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Kentucky Reef Society
Featured Tank
Joesreef 210 Gallon Reef Tank
Concept:
I have always had a great desire for the ocean since I was a young boy. I started out in the hobby a few years ago with a small 55 gallon tank Fish only. After debating with my wife, I decided to put a small 75 gallon salt water tank in my basement. So, I decided to check with the LFS to see what they could get me. After a few weeks of looking I ended up with a 210 AGA aquarium but, I had nowhere to put it. After going to Belterra Casino for work, I decided to tear a wall down and add a wall in my basement. I pretty much winged the whole project, making decisions as I went along, this being my first real reef tank. To get by as cheaply as I could, I started out with the basic equipment (later wishing I would have bought better equipment upfront) I wanted to build a reef tank that was as close to the ocean as I could get.
The Tank:
The total system volume is around 340 gallons. The main tank is 210 gallons, the sump is 55 gallons, and the refugium is 56 gallons and 24 gallons on the attached nano reef. The tank is viewable from 3 angles, the front, the side and the back. We wanted to put a little elegant flavor to the tank so we did all the woodwork in antique oak trim. We access the tank from the back through vented oak doors. The attached nano uses the same water and is plumbed inside the walls for a clean look. All the electrical is run off 12 on-off switches built into the wall. Our main concern was trying to get a clean look and not have a lot of junk sitting around.
Filtration and Circulation:
My main return is powered by a mag drive 1800. The drain to the sump enters from the 2 returns in the main show tank and filters down onto 3 nice pieces of live rock, then into the second chamber that houses the chiller. The 1200 gph pump and the MRC 2 skimmer both pull water through and return to the second chamber at that point the water goes through to the third chamber which passes through a filter sponge to catch detritus. When the water hits the third chamber it runs through to the nano tank and back down through the refugium, returning to the sump. The only reactors I use are a MRC Calcium reactor and Carbon Reactor.
Circulation in the main tank is run by 4 Tunze 3200 gph pumps with a 7095 controller set on interval 2.
Heating and Cooling:
The tank is heated from nearly 2000 watts of light. Because of that we don’t use a heater of any kind…we keep a dehumidifier running 24-7-ON 3 HR CYCLES to help with the humity that a big tank like this causes. For cooling, we use an Arctica 1/3 hp digital chiller that is mounted under the nano in the wall…we use reverse lighting to try to keep the ph consistent when the main lights are on in the show tank the other lights are off, when the main show tank lights go out the nano & the refugium lights come on. I found this really helps keep the ph swing down!
Lighting:
For lighting I use 3 400 watt 10k Hamilton’s supplemented by 2 160 watt true blue vhos in the main tank. I run 1 150 watt 14k for the refugium lighting and 1 250 watt 14k Hamilton in the nano. Both the refugium and nano are on reverse lighting from the main tank.
Photoperiod:
The vhos come on at 7:00 a.m. and go off at 8:00 p.m. the 3-400 watt 10k’s come on at 12:00 a.m. and go off at 7:00 p.m. when the vhos go off the nano and refugium lights come on and go off when the vhos kick back on.
Inhabitants:
I have a variety of fish & Inverts; they get fed daily a mix of different foods.
Water parameters:
I have really took a lot of time to get my parameters to were I want them…I have spent countless months trying to get everything right on were they should be and after a year still working on it…
Closing:
This is a great sport and very fun. The best part about it is the challenge it portrays. I know people that have given up and
If there is one thing I can say, it is stay with it don’t give up, keep reading. The people on www.thereeftank.com are very helpful and can walk you through any problem that you may have. I have found that it is better to get the right equipment upfront and don’t shortcut because it will cost you more at the end.
The biggest attributes I have found in reef keeping are listed below in order of importance to me.
- Water quality
- Filtration
- Lighting
- Housekeeping
These 4 things to me have helped kick start my baby reef tank and hopefully someday I will have a mature reef like some of the other members we have on this forum.
I would like to thank the Reef Tank and its members for all there support & I appreciate being nominated “July 2007 Reef Tank of the Month”
Joe Henderson
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