Good evening everyone, I would like to thank Eric for inviting me here to share my opinions & experience on keeping reefs. I would also like to commend both he & his staff on making the reef channel a reality. I have noticed much talk about where a chat forum existed and so on. I admire individuals who get in there and actually “do” something when a need arises. Great job Eric and it is always interesting interacting with hobbyists from around the nation and the world for that matter, as well as quite a bit of fun & laughs. (something at times missing in this hobby)

The following is of course, my opinion, what I have found through countless trials and errors and an embarrassing amount of money spent. I don't claim to have all the answers nor do I even consider myself an “expert” . I do however claim to be a successful reef keeper, an over the edge advanced hobbyist. I have accumulated substantial, practical, information, which I feel others who are interested, can benefit from.

I would first like to say that if there is anything I have learned from talking to hundreds of reefkeepers is that there are as many ways to set-up and maintain a reef tank as there are people doing it. I have truly been amazed with the drastically different approaches. Believe it or not, some today refuse to use protein skimming or purified tap water or kalkwasser. When I would mention the potential problems they would respond “ hey I have had this running for X years and everything is thriving so why should switch methods now?” How can you argue with that? Of course I have not actually seen their tanks. My point here is, there are many, many approaches to a reef aquarium and I also have my own which has worked very well for me.

I would like to mention here there are really two fundamental approaches of doing a reef aquarium. The first is what I would call the “The high tech reef” & second “The average modern reef tank”. I would also like to point out that an average reef aquarium and its contents are extremely expensive and a “high tech reef “ is about 3X more than that. ;-)

Ive been trying to encourage others in this hobby to start and maintain a cost/value record of $$per gallon so as to let newer hobbyists know what they are in for as well as monitoring their costs as to water, lighting ect. I feel this would be a very useful tool. What I would like to talk about here is the average modern reef tank with a “simplified” approach 

IMO the main differences between the two approaches is the type of livestock kept and of course the cost. One of the biggest mis-conceptions for beginners is they think a reef is a reef and all the livestock has the same requirements. This is definitely not true. Frequently a novice is intimidated by being suggested they need outrageous lighting... all kinds of reactors... meters... controllers... chillers and so on. This high tech equipment is useful and can be important once a more advanced level of experience is achieved. OR... If you hit the lottery, come into a large inheritance, get a substantial grant from an agency for research, or are just plain rich!!! ;-)

For the beginner I would strongly recommend to have an idea of what type of livestock you plan to keep. This will have the largest long term factor dictating the remainder of your decisions. Also note in a reef tank live rock plays the largest stocking role I use and recommend 1.5 to 1.75 lb. per gallon. The live rock itself is not extremely light hungry.

Inverts Next is invertebrates, Crabs such as decorator, hermit, arrowhead, small horseshoe are all hardy additions to the tank . Shrimp ... coral banded, scarlet cleaners, red fire are all beautiful easy to keep creatures. Urchins, pencil, pincushion are very interesting and hardy. Starfish, brittle chocolate chip, serpent stars are easy to keep also. Algae eating snails such as Astra/ Turbo in sufficient # are a must for algae management. Note these above creatures are not high light requiring.

Anemones are photosynthetic and there is a concern for them moving around in the tank possibly stinging corals. If you would like to keep some of these, select the relatively stationary variety. Tube anemones move very little and are beautiful as are the common rock anemones (not aiptasia) . The common rock anemone( the scientific name eludes me rite now...) are fairly large 3 to 4 in dia greenish in color and relatively flat they are inexpensive, stationary, very hardy and beautiful. I have found the light requirements for these above creatures to be within the 3 to 5 watts per gallon range.

Corals Your selection of corals will have the largest impact on light requirements. Here is a list of low to medium light corals that are hardy and relatively easy to keep. Note low to medium light=3 to 5 watts per gall. All the mushrooms, open brain, branch soft coral, elegance, false brain, leather, finger coral, star polyp, red/green polyp. If you need to know the scientific names of the above I would recommend a good coral identification book such as.. A Practical Guide to Corals by Ed Puterbaugh and Eric Borneman. All of the above corals I would recommend to the beginner. These corals will demand a modest amount of lighting some where in the 3 to 5 watts per gallon range.

Fish Finally, fish should be added, in the smallest numbers. They are the largest consumers of food, and therefore produce the most waste. Having only a few fish will mean that you will be putting in less commercial food. This reduces the risk of food going uneaten and accumulating in the prefilter, possibly becoming food for algae and/or leading to diminished water quality. Your fish should be reef-compatible only; that is, they should eat algae but not coral.

Here are a few very common reef fish I would recommend Yellow tang, sailfin Desjardini, hippo tang a.k.a.: surgeon fish. Angels, flame, resplendent, coral beauty. Blennies/Gobies such as bar goby, lizard sand goby, algae blennies,flame goby, flashing tile goby, forktail blenny, barber post gobies. Clowns, maroon, tomato, percula are hardy although if they don't have a host anemone they can sometimes try and substitute one of your corals. Chromis/Damsels are the easiest to keep...yellow tail damsel, electric blue, Fiji, Starks, Domino are all suitable although in a small tank they can be territorial. Other fish such as hawkfish, flame hawk, long nose hawk, marine bettas, pearly jawfish, gold neon gobies are all good. 

Tanks Now we look at the hardware of the “average modern reef system”. The main components are The tank, tap water purification, lighting, skimmer, and the sump. My own personal recommendation for a tank is a 55 gallon. I observe allot of people under the impression that a “mini-reef” is a way to cut costs. Actually a mini-reef will cost more when you break down the cost per gallon and IMO a MR is much more difficult to maintain. This is because a tank of this size will be substantially more affected by bio-load, the surrounding temp, and additives such as kalkwasser, strontium and iodine. So I would suggest to think well and plan out the costs when considering a MR unless you are absolutely convinced that you really want a tank of that size.

I also try and stay away from tall tanks for reasons such as placement of liverock, using a tall tank usually means having to “stack” the rock which will turn nice rock into base rock if lighting doesn’t get to the surface of the rock. I recommend looking for a tank with a large bottom ratio compared to gallons. The more bottom you have the better and easier it will be to place the rock. Again a 55 is a nice, inexpensive, good size tank to start with and will give you an impressive display of a reef. Starting off with a decent size such as a 55 will give you enough room to be flexible and you will find such components such as lighting to be standard sizes and not that much more expensive than for a smaller tank i.e.: bulbs, ballasts ect.

TWP Tap water purification IMO is a very important , necessary and a significant additional cost to the set-up. I would strongly advise a DI or RO along with carbon prefilters before the actual purification. Using DI or RO will greatly reduce any problems with micro algae (the bane of reef tanks) it also allows IMO the high quality saltmix to better dissolve and release its beneficial trace elements along with yielding a known pH on a regular basis. Personally I prefer the DI, it does produce a lower quality of water than a RO however I find it to be more than acceptable.

I have used both RO & DI and the problem of having waste water (need a drain nearby) the slowness of its production and having to leave the unit on for substantially extended periods of time, not to mention having to store/move the treated water led me to use the DI. Another useful suggestion is to have the unit set-up rite near the tank, either temporarily with a removable garden hose or more permanently connected to the water supply from the house. By having the water supply at the tank will make topping off for evaporation & water changes easy. The DI has less connections to fail, less expensive to maintain and overall easier to use.

Lighting This is the largest area of controversy. Personally I prefer to use fluorescent tubes with a combination of 1/3 actinic white & 2/3 actinic blue. I use aprox 3.3 watts per gallon and on my 200 this comes to 660 watts. My lights are 2 sets of HO and one set of VHO .One HO is actinic white the other is actinic blue, the VHO is also actinic blue. Each set of lamps are on a separate timer so as to come on & off gradually , also the lights are on for aprox 9 hours per day. They come on at 2pm and off at 11 p.m.

I feel that the FLO light is more evenly dispersed across the tank than a halide. Halides IMO are to really boost the wattage say above 6+WPG where if you were to use FLO it would not be physically possible. I would think this high power lighting to be used by those who are planning to keep allot of hard corals and are aware of the initial and more importantly long term cost of operation.

Above 5 WPG is VERY costly to run day in and day out. Do some simple calculations of wattage for your tank and estimate the amount of electricity used. In my case, the example is... lights on 9 hours a day X 365 days = 3285 hours per year X 660 watts = 2,168,100 watt/hours per year or the equivalent of turning on 21,681 100 watt bulbs for one hour!!! My electricity costs aprox $50 per Mon. to run a 200 gallon, including pumps which are 2 little giant 1200GPH presspumps. I am sure it would be considerably more if the wattage were doubled. This is a fact that should be seriously considered before beginning your desired set-up and purchasing the livestock.

Also, halides usually they have to be supplemented with the long wave blue spectrum (usually actinic blue FLO) I also feel the actual light from halides to be more confined to the area directly under the lamp. This can be a benefit if you use them and place the highest LR specimens under the lamp. What I would really like to see from reefkeepers is a long term cost Vs wattage as to what really is the most effective. These are my personal preferences and reasons.

To conclude here I use a combination of HO & VHO conventional tar ballasts to get the desired wattage. I have been hearing allot about the electronic ballast these days but they seem to have their problems. I understand my ballasts are not the most efficient but have worked without fail for over 5 years in this particular example. Also I replace the bulbs aprox every 6 to 8 months. Replacing the lamps at this interval has the largest positive effect on my photosynthetic livestock. 

Skimmers Most modern reef aquariums rely solely on protein skimming for waste and nutrient removal in the water so it is a very important component. As with your tapwater purification system you should not skimp here. Older PS were air driven, then venturi, now the rage is the ETS or downdraft. I would recommend a good, large...venturi or better yet the ETS. IMO air driven are outdated due to their high maintenance cost i.e.: yearly air pump replacement, having to use both a water pump and a substantial air pump not to mention the costly limewood air blocks that don't last (effectively) for more than 2 or 3 weeks the CC works well when initially set-up but fades over time due to clogged blocks and diminished air pressure.

Venturis work well with minor adjustments to the air intake and keeping the valve clean they do (or at least mine did) have a tendency to overflow if adjusted too high. I have an ETS in operation for about 3 years now and its a champ. The way its designed allows for substantial free water flow virtually unrestricted. The only restrictions are the main drain and the air intake. Other than that the water just gets pummeled through it and the waste is remarkable.

One of the main differences Ive come across with other hobbyists is I am adamant about the skimmer being above the sump and I am a strong believer of high turnover rates of the water I like to have the main waterpump to turn over the entire tank 6X per hour and the skimmer close to that, or the same amount. This can be a problem with “in the sump models” or “hang on the backs”.

I am of the opinion that by having such a strong turnover the water becomes supersaturated with oxygen(a much overlooked need) By having a extremely high oxygen content everything in the tank seems to thrive including micro and macro organisms and IMO leads to a healthier reef. Think about the movement of the ocean for a moment... the powerful currents, rise and fall of the tide, pounding waves and 6X per hour doesn’t even come close.

Of course this is my opinion, I understand that quite a few hobbyists like to “get the whole thing to fit” under the tank stand and “have it quiet”. I feel one of the most important factors of the modern reef is to have excellent turnover of the water and somehow I could never accomplish that under the tank or it being totally quiet. It is not as noisy as you would think as Ive taken steps to get it as quiet as possible. Although by no means is this absolutely necessary, Its just what I prefer. My system has 1 1200 GPH LG for the skimmer & 1 for the main return so that’s 2400GPH or 57600 GPD gets moved around in there. This IMO best imitates nature “in an enclosed environment”.

By having the skimmer above the sump allows for very positive draining and flow rate of the skimmer. It also allows the water from the skimmer to flow through a prefilter floss and into the sump box for collection & return to the tank. This usually means having the skimmer in the un-popular “side of the tank” position. This can be remedied by innovative removable coverings. Also in this position the skimmer is accessible for very easy removal & cleaning. I can tell you firsthand Ive battled for years having a skimmer jammed in under the tank which made servicing the most important component very difficult.

Sump If you are currently using a trickle filter, you may be able to use it as a sump. It would have to be large enough to accommodate all the water needed for this type of method. This is the amount for water used to “work the system”, pumping water into the tank so it will drain out to feed the skimmer pump. Also, the sump is used to hold extra water in the event of a power outage. This is best used in conjunction with a drilled tank and it is able to hold the water above the overflow bulkheads.

Inside the sump box a driplate should be installed and prefilter material (to be changed often). By having the sump & skimmer located in this manner there will be a considerable amount of turbulence & air gas exchange of the water (very desirable). Also, the make-up water system (kalkwasser mixing vessel) should be located above & nearby the sump so as to make additions of limewater easy. Well, I can go on and on but I guess its time for some questions from you guys. Please go easy on me. ;-) 

One last note here, There has been much discussion on what is the best, overall most informative, book to purchase regarding this hobby. It is my opinion that one cannot have too much information on this subject. What one book covers in great detail, it lacks or overlooks regarding other important matters. I have yet to see any one book as being the complete reference (this I have found to be true relating to any subject). In this hobby, there are really only a small handful of related books and I would recommend them all as to be best informed.

Books such as Simplified Reef Keeping, A Practical Guide to Corals by P&B, The modern Reef Aquarium by N&F, And The Reef Aquarium by D&S are all very useful, necessary reference tools. If you plan to be in this hobby for any extended period of time, you will most likely acquire them all. This is an extremely expensive hobby and good, well rounded information is the best recommendation for real success!

Well.... That’s about it for tonight. I hope that I have been able to pass along something useful to the reefkeeping community. I welcome you to mail me and I will do my best to answer any questions you may have. mail address is robert@simplifiedreefkeeping.com

I also welcome you to visit my WEBSITE which is constantly being updated and improved and would like to thank my friend Ed Nash (a fellow reefer enash) for him designing my site and getting me up on the web. On my site, I welcome any suggestions. I plan to have there, one of the best well linked, useful sites for the inquiring hobbyist and I could use your help. Please stop by and give me your comments. index.htm

Good Nite and Best of Luck with your reef tanks! Copyright 1997 by Robert M. Metelsky Author of Simplified Reef Keeping 

<Robert> I have used them but diddnt care for the maintainence

<Robert> having to clean the sand top layer

<Robert> mine are 30

<Robert> this seems to be a close average from my readers

<EricEE> Third Question: Robert said he uses DI even though it doesn't produce as good of quality water as RO. Why does he say that?

I've tested both, at my house the DI is better.

<Robert> well It is "supposed to"

<Robert> ive never actually tested it

<Robert> there are more filtering components as the membrane that wil / should be better

<Robert> kalk iodine strontium

<Robert> frequent WC

<Robert> monthly

<Robert> yes thats what they say

<Robert> i have alot of softies and no real problem

<Robert> at all.

<EricEE> Next Question: what is your opinion about the balanced products like B-Ionic and C-Balance?</div>