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Author’s
Note:
When
I was asked if I would submit my tank for reef of the month I at first
resisted, thinking “Why in the world would folks care to see my
tank?” In my opinion it’s very much a “dirty” tank. It’s not
pristine or SPS exclusively or even remotely like many of the tanks on
display in Reefs.org.
Philosphy
My
tank is really a “hodge podge” of ideas, corals and fish. I had no
biome in mind when I started to stock the tank. At first, I thought I
would go with the fruit stand approach, which is to say that I wanted
every color of coral I could get. Then I decided I would go the SPS
route and add fragments and colonies of any SPS I could afford or find.
I decided then that I needed some soft corals to fill in the gaps and to
add some texture to the tank. Finally, I just decided to just go with
what felt right to me- not exactly scientific but I think that’s
really they way most reefers go when they stock their tanks.
My
methodology of keeping the tank clean came about from wanting to take a
minimalist approach to “gear” and is decidedly low tech. Just about
every reef keeper I talk to wants to know the “gear” I use to keep
my tank successful as if the key to success is somehow in my hardware.
The key is in my hands-off approach and simple observation of the tank.
I also wanted to hide the gear or at least make it as unobtrusive as
possible to the house and the occupants of the tank. In this last
respect I feel I have succeeded.
Overall Tank
Setup and History
The
main tank is 4 ½ years old and is a 155 AGA glass bow front. It
connects to a 165 gallon sump via four drains and the main circulation
is a 1.5” line split three ways to provide an estimated 1600 to 2000
gallons per hour of flow. I could do a great deal more (I could get over
3000gph) but the noise generated by the cascading water is at PWTL (or
peak wife tolerance level). The pump used is a Sequence 4600seq22. This
pump is powerful, quiet and probably one of the best investment upgrades
I have made to the tank. The three way split goes to six¾” loc-line returns. I had to Dremel out the AGA overflow
notches to allow them to support the increased flow.
The
tank was filled initially with 100lbs of sand to a depth of about
1-2”. To that I added ~300lbs of uncured Savaii island rock.
This was the island of the month. It has turned out to be very
good rock.The sump
at the start was a 30gl long glass sump drilled with a ¾”
bulkhead. I even started out with a wet/dry DLS as the primary
filter. That filter worked just fine for two years but then I grew
tired of having to remove and clean the DLS pads every 3-6 months
and the mess that created. I then removed them and replaced with a
crushed coral bed installed over a deep sand bed that occupied two
thirds of the sump. That too had to be cleaned and I soon just
removed the crushed coral and finally the whole wet/dry
came out and I just fed the water into the sump over the sand bed.
The circulation was provided by a Quiet One external pump. I was
getting maybe 500-700gph.
Then I decided it was time to do a major upgrade of the sump and
generally improve the water conditions of the tank. Though the corals
and fish were doing fine I felt that they were living in a sewer as the
nitrates were approaching and staying at 80-100ppm regardless of what I
did or how many large water changes I performed.
I
decided to add a 165 gallon sump under the house and the Sequence pump.
In the sump I added a 4-6” DSB in hopes that this would bring the
nitrates down to the more manageable level of 20-40ppm. That’s where
they stand today. I also was able to pick up an inexpensive used 250W
metal halide ballast and pendent and added that to reverse light the
sump. A few macro algae’s were seeded and will be removed monthly to
weekly as nutrient export. So now the sump is more like a giant refugium.
In this setup the tank has been running since early January 2003.
The
skimmer I still use is the Aqua-Medic Turbofloater 1000 in sump
model that I bought used initially for the tank. I have no
reactors or culture generators; just the skimmer, sand and now the
algae.The skimmer
now works better as it doesn’t sit as deep in the water. At some
point it may be upgraded to an Aqua-Medic Baby 5000.
If
you plan on using 1.5” flex PVC, get a friend to help and use
the natural bends to your advantage. I had to use all my might and
some steam to get the U bend in to make the final connection (See
Photos). I also didn’t have the luxury of being able to leak
test, but most leaks can be avoided though good plumbing
techniques and patience. The whole sump conversion took me a while
to plan out and I did it in stages so as not to wear out my body
or my patience.
Lighting
The
lights are 3x175 MH 10K Hamilton, 3x165W 6’,VHO actinic and 1 50/50
165W 6’,VHO. The light cycle is 12hrs of actinic, 10 hours of actinic
and 50/50 and 7hrs of metal halide. The metal halide doesn’t come on
in the middle of the 12hr cycle rather they turn on 1/3 of the way into
the cycle then at 8pm they go off followed one hour later by the
daylight and finally one hour later again the actinic.
From
late November through early February the tank gets direct sunlight via a
large bay window next to it. That’s the best time of year to really
watch as things grow rapidly. The whole tank gets exposed for about 3-4
hours as the sun moves across the horizon.
Circulation
The
main circulation is the Sequence 4600SEQ22 1/6HP pump as described
above. This is the primary water flow for the tank. It’s located under
the house and there is 12’ of straight up travel for the water to move
before it even hits the three way and the 6 returns. There are two
CAP-800 power heads on a Red Sea Wavemaster Pro wave maker that I use to
create more variability in the water movement in the tank and to control
the range of the two giant rose bubble tip anemones (E.
quadricolor).
Additional
Equipment
I
also have a 1/4HP Aqua-Logic drop in chiller that runs in the summer to
keep the tank cool. The temperature ranges from a low of 75 in the
winter to a high of 79 in summer. I now have to make use of two 300W
heaters in the winter with the new sump setup.
Chemistry
& Maintenance
I
check nitrates every two weeks or whenever I feel like it. I test
calcium and alkalinity on the same haphazard schedule. I do check
a Pinpoint PH meter daily as well as the temperature. The new sump
has me checking these things more than normal since I am dealing
now with an external sump and 110 more gallons of actual water
volume. I am again learning how the tank responds to temperature
and other changes.
Typical
calcium readings range from 380ppm to 480ppm. Alkalinity is
between 8-12dKH. pH ranges from 8.35 to 8.55 over any 24hr period;
if it creeps higher or lower I check alkalinity and calcium and
dose as required. My specific gravity ranges from 1.0240 to 1.0245
and the temperature range is from 75-79F depending on the season.
I
do water changes now whenever the mood strikes - this is not recommended
by me unless you know your tank. When I do a water change it is large,
usually 90 to 110 gallons. I change carbon every few weeks. I maintain
alkalinity via baking soda and washing soda (mixed 5 to 1) added to top
off water and added every few days. Calcium is dosed with Kent Turbo
Calcium about once per week or several days after buffering alkalinity.
I add about 5 or 6 tablespoons of the Turbo calcium per week. I never
dose both on the same day.
Glass is cleaned usually
when I can no longer stand the coralline on the front blocking my
view or when the wife complains that she can no longer see her
favorite fish or corals.
Feeding
Feedings
are roughly every day with varying days off. I never take the same
day off from feeding. The amounts I feed are random as well. I
feed my tank everything from frozen prepared foods, live
phytoplankton, brine and spirulina flake, to broccoli and live
macro algae now harvested from my sump. I employ the blizzard
technique- that is to say it looks like a snow storm in the tank
right after I feed. The whole tank then is able to garner some
food; corals, polyps, fish, and invertebrates all are able to
feed.
Current
Inhabitants
All
the fish in the tank are now at least 3 years old, even the cleaner
wrasse.
Mated,
breeding pair of Maroon and gold strip clown fish
Invertebrates:
Mmisc.
hermits, snails: astrea, strombus, cerith, and various unknown cowries,
white sea stars (max ¾” diameter), dozens of brittle stars, a large
black spiny brittle star, a giant 24” Tiger tail cucumber, various
‘pods of all types and sizes and mysis shrimp, at night the tank is a
snow storm of plankton, filter feeders abound, tubeworms, feather
dusters, small clams, muscles and large variety of sponges and
tunicates, there is a large black sponge living under one of the rose
BTA’s.
Corals:
I
have many, many corals both stony and soft. Acropora,
Montipora, Pocillipora
Pachyseris, Pavona,, Stylophora,
Euphyllia, Sarcophyton,
Sinularia, Clavularia,
Capanella, Anthelia, Xenia (pulsing), Pterogorgia Rumphella(best guess),
Zooanthids-1/2 dozen species at least, corallimorpharians 4 different
species.
Some
animals of note in my tank are the Lobophytum sp. or Devils hand, Green
Toad stool or Sarcophyton sp., and the range of colored Monitipora. The
most striking animals are the two 12” diameter rose-colored bubble tip
Entacmaea quadricolor
anemones. They are home to the mated and breeding pair of Maroon
clownfish, Premnas biaculeatus.
Over
all, the tank is stocked with some 50 or so different species and color
morphs, a dozen fish and countless invertebrates. In the past two years
I have had the pleasure of giving away or selling some 200+
fragments/colonies to fellow reefers including some to folks at
Reefs.org.
