Welcome to My Reef Tanks

Tank

The tank was started in January of 1997.  It is a custom 350 gallon glass aquarium (96"L x 26"W x33"H).  It is viewable through three sides.  The tank sits on a stand which I built out of 4"x4" and finished it with painted panels and some trim.  It is located in my office against a wall which has a cut out that is 74"L x 30"H.  It can be viewed through this cut out from the family room.  The effect is that of a picture frame. From the office I can look through the tank which provides a clear view through the family room and out to our lake.  

Filtration

Under the cabinet there is a 75gallon sump which has a plenum sand bed that has been undisturbed since 1997.  There is around 3-4" of sand of the larger CaribSea grade.  I also have a DIY downdraft hybrid thing-a-majig that I built.  I figured that since I was going to have all of this water flow pumped into the tank and returning into the sump, why not try to use it by driving  it into the downdraft column and into the collection chamber of the skimmer.  In the worst case scenario I have provided plenty of gas exchange.   I can say that after running it for four or five years now I am pleased with the results.  The more I clean the cup and neck the better it works.  This isn't news to skimmer users,  but of course it will never be an ETS or similar type skimmer since it does not have a dedicated pump and nozzle that can drive the water with enough force to make the optimal bubble size... and so on and so on.  I really don't care, it provides it's benefits without using any extra energy to run it.

Lighting

Initially I configured 4 175W metal halides with 4 x 4foot VHO Actinics.  I then switched 3 of the 175W MH to 400W 10Ks.  About a year ago I switched the 3 400W 10Ks to 3 65K Iwasaki bulbs and the four actinics where swapped out for 4 6 foot actinics two of which I have yet to install.  I am not a big fan of the yellow tone given off by these lower temp bulbs but the corals seem to respond with good color under this light and I do prefer the intensity over the 10k bulbs.  The yellow color can be easily overcome by using Actinic VHOs.

Maintenance

I am a firm believer in water changes to supplement depleted elements and remove excess waste products. I typically change 10-15% every week.  Another reason for the water changes is that, since I like lots of large fish, my main system is unconventionally high on fish load for a mini reef.  They are also well fed which encourages frequent spawning.

Fish

Corals