Martin Lakin's (AcroporaUK) Reef Tank
![click here for full size picture](images/pic1.jpg)
Background:
Firstly, let me introduce myself. My
name is Martin Lakin, a Chartered Engineer, living in UK.
I feel very honoured to be asked by Reefkeeping Magazine
and Reef Central to write about my tank. My initiation into
fish keeping started some 30 years ago as a result of winning
a goldfish at a fair. After keeping freshwater tropicals,
I moved into the fascinating marine hobby roughly 24 years
ago, starting with a 20 gallon set up.
In the early 1980s, I strived to emulate
the amazingly successful reef tank that Terry Evans had
created in his shop at Romford, England, and set up my first
100+ gallon system with metal halide lighting. Some 6 years
ago I met David Saxby and was again mesmerised by the success
he was having, especially with SPS corals. Whilst I wish
to express my gratitude to Terry, David and many of the
other people who have helped me over the years, there is
a very important lesson to be learned here: learning from
others is critical to success; judge the quality and credibility
of advice only upon observing the quality of the advisor's
set up.
Aquarium Profile:
The tank sits in a small room which has
been created adjacent to our living room so only the front
can be viewed from our lounge. The system is 3 ½
years old. Access to the front sections of the tank can
be gained through a detachable panel, and all the operating
equipment is located in the room directly behind the tank.
The tank houses a vast mixture of all types of corals, anemones
and a large number of fish.
Aquarium Profile
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300
gallon glass aquarium |
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Dimensions:
66"L x 24"H x 54"D |
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50 gallon and
280 gallon sumps |
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The reef structure was created using
live rock, and extremely large pieces of dead branching
Acropora, etc. Using old pieces of coral from our
fish-only tanks is very effective; however, purchasing newly
imported dead coral is not environmentally friendly, and
the use of rocks threaded onto pipes or tied together using
cable ties is just as good in creating an 'open reef environment'.
I have also created internal shelves out of 10mm glass to
support a structure at higher levels in the tank, and avoided
filling the entire tank with rock. This enables me to maximize
the water capacity and available swimming space for the
fish.
Water
Parameters
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Ca: 480 mg/l (Salifert) |
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Alk: 8mg/l (Salifert) |
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Nitrite: 0.03 Viscolor (Tunze) |
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Nitrate: 7mg/l (Tropic Marin) |
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PO4: <0.015 (Merc) |
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Temperature: 26°C |
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Specific Gravity: 1.025 |
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Each
item of equipment is connected to the electrical supply
via its own plug, to enable ease of connection and
changeability.
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Fish
room - I'm sure that without a separate sink and tap
in the fish room my wife would not be quite so supportive
if I had to fill buckets in the kitchen.
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Plumbing and Circulation:
In the ocean, water moves 'in blocks'
and I attempt to re-create this motion within the tank.
Having a single pump blasting water out is inappropriate,
while the use of numerous pumps and spray bars is a more
effective way of displacing the water.
Please do not attempt to put power heads
within the living rock structure; consider how you will
get to it for maintenance. I've also seen the bottom of
tanks drilled forming part of a closed-loop circulation
system. In my opinion, this is a very dangerous practice.
A defective joint can result in disaster, and can empty
all the water on the floor.
Circulation
Main tank 300 gallons
(1360 litres)
Turnover - 8.3 times
per hour
Provided by:
2 Eheim 1060s @ 500 gal/hr 70% continuity* |
700 gal/hr (tank
turnover) |
1 Halida @ 550 gal/hr 100% continuity |
550 gal/hr (tank turnover) |
1 Halida @ 550 gal/hr 100% continuity |
550 gal/hr (tank turnover) |
1 Oase Aquarius @ 858 gal/hr 80%
continuity |
686 gal/hr (skimmer feed) |
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2,486 gal/hr |
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Eheim pumps are connected
to spray bars & an Aqua Medic wavemaker.
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Sump output returns via two
30 watt ultraviolet sterilizers.
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Allowance given for the Oase
pump due to added resistance through the titanium
chiller unit.
*Assumed
value
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The majority of the water
is returned back to the main tank display via two 30 watt
ultraviolet (UV) sterilizers connected in series; the remaining
water passes through a bypass valve. The bypass has been
fitted since it is understood that pumping water too quickly
across the UV reduces its effectiveness; it also allows
for isolation of the equipment for maintenance.
Lighting:
Natural light is provided via a 5' x
4' skylight made from twin-walled polycarbonate sheeting.
Artificial light is supplied by six 'home made' 250 watt
metal halides and one actinic 03 fluorescent.
Luminaires
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(3)
- 250 watt 20K metal halides (Osram) (30cm
above water)
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(3) - 250 watt 10K metal halides (2 AB
& 1 BLV) (30cm above water)
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(1)
- 140 watt actinic 03 (30cm above water)
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Skylight - approx. 5 x 4 (black-out
blind drawn at night)
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Total Power
= 1640 watts + natural daylight
Surface Area
= 2.4m2
Light Intensity
= 683 w/m2 (nominal)
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Whilst I have no scientific proof to
verify this, many of the tanks I have seen with good coral
growth have used a mixture of 10K and 20K lamps, and I am
aware that some companies are now manufacturing units which
have both types of lamps in the same unit oriented parallel
with each other, providing an excellent blended output.
All of the metal halides are controlled
by separate time clocks and contactors. Over the years,
I have found that connecting these luminaries directly into
the timers can cause the switching mechanism to become defective.
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Rear
of tank - note in the bottom left-hand corner the
Deltec kalkwasser stirrer. This has now been upgraded
in size to cope with the massive coral growth. Additionally,
from this view the glass structures created to allow
more swimming space for the fish can be seen against
the back wall of the tank.
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Looking at some of the other superb tanks
around the UK, if I was reappraising my lighting and starting
again, I would use blended 50% 20K and 50% 10K and base
it on about 1000w/m2 on a 2' or 2'6" deep
tank.
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Halides 1 hour staggered
on period, starting with the 20K, followed by
the 10K, commencing at about 1:30PM.
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Halides go off in reverse,
starting at about 9:30PM; actinics turn off
at about 11:00PM.
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Sumps:
The tank now has two sumps; the one
below the tank holds approximately 50 gallons and is now
used as a nursery for coral frags (not shown in the earlier
photograph). In my view, provision
of a coral nursery facility is important, since with successful
tanks you will, without any question, have to consider what
to do with your surplus corals.
Many of our tanks do not resemble a reef,
nor does mine, and this is largely due to keeping so many
different types of corals. In nature, for the same given
area, there would be far fewer colonies within the same
given area, but due to space limitations and the desire
to keep different species, many of us keep a larger variety
of corals, and we have to prune them much like a gardener
does. I'm sure if I stopped pruning the tank, and left it
for 10 years, there would only be half a dozen or so corals
remaining. Pruning the tank also enables the distribution
of coral cuttings to other aquarists and public aquaria,
fragments which seem to be much hardier than specimens taken
from the wild.
I have found one of the most effective
ways of mounting the coral frags is by using McDonald's
McFlurry spoons. If the end is cut off, you have a perfect
square tapered shaft which fits just nicely into the square
profiled egg crate that I use in the sump. I should also
mention the egg crate is supported on 6 wine glasses. Just
drop the frag into the top of the shaft and away you go!
My kids think this is great, and I now have to ask the kids
if they want to go out for a McDonald's, rather than the
other way around.
The second sump
(108" x 30" x 36"), which is made from polypropylene
and is totally encased with 2" polystyrene insulation,
has only been added within the last few months. The aim
of adding an additional sump was to further stabilize water
conditions, especially relating to temperature. Prior to
its addition, the temperature could fluctuate by about 2°C
in a day, but since the new sump addition the temperature
only varies about ½ °C during a day. At this
point, nothing is in the sump other than water; however,
I am considering adding some live rock for supplemental
biological filtration in the future. The sump has a turnover
rate close to 500 gallons/hour.
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Here,
the new sump is seen part way through its construction
and installation. Eventually, it may house additional
live rock.
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Deltec skimmer - fitted with
needle wheel venturis powered by three Eheim 1060s.
Reactor chamber dimensions: 300mm diameter 700mm
high.
Collection cup on skimmer is cleaned once per week,
and de-scaled once per year. To the right side and
almost off the frame, you can see my 'do it yourself'
phosphate media reactor containing ROWAPHOS.
Water is pumped to the bottom of the unit where
it is then allowed to percolate its way up through
the media, causing it to fluidise.
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Cooling/Heating:
There are two 300 watt heater/thermostats
in the sump. Their integral thermostat is used as a 'safety'
cut off and set at 28°C. Both are connected to a digital
thermostat with a set point of 25°C, so that if the
digital thermostat becomes defective, their integral thermostat
will shut them down. The cooling equipment is operated by
a second separate digital thermostat, with a set point 1°C
higher (26°C), to prevent the heating/cooling equipment
from working against each other. It is only on a very cold
winters' night that the heaters have been needed, and I
suspect that with the addition of my new large sump they
may not be needed at all, although they are still there
just in case.
Cooling/Heating:
Fans above tank - thermostatically
controlled.
Adapted Beer Chiller -
(stainless steel coil replaced by 30m of 9mm diameter
Eheim plastic pipe) with the exception of winter,
the unit is permanently switched on. The internal
thermostat maintains the ice block. The tank temperature
is controlled as a result of switching the delivery
pump on or off. There is a 15 minutes per day override
to prevent stagnation during prolonged periods of
warm weather.
40 KW PSA titanium heat exchanger
- primary cooling via tap water.
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Calcium Supplementation:
In my consideration, the combination
of the use of both the Deltec kalkwasser stirrer and the
Deltec CO2 calcium reactor has yielded
the best results. At the time of taking the photograph below,
I was in the process of upgrading the stirrer to meet the
ever-increasing calcium demands.
I also measure the alkalinity of the
water coming out of the reactor, and typically aim for a
reading of above 30 dKH at all times. Prior to the effluent
entering the tank, this cascades its way down through a
container filled with coral gravel which aids in knocking
any spare CO2 out of solution.
The Deltec fluidised CO2
reactor - approximately 1000mm high x 200 mm in
diameter.
Water flow: 80ml/min. CO2
addition at 3 bubbles per second (CO2
added continuously).
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The Deltec kalkwasser
stirrer - approximately 400mm high x 200mm diameter.
All evaporated water is added via the reactor and
only between the hours of 5:00AM & 9:00AM, cycling
on/off every 20 minutes. The reactor is seen here
prior to being filled as it was being set up.
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Maintenance & Feeding:
Approximately 10% of the water is changed
every month. I was told years ago that it takes time for
salt water to mix properly and to become less 'reactive/harsh',
so I always mix the water up 3 or 4 days before I need it,
and use an air pump to agitate that water during the mixing
period. Having recently read an article
by Ron Shimek, on the accumulation of trace metals, and
the potential for substrate/rock to soak them up and subsequently
leach back out, I have siphoned out as much of the accessible
substrate media as I could and replaced it.
The skimmer is cleaned once per week
manually, as my model has not been fitted with the self-cleaning
kit that is available. I would suggest that anyone who is
unable to find time to clean their skimmer on a regular
basis, or has the equipment installed in their living area
of their house should look at automated equipment, since
as a result of their extremely high efficiency, they produce
copious amounts of extremely pungent protein (far more than
any of my previous skimmers). More frequent cleaning regimes
also improve the skimmer's effectiveness. At least once
per fortnight, while the venturi pumps are working, I twist
a small metal drill bit into the venturi inlet to remove
any accumulation of dried salts. Metal halide lamps are
changed on a rotational basis every year; about every 6
months the reflectors on the inside of the metal halides
are given a clean/polish and every 3 months the glass on
the luminaries are cleaned. Every few weeks any accumulations
of dried salts around the top of the tank are removed, as
any 'clumps' falling into the tank and landing on corals
can be fatal or at the least, very irritating. The ultraviolet
lamps are replaced every 6 months, along with the actinic
fluorescent tube.
Periodically, the inlets to the pumps
and spray bars are cleaned by removing encrusting algae,
etc. I use lime scale removers (the liquid you can buy from
the supermarket to de-scale kettles, etc.) and it's effective,
but you must ensure that the equipment is thoroughly cleaned
with freshwater before putting it back in service.
An aqueous iodine solution (Lugol's)
is added to the system using a 50% strength (needs to be
kept in the dark & cool) at the rate of 4 drops every
4 days for 400 gallons. I use a Salifert 1ml syringe for
the dropper and mix with a jug of RO water. This is added
to the tank at night, over about a 12 hour period, using
a dripper system by Kent Marine. Although I add this at
night, I'm not sure if this makes any difference. 20ml of
strontium solution (Two Little Fishies) is added every week.
The fish are fed frozen Mysis shrimp, fine mussel
and cyclops three times per day, along with the occasional
use of flake food. I also use freeze-dried Nori by placing
a couple of strips to a lettuce clip, every couple of days.
Ozone is used occasionally with 200mg injected into the
skimmer for approximately 10 hours.
Make-up Water:
All the water added to the system is
cleansed using an RO unit which contains DI resins in the
last chamber. The unit's prefilters (5 micron), carbon filters
and de-ionizing media are changed every 6 months or so;
I also use a digital TDS meter, to check the efficiency
of the system. Roughly every 3 days my RO unit is turned
on to fill a 10 gallon storage container. A small powerhead
with a restricting tap, pumps the fresh water into the Deltec
kalkwasser stirrer at a slow 'dribbling' rate. The powerhead
is controlled by a float switch in the sump and two time
clocks, the first time clock ensures activation, which results
in the pump running for roughly 20 seconds. The second timer
ensures that, regardless of whether the float switch is
calling for it to come on, top up water only goes into the
tank during the night and early hours of the morning (i.e.
when the pH is low).
Inhabitants:
Relative to many of the other reef tanks
I have seen, my system holds a vast number of fish (which
I believe has only been possible due to keeping the phosphate
levels down, by using Rowaphos). I feel that it is
important to include lots of herbivores within the collection,
which includes Chevron, Yellow & Purple tangs. In my
view, a reef tank would not be complete without Anthias;
however, great care is needed with these fish, as they must
be provided with the correct type of food, especially when
first introducing them into the tank. Whilst I understand
that cyclops is a fresh water food, it is irresistible to
marine fish, especially Anthias. This food source
is very, very small in size, shall I say planktonic, and
the fish spend a much longer time eating, which is more
akin to their natural feeding habits. Although the tank
originally housed some Foxfaces, I have found that they
are good for eating algae, including Valonia, but
can be problematic when they become larger as mine eventually
began eating some of the soft corals.
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December
2000
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July
2001
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December
2001
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December
2000
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July
2001
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December
2001
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December
2000
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July
2001
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December
2001
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July
2002
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Moorish
idol*
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Longnose
hawkfish (pair)
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Blue green chromis (5)
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Flame
angels (pair)
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Percula
clownfish (pair)
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Dispar
anthias (2)
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Banana
wrasse
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Dottybacks (4)
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Yellow
tangs (5)
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In
Sump:
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Percula
clownfish (pair)
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* I
only recommend Moorish Idols for large tanks & where they
can be fed at least 3 times per day. Additionally, the Foxfaces
shown in the photographs above are now removed; they became
too large and eventually started to eat the soft corals.
Tips:
I feel that measuring of water conditions
is a maintenance chore that is all too often overlooked.
I once went through a period where the corals were not happy;
something was wrong, and it took ages to find out what it
was. Eventually, the problem was determined to be a defective
hydrometer. While I thought my tank was running at 1.025,
in fact, it was about 1.035! I cannot stress enough: an
accurate hyrdrometer is imperative. Models are available
to within 0.0005° accuracy. Unfortunately, these instruments
are extremely fragile, and perhaps the most effective way
of using them is to have a 'daily' cheap robust instrument
for periodic checking against the more expensive and accurate
instrumentation.
Last week
I watched on television a documentary about people
who collected butterflies. They were collecting
enormous quantities of dead butterflies, securing
them to boards with steel pins. Unfortunately,
many of the specimens in their collections are
now extinct, possibly due to over-collection back
in the Victorian age (which they explained was
an incredibly popular pastime), or possibly due
to the destruction of their natural habitat. This
made me think about how people will view us, as
reefkeepers, in 100 or so years from now. It is
my belief that reefkeeping is vitally important,
since one day we may be in a position where reef
animals can only be kept in artificial conditions
due to the destruction of their natural habitat.
And, in the meantime, we need to learn as much
as we can about the animals themselves and how
to recreate the conditions they need to thrive.
I also feel
that it is reefkeepers who are making many of
the breakthroughs on recreating the optimum artificial
environments, and this area is not necessarily
the sole remit of public aquariums and other such
institutions. In fact, hobbyists are passing our
experiences on to these organizations that are
able to teach members of the public the value
of the coral reefs.
I consider
that it is the people who set up 'death tanks,'
or do things at a whim, who are a danger to the
good name of the majority of reefkeepers. These
are the people who set up tanks with little research,
and see their set up as little more than a 'pretty
thing at the edge of their living room.' It may
start off looking attractive, but after replacing
the dead and dying stock a few times due to incorrect
equipment, inappropriate livestock, rushing ahead
and not allowing things to mature properly, it
soon becomes an expensive, and all too often,
an algae infested mess. I feel that retailers
should stress the responsibility their customers
have to the creatures in their charge, and not
see it as an opportunity to make a quick buck.
Although saying that, there are many retailers
working very hard to insure sound guidance for
their customers and who have high ethical standards.
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All photos courtesy of
Jeremy Simmonds.
Feel free to comment
or ask questions about my tank in the forum
for the online magazine.
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