Bob Nell's Reef Tank

I would like to express my thanks to those responsible for featuring my tank on Reef Central.

Background:

I started too long ago with a pair of guppies, soon increasing to 100 guppies, etc. After being fishless for many years, I became intrigued with the fascinating creatures of the marine world. I took the plunge in 1993 with a 75 gallon fish-only setup, operated using an underground filter without a skimmer. I still have my first clownfish from this setup. By this time I was hooked, but still without much knowledge.

To be brief, I subsequently went to a Dutch setup (similar to wet/dry bacteria filter) reef before what I thought would be my final fix, a 120 gallon algae scrubber system set up in 1997. Just prior to this, I made the best move of all: joining the Pittsburgh Marine Aquarium Society (PMAS.org). The many friendships, support and knowledge base proved invaluable. At the end of 1998 it was obvious that most of the corals were outgrowing the 120. Realizing that I now enjoyed the reef hobby more than one of my former passions, shooting pool in my basement, I decided to set up a "big" reef tank. The following is a description of that system.

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Design:

The acrylic tank is in the center of the room, replacing the pool table. It is 72" x 48" x 30," having a capacity of 500 gallons with a 100 gallon sump. Three sides are viewable. One side is dark with an 18 inch surface overflow. There is a 5" by 16" by 24" external overflow box, which is plumbed with three 2" drains. The returns include two bottom, one split side, two split top and one single top line, all of which are 1".

The stand is built similar to a deck with 2 x 6 and 4 x 4 supports and two sheets of 3/4" plywood on top and one sheet approximately 4" above the floor. An insulation board was placed between the tank and plywood. There is 24" of clearance, but 30" between the joists. The finish is veneer. The hood was built out of 12" veneer. The front and rear panels can be removed via slots at each end. All finish was stained and sealed with a marine finish. The majority of the live rock was placed on a PVC skeleton, which eliminated the need for base rock. This created a large cavern and a higher contour at the overflow end of the tank.

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Water Circulation:

The original design consisted of three 1800 Mag Drive pumps. I realized more circulation was needed, but did not want to use powerheads. I decided to use Seaswirls, which are hidden by the hood. Two additional 1800's and a single 1200 Mag Drive were plumbed via the overhead returns. Gross pump capacity is 10,200 gallons per hour. With head reduction, the actual flow is probably closer to 6,500 gallons per hour.

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Lighting

* Two 6 foot metal halide/power compact retrofits are mounted parallel to the front and 6 " above the water. Each has three 175 watt 10,000 K Aqualine and two 96 watt power compacts for a total of 1,450 watts.
* Acrylic splashguards are used.
* The halides are on from 8 to 10 hours depending on coral location.
* The PCs are on 13.5 hours.

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Filtration

* Approximately 300 lbs. of Fiji live rock arranged in a low profile sloping pattern with central crevice and varying contours.
* Approximately 750 lb. of live sand to start, which has not been added to.
* Skimmer: Euro Reef, located in the sump, powered by two 750 gph Sen pumps, zero-clearance collection cup, total height of 24".
* Algae Scrubbers: two scrubber boxes 24 x 8" and 32 x 10" each 8" deep are mounted above the tank and to the side. Each contains a fiberglass screen, which sits on a dump tray. Both are fed by one Mag Drive 750 with each having an effective flow rate of 150 gallons per hour because of the 6 foot head. Each has a canopy, which has two 28 watt power compact bulbs that are on a reverse daylight schedule for 14 hours.
* Media: Purigen (Seachem) ion exchange is used at the recommended content.
* Mechanical: each overflow drains into a 100 micron filter bag.


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Makeup Water

Poly-Bio-Marine Kold Ster-il has been used from initial setup. A 50 gallon reservoir is used, which has 15 lb. of aragonite calcium reactor media for a slight alkalinity boost. Instant Ocean salt has been used since initial setup.

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Other Equipment:

Korallin calcium reactor sized for a 1600 gal capacity with ultra pure media.

Additives:

Some experimenting has been done.
Presently, ESV iodide, strontium and bromide/fluoride at the recommended dosage.
Coral Vital DNA is added once per week.

Water Parameters

Ca:
over 400 (Red Sea)
dKH:
11-12 (Merck)
PH:
8.1-8.35 (monitor)
ORP:
425
Phosphate:
not detectable (Salifert)
Nitrate:
never tested

Feeding:

A variety of flake, pellet and frozen.
AM feeding consists of 1 to 1.5 oz of dry.
PM feeding consists of 4 to 6 cubes of frozen.
ESV spray dried phytoplankton is used 2 x per week.

Maintenance:

Filter bags: 2 x 5 min per week
Skimmer: 2 x 5 min per week
Scrubber screens: scraped once/10 days, 15 minutes
Clean splash guards: 2 x 10 minutes per week
Clean acrylic with magnets: 2 x 10 minutes per week
Water changes of 25 gallons are made every 3 to 4 weeks.

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Fish
5
Hippo Tangs (5")
1
Orange Shoulder Tang (6")
1
Rabbit Fish (6")
6
Blue/green Chromis (2")
1
Clarki Clown (3")
1
Percula Clown (3")
1
8 Line Wrasse (4")
2
Banner Butterflys (2")
1
Algae Blenny
2
Grammas
1
Square Box Anthias
2
Purple Tangs
Corals:

A variety of corals that offer just about every color and shape imaginable.

LPS
Hammer
Frogspawn
Torch
Bubble
Caulastrea
Blastomusa merleti
Wellsi
Lobophyllia
Fungia
Scolymia
Symphyllia
Monastrea
diploastrea
Platygyra
Galaxea
 
Pachyseris
 

SPS
 
Montipora
 
Capricornus
Digitata
Spongodes
     
 
Acropora
 
Formosa
Loripes
Gemmifera
Millepora
 
Granulosa
Hydnophora
 
Porites
 
 
 
 
Pocillopora
 
Seriatopora
 
Stylophora

Soft
Ricordea
mushrooms
Sarcophyton
giant Palythoa
zoanthids
Palythoa
Capnella
Sinularia
Lobophytum
Cladiella
Tubipora
star polyps
 
 
 
 
Carpet anemone
(short tentacle)
 
The coral placement has been according to family types, which keeps stinging to a minimum.

Lessons Learned:

The cute little Hippo tangs that started out quarter size and I even questioned whether they were too small, have grown to 5", and have learned to enjoy eating xenia, zoanthid polyps and some sarcophyton and sinularia polyps.

Star polyps are beautiful, but growth must be controlled by strategic rock placement.

Visualizing the amazing growth of most corals is a challenge and must be planned for.

I feel a good quality skimmer is a must.

Observation is important to determine optimum tank location for each coral.

Talking about experiences with other hobbyists is recommended.

Joining the local aquarium society has proven to be the most important lesson.

Feel free to comment or ask questions in the Reefkeeping online Tank of the Month forum on Reef Central or in this thread in the main forums on Reef Cental.

 



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