simply_texan
Community Member
I bought this tank from a doctor several years ago. It has been set up and broken down several times due to life changing events.
It has been back up for a little over a year now. Went through the normal phases of diatoms and just finished with a nasty hair algae outbreak. A combination of manual removal, sea hare, tuxedo urchin, shorter MH light duration, and fluconazole knocked it out in a few weeks. I'm not a big fan of adding chemicals, but in my opinion, they work to keep things under control while you correct what was causing the issue in the first place.
As far as equipment goes, not much has changed since I had the tank set up 8 years ago. I thought about switching from MH/VHO to LED, but I just can't justify the cost at this time. Due to a large glass middle brace, lighting is kinda tricky.
I've run the tank with and without a skimmer in the past and personally have had better results and less headache without a skimmer. I might change my mind in the future, but for now...we're doin' it without!
The tank has a medium fish load which I feed once a day, alternating between frozen mysis and pellets/flakes. I feed corals 1-2 times per week with reef-roids or reef chili.
I am very fortunate that my wife has decided to join me in this hobby that I have enjoyed for the past 15 years. She wants a bigger tank!
Tank Specs:
200 Gallon Reef with dual overflow (diy hofer gurgle busters to cut down on noise)
300+ lbs rock
200 lbs aragonite sand
40 gallon sump with gfo/carbon reactor
20 gallon rubbermaid ato reservoir (usuall evaporate ~ 2 gallons/day)
No Skimmer
2 x 250 14k Metal Halides (6 hrs)
2 x 72" VHO actinics (12 hrs)
1 x 72" SB Reeflights Actinic Bar
1 Jebao pp15
1 Tunze 6105
Mix of LPS, SPS, Polyps, and Mushrooms
It has been back up for a little over a year now. Went through the normal phases of diatoms and just finished with a nasty hair algae outbreak. A combination of manual removal, sea hare, tuxedo urchin, shorter MH light duration, and fluconazole knocked it out in a few weeks. I'm not a big fan of adding chemicals, but in my opinion, they work to keep things under control while you correct what was causing the issue in the first place.
As far as equipment goes, not much has changed since I had the tank set up 8 years ago. I thought about switching from MH/VHO to LED, but I just can't justify the cost at this time. Due to a large glass middle brace, lighting is kinda tricky.
I've run the tank with and without a skimmer in the past and personally have had better results and less headache without a skimmer. I might change my mind in the future, but for now...we're doin' it without!
The tank has a medium fish load which I feed once a day, alternating between frozen mysis and pellets/flakes. I feed corals 1-2 times per week with reef-roids or reef chili.
I am very fortunate that my wife has decided to join me in this hobby that I have enjoyed for the past 15 years. She wants a bigger tank!
Tank Specs:
200 Gallon Reef with dual overflow (diy hofer gurgle busters to cut down on noise)
300+ lbs rock
200 lbs aragonite sand
40 gallon sump with gfo/carbon reactor
20 gallon rubbermaid ato reservoir (usuall evaporate ~ 2 gallons/day)
No Skimmer
2 x 250 14k Metal Halides (6 hrs)
1 x 72" SB Reeflights Actinic Bar
1 Jebao pp15
1 Tunze 6105
Mix of LPS, SPS, Polyps, and Mushrooms
Last edited:
