Introduction
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I
am
a
stay
home dad that worked at channel
7 for almost 20 years, so i have more time than most to work on the
tank, BUT I
DONT, maintenance is still not fun no matter how much time I have.
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Hobby
History
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I
started
in
saltwater
back
in
the mid 80s and like most, had no idea what i was
doing, so I cut my loses and got out of it. In 2005 I started another
tank, it
was a 90 gallon with a wet/dry and 260w of lights, I quickly realized
that was
not enough lighting for what I wanted, so I started upgrading. I now
tell
people, "save and get what you really want because you will spend the
money
to get it eventually and by then you will have spent twice as much".
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Tank
Profile
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This
tank
is
a
125g
reef ready. I have a 50
gallon
sump/fuge with no filter foam, I run carbon and a MR-1 Protein Skimmer.
The
sump I added about a year or so ago and I have noticed a difference in
the
growth of my corals, it may have nothing at all to do with it, but they
have
been growing better since that time.
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Lighting
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Lighting
consists
of
2
400w Metal Halide's on each end and 1 175 Metal
Halide in the center. Bulbs are Radium on electronic ballasts.
The
middle
175 comes on first around 8:30am then the right side 400w about 15
minutes
later, and then the left side 15 minutes or so after that, then they go
off
right side, left side, center around 9pm the fuge light comes on around
8:30
goes off about 5 am.
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Maintenace
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I
only
change
about
25
gallons of water once a month, again against
everything I
have read but it works for me. I evaporate about 3-5 gallons a day,
which I replace
with ro/dI water.
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Calcium
and
Alkalinty
levels
are
mainted by
c-balance 2 part. I put about a 1/2 cup of each part in everyday. I at
one time only put it in every other day and my sps corals would not
stay alive,
then I had another member come over and looked at my tank and he
suggested that
I do it every day and BAM it worked. Addtionally
I
add
2
table
spoons of Coral Vite, Strontium with
Molybdenum and Essential Elements once a week on different days.
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Water
Circulation
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Water
movement
consits
of
2
return lines back into the tank and , 2 vortech
mp 40s, which I got last summer used and I love them, I replaced 8
power heads
with these 2 and it works great.
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Live
Stock
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The
fish
I
have
are
probably to many but I have always had to many, powder
blue
tang, yellow tang, carpenter wrasse, exquisite wrasse, mated pair of
false perc
clowns, 2 blue chromis, mystery wrasse, green mandarin, male and female
leopard
wrasse, Red Coris Wrasse, which is going when I get him out, cleaner
wrasse.
also I have a cleaner shrimp and a blood red fire shrimp. I have a lot
of corals
that I have no ideal what they are called sorry.
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Feeding
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I
feed
the
corals
dts and oyster eggs, and sometimes I
put in marine snow, I do this Monday Wednesday & Saturday. The fish
I feed
Spectrum and Formula Two Flake Food, Prime Reef Flake Foods Brine
Shrimp Plus
Flake Food all mixed together. I have no schedule for feeding just
whenever. I
have in the past had very high nitrates like off the charts high and
everything
still did great, maybe I was lucky.
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Future
Enhancements
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I
am
about
to
change out my tank for a new 125 and new stand
and canopy, and when I do that I want to redo the rock like have rock
towers
and see how that works, every time I see a tank like that I love the
rock work.
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Click
here
to
comment
or ask a question to Larry about his Reef Tank
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