Tonight I'm going to talk a little about my system I'll try not to keep you too long, as it is a work/school nite...

Background

My first aquarium was a community freshwater tank, that my father bought for me, when I was about ten years old. Since that time I've kept a wide variety of species, from guppies to South American & African cichlids. My first attempt at reefkeeping was somewhat successful, but not without difficulties. A fifty-five gallon tank, with two NO fluorescent strips. At the time, the trend was to use mechanical & biological filtration, so a cannister & trickle filters were employed. Nitrates were a problem, but I kept them under control using regular water changes. This tank housed mainly LPS corals. At the time, I was working at a LFS. It was here, that I started learning which creatures were compatible, mostly through trial & error, and on the experience of the store owner. This is where I began to buy books, as my thirst for knowledge grew.

Current System

Today, my reef is composed of a seventy-five gallon tank, using a twenty gallon high tank for a sump, fed by an overflow left over from my trickle filter, with a Rio 2500 powerhead for sump return. An ETS Reefdevil sits within the sump (powered by a Rio 2500 powerhead), and is the sole mechanical filtration for the system. Biological filtration consists of approximately 100 lbs. live rock (Fiji & Tonga), and 60 lbs. live sand (Fiji & Florida) including a Detritivore Kit from Inland Aquatics. A recent addition to the system is a K2R calcium reactor. Prior to this, calcium & alkalinity needs were filled with the use of ESV B-Ionics. Unfortunately, my calcium demand became so great, making the use of B-Ionic cost prohibitive. I was up to 125 ml per day of each!

Lighting is provided by two NO fluorescent actinic 03's (twelve hour photo-period), and two 175w 14,000k metal halides (ten hour photo-period), housed in a Hamilton deluxe acrylic canopy which rests directly on the tank. Water movement is provided by two catty-cornered Hagen 802 powerheads (connected to a Filtronics Pulse-it wave maker, set to one minute intervals), and a Rio 2100 powerhead attached to a spraybar located behind the rock work. This yields an approximate total of fifteen hundred GPH of flow, or about twenty times tank volume per hour.

Water temperature range is 80-82°f, with a specific gravity of ~1.026 (temp compensated). Make up water (until recently) was provided by a Tap Water Purifier, which was replaced with a Spectrapure CSP-DI 80 RO/DI unit. I perform twenty percent water changes, about once a month, using Instant Ocean salt.

I feed the tank daily, alternating a variety of frozen and freeze dried foods, which include Formulas 1 & 2, mysid shrimp, Special Formula VHP, Marine A & Vibra-gro pellets, spirulina flakes, and nori. All foods are supplemented with Vita-Chem. I also alternate daily feedings of ESV spray dried phytoplankton & DT's marine phytoplankton.

Creatures

My aquarium houses a variety of coral. Mostly acropora and other small polyped coral, along with two different species of gorgonia of the photo-synthetic variety. Some soft and large polyped coral exist there as well. Janitors include blue leg (Clibinarius tricolor) & scarlet (Paguristes cadenati) hermits, astrea & peppermint snails, and two cucumbers (Stichopus chloronotus & Holothuria edulis), for sand shifting. I also keep peppermint (Lysmata wurdemanni) & skunk cleaner (Lysmata amboinensis) shrimps, which breed readily, providing a continuous source of live food for the system.

The only fish kept are a royal gramma (Gramma loreto), two tangs purple (Zebrasoma xanthurus) & chevron (Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis), and a redlip blenny (Ophioblennius atlanticus). Three tridacnid clams are also kept, T. derasa, T. maxima, and T. crocea.

Future of the system

Planned improvements on the system include more live sand. Current live sand depth is only about two inches. I wish to double this figure. This would improve nitrate reduction. Not to say that I have a nitrate problem, but it couldn't hurt, right?

I also plan to eventually increase lighting. I believe my current system to be barely adequate. IMHO, changing to VHO actinics and 250w halides would vastly improve coloration and growth in my corals.

In conclusion

I don't consider myself an advanced or expert reefkeeper by any means. I do try to keep up with the current trends in the hobby, read into them, and draw my own conclusions. What works for some, may or may not work for others. I feel everyone in this hobby has something to offer his or her fellow reefkeepers, and look forward to the exchanging of information, here in #reefs, and wherever else I can find it.

I wish to thank you all for coming tonight, and to thank the guys at #reefs for having me. Hopefully I haven't bored you too much! Thanks again

Why not 400w MH?

As much as I'd like to go for 400w halides, I don't think my landlord would appreciate the increase on his electric bill... electric is included in my rent, and I'd like to keep it that way.

You say your upgrading your lighting, thinking about 250w. Since 10,000k 250's don't exist. Are you going with 6500k instead?

Yes...I'm considering Iwasaki 6500K halides

What has proved to be your most successful occupent (invert or vert)? same for unsuccessful

My most successful occupant, I would say a Stylophora pistillata... it survived bleaching (due to the tank overheating), and has since regained it's original color... most unsuccessful...for some reason I have a hard time keeping Acropora millepora... they turn brown, then die...I attribute that to the lighting (or lack thereof)

James, what would you say is the most eggregrious mistake of beginning reef keepers?

Under-filtration? Not enough lighting? Over feeding? IMO, the biggest mistake beginners tend to make is rushing into the hobby... too many fish in the system... too many corals, or the more inappropriate specimens this due to a lack of understanding of what exactly is going on in their tank

How many fish is "Too many?"

That's a matter of opinion... in my opinion, I prefer corals to fish... but keeping fish give the tank some movement... most fish will grow fairly large...too large for *most* aquariums... so careful consideration is a must

What colors in your corals have you noticed your lighting to be inadequate to maintain?

I can't keep blues and purples...greens & pinks seem to thrive though

What temp do you keep the tank at MiNd?

It ranges from 80-82°f I had some bleaching occur at 84°f

If you had to start a brand new 75 how would you do it?

Good question... I prefer Fiji rock... about 1lb/gal then live sand from a variety of locations (if possible) then I'd seed the sand with a variety of detritivores mix thoroughly & allow to "perk" for some time :-) no corals until the "algae cycle" has finished

What type of specimens you recommend for beginners, corals or fish?

I like Montipora digitata as a beginner small polyp coral... perhaps Fox Coral (Nemenzophyllia turbida) and xenia for fish, I like Royal Gramma (Gramma loreto) Bangai cardinals and a blenny for algae control

How long to "perk", roughly and how long was your Algae Cycle?

IMHO all systems are different... I would wait about 6 months before adding corals...and even then I would add them slowly I would want as much bio-diversity (as far as micro-fauna) in the system as possible

Do you recommend buying cured rock or curing yourself, should beginners cure own rock?

Oh... if I recall, my algae cycle seemed to last about 2-3 months after my rock cured...YMMV I prefer to cure my own rock, as you tend to get the most life *IF* you help the cycle go easy... by that I mean, regular water changes to keep ammonia & nitrite levels at a minimum during the cycle...this keeps die-off at low levels

Do you cure rock in tank or out of tank?

I cured my rock in the tank... if I could, I would cure it in a large vat, with as much water volume as possible yes...with a normal photo-period

Are you happy with the 75, O r do you feel you need a bigger tank?

I'm happy with my 75...but I'd love a 180... unfortunately I don't have the room, or the money at this time :c)

"Approx" how many sps corals did you have in your tank when you noticed that you where

Adding over 100 ml of both parts of b ionic a day? the coral level was pretty much at present levels... Ca demand was climbing rapidly... it seemed the more B-Ionic I added, the more I needed... 125ml is quite a bit to add to a 75! especially when ESV doesn't recommend going over 1ml/gallon

What online vendors have you dealt with? opinions on them?

I've dealt with a few... Reefers first & foremost...I highly recommend Brian to anyone & everyone... Bob Mankin @ Coral Farms Jason @ Premium Aquatics there are others, but these are my top three.

Thanks for the great talk, James!