I've had a number of tanks in the past. I've lurked here, as well as posted in the mantis forum under another SN - forgot all my credentials so I created a new account. I decided recently to take another stab at reefing, so I thought I might as well document the process this time.
I'm starting this thread mostly to document the progress for myself. Like any well-maintained reef, additions to this thread will be made gradually and periodically. Only disasters happen fast.
So here's the plan:
Tank - Innovative Marine Nuvo Fusion 40
Stand - Custom
Lighting - Current Usa Orbit LED
Flow - Two evolution koralias on a smartwave - set on 6hr alternation to simulate tidal pattern. Laminar flow dynamic from the built in pump - considering making spraybars to facilitate this.
Aquascaping - One central pile/spire of rock, leaving abundant open sandbed. NO ROCK will be touching glass - this is to allow for laminar flow around the entirety of the tank. Also, I really like a spartan, zen-garden-like rock structure. As few, large pieces as possible, with an emphasis on leaving plenty of room for my tabling/plating corals to grow out. 4-6" sandbed - fine on the bottom, coarse on the top.
Filtration - 100% biological. I have had my greatest success in the past with skimmerless tanks, where I effectively used a massive refugium as my filtration, and performed regular water changes. The rock I'm using has TONS of internal cracks/crevices to host massive populations of zooplankton, safe from predation. The rear filtration area of the tank will be filled with ~1" chunks of established live rubble, to host filter feeders, worms, bacteria, pods, etc to process all floating detritus. The thick sandbed will provide a huge area for worms and bacteria to actively process sinking detritus.
Livestock - An abundance of phyto and zooplankton - stocked regularly, but also encouraged to sustainably populate. Cleaner crew - small hermit crabs, small snails, a few small shrimp. 3-4 colonies of SPS - primarily considering Acropora efflorescens and a couple plating Montipora (M. undata or M. spongodes are the primary suspects), and maybe a green toadstool, just to have some movement. 2 ORA black ocellaris for the fish. The primary focus is to maintain a highly abundant population of 'bottom of the food chain' organisms, an abundant-intermediate population of 'middle of the food chain' organisms, and a very sparse population of 'top of the food chain' organisms. I don't want a frag farm and I don't want a ridiculous amount of fish. I want a balanced ecosystem that is focused on micro-organisms and an Indo-pacific skew in my larger species, to ensure that everyone will be happy with the same water conditions.
I don't like the stand that the tank comes with, so I enlisted the help of my boat-builder neighbor to custom build me an overkill stand. The best view of a tank, in my opinion, is from above, so I want the tank low to facilitate top-down viewing. I also am going to be placing the tank in my meditation corner, where I sit in a low chair and watch the sun set out my west-facing window. Side-viewing from the chair is another reason for a low stand.
Yup... 8' boards will comfortably fit in a jetta stationwagon:beer:
I'm using extremely porous rock, with tons of hiding places for zooplankton. Big thanks to my buddies from WAMAS for hooking me up with these pieces over the years. I'm going to be picking up more pieces of the Acropora skleleton next week, so this is surely going to change, but I have been playing around with the basic ideas for the rock structure, using what I already have.
Side Views:
Top-down view:
MarineDepot shipped the tank today. I will post further pictures upon its arrival.
The tentative plan is to add established water, sand and rubble (into the filtration area) on Sunday September 27. We'll see how the schedule works out. Stay tuned...
I'm starting this thread mostly to document the progress for myself. Like any well-maintained reef, additions to this thread will be made gradually and periodically. Only disasters happen fast.
So here's the plan:
Tank - Innovative Marine Nuvo Fusion 40
Stand - Custom
Lighting - Current Usa Orbit LED
Flow - Two evolution koralias on a smartwave - set on 6hr alternation to simulate tidal pattern. Laminar flow dynamic from the built in pump - considering making spraybars to facilitate this.
Aquascaping - One central pile/spire of rock, leaving abundant open sandbed. NO ROCK will be touching glass - this is to allow for laminar flow around the entirety of the tank. Also, I really like a spartan, zen-garden-like rock structure. As few, large pieces as possible, with an emphasis on leaving plenty of room for my tabling/plating corals to grow out. 4-6" sandbed - fine on the bottom, coarse on the top.
Filtration - 100% biological. I have had my greatest success in the past with skimmerless tanks, where I effectively used a massive refugium as my filtration, and performed regular water changes. The rock I'm using has TONS of internal cracks/crevices to host massive populations of zooplankton, safe from predation. The rear filtration area of the tank will be filled with ~1" chunks of established live rubble, to host filter feeders, worms, bacteria, pods, etc to process all floating detritus. The thick sandbed will provide a huge area for worms and bacteria to actively process sinking detritus.
Livestock - An abundance of phyto and zooplankton - stocked regularly, but also encouraged to sustainably populate. Cleaner crew - small hermit crabs, small snails, a few small shrimp. 3-4 colonies of SPS - primarily considering Acropora efflorescens and a couple plating Montipora (M. undata or M. spongodes are the primary suspects), and maybe a green toadstool, just to have some movement. 2 ORA black ocellaris for the fish. The primary focus is to maintain a highly abundant population of 'bottom of the food chain' organisms, an abundant-intermediate population of 'middle of the food chain' organisms, and a very sparse population of 'top of the food chain' organisms. I don't want a frag farm and I don't want a ridiculous amount of fish. I want a balanced ecosystem that is focused on micro-organisms and an Indo-pacific skew in my larger species, to ensure that everyone will be happy with the same water conditions.
I don't like the stand that the tank comes with, so I enlisted the help of my boat-builder neighbor to custom build me an overkill stand. The best view of a tank, in my opinion, is from above, so I want the tank low to facilitate top-down viewing. I also am going to be placing the tank in my meditation corner, where I sit in a low chair and watch the sun set out my west-facing window. Side-viewing from the chair is another reason for a low stand.
Yup... 8' boards will comfortably fit in a jetta stationwagon:beer:
I'm using extremely porous rock, with tons of hiding places for zooplankton. Big thanks to my buddies from WAMAS for hooking me up with these pieces over the years. I'm going to be picking up more pieces of the Acropora skleleton next week, so this is surely going to change, but I have been playing around with the basic ideas for the rock structure, using what I already have.
Side Views:
Top-down view:
MarineDepot shipped the tank today. I will post further pictures upon its arrival.
The tentative plan is to add established water, sand and rubble (into the filtration area) on Sunday September 27. We'll see how the schedule works out. Stay tuned...
