jporter
New member
I have been asked by a few of the local reefers to post details on how I maintain my tank, and what parameters I try to keep the water at. This is by no means meant to be a reference, just how I've been keeping it.
Tank:
The tank is a LeeMar 150 gallon (48"Wx24"Dx 30"T) euro-braced standard glass tank. The tank has a center internal overflow with a 1.5" drain, and .75" return. I have the overflow reduced to 1" at the tank bulkhead feeding the sump. The return is fed through the bulkhead to the top of the tank, teed off to feed 2 .75 sea swirls that are on opposite ends of the tank at the rear facing inward. All bulkheads and plumbing are schedule 80. Back of tank is painted black. The stand and canopy are a custom stain that the original customer backed out of and I snagged. Stand has 2 3" fans mounted in back in a suck and blow configuration.
Sump:
I'm currently on my 4th sump after starting off initially with a LifeReef sump. That was an awesome sump with my only gripe being it was tough to work in. Well organized but a lot was configured into a 24" long design. I had it married to a LifeReef refugium that was 12"x12" 18" tall cube. Grew chaeto and pods like crazy. Had a medium depth sanded with an mp-10 in the back for circulation. Since then I have tried a normal 30 gallon tank with a single baffle separating the return pump section. This worked the best with all the room but left out a fuge area. I used a small rubbermaid bin with a clip on light weighted down with a couple rocks. Did OK but also grew too much nuisance algae.
My current sump is 28"Lx15"Dx15"T. The input feeds the skimmer section with a 8.5" baffle feeding a 8" long refugium section (2" live sandbed with LR) into a bubble trap into the return section. The return area is kept at 6" of height from the last baffle and maintains that height via an ATO. I use no gate or ball valves entering or exiting the sump. The sump is acrylic with black acrylic comprising most of the baffles, outer walls and bottom.
Equipment (listed by importance to me):
Lighting - I use a standard Maristar fixture. 2X250W DE Phoenix bulbs. 2X54W T5 Actinic+ bulbs. The fans are ducted into the garage.
DT Flow - 2 MP40's running in various modes throughout the day. They are controlled via an Apex WXM module.
Skimmer - RO POV-1 DC skimmer. Running on speed 5, and a rather dry skim. Clean the collection cup weekly. At least I try to.
Controller - Neptune Apex. PH, Temp, ORP probes. Breakout box with 2 pressure switches for ATO, and skimmer shut off in case of high water level in sump. WXM module for MP40's. Wired to router for remote access. Belkin backup connected for alerts related to power outages. My cable modem and router have their own UPS so I can always receive alerts.
ATO - Just added this about a month ago. If you don't currently have an ATO system, get one. I can't believe I went this long without it. I no longer use or require a chiller, but when I had a chiller running I didn't evaporate much water. Now it goes through approx. 2 gallons a day. A BRS parasitic ATO pump feeds RODI water into the return section of the sump.
Doser - Bubble Magnus 3 feeding CA, ALK, and MG daily. I have 3 - 1 gallon containers of each solution connected.
Return pump - Diablo DC5500 on speed 5 (highest). I'll be upgrading to the DC 10500 in the next couple of weeks. I like to keep a good amount of flow running through the sump.
BRS RODI - 4 stage with extra filters always. You will wonder why you lugged all those containers for so long.
Milwaukee Instrument digital SG tester - COOL
Various Sailfert test kits - Used monthly to validate water quality.
Avast Marine Skimmate reservoir - Many brands available and another highly recommended addition. I can usually run 2-3 weeks without having to empty this vile smelling container.
Refugium Lighting - AI Nano w/controller. Overkill but nice to have the ability to grow anything I want and adjust for brightness and color.
MISC - Always keep a couple small LED flashlights and tweezers in the stand. Small mag cleaner on the front of sump to keep the front clean. Bigger Piranha cleaner on DT.
Parameters:
I do my best to keep my water at
SG 1.026
CA 450
DKH 9
MG 1450
Temp 77.2 MH's off
Temp 79.2 MH's on for complete cycle
ORP 325-350
Lighting schedule:
T5's 12 hours daily
MH's 6.5 hours daily
The tank has been running a little over 2 years. Most of the inhabitants were transferred from a RSM 130D that was running for a little over a year. It is a mixed reef with lots of SPS, LPS and soft corals. The rock was completely dead BRS dry pukani that was affixed via acrylic rods and a mix of super glue and epoxy. There are 6 large rocks and 1 smaller one that I seeded the tank with. I believe I started off with 150 lb's of various size gains of live sand. If I had to guess I would say there are more than 100 corals in the tank. Along with the corals, there are 30 fish of various sizes and species. There is a nice harmony in the tank with no bullying or aggression. I have had the same 5 blue-green chromis I started out with, and this is always disputed on the forums. I have also been successful with a pair of Ventralis Anthias that are one of the harder to keep fish. This is why I try to keep the tank on the cooler side. I just removed a pair of clownfish that had been living in my Space Invader Pectina and was irritating it to the point of injury.
SPS:
I grow lots of Acros with the majority of them in the top of the tank. Many ORA's as well as locally sourced ones. These like the intense water movement of the MP40's, and high lighting from the MH's. The fish poop provides most of their food that is rarely supplemented with Oyster feast and ROE. Some SPS don't play well together and will battle where they touch. I find this most true with the montiporas. I despise frag plugs and remove all corals from them prior to mounting directly on the live rock. Great care should be taken when deciding where to place them for long term growth. SPS love very clean water.
LPS:
I keep all the LPS corals in lower light. Most are on the bottom of the tank or under overhangs. The MP40's create a nice undertow that provides a nice gentle flow. Most of the LPS I have pack a potent punch with some having very long sweepers. I have a couple that can literally wipe out another coral in hours if it touches it. Some can be delicate, especially while inflated and puffed up. be careful placing these or moving them around in the tank. Some can perish with the slightest tear or damage to their skeleton. Chalices have become one of my favorite corals. Some are too expensive, especially for a pinhead size frag.
Softies:
These can vary on lighting and flow needs. My experience with zoos/palys are they like good water movement. Light intensity depends on species, color, and what environment they came from. You need to be very cautious when messing or fragging these. They contain a very powerful toxin and I hate cutting them for that main reason. Some of the prettiest corals I own are zoos/palys. Some fetch a ridiculous amount of cash. Funny considering how fast they can multiple and morph. Same for mushrooms.
Friendly advice
I try to keep everything simple. I have run the doser long enough to stabilize and try to make each dosing batch the same strength as the pervious. The ATO has been the biggest contributor to stable water. I cant say I do many water changes because I don't. I contribute that to all the fresh top off water daily. I used to add trace minerals but haven't since I ran out months ago. The less you mess around in the tank the better. Stirring around the sand frequently dirties the water and causes a rapid change in the water chemistry. Hands in the tank along with glue or epoxy can, and usually degrades the skimmer's efficiency. I clean my MP40 wetsides and razor the glass of corraline algae every couple months. I get tremendous corraline growth.
I've posted many pictures of my tank, sold lots of frags locally, and had many of you over. I hope this helps answer some of the questions. If I've left anything off let me know. I will edit and update this as time goes by. JP
Tank:
The tank is a LeeMar 150 gallon (48"Wx24"Dx 30"T) euro-braced standard glass tank. The tank has a center internal overflow with a 1.5" drain, and .75" return. I have the overflow reduced to 1" at the tank bulkhead feeding the sump. The return is fed through the bulkhead to the top of the tank, teed off to feed 2 .75 sea swirls that are on opposite ends of the tank at the rear facing inward. All bulkheads and plumbing are schedule 80. Back of tank is painted black. The stand and canopy are a custom stain that the original customer backed out of and I snagged. Stand has 2 3" fans mounted in back in a suck and blow configuration.
Sump:
I'm currently on my 4th sump after starting off initially with a LifeReef sump. That was an awesome sump with my only gripe being it was tough to work in. Well organized but a lot was configured into a 24" long design. I had it married to a LifeReef refugium that was 12"x12" 18" tall cube. Grew chaeto and pods like crazy. Had a medium depth sanded with an mp-10 in the back for circulation. Since then I have tried a normal 30 gallon tank with a single baffle separating the return pump section. This worked the best with all the room but left out a fuge area. I used a small rubbermaid bin with a clip on light weighted down with a couple rocks. Did OK but also grew too much nuisance algae.
My current sump is 28"Lx15"Dx15"T. The input feeds the skimmer section with a 8.5" baffle feeding a 8" long refugium section (2" live sandbed with LR) into a bubble trap into the return section. The return area is kept at 6" of height from the last baffle and maintains that height via an ATO. I use no gate or ball valves entering or exiting the sump. The sump is acrylic with black acrylic comprising most of the baffles, outer walls and bottom.
Equipment (listed by importance to me):
Lighting - I use a standard Maristar fixture. 2X250W DE Phoenix bulbs. 2X54W T5 Actinic+ bulbs. The fans are ducted into the garage.
DT Flow - 2 MP40's running in various modes throughout the day. They are controlled via an Apex WXM module.
Skimmer - RO POV-1 DC skimmer. Running on speed 5, and a rather dry skim. Clean the collection cup weekly. At least I try to.
Controller - Neptune Apex. PH, Temp, ORP probes. Breakout box with 2 pressure switches for ATO, and skimmer shut off in case of high water level in sump. WXM module for MP40's. Wired to router for remote access. Belkin backup connected for alerts related to power outages. My cable modem and router have their own UPS so I can always receive alerts.
ATO - Just added this about a month ago. If you don't currently have an ATO system, get one. I can't believe I went this long without it. I no longer use or require a chiller, but when I had a chiller running I didn't evaporate much water. Now it goes through approx. 2 gallons a day. A BRS parasitic ATO pump feeds RODI water into the return section of the sump.
Doser - Bubble Magnus 3 feeding CA, ALK, and MG daily. I have 3 - 1 gallon containers of each solution connected.
Return pump - Diablo DC5500 on speed 5 (highest). I'll be upgrading to the DC 10500 in the next couple of weeks. I like to keep a good amount of flow running through the sump.
BRS RODI - 4 stage with extra filters always. You will wonder why you lugged all those containers for so long.
Milwaukee Instrument digital SG tester - COOL
Various Sailfert test kits - Used monthly to validate water quality.
Avast Marine Skimmate reservoir - Many brands available and another highly recommended addition. I can usually run 2-3 weeks without having to empty this vile smelling container.
Refugium Lighting - AI Nano w/controller. Overkill but nice to have the ability to grow anything I want and adjust for brightness and color.
MISC - Always keep a couple small LED flashlights and tweezers in the stand. Small mag cleaner on the front of sump to keep the front clean. Bigger Piranha cleaner on DT.
Parameters:
I do my best to keep my water at
SG 1.026
CA 450
DKH 9
MG 1450
Temp 77.2 MH's off
Temp 79.2 MH's on for complete cycle
ORP 325-350
Lighting schedule:
T5's 12 hours daily
MH's 6.5 hours daily
The tank has been running a little over 2 years. Most of the inhabitants were transferred from a RSM 130D that was running for a little over a year. It is a mixed reef with lots of SPS, LPS and soft corals. The rock was completely dead BRS dry pukani that was affixed via acrylic rods and a mix of super glue and epoxy. There are 6 large rocks and 1 smaller one that I seeded the tank with. I believe I started off with 150 lb's of various size gains of live sand. If I had to guess I would say there are more than 100 corals in the tank. Along with the corals, there are 30 fish of various sizes and species. There is a nice harmony in the tank with no bullying or aggression. I have had the same 5 blue-green chromis I started out with, and this is always disputed on the forums. I have also been successful with a pair of Ventralis Anthias that are one of the harder to keep fish. This is why I try to keep the tank on the cooler side. I just removed a pair of clownfish that had been living in my Space Invader Pectina and was irritating it to the point of injury.
SPS:
I grow lots of Acros with the majority of them in the top of the tank. Many ORA's as well as locally sourced ones. These like the intense water movement of the MP40's, and high lighting from the MH's. The fish poop provides most of their food that is rarely supplemented with Oyster feast and ROE. Some SPS don't play well together and will battle where they touch. I find this most true with the montiporas. I despise frag plugs and remove all corals from them prior to mounting directly on the live rock. Great care should be taken when deciding where to place them for long term growth. SPS love very clean water.
LPS:
I keep all the LPS corals in lower light. Most are on the bottom of the tank or under overhangs. The MP40's create a nice undertow that provides a nice gentle flow. Most of the LPS I have pack a potent punch with some having very long sweepers. I have a couple that can literally wipe out another coral in hours if it touches it. Some can be delicate, especially while inflated and puffed up. be careful placing these or moving them around in the tank. Some can perish with the slightest tear or damage to their skeleton. Chalices have become one of my favorite corals. Some are too expensive, especially for a pinhead size frag.
Softies:
These can vary on lighting and flow needs. My experience with zoos/palys are they like good water movement. Light intensity depends on species, color, and what environment they came from. You need to be very cautious when messing or fragging these. They contain a very powerful toxin and I hate cutting them for that main reason. Some of the prettiest corals I own are zoos/palys. Some fetch a ridiculous amount of cash. Funny considering how fast they can multiple and morph. Same for mushrooms.
Friendly advice
I try to keep everything simple. I have run the doser long enough to stabilize and try to make each dosing batch the same strength as the pervious. The ATO has been the biggest contributor to stable water. I cant say I do many water changes because I don't. I contribute that to all the fresh top off water daily. I used to add trace minerals but haven't since I ran out months ago. The less you mess around in the tank the better. Stirring around the sand frequently dirties the water and causes a rapid change in the water chemistry. Hands in the tank along with glue or epoxy can, and usually degrades the skimmer's efficiency. I clean my MP40 wetsides and razor the glass of corraline algae every couple months. I get tremendous corraline growth.
I've posted many pictures of my tank, sold lots of frags locally, and had many of you over. I hope this helps answer some of the questions. If I've left anything off let me know. I will edit and update this as time goes by. JP
