A lot can change in a couple of years. Back in December of 1999, my small college reef aquarium was featured in Aquarium Frontiers.
At the time, I lived in a small apartment with a college student’s small budget. But I managed to keep some nice corals and other inverts by learning to keep things simple. I built a lot of things myself and went the do-it-yourself route as much as I could. I read a lot, constantly finding ways to do things so that I could keep costs to a minimum without compromising the health of my tank. I found that my studies in biology were also a great asset. Knowing the bigger picture allowed me to apply my ideas on a smaller scale. The well-known saying “less technology, more biology” definitely held true for my little tank. I also met with many local hobbyists who were gracious enough to offer me further advice, as well as free coral frags (another way to save money).
I graduated the following month, and it was time for me and my reef to hit the real world. So I packed my corals and fish into the back of my car and moved across the country to settle into a new job and a larger apartment. After several months of hard work, I felt it was time to treat myself to a larger tank. My corals were also beginning to get crowded. I decided on a 75-gallon reef-ready tank, which was a huge step up from my 37 gallon tank. I felt prepared for such an upgrade from the years of research I’ve done on this hobby.
I decided to get a powerful protein skimmer (an ETS) as my first change. I had always been of the opinion that low skimming results in a greater biodiversity of filter feeders, but I thought it was time to stray from that theory. I learned from reading several articles and talking with other reefkeepers that over-skimming can be compensated for by lots of feeding. Which brings me to another change: I decided to incorporate a lot of smaller-particle foods, such as cryo-preserved phytoplankton and rotifer substitutes. I find the smaller fauna very interesting and I hope this feeding regimen will produce a greater variety of them. I think the most important thing that I carried over from my old tank was a refugium. I grow various macroalgaes in it to help the uptake of phosphates and other nutrients.
I liked the lighting combination that I had on my old 37 gallon reef, so I went with two 250-watt Iwasaki metal halides. I like them without supplemental actinics. Originally I used B-ionic to replenish the calcium and carbonate hardness, but it proved to be expensive for the larger tank. I also noticed that the calcium would drop below 400 ppm just 12 hours after dosing the B-ionic, so I moved on to 24-hour kalkwasser dosing. As a result, I noticed much steadier growth in my small-polyped stonies, which I believe was a result of a more consistent calcium level. This constant dosing became tedious after a while, so I decided it was time for a calcium carbonate reactor. They were a bit out of my price range, but a fellow hobbyist named George Weber was kind enough to build one for me at a much more affordable price. It is probably the best investment I have ever made in my tank. It keeps the parameters rock steady, and allows me to sit back and watch everything grow.
As my reef has grown to a larger scale, my interests and involvement have also grown. I have developed a greater concern for the hobby in general, and particularly for captive propagation. Many of the coral frags given to me by other hobbyists have matured into nice colonies, so I now have the opportunity to share the fruits of my efforts with other reefkeepers. I also decided to take a more active role in the social aspects of this hobby. I joined a local reef club (www.atlantareefclub.org) and have been trying to share as much of my experience as possible, as well as take the opportunity to learn from other members of the club. If there is a reef club near you, join it. If there isn’t, start one. They are such a valuable asset to this hobby.
Reefkeeping is a great way to meet new friends. After moving to Atlanta I had a difficult time meeting new people. In school, I was surrounded by people my own age with similar interests, so meeting people was easy. I’ve discovered how much harder this is in the real world. Fortunately, my hobby has blessed me with the opportunity to meet lots of new folks with the same interests. I am truly grateful for that.
Below is the usual detailed list of my set up and inhabitants.
Tank: 75 gallon All-Glass Reef-Ready aquarium.
Sump: 20 gallon long. It is partitioned to contain a skimmer and a refugium. The refugium is lit on a reverse daylight cycle.
Lighting: two 250-watt Iwasaki 6500k metal halides run by two PFO ballasts.
Filtration: a 4-inch deep sand bed, weekly Caulerpa harvesting and an ETS skimmer modified with a Beckett Fountainhead.
Corals: Acropora sp., Pocillopora sp., Montipora sp., Sarcophyton sp., Alcyonium sp., Xenia sp., Caulastrea sp., Trachyphillia geoffroyi, Pletogyra sinuosa, Fungia sp., Scolymia wellsi, Turbinaria reniformis, Clavularia sp. Muriceopsis flavida, Plexaura sp., Entacmaea quadricolor (who has split four times!).
Fish: Amphiprion ocellaris, Zebrasoma xanthurum, Cryptocentrus cinctus (“Yellow Dude” is still a people watcher), and a mated pair of Pterapogon kauderni.
Other inverts: one Strombus gigas, two Holothuria cucumbers, a few hermits and Astrea snails. There are also many amphipods, copepods, polychaetes, Stomatella snails and Nerite snails.
Overall, it is very rewarding to see the fish and other organisms that were with me through college and have traveled beyond school in my tank. Moving across the United States with a car-full of corals and fish—at the end of January—was about the most stressful thing I have ever done. Especially when my car broke down! But as I look at my tank, and my old friends within it, I realize that it was worth it. I hope they continue to grow with me for many more years to come.