Below is a description of Carlos' incredible 75 gallon reef tank.

Tank:
The tank is an Oceanic 75 gallon Reef Ready. It was purchased in December of 1999. I use an acrylic sump (probably around 15 gallons) where I keep the heaters, top off unit, skimmer pump, and main return pump. The stand and hood are DIY which my Father and I put together last winter. The tank has been running since January of 2000 and it replaced my one year old 30 gallon reef which replaced my first reef tank, a 10 gallon tank.

Lighting:
The main system is two 250 watt Iwasaki MH bulbs placed perpendicular and two 96 watt Actinic PCs. The MHs are powered by two BlueLine Ballasts and the PCs are powered by a single Advanced Ballast. The MHs are placed 6 inches from the water line and the PCs are located right below them. Both MHs have PFO reflectors.  The lights are on for 12 hours.

Filtration:
100 lbs of Live Rock. 
ETS ReefDevil III (Becket modified) ran by a Sen 700 pump. 
5 Inch Sandbed (3” of Oolite, 2” of Special Grade, and 1” Live Sand from my old 30 gal tank).

IMHO, you only need high quality live rock, a good skimmer, and a deep sandbed to have a successful tank.  Any other equipment is just optional.  I am a firm believer that the closer we get to the way nature works, the better for the tank.  Given, we will never simulate nature 100%, but we can try!

Circulation:
Circulation is done by two MaxiJet 1200s and two MaxiJet 900s (soon to be changed to 1200s).  My return pump is a Rio 2100 also soon to be replaced by a Sen 900.  The MJs are controlled by a Red Sea WaveMaster Pro.

Water Parameters:

I have not tested for Ammonia, Nitrite, nor Nitrates in months. 

Maintenance:
20% water change every two weeks or when I have time.  I have been pretty good for the last few month!  No chemicals or additives are introduced to the tank.  I believe that water changes provide all the necessary trace elements.

Feeding:
Every day I feed Life Line Greens and Spirulina Flake Food.  In addition to that, I alternate each day between M.Y.S.I.S. (frozen), Mosquito Larvae, and Zooplankton.  Each day I soak the food in Selco. Also, when I remember, the fish get some Nori.

I dose Tahitian blend every night, and in addition to that, I alternate each day between DT’s Phytoplankton and Golden Pearls (60 to 100 microns).

Heck, my tank probably eats better than I do!

Fish:

Mated Pair of Tomato Clowns	A. frenatus (spawn every two weeks)
Purple Tang	Zebrasoma xanthurum
Royal Gramma	Gramma loreto
Coral Beauty Angel	Centropyge bispinosus
3 Green Chromis	Chromis viridis
Citron Goby	Gobiodon citrinus
Flame Hawk	Neocirrhites armatus
Blue Tang	Paracanthurus hepatus
Cleaner Wrasse	Labroides dimidiatus

Corals:

Cup Coral
Green Star Polyps
Leather Tree Coral
Finger Leather Coral
Xenia (elongata)
One big blue sponge
Blue Ridge Coral
All sorts of shrooms
Catalaphyllia jardinei
Euphyllia divisa (constantly splitting and budding)
Euphyllia yayamaensis
Trachyphyllia geoffroyi
M. Digitata (Yellow, Green, Purple morphs)
A. millepora (different colors)
M. Capricornis
M. Tuberculosa
Favia sp.
Acropora sp. (lots of small unknown frags)
Acropora florida
Stylopora pistillata
Seriatopora hystrix
Pavona sp.

 

I am a big fan of SPS frags.  I do not purchase colonies due to the price.  The way I figure, I can purchase a small frag for a fraction of the price and in a year or so, I will have the large colony anyway. 

Other Residents:

I would like to thank Reef Central for giving me this honor.  This is very COOL!

If you would like more information or check out more pictures of my tank, please do not hesitate to visit my site!

Adios,