I've been reefing since about 2009 when I started with a little 3 gallon pico reef in my office. This really allowed me to delve into the hobby without loosing my shirt with super expensive equipment. The pico also allowed me to get over my, "new tank syndrome." As a scientist I'm always doing research and I approach this hobby the same way. For my current project, I carefully researched and planned every aspect of the build including all pieces of equipment, livestock, and DIY projects (drilling glass, plumbing, LED's, etc.). It took me a good year to figure out everything, but it was worth it.
In-Tank Aesthetics
Design is an important aspect in my life and especially in my aquarium. In order to avoid the pile-of-rocks look, I took extra care planning out the rockwork and where corals should go. This gave me a basic framework to build off of when the tank actually got wet.
For this tank, I took inspiration from John Ciotti's Upside Down Reef. One thing I learned with my pico is that unstable rock can be a disaster. Also, being the minimalist that I am, I really like lots of open sandbed. Hense, topsy-turvy rockwork really appealed to me.
Tank Specs
DT: 25 Gallon Mr. Aqua Cube (18 x 18 x 18)
Sumpfugium: 7 Gallon Mr. Aqua Cube (12 x 12 x 12)
Return Pump: Mag Drive 3
Heater: 100 watt Aqueon Pro
Heater controller: Finnex Max-300 Digital Heat Controller $20!
Skimmer: Bubble Magus nac3
Circulation: Ecotech MP10 Nutrient Transport Mode 85-90%
Lighting: DIY LED with Boost LED Typhon Controller
8x RB, 4x Blue, 4x TV, 2x 660nm Red, 6x NW, 4x CW + 1x 1watt 450nm moon light
Stand: Custom built with white acrylic coating, doors open on three sides and lock
Fuge light: Underwater 10W Halogen Light with timer
Filtration: LR, Filter floss, Skimmer, Chaetomorpha and various Macros
Rock/Sand
Reefcleaners Florida Dry Reef Rock (for the pillar)
BRS Pukani (live for seed)
Tropic Eden Reef Flakes Sand
On DIY
I both love and hate DIY. I've DIY'd pretty much every aspect of this tank from the LED lighting, to plumbing and the sump. I really like the Elos Mini and was trying to replicate it at a cheaper cost. Considering all the time I spent and money thrown at things like drill bits, and acrylic, I probably could have purchased the Elos had I just saved a bit longer. However, the skills I learned and experience gained during the build are priceless and I'd probably never buy a factory setup or lighting in the future. Knowing how to do things has given me new confidence to DIY more and allowed me to daydream a little more practically and accurately about future builds.
Maintenance
Being a new dad has really made maintenance a challenge. However, since establishing this tank back in February, I've found a system that seems to keep things in balance.
Daily:
Dose Vitamin C (about 2mL)
Clean algae inside glass with magnetic scraper
Clean tiny fingerprints on the outside from my 8 month old (he's the only one that can get away with it LOL!)
Feed the fish. I rotate between pellets and frozen every other day (my Bangaii cardinal only takes frozen)
Top off the sump from evaporation with RO/DI (Don't have an ATO yet)
Observe every nook and cranny identifying new growth, pests, and livestock behavior
Weekly:
15% Water change (sometimes twice/week if there's extra algae and I have the time)
Spot feed corals about twice/week usually with pellets or frozen, sometimes with cyclope-eze, oyster eggs, or live phyto
Clean Skimmer
Replace filter floss
Manually remove minor hair algae growth
CUC: A few hermits (left-handed purple, zebra, and blue legs), about 8 nassaius vibex, 2 turbo snails, and lots and lots of dwarf ceriths (IDK, 200?)
Unexpected but welcome hitchhickers: Colonista snails, stomatella varia snail, lots of tiny featherduster worms, bristle worms, micro-brittle starfish, various sand dwelling worms (spaghetti, filamentous, etc.)
Corals: SPS
Various Acropora
Anacropora
Montipora Cap.
Montipora Digitata
Montipora Satosa
Stylophora
Seriatopora (birdsnest)
Milliporas
Most of my SPS are the fancy ones (ORA, Tyree, etc.). What can I say, I love candy! The downside to that however, is that most of them started from extremely small frags. As a result, I don't have a lot of pointy trees yet, but I'm looking forward to watching everything fill in.
LPS
Torch Coral
Acan Lords
Fungia
I'm working on building an Acan garden on the sandbed around the pillar, as well as a torch garden for my clowns to host. I love nems, but didn't want to risk it, hence balls-out torches baby!
Soft Corals
Various Zoas
Yumas
Papaya Cloves
I am a recovering zoa-freak. These were my main passion when I got into the hobby. I about memorized all the popular shop names and have since backed off a little, but I still love these guys and will continue to collect/trade whether it's in my display or just on my frag rack.
Other Inverts:
ORA Tiger Stripe Derasa Clam
Disasters, Setbacks, and Regrets
So far, I haven't run into any major disasters. Knock on wood, there haven't been any power outages since starting my tank. Though, this could become a problem, as I don't have any battery backup.
Probably, my biggest loss of life was when I overdosed with flatworm exit and nuked my population of dwarf ceriths and pods. I also lost a rather large purple porcelain crab during a molt. I've suffered some hair algae, though it seems to be under control at the moment.
I purchased a four-line wrasse a few months ago. It was a beautiful fish and did a number on any pests in the tank (it almost wiped out my flatworms). However, it started to get more and more territorial. Eventually, it claimed the whole rock pillar as its territory, kicking the clowns out of their happy spot. I could have tolerated this, but then it started bullying my clowns to the point that they were jumping out of the tank when he came to pick on them. One of my clowns still has fins healing from these events. I don't regret getting it as it was a learning experience, but I had to let it go to restore peace to the tank.
Probably, my biggest regret is having such a small sump. There's really not much room to move around in there and having such a small water volume has forced me to dig into the DT when doing water changes. It is unfortunate that no standard sized tanks will fit in my stand.
Future Plans
This tank is only about five months old and has already gone through a lot of upgrades. My LED's are about at their maximum output right now. I'm planning to do some rewiring and add another driver channel to get a little more PAR. I may also add a few LED's. I've been extremely happy with the growth and color that I'm getting out of them. +1 for LED technology!
I'd like to upgrade to a larger custom sump, but honestly I'll probably just spend the money on more corals. LOL!
I've recently cemented down the last of my loose dry rock. So, I now have a little more room to add corals on the bottom without worrying about my giant turbo snails knocking things over.
In addition to cementing rocks in place on the main structure, I've started expanding to the back wall. I'm slowly cementing rubble to the glass and plan to expand SPS and zoas out there.
I'm planning to hold off on adding fish for a while. As far as moving creatures go, I'd like to add an interesting invert along the lines of a crab or shrimp. Right now, a colony of micro porcelain crabs is at the top of my list (like 10+).
My long term goal is to add some sun corals or dendros in the dark areas of the pillar, a-la-John Ciotti.
Long-long term..I'm thinking about building a drop-off tank! But that's another story..and another tank.
Acknowledgements
I'd like to thank Captive Reef for choosing me as TOTM. I feel truly honored to be chosen. I'd also like to thank all my friends here at Captive Reefs for your support and advice over the years.
Mr. Microscope's Nano
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