November's Reef Tank of
the Month belongs to Playfair
Select anywhere on this image
for a high-res (300k) version
This is my first reef aquarium, set up in
April 1999. It marked the beginning of what has to be the most
demanding, yet rewarding hobby I can imagine, and has become a
significant part of my life. The experience from 20 years of
keeping fresh and marine fish doesn't comprise 10 percent of the
information I am still learning after less than two years of grooming
and sharing my reef with other enthusiasts like those on this board.
 
System: The tank is an AGA 120
gallon RR, measuring 4'x2'x2'. I designed and built the furniture
through the compilation of designs from fellow hobbyists, adding my .02
along the way. There is a 20 gal AGA sump kept about 1/2 full,
which doubles as a macro algae refugium.
Livestock: Twelve fish, and
more than 60 varieties of lps, sps, and soft coral reside in my reef.
Additionally, a Rose E. Quad. anemone, feather dusters, T. Derasa Clam,
SLF crab, 2 Pacific Cleaner Shrimp, Tuxedo Urchin, Linkia and serpent
starfish, and of course a clean up crew of snails and hermits call this
place home.
See my Inhabitants
page for more details.
Circulation: A Mag12 pumps
about 500gph from the sump to the tank via two returns fitted with a
combination of straight and flared fittings. Additional current is
provided by 2 MJ900 located within the overflows and plumbed into the
display. To guarentee water movement behind the rockwork, a
RIO2500 is hidden at the top center of the tank and feeds a T Bar
running down and across the entire bottom length. Cumulatively,
there is approximately 1200 gals per hour total turnover.
Filtration: About 200# of
Fiji Live Rock provides the biological filtration, and maybe 75# of
aragonite sand (50# LS, 25# HD) give the critters something to dig
through. I usually run filter floss under the drain bar in the
sump, mostly to reduce bubbles by breaking the fall of the water. It is
changed weekly. I run carbon about 75% of the time. Skimming
is accomplished via a Berlin Classic powered by a RIO3100.
Nitrates have been near zero even with the heavy load thanks to 4 types
of macro algae growing in the sump.
Lighting: A pair of 175w 10kK
Ushio metal halide lamps on Advance Ballasts (9 hours) and VHO actinic
(11 hours) provide lighting to the display, and a 13w PC to the
sump/refuge. A red 9watt PC lamp provides enough illumination for
late night viewing. Water temperature is regulated to within
a few degrees of 81F using an Omega temp controller which cycles two
3" canopy fans (as well as a sump fan in the summer) or the Ebo
200w Heater as required. In the winter, the temp doesn't vary by
more than 0.5 deg F.
Additives and feeding: To my
amazement, I have remained faithful to 5 gal water changes virtually
every week using IO or Reef Crystals. About a gallon of water
evaporates daily and is replenished with RODI, (sometimes saturated with
Aragamite). Daily additions of 70 ml of B-ionic maintain a minimum
400ppm Ca and 8dKH Alk. Reef Builder is used to balance out the
two if necessary (I find it unnecessary and to push these values to the
upper limits of saturation). I occasionally use either live
phytoplankton, or Cryopaste. The herbivores get seaweed every
morning in the form of dried or live from the sump (usually gone in an
hour) and I alternated a variety of flake or frozen (Selcon added) every
night. Bi-weekly invert target feedings consist of thawed
shrimp marinated in Selcon, administered via a DIY pipette.
 
For more pictures and info,
click image below to visit my web site
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