Joseph D.
New Member
CURRENT TANK SHOT: 5/30/19
The ultimate goal of this tank is to replicate what I have seen in nature while snorkeling and Scuba diving. After 15+ years keeping aquariums I have seen a lot, read a lot, and been around a lot of tanks. Now I want to take that knowledge and experience along with the handful of times I've been snorkeling/snuba/scuba diving and apply it by following some simple rules.
Here are the rules defined by me to best replicate a natural thriving reef. Although these are the rules I will be following I am very much open to input on these rules and other ones you can think of to add to the list!
Lots of small fish
in the wild, you will see hundreds of small fish in very compact areas. This tank will be predominately smaller fish with a few larger species.
Angled light
The sun is very bright and bounces all over the place. Not to mention the sun moves throughout the day. My goal is to get light in the corners/ledges of the rock-scape
Shimmering light
The sun shimmers and so will this tank. I will be using Kessils to accomplish this
Aquascape
An aesthetically pleasing and slightly lifted aquascape achieve the most natural look, in my opinion, dramatic shadows give a sense of depth and artistic appeal. Not to mention most rocks in the ocean were once corals and most corals shelf/bridge out creating a "lifted rock" once they're dead. More about this later.
Use contrasting shapes and colors
Another trend that looks unnatural to me is the bunching of coral species. "Euphyllia garden/Zoa garden/etc". I plan on using the shapes and colors of different corals to better accomplish a natural reef.
Space for Coral to grow
I will not be following the trend of having a 1" frag every sq inch of the tank.
Large Coral Colonies
I think it goes without saying that most coral colonies are massive in the wild. This will be my goal as well. It won't happen overnight, but we will get there! My goal is to have a mix of larger and medium size colonies to give a natural look.
Peninsula Style Reef
I tend to think the if done correctly the peninsula style reefs offer an extra sense of added space and a false sense of continuity
Wave
I will have a swaying wave accomplished by the Tunze 6208 wave box
Alright, here's an equipment list.
Tank - Plant Aquariums Custom 60"x30"x27" Peninsula
Stand - Powder coated Steel stand made by Planet Aquariums
Sump - Planet Aquariums 75G converted to sump
Chiller - JBJ 1/4hp chiller
Lights - (2) AI Prime HD (4) T5 ATI (3) Kessil A360
Skimmer - Skimz SC165 (will upgrade later)
Return pump - (2) Sicce 4.0
Water flow pumps - Tunze 6208 wave-box (2) Jabaeo PP2
Heater - (2) 200w Eheim Jager heaters
ATO - Tunze ATO w/ 16g Norwesco water storage container
Controller - Apex Systems
Dosing - BRS 1.1 ml p/m dosers
Kalk stirrer - currently undecided but I plan on using one (open to suggestions)
Maintenance:
I am personally a big fan of water changes. Unless you are going to use ICP testing large water changes offer to many benefits not to be utilizing them. This will be the main source of nutrient export along with trace element supplementation.
The reason I am using a 75-gallon tank as my sump is mainly for my large water changes. I will be able to drain water from my display and then fill my sump up and then let the water in the sump circulate through my chiller/heater (depending on the weather) and then once the correct temperature has been achieved started pumping water back up to my display.
QT Philosophy:
I am going to attempt to have an Ich-Free-System. I've personally lost all of my fish due to velvet once and have battles Ich before. Everything... will go through an 8-12 week QT procedure, including coral/inverts. This will be tedious but I think its going to give me a more robust healthy thriving reef in the long run. Especially since my ultimate goal is to have a tank packed with small fish to minimize stress it will be best that they aren't dealing with ich, etc.
Water Storage Station:
First thing I did was install a utility sink for fish maintenance. My wife was mad when I asked her not to use it for common things (cleaning paint brushes, using cleaning products, etc). She was upset at first but I think she will forgive me the first time she sees me cleaning my skimmer in there and not in her sink!
There is still a lot left to be built but here are the first photos.
Current tank:
Here is a photo of my current tank. A 42-gallon rimless tank made by Plant Aquariums. Its been fun but I am ready for the upgrade.
More to come soon!
The ultimate goal of this tank is to replicate what I have seen in nature while snorkeling and Scuba diving. After 15+ years keeping aquariums I have seen a lot, read a lot, and been around a lot of tanks. Now I want to take that knowledge and experience along with the handful of times I've been snorkeling/snuba/scuba diving and apply it by following some simple rules.
Here are the rules defined by me to best replicate a natural thriving reef. Although these are the rules I will be following I am very much open to input on these rules and other ones you can think of to add to the list!
Lots of small fish
in the wild, you will see hundreds of small fish in very compact areas. This tank will be predominately smaller fish with a few larger species.
Angled light
The sun is very bright and bounces all over the place. Not to mention the sun moves throughout the day. My goal is to get light in the corners/ledges of the rock-scape
Shimmering light
The sun shimmers and so will this tank. I will be using Kessils to accomplish this
Aquascape
An aesthetically pleasing and slightly lifted aquascape achieve the most natural look, in my opinion, dramatic shadows give a sense of depth and artistic appeal. Not to mention most rocks in the ocean were once corals and most corals shelf/bridge out creating a "lifted rock" once they're dead. More about this later.
Use contrasting shapes and colors
Another trend that looks unnatural to me is the bunching of coral species. "Euphyllia garden/Zoa garden/etc". I plan on using the shapes and colors of different corals to better accomplish a natural reef.
Space for Coral to grow
I will not be following the trend of having a 1" frag every sq inch of the tank.
Large Coral Colonies
I think it goes without saying that most coral colonies are massive in the wild. This will be my goal as well. It won't happen overnight, but we will get there! My goal is to have a mix of larger and medium size colonies to give a natural look.
Peninsula Style Reef
I tend to think the if done correctly the peninsula style reefs offer an extra sense of added space and a false sense of continuity
Wave
I will have a swaying wave accomplished by the Tunze 6208 wave box
Alright, here's an equipment list.
Tank - Plant Aquariums Custom 60"x30"x27" Peninsula
Stand - Powder coated Steel stand made by Planet Aquariums
Sump - Planet Aquariums 75G converted to sump
Chiller - JBJ 1/4hp chiller
Lights - (2) AI Prime HD (4) T5 ATI (3) Kessil A360
Skimmer - Skimz SC165 (will upgrade later)
Return pump - (2) Sicce 4.0
Water flow pumps - Tunze 6208 wave-box (2) Jabaeo PP2
Heater - (2) 200w Eheim Jager heaters
ATO - Tunze ATO w/ 16g Norwesco water storage container
Controller - Apex Systems
Dosing - BRS 1.1 ml p/m dosers
Kalk stirrer - currently undecided but I plan on using one (open to suggestions)
Maintenance:
I am personally a big fan of water changes. Unless you are going to use ICP testing large water changes offer to many benefits not to be utilizing them. This will be the main source of nutrient export along with trace element supplementation.
The reason I am using a 75-gallon tank as my sump is mainly for my large water changes. I will be able to drain water from my display and then fill my sump up and then let the water in the sump circulate through my chiller/heater (depending on the weather) and then once the correct temperature has been achieved started pumping water back up to my display.
QT Philosophy:
I am going to attempt to have an Ich-Free-System. I've personally lost all of my fish due to velvet once and have battles Ich before. Everything... will go through an 8-12 week QT procedure, including coral/inverts. This will be tedious but I think its going to give me a more robust healthy thriving reef in the long run. Especially since my ultimate goal is to have a tank packed with small fish to minimize stress it will be best that they aren't dealing with ich, etc.
Water Storage Station:
First thing I did was install a utility sink for fish maintenance. My wife was mad when I asked her not to use it for common things (cleaning paint brushes, using cleaning products, etc). She was upset at first but I think she will forgive me the first time she sees me cleaning my skimmer in there and not in her sink!
There is still a lot left to be built but here are the first photos.
Current tank:
Here is a photo of my current tank. A 42-gallon rimless tank made by Plant Aquariums. Its been fun but I am ready for the upgrade.
More to come soon!
Last edited:
very interested to see how it plays out
