| Simplicity Reef |
| This site has been created to document the set up of my latest reef tank. It will include tank specifacations, equipment list and descriptions, filtration, successes, mistakes, and inhabitants. |
| My experience: I have been involved in keeping reef tanks for over 15 yrs. My first reef was a 70 gal tank. Since then I have had a 65, 110, 180, and a 500, and now a 535. Over the years I have learned a wealth of knowledge, and since the "invention" of the internet, that knowledge base has grown tremendously. |
| My philosophy: It is my general thinking that this type of system can support a wide variety of life with a minimum of filtration devises. The most important aspects are lighting, circulation, protein skimming, and Calcium. |
| The tank was custome made to my specifacations. The dimensions are: 96" Long X 40" Deep X 32" High, and made out of 1" acrylic. I decided on these dimensions because the depth will give plenty of room for creative aquascaping and allow for some some open space for water flow, and the height will give a large viewing area. The length is the longest I could make it due to the place I am putting it. It was ordered without overflows or any holes drilled. When I ordered the tank I had not finished planning yet, so I drilled the tank myself. |
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| Equipment: Lighting: Currently I have 6 metal halide bulbs mounted in 2 rows, 12" above the water surface. The front row has 3, 400 watt 20,000K XM bulbs powered by Blueline electronic ballasts. The back row has 3, 250 watt 6500K bulbs powered by Blueline electronic ballasts. I am very happy with this combination. The 6500K bulbs by themselves give off a white light with a tint of yellow. I personally do not mind the color, but they did not bring out the colors in the corals and coroline algae. The 20,000K bulbs when first fired were very blue. Over time they have lightened a little. I find them to be too blue for my liking to be used exclusivly. I am very happy with the appearance of the tank with the combination of bulbs. Protein Skimmer: I am using an Aerofoamer 848 from www.reefconcepts.com I am very happy with this skimmer. Currently I have 2 Iwaki 100 pumps running this skimmer. I believe in a lot of flow through a skimmer. 1pump powers a beckett injector, the other pump powers a venturi injector. I cannot notice any difference in the bubble size or output of the 2 injectors. I will do somemore testing later on. Calcium Reactor: Currently I am using a DIY reactor. It is made from 4" pvc, 2.5' tall, and holds 40 lbs of crushed coral. I run about 1.5 bubbles per second and the efluent is a small trickle. Return Pump: I am using a Dolphin 5600. The sumps are located in a crawl space under the tank and the head height is 11'. The flow at this head height is approx. 4500 gal/hr, according to Dolphin. Sumps: Currently I have 2 sumps. Water drains from the tank and enters the 1st sump, a rubbermaid 100 gal stock tank. This tanks contains some live rock and bubble baffle. The water then overflows into the 2nd sump, a rubbermaid 150 gal. stock tank. This tank contains liverock, a small container where I keep frags, and lit by a 175 watt 5500k metal halide. |