Link to Rich's Photo Album

I have been keeping reefs for 7 years now. In that time I think I have made every mistake possible... even invented a few. After buying every possible accessory, I have learned to keep it simple.

My present reef uses a plenum and a skimmer as the only means of filtration No carbon or other media is used. The tank I use is made by AGA. It is one of their "reef ready" tanks. This tank has 2 over-flows built in, one in each corner. It also has 2 returns, one in each corner as well.

As far as lighting goes, I beleive that metal halide lights are the best for my type of reef. That being a sps dominated one. I use a combination of 6500k and actinics. Since I use 400 watt 6500s, I have chosen to use 160watt vho actinics to supplement them. This gives a very pleasing color, and has given me excellent growth. All the corals in the reef seem to like the lighting. I have my lps and softs down low. Most of my lps are in the sand, where they expand fully every day. My softs are scattered throuhgout.

My skimmer is not a fancy down draft or HSA style. It is a red sea berlin unit I bought when they first came out. I have tried several pumps on this skimmer, ranging from rio 2500s to a little giant 4 mdq-sc. My pump of choice is a 3mdq-sc, but a mag 7 will do just as nice. The rios have proven to be very unreliable, I had 5 fail in a 6 month period. I use a Reef Crystals/Instant Ocean mix for salt. Water changes are done monthly when I remember. I will usually change about 20 gals. All make up water, as well as the salt mix water is RO/DI.

Water temperature is kept at 80 degrees. Ph ranges from 8.1 in the morning to 8.6 in the late afternoon. I use 3 maxijet 1000s in the reef for circulation. These are hooked up to a Sandpoint wave3xr wavemaker. The return pump, a little giant 4mdq-sc, returns the water at a rate of 850gph via dual returns, one in each corner.

As far as the plenum goes.... The plenum is set up by using 1" long pieces of 3/4" pvc pipe laid on their sides, with egg crate
material ty-wrapped to them. The total height of the plenum area is 1 1/4". On the egg crate I have 2 layers of fiberglass screen. Over those 2 layers of screen is a mixture of Cabib-Sea sea flor and aragamax. Enough is used for a 2" layer of sand.
Over that is another layer of screen, which has another 2" of the same sand mixture, except I mixed in 100lbs of live sand.
The second screen layer is to prevent any disrupting of the bottom layer of sand. This setup has allowed me to maintain a 0 Nitrate reef. Although the plenum wasn't used for the nitrate reducing properties alone. It is also used for natural Calcium/alkalinity control. Although now, with the switch to mainly SPS corals, the sand doesn't keep up with the calcium demand. So B-ionic is used along with a kalkwasser drip.

I use a reef filler pump to constantly add kalkwasser to the reef. The pump is set so that it matches the evaporation rate of my reef. This has an advantage. The specific gravity of the reef doesn't have "swings". It stays pretty constant. To "condition" the plenum/live sand, I ran the reef dark,with rock, for 60 days. During this time I dropped a cube of frozen food in every other day. This was to feed the critters in the sand. It seems to have worked well, as I have alot of life in the sand. My scooter blenny is fat and it has been in the reef since the beginning.

Fish in my reef include: a desjardini tang, a yellow tang, a pair of bangaii cardinals, a pair of green chromis, a flame angel,
a scooter blenny, an engineer goby, and a marine betta. I have 2 dozen astrea, 3 doz blue leg hermits and 3 brittle stars to keep the sand clean. I never vacuum the sand bed. Added daily are: 50ml b-ionic, 1/2 ml of strontium chloride, 1ml of potassium iodide, and 5ml magnesium. All additives are made by ESV. Wilkens kalkwasser mix is also added to the make up water At 1 tsp/2 gals.

Water parameters are as follows:
Temp= 80, Ph= 8.1(a.m.)-8.6(p.m.), Ca=450, Alk=3.8meq/l, Nitrate=0, PO4=.01, and ORP=390-425(no ozone).

I feed the fish every day with a variety of frozen foods from Ocean nutrition. The betta gets silversides. Of all the corals in my reef, I would say that my gonipora is my favorite. It has been with me for almost 4 years now and has provided me with 3 offspring. All of which are growing well. Secrets? Wish I had some. I think this particular species(G. Pendulus Veron pg 242)
is a hardy one. In my old 75, I had a problem with low ca and strontium. All my lps were dying, except for the gonipora. It opened every day as if nothing were wrong. Well, there you have it... my reef. I think I have covered everything, but I'm sure there are some questions about my techniques.

How long has your current system been active and don't you worry about nitrate build-up or explosion with the plenium?

This reef has been set up for 2 years now, I think the main problem with plenums is overstocking. People see "0 Nitrates" and think that they can pack more fish in. I don't believe that a plenum will allow a particular size reef to hold more fish.

How many 400s do you use? and is it the 72" version of the aga 125g?

I use 3 400 watt Iwasaki 6500s, yes the reef is 6 feet long

Most will say that 3 MJ1000s isn't alot of flow for a 125, what gives?

The return pump, a little giant 4mdq, returns water at a rate of 1000 gph. There are no dead spots, and I do plan on adding a few more maxis since some of the sps have become more dense (they grew).

Why did you buy 100# of live sand, was that about 10% live of the total sand bed?

I got a good deal on the live sand in total I think that there is about 250# of sand in my reef
so live sand makes up for about half.

Where did your live sand come from?

The sand originated in the carribean, it was purchased from a now closed lfs.

I didn't see you mention sea cucumbers. Do you feel they may pose problems in the reef?

I don't like burrowing creatures in my sand, I have a goby that digs alot and it drives me nuts. I have no personal experience with cucumbers, except in a salad:)

What? Gonipora? How?

I knew that question would come... I wish I had the "secret" of gonipora. I don't... I do know that this particular piece is not delicate as some would expect. It has been damaged by an elegance coral, only to rebound and grow it has produced 4 babies now, and there are a few more forming it does seem to grow quick, and it is expanded all the time even at night when the lights go out.

Could you please explain what you mean by "the sand keeping up with the calcium demand?

Well, according to Bob Goemans, a feature MFM writer, the lower levels of sand will disslove slowly thus releasing elements such as calcium and strontium into the reef. This did occur for a while but when my SPS collection grew, the dissolving sand was no longer adequate for calcium replenishmnent.

Have you tried fresh water washes of live sand to minimize detritus buildup as part of your maintenance routine?

No, I do not do anything to "clean" the sand. The stars and the digging goby seem to do a good job of keeping it stirred up
even during water changes, I don't vaccuum the sand.

You said you use ESV products but use Wilkens KW mix. Why not ESV?

Simply, I bought a 4 lb container of the Wilkens kalk.

Why did you decide on the plenum over simply placing a 2" layer of sand on the bottom?

At the time, there was alot of talk about plenums, and my old 75 was a berlin with a thin layer of sand. The sand in that reef solidified, therefore leading to a teardown. After reading alot, I felt the plenum was the way to go. I would probrably do it again.
Do you feed your tank heavily? Do you think your skimmer could accomodate heavier feeding?

I would not cinsider my feeding heavy, I do feed the fish a couple cubes a day, but I don't consider my feeding light. The skimmer seems to have no problems keeping up with the reef and its wastes. I thought about adding an ETS, but I am afraid it would remove something my gonipora likes.

How long have you been using your Iwasaki bulbs for, and have you noticed any change over time, i.e. brightness?

The bulbs have been in use for 10 months now. I was thinking about replacing them, but after a chat with Dana Riddle, I learned that they were good for almost 2 years. I feel that is stretching it a bit, and plan on replacing them after x-mas.

If nitrates aren't the problem with overstocking (as far as the plenum goes), what is it ?

I think, that as with any system, there is a delicate balance and we as aquarists must find that balance and try not to disrupt it. When that balance is disrupted, I think a plenum "hides" it better, I mean there is no nitrate spike. So, we get the impression that all is well, then after a while , the system will have problems and, with plenums being faily new to us, we blame it on the plenum, not the overcrowding/overfeeding.

Doesn't the Bionic Raise the Salinity over time?

I have not noticed that. I do regular water changes and feel that is why.

Cucumbers don't really burrow though....not like a goby. Any other reason?

No... just never had an interest in them... like shrimp, I've kept a few but don't feel I'm missing something without them.

Have you modified the aga overflows to get more flow through them?

I have them plumbed with 1 1/2" PVC. they do not have any problems keeping up with the return pump. I do need to clean them sometimes, as the fine slot become clogged easily.

Do you have any experience with adding a plenum to an mature reef tank and if so what advise would you give to someone considering it?

I have no experience in doing that. I would instead use a fine layer ,2" or so , of live sand as long as heavy kalk is not used , it should not bind.

Rich, would you still advocate curing live rock with the lights off? I know this is a controversial area.

I think it depends on the source of the rock. If it is good quality, then it should have been cleaned after collecting. If not, die off could result in high nutrient levels in the curing tank and if lit, could result in a algae nightmare. I recently got rock from a mail order place, it was great rock. I was able to place it directly into my reef with no ill affects.

How does the Goniopora reproduce? Spores?, Little Goni's?

It is a very neat thing to see.. when the coral is closed, you can see "balls" of gonipora hanging off. After a few days to a week, there is a little gonipora. The parent has a "hole" in its tissue where the baby fell off, but in a week, the tissue grows back. My oldest baby is 4 months old now, and growing quite well. I have left the babies close to the parent, as to let them stay together. I plan on havcing a pic sequence on my new web page.

Why no calcium reactor to take care of the Ca and Alk as well as other elements?

I do plan on adding a reactor. I am now researching a few, and after speaking to a few people who use them , I will make my choice. I feel that a reactor will be the final piece to make my reef "run itself."

Thanks for the great talk, Rich!