. A big thanks also to Leonard Ho for inviting me to share my aquarium with the magazine.
My name is Paul Bruns and I live in Bridgewater Massachussetts. It is quite an honor to have my aquarium featured here in Advanced Aquarist. I have been keeping aquaria in one form or another for over 40 years so it's a thrill for me to be asked to display my reef here. Since its setup almost eight years ago there have been many changes to my system and reef . In this write up I will try to explain what I have done and why. I also hope to convey the wonder and great pleasure I experience with this hobby.
My reefkeeping philosophy can be summed up as having two priorities. First and foremost is the welfare and health of the animals under my care. I would do almost anything for them. Secondly, I like to pay a lot of attention to the aesthetics, beauty and presentation of the aquarium to make the viewing experience the best I can make it. I know that the main focus should ultimately be about what is inside the tank. However, I think the appearance of the entire setup and the room it is located in can have a big impact on the viewer. As the aquarium is in the middle of my home I think this is very important. My present system is the product of what I learned from the many that came before it. I used that experience to create what I think is a unique viewing experience of a beautiful reef in an unconventional room.
The tank itself is 427 gallons. It is eurobraced acrylic with a center overflow made by Invisions Inc. The tank measures 84" x 36" x 29". The center overflow allows for unobstructed viewing from all angles of the room.
Building the stand was a challenge because I generally dislike the look of all conventional aquarium stands. I wanted something that I could see through and would not appear boxy. The stand is made of 4 columns of cinderblock topped with 3 steel I beams and 3/4" plywood. The columns and sides were tiled over with the same tile used for the floor of the room. This helps the stand fade from view instead of standing out. I have had guests jump with shock when one of my dogs comes walking out from under the stand to say hello. All the plumbing and electrical are routed through the legs of the stand to the sump in the basement below.
I don't think there is any kind of aquarium filtration method I haven't tried or used. All are useful and have their applications. I have found that no single method alone of nutrient control is sufficient to handle the bioload of my reef. I have gone through a progression of methodologies over the past eight years. I used ozone for a while but found keeping the air dry for it problematic. I had a remote deep sand bed when I originally set up the system. At around the second year nitrates began to rise and I realized this method of nitrate control just wasn't working anymore. I switched to vodka dosing and bought a sulfur denitrator. That worked, but what a pain! Daily additions of vodka were tedious. The reactor worked well but I didn't like the adjustments I had to make to it as nitrate levels of the water fluctuated.
I also had a persistent problem with phosphates. I used GFO and dripped lanthanum chloride into filter socks and a diatom filter. GFO was expensive and often caused STN on my acros when I changed them. Lanthanum dosing was a real chore. Through a lot of experimentation and lots of trial and error I eventually found success. A combination of a good skimmer, carbon dosing (biopellets) and an Algae Turf Scrubber keeps the nutrient levels of my water very low. I can feed large amounts of food without worry. The skimmer is a Bubble King 250 Internal. The biopellets tumble in a NextReef reactor. The algae Turf Scrubber I made myself.
Originally I had two Maristar fixtures with four 250 watt halides and four 39 watt T5s. I also used some 12" Finnex T5 fixtures to try and light up some of the darker areas of the tank. This lighting configuration was used for 6 years. It was not entirely successful as there were dimly lit areas of the tank and all those fixtures hanging above looked pretty poor. In 2011 I upgraded the lighting to 12 Aqua Illuminations Sol Blues. Since that time I have added 2 more. The difference has been dramatic for my corals and the overall look of the tank and room were remarkably enhanced. I have some advise for anyone that is thinking of changing to LED lighting. Measure the intensity of your present system with a par meter or lux meter. I used a lux meter. When you put up your LEDs, match that intensity as best you can and slowly change from there.
There are five Tunze Stream Pumps. Three are attached to Vertex Moceans that sweep back and forth across areas that are mostly populated with SPS. Three others are in fixed positions. All are mounted on the center overflow. The return pump is a Reeflow Goby Gold and is located with the sump in the basement.
Believe it or not, cooling has never been a big issue, even in a sunroom. When the temperature of the water reaches 80.0F, a fan on the wall adjacent to the tank blows air across the surface of the water. Even with the air temp of the room at 86F, the tank temp has not exceeded 80.2F. With the new AI lighting, the room stays a lot cooler and the AC runs a lot less. There are two 500watt titanium heaters in the sump for heating. In the winter the sump and everything I can reach are insulated.
I have an Apex Lite controller but this is relatively new and is not completely configured. It presently controls the heaters, the cooling fan, the lights on the ATS and some air pumps. I will get an e-mail and text message if the power fails or if the pH or temperature go out of range. The specific gravity and top- off are controlled by the SeaVisions Dialyseas, which is described next.
I thought a lot about maintenance when I was planning this tank. I ended up buying a Dialyseas made by Seavisons. I was very tired of doing water changes and I knew a tank of this size would need sizable and frequent ones. The Dialyseas does all the water changes for me. I just add the salt of my choice to the brine bucket. I can set how much water I want changed on a daily basis. Right now I have it set low, only 1.5 gallons a day. The Dialyseas also makes all the RO/DI water I need and monitors the specific gravity with a conductivity meter. It makes adjustments when needed and is amazingly stable and accurate. Here is a link to a vid that shows the basement sump and equipment.
The algae turf scrubber is scraped once weekly, usually on the weekend. I get a large dinner-plate full of algae every week. I replace 2 cups of carbon in the carbon reactor (an old converted calcium reactor) every third week.
I add one large spoonful of calcium hydroxide to the kalk stirrer every night. I clean the acrylic almost every day, but that is because I have OCD when it comes to my tank. The Tunze powerheads get bleached and vinegar dipped when needed.
I utilize both a calcium reactor and a kalk stirrer to keep up with the demand. The calcium reactor is made by Schuran and the kalk reactor by Aqua Medic. A Spectrapure LitreMeter pulls RO/DI water through the kalk reactor for all top-off.
Lugols Iodine, 8 drops daily.
A sheet of nori and a cube of cyclops are fed in the moring while I have my coffee. At 10 AM, 5PM and 8PM an automated feeder dispenses various pelletized dry foods. Around 2 PM I feed 10 cubes of frozen mysis and one cube of cyclops.
Both my Rabbitfish and my Hippo Tang lost parts of their fins on their introduction to the tank. I do not know what the cause was, and neither fish regained what was lost. The Hippo Tang is the Edward Scissorhands of the reef and looks like he went through a blender. He is very healthy though and continues to grow. My Bluethroat Triggerfish are my favorite and exhibit the most personality. The male follows me around the room and I swear he's smiling at me.
I'm not going to attempt to list all the corals present in my tank. Suffice it to say that it is a mixed reef with softies, gorgonians, and many SPS. Reefers who keep careful track of all the corals they place in their systems have my due admiration. Someday I will get around to cataloging them all. Right now I can say that I try to achieve the most diversity that I can. That is the goal and my challenge.
No reef tank endeavor would be complete without experiencing some of the common problems we all suffer through. I think I have had my fair share of all the plagues that are common to this hobby. Everything from cyano to red bugs, I have met them all. I have had AEFW present in the main display since at least 2008 and probably well before that. I control them now with wrasses and a turkey baster. I cannot detect any damage to my corals, but I'm sure there would be if I let their populations increase. The worst effect of their presence is that I do not give out or sell any acro frags.
Another problem is that I find that the reef gets crowded very fast. I love to buy corals and I want to have as much diversity as I can manage. Also of course everything grows. The challenge is to arrange everything in such a way so that the reef doesn't look like a big block. I am continuously moving things around and adjusting the aquascape. Reefkeeping is very much like gardening. There is lots of pruning and transplanting. As a result there is usually an area somewhere in the reef where things look new with young frags and recently acquired corals. I have documented the many transformations with videos on YouTube. You can see these videos here:
I have listed the water parameters but the only testing I do on a regular basis is for alkalinity and iodine.
I really love this hobby. There are so many different facets to it that keep you engaged and interested. If you are a tech geek, a biologist, chemist, a photographer or just someone that appreciates great natural beauty, there is something here for you. I never seem to tire of it. I would like to thank Leonard Ho for asking me to display my aquarium here. I would also like to thank Greg Thevenin for his tremendous help with the photography, and all of my friends and fellow reefers of the Boston Reefers Society who have made this hobby even more enjoyable for me.
I was introduced to marine side of aquariums purely by accident. I had ordered myself a new Dennerle 30l nano aquarium with all the equipment to make my own "amano-nano" as I wanted to try something new with an aquarium. By this time I already had 3 TOTMs at cichlid-forum.com (1 malawi and 2 SA tanks). However, I was sent only the tank and some very basic essentials such as a nano-thermometer, etc. So now I had a whole month of waiting ahead and browsed through the internet for ideas and inspiration. All of the sudden I found myself at nano-reef.com and needless to say, all the freshwater nano equipment was later sold, still unboxed.
My reefkeeping started happily with that 30l nanocube. However, my appetite wasn't quite satisfied with this tank so a few months later I transformed my 225l SA cichlid / panaque pleco aquarium into a reef with HOB skimmer and a 6-bulb ATI T-5 fixture. This tank was sailing smoothly for well over a year until I decided to go all out with saltwater. I sold my 430l FW angelfish tank to make way for a custom 140x70x55cm, 570l (150 US gal) tank. And now just over year and a half later I am honored by the request to be featured here at Advanced Aquarist. Seeing many of the past feature tanks this is truly a honor.
Having a laid back and borderline lazy personality, aiming for maximum growth (or maximum anything, really) has always been out of equation for my part. For me, this is more about pure aesthetics and providing the best care for the animals depending on me while not forgetting about passing down the respect for nature and its diversity. Naturally, the corals grow and need pruning every now and then, but that really isn't a goal in itself but more of an indicator of doing things correctly (or close enough).
Apart from the tank itself, most of my equipment has been purchased used or other cost-effective source. Stream pumps and lighting are from other tank tear-downs, sump tanks and ATO reservoir are from a closed-down LFS, etc. For me this has been a great way of upgrading and streamlining the system as it has shaped up during its existence.
Even after my two previous reef tanks, I didn't have all my wishes and goalscompletely sorted out. This tank has given me a great opportunity to modify my equipment accordingly. As an example of my evolution, take my cryptic refugium zone. My tank is placed partly under the stairs leaving little to no useful space on its left side. I thought about extending the cabinet all the way under the stairs but thought it impractical to keep heavy salt buckets etc in such confined space. So I plumbed in there another tank divided in two compartments. The bigger section is filled with live rock and sponges serving as a cryptic refugium to add filtration to the system and to preserve microfauna. The smaller section functions as a ATO reservoir refilled with a pump and hose so the lack of workspace isn't an issue.
From the start of this tank, I've maintained pretty much same routines all the way:
Feeding 0-3 times a day with pellets, flakes and/or frozen Omega One and Ocean Nutrition foods to keep diet varied. 1-2 days per week without feeding. Also, quick check in the cabinet to see temperature is within range and everything is working properly. Clean pumps as necessary.
Fill the ATO reservoir with saturated kalkwasser. Also add magnesium to ATO water and empty/clean the skimmer cup.
Change 60l water with 1.026 s.g. water.
Change out the activated carbon and PO4 remover from reactor. Prune macro algae in refugium.
Water chemistry has been stable during the past one and a half years with the use of "Mg enriched" kalkwasser and very frugal balling dosing (80ml/liquid/day) resulting in steady growth even with relatively dense SPS population. Also, since biopellets were introduced, my nutrient levels have dropped down to insignificant levels allowing for more generous feeding routines.
I recently changed from T5 (8x54W) to LED lighting and so far I'm very satisfied with it both for coral coloration and tank temperature.
I am very satisfied with the progress of this tank while still being somewhat concerned on whether I can manage to keep such a wide variety of growing coral colonies long-term. As I have no aspirations of going any bigger, it's just some species may have to go and give way for others to thrive and grow towards their LED sun. Whichever way things go from here, I wish that my somewhat humble setup manages to give inspiration for someone out there looking for ideas just as I was amazed on how such small tanks could mimic parts of the Red Sea and Indo-Pacific.
I would like to thank the staff and members of aqua-web.fi and nano-reef.com for all the advice and support I've received during my time in the hobby and for the inspiration to start with the salty side of life in general. Also, I would like to thank Leonard Ho for believing in this tank already a year back as having potential to be a featured aquarium in Advanced Aquarist.
Editorial Note: This article was edited for clarity. Advanced Aquarist believes it is important to present diverse husbandry of successful aquariums from around the world but does not endorse all the techniques of our featured aquariums. Always research and carefully plan before attempting to replicate any system.
Aquariums have been a hobby of mine for over 10 years, but let it be known my interest with reef aquariums have a much more important place in my life. My even older interest in photography combined with my interest in this hobby makes it really worth the time. My house is filled with guests from far away and very different worlds. The successful husbandry of these reef species bears witness to the activities and behavior of a man with dedication. Of course, that is our responsibility as their host, with the most important task of making our guests comfortable.
It is a necessity in this hobby to ensure a suitable environment for all living things. This requires serious knowledge and experience. From the first day, I spent most of my time researching this subject. With each passing day, I am excited to learn something new to apply and implement.
This is my third reef aquarium after two previous attempts. As with every new build, my planning and design for this tank is based on my previous live experiences. I have considered past problems and applied convenient methods to address many issues.
I started my latest project on the 30th of July 2010 and put the first water in the tank on the 29th of October 2010. After the start of the system, I waited approximately 2 months until the aquarium hosted its first guest. This process formed the basis of the system to grow a suitable biological environment while I made the necessary arrangements to follow all the controlled design factors.
In order to use T5 lighting on a big tank, I designed the most suitable tank dimensions that could be lit with 80W fluorescents. T5 lighting was a decisive factor for my tank height.
Because I wanted a SPS-weighted and a mixed reef aquarium, I attached a frag tank to system. I made the refugium completely for visual reasons because of my enthusiasm to care for some different species such as sea horses and pipefish.
In my previous tanks, I used metal halide and LED fixtures. Based on my experience as well as my technical and visual sense, I thought I may be more successful using T5 lighting.
I considered stability, silence and efficiency to decide the circulation and return pumps. I conceal the wavebox and wavemaking devices to create a more natural view.
Circulation Pumps:
Return Pumps:
I have preferred the balling method ever since my first reef tank and I'm very happy with it. I have never considered switching to other methods. In fact, over time I created my own balling formulas. ReeFlowers additives are produced using these formulas, and are used in Turkey and many countries by many hobbyist.
For the first time, I am using the kalkwasser to support the balling method. There are four reasons I use kalkwasser:
I thought about my aquarium's filtration system to achieve two main fundamental goals. The most important is to provide oxygen, and this is done with a protein skimmer. The second is to support biological filtration, for which I use biopellets. I am also using activated carbon at the same time for possible chemical build-ups,. I don't use any mechanical filtration methods.
I think for the most stable and reliable temperature, the heater and chiller should be integrated. For this reason, I have chosen a chiller with both heating and cooling functions in a single unit (Teco TC 20 Chiller). I set up the aquarium's temperature for 26,5 C (79.7 F) in winter and 27,5 C (81.5 F) in summer.
I haven't had any serious problems except for Aiptasia ever since installation until recently. I rescued the tank from Aiptasias with Chelmon butterfly .
In general, growth rate of my corals is fast until they make contact with other corals. Currently, all the corals in contact with each other are cut down a block. Corals also need pruning from time to time in order to see behind them.
I endeavor to simplify additives as much as possible. I do not add any extra additives manually. I only dose the balling additives, kalkwasser and salt. If I have find any decline in parameters as a result of my tests, I only use extra additive to normalize the lacking concentration.
I believe feeding is effective for fish health and also for coral growth. Despite feeding high amounts, my nitrate and phosphate values are still low and the coral growth is very fast. Of course, the growth must be controlled by water parameters, ionic balance, lighting, circulation, etc.
I check salinity, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, nitrate and phosphate weekly. For a more detailed analysis, I send a sample of tank water to the ReeFlowers Aquarium Laboratory monthly.
Periodic maintenance has been boring for me every time, cleaning glass, making test, cleaning the protein skimmer etc. For this reason, I try to find ways to facilitate maintenance work. For example, protein skimmer is connected to the waste water exit and I set up the daily waste collection 3 lt. In this way the skimmer throat is polluted lately and offset the increase in salinity caused by balling and automatically change the water every day is made. In addition, using the freshwater part, I can change 10% of water through valves and keys.
We need to investigate the compatibility between species when creating our stocking list. In my earlier aquariums, I stayed up many nights to keep to trap aggressive species.
I think that fish excrement are also the most natural food source for corals, so I aimed to create a large fish population.
All of these efforts are for our valuable little guests which come to our homes from their precious little corners of the ocean. If we care for them well, they produce the most vivid colors and all their beauty repays our efforts many times over.
Thanks to everyone who did not spare their knowledge and experience with me. Thank you for those who share my excitement.
I wish all aquariums success. I wish all life good health.
Eren Yelkenci
Usually I refer to my tank as my (RalfP's) little coral reef. I hope to achieve something that actually looks like a slice of a real coral reef some day. The system was initially filled with water more than 6 years ago and the basic structure, animals and tech are still the same. I have kept tanks for about 35 years, starting as a child. I started my first saltwater tank more than 20 years ago and I am still learning. The more I turn my garden (not referring to my little reef here ;-) ) into something "Japanese Garden" compatible, the more I think about aquascaping with "negative space", trying to adapt what I've learned from gardening. I am somewhere in the process of turning my reef into a more open design and have already taken some steps in that direction.
Watch the exclusive Advanced Aquarist video of Ralf's "Little Coral Reef" in high definition.
I will start by describing my system from a technical 'maintenance' point of view, then continue with describing the livestock and their development, followed by some thoughts on the actual design and comparsions with the past and future.
The 870 gal (gross) reef is running with the following devices:
The tank itself is standing in a separate small fishroom, sharing only it's frontwindow with my livingroom. The sump and devices are located in the fishroom. Storage and mix-up of RO/DI and saltwater are located in a separate room in the cellar. Also in the cellar is a room with raising, quarantine and spare tanks (8* 66gal).
The cladding can be lifted for access from front and back. Thats quite important for maintenance with this tank's depth.
Basically this tank is running the old Berlin method: lots of live rock and a good skimmer, lots of light and what had to follow with this, lots of water movement. I perform a water change once a week of 15% net volume of the tank.
The water is prepared with a two-membrane reverse osmosis with carbon prefilter. The fact, that the house has a dechalk ion exchanger (changing cations [Ca etc.] with Na) greatly helps keep the membranes clean and intact over a long time. Afterwards, the water is run through a MB20 mix-bed ion exchanger. All this is monitored and controlled with a Tunze TDS-meter.
The reverse osmosis has automatic flushing and a level probe to refill the storage container in the cellar (1500 liters / 400 gal). Waterchanges are made with a 500 liter container (cellar) with one week aged seawater. I made my life easy here: pressing one button fills the mixup-container, dropping one 20kg sack salt into it, waiting one week (mix period) and pressing another button to get the new water into the tank and the old into a sink or another storage container to enable me to reuse the water for my cellar tanks.
I am keeping the water parameters at:
The macroelements are added in a "Randy's two part", "Balling light" way. Originally, I used the quite complex original "Balling" method. Today, after problems and learning from them, I add only a few chemicals:
They're added automatically with dosing pumps. The 60 / 30 liter container for the diluted chemicals are sufficient for 2-3 weeks of continuous supply. Using the above chemicals creates an ion-displacement, which is being corrected with my relatively large and frequent waterchanges (15% net/20% gross).
I have NOT added any trace elements for half a year now. At the moment, waterchanges and feeding etc. seems to be enough. Another thing I am not doing is dosing any wonder elexires or bacteria or whatever. I change the LR in the "clearwater" chamber of my sump with new imported LR once a year and hope to keep bacteria diversity up with that. Speaking of bacteria (etc.), there is also a 4*34Watts Deltec UV running 24/7.
I am in the process of selecting LED-lamps to replace the 4 short T5-Lamps in the center row (each 4*24Watt T5, 1/2 blue and 1/2 cold white). Changing the 24Watt T5s costs nearly as much as changing the same amount of the longer T5 bulbs. Cost per watt is really bad when comparing the short and long T5-bulbs (at least in Germany). Of course there is also another reason... I want to play with LED, having different (more) blue colors in the reef.
The lamps are switched in 5 groups,
Switching them on in this order, turning off MH first and then switching it off in the same order produces a lot of different color schemes. Using LED in the future can only add to this. MH bulbs are changed once a year and T5 after half a year.
I feed mysis shrimp and brine shrimp twice per day and fine "red plancter" once. An autofeeder gives a few differently sized pellets three times a day.
I am not exactly good at naming SPS, so I don't do :-). There are a lot quite large SPS and LPS in the reef. I am trying to achieve a mix of mainly SPS, some LPS and also a few soft corals. Since I read about SPS feeding on particles contained in softs' slime, I tend to let them grow more than before.
Some of the clams are living with me for more than 10 years. They do "mass"-spawnings at least three times a year. Each time some of the adult animals also release eggs, not only sperm, what makes me feel, that the food situation seems to be sufficient for them. I recently shot a video of such an event:
Mr. Amano gave back to me the love for freshwater tanks with his freshwater aquascapes; I am keeping a 700 liter tank with Blueface Heckel Discus. Reading about hardscapes (rock and wood) and softscape (plants) fits my thoughts perfectly but sadly only in the freshwater world. There is no such thing as hard/softscape in a reef tank since even the live rock is (dead) coral like the colonies on it.
In coral reef aquascapes, the hardscape is growing too. In my humble opinion, fast growing SPS-coral make it nearly impossible to have that kind of fixed hardscape with organisms growing on the live rock in a coral reef aquarium.
Adapting from Japanese Gardening, like Mr. Amano does, seems the right way for me as well. I am still in the process (and maybe never-ending process) of reducing the amount of rock and coral in the tank. I want to achieve a more open look like a reef pillar surrounded by water. Honestly, after thinking a lot about design and adorable reefs, I don't understand, why so few people (including myself) don't simply build a reefpillar near the center of a larger tank. You can easily set up a large tank with the energy consumption of a smaller one: only one lamp above the reef and none above the sand/water. Fish have enough room to swim and coral to grow, feed and breathe. Personally, what gets in my way is a certain childish wanna...wanna....wanna have that coral impatience.
The look I want to achieve is a large open reef block near the center of the tank. The left structure shall look like an even larger reef block but only partially. The right structure will remain as a small structure near the back of the tank and not very tall. Surveying the tank from left to right, the left pillar will be a high, massive structure near the front of the tank. The next structure is the main/center reef block, not as high as the left structure and not as close to the front glass. This is to be followed by a small, flat structure on the right side at the back of the tank. If aquascaped in the right way, this will (hopefully) accent the vanishing point projection (near-field is large objects while far away is small). Due to the over-accenting, this should trick the brain to perceive the tank as deeper (front to back) than it really is. And this, I think, is really important for saltwater tanks, which nearly all do not look deep enough.
I will also repeat the over-accenting with the coral, with larger ones in front and smaller ones in the back to add even more virtual depth. Overlapping contrasting colors (red/green blue/yellow) in front of each other also helps a lot. A wavebox adds contrast between stationary hard corals and the movement of soft corals. Having scale in mind means I don't buy fish that are too large and don't place corals that are too small, such as NOT adding a great Naso lituratus I had the opportunity to buy 6 years ago.
I still haven't achieved what I am striving for, but maybe this explanation helps to understand what I am currently aiming to do and how dream and reality differs. Another thing I'd love to have is a substrate covered only with clean live sand and not with clams, small coral, new hermit-homes, etc.. IMHO, this would enhance the "pillar in the ocean" view.
Michael Mrutzek, who helped build the initial setup, had this idea of simply drilling lots of different sized massive and flat live rocks and stack them on a PVC-pipe. The different pillars are then cable-tied together for a more secure platform. The result is a very open structure where fish can swim through and water can flow.
To deal with the fast growth of the coral and still have a good looking large reef, it is only possible IMHO if you set up a separate raising tank. Fast growing coral are cut back and some of the frags are raised to larger colonies in the separate system. When the coral get ugly from pruning, I take it out competely, frag it and replace it with a prior raised, "larger than you can buy" coral. I might use 2 or 3 of the same coral. LPS and table Acropora or other flat growing colonies are harder to handle. I try to reassamble them into a new (center-)pillar from time to time. The pillar-like baserock structure helps a lot with this. Worst case, I am able to move most structures around in the tank by cutting the cable ties and moving the pillar. It is interesting how coral act if they grow into each other: fighting, encrusting, etc.
I've had to change some of the equipment over the years. The dosing pumps that dose my chemicals kept me busy for some time. The initial Grotech doser was fine but only able to dose up to two liters a day (per channel). I ended up using 3 channels for only a single macroelement addition. The AquaMedic Reefdoser Quadro I purchased was capable of dosing more per day but not reliable and mechanically inadequate. I am now using a combination of Harton industrial grade pumps for the large volumes and a Grotech doser for the small volumes.
I've had a refugium and a frag tank connected to the main display sump but moved them into a different room, connected to a different filter-sump. Having more room to work in the tank-room is essential. Facing and solving problems is a lot easier if you don't have to think about what else is connected to your display and how everything interacts. Having an independent system with frag, quarantine, raising and treatment tanks has a lot more value than its costs. Maintaining enough water movement with fast growing corals means adding even more pumps from different directions. I have nothing against Tunze, but I bought lots of spare parts for their pumps in order to have them working smoothly. All Tunze pumps have been replaced at least once, part by part. One of the first Vortech pumps that showed up in Germany has done its job even without decalcifying it for a long time. The rest is still Tunze.
I've had to change my macro-element addition method. I was originally using the original "Balling" method. I was aware that this method shifts the ion-balance towards having too much NaCl in the water. I compensated this with adding NaCl free seasalt in the right amount. This method was running fine for years. From a certain point on, the tank began getting worse and worse, with LPS not feeling good anymore, clams looking strange and cyanobacteria taking over more and more. About a year, I tried all I knew to reverse the direction the tank was developing towards.
The key to initiate positive change IMHO was to understand that the method I used was based on the assumption that our captive reef-water is something near ideal seawater. It is not! Some elements and also trace elements are present in a huge quantities not comparable to real seawater. Simply adding NaHCO3 also meant adding a lot of traceelements that may be safe for human consumption but kept adding up in the reef. Understanding this motivated the next change: I stopped adding all the chemicals that were meant to 'correct' something other additions produce. I stopped using NaCl free salt and also stopped using MgSO4, which was originally mixed with the MgCl2 to achieve a more natural "SO4"-concentration. Facing this problem and understanding that I of course still have a ion displacement, I increased waterchanges to 15% net / 20% gross a week.
In general, I've moved to a more simple setup. IMHO, you can't continuously maintain a system if you have to creep through tanks, pipes, sacks and bottles to get there first. I automated waterchanges to a point where changing water means pressing two buttons and dropping one sack of salt into a container. I simply wasn't doing regular waterchanges on a weekly basis without this automation. For more than half a year now, I stopped adding any extra trace elements.
I changed a lot minor things, like mounting the 4*34Watts UV on the wall and not flat on the floor anymore. That really reduced the work connected to changing the bulbs regulary (so I regularly do it now). The quartz glass around the bulbs doesn't get locked up with chalk sediments anymore.
The livestock in the tank is basically the same. Of course some coral and some fish have died over the years while lots of coral had to be removed because some were growing better, shadowing the others.
Six years ago, a Symphyllia got too big for someone else's tank. It was a dark brown, quite flat colony in a sparingly lit sump when I bought it. As the coral matured, I removed some of the stacked LR from the pillars and also reduced some of the LR pillars completely to create more room for coral. In general, I changed to keeping only larger colonies in the display tank while keeping others in a separate system.
Is there something I consider as essential for success?
Thank you very much, dear reef community, for helping me with ideas, methods, controversial discussions, praises, and for doing things differently from time to time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Advanced Aquarist for their work. It feels really strange to be the one that is writing something you'll be reading and not the other way round ;-). Thank you for working beyond the hobbyists border and keeping us updated! Thank you Michael Mrutzek from Mrutzek Meeresaquaristik for helping me build this tank. Thank you Claude Schumacher from Fauna Marin for discussing endless chemical issues with me and encouraging me to simplify my macro-element additions to something like "Balling light."
Thank YOU for reading this!
Let's face it. It wasn't all that many years ago that the term "nano aquarium" immediately conjured up visions of tiny, overcrowded, under-filtered fish prisons. Then, aquarium manufacturers saw a marketing opportunity and began offering small, well-equipped aquarium systems that were legitimate alternatives to the big guys. A new hobby segment was created, and the door was opened for both beginning and advanced hobbyists to experiment, play, and learn from these diminutive aquariums.
It wasn't long before hobbyists started trying all sorts of new things: keeping Anemonefishes, Royal Grammas, Prawn Gobies with their symbiotic shrimp, and a host of other smaller fishes and invertebrates in their little "nanos," as they came to be called. Websites popped up, devoted to the serious hobby of working with little aquariums. A whole subculture in the hobby had arrived. Nano aquariums were here to stay. Many wonderful hobby "careers" were launched as a direct result of nano aquariums.
Like anything else, once something is understood, it can become not only routine - but rather formulaic - even boring. After it's first decade, the "nano movement" was, in the opinion of some critics, getting a bit, well - dull. Sure, there were some improvements made to the equipment: Lighting, protein skimming, and filtration media emerged, targeted for the specific needs of these small systems. Husbandry evolved, and fundamental techniques, practices, and philosophies were developed and applied.
However, on the application level, nothing new was being tried. How many aquariums filled with little coral "frags", Neon Gobies, and Clownfish pairs could you see before you just rolled your eyes? Yes, these aquariums brought the wonders of the sea to a whole new group of people; this cannot be overlooked. However, it wasn't until some ambitious advanced hobbyists got into the nano game that things really got interesting.
Suddenly, advanced hobbyists were pushing the limits of creative thought and design, and the nano aquarium evolved into something entirely different: A "testbed" for new concepts, emerging technologies, and advanced techniques. The "DIY" crowd had arrived, and buzzwords like "ground-breaking", "innovative", and even "state-of-the-art" started slipping into discussions when hobbyists talked about nano systems. A paradigm shift had occurred, and we were all invited to come along.
The small size of nano aquariums makes them perfect for testing out creative new ideas. With nano systems, it's possible to conceive, construct, tweak, and perfect in a relatively short amount of time. Seemingly overnight, the "Postmodern" nano system has arrived, powered by new technology, newer ideas, and the dreams of some very dedicated hobbyists. Systems that are created by people as unique and interesting as the aquariums themselves. Evolution has given way to revolution. These bold new systems open our minds, and challenge us to look at aquariums in a whole new way. Let's look at 3 examples of nano systems that are changing the face of the hobby as we know it.
When we talk about developing nano systems that push the limits of contemporary aquarium practice, there are few more sure roads that you can take to get there than to create a 100% non-photosynthetic ("NP") animal system. Mike Cao (who goes by the name "Uhuru" on the message boards) has embarked on such a journey, and has created a stunning aquarium that pretty much changes the playing field in the nano reef world.
Using an off-the-shelf Elos Mini aquarium system, and then further outfitting it to meet the needs of his animals, Mike has demonstrated what is possible when you take an out-of-the-box product and mix it with outside-the-box thinking. Long a lover of non-photosynthetic animals, he carefully studied their requirements, and immersed himself in the world of possibilities that awaited the intrepid hobbyists who ventured into this realm. Mike's plan was to create parameters that were perfect for these animals, and the flexibility of a nano system allowed for a lot of experimentation. He knew that he had the challenge of keeping large quantities of food in front of the animals, without creating a cesspool of organic waste- a very real possibility in a small system.
In order to maximize water quality, Mike incorporated a slightly oversized protein skimmer, as well as ozone. The ozone is injected at about 25 mg per hour, to maintain an ORP (oxidation reduction potential) level of 320 millivolts. Further nutrient export is accomplished through twice-weekly water changes of up to 25% of the aquarium's capacity. In a nano system, these water changes have a great impact on water quality. Mike maintains that it's a fine line between keeping water quality high and keeping the aquarium well fed, and the nutrient export mechanisms in his system are very well developed. Internal circulation is important to this aquarium, and is accomplished with a Vortech MP10 pump, which provides "intelligent" water movement and varies the current pattern within the aquarium.
Since non-photosynthetic animals are not dependant upon light for their sustenance, the lighting in Mike's system is purely for aesthetics. He incorporates a "Par 38" LED spotlight with a 20,000k color temperature. The added advantage of this type of lighting for a nano system is that it imparts little or no heat into the aquarium. And from an aesthetic standpoint, Mike is unencumbered by the need to use a specified color spectrum, which really creates unique opportunities to experiment with lighting effects in the aquarium.
One of the most important factors in creating a successful azooxanthellate system is providing sufficient quantities of food in a format that works for the animals, with a frequency that keeps them well feed for optimum health. Mike keeps this in mind with his feeding regimen. It's a big commitment for a small aquarium! Utilizing syringe pumps, he has created a feeding regimen that includes continuous injection of small quantities of various liquid feeds. Frozen and live foods are administered manually. He feeds up to 10 times per day- some targeted at specific animals, and is very consistent with his feeding schedule. Mike is also experimenting with automated techniques to provide "surges" of foods at specified times, with a continuous moderate concentration of food.
Livestock selection includes some amazing azooxanthellate coral and gorgonians, which are both beautiful and challenging to keep. Better-known NPS corals, such as Dendrophyllia , Tubastrea, and Scleronepthya, cohabitate with gorgonians such as Diodogorgia, to create a fascinating explosion of life and color. Lesser-known animals, such as Guaiagrogia, Swiftia, Rhizotrochus, and Balanophyliia species, help complete the amazing picture . The surprising additions of a Painted Anglerfish (Antennarius pictus), a Crinoid Feather Star, and an Australian Sea Apple complete the stocking list for this stunning aquarium.
Unique in almost any aquarium, incorporating these animals into a nano system is literally throwing boundries aside. Among the benefits of working with this smaller system is the opportunity for Mike to keep large amounts of food in front of the animals at all times, while keeping water quality high with frequent water changes. The "economies of scale" provided by the smaller water capacity make both of these tasks easier on many levels. This is a great example of a nano aquarium being the ideal system to serve as a test bed for new technologies and techniques, which can ultimately be "scaled up" to larger systems. In fact, the concepts learned on the nano enabled Mike to recreate this system in a 65 gallon aquarium.
Aquarium "futurist" Jake Adams doesn't just dabble in the hobby and watch it evolve. He taunts it- forcing the hobby to forge new directions. As Senior Editor of the cutting-edge website Reef Builders, Jake sees more new technology and ideas in a week than many of us do in a year. He's not just an observer, though- he's a practitioner of postmodern aquarium technique.
Jake felt that reef hobbyists spend the majority of their time and focus on seeing to the needs of live rock, sandbeds, copepods, invertebrates, etc., and a very small percentage of time and energy actually seeing to the needs of corals. Jake loves corals. He tasked himself with creating aquariums that were energy-efficient, clean, and perfectly suited to this philosophy that reef aquariums intended to grow coral should be focused on just the coral, sparing no effort or energy on anything else; the primary goal being their health and reproduction. His "reduced ecology" approach is fascinating.
"Eco Reef One" is an aquarium that, at least on the surface, reads like an example of what not to do! The aquarium utilizes no live sand, no live rock, minimal filtration, and no obsessing over "target" numbers for environmental parameters. By utilizing 100% water changes, ER1 becomes, in essence, a quasi-open system, relying on the fresh influx of synthetic seawater to provide all of the trace element replenishment required to grow corals. Jake notes that, in time, the established system began to behave in a very predictable fashion, much like a conventional reef system, without many of the drawbacks, however.
Porous live rock or sand were not employed, because Jake feels that these materials become a nutrient "trap," accumulating substances that become just another impediment to coral growth. Jake feels that beneficial bacteria can colonize other materials with sufficient surface area and surface porosity- which, as he asserts , keeps the nutrients in the water column or "predictable places where they can easily be removed from the system". In the Eco Reef methodology, Jake employs ceramic "rock", or even slate tile, which provide the aforementioned surface porosity with none of what he feels are the disadvantages of gnarly live rock with its many deep nooks and crannies.
Filtration consists of a small, simple, internal filter filled with activated carbon, which provides enough mechanical and chemical filtration to do the job between water changes. As the majority of the biomass in these systems is coral tissue from specimens that are not purely heterotrophic, there is little accumulation of substances that can degrade the water quality and lead to nuisance algae growth. Jake feels that, in these tiny systems, good husbandry habits (mainly frequent small water changes) can create excellent water quality. In fact, better water quality than one could achieve with an inefficient, inadequately sized protein skimmer so common to other nano aquarium systems. Because the system is so small, the little internal filter provides sufficient water movement for its resident corals.
Lighting is provided by an array of low wattage, full-spectrum LEDs, which have not only the advantage of being energy efficient, but are incredibly appropriate for the corals being kept. The lighting is a standard 12 -hour photoperiod, with periods of higher light intensity during the day.
The aquarium is populated by a thriving community of stony corals, such as Diaseris, Scolymia, Plerogyra, Acanthastrea, Echinphyllia, and several others for good measure. Other residents include a pair of Harlequin Shrimp (Hymenocera picta). Later versions of this system include small gobies as well. The corals in this system are not just surviving- they are thriving, creating a colorful, healthy panorama of color that delights the senses. Some of the techniques and philosophies that are applied to this ground-breaking aquarium are being adapated to "scaled-up" aquarium systems as well, with very promising results thus far. Still another "concept nano" is Jake's Eco Reef Zero, a system in which the only biomass in the aquarium is the coral itself. The bold philosophy of "everything you need- nothing that you don't" proffered by the method is paying off, with a system that pushes the very boundries of modern aquaristics.
Hobbyist Eugene Weldon takes a novel approach to his nano system: he believes that you should overdo everything! Lots of filtration, lots of light, lots of feeding, and equipment and husbandry practices that can keep up with this approach to nano systems. His "more is more" approach defines what can be considered the prototype for the "upscale" nano system. Eugene is a lover of good aquascaping, and employs advanced technique to his small system, which sets it way apart from the more mundane "afterthought" approach to aquascaping that seems to be so pervasive in the nano aquarium world these days. His 22- gallon system challenges his fellow hobbyists to follow his lead to create a system that is by no means an "afterthought'!
Eugene is all about creating a system that is as beautiful as it is functional. He selected an aquarium with great dimensions (24"x 24"x9"), utilizing a very unique footprint for a nano system. This rimless, wide, low footprint, coupled with a stand that sets the aquarium for optimum visual enjoyment, creates an amazing viewing area. His aquarium is neat, uncluttered, and employs some tricks and techniques more commonly found on much larger systems to promote ease of maintenance, stability, and aesthetics.
For example, his system employs an 18 gallon sump- a huge percentage of the display aquarium's capacity. Such a large sump/aquarium capacity ratio is a virtual recipe for stability, if for no other reason than the dilution offered by the water volume in the system. However, Eugene doesn't just leave it at that. He employs an oversized skimmer, media reactor, ultraviolet sterilizer, and 1/15 horsepower chiller to provide further environmental stability. This little system is run just like one of the big guys- indeed, possibly more thoroughly equipped than most larger systems!
Water quality is of paramount importance to Eugene, and his system design is optimized to provide it. Like many of today's hobbyists, Eugene likes to know what's going on in his system at all times, so he employs an electronic controller to provide him with data and control of major system parameters. This "information-enabled" nano allows Eugene to create an optimum environment for his livestock at all times. Internal water movement is provided by two advanced Vortech MP10 W pumps, which provide intelligent water movement for this little aquarium.
This aquarium can literally be described as a very well-equipped, scaled-down version of a state-of-the-art "full size" reef, with properly-rated components and operational protocols. That's just one of the things that makes this system a game-changer: Applying large system approaches to a nano system is one of the keys to pushing the state of the art. To this end, Eugene employs reef capable lighting that is extremely robust- metal halide with 4 T5 florescent bulbs. He also has a supplemental LED strip for accent. Never one to sit still, Eugene is entertaining the use of an all -LED lighting format in the future.
The aquascaping in this system employs as much forethought as the rest of the system, with careful attention paid to rock configuration, coral placement, and proportion. An open, "no scape" approach was taken by Eugene. This minimalist approach uses very little rock, allowing the corals and invertebrates to be highlighted and to grow to their potential in an appropriate environment. Several aggregations of coral colonies, or individual coral colonies, provide all of the elements needed to provide an engaging aquascape.
In this shallow, wide system, much respect is paid to "negative space" in the aquascape- area not occupied by rock and coral. By cleverly employing this negative space, Eugene has created an aquascape that makes the aquarium look-and function- like a much larger system. With carefully managed flow, the system is as successful from a functionality standpoint as it is from an aesthetic one. It's refreshing to see any aquarium- let alone a nano system- employ this beautiful combination of form and function.
Livestock selections are simple, yet engaging. The fish selection includes two species of peaceful damselfish, a couple of blennies, some gobies- and a Hippocampus reidi Seahorse. His coral selection consists of a simple mix of stony corals, the so-called "SPS" and "LPS" versions- as well as starfish, a Tridanca clam, and several small shrimp. Much to the viewer's delight, the animals are dispersed throughout the aquarium, and do not give the "hyper crowded" look of a small system packed to the max with animals. By refraining from getting too crazy with a huge number of animals, Eugene's system retains a sense of relaxation and order, which, in my opinion, is so sadly lacking in many aquariums these days.
Eugene regularly doses controlled amounts of two-part buffering solutions, and has employed an automatic water op-off system under the aquarium to compensate for evaporation in this small, fully-open-top aquarium. Weekly 5 -gallon water changes help ensure nutrient export and trace element replenishment for the livestock. Simple maintenance practices, done with regularity and frequency, are yet another key to success with this remarkable little system.
Hypes Archipelago stands out in the world of nano reef aquariums as much for what it doesn't do as it stands apart for what it does. It's a clean, well-thought-out system, with a great amount of attention and care provided to creating a flexible, optimized system for a wide variety of animals. There are no concessions to size. The system provides life support, nutrient export mechanisms, and aquascaping that are more than appropriate to provide a near perfect environment for the life forms it holds. It's a game-changer because it dares fly in the face of an "adequately-thought-out" nano system, and offers an amazingly well thought out one instead.
Small in stature, yet big in impact, these are but a few examples of the wealth of potential offered by the wonderful marriage of the "Postmodern" nano aquarium and the creative hobbyist. The aquarium world is being re-invented daily, thanks to this union. With their manageable size, more economical operating costs than their larger brethren, and the ability for the hobbyist to easily and quickly make corrections, enhancements, and improvements, these aquariums are not just excellent tools for helping develop and perfect new concepts and techniques. They are, in and of themselves, fascinating and engrossing systems. Coupled with the skill of some special hobbyists, these aquariums offer a glimpse of the future, and deliver on their original promise of taking us to new places in the hobby.
My system consists of just over 335 gallons including a 247g SPS dominated display, a 50g chalice frag tank, and a stock 75g sump. I run just about every type of lighting that is offered in this hobby. This includes a Sfiligoi 72" XR6 over my display and an ATI 10 x 39w Powermodule with a 36" ReefBrite LED strip over my chalice frag tank. Calcium / Alkalinity are dosed via a Litermeter III using Bulk Reef Supply's 2-part system. My skimmer is a Royal Exclusiv AlphaCone 300. The sump contains water, a skimmer, a heater, and a powerhead - very clean and simple. While the basis of my system is quite simple, I do really enjoy the technical side of this hobby. I have some equipment that is necessary in this hobby and some that a lot of reefers will consider luxuries. In this article, you will see several examples of both. If there are 100 ways to keep a successful reef ecosystem, I have likely tried 90 of them. And while there is not a perfect method for everyone, there are some fundamental similarities with all of the beautiful systems that we all read about. I'll get to that in a minute. But first, let talk about what got me here...
March 29, 1997 - I walked into Fishy Business in Columbia, SC and I was hooked within seconds. Like any newbie to saltwater, I asked a thousand questions and walked away with a thousand more. I ended up buying a 75g tank that belonged to one of the LFS employees about 2 weeks later. The system looked amazing to me. Well established live rock, the old school halide pendants with ballasts that weighed about 50 pounds each, and a simple sump setup. Piece of cake right? Yeah! I probably spent at least 2 hours a day at the LFS for the next 3 months asking every question in the book. The guys in the shop were very patient and they taught me quite a bit about the hobby. However, I learned on the go which, in this hobby, is not always the best way. But I learned many valuable lessons that would come in handy years later. I'm not going to waste any time on that first tank. I moved 8 times in 6 years and you can imagine the toll it took on the tank and its inhabitants. I was out of the hobby for a number of years but came back armed with a lot more knowledge.
Fast forward almost 10 years - ten years of reading every reef book, every thread on every website I could find, and visiting every LFS in every town I lived in. I felt like I was better educated in proper reef-keeping techniques. My wife and I walked into Fish World in Richmond, VA and I instantly got the bug again. I had met Joe Genero (owner) years before and loved the store that he and his wife Jan had built over the years. They were the first LFS in the nation to go all saltwater over 20 years ago. Joe helped me design a system that I would love. I had a laundry list of things that I wanted and didn't want. We are lucky to have an unfinished basement in our house. Both the main water line and main house drain are down there and there is tons of space that we really don't use. We went with a 150g Tall AGA and decided to place the sump and equipment in the basement - just below the tank which sits on the main floor. The tank came with a blue vinyl background, a nice stand and canopy, 2 14K 400w halides, a stock 75g sump with a refugium, a UV light, some moonlights, and a Reef Octopus skimmer. I spent the next few months stocking up on corals and fish and everything was doing very well. But my A.D.D. and (non-diagnosed) OCD kicked in and I started tweaking here and there to try and make things even better. I'm not proud of this, but here is a list of changes I made over the next 3 years (bear with me):
As embarrassing as all of those changes are, I feel like it's important to share them. Every time I saw a 'Reef of the Month' that I loved, I wanted to apply some of that success to my tank. Keep in mind, I was NEVER careless with the changes. Lighting changes were made very slowly as to not shock the corals, vodka dosing was done according to plan, etc. Surprisingly, I didn't lose any corals and all of my livestock thrived through all of the changes. My point is...it is VERY easy to get caught up in the latest and greatest thing. However, at the end of the day sometimes simplicity can produce the best results.
My 150g had been up and running for just over 3 years, SPS was growing very well, fish were getting larger, and the tank was starting to fill in. My wife and I were watching TV one night and she looked over and said "I think we need a bigger tank"! I couldn't believe it. Being the wonderful husband that I am, I immediately called my good friend Andrew and said "I need your help fast - before she changes her mind". I knew the exact tank dimensions I wanted and Andrew had a mockup hand-sketched drawing of the stand within hours...lol. I decided to go with a 247g (72" x 33" x 24") Miracles Rimless - peninsula style tank with ¾" glass - Starphire on 3 sides. When Derek at Miracles told me that it was going to weigh 700lbs empty, I about died. Time to reinforce the floor : ). My goal with this tank build was to design a system that took all of the headaches out of the hobby (or as many as possible). I also wanted a stand that was completely different from anything I had ever seen. I travel 3+ days per week for work so I had to have a system that would be easy to maintain in my absence and easy for my wife to manage while I travel. My LFS (Fish World, Richmond, VA) helped me eliminate many of these headaches. I have 1 pump for the entire system which feeds my display, frag tank, carbon & GFO reactor, and pushes waste water to the house drain for water changes. We installed a 60g fresh water vat for top-off and a 100g vat for saltwater mix up. Water changes take me 5 minutes and I barely have to lift a finger. My LiterMeterIII handles Alkalinity, Calcium, and fresh water top-off. The only equipment in the sump is my skimmer, a heater, and a Tunze to help keep detritus from settling. My old 150g tall was a great tank but I had to use a step ladder to do just about everything. The 24" height of the new tank is great as I can actually reach things in my tank now. My friend Andrew helped me design and build a one-of-a-kind stand to hold the new tank. Okay, so he pretty much built the whole thing. I was just there to lend a hand : ). The bones of the stand are fairly standard (4x4's, cross braces, etc. - it could hold 10 tons I'm sure). We finished the outside of the stand with "Tahitian Pebbles" and a few access panels for storage and maintenance. It turned out even better than I ever imagined and I couldn't have done any of it without Andrew (thanks again my friend). It is truly one of a kind and I love it!
I used T5's exclusively for 2 years over my 150g and had excellent results. For the new display, I did a LOT of research! I spoke with just about every lighting manufacturer you can imagine. I ran a Sfiligoi Stealth 12x54w T5 fixture over my 150g and loved the build quality, active cooling, and reflector quality. I have gotten to know Tim Lasiter (NA Distributor for Sfiligoi - Aquatics Elite) well as I bought my original Stealth fixture from him. I discussed my needs with Tim and he was able to get a package together that met every need. I decided to go with a 72" Sfiligoi XR6 (3x250w 20K's with 8 x39w T5's). The fixture itself is a work of art. It is as pleasing to the eye as it is effective for my tank's inhabitants. I really wanted to be able to dim the halides and T5's. Sfiligoi had a great solution for that as well. I have 3 ACLS ballasts (1 Master and 2 Slaves) which allow me to control each halide independently. The functionality of these ballasts is incredible! I can dim each halide, simulate east / west sun patterns, program cloudy days, and it has a "new bulb function" that ramps up new halide bulbs slowly as to not shock the corals (just to name a few of the many amazing features). The T5's are hooked up to my Apex controller which allows me to dim each bank of bulbs as well. I didn't realize just how much I missed the "shimmer" until I started running halides again. The fixture is well vented without fans so I don't have to run a chiller again - which is fine with me. The corals have never been happier.
The 700lb tank took 12 men to get into the house. My wife left town as she was too nervous to watch...lol. The stand was completed a week before the tank arrived so all we had to do was get the tank on the stand and hang the light. Many hobbyists would take the next few weeks / months to get the new tank up and running. I have never been much good at going to bed with a project looming over me, so I stayed up for 3 straight days and nights once the tank arrived. At the end of the 3 days the light was up, the tank was full of salt water, and both the 150g and the 247g were all running online together. I ran both tanks together for 7 days to allow the existing water to circulate through the new tank. I used brand new sand (seeded with existing sand from my 150g), used all rock from my old tank (plus some new live rock), and got the corals transferred over the next week and a half. My SPS did surprisingly well in the move. I was able to keep the same 75g sump in the basement. The only real change I made in the "fish room" was a larger skimmer. I upgraded from the Royal Exclusiv Alpha Cone 250 to the 300. It's more than enough skimmer for my system.
I put a LOT of time, thought, and effort into this new system. Needless to say, I spent just as much time thinking about proper rock and coral placement. The new tank is SPS dominated with a few LPS thrown into the mix as well. I had an idea of how I wanted my aquascape to look - minimalist, with plenty of open room (negative space) for the fish to swim and (most importantly) for the corals to grow. One of the biggest mistakes I see new reefers make when stocking a tank is putting too much in the tank without giving any thought as to what it may look like in a year or two (this includes both rock and coral). Like other successful hobbyists, I now research all new coral purchases to see where to put the specimen in the tank. The aquascape is pleasing to my eye and the fish swim in and out of the "islands" just as they would naturally on the reef.
While I have never been clinically diagnosed, anyone who knows me well will tell you that I have a problem! I have zero patience for nuisance algae, coralline algae on the glass / powerheads, aptasia, or anything else in my tank that is not supposed to be there. I spend a LOT of time observing my corals. I allow my corals to tell me when something isn't right with my tank. If I observe my corals lightening or if there is a small diatom bloom, I am able to catch it early, diagnose the issue, and respond accordingly. It took me YEARS to get to that point. I used to test my water every day. Since I've gotten better at identifying small issues, my daily testing regimen has decreased to once per month. Other than water testing, here is my basic maintenance schedule:
I take a proactive approach to tank maintenance. If I could give just a few pieces of advice to folks looking to take this hobby to the next level, this would be one of them. Of course there are always things in this hobby that you can't plan for (cyano blooms, bryopsis, etc.) but if you are persistent AND consistent in your tank husbandry, you will be rewarded down the road. Set a realistic course and stick to it!
I want to thank a few people that have helped me immensely in this hobby. First, thanks to Advanced Aquarist for the opportunity to feature my tank here. A BIG thanks to Andrew Harrow - this tank would never be up and running without your help! Thanks to my extended family and friends at www.Reef2Reef.com (where I'm proud to spend a LOT of my time). Sonny Harajly (SunnyX @ www.ProCorals.com) and Derek (Miracles in Glass) both helped a great deal with my tank decision. And thanks to Joe and Jan Genero (Fish World - Richmond, VA). If you're ever in Richmond please stop by and have a look at their shop. They are both a wealth of knowledge in this crazy hobby of ours. I'm very fortunate to have a LFS of that caliber in my neighborhood. That's it! I'm excited to see the reef grow in over the next few years. I'm confident there will be some changes...lol! And I certainly hope that my tank can live up to some of the other featured tanks I've read about here.
Feel free to visit my ongoing build thread at Reef2Reef - http://www.reef2reef.com/forums/large-aquariums-180g/51736-bagbos-dream-miracles-build-powered-sfiligoi.html#post563250
I like to call my reef setup "living art". Many outside of this hobby would view our obsession as simply "fish in a glass box". But, to the avid and discernable hobbyist, we see a form of living art. I call what we produce living art because I view each hobbyist as an artist. We plan out our setups mentally, and then go forth to produce great extensions of our visions. While there may be millions of aquariums in the world, none are the same. Each aquarium is as different as the aquarist. Some of us like SPS, while others may prefer LPS or soft coral. Some aquarist may go as far as mixing all three with splendid results.
The beauty of this hobby is that there are many roads to success. Today we have methods that range from the Berlin Method, Ultra Low Nutrient, Turf Scrubber, and Probiotic. From all of these methods and philosophies come successes. In almost every category of maintenance, we find great examples of success.
I like to take the best of each method and incorporate it into my systems. I have a sandbed, minimal live rock, heavy skimming, and employ probiotics. I have found probiotics to be the greatest aid to my success in maintaining healthy and vibrant setups.
When designing this aquarium, I had openness and negative space as my top priority. This aesthetically looks better, and allows for a more natural and pleasant display. All too often reefers are quick to stack massive amounts of rock and corals into an aquarium. This in turn gives the display the appearance of a fruit stand, and it is much too cluttered and busy. By allowing the corals a large area to grow, you will be rewarded with natural growth patterns and a better looking display.
The second major benefit of an open display was the ability to manage flow. With an open design, I was able to use less powerheads and create the optimal flow conditions for the corals. The open plan also allows for the removal of detritus with ease. With water being able to flow in and around the structures, waste is easily exported to the sump. Whatever detritus that has settled can then be siphoned out.
While the setup is young, it will look great once it has completely grown out.
Display Tank:
Water Movement:
Skimmer: Deltec AP851. I have had this skimmer on three different setups and for 6 years now. It does an amazing job!
Calcium and Alk Addition: Randy's Two Part Solution. I ran both a CA reactor and Kalk Stirrer in the past and honestly have had better results will a simple DIY two part solution. I dose the solutions manually, an hour apart.
Substrate: 60lbs of CaribSea Seaflor Special Grade Reef Sand
When I first setup my previous 100gl rimless tank I had been adding Microbacter7 from Brightwell aquatics. While this helps the tank I wasn't all that impressed. It wasn't until I started dosing vodka that things really took off. Within a month of dosing vodka I no longer had to use GFO. Within 3 months I actually had to add Amino Acids and feed the tank more as it had become "too clean". The corals had lightened up and actually stopped growing. After cutting back a bit on the vodka dosage and adding more food the corals once again took off.
While I was happy with the results of dosing vodka, I ran into a few issues. The number one issue I ran into was red slime, or cyano. The cyano would rear its ugly head every four months or so. While it did not affect the corals, it did smother the sandbed and take away from the overall aesthetics of the aquarium. After some research, it turns out that the cyano was appearing due to the vodka breaking the saturation point of available carbon in the system. The excess carbon could not be taken up by the beneficial bacteria present in the system, and thus the opportunistic cyano would creep in.
With this in mind I decided to change things up when setting up Rimless Reef 2. While Biopellets had been on the market for over a year, they had not been thoroughly tested at the time. Being the mad scientist that I am, I decided to give the Biopellets a shot. From what I understand, the pellets provide a constant carbon source for the bacteria, while NOT breaching the saturation point of carbon. What you end up with is a continuous supply of carbon without the worry of a cyano breakout or daily dosing.
The first 4-6 weeks of running the pellets were a bit rough. This was expected, and I weathered the storm. During the break in period after introducing the pellets into my system I dealt with all sorts of minor issues. I had a very large outbreak of diatoms, followed by an equally large outbreak of red cyano. Around the 6 week mark the cyano disappeared almost over night. What I am now left with is a clean and healthy sandbed, low nutrients, and the luxury of going 7-10 days without having to clean the viewing panes of the aquarium.
In addition to probiotics, I run a simple yet effective filtration system. I have a Deltec AP851 as a skimmer, run carbon and use filter socks. The skimmer has been running for close to 6 years on numerous systems. The amount of waste that this thing pulls out never ceases to amaze me.
As for chemical filtration, I run carbon 24/7 in a Phosban reactor. The carbon is changed out about once every month. I find that the benefits of carbon far outweigh any issues others may complain about. With all of the household fragrances, chemicals, and cleaners in the air it's a good idea to run carbon. Another good reason to run carbon is that it aids in offsetting any chemical warfare conducted by opposing corals. For those of us with mixed reefs, maintaining a proper balance and equilibrium is key. .
The filter socks are change every two days, and washed in bleach. I then allow the socks to air dry, thus neutralizing any residual chlorine. The sock are great at collecting free floating detritus, and they aid is combating micro bubble issues in the display.
Water changes are done about once a month. I do not like doing large water changes, as I feel that it can do more harm than good. Through trial and error, I have found a sweet spot of 30gls a month. This amount of water changed every month works for me, but may not work for others. The comparatively lower percentage of water changed is likely due to the effects of probiotics. I am not an expert on the matter, but I feel that the larger water changes were removing large amounts of beneficial bacteria. Until I see a reason to do so, I will continue with these lower percentage water changes.
My back room is very simple, consisting of a Rubbermaid 150gl tub which acts as a sump. The skimmer and system siphon and drain into this single tub. I like to keep my systems and plumbing simple, so I am sorry that I cannot provide more detailed configurations or specs.
Of all the factors in maintaining a successful reef aquarium, flow is on the top of my list. Proper flow can make or break a system. Continuous flow is required in order to feed the corals, as well as carry away waste that the corals expel. Without the proper flow, the corals will suffer; leading to a decline is health and coloration. As a general rule of thumb, I like to have the polyps of the corals swaying every 3-4 seconds. I often tell fellow reefers to concentrate on the individual coral, and not the total system turnover.
When it comes to proper flow, its all about the positioning of the pumps and rockwork. Many reefers build up these huge walls of rock, which absolutely skill flow. I on the other hand decided that a more open plan would be best. I only have a MP40,MP20, and a Tunze 6065. My Ehiem 1262 return maybe only gets 4-500gph after head loss and such. So, you can see that its all about how you position things. When the pumps turn on, the flow doesn't look like much in the tank. But, after 10 minutes the water starts to move and really build momentum and channel around the islands, almost like a gyre system. This is precisely why I have the islands placed and built as they are. The canyons help to channel the flow to where I would like it.
Eventually when the corals get to a certain size I will need to increase the flow. When that time comes I plan on getting a Vortech MP60, so that I can have all of the pumps on only one side of the tank.
Well, if you have read this far you will know that I like to keep things simple. It is my firm belief that less is more, especially when it comes to reef systems. While my lighting system may not be the most extravagant, you cannot argue with the results. I ran T5's for a couple years on my previous 100gl Rimless Reef. I loved the T5's and the colors that they produced. I had the full intention of running T5's on this setup, but things got complicated. My wife and I found out that we were expecting a baby shortly after ordering the aquarium. Not to long after that we found out that my wife was in fact having twins. So with this great news in mind, I knew that I would have to scale back on certain parts of the new reef. I no longer could justify an expensive LED or T5 fixture to place over the tank. I did however have three Lumenarc mini's handy, along with new bulbs and ballasts.
I proceeded to place the metal halides over the system, and they have turned out great. The color of the XM20K bulbs is perfect, and my corals love it. I do have 4x54W T5's ready to be added, but I just need to find time to build a fixture to hold them over the aquarium. I run three Lumenarc Mini's, with 250w XM 20K bulbs. Each reflector is placed over a boomie, allowing for maximum usage of lighting. I wanted to utilize as much open area and negative space as possible in this system, so the less light that is hitting the sand the better.
I have had my eye on my many new LED fixtures hitting the market. But, I think that it will be some time before I am able to hang one over my display. I have two wonderful baby boys on the way, so ill have to hold back on the excesses, at least for now.
While I don't dose too many additives, I do follow a strict dosing regiment. I dose Lugol's Solution in order to bring out the blues in my SPS. I have dosed it for about 6 years now with great results. I started dosing Strontium a couple years ago. I did notice some positive effects in my corals so I continue to dose it.
The KZ Coral Snow is a recent addition. I have been now dosing it for about two months. This additive helps to neutralize undesirable acids and slime, along with clarifying the aquarium water. The agents that the solution binds are then exported via the protein skimmer.
Below is a full list of additives and dosing schedule:
The tank is SPS dominated, no chalices or small freaky colored corals here. With the SPS I have large acan colonies, some with 50+ heads, along with assorted Zoas. The soft stuff makes for a nice filler towards the bottom. I will not have any corals on the sand, and I try and utilize negative space to the extreme.
Id like to thank every here at Advanced Aquarist for allowing me to share my passion and work. I can't wait for what new and exciting developments this wonderful hobby holds. Ill be posting updates on my setup from time to time, so please be sure to follow @ my blog www.RimlessReef.com and at Youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/SonnyM63
Sonny Harajly
The Rimless Reef 1 (100 gallon) and In-Wall 225 gallon Reef
My system consists of over 700 gallons including a 240 gallon display tank, a 300 gallon Agway livestock trough as a sump, and a 180 gallon frag tank. I have over 2000 watts of light including four 400 watt Radium bulbs, four 110 watt VHOs,and four newly added 30 watt blue LED strips. I believe in using the Berlin System and don't like additives or fancy equipment although I do have a skimmer, a kalkwasser stirrer, and a calcium reactor. The latter I have because my corals consume an enormous amount of calcium and alkalinity which kalkwasser alone can not keep up with. I run the metal halides for 10 hours, the VHOs for 14 and the LEDs for 16, and I keep my tank at precisely 79 to 80 degrees F with a Ranco controller and a small fan. So there you have my tank in a nut shell, and a synopsis of what is most common in tank articles. Now let's talk about the good stuff. How exactly did I become an advanced aquarist and how can you become one too . . . now that's an interesting story.
Editor's Note: There's more photos of Joe's awesome 240 gallon tank in his this month's Feature Aquarium Photo Album.
In the fall of 2001, I walked into one of the local fish stores and was immediately struck with the "bug". Being a typical American male who is only satisfied with instant gratification I ended up walking out of the store with a 7 gallon bowfront tank, 2 clown fish, a heteractis magnifica, and an assurance from the proprietor that all would be well as long as I kept changing the water weekly. Obviously that was a disaster; so, on to another LFS and an upgrade to a 50 gallon tank with water, live rock, and live sand taken from the shops reef system so I could avoid that pesky cycle. Sadly the 3 hippo tangs, 1 damsel and the still living two clowns could tell you that the cycle was terrible with ich killing 2 of the 3 hippos. Finally after 2 dead fish and a dead anemone, I ran into Chris Jessen who was the owner of Reef & Fin in Stamford, CT. I knew I had found the right spot when I asked to use the stores restroom and found a paper target with the name of the first local fish shop I had visited printed on it at the base of the urinal. The difficulty was I continued to hear conflicting information. I would go online and read about the latest skimmer, lamp, or vodka dosing scheme and go to Chris convinced that I had to have "the thing" to make my system successful. He, of course, would laugh and reach into his vast encyclopedia of knowledge and explain how he had already tried such and such years ago and I didn't really need it, but if I had to have it, he'd be more than happy to sell it to me. Over the years, I went through this process again and again. At one point I was conversing online with a well known marine biologist who had me convinced that the spectrum of my lighting could never effect the color of my corals, and at the same time a second well known name tried to impress upon me the critical importance of using a deep sand bed never mind that neither of them had reefs of their own they were the voices of authority and I was loath to ignore their advice. Then, quite suddenly, my first aquarium epiphany hit. If someone has a tank and coral I like, all I need to do is copy their system, and my success should be guaranteed. Hah, if only it could be so easy!
The first system I tried to copy was Chris Jessen's show tank. It didn't matter that he had a retail operation, if he had a 300 gallon sump then by gosh I needed a 300 gallon sump as well. The 280 gallon display tank I created simply by copying everything Chris did came out fantastically and gave me a chance to gain enormous experience in keeping many different corals, but I was always struggling to keep it pest free and to get color on the corals placed in the lower zones. After a year or so I had the unbelievable luck to visit Steve Weast's home in Oregon and got to see what a home reef could look like in the hands of a truly advanced aquarist. After leaving his home and making a brief stop at ReefStuff.com to visit another "old salt" Rick Souta also in Oregon, I left with a new found dedication and a plan for the future. I knew I couldn't duplicate Steve's OCD fanaticism for cleanliness, but I also realized if Rick and Steve could grow colorful corals year after year without any special equipment or gimmicks then so could I especially if I used homegrown frags of proven heritage. They had tanks full of nothing but colorful corals of amazing size that they had grown from tiny frags over many years and the only thing I could see different from what they were doing and what I was doing was their maintenance regimem and their reliance on a combination of 20000k lamps and 10000k lamps in the same hood. Not too long after visiting Oregon, I saw my first open top system online. Instantly the benefits were clear to me. The ability to reach and touch any part of the tank at any time meant I could fix any problem that arose quickly and easily. My strategy changed from simple emulation to one of active design. I became determined to create something new and better.
When I sat down to design my current system I spent considerable time trying to think about what it is I want from this hobby. That's when I realized that for me reef keeping was akin to gardening. I love colorful acroporas, seriatoporas, and stylophoras. The challenge of learning to grow and keep healthy corals was my driving force, fish and soft corals were but secondary fillers. I began to think of my next tank as similar to learning to grow a bonsai or an orchid. I had a picture of what I wanted it to look like and now all I needed was the skill set to grow the corals in just that way. By relying on corals I had and coral frags grown in others tanks, I would know what colors and forms were possible and therefore I would have a steady barometer upon which to measure my success. If a coral failed to achieve its color potential or took on a strange form I could be certain I was treating it wrong, and in keeping with that same philosophy I wanted space for the corals to grow as big as they might in nature which meant that I would have to restrict my coral selection to a chosen few. Gone would be the days of collecting specimens for the sake of collecting, but then again that fit nicely with my growing sense of conservation. With the areas of coral collection being restricted more and more world wide, I was proud that my new tank would be dedicated to growing captive raised stock. So you can see, everything about my new design was for the benefit of my corals. Beginning with the tank itself.
My biggest problem up to that time was the difficulty I had in working on my display. The 280 I had was acrylic and had 3 small cutouts on the top. The stand brought the front glass up to a height for ideal viewing while you were standing. In order to work on the tank I needed a ladder, and I had to either remove the 72 inch fixture from the hood or contort myself under it. For really big work, I needed another strong person to lift the 100 lb cabinet off the top. It looked great and made for a nice piece of furniture, but it severely hampered my hands on maintenance. My new tank would be the complete opposite. The stand would be low enough to allow access with no ladder. The glass was thick enough so there would be no braces on top to distort light or hinder adding and removing rocks or corals. The tank was limited to 24 inches in height to allow a normal arms reach from top to bottom. Everything about the layout was intended to make working on every inch of the tank easy. The only limitation I saw was that one would have to sit to optimally view the tank, and any fish that had a tendency to jump would not be good for this tank, but since my focus was my corals and not the fish the latter was of little concern, and given my tendency to stare at my tank for hours on end at night sitting was preferable anyways. Lastly, the tank was to be square. This meant I could build two pillars of live rock with a deep channel in between in a small attempt to mimic the basic design of Steve Weast's tank. Also having a square tank meant I could place two light fixtures above the tank, and if I built the pillars just close enough to each other and slightly off the walls I would be able to insure that every coral was receiving light from all sides thus preventing the corals from becoming brown on the sides facing away from the light. In addition, the plan called for a small overflow to maximize the space for aquascaping. I opted to have an internal overflow to keep the tank from extending too far out into the center of the room, and that is the only element of my design that I would change if I were to start over today. The acrylic cover on the overflow is an unnecessary eyesore and the extra space in the tank would be most welcome. In any case the smaller overflow meant that main tank circulation would be low and the primary in tank water movement would come from my Tunzes. A nice aspect of the two pillar design was that the Tunzes could hide behind the rock work and therefore remain hidden when viewing from the front. Regardless of how small the overflow was the open top did bring an added concern of noise, fortunately I was able to use a modified Stockman pipe design to silence the flow. The drain is 1.5 inches but I added a small piece of 2 inch PVC to the 1.5 inch drain pipe and then put another 1.5 inch piece on top of that with a 3 inch cap at the very top and the drain holes inside the cap along the 1.5 inch pipe. I'm not a plumber, and I'm uncertain of the dynamics involved but the drain is absolutely silent even though it's flowing an easy 500 gallons an hour or more. Unfortunately for me and my new plans, my wife was on to the costs associated with this hobby so I was also restricted by a tight budget. I found a discount tank manufacturer that made strong but perhaps ever so slightly imperfect tanks and ordered a new 240 gallon 48 x 48 x 24 tank and stand for only $700. Then borrowing from something I'd seen online I went to home depot and purchased electrical conduit that I bent into an L shape for hanging the lights. The only expensive parts remaining were the light fixtures, but I sold some old equipment and made up for the cost of the two new 48 inch PFO combination VHO and MH light fixtures.
As has been said many times over, by aquarists far more skilled than I, lighting is a personal choice, and one that can overwhelm beginners easily, but for me it was simple. After years of looking at other successful acropora filled tanks the most common combination I saw was 400 watt Radiums and T-12 UVL Super Actinics and that was what I planned on using initially hence my purchase of the PFO hoods which are perfect for such a combination. I still believed (and do today as well) that certain corals benefit from 10000k lighting, particularly reds and pinks, but when I tried to mix 10000k metal halide with the Radiums the differences in color were quite apparent across the tank so instead I opted to run four metal halide Radium lamps, two UVL 110 watt Aquasun lamps, and two UVL Super Actinic lamps this way I felt I had all the bases covered. (Just recently I mounted four 48 inch ReefBrite LED strips to the sides of the fixtures and removed the Super Actinic lamps and replaced them with two additional Aquasun lamps in the hopes that this will enhance the growth of my elusive red stylophora that has been struggling to grow for 3 years.) The ballast choice was also easy as the whitest look only comes from the venerable and now extinct PFO-HQI ballasts. The overdriven lamps clearly get the job done and I was concerned about life expectancy, but so far I have been getting a steady year of service from each lamp and never had any fail on me yet. I have had to replace the capacitor on one of the ballasts, but that has been the only trouble to date. One of the more challenging aspects of establishing the lighting regimen was deciding on the length of day. Initially I read some research that made me suspect, the average aquarium light system was excessively saturating the corals, but when I tried to reduce the photoperiod to eight hours or so the results were dramatic, negative, and rapid so I quickly returned to my previous 10 hours of metal halide lighting. My hope is that the new LED technology will pave the way for a giant reduction in my electric costs, but I'll reserve judgement there until I see a few more examples of established tanks grown exclusively on LEDs as proof.
The day of the switch all went well and in September of 2007 my new tank was up and running. The hardest part for me was sticking to the plan. When I was done on that first day my tank looked horribly bare. I was desperate to fill it in with new corals, but then I was dedicated to my new plan, and somehow managed to resist the temptation. I even tried to avoid fast growing corals as much as possible. I put the few fast growers I had on separate pieces of rock so I could remove the entire colony if need be when it grew too large, but growing every coral perfectly isn't easy and I still had much to learn. Placing a low light Lokani in a high light location simply won't work. Placing a stylophora in high flow that worked for a humilis didn't work. Over time I got better at placement and now I even go so far as to research the corals natural habitat when possible. My most recent frag purchase was an echinata and thanks to a conversation with a diver in Australia I managed to place it in an area of medium regular flow and low light that seems to suit it perfectly. Because of my focus on corals from other reefers tanks I am keenly aware of how the corals can look both in color and form. So if my lokani isn't purple or my seriatopora isn't brilliant pink something isn't right, and that I think is the secret to a great reef and being an advanced aquarist. When you can look at your tank and see a coral losing color, AND you know you skipped a water change or haven't checked your parameters lately that's when your tank will get to the "next level". This awareness is what forces one into a strict regimen.
Gone are the days when I skip a skimmer cleaning or a water test. If one of my corals is pale or my goniopora is retracted I know something is wrong and I take action, but slow action. For example, when I test calcium or magnesium and the results aren't normal, I'll check the results 3 times and even try to find someway to test the test itself before I make a change. Where I used to accept my brine refractometer calibrated at 77 degrees with only RO water now I use a saltwater dedicated refractometer calibrated at precisely 20 degrees C and double checked with a 35 ppt calibration fluid. I have become a water quality fanatic desperate to keep my water as close to an Indonesian reef as possible. I try not to let my calcium stray more than +_ 20 ppm or my alkalinity vary greater than 0.3 meq/L. (Incidentally, the maintaining of proper alkalinity has proven by far the biggest challenge, and I'd love to see some future work as to why that might be.) I change 50 gallons a week religiously, and keep all my pumps in tip top shape with a regular cleaning in vinegar. If my sand looks dirty I clean it with a siphon or a slotted spoon and replace it with new cups of clean sand as needed. Rather than trying to remember when I last changed my bulbs I keep a journal and even write the date of installation on the ends to be sure, but the regimens alone I don't believe are the whole answer. The successful reefs I tried to copy all had heavy bio-loads with a resulting heavy reliance on a healthy Berlin System. To me the recent research showing how little organic waste is removed by skimmers is proof enough of the importance of live rock as a natural waste removing factory. I contemplated trying the much discussed Zeo-vit system at one time, but after a great deal of research I decided that the additives were snake oil and the zeolite was doing nothing more than providing an extremely porous rock upon which bacteria could cultivate and the rinsing action of the zeovit reactor was keeping the bacteria barrier clean and active so instead of zeovit I simply added 200 lbs of live rock in my sump and began rinsing it regularly in old tank water to keep it in good waste eating shape, but even with all that extra care and proper maintenance, I still needed more to make it perfect.
|35 ppt (D D Saltwater refractometer 1.0265)
|420 ppm (Elos)
|7 dKH (Salifert)
|1300 ppm (Salifert)
|8.1 (Pinpoint)
|Equipment Used
|Ranco Controller with dual Jager 250 watt heaters and fan
|Top Off
|Maxijet 1200 feeding from 150 gal RO/DI holding tank (70 drips/min)
|Kent Marine gravity feed for B-Ionic 2 part dosing
|DIY modified Stockman
|2 x Marineland Tidepool II sumps with trays
|Deltec Stirrer
|Calcium Reactor
|MTC ProCal
|Tunze 7094 Controller
|Tunze Turbelle Stream 6105
|Main Circulation
|Iwaki 100RLT - half to display; half to frag tank (1000 gals/hr)
|Skimmer Pump
|Iwaki 100RLT
|Frag Lighting
|3 x 250 watt Radiums on PFO-HQI ballasts
2 x 60 inch UVL Super Actinic bulbs on an IceCap 660 ballast
|Primary Lighting
|4 x 400 watt Radiums on PFO-HQI ballsts
2 x 48 inch ReefBrite Blue LEDs
4 x 48 inch UVL Aquasun bulbs on an IceCap 660 ballast
|Frag Tank
|180 gallon Oceanic tank and stand
|300 gallon Agway livestock trough
|Display Tank
|240 gallon Glasscages tank and stand (48 x 48 x 24)
|Sand Bed
|1 inch/ 5 micron
|200 lbs live rock in sump
|200 lbs live rock various varieties
|Kent Marine Tech-I
|Added Calcium and Alk
|ESV B-Ionic 2 part
|Calcium Hydroxide
|ESV kalk
|Reactor Media
|CaribSea ARM coarse media
|400 watt Radiums
|9AM to 7PM (10 hrs)
|Aquasun VHOs
|8AM to 8PM (12 hrs)
|ReefBrite Blue LEDS
|6AM to 10PM (16 hrs)
Daily: clean glass, feed twice (frozen: brine+, mysis, cyclop -eeze, arctic pods, bloodworms, sushi grade fish eggs), check basement, worry about developing algae bloom, top off sump with RO if not right on, check pH monitor for 8.1 and temp for 80, add 200 ml of B-Ionic 2 part if pH is 8.0 or less.
Weekly: 50 gallon water change (Coralife salt), clean skimmer, clean teeth on overflow, clean anti-siphon hole in return line, pull and inspect Stockman drain, mix next weeks water, clean and refill Deltec Kalk stirrer, add 100 ml Kent Tech-I iodine, siphon detritus as needed.
Monthly: siphon sand bed clean, run 2 trays of carbon or 2 combination carbon/phosphate remover filter pads for 2 days or so to uncloud water, test water for Ca (Elos), Mg (Salifert), pH (Pinpoint), salinity (D-D refractometer), kH (Salifert). Make adjustments as necessary to hit 420 ppm Ca, 1250 ppm Mg, kH 8, pH 8.1, salinity 35 ppt.
Quartlery: Take out the 2 Tunzes and replace with clean standbys, then leave the dirty ones to soak in vinegar for a couple days, take out 2 Maxi-jets in frag tank and replace with clean ones then soak old ones in vinegar, remove and clean stockman drain, clean pump intake screens, vacuum sump bottom, rinse live rock in sump with old tank water saved in 40 gallon garbi can, sell frags and make some new frags.
6 Months: change RO/DI carbon block and 0.5 micron pre-filter.
9 Months: Change VHOs and record date on end of tube and in tank journal
Annually: Change MHs, exchange 2 main pumps for clean pumps and disassemble and clean old pumps for next year using Muriatic Acid, change RO/DI DI cartridge and RO cartridge, 300 gallon water change (usually associated with some major event like plumbing change or re-aquascape or, heaven forbid, a pest treatment or just a major sump cleanout.
When Needed: add sand if bottom shows, run phosphate remover, clean scale off heaters, buy cleanup crew to knock back whatever algae bloom hits Mithrax for valonia, nudibrancs for Briopsys, etc; clean and refill calcium reactor, exchange CO2 bottle, replace RO float shutoff switch, trim corals or even remove whole overgrown colonies (this happens once a year at least and is always a little sad) change Via-Aqua powerhead on bottom of sump (keeps the surface stirred up).
Very quickly I knew that being neat and clean wasn't enough so I tried to consider every element I could. For instance I read an article showing corals absorbed sugar water faster when placed in a wave environment with a cycle that operated between 1 and 3 seconds so now I pulse my Tunzes on their fastest setting. I use two Tunzes on opposite sides of the tank and only run one at a time for a period of six hours so no coral is subject to excessive laminar flow which might cause it's form to become irregular. I considered removing my kalkwasser stirrer, but then I found evidence linking kalk to phosphate removal. I added two small tray filters between the skimmer and the sump for ease of media addition. When the water gets cloudy or the sand forms a red diatom, I can add some carbon or phosphate remover for 48 hours or so and then easily dump it out, but I never leave the media in for extended periods as I fear it can be too effective in removing too much of both good and bad elements. Also the trays allow me to run 0.5 micron filter pads if the water seems to be getting heavy in dusty particulate, and even though I believe skimmers are not as important as originally thought I did increase the skimmer pump from an Iwaki 55 to an Iwaki 100 to insure the greatest bubble production possible. Unfortunately some years back I discovered that my basement is high in CO2 so I drilled a hole to the exterior of the house and ran an air hose from the skimmer air intake to the exterior of the house. Then too I try to keep pairs of fish and shrimp and shoals of fish all in an attempt to create mated pairs that spawn regularly and feed the system indirectly. I always keep a pair of cleaner shrimp in my tank as I find nearly all the fish will visit them on a regular basis so I must assume their is a need for parasite removal just as in nature. As a brief aside I have not had any outbreak of fish disease or parasites since I began the habit of keeping cleaner shrimp. All of which is to say I promote the overall health of each inhabitant in any way I can, and even more importantly I have the patience to stick with a creature even when it looks doomed. When I first purchased my tiny frag of Oregon Tort in 2003 it was a mere 1/2 inch in size, and fell into the sand initially and died half away, but I placed it carefully into a more secure location, gave it plenty of free space, and it grew slowly but steadily into the monster that it is today. My second heteractis magnifica I purchased in the spring of 2002 (for the record I would never advocate purchasing these anemones and will never buy one again; their survival rate is too low)and it started life with me in my 50 gallon tank under 150 watt metal halides. During the first few weeks it climbed around the tank and twice got sucked into a Maxijet powerhead intake screen, and I had to cut away pieces of its pedicle to free it. Eventually I built a tall rock pile as high as I could under the MH lights and topped it off with a perfectly smooth rock and then suddenly the anemone stopped wandering. When I tried to feed it frozen cubes it would take them in then spit them out half dissolved, but I persevered and simply took the half eaten waste out and fed the anemone again. It took years, but today the anemone has split 3 times and has grown in size and stinging ability many times over. The changes came slowly, one might even say glacially and that is where patience and dedication pays off. Clearly good things come to those who wait so if you're just starting out I can't stress enough the importance of patience and dedication.
No matter how dedicated you think you are when you start, there comes a time in every reefers mind when they ask themselves if it really is all worth it. For me the worst moment came in August of 2003 while I was on vacation. All of New England experienced a blackout and my house was without power for 48 hours. When the tank sitter finally arrived more than half the tank was dead. Perhaps the bigger miracle is the fact that I didn't lose everything, but there I feel the benefit of the basement sump played a big role. In any case, I was distraught at the loss and ready to throw in the towel. Fortunately my wife gave me the encouragement I needed, and I made sure to never have that problem again by purchasing a generator. Virtually every mistake you can think of has been made so if you are starting out today take the time to learn from other's disasters and prepare yourself for the inevitable. What will you do when the power goes out? How will you handle a main circulation pump that suddenly freezes up? Who will check your tank when you're on vacation? Do you know what to do if you overdose alkalinity and cause a sudden precipitation event? (The answer is do nothing.) Nearly always there will be simple answers whether that be battery operated air bubblers or a neighbors kid, but if you haven't thought about it the frustration you feel when the problem suddenly hits can be debilitating. Plan for the worst and you'll find it easier to handle the unexpected. Because if you quit you'll never reach that dream you had in mind when you started.
In the end though, there is one critical element without which I could never have succeeded: my fellow reefers. Whether it is Dana Riddles articles on light, frags from super aquarist Keith Berkelhammer, or help from Jason Edward of Greenwich Aquaria with routine care and vacation reef sitting, I could never have the tank I do today without all the help. The hard work of our reefing community is unbelievable. The growing availability of homegrown frags and even fish means we should all be able to enjoy this hobby for decades to come. So if you want to be a successful coral gardner too, my advice is find some friends who have already done it, read as much as you can stand before you start, and take your time to do it "right".