| March
2000 Reef Tank of the Month
RWD's
(Bob's) Reef Tank
This tank has been
set up since December of 1995. Most of the rock and corals came
from the 90 gal. that it replaced. It has evolved from a fish only to
a mixed reef with a few fish.
Tank Basics
The tank is an All-Glass
with 1 hang on overflow. About 250 lbs of assorted live rock and
2"-3"of live sand provide the filtration along with a DAS BX-2
skimmer. The skimmer sits in a 14 gal. Rubbermaid sump. The
return pump is a Little Giant 3md-sc(about 600 gph). Another Little
Giant(4mdqx-sc) adds 1200 gph for more circulation. 4 powerheads
on timers also help out.
Lighting
6 72" vho bulbs
provide lighting. 2 actinics and 4 actinic whites are fired by 2
IceCaps and 1 tar ballast. The lights are on 2 timers and are on
for 12 hours a day.
Calcium Reactor
I use a K2R reactor
with CaribeSea crushed aragonite for the media. No controller is
used but I do have a ph monitor that comes in handy.
Fish
I have one of each:
- yellow tang,
- purple tang,
- sailfin tang,
- fox face,
- yellow watchman
goby and
- a blue damsel.
I have had all of
the fish from 2 to 6 years and they are doing well.
Corals and Inverts
The tank contains
a variety of both hard and soft corals. Some include:
- toadstool (Sarcophyton
sp.),
- finger coral
(Sinularia sp),
- 2 kinds of star
polyps,
- tons of xenia,
- hammer (Euphylia
sp),
- elegance (Catalphyllia
jardinei),
- cup coral (Tubinaria
patula) and
- a few acropora
sp.
There are also 7-8
types of mushrooms and zooanthids.
Maintenance
I do a 5 gal. water
change per week. Make-up water is added automatically with a float
valve in the sump hooked up to a ro/di unit. Calcium and alkalinity are
maintained by the reactor. No other additives are used except Zoe
mixed with the fish food.
All in all, I have
learned a lot from this tank. You don't need a lot of fancy additives
to maintain a good looking, healthy tank. For me this simple system
works good. Save your money and buy more rock!
RWD (Bob Dornbos)
Bob's
Reef Pictures
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