O.K., Shall we dive right in? I'll just start pasting some of the notes I have - please feel free to shoot questions, comments, or just laugh and point. :)

So you can see what I am talking about, I will refer to some pictures I recently scanned in, and. If you like, point your browser here :

If you find the reefs server is getting bogged down, you can also see the same pics here:

First, let me tell you very quickly how I got started.

I began my first saltwater fish-only tank in 1993 with plenty of helpful advice from a local fish store. They suggested an under gravel filter, hang-on filter complete with bio-sponges , plenty of tap water conditioner , and enough Para-guard to turn the silicone in the tank green, since all fish came with parasites.

For a variety of reasons (you may not want to know all of the painful details), the system nicknamed the punishment tank , had to be considered a failure after 2 years of fighting it. Not something I am particularly proud of.

A couple of years ago, I decided to give it another try. I was convinced that I would have more success if I used a trickle filter rather than a polluted undergravel (after all, all of the stores used them, right?).

However, based on increasingly blank stares to my questions of biology and ecology, I started thinking that the people giving me advice did not always have a solid understanding of everything going on. Many in the pet shop I visited knew more about housebreaking dogs than the care of marine animals, or even which were appropriately kept together.

One day, while excitedly hauling a new wet/dry off the shelf - I happened upon a worker stating he had gone to school for marine biology.

We talked for about 2 hours. After a while he smiled and said, "you might be able to appreciate this" - and gave me his battered copy of "Marine Fish and Invert Reef Aquarium", by Albert Thiel. (The comedian)

There are several versions of this book, I think. But this particular one read more like a field guide than "Jimmy sets up his first fish tank." I knew I was onto something, and read it front to back. Why hadn't I found a book like this in the fish stores? Turned out to be somewhat dated material, but good stuff for sure.

I gave the book back, but wanted my own for reference. Out of print.

In searching the internet, I kept tripping over names I had never heard of: Rob Toonen, Ron Shimek, Craig Bingman, Daniel Knopp, Eric Borneman, Dallas Warren, John Tullock, John Rice, the list was endless. People I had never seen mentioned in the few books I did have, but most making a great deal of sense.

Not only that, but there were a bunch of message boards , filled with people that for the most part had genuine (gasp) knowledge of marine systems, and wanted to help solve any problem or question I could throw at them.

So for me, it came down to finding good sources of information, and people with practical experience. This changed my entire outlook and understanding. I now have what I hope is a healthy and happy system. It started out a little wobbly, and still has some things I don't like, but as the system ages, it gets harder for me to intrude on something that appears functional and stable.

System Setup:

I'll list all of the details here, but overall, the simple approach. Live rock, protein skimmer, kalkwasser, buffer, regular water changes, and moderate feeding. That pretty much sums it up.

Worth Noting:

- Marginal lighting, in my opinion. Good for what is in there.

- Other reefers that have seen this tank call it very, very quiet

-Currently have infestation of flatworms (Convolutriloba retrogemma)

BASICS:

- 75G / 285L AGA tank, w/basic stand & enclosed canopy

- External overflow to 15G D-I-Y acrylic sump (donated)

- 50Lbs/22Kg base rock (90% coralline encrusted now)

- 50Lbs/22Kg medium aragonite gravel (2" / 5cm deep) (hate this, big time)

- 60Lbs/22Kg live rock

I also had a 20G test tank that I set up a couple of months ago with the infamous Southdown Play Sand . Added a few chunks of rock, some live sand, a detritivore kit and some sludge from Inland Aquatics. I considered it a failure because the Southdown sand was just too dusty (I made no attempt to rinse it), and the old (donated) tank blew a seal and I had to tear it down. I will do this again though.

(The next couple of pics might be big, sorry. The rest are not so bad.)

Here is the main tank as it was at the end of 1998:

At this point, I had a wet/dry, canister filter, seaclone skimmer, one 40W actinic bulb, and a set of perfecto SHO lights. It was right around this time that I began finding out about reef systems, and reading more informative books. I ultimately changed all of the equipment. Can you say "Do it right the first time"?

There were few things I did right I think....

In trying to increase diversity, I gradually added chunks of live rock from here and there. (Looks like I cant keep that up forever). I also had visions of a zoanthid garden - so I started trying to collect different ones. 6 months later:

(I was very excited by my first set of GARF plugs) and today:

FILTRATION:

- ETS Reefdevil2 protein skimmer & SEN700 pump. Ran this tank for about 8 months with a Seaclone, which worked fine for me. Shrug . I believe I have traded in a maintenance/efficiency problem (seaclone), for a power problem (ETS). Am feeding algal pastes and other food more heavily now because of it.

- Duetto 50 in sump, for carbon.

The ETS limits the amount of water I can keep in the sump. It barely fits under the stand which is where it must go for me), and the exit has to stay above waterline, so there is only about 6" of water in the sump.. about 5 gallons, I guess. If I had set the tank up one more inch away from the wall, I could have mounted the skimmer behind the tank, and not had this problem.

LIGHTING:

- 2 x 46.5" URI VHO's (50/50 & Actinic), Ultralife Sunfire ballast

- 2 x 55w 6700K PC's. (guts of SHO lights)

- 1 x 40w NO URI Actinic

lighting salad, I guess...

I had a Sunfire ballast go bad on me, and it sounds like I'm not the only one. The internal fan stopped, it overheated, and I came home to the smell of electrical ozone, and a thin blue haze. Yikes. It was replaced by LFS, but I'm still nervous about it. I would rather have a full rack of VHO's with a dimmer, or a MH retro setup.

CIRCULATION:

-Main Pump: SEN700, tuned down to about 150gph / 560lph. (The overflow, a leftoverfrom a Lifereef Eco-3 trickle, is too small)

-RedSea Wavemaker Pro w/4 MaxiJet 1200 Powerheads

I believe I have pretty much verified that this is one of the only submersible powerheads that will work with this wavemaker. I tried Hagens, Rios, Penguins, & Aquaclears of assorted sizes. They all sounded like my old 1973 pinto going uphill on bad gas. (Rattle). I was actually working with RedSea to help them research the problem, but eventually, they stopped returning my e-mails when I kept verifying for them that the MJ was the only

OTHER:

- Pinpoint PH monitor

- 1 - Visitherm 200W heater

- Grounding Probe in sump

ADDITIVES:

- 1.5G / 5L kalk ~every other day (Poland Springs Jug & IV pinch roller)

- Buffer (Reefbuilder), perhaps weekly.

- Combisan: ~50 drops, once a week (I may stop this, not sure I need it)

- I keep B-ionic around in case I have to go away. It's easier to say "Add 15mls of each" than to try and inflict making kalk milkshakes on a friend.

MAINTENANCE:

- 6G Water change weekly.

- Change carbon weekly. (Only started actively running carbon a couple of months ago, when I noticed the water was yellowing)

- Clean & calibrate pH monitor monthly.

- Clean skimmer cup & riser monthly.

- Clean/Vacuum sump ~monthly.

GENERAL PARAMETERS:

- Photoperiod: NO actinic - 15hrs, VHO - 13hrs, PC - 11hrs.

- Salinity: 1.026 / 36ppt. (Thought it was 1.024, recently verified with borrowed refractometer)

- Temp: 82-84F / 28-29C

- Alkalinity: ~10dKH / ~3.5meq/l / ~175ppm (Aquarium Systems)

- pH: 8.1 (am) - 8.2 (pm) (pinpoint)

- Ca: ~425ppm (RedSea Pro )

- NO3: ~2ppm (Seatest Low Range)

-NO2, NH3, PO4: (Zero? not recently tested - Seatest)

Livestock:

O.K. My best guess as to what is in there.

Fish (5)

- Tomato Clown (Amphiprion frenatus) (~6" / 15cm, 10 pounds ;) )

- Purple Tang (Zebrasoma xanthurus) (~5" / 12cm)

- 2 (mated) Pretty Prawn Gobies (Amblyeleotris guttata) (~3" / 7cm)

- Six-line wrasse (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia) (~2" / 5cm)

INVERTEBRATES:

- Foraminiferns: Ruby Red (H.rubra?) lots of forams, several other sp. on rocks & in substrate. This chunk is big - about an inch across.

- Porifera (sponges): 3 sponge species. 1 white calcareous, 2 demosponge (1White & 1 Orange). I hope to try more of these.

Cnidaria:

Trumpet / Candycane (Caulastrea furcata)

Colt (Cladiella sp?)

This could be Cladiella sp. or Alcyonium sp. Not sure here..

Frog Spawn (Euphyllia divisa)

Button Polyps / Zoanthids (Zoanthus sociatus)

There are 8 different colored zoos in the tank. You can see 4 here, along with some small clavularia polyps that are trying to establish themselves..

more zoos..

These came in as 2 or 3 polyps on a piece of live rock. Now about 30 of them.

Mushroom Polyps (Green Striped) (Discosoma sp.)

(Can't really see them here, just a little..with pink zoanthids)

Mushroom Polyps (Metallic Green) (Discosoma sp.)

Star Polyps (Briareum asbestinum ?)

Probably not Pachyclavularia violacea (Star Polyps), as identified when it was sold. Totally encrusting a rock, it is growing knobby protrusions on top that can be seen in the Full tank pic. (in the middle-left).

I believe it is actually Briareum asbestinum, or even Erythropodium sp. (The Reef Aquarium Vol2 pp. 190, & 185) because of its ability to form these upright branches, light green color, and purple encrusting sheet. It also has a distinguishing white streak down the center of each tentacle. Common names are corky sea fingers , encrusting gorgonian , and briareum . If anyone has any idea let me know.

Porites (Porites sp.)

These porites have not done all that well in the last 6 months. Surviving, but not thriving. (little polyp extension) They do not react well to either high or low light. Increased current seems to help. Will get to worms later..

Others that I do not have pictures for. . .

Elegance (Cataphyllia jardinei)

Galaxy (Galaxia sp.)

Anthelia / Waving Hand Polyps (Anthelia glauca?)

Xenia / Silver tip (Xenia sp.)

Button Polyps (Protopalythoa sp.)

Platyhelminthes (acoel flatworms): 217,321 flatworms at last count. (Convolutriloba retrogemma) This number is down from 60 million. They came in on a piece of mushroom rock I believe, and I didn't know enough to recognize or react to them at the time. You can see them (sort of) to the right of this goby, on the otherwise purple rock:

Maintaining a "high" SG (supposedly above 1.022 as described in TRA V1 pp. 294) seems to have no effect in this tank (I've been running at 1.026 for a year) (to kill the flatworms, that is)

And predators such as the nudibranch c.varians or a six-line wrasse or mandarin, seem silly once they get to plague numbers. I believe a high pH (8.4-8.6) would affect them (I have seen them decline if I can keep pH over 8.3 for sustained periods) but I have not tried to push over that for fear of other side effects.

Polychaetes:

- 26 Christmas Tree Worms in Porites (Spirobranchus giganteus)

- Featherduster (Sabellestarte magnifica?)

- Small featherdusters (Sabellarid sp.?)

- Tiny calcareous fanworms (Spirobid sp.)

- Spaghetti/mason worms (Terribellidae sp.)

- Bristleworms (Eunice sp?) at least 2 different sp.

The Christmas tree worms were clearly shrinking or starving a few months ago. Their crowns were becoming emaciated little wires (Note the one thin crown on the blue one.) Since I have been feeding the golden pearls rotifer replacement (can see them capturing this) and algal pastes, they are making a nice comeback, I think.

Arthropods:

- Porcelain / Anemone crab (Neopetrolisthes oshimae) (1)

- Sally Lightfoot (Percnon planissimum) (1)

I actually suspect this sally in the disappearance of a scarlet cleaner shrimp, but I have no proof of this.

- Scarlet Reef hermits (Paguristes cadenati) (~4)

- Blue-legged hermits (Clibaarius tricolor) (~10) (way too aggressive)

- Black & White hermits (~4)

- Bumblebee Hermits (~4)

- Zebra Hermits (~3)

- * Mantis Shrimp (Gonodactylus sp?) ( RIP* - caught killing hermits)

- * Crab (Platypodiella sp?) ( RIP* - caught stuffing zoo's into its mouth)

Mollusks:

- Astrea Snails (Astrea sp.) (~10)

- Turbo Snail (Turbo sp.) (2)

- Nerite / Margarita Snails (Nerita funiculate?) (~6)

- Nassarius Snails (~12)

- Cerith / Baja Snails (~12)

- Vermetid Snails (Vermetus adansonii?) (3)

- * Heliacous/Box Snail ( RIP* - caught sucking the life out of zoanthids)

Echinoderms:

None to speak of, except many small, white ministars in substrate.

Feeding:

- Daily: a little Spirulina/Kelp flake, and/or frozen Brine w/SELCO

- Daily: Sprung's red sea-veggies for Tang. (will not touch purple)

- Twice a week: Mash of Prime Reef, Formula 2, Brine, SELCO, and Vita-Chem.

- Every Other Day: 10 drops of Tahitian blend algal paste & ~ 2-3g of golden pearls . (May switch back to individual pastes since I cannot confirm ratio of what is in the Tahitian blend.)

Twice a week: Freshly hatched baby brine nauplii. Been doing this for a month or so, but not sure what is benefiting. I can dump about 200,000 of the critters into the tank, and the water appears to clear after 1/2 an hour. Getting a good feeding response out of (at least) mushrooms and caulastrea when I do this. Porcelain crab goes nuts over them.

That, I suppose. . . is about it. As I said before, I've been debating replacing the substrate for a long time, but there are plenty of living things in there currently, and I'd hate to upset things at this point. (Not very live compared to a healthy sand bed.) I also believe. . .

I need to increase the water flow to the sump and back - to keep the skimmer fed, and my overflow is currently undersized to do this. . . If I could make one change however, it would be to remotely plumb a larger sump with a refugium. Oh well . . . perhaps on the next tank. :)

OK here come the questions

How is your galaxia sp. doing in your system everyone specimen I have seen in LFS have there stinging reachers out so far that it basically takes over the display because it kills all the other corals how do you counteract that?

Scary. Those sweepers are like grenades on ropes... It is in an area where the current tends the sweepers away from the trumpet, which is quite close. Hasn't been too much of a problem.

You say you see the Christmas tree worms capturing the rotifer pearls. Have you stopped to watch what happens after they have captured them and moved down to the mouth?

This is where they do the filtering, so capture might not mean eat. Yeah... I can see them grabbing it, that's about it. I'm sort of guessing they are benefiting since they have improved quite rapidly.. after starting with the pearls....They started shrinking after I added the ETS.

Are you involved in any aquarium society?

Who asked that? <g> Yes. Mass Marine Aquarium Society. http://www.massmarine.org. A small club. We meet monthly at different members houses to see how others do things.. cool.

With your infestation of flatworms have you considered using "marine oomed" as is advocated by D&S in TRA v. 1?

Is it? I don't remember reading that. I'd be scared to death to medicate the tank. If it can wipe out platyhelminthes... it may be doing more harm than good.... I'll live with them until they burn out.

Have you noticed any negative effects of using Tahitian Blend. And at what dosage are you using it?

Been dosing about 10 drops every other day or so. (of course drop doesn't mean a lot does it). But brineshrimpdirect will not disclose the ratio of what is in it, so I'm a bit cautious... I was assuming equal parts of nanno, tetra, iso, and pavlova... but it may not be so.... I also don't know how much of it is astaxanthin. so it's kind of a crapshoot.

Have you encountered any other problems besides the flatworms, such as infections of fish or corals? If so, what treatments did you use?

I've been very lucky. After my original punishment tank , I have never had a sick fish...

I had a couple of perculas chased OUT of the tank by the tomato... but nothing ill. I don't have a Q tank set up (doh)... I did have a hammer die, but I believe it was die do damage in shipping, not any sort of infection...

How do you judge if someone is giving you good advice about your reef? Like at a store, or online?

Usually if I get the same advice from several sources, and either a good online article, or book... I'm good with it. There really are tons and tons of good literature on the net.. surprising to me really.

What are your plans for the tank short/long term?

Scared to death to tamper with it. I want to try a derasa, but need to look into that. Its sort of that the point where just watching it grow is satisfying. Someday, I need to deal with the substrate though

Do you plan or do any sort of propagating?

We swap cuttings and frags at our club meetings, so do a little of that now. The zoanthids spread pretty easily, so considering using them as trade bait at the LFS.

Last Question: Why would someone own a 72 Pinto, if I recall earlier, and on the flip side why would you admit it?:)

Not only that, but it didn't have a gas cap. I used to stuff a rag in it, so it was a bit like driving around a bomb. (poor student)

OK gang, I'd like to thank Steve for coming by

and taking the time to give such a detailed talk.

I hope you all appreciate it.

Thanks again Steve