Firstly I'd just like to say thank-you for voting my tank as tank of the month. I've been keeping fish for over 25 years (Tropicals then Malawis) & got into Marines around 9 years ago with my first softie/LPS tank. I've been running this reef tank for 5 & a half years now with only a few changes. Adding a couple of 6100 Streams & a PH Controller for the reactor.

The specs for my new system (set up March 2002) are as follows:

Tank - 180cm x 60cm x 60cm (waterline) Deltec Panorama trend line
Cabinet - 180cm x 60cm x 75cm
Filter sump - 125cm x45cm x 31cm with sand bed modification
Eco-cooler 44 watt with thermostat controller
Turbo 1060 skimmer
Filter pump HLP 5250
Closed loop Interval pump HLP 5250
An additional Eheim 1262 on closed loop
Calcium reactor PF500
Kalkwasser stirrer Km 500 UK
Auto top-up 54 litre kit
Second dry chamber
Suction pipe, pressure pipe & reef flushing pipe
Arcadia series '3' triple 250watt unit with 2 x 5' marine blue actinics. The lamps have been changed to 10k BLV's. Additional 1 x 150cm marine white tube with cover at rear.

Additional equipment added later consist of:

Secondary de-gassing chamber for calcium reactor
Rena auto-food dispenser
Tunze Stream circulation pumps - 2-off
PH controller

The Sump - The water flows down into the sump compartment where it tees off to 2 pipes. One pipe delivers water to my eco-cooler via a rotating spray-bar which then exits to flow over my dsb and then into the skimmer compartment. The 2nd pipe delivers water directly into the skimmer compartment and has a ball valve fitted to control the level of water in the weir.

The Sandbed - The walls to this compartment were initially 4" high which resulted in a slight sand overspill into the skimmer compartment. Sand was also washed out of the bed to a certain extent by water flow emptying from a return pipe (the 2nd pipe as mentioned above). This problem was rectified by increasing the height of the sand bed walls to 5.25" high with acrylic extensions and repositioning the return pipe to empty into the skimmer compartment. This has given me a sand depth of around 4"

As you can see I have place numerous pieces of live rock into the sump to help populate the sand bed with benficial critters. There are now sizeable populations of Bristle-worms, Mini-Brittle-Stars, Amphipods & Copepods. I have also re-located my Cerianthus Tube-worm here to keep it from accidentally stinging livestock in the main tank. It also makes feeding it a lot easier.

I've had a few issues with the reactor over the years but with a few modifications here and there it's running well. Problems & fixes:-

1, The Reactor is designed to 'fluidise' the media (Rowalith 'C') but invariably some of the fine grit always finds its way into the Aquamedic 2000 pump stopping it or worse causing damage to the internal rotor bore. I have had to replace a pump due to this. I now use Aquamedic hydo-Carbonate (large grain size) this doesn't fluidise & works much better.

2, The re-fill hole at the top is so small. Best to use a funnel with the small end cut-off. The Reactor needs re-filling about every 2 months.

3, The noise of the co2 as it passes through the pump. I got around this by re-routing the tubing so the co2 gets introduced after the pump & not before. CO2 is set at around 90 bubbles/min. I have also added a second needle-valve which gives me greater control over the bubble-rate. This is screwed onto the top of the reactor.

The best thing I ever did was to add a PH Controller to the system. I just dial a PH value of 6.4 into the controller & a probe in the reactor gives a constant PH reading. The controller turns a solenoid on & off to allow more co2 into the reactor as & when required to maintain a PH of 6.4 so simple. Reactor effluent is around 40 dkh running at a PH of around 6.4 with Aquamedic Hydrocarbonate coarse grade media. This is also used in a 2nd de-gassing chamber.

The Eco-cooler, 44 watt with thermostat controller, is gravity fed from the display tank. The water flows down into the sump compartment where it tees off to 2 pipes - one of which delivers water to my eco-cooler via a rotating spray-bar. This sprays the water over a rolled-up filter mat. Two axial fans then cool the water as it drips through the filter media. This then exits to flow over my dsb and into the skimmer compartment.

The 2nd pipe delivers water directly into the skimmer compartment and has a ball valve fitted to control the level of water in the weir.

The Stirrer is fed from my top-up tank via a small pump actuated by my float-valve.I have quite a high evaporation rate due to my eco-cooler so the output from my top-up tank is split. This is tee'd off as in the pic so half the RO water goes through the stirrer & the other half goes directly into the sump. This is done to prevent over-dosing of Kalk due to the high evaporation rate.

The stirrer runs 24/7 and I add about 12 scoops of Kalkwasser powder into the Stirrer every 2 weeks or when the level gets below 2cm's.

This unit has a programmable timer function. It has 3 x 250w 14k blv lamps & 2 x 40w T8 tubes. The front tube is an Arcadia Marine Blue & the rear a Marine White. There is an Additional Marine Blue T8 tube at the rear.

This Skimmer is so simple to set-up, you just sit it in the sump & plug in the 2 pumps. It has a compartment in which to place carbon & Phosphate remover. There is a large sponge pad at the output end which filters out any micro-bubbles which would otherwise end up in the main tank.

The venturi's draw air from outside, this is to prevent PH drop which could occurr if using stale air from indoors. My skimmer cup is emtied out every 3 days or as & when required.

Listed in order of frequency:

• Visual inspection at every opportunity. (Temp, PH etc...)
• Glass is cleaned every 2 days, sooner if guests are expected!
• The top-up tank requires filling with RO water every other day, probably my most arduous chore.
• My skimmer cup is emtied out every 3 days or as & when required.
• Rocks get a basting once a week to remove any detritus or nuisance algaes.
• Water tests are carried out every week or two, even more frequently for my frag tank which relies on buffers added to it on a daily basis.
  I undertake a 20% water change every 2 weeks if possible, sometimes 10% weekly.
• Sponges in my weir need rinsing out every 2 weeks.
• I add about 12 scoops of Kalkwasser powder into the Stirrer every 2 weeks or when the level gets below 2cm's.
• The Reactor needs re-filling with Rowalith 'C' about every 2 months.
• The Kalkwasser stirrer & Skimmer get a citric acid bath every 6 months.
• Will have to do the same to the Deltec pumps soon as I feel the performance is not as high as it used to be.

Nothing out of the ordinary really, just a good mix of frozen fare. Specifically:

• Brine shrimp - Omega-7 Hufa enriched as well as Spirulina enriched.
• Krill Pacifica - My Majestic Angel's favorite.
• Mysis shrimp.
• Squid.
• Whole Cockle.
• Marine Mix.
• Lance fish.

I feed one cubes of any of the above in the mornings. Being fairly coarse in size it get eaten quite quickly so I don't bother turning off my return pump.

• Cyclops.
• Red Plankton.
• Fine Mussel.

Home-Blend, a mix of all the above foods including the coarse ones. I put these into the blender add Kent Zoe, Zoecon, Marine De Lux and Cellpharms Reef Phyto. Once blended I pour the soup into margerine tubs & freeze, this is then later broken up into suitable sized chunks. I feed these finer foods at night just before the halides go off. I have to switch my return pump off otherwise all the particles would choke the sponges which fill my weir box. This is also a good time to feed my sump which usually gets some pellets or half a cube, the worms etc.. go crazy.... I leave the skimmer off for an hour or so & just have one circulation pump running in the tank at this time.

• Ocean Nutrition pellets - 2 types.
• Ocean Nutrition flake.
• Kent pellet food - Carnivore & Herbivore.

The Cellpharms Reef Phyto comes in little dropper bottles of super concentrate. This has to be kept frozen. I make it up by filling a Kent Phytoplex bottle with tank water, add 9 drops of concentrate & shake. This can go straight into the tank or kept in the fridge for later use. My Sun Coral gets target fed once a day using a turkey baster, it's a good idea to give the shrimps something prior to this to keep them occupied. I also feed the Cerianthus Anemone & my Bubble Coral at least once a week with a good portion of Lance fish or Cockle. The Cerianthus also picks up whatever else floats by.

Cycop-eeze is the latest food that I've tried feeding to the fish & Inverts. The fish go mad for it although how much they actually consume could be debated as it's a very fine powder type food. It's too early to say how the corals are responding but keep watching this space!

Just to add, I've found I get a much better response from using the frozen Cyclop-eeze. You just dip it straight into the tank & thaw off as much as required.

Probably the most inportant aspect of any reef-tank. To keep a stable environment it is essential to test & maintain the following parameters. I tend to use the Salifert range of test kits as I find them fairly reliable & easy to use.

I undertake a 20% water change every 2 weeks if possible, sometimes 10% weekly. The salt I use at the moment is Kent salt. This has a fairly high Magnesium content which is just what I need to try & maintain the level above 1200mg/l. Other salts I use are Reef Crystals & Instant Ocean.

Temp set at 27C & controlled with the Deltec Eco-cooler, at the height of summer temp reached 28.6C

My Nitrates are currently at a fairly high level between 25 & 40. I believe this is due to the age of the system & a decline in beneficial bacteria. My future plan is to try to boost the bacterial population using the 'Ultra' bio & bak additives.

My stock has changed dramatically over the years & I like to think that I have learned from earlier mistakes. My personal conclusion is that Angels are a definite no-no when it comes to reef-tanks. Having kept a Majestic,Regal,Flame & a Coral Beauty in my time I am happy to say that since their removal my corals have never looked better or polyp extension as good as it is now.

I currently have:

• 1 Powder Blue
• 1 Yellow Tang
• 1 Mystery Wrasse
• 5 Bartletts Anthias
• 5 Royal Grammas
• 1 Bangaii Cardinal
• 7 Chromis
• 1 pair of True Percula Clowns
• 1 pair of Orange Skunk Clowns

Tons of SPS with LPS catching up fast.....

• 1 Red Serpent Star
• 1 Minstrel Serpent Star
• 1 Gold Nugget Serpent Star
• 1 Blue Linkia
• 1 Sand sifter
• 5 Mexican Turbo snails
• 5 Trochus
• 5 Hermits
• 6 Tiger-tail Cucumbers (started with one)
• 2 Fighting Conches

Well that's about it for now. My main concerns are getting my Nitrayes lower & I aim to do it hopefully using the Ultrabio/bak products rather then using a reductor. Cutting feeding levels has indicated a drop in Nitrates but has to be done carefully keeping an eye on fish health.

Another plan for the future is to swap my lighting system & go for Luminarc reflectors with electronic ballasts. This would save some electricity & also give me a much wider spread of light.