Thanks, everyone who voted for this small tank. I am honoured to be chosen for this month's TOTM at UltimateReef.com.

The story of this tank started 4 years ago. I had owned several marine tanks and wanted something new. I have many hobbies: aquaria, RC flying, tennis and paintings. Do you like to look at paintings? I know I do and that's why all my tanks look like living paintings.

And do you know what I like the most? They are affordable so I could buy one if I really wanted too!!

So I look at all those very impressive big tanks and think: wow, well done, very beautiful, stunning, etc, but for a lot of people, like me, this is too big and that's why I can't really identify with them. I can't have one of those in my own living room.

So that is what this tank is all about? Something most people have enough room for, something everyone could have if they really wanted to.

And I wanted to prove that a very small tank like this one could be equally impressive as a big one. So everyone with his own small tank at home would think: could my tank also become this impressive?

In every corner of this tank something should be going on. You can look for hours and hours and still you have not seen it all. There is a cleaning station, anemone crabs live near the front window, gobies hide in all the corals, in the caves fish live and swim upside down. Pipefish swim together. The very rare spike fin goby surprises me every time I can see it. And to find all those animals in one evening would be impossible, so there are always new surprises. This was the vision I had.

With these thoughts in mind I developed this tank. I wanted a small system without the usual technical compromises seen in other nano tanks but dominated with SPS corals and all sorts of nano animals. The thought was that in a small tank smaller animals would have enough space and behave more naturally. I wanted to use coral scaping to make small but very impressive coral islands with enough open space between them to house all the nano life.

Did I succeed? That's for others to decide, but I certainly tried!

This tank is situated in a house in Zeeland in the Netherlands which is next to the Veerse Meer with all its marine inhabitants, boats and fresh air. In the living room there are two aquaria, at the left is the fresh water aquarium (600L) and at the right is the marine aquarium.(200L).

The main dimensions are 120 X 40 X 40 cm.
Sump is below and is 100 X 30 X 30 cm.

Both tank sides are covered so that this aquarium looks like a living painting.

The rock scape consists mainly of two coral islands with a cave underneath and between these two islands is also an open space.

I wanted the lighting to be good enough for all SPS at any place in the tank but also affordable and small. I do not like those big hoods with the lights distracting from the main display.

The lightning consists of 2 HQI 150 W. 14000K.
In front of these HQI are 2 T5 58W both blue.
Behind the HQI are 2 smaller T5 24W one is white the other blue.

Water is pumped around by a red dragon 14000l/h. Water is returned from the sump to the main display and returns in a loop with 6 adjustable outlets. The loop is at the top of the aquarium and the outlets are not visible when looking through the front window.

In the main tank I have 2 nano streams (5500l/h) with interval timer to simulate the waves and 2 nano streams (4500l/h).

So the total water movement is max 34000 l/h in a 200L tank. You can imagine what this is like! But to my surprise this is not to much and even the 2 pipefish are comfortable in this tank swimming around each evening.

The SPS need strong currents and the nano life has no problems with this.

Water is filtered biologically by the life rocks and the big bioload I have created in this tank. All these animals need to feed and this cleans the water. Water is filtered further by floss at the top of an overflow chamber which then falls down to the sump.

The first compartment is filled with bioballs. I still use these as I think they give some additional stability to my system because I do not have many live rocks. In the sump is the skimmer (BB180), a self made forced flow carbon filter, the zeovit filter and the calcium reactor.

The water is very clear and the colours are very bright. In fact I have more problems with not having enough nutrients in the water than having to many.

Heating is done by a simple aquarium heater and cooling is done through the aquatronica computer and a small fan.

This way it is possible to keep the temperature at 25 degrees, even during warm summer days.

My additions:

I use the zeovit system to regulate the nutrients. I try to give the corals a little more as than the minimal needed. Corals (and humans) on the limit are more susceptible to diseases.

I always look at my corals to see if the dosages need correcting; never just use the dosages recommended!! Also, never copy a dosage used for another tank because every tank is different.

Additive Schedule
In the morning: 0.2ml start2/daily 1 drop PIF/daily 1 drop Iron every day 2 drops Food 3 times/ week 3 drops stylo/picco glow/daily .2 ml b balance/every other day .2 ml K-Balance/ every other day 1 ml pohl's xtra/daily	In the evening: 1 drop sponge power/3 times /week 2 drops Aminos/daily 3 drops bak/2x's per week all 3 mixed with snow, given during darkness. 3 drops pcv/daily

My zeovitreactor contains .5 litres zeoliths, 200l/hour flow. changed every 8 weeks.
I use carbon (KZ) .2 liter with very slowly forced flow, changed every 2 weeks.
Water changes 10%/week.
I use energy elements from aquaconnect 1, 2,and 3, 5 drops/daily

I use the aquatronica computer controller to monitor and adjust the aquarium parameters. It measures temperature, Ph, Salinity and controls the lights, Co2,cooler fan, heater, etc.

Photoperiod: T5 from 9.30 to 22.30, HQI from 10.30 to 21.30.

I feed a lot and I want every animal to have enough food to keep it as happy as possible. If you feed well, all animals present the best natural behaviour possible. Also I think that this is the best way to keep the biodiversity as high as possible, and this is good for the stability.

I feed:

Fish Feedings: 3 times per day frozen cyclops, artemia, mysis, lobster eggs.
Coral feeding: coral vitalizer, V power, amino acids, sponge power, local dealer's "power shot".

Every day I change the floss in the overflow chamber.

I clean the windows every other day and stir the sand a little bit. The skimmer cup is also cleaned every other day.

I change water 10% per week (Reef crystals)

Every 2 weeks I change the carbon.
Every 8 weeks I replace the zeolithes.
Every 3 months I replace the T5's and every 9 months the HQI.

I have had a lot of problems with the adjustment of the nutrient level. In an aquarium this size it is very difficult to keep up with the nutrient demand of so many corals in such a small volume.

Because of the small volume it is also difficult to keep other water parameters stable.

At times I have to give calcium nitrate and even a little phosphate. I also give extra Ca, Mg.

I have had problems with aiptaisia, AEFW (acropora eating flat worms) Red and green slime algae, hydroids (myrionema) STN, RTN etc.

When all is going well I have to keep all those fast growing corals apart, have to cut them etc.

The only stable factor in an reef aquarium is that everything is changing every day!!

My livestock:

I keep a lot of stony corals together with mostly nano animals. The stony corals are mostly SPS but also some LPS. I have some gorgonians to get a little movement in this tank together with the LPS.

I really love the more delicate SPS like A.echinata, granulosa and the more delicate table corals.

The fish are mostly nano fish but also some bigger fish are present.
Some, like the zebrasoma, are neccesary to remove the algae; the biochoeres, six line wrasse and negrosensis to keep the AEFW under control.

Fish
2 Peppermint Goby (Coryphopterus lipernes)	5 Twostripe Pygmy-Goby (eviota bifasciata)	2 Red-Blotched Pygmy-Goby (trimma rubromaculatus)
5 Candycane Pygmy-Goby (trimma cana)	2 Stripehead goby (trimma striata)	2 Masked Goby (coryphopterus personatus)
5 Pellucida Pygmy-Goby (eviota pellucida)	2 Full-moon Reef Goby (priolepsis nocturna)	3 Benjamen's Pygmy-Goby (trimma benjameni)
2 Spikefin Goby (Discordipinna griessingeri)	5 Naude's rubble goby (Trimma naudei)	2 Yellowprow goby (Elacatinus xanthiprora)
2 Bluestripe Pipefish (Doryrhamphus excisus) - pair	2 Yasha Hase Shrimp Goby (Stonogobiops Yasha) with Pistol Shrimp (alpheus randalli)	1 Filament-finned prawn-goby (stonogobiops nematodes) Pistol Shrimp (alpheus randalli)
1 Blenny (emblemaria species)	1 Tailspot Blenny (escenius stigmatura)	1 Fathead Anthias (serranocirrhitus latus)
1 Adorned wrasse (biochoeres cosmetes)	1 Six Line Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia)	2 Threadfin cardinalfish (Apogon leptacanthus)
1 Black Leopard Wrasse (macropharyggodon negrosensis)	1 Yellow Tang (zebrazoma flavescens)

Corals
Acropora Sp.	Montipora sp.	Seriatopora sp.
Poccilopora	Stylopora	Pavona
Euphillia	Fungia sp	Goniopora
Blastomussa sp	Cynarina lacrymalis	Caulastrea furcata
Favites	Porites	Duncanopsammia
Plerogyra	Catalaphillia	Softies Muricopsis:
	Some carribean gorgonians

Inverts
4 Lysmata wurdemanni	5 periclimenes sp	2 neopetrolisthes maculata
2 mespilia globulus	9 turbo snails	3 tridacna maxima
3 tridacna crocea	2 thor ambionensis	1 cleaner shrimp

I am happy with the choice I made for a small tank. You just cannot copy the ocean, small is big enough!

If I ever build a new tank it will be small again, but a little more depth can be an improvement. I would keep the rockscape more open, just 2 coral islands free on all sides.

My conclusion is that it is possible to make a small tank beautiful but there is a lot of work involved to keep it stable.

I have been reefkeeping for more than 15 years now and we’ve changed a lot during this time - better equipment, more knowledge, coral propagation, etc.

It is now possible to keep these delicate animals and enjoy the beauty that nature gives us. As an aquarist I have the possibility to look at this life under water and I can see the connection with my own life.

Looking at this tank every day teaches me that life is an ever changing, beautiful, but very delicate thing. I try to enjoy every moment possible.

We have to be careful with nature, and with each other.

I try to give as much as I take, keeping my own balance.

First of all I like to thank UltimateReef.com and all its members for giving me the opportunity to show my tank here. This is a real honour.

I like to thank all my fellow reefers who helped me to learn everything I know now. I have often been inspired. This time I can try to inspire others.

Finally I like to thank my wife and three children for being so patient, as I am always busy with my tanks and spent a lot of time with them.

Grt,

Robertus