Conceptual Framework

My reef systems should look and function like an actual coral reef ecosystem to the best of my ability to maintain them as such. Several points need to be stressed:

• Normal coral reefs are dominated by algae,
• Normal coral reefs have low densities of fish on the reef proper,
• Normal coral reefs have many pathways for energy and material flow,
• Normal coral reefs are variable, both in terms of the biota and physical factors, and
• Normal coral reef processes are mediated by the reef organisms NOT by water chemistry, consequently the stability of coral reefs with regard to physical and biological properties is a myth.

From these points, there are several resultant outcomes

• Scale problems need to be addressed, particularly:
  1. The lack of sufficient water volume
  2. The lack of large animals - particularly herbivores.
  3. Large scale physical processes, such as storms or disturbance may occasionally need to be simulated.
• Normal coral reefs are diverse; my captive reef should be diverse as well. Most of that diversity is invisible, but necessary for energy and material pathways.
• Micromanagement of my system is unnecessary, if the system is adequately diverse, it will largely take care of itself.
• The only physical parameters necessary to control are temperature, and light.
• The only chemical parameter necessary to control is calcium.

From these conditions it follows that:

• If the above parameters are within normal ranges and the biota is relatively normal, the reef will control itself with regard to chemistry.
• Testing of water chemistry is unnecessary.
• Scale problems have to be controlled by the local aquarium god (i. e., me) acting as a major grazer, occasional storm, or sometime predator.
• Many organisms - mostly fish, but some invertebrates - are unsuitable for (my) reef aquaria.

The Physical Systems

All systems maintained at 84 deg. F. All systems lack sumps or refugia, the water flow is from tank to skimmer back to tank.

System 1 (Lagoonal Reef)

• 45 gallon rectangular tank
• Lighting: 4 x 96 watt Power Compact Fluorescents; 2 each white and actinic
• Salinity: 35-37 ppt.
• Kalkwasser dripped in.
• ETS 500 skimmer, run by a Quiet One pump.
• 3 Powerheads.

System 2 (Stichodactyla haddoni habitat)

• 60 gallon hex tank
• Lighting: 1 175 watt 5500 deg. K MH, 2 22 watt actinic bulbs.
• Salinity: 35-38 ppt.
• No kalkwasser added.
• ETS 500 skimmer, run by a Quiet One pump.
• 2 Powerheads.

System 3 (Low light system)

• 42 gallon hex tank
• Lighting: 2 22 watt white bulbs.
• Salinity: 33-36 ppt.
• No kalkwasser added.
• Marine Enterprises Titan skimmer
• 2 Powerheads.

All systems have sand beds consisting of a mix of oolitic sand and various amounts of initially live sand. No space wasted with a plenum. I would estimate the particle size distribution of sediment to be

The sediment distribution will vary from tank to tank somewhat but is basically the same in each system.

Tank Descriptions

Physical Habitat

Lagoonal Reef (Has been set up 3 years).

Sand bed gently sloping from left to right. All rocks placed directly on the sand bed.

A ridge of rock runs through the middle of the tank, highest elevation (within 1 inch of tank max water level) on the left lowest elevation (six inches below highest elevation) on the right. Ridge touches the left wall, ends about 1 inch from the right wall. There is a habitat behind the ridge invisible from the front of the tank - so there are some parts of this system that I never see.

There is one major and two minor cave/tunnels in the ridge, all passing completely through it.

Anemone Habitat (Has been set up 3 years)

A piece of 8 inch diameter PVC sewer pipe about 8 inches long has been pushed trough the sand to bottom of the aquarium. The anemone sits in this which has been back filled with sand. Rocks are placed around the pipe to (unsucessfully) camouflage it. Additional rocks piled beyond the anemone along 2 sides to act as a back ground. All the rocks are placed on the sand. Haphazard arrangement of rocks.

Low Light Tank (Has been set up 1 year)

Rock pile in the middle of the tank with a space completely around it. Pile has several small caves and one major embayment in it. Rocks rise from top of sediment to within 3 inches of the top of the aquarium.

Feeding Regime:

Lagoon and low light get � cup of DT's green water every day, and also get Selconed baby artemia 2 days of every three. All tanks get frozen brine shrimp or plankton or Lifeline added daily. About 5-10 cc of this food to each of the Lagoon and Anemone tanks per day, about 2-3 cc to the low light tank. The host anemones in the lagoonal tank get fed about 2-3 lance fish per day. The Stichodactyla haddoni gets 5-20 lance fish (up to about 5 cc volume) daily. Tubastraea and other non-photosynthetic cnidaria in the low light tank are fed diced lance fish every 4-5 days.

Periodic Maintenance

Manual algal harvesting about every two weeks from all tanks. Water changes done at the same time, about 5-7 gallons. Evaporative water topped off with dechlorinated tap water as necessary in Anemone and Low light tank. Evaporated water replaced with Kalkwasser in the lagoonal tank.

I do not use RO/DI water. I do not test for any chemical factors.

General Comments:

All organisms exhibit growth and reproductive rates that appear to match reef normal conditions, behavior appears to be normal.

BIOTA (Abbreviations used: sp. = species - singular, spp. = species - plural).

Lagoonal Habitat:

Algae

Caulerpa (3 spp); Valonia 1 spp, few; Green "Wire" 1 spp.; Green Frill alga (Batophora?), Hair algae (2 small patches - gardened as amphipod habitat) Halimeda (1 sp), Foliose red algae, 2 spp (one looks like grapes, the other is finely branched), Crustose coralline red algae, 5-7 morphologies (spp?); crustose coralline green algae, one morphology. Occasional small patches of red cyanobacter

Ivertebrate Animals

Protozoa: Foraminifera

5-10 spp.

Porifera (Sponges)

5-10 spp.

Cnidaria

Nephthea, 2 colonies; Heliopora, 1 colony Xenia, several colonies; Sinularia (two colonies); Sarcophyton (several small remnant colonies); one unidentified gorgonian, Zoanthids, 5 spp several colonies (including Palythoa grandis); Entacmaea quadricolor (2 individuals from a division occurring about 2 months ago); Discosoma (?) 20- 30; Pseudocorynactis (10-20); Aiptasia (far too many); sand-dwelling anemone, unknown species 3 individuals, Acropora (2 spp); Hydnophora (2-3 spp; 5 colonies); Cynarina; Blastomusea, Montipora, Unidentified hermatypic coral, Ahermatypic coral (2-3 spp). Small hydroids, a few.

Platyhelminthes: Turbellaria (Flatworms)

At least 3 spp in sediments

Nematoda (Roundworms)

At least 2 spp in sediments

Annelida, Polychaetes (Bristle worms)

At least 14 major types in sediments, several spp of feather dusters (all small)mostly on rocks, total densities of worms in sediments exceeds 5000/ft2 (50,000/m2). Most small, many large, a few very large...

Arthropods

Copepods, ostracodes, amphipods common in sediments and on rocks. Hermit crabs - 5 individuals, 2-3 spp.

Mollusca

Polyplacophora (chitons), 1-2+?; Gastropods: Trochidae (Astraea, Trochus) (several) 2-3 spp., Nerites (3-4), Nassarius (60), Berghia (24)

Echinodermata

Holothuroidea: Cucumbers, 2 spp (tiger tail, unidentified bottom mopper), Asteroids 1-3 spp (small unidentified), Ophiuroids (2-3 spp, including 1 very large one), Echinoids, 1 large pink urchin.

Chordata

Urochordata: 1 colony of tunicates

Vertebrata: 2 Maroon clowns, 1 Mandarin dragonette (female - her consort died about a week ago, of unknown causes)

Anemone Habitat:

Algae

Batophora, Crustose coralline red algae, 3-4 types. Red cyanobacter in places around bases of rocks.

Invertebrate Animals

Protozoa: Foraminifera

5-10 spp.

Porifera (Sponges)

3-4 spp.

Cnidaria

Sarcophyton (several small remnant colonies); Stichodactyla haddoni, full grown, 60 - 80 cm in diameter; Discosoma (?) 50-100; Tulip Anemone (10- 20); Aiptasia (far too many)

Platyhelminthes: Turbellaria (Flatworms)

At least 2 spp in sediments

Nematoda (Roundworms)

At least 2 spp in sediments

Annelida, Polychaetes (Bristle worms)

At least 8 major types in sediments, several spp of feather dusters (all small)mostly on rocks, total densities of worms in sediments exceeds 3000/ft2 (30,000/m2). Most small, many large, a few very large...

Arthropods

Copepods, ostracodes, amphipods common in sediments and on rocks. Hermit crabs - 20 individuals, 4-5 spp

Mollusca

Gastropods: Trochidae (Astraea, Trochus) (several) 2-3 spp., Haliotis, 1; Cypraea 3 spp, Nassarius (60)

Echinodermata

Echinoids, 1 large pink urchin.

Chordata

Vertebrata: 2 Clarkii clowns

Low Light Habitat:

Algae

Caulerpa 3 spp., Red wire algae, crustose red algae (2-3 spp). Red cyanobacter in places around rocks.

Invertebrate Animals

Protozoa: Foraminifera

2-3 spp.

Porifera (Sponges)

2-3 spp.

Cnidaria

Discosoma (?) 20-30; 5 spp; Pseudocorynactis (10-20); Aiptasia (few); Unidentified Ahermatypic coral (1 spp); Tubastraea 2 spp, 3 colonies, Tulip anemones, several; Unidentified anemones 2 individuals, 1 species. Unidentified hydroids, 2 large colonies.

Platyhelminthes: Turbellaria (Flatworms)

At least 3 spp in sediments

Nematoda (Roundworms)

At least 2 spp in sediments

Annelida, Polychaetes (Bristle worms)

At least 5 major types in sediments, several spp of feather dusters (including Sabellastarte magnifica) mostly on rocks, total densities of worms in sediments exceeds 5000/ft2 (50,000/m2). Most small, many large, a few very large...

Arthropods

Copepods, ostracodes, amphipods present in sediments and on rocks. Hermit crabs - 2 individuals, Cleaner shrimp, 1 Lysmata grabhami.

Mollusca

Gastropods: Trochidae (Astraea, Trochus) (several) 2-3 spp., Nassarius (40), Haliotis 1.

Echinodermata

Holothuroidea: Cucumbers, 2 spp (tiger tail, unidentified bottom mopper), Ophiuroids (1 sp, small.

Chordata

Vertebrata: 1 Royal Gramma.

Problems with each system.

Lagoonal

Aiptasia build up periodically. Occurring now. Have added Berghia as a control; the nudibranchs provide effective control in the absence of hermit crabs, and the Aiptasia population is dropping.

Anemone Habitat

Aiptasia build up. Occurring now. Berghia ineffective as a control; I am convinced that the hermit crabs eat the nudibranchs. Excess of red cyanobacter, due to heavy feeding necessary for health of the anemone.

Solutions to the above problems involve additional scavengers such as Nassariids, tiger tail cukes, along with the final removal of destructive hermit crabs (which eat other scavengers). These controls to take place as $$ availability permit.

Low Light Tank

Spotty excess of red cyanobacter, due to inefficient skimmer and lack of a really diverse sand and scavenger fauna. Tank crashed about a year ago due to an odd slime bacterial infection, and has not fully recovered.

Solutions to the above problems involve additional scavengers such as Nassariids and final replacement by a more efficient skimmer. These controls to take place as $$ availability permit.

And now for the Question and Answer session ....

Ron, from your experience with anemones, do you think that most/all species can be kept w/ 175w lighting, provided the right feeding regimen?

Yes. Lighting can be less, too, for most, providing they are well fed.

Most of the pictures of natural coral reefs that I have seen have shown very little algae? Where is the algae in the pictures? Are you referring to corraline algae?

Most of the pictures lie... I have to look hard trough my photos to find ones where algae are not present. Furthermore algae are present in the rocks, in the corals and as gray/green coralline algae cementing the rocks together.

Ron - An ETS500 on such small tanks with no sump must be called overskimming. Yet - you still have red cyanobacter??

No it is not overskimming. They are run by Quiet One pumps (the whole system is designed for lack of noise). The cyanobacter in the lagoonal reef is small patches that appear irregularly - much as you find on normal reefs. In the Anemone tank, I need to get a more powerful pump for sure. But more importantly I need to get more scavengers to process the excess food.

Have you dove on natural coral reefs? If so, how has that influenced your tank setup and husbandry?

I have about 1500 scuba dives, about 150 which were on reefs in the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean. Research submersible dives as well in the Caribbean. Yes, this has influenced my setup as I have seen the diversity of organisms. Also, and probably more importantly has been reading the scientific literature of reef ecology and realizing the role that algae and small biota play in the reef community.

I am a bit confused about the cyanobacter. If you have more scavengers, won't they produe their own waste which will also contribute to cyano growth?

No, what the scavengers provide is a pathway to mobilize the material so that other organisms (primarily algae) can utilize it. The cyanobacter mats are very effective at sequestering nutrients within the mats, and not allowing for export.

What basic critters do you highly recommend for setting up a truly live sand bed?

Worms, worms, more worms. And after you have added those, put in some more worms. Other critters, the various bugs and oddities will largely take care of themselves but a diversity of polychaete (aka bristle worm) species is IMMENSELY important!!! In the real world these are the dominant soft-sediment organisms, and they should be in our artificial reef soft sediment areas as well.

Briefly, to what factors do you attribute your success in maintaining high biodiversity in your systems? Why don't they fall off?

I feed the systems heavily. The amount of food eaten by a reef is immense. Probably on the order of 10 oz (maybe 300 g) of food per the volume of a 100 gallon tank per day. The organisms need to be fed. Then the system needs a way to export the excess. This is accomplished by the manual removal of algae.

Where do you think the hypothesis (voiced by others) that sandbeds accumulate phosphates (from precipitation) which can later be redisolved by the aquarium water? Is this possible? Probable?

Ah... The Bob Stark fantasy. I think this is impossible. Inorganic phosphate can certainly find its way into the systems, but the only way it can become soluble is by extreme pH swings, and these are unlikely. Organic phosphate is bound so tightly by critters, that it isn't going anywhere.

Are there any organisms, other than algaes, that are helping to maintain the phosphate levels within the substrate?

Yes, everything. Phosphates are major components of proteins in all the animals, additionally the algae also use phosphates. Part of this is Stark's problem - he has no way to test for bacterially bound phosphate in his tests, and assumes that it really doesn't exist. The bacteria and the worms incorporate a LOT of phosphate in their tissues. It is tempting to think of all organisms as phosphate sinks, and it is not too far off the mark.

Do you think the sand seeding kits from inland aquatics contain adaquate life to properly seed a sandbed? I have heard various reports that not much comes in them

Geez, I hate to bad mouth any suppliers providing a good product. I think the kits provided by IPSF and Inland Aquatics contain a nice diversity of critters in them. I would like to see both suppliers send out about 10 x as much material in a kit. The kits will help, but they do need to have more livestock in them.

Question" why is the anemone in a pipe?

It keeps it from wandering. Stichodactyla haddoni are naturally found buried in sand with their pedal disk in rocks. The pipe provides a surrogate rock that won't move away if the anemone starts to insert its foot under it. Also when filled with sand, it provides a needed depth of sand against the column. Keep in mind as these animals move they can exert a tremendous amount of hydraulic force by inflating their foot under a rock pile. By the way, the reason things are rather haphazard in that tank is that the BIG MAMA Clarkii moves Big rocks to where SHE wants them. Not to where I want them.

Why do you think you've had such success with the haddoni where most people, even those that try who are very experienced still fail? feeding often?

Feeding often is the key. Keeping it at reef normal temperatures (84 deg F) and high salinities. Also, keep in mind, I have done a fair bit of anemone research, and possibly I have developed an affinity for the beasts.

Will dissolved, inorganic phosphate be incorporated by the substrate organisms, or do they just take up phosphate by processing wastes down through the food chain...?

Dissolved inorganic phosphate will be incorporated by the sediment bacteria within seconds. This is one reason that phosphate levels test low in tanks with a good bacterial bed. There may be a lot of organic phosphate in the system, but the dissolved inorganic stuff is sucked up real fast.

Another question about adding extra food to the tank. Why do you need to add about 300g of food to a 400 L if there are not enough organisms to eat it? That is, you say you are adding heaps of food to your tanks, but you do not have enough scavengers currently to utilise it all. Why do you need to add this much food then?

Well of course you don't add it. However, in a well-established reef tank with a good sand bed, the density of organisms is immense. Based on actual samples where I have counted organisms about 0.5 mm or larger in my tank, I would guess that there are about 1.5 - 3 million mouths to feed in my lagoonal reef. The ideal I strive for is as normal a system as I can get, and that means that I have to feed normally for the large organisms in the system. This, in turn, implies that I had better have the scavengers to handle the load. One cannot scale metabolic processes. For large fish or large inverts, you have to feed them normally or they will die. I think the reason for my success with most of the animals that I try to keep is that I treat them as the animals they are, and feed them normally. And keep them under normal or optimal conditions.

What is an Asteroid sp. and what do they do?

Asteroid = $5.00 word for sea star. In my systems they are probably surface deposit feeders. In the real world, they do what ever they please - I have found some large ones with bird bones in them, and I think they caught and ate diving ducks.

When feeding so liberally, is it possible that eventually, the substrate will be over-colonized, and that the sandbed's effectiveness would "plateau?" How long does it take for a sandbed to mature?

No, it is not really possible to get an over-colonized system. The system does plateau in the amount of food that it can handle, but to overwhelm a system you are talking pollution on the order of sewage treatment facility. The organisms in your sand bed are competing for food and space, and will change with time and with various sediment disturbances. I would urge folks to periodically "recharge" the sediment with a "kit" just to replace some faunal components that may have gone extinct. But, you really can't over do the sand fauna.

How high is high salinity? also, i was under the impression that 78-80 was where people tend to run their reefs, read the same in books unless my memory is really failing

Normal salinity conditions on most Indo-Pacific reefs are 35-37 ppt. The most diverse reefs have temperatures that average about 84 deg. There is a real good reason why natural reefs in the 78-80 deg range are lacking coral diversity. They are simply too cold for most species to survive for long at.

Could you talk about the positive and negative aspects of sandbed stirrers like gobies and white burrowing starfish and their affect on the life within the sandbed?

Sand stirrers like gobies and white burrowing starfish are entirely detrimental in their effects on a sandbed. They are stirring the sediment to feed on the worms and other critters you want to keep alive in the sediment. They will kill the sand bed.

I have 2 nice size tiger tail cucumbers in my 75 gallon tank, they do not clean enough of the sand to make a big diffrence, you don't like hermits, so what do you reccomend?

There is a difference between sand stirrers such as gobies and sea stars compared to the tiger tails. You may notice that I have tiger tails in my systems. These are animals that mop the surface of the sediment. They are a good partial component of the sand fauna, actually. I also don't like hermits much. Instead I would recommend getting some sand/mud snails called Nassarius. They are obligate scavengers, and will disturb the upper layer of sediment without killing the organisms in it. In doing so, they help mix food into the sediments for other animals to eat. I have an article describing these snails coming out in the next issue of Aquarium Fish Magazine (I hope).

Where did you get the pseudocorynactis anemones, and what do they look like?

They were volunteers - came in on live rock. I would refer you to the Baench Marine Atlas for a picture. They are orange to white with relatively stubby tentacles which are tipped with an orange nematocyst ball.

Is there any benefit to placing live rock atop supports to keep it raised slightly off the sandbed?

Not as far as I can see.

Have you noticed any rise/fall patterns in the substrate specie numbers, related to predator/prey scenarios (within the substrate)? Any possible downside from such an event?

That is a good question! Yes, I have noticed changes, both within various patches of organisms, and they are distibuted in a mosaic of patches, and between patches. I think most of the changes are due to competition, but predation or simple disturbance may be factors as well. The downside is real. If extinction of organisms in localized patches occurs sufficiently often, the diversity in the system will decline and some important species may be pushed "over the edge." This is one reason why I suggested in an earlier answer to periodically put in a small recharge from a "detritivore" kit or some "wonder mud."

I've been scared to add a tigertail to my tank (180 gal) with a large (17x15") long tentacle anemone (Macrodactyla doreenis) thinking it would sting the cuke and kill/eat it. Is this something to worry about?

No. I don'think so. I have a couple of tiger tails in my 45 with my two Entacmaea. The cukes co-exist with anemones in the real world. A light sting won't kill them, and they will avoid them.

Is a pistol shrimp sand-bed-safe? In the wild they apparently prey on fish; in our tanks they don't, but it's not clear to me if they stick to detritus or hunt down worms (since they dig around the upper layer of the sand bed)

I think one or two are sand-bed safe. When I have watched them in my systems, they seem to be mostly scavenging things. My guess is that they are fine.

What are your feelings on Mangrove and Live Sponge filtration? Ever consider using them?

No I haven't ever considered using them. I have a lot of sponges in my tanks and consider them an important component of reefs, but I really don't think they are a good substitute for skimming...

How much live rock do you have in each of the tanks?

That is hard to say. Enough to hang the critters on... I don't think that the amount of live rock really is terribly important, I think most of the bacterial filter is in the sediment. I am going to be setting up a grow out tank to raise some Stichodactyla's in (I want to get a boyfriend for mine) and that will have a deep sand bed, but no live rock whatsoever.

Being new to saltwater my tank has crushed coral. Do I need to change this and/or add live sand?

Yes. Crushed coral is too coarse, and it has edges that are too sharp for most burrowing organisms to tolerate. Sand - sand... go with the sand. Crushed coral is good for driveways.

What is a good protocol for converting over? Completely remove everything?

Yes. I would say, bite the bullet and yank it all. It will be better in the long run than trying to deal with the crushed coral in a sand mix.

Any thoughts on live sand/rock vs cultivated live sand/rock? Is there a viable alternative to wild-collected sand and rock?

That is a toughie. In general, I am totally for aquacultured material - in the long run (and maybe the short run) this is the only way our hobby will survive. But wild sand (if it is good) has SOOOOOOOOOO much more stuff in it. The problem is getting good live sand that doesn't have all the good life rinsed out of it.

If i can't get detritivore kits in SE asia (where i am), can i still use sandbeds or should i stick to LR only. if the latter, roughly how much for a 240g? Any alternatives?

If you can't get detritivore kits, I would use the live sand, and have it colonized from live rock. You will get a respectable amount of critter diversity this way. Then find some other hobbyists and start trading sand "starters." You will build up a good bed.

What is the source of the clay used in your sandbeds?

Clay is simply very small particulate material = dust in dried sand mixes, and it also accumulates from the erosive effects of animals on the sand particles as they burrow through it and pass it through their guts. Some is also fecal pellet material from the various critters. All perfectly home grown...

How often is often enough in recharging sand beds: 1month 6months 18months??

Oh gee, I guess I look at the bed and when I can't see as many critter types as I remember seeing then, I consult my financial advisor and if she says so, I get a recharge. Turns out to be about once a year to once every 18 months.

Ron, what went wrong in your childhood to make you want to become an Invertebrate Zoologist?? :c)

I dunno, maybe my mother was frightened by a mad monk, so that I ended up subconsiously taking vows of poverty...

I would appreciate it if you would pass along my thanks to Ron for answering my question AND proposing an alternate solution, and to keep up his great work writing for our difficult hobby.

Thanks for that. Cheers Folks, it has been fun. TTFN (ta ta for now).

Thanks for the great talk, Ron!