What a surprise! I had certainly not though that I would be nominated for TOTM, especially as the tank is still so new at only 5 months to date… It is however really fantastic to be nominated and a big thank you to those that thought it worthy.

I have been keeping fresh water tropicals for most of my life and 2 years ago took the plunge into marines, to say it has been a steep learning curve is definitely an understatement. This is my second marine system, and the first custom designed and built with a lot of input from Nick Jones (this system is based on his design) and Kevin Douglas who also assembled the tank and helped tweak the final designs. Majority of the livestock is from my old tank.

Living in a small mid-terraced property is not really the ideal home for a largish marine system and the lack of garage and space is certainly an issue. In order to get the system as quiet as possible, I wanted all of the ‘running gear’ located outside of the house. As we do not have a garage, this had to be accommodated in a shed at the back of the house.

The Main Display Tank (71”L x 33”W x 28”H, 12mm float glass)
The main display tank is approximately 1000 litres and gets its flow requirements from 4 Sequence 10,000 closed loop pumps. These are located below the display tank and provide a surging action with the aid of a deflection plate set at 45 degrees on the back glass as well as flushing the back of the reef at the same time, thereby preventing detritus building-up. Two of the pumps run 24-7, with the other two on a random pulse creating the surge effect from the back of the reef towards the front glass and back down through the reef. This simulates a back reef biotope. There is an external weir on the RHS of the tank, this has two 40mm adjustable standpipes that flow through the wall and out to the shed. The weir is fed through 3 drilled holes at surface level of the main tank. The tank stand is constructed out of pine with a 25mm external ply board for the base. The finish is then clad in solid oak.

The Shed contains a custom made mechanical filter box that houses a 7” diameter by 27” long filter sock. This filter box acts as a sump for the feed pump (Ehiem 1260) that supplies the chiller, then UV (if needed) and then into the skimmer. The externally mounted skimmer then overflows into the fuge tank. The filter box also has an overflow and the water that is not directed towards the skimmer also overflows to the fuge tank. The shed also houses the kalk stirrer, calcium reactor with pH controller, RO unit, RO top-up tank, lighting ballasts for the main display, IKS, and carbon fluidiser.

The Fuge Tank (47”L x 20”W x 16”H, 6mm float glass)
The fuge tank is approximately 250 litres and has a thin mud bed and a slow throughflow of about 4500 litres/hour. I have both caulerpa and chaeto growing. Lighting is supplied by a Deltec MegaTwin 2x39W T5 lighting unit. I am currently experimenting with ricordea ‘farming’ and I have designated about half the fuge to this project. I have located the IKS probes in the high flow area at the overflow of the fuge.
The water from the fuge then flows back through the house wall and into the second display tank that is located below the main display, offset to allow space for the main displays' closed loop sequence pumps.

The Second Display Tank (43”L x 24”W x 24”H, 10mm float glass)
This tank was included in the system design purely to enable me to keep my lionfish without running a separate system, yet keeping them out of the main display tank. This has a weir on the LHS which is where the water is returned to the main tank. This area is where the auto top-up optical sensor is located and RO water is supplied from the top-up tank in the shed, through the wall into this weir.

All in all, there is a total volume of about 1700 litres.

The stainless steel lighting rig on the Main Display Tank was designed with ease of access into the tank in mind and the entire unit can be swung away from above the tank. For more remedial tasks that don’t require access to the rear of the tank, the actinics are mounted on sliders that enable them to be pushed away allowing unhindered access. It consists of 3 x 250W halides and 2x80W T5 actinics. These are controlled by the IKS unit and the halides are staggered at 10 minute intervals. This limits the light shock on the fish as well as preventing too much of a power spike in one hit. Halides are lit for 9 hours per day with the actinics lit for 12 hours. The halides are single ended CoralVue 14k’s, housed in Luminarc III reflectors with the remote electronic Coralvue Ballasts being housed outside in the shed. The actinic ballast is mounted on the swing-out arm of the lighting unit as to keep the T5 lead lengths within the required range.

I also have a set of blue LEDs running at night. These provide a pleasant glow from the tank as well as preventing the fish getting spooked in the dark and possibly jumping out.

The stainlThe Second Display tank is supplied by an Aqua Medic OceanLight 150+ lighting unit utilising 1 x 150W halide and 2 x 20W T5 actinics. This controlled by simple plug-in timers with the same lighting period as the main display.

As above the main display utilises a surge system with 4 manifold fed Sequence 10,000 closed loop systems. The second display tank has 2 Seios.

Water is returned to the main tank with a Red Dragon 6,500 litre pump and factoring in shock losses, I get about 4,500 litres/hour circulation through the system.

Filtration is based on lots of good quality live rock and heavy skimming, as well as the caulerpa and chaeto. I also run a 100 micron filter sock located in the shed which helps a bit with the larger solids and prevents the fuge from getting buried in detritus.

I change the filter on Wednesday and Sunday evenings. I have a few of these filter socks, and when dirty, I just turn them inside out and toss them in the washing machine for a few cycles without any detergent.

I have about 200kg of liverock in the system and the skimming is taken care of by a Grotech HEA250 skimmer. About half of the rock consists of man-made, Indonesian rock. I have an ozone generator, but am waiting for the tank to mature a bit more before connecting to the skimmer. I also run a fluidised carbon filter for a few hours a day. This is just to aid the removal of toxins produced by the soft corals and limit their damage to the sps and lps. I have a stocking filled with Fauna Marin Ultraphos to absorb any phosphate in the system. This is located in the filter sump.

Both heating and cooling are controlled by the IKS. I run the tank at 25.5 degrees in summer and will reduce this to 25 degrees in winter. There are 4 x 300W Titanium Schego heaters located in the second display tank. These also act as the earthing point for the entire system.

The chiller, located in the shed, is a Teco R680. I supplement the cooling with a desk fan mounted above the main display tank which is also controlled by the IKS.

I run a Deltec PF601 calcium reactor with Aqua Medic Hydrocarbonate media as well as a AquaMedic 5000 Kalk stirrer to help stabilise the pH within the system and supply the calcium requirements.

I have been adding 15ml of Iodine each week, slowly raising the level within the system. I have now reached where I think it should be and will lower the dose and start doing more frequent testing to ensure that I don’t overdose. I rely on water changes to keep the rest in check.

Majority of the system is controlled by an IKS head unit with 4 plugbars. I also use the unit to monitor the pH, salinity, temperature and RO top-up tank water level. This reports to an external display mounted on the side of the aquarium stand.

RO top-up is taken care of by a Tunze Osmolator.

I run a separate Aqua Medic pH controller to run the calcium reactor. The second display tank lighting is controlled by standard mechanical plug timers.

For biological control, I use a pulsing xenia coral in my sump to indicate if my iodine levels are low. I find this very effective as it stops ‘pulsing’ if the level drops to low.

I feed my tank quite heavily with a mix of spectrum pellets, Delicasea flakes and frozen (3 blocks) in the morning. I then feed a mix of Spectrum pellets and frozen in the evening (5 blocks). I constantly add nori when I am around to keep the tangs happy.

The frozen foods that I use include the following: Cyclops, Brineshrimp, Krill, Lobster eggs, Diced Mussel, Krill, Mysis, Cockle, Red Plankton

I feed the lionfish every second day with a piece of lancefish or cockle.

I spent a lot of time during the design stage to ensure that all equipment was easily accessible and easy to maintain. It feels like I am always doing something on the system, but often it is just messing around and trying new concepts.

I have developed quite a routine now and the do the following on a weekly basis.

Change the solids filter sock on Wednesdays and Sundays, clean the skimmer on Sundays and add any additives if required.

I try to carry out water samples on a regular basis, but I must admit that it is not my strong point. I change the carbon once a month and the phosphate media when I start getting readings.

Other than that, it is just a daily glass clean with a magfloat. I use a razor blade every few weeks to remove the stubborn algae near the substrate.

I try to carry out a water change every month. This is the biggest problem for me as I do not have the space for a water change tank. I therefore need to lug a 220l drum into the lounge for a few days a month while it fills and mixes.

Where do I start? I seem to be plagued by poor equipment and problems with suppliers. In the first few months, I really struggled with the Sequence pumps. The build quality was really poor and some of the issues are; rusting bearings, leaking seals, damaged fans, and the noise! Although, it has now mostly been rectified.

I was using a Deltec skimmer from my old tank that was too small for the system. I then swiched to a Grotech for this system.

As already mentioned, the media in the calcium reactor turned to mush and was pumped into the tank. This caused what I can only describe as ‘burning’ of the tips of the sps. Last week I also had my Ratz Kalkwasser stirrer go a bit moggy and dump almost its entire contents into the tank in one evening. Pushing the pH up to almost 10! I carried out a water change and after a few days it was back to normal. I have lost one of my large acro colonies due to this. I have now replaced this with a new AquaMedic 5000 kalk stirrer.

I had to remove my original Copperband Butterflyfish as it was pecking at my Open Brain coral. I did a direct swap for a juvenile at a LFS which has been very good for a few months until yesterday I noticed it pecking at the same Brain. It needs to be removed too. I have some aptasia issues in my second display, so it will be relegated to the smaller tank.

I am also battling with an anemone that has not settled yet. It moves a little every other week and I have to continually move corals away from it. As soon as it rears its base out of the reef, I will remove it from the system.

I like my fish and I am sure that I have way too many for a sps and lps dominated system. I have been battling with whitespot on my Powder Blue since moving him from the old tank after he got a bit of ‘net rash’. I also have to endure a bit of nipping of polyps by my Multibarred Angel, but I feel that such a stunning fish can get a bit of leeway in that department.

In the Main Display Tank
Mysteri Wrasse Pseudocheilinus ocellatus	Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse Labroides Dimidiatus	Multibarred Angel Paracentropyge Multifasciata
Flame Angel Centropyge Ioricula	Coral Beauty Centropyge Bispinosa	Purple Tang Zebrasoma Xanthurum
Yellow Tang Zebrasoma Flavescens	Powder Blue Surgeonfish Acanthurus Leucosternon	Caribbean Tang Acanthurus Coeruleus
Goldring Brisstletooth, Pacific form Ctenochaetus Strigosus	Royal Gramma Gramma Loreto	Swalesi Basslet Liopropoma swalesi
Lyretail Anthias x8 Pseudanthias Squamipinnis	Blue-Green Chromis x3 Chromis Viridis	Copperband Butterflyfish Chelmon Rostratus
Neon Goby Gobiosoma Oceanops	Yasha Goby with pistol shrimp Stonogobiops yasha	Yellow Shrimp Goby with pistol shrimp Cryptocentrus Cinctus
Rainford’s Goby Amblygobius Rainfordi	Tailspot Blennie Ecsenius stigmatura	Jewelled Blennie Istiblennius Chrysospilos
Bicolor Blennie Ecsenius Bicolor	Canary Blennie Meiacanthus oualanensis	Ocullaris Anemonefish mated pair x2 Amphiprion Ocellaris
Ocullated Dragonet Synchiropus Ocellatus		Regal Damselfish Chrysiptera hemicyanea

In the Second Display Tank
Antenatta Lionfish (Pterois Antennata)	Fuzzy Dwarf lionfish, rare yellow variant (Dendrochirus Brachypterus)	Sixline Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus Hexataenia)
Jeweled Rockskipper (Salarias Fasciatus)		Yellowtail Blue Damselfish (Chrysiptera Parasema)

Majority of the corals in my tank have come from my old system. I have supplemented these with a few Bali aquacultured colonies, but have had mixed success with these (I think this is down to the tank being so new, rather than the quality of the corals themselves). I have tried to reach a balance between the lps and sps species as I find that to much sps looks a bit ‘motionless’. I have also kept a few of the soft corals from my old tank and they reside in the second display tank with the lionfishes.

My coral stock includes.

• Various Acropora sp
• Millipora
• Stylophora
• Seriatopora hystrix
• Pocillipora Damicornis
• Various Montipora (Danae, Capricornis, Confussia, Tuberculosa and Digitata)
• Porites sp
• Trumpet/candy cane Caulastrea sp
• Lobophyllia sp
• Euphyllia sp (Torch, Hammer and frogspawn)
• Various Zooanthus sp
• Various Coloured mushrooms (Discosoma sp, Actinodiscus sp, Rhodactis sp)
• Ricordia (Yuma and Florida)
• Fungia
• Leather corals (Sarcophyton sp, Lobophytum sp)
• Star polyps (Briareum stechei)
• Polyps (Clavularia sp.)
• Yellow Polyps ( Parazoanthus)

I am sure I have missed a lot too!

I have tried to find inverts that compliment the reef as much as possible, while still fulfilling a function within the system. Many of these are seldom visible, but I believe they are all helping to keep the system in balance.

I have the following invertebrates in the system
Various colour forms of Coral/Acro crabs (Trapezia sp.)
Various Hermit Crabs: Including Dwarf Tibicen, Zebras, Blue legs, Red legs, Halloween, Blue-knuckle and common algea
Various Snails: Including True Turbo (Turbo Castanea), Star Snail (Astrea Tecta and Astrea Caelata), Turban Snail (Trochus sp.), Money Cowries (Monetaria annulus), Nerites (Nerita sp.), Nassa Snail (Nassarius sp.), Cerith snail (Batillaria sp.), Dove Snail (Euplica Versicolor) and Stomatella (Stomatella Varia).
Heteractis Crispa anemone with hosting clowns	Bubble Tip Anemone (Entacmaea Quadricolor)	Abalone x3 (Haliotis Assinia)
Sally Lightfoot Crabs x2 (Percnon Gibbesi)	Porcelain Crab (Neopetrolisthes Maculatus)	Lettuce Slug (Elysia Diomedea)
Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata Amboinensis)	Fire Shrimp (Lysmata Debelius)	Peppermint Shrimp (Lysmata Wurdemani)
Boxer Shrimp (Stenopus sp. The smaller variety with purple legs)	Pistol Shrimp, each paired with gobies x2 (Alpheus sp.)	Giant Feather Duster (Sabellastarte sp.)
Tuxedo Urchin (Mespilla Globulus)	Edible Cucumber (Holothuria Edulis)	Tigertail Cucumber (Holothuria Hilla)
Sand Sifting Sea Stars (Archaster Typicus)	Serpent Stars (Various forms of Ophiolepis sp. and ophioderma sp.)	Sponge Brittle Star (Ophiothrix sp.)
Cerianthus anemone (Cerianthid sp.)	Maxima Clams, two blue and one rare green morph (Tradacana Maxima)	Derasa Clam (Tridacna Derasa)

I have really enjoyed the results of what has at times been a frustrating learning curve. The tank is still very new and I am looking forward to seeing it ‘grow out’ over the next year or so. I am really enjoying the challenge of keeping the sps, but feel that I will move more towards lps in the future.

I am also not convinced that my closed loops are running at their full capacity. I have purchased larger pipe and will be increasing the suction to the manifold to 63mm to allow more water to pass through them. I am also not that happy with the Sequences and if I can get the cash together, I will replace them with Red Dragons.

Firstly and most importantly I would like to say a BIG thank you to my girlfriend, Andy, for putting up with my hobby (read, obsession) and tank builds and untidy lounge and…and... and...

She has been very patient and understanding and I probably could not have achieved this without her support.

All of the Marine-Get-Together-Group, especially Kevin, Nick and Will. Full of knowledge, guidance, help and advice.

Another big thank you goes out to all of the members of UR for having the patience to answer what may have seemed silly questions and helping along the way.

I hope that you have enjoyed what is still a very new tank. Feel free to email any questions you may have.