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Reef Pumpkin Carver
Six years ago, after a ten-year hiatus, I got back into reefkeeping. I had kept a variety of fresh and saltwater aquariums thanks to my marine biologist father, and started into reef aquariums when I was 16. What got me to start that reef tank is a funny story. My brother had left for college and left me in charge of his American cichlid tank. I got bored of taking care of it for him and stopped taking care of it. When the tank finally was shut down, the first night I found myself struggling to sleep. Eventually I realized I had grown accustomed to the sound of the bubbles. After a couple rough weeks of sleep, I decided I needed an aquarium again but I was going to make it my own. At this point I started a 50 gallon 48” reef tank. After some mishaps with that including flooding an upstairs floor, I read and learned and began to become a competent reefer. I spent many hours reading forums and looking at Tank of the Month posts on Reef Central. A buddy and I made a half-hearted attempt to grow and sell coral online in high school, but reef aquariums were put on hiatus when I left junior college and headed off to college to study marine biology. There I kept African cichlid tanks including some shell dwellers with tons of personality to appease the hunger for aquariums. Once I got into my career and bought my home, I started a 50g African peacock cichlid tank while I saved up and budgeted for a reef aquarium as my ultimate goal.
I had always been blown away by SPS dedicated reef tanks and intended to make a fully acropora-stocked system. While watching BRS YouTube video playlists and watching Coral Euphoria and Inappropriate Reefer, I made a full spreadsheet with all that I expected would be part of a dream reef tank as big as I could imagine fitting in my chosen spot in the house. Each line had item cost and tax and an attempt at quantity down to pounds of rock. I spent many long hours in Sketchup drawing CAD drawings of my house which I carefully measured and drew to help visualize and plan how big of a reef I could build. What I came away with was I was not ready to build my reef and needed to save up, and possibly, do a practice run.
As I became a parent, I also wanted my kids to have aquariums to observe and enjoy nature even when inside. So, with my a large, dream reef tank as a one year goal, I started a 24 gallon 24”x24”x12” lagoon tank I found on Craigslist. It was custom built from the stand down to the glass but needed new silicone seams, so my friend and I carefully over months stripped every last remnant of silicone and, carefully one night, silicone the entire tank back together over 10 or so minutes before the silicone skinned over. I overbuilt this tank in many ways with two MP40s on it, with the hope that I would minimize any costs into this tank that couldn’t be re-purposed for the dream tank when a year had passed. The tank thrived after a first hard year with dinoflagellates but eventually grew acroporas so thick that I had at least four 6” colonies and multiple mini-colonies ready to go into a new tank when it was built.
I had always wanted my aquarium to be fully integrated into the room, whether it be a peninsula room divider, an in-wall piece of art, or, in what I finally went with, a bar where we could sit and eat or have a drink, or in the current case, pull out a laptop. My 24 gallon aquarium’s stand had a tile platform all around it which made it a pleasure to test or do fragging. So, with that in mind, and my max measurements of 72” to fit the wall I had chosen to put my aquarium against, I contacted a few different aquarium manufacturers. I went with Crystal Dynamic Aquarium for their great portfolio of work, and numerous others on Reef2Reef reporting good feedback on their purchases from CDA. Also, they are based in Southern California about a 7 hour drive from me so stopping in wasn’t out of the question which I did before accepting it for shipping. I had them build a custom stand with a bar with an epoxy coating on it. They had only done 2 bars before, and none had epoxy before but they made a great first attempt that I’m happy to report is still stain free after numerous frag sessions, drink glasses, and kids’ dinners. They built a semi-custom 220g tank with dimensions of 72”x30”x24” and so I went with that with a few customizations including selecting a 30” modular marine overflow and getting two holes drilled in the eurobracing for my Maxspect Gyre XF350’s wires to pass through.
During the wait for the tank to be built, my wife and I built a full size PVC model of the aquarium, and did some remodeling to prepare for it including removing a window and getting lots of electrical circuits in place including a battery backed up circuit. We spent about 3 months building a negative space aquascape out of Marco rocks, super glue, dust, and Marco’s cement, after being inspired by Ryan from BRS’ videos on that.
When the tank arrived and was in place, I took some live rock out of my 24 gallon’s sump and started cycling the rocks with the lights off. My wife and I took sticky notes and wrote the names and, more importantly, colors of each acropora we had or intended to get, and placed them in color columns on the bar. Then, we stuck them to the glass in an attempt not to put similar colors together and put contrasting colors near each other. This was inspired by the amazing ideas and artful videos of Abe of the Coral Euphoria YouTube channel. Once the tank was running for a few months, which killed me to have the patience for, I put the corals into tank in small batches. When each batch seemed to be settled and all indications were good, I continued moving things over until I finished and shut down the 24 gallon tank. It was amazing to see the coral from a 24 gallon tank appear to make this tank 10 times the previous tank’s size seem nearly full. Acropora can really grow into and around each other in ways that make them very hard to move.
Now up to this point, I haven’t mentioned my fish. With the 24 gallon tank, I took the approach of buying fish at the LFS and just tossing them in. With this new tank, I researched how to prophylactically treat fish in quarantine, and so I ran the tank fallow at first and ran all my existing fish through prophylactic copper, nitrafurazone and general cure treated food. I owe many thanks to Humble Fish for his help along with Dierks and others in learning procedures and in helping me through trouble with fish in treatment. All of my fish have gone through prophylactic treatment in QT either by myself in a series of smaller tanks or directly from a great local quarantine vendor, Kenny with High Tide Aquatics.
The first year had some struggles with dinos from lower nutrients, but I continued to try and raise my nutrients until I had beaten them back with a combination of silicates, and higher nutrients. Meanwhile corals were stagnating a bit but not really losing ground. At this point, the tank is mature at two and a half years, and though I still get lazy at times and don’t refill my Tropic Marin Balling Part C dosing container, or get lax on water changes, the tank is generally continuing to fill out and march forward. I’ve only lost a couple of fish, including a Copperband butterfly who got too skinny while I was on vacation and couldn’t hand feed as much and a Midas Blenny who snuck some internal parasites into the system. I have lost a dozen or so acropora which either somehow were not suited to the tank or placement, or were knocked loose by the tang gang and lost to my sight for long enough to die. All tanks have struggles so this tank isn’t without them either, but I find if you just keep marching forward and solving the problems as they arise, time will resolve your mistakes.
System Profile:
- Display tank: Eurobraced 225 gallon Crystal Dynamic Aquarium 72”x30”x24” (length x width x height) custom built with 3 sides Starphire glass, black painted back, black reinforced starboard bottom, holes drilled in Eurobracing for Gyre powerhead cables, 30” Modular Marine external overflow with beananimal plumbing configuration
- Glass or Acrylic: Glass
- Stand: Custom built Crystal Dynamic Aquarium Malibu style wood-wrapped steel stand 40-3/4” tall, 13” epoxy coated bar in matching wood extending out front, acrylic drip tray built into sump compartment and electrical cabinet built into right side
- Sump: Trigger Systems CR44 Sapphire 44” filter sock refugium sump
- Grow-out tank: None, but coral quarantine tank used for 45 days for all, and all fish through prophylactic quarantine
- Protein skimmer: Reef Octopus Regal 200 INT plumbed with large diameter silicone tubing for air feed to outside through wall and onto a homemade carbon and filter floss filter
- Carbon/phosphate filtration: Rarely used GFO through Two Little Fishies canister plumbed to manifold
- Return pump: Dual Neptune COR-20 return pumps
- Water circulation: Pair of Maxpect Gyre XF350 Cloud Editions, 3 Ecotech MP40WQDs paired, and an AI Nero 3
- Lighting (display): 8 Ecotech Radion XR15 Gen 5 Blues, 1 72” Reefbrite XHO Daylight, 1 72” Reefbrite XHO Actinic with Daylight in front and actinic in back for a feeling of color fade and depth
- Lighting (grow-out): Coral quarantine has AI Prime 16HD
- Lighting (refugium): Tunze Ecochic 8831.00 refugium light
- Calcium/alkalinity/magnesium dosing equipment: 30 gallon kalkwasser brute trash can dosed through Kamoer FX-STP2 continuous duty doser, Neptune DOS delivering BRS Tropic Marin balling hybrid solution which is soda ash mixed with Tropic Marin Pro-Coral A- and calcium chloride mixed with Tropic Marin Pro-Coral K+ at 160 mL/gal of solution, Kamoer X1 bluetooth doser dosing Tropic Marin original balling solution Part C
- Auto top-off: Tunze Osmolator 3155
- Heating/cooling: 1 300W BRS Inkbird Wifi controlled titanium heater and 1 Finnex 500w titanium heater
- System control: Neptune Apex A2, FMM modules with level sensors and alerts, leak sensors, dual temp sensors, dual EB832
- Any other details: Half of the system is on whole home battery backup to lower loading and last through long outages until the solar panels can recharge the home battery
Water Circulation and Flow Summary and Objectives:
Water flow is handled primarily by dual Maxspect Gyre XF350’s set in anti-sync patterns or delayed sync patterns to reduce pumps fighting each other. Ecotech Vortech MP40s are placed in front left, back right and front right corner. Front left and back right are synced, and front right is anti-sync. This achieves a gyre motion as viewed above in the tank. MP40s are placed in lower third of the tank and handle keeping sediment from settling while gyres are up high pointed toward surface causing an overall gyre with turbulence meeting in varying spots through the middle third of the tank. Small amount of disturbance added by dual COR-20s running through Random Flow Generators (RFG) at 40% setting of 60% max speed (math says 24% max speed)
Water Parameters:
- Temp:77-78.5
- pH: 8.3-8.7 (elevated due to kalk, soda ash, and protein skimmer plumbed outside and copious room ventilation)
- Specific gravity: 35-36 ppt
- NO3: 30-40 ppm
- Ca:420-480 ppm
- Alk: 8-9
- Mg: 1350
- PO4: 0.5-0.66 ppm (max on Hanna ULR)
- Ammonia and nitrites: Undetectable
What salt mix do you use?
Instant Ocean sea salt
What kind of rock did you start with?
Mostly dry Marco rock shaped over 3 months into branching rock using super glue and Marco cement dusted with sand
What is your substrate?
Bare bottom (aka Vermetid snails)
Calcium/Alkalinity/Magnesium Summary and Objectives:
What and how do you dose for the big 3 (alk/cal/mag)?
I dose using the Bulk Reef Supply Tropic Marin Balling hybrid method, and though I still do water changes, I try to use this method to keep trace elements elevated and prevent a swing towards Sodium chloride in the water from all the more useful salts as a denser population of acropora tissue pulls out Calcium carbonate. Normal dosing will add Calcium chloride and Sodium carbonate so when you remove Calcium carbonate, you’re left with Sodium chloride in the water, at higher concentrations then desired.
Are you dosing anything else for your reef health (carbon dosing, aminos, etc.)?
Occasionally, I test Potassium and dose food-grade Potassium chloride. I also dose some iodide as it’s always low in my system and strontium as ICP often shows that a bit low. I do this haphazardly but conservatively, basically when I look and see the bottles in my sump and even then, just a splash, as some is better than none.
Lighting Summary and Objectives
Radions run standard AB+ spectrum through main photoperiod, modified slightly at nighttime towards heavier blue or UV and less white
Photoperiod:
- Display tank: Radions ramp from 0930 @ 5% to 40% @ 1100 to 100% @ 1200 Reef Brites 1200-1900. Radions run bluer from 1900-1930 and then go deep UV and highlighted until 2130 and off at 2200 so major photo period from around 1200-2100
- Grow-out tank:
- Refugium: Inverse photo period 12h
Filtration and Water Quality Summary and Objectives:
Filter socks are left in place to collect particulates. Sump is siphoned for detritus monthly. Occasionally, food grade calcium carbonate (sold sometimes as marine snow) is mixed up and dosed to clear water and kill vermetid snails
What is your export strategy?
Water changes are the main method as well as coral consumption. Occasional GFO usage. Refugium is being started up with chaeto but as of yet no effect. The tank has been climbing slowly enough over these 2 and a half years to not yet need anything beyond this and I hope to turn the tide with the chaeto.
What is your maintenance routine?
- Daily - when needed, daily testing of parameters that are swinging such as alk or calcium
- Weekly - weekly 20-30% water change, 2 or 3x / week glass cleaned with magnet cleaner, refill kalkwasser 30 gallon tub weekly to every 10 days, weekly backup check on Alk, Ca, PO4
- Other - monthly check of potassium, magnesium, nitrate. Monthly fragging or coral trimming. Monthly cleaning of powerheads in food grade citric acid. Quarterly cleaning of protein skimmer pump, return pumps, overflow skimmer, snap loc lines and RFG in citric acid.
Tank Inhabitants - Fish:
- 3x pyramid butterfly fish
- Niger trigger
- Yellow tang
- Purple tang
- Desjardini tang
- Yellow belly Blue Hippo tang
- Bluelip bristletooth tang (Ctenochaetus cyanocheilus)
- Pintail wrasse male
- 6x Bimaculatis anthias
- 10x green chromis
- Biota captive-bred regal angel
- Mated pair biota captive-bred mandarin dragonettes
- Pair percula clownfish
Tank Inhabitants - Coral:
- TSA Bill Murray acropora
- JF TNT anacropora
- Immortal tort acropora
- Vivid Confetti acropora
- TGC Cherry bomb acropora
- MCC Prom Queen/Pink Highlighter acropora
- ARC Fireworks acropora
- JF Homewrecker acropora
- Vivid’s insanity acropora
- LRO Buzz Lightyear acropora
- Beach bum montipora
- Rainbow chalice
- TSA Carolina reaper acropora
- PC Rainbow acropora
- CC Blazing Rainbow millepora
- JF Fox Flame acropora
- WWC Little Red Ferrari acropora
- Hawkins echinata acropora
- UC Reign of Fire acropora
- Cali tort acropora
- Solar flare mille acropora
- TGC acrolandia acropora
- JF Jolt acropora
- Bubblegum digitata
- Reverse prism favia
- Ironman goniopora
- Orange and green encrusting montipora
- Christmas tree montipora
- Red with green mouth blastomussa
- TSA Fruity pebbles acropora
- Walt Disney acropora
- Mummy Eye chalice
- Vivid rainbow acropora
- TCK Pikachu acropora
- Oregon tort acropora
- Bali green slimer acropora
- CBB Maleficent acropora
- RMF Candyland
- ORA frogskin acropora
- RRU Angry Birds acropora
- Rainbow stag acropora
- Defugium’s Reef Morning Star acropora
- Avatar chalice
- Red dragon
- RRC Goldenrod anacropora
- Cleaner shrimp
- Indonesian turbo snails
- Banded trochus snails
- Nassarius snails
- Bumblebee snails
- Hermit crabs
Fish and Coral Feeding:
Dual feeders; Plank autofeeder with a mix of mostly freeze dried BRS mysis and calanus, TDO pellets medium, Hikari Seaweed extreme pellets, blood worms freeze dried, Reef Jerky; Eheim autofeeder with mysis shrimp. The idea is that the plank does constant small feeds throughout the day for my high metabolism fish (anthias and chromis) and the Eheim helped more timid feeders get a fully belly such as the pintail wrasse, my now lost copperband butterfly, and regal angel.
How did you decide what to keep in your tank?
Really, I have been admiring others’ tanks for so many years, I knew what all the most beautiful fish to my eye were, that didn’t cause lots of trouble and I just made an effort to seek them out. In addition, some helpful experts such as Matt Wandell, a local and expert in anthias care, guided me towards my anthias choice.
Any stocking regrets?
Copperband butterflies are one that I feel remorse about owning, but also desire to try again. Mine lasted about a year, and when I heavily fed the tank, it seemed okay, but when I left for vacation recently, it became emaciated when I wasn’t there to help hand feed it more (which it did with frozen mysis or bloodworms) or to help shake the freeze dried mysis through the screen from the Eheim autofeeder.
Any fish, invert, or coral you will NEVER keep?
I will never put zoas in my SPS tanks again as they are so hard to contain. The same goes for anemones as my strain of RBTAs which I keep in my coral QT like to split frequently at a small size and colonize new spaces. I once tried to bring them in and they quickly started to crawl around the starboard.
What do you love most about the hobby?
What I love most about it is that the effort I put in, I get back out. The harder I try to maintain everything in stable conditions, through regular testing, regular powerhead cleaning, water changes, and general care, the more I see in growth and color in my tank. Fiddling with things tends not to help, but maintaining stability seems to be rewarded. And honestly, I can hardly walk past my tank or go to bed at a regular time without watching the colors go deep blue and the fluorescence glow on my acropora’s tips. It’s a nearly fatal attraction I have to it but it rewards me with a feeling of accomplishment when I see my animals growing and thriving in their small slice of home reef.
How long have you been doing this?
On and off for 22+ years.
Who was responsible for getting you into the hobby?
My father and brother. I cover this pretty well in my background thread.
Who or what in the hobby most influences/inspires you?
The corals themselves are what inspire me. The colors on a fully colored acropora are a goal one can hardly ever reach as they can only be viewed from above, with the right color of light, at the right stage in its development. It’s an endless pursuit of perfection and improvement that doesn’t know what boredom is that defines the hobby for me. I also grew up reading Reef of the Month and aspiring to one day have all of my ducks in a row to attempt a tank like I had seen others accomplish. The nearly endless amount of knowledge one can incorporate to further their practice of the hobby is also a huge draw to me. If it could be “completed”, it would lose its luster to me. This hobby allows for endless growth. It’s what we aim for in our coral and for me, in my practice of the hobby.
If you could have any tank, what size would it be and why?
225g. Of course I would love to own every beautiful strain of acropora in the world, or every species of fish including ones that can’t be in my system, but realistically, I have a career, a family, and can only devote about 225 gallons worth of my time to a leisurely pursuit.
Favorite fish?
Biota Regal angel
Favorite coral?
JF Jolt. The colors on this coral are unreal when viewed from above with some orange glasses.
Favorite invert?
My cleaner shrimp has endless funny antics as it tries to entice the fish for a cleaning
How do you typically get over setbacks?
Knowing that giving up is not an option as deep as I’ve gone and that the sun will rise again.
Have you faced any major challenges with this particular tank, and if so, how did you overcome?
I recently, just last month, found my calcium at somewhere north of 600 or 700 ppm. This was due to my accidentally putting my calcium solution into my part c doser and double-dosing Calcium. This has caused the tank to not look it’s best this summer and fall. After a month of attempting to stop all calcium dosing to bring it back under control, I finally noticed the precipitate in my Part C dosing container and began to bring it back down to where it is now at 460 ppm.
Maxspect Gyre pumps. They move sheets of water like nothing else I’ve used.
What are your future plans for improvement/upgrade of the tank?
I plan to let this tank grow out as best it can. I would love to add a frag system to it somehow and be able to farm my corals better as I sometimes have to toss out excess growth which feels wrong but sometimes just necessary.
Any special tips for success or advice you'd like to share with other reefers?
Testing is paramount. Be repeatable in your test methods and learn about basic testing procedures such as the meaning of the word “meniscus”. Test often, more often than I’ve described myself as doing, until you have found stability in your dosing, and then don’t neglect it for too long so you don’t miss an event such as empty doser. Testing is the number one either under performed or incorrectly performed part of this hobby to me. The tools you use for testing are important too. I use hanna for Alk, PO4, and NO3. I use salifert for everything else. Salinity I highly recommend testing with a Tropic Marin floating hydrometer as it’s the one type of instrument that is downright hard to get out of calibration.
Final Thoughts:
As I said, I’ve grown up reading Tank of the Month posts and am so grateful to have been selected for this month’s. Thanks to all that have been freely providing their insights and knowledge to all of us for so long, and to those who have inspired the dreams to spend all the effort we all spend trying to make a little living piece of art in our own homes.
