Easter weekend has been quite a busy one for our 90-gallon rimless aquarium. The Bulk Reef Supply Eco Pukani dry rock came in and we started the aquascaping process. As many of you could attest, this is not always an easy task. After all, the rock layout has to be perfect, right? So, for two days we played with the Pukani rock, breaking off a piece here, rotating a piece there, and even starting all over at one point. Prior to placing the rock into the aquarium, it was laid out on a towel on the ground so we could get a good feel of how the rock should look. Several rocks were drilled so that we could insert an acrylic rod into them. This would allow us to stack the rocks on top of each other, but still maintain stability. Ideally, I would have preferred to use a live rock mortar or some type of two-part epoxy to add more stability, but my lack of patience and the fact that neither of these items were available forced me to press on without them.

Eventually, we settled on a layout that we feel represents the overall look we are going for, though I’m sure some minor changes will be made as this is usually inevitable. We wanted to go with a small amount of rock in an attempt to create a minimalist aquascape. The layout provides for plenty of swimming room for fish, lots of places to attach corals, and still quite a bit of space to put things in the sand. Please keep in mind that the pictures above show the aquarium without all of the sand in it. We’ve since added more sand to completely cover the bottom, but we plan on keeping the sand bed quite shallow.

After what seems like an eternity, I’ve finally started a new aquarium build. The tank is a 90-gallon trimless aquarium from Acrylic and Glass Exhibits, otherwise known as AGE. It measures 36″L x 24″W x 24″T, with low-iron glass for better clarity, an internal overflow box, black silicone throughout, and AGE’s signature schedule 80 PVC bottom. The aquarium is very beautiful, and the build quality is the best I’ve seen in quite some time. I’m still waiting on the bulk of the equipment, so the build has yet to get too far off the ground, but we’ve got plenty of pictures of this gorgeous aquarium.

We will be hosting the tank build’s progress over on the AquaNerd Forums. We’ve already got some photos and details of the build posted there, so be sure to check it out.

Here are a few details that I will go ahead and share on the blog. For starters, the goal of the tank is simplicity with a modern flare. The equipment will be as simple and clean as possible, with power cords strategically placed and hidden from sight. The plumbing will be Schedule 80 because it’s readily available, more durable than standard PVC plumbing, and comes in a very unobtrusive gray color. The lighting will most likely be LED, and we’ll be sure to experiment with lots of different lamps and fixtures.

As for the livestock, I’m not sure exactly what I want to have, but I do know I want it to be different…I want to expand my own horizons. I will still try to incorporate some of my favorites, Tridacnid clams for example, but all of that remains to be seen. I don’t even have rocks, sand, or water in the tank yet.

57-gallon Oceanic Illuminata Rimless Reef Aquarium

This is the writeup for the AquaNerd November Tank of the Month contest winner. This month’s winner is Clint from Houston, Texas. He will be receiving a $50 gift certificate to ReefExotic.net. Below is a little information about Clint’s aquarium obsession along with lots of pictures of his gorgeous LPS dominated reef aquarium.

Tridacna squamosa clam

Palythoa grandis among other Corals

Background:

I got my first saltwater tank when I was 11 years old in 1991. It started as a 65-gallon glass tank with an under-gravel filter and a normal fluorescent light strip. Over the years it was converted to a nice reef tank that ultimately succumbed to hair algae while I was away at college for four and a half years at Texas A&M.

Various Corals in this Mixed Reef

Full Tank Shot of Rimless Reef Aquarium

Since graduating, I have had the opportunity to have several tanks including a 120 gallon in-will reef that has a fish room behind the tank for housing all of the equipment and for performing maintenance. My latest tank, which was selected as AquaNerd Tank of the month, is not housed next to the fish room but still benefits from RO water produced in the fish room that is plumbed through the attic to the tank.

Palythoa Grandis among other corals

Angled Shot of Rimless Reef Aquarium

The Tank:

The tank is a 57 gallon Oceanic Rimless Illuminata Aquarium that measures 36”x 18“x 20“high. The tank was purchased with an Oceanic tech stand that has glass doors on three sides for easy access to the sump. Because of the strange interior dimensions of the stand and because of my decision not to compromise on the size and features of the sump I had Precision Marine build a custom sump. They did an amazing job fabricating my design. The sump fills the middle section of the stand perfectly and has preformed well. Unlike previous tanks that I have setup, I attempted to plan everything out and obtain and install all of the equipment before filling this tank. The tank was filled with water on August 29, 2009 so it is an understatement to say that the tank is new.

Heteropsammia coclea near Squamosa clam

Rimless Reef Aquarium

Livestock:

Fish:

• 3 Bangaii Cardinals – Added 9-12-09
• Six-line – Added 11-3-09

Bangaii Cardinals in Reef Aquarium

Large Alveopora Coral

• Palythoa grandis – First coral that I ever brought home as a carry on item on a flight home from a vacation to Indiana. Purchased from Inland Aquatics and added to tank 8-8-09
• Acanthastrea sp. – Added 9-12-09
• Aussie elegance coral – Moved from another tank. Purchased 6-1-08 and added to this tank 9-20-09.
• Various Ricordea Florida
• Various zoanthids
• Branching hammer head
• Aussie Alveopora – Purchased from LiveAquaria and added 9-25-09
• Meteor Shower Cyphastrea – Trade with fellow reef club member. Added 10-4-09
• Heteropsammia – Purchased from LiveAquaria and added 10-14-09
• Various chalice frags
• Other small SPS, LPS, and soft coral frags

Coral Banded Shrimp

Heteropsammia coclea

Other Invertebrates:

• Blue Carpet Anemone – Purchased 6-12-08 added to tank 10-7-09.
• Yellow Banded Coral Shrimp Pair – Added to tank 11-3-09
• 4 Tongan Nassarius Snail – Added 11-3-09
• Squamosa Clam – Added 11-3-09

Green Elegance Coral

Alveopora Flowerpot Coral

Hopeful Additions:

In the future I hope to add some interesting chalice and Cyphastrea frags.

Maintenance and Feeding:

Because the tank is so new, I do not have a well-established maintenance routine. I hope to conduct weekly 15-gallon water changes and filter sock replacements. Feeding has consisted of daily fish and LPS target feeding with frozen mysis shrimp. The Alveopora has been receiving bi-weekly target feeding of frozen cyclopeeze and Oyster-Feast™.

Favia sp. in LPS Aquarium

Blue Hadonni Carpet Anemone

Filtration methods:
The tank has a very thin layer of CaribSea sand that was seeded from another tank to help accelerate cycling the tank. Unlike previous reef tanks I did not start off with any live rock, instead I used about 40 pounds “Reef Saver” Dry Aquarium Eco Rock. Mechanical filtration is accomplished with a 100-micron filter sock and a Vertex IN 100 In-Sump Protein Skimmer.

Precision Marine Sump with Protein Skimmer

Rimless Reef Aquarium Full Tank Shot

Other Equipment:
The tank is illuminated with two 150w 20K Radium lamps mounted in Coralife AquaLight Pro Metal Halide HQI Clamp-On Pendants. This lighting scheme was selected for its clean look and because it does not limit access to the tank. I can feed the LPS corals without moving a light hood out of the way, which is important to ensure that I keep up with daily maintenance. The stock magnetic ballasts were replaced with a Dual 150/175 watt Galaxy Electronic Metal Halide Ballast. A 1/10 hp JBJ chiller was added to combat the heat generated by the lights and to allow the central AC to be set back while I am away from the house. I use the same model of chiller on another thank that I have and have been very happy with its performance. The chiller is powered by the system return pump, an Eheim 1260. Additional water movement is provided by a Vortech MP20 pump set in short pulse mode. All of the equipment is controlled by a Neptune Systems Apex controller. I have plans to increase the automation and safety fallbacks on the tank but currently only have the controller programmed with basic commands to control the lights, chiller, skimmer, auto-top-off, and pumps.

Hammer Coral (Euphyllia ancora)

Xenia and LPS Corals

Water Parameters:

I have not been following water parameter very closely but pH has been kept between 8.0 and 8.4 and water temperature maintained between 77 and 80F. As the calcium and Alkalinity demand begin to increase, I plan to maintain the levels with frequent water changes and the addition of a kalk reactor attached in line with the auto-top-off line.

Purple Zoanthid Colony

Neon Green LPS Coral

Special Thanks:
Thanks for allowing me to share my new tank with you! Hopefully I will have the opportunity to provide a tank update in the coming years. Many thanks go out to the MARSH and ReefCentral members who have been there to answer my questions and offer advice. A huge thanks goes out to Chris (last name deleted for privacy) for watching over my tanks and feeding my other critters while on vacation. I also want to thank David at City Pets for providing a great deal on the tank and working with me, and Precision Marine on ordering the custom sump. I would also like to send a special thanks to my family for getting me started in the hobby, for feeding my fish for 4+ years while I was away at school, and for their understanding of this unnatural obsession I call reef keeping!

Oceanic 57-gallon Illuminata Rimless Aquarium

Flowerpot Alveopora with Bangaii Cardinal

We have a winner!

The AquaNerd November Tank of the Month winner is Tank #1!!!

AquaNerd November Tank of the Month

Clint, the owner of Tank #1, will receive a $50 gift certificate to ReexExotic.net and he will provide us with a writeup about his aquarium.

Saw this video on YouTube and thought it was kind of cool. This open-top reef aquarium has a huge rock sitting in the middle, looking similar to a volcano. There is also several red mangroves growing in the sand bed.

Not necessarily my cup of tea, but I think it’s pretty unique.

It’s been a while since my last update, but here’s some more progress on the house…

The builders put the stone on the house and completely finished the brick!

Ok, some more pics of the progress…

Here’s another house update…

The brick is almost done and the drywall is on the walls.

Here are a few more photos of the house.

Front of the House

Plumbing Manifold

House Frame

House Frame

The Aquarium's Future Spot

Hey AquaNerd community, I wanted to share my newest adventure with you.

A couple of months ago my wife and I started house shopping. We have each lived in various apartments since going off to college and a couple more even after we got married. Tired of moving around and apartment life, we decided it was time to buy a house. Our rent is already pretty high, so we figured it was time.

We looked around quite a bit, but ended up picking a neighborhood just down the street from where we currently are living. The inventory homes didn’t match our tastes too well, so we decided to build. Since this will be our first home, we didn’t want to overdo it. We went with a 3 bed/2 bath which is more than enough for the two of us. And instead of going with a move expensive home, we customized this one with a lot of nice upgrades that we wouldn’t have been able to do if we had gone larger.

In the process of building this new house, I’m going to attempt to upgrade from my current setup (a 180 gallon SPS reef tank) to a slightly larger 225 gallon aquarium. The reason for the upgrade is a combination of accessibility and style. Right now, I have a fairly difficult time getting into the aquarium because it is 24″ tall, has a large eurobrace, and the canopy is very restrictive despite it being so large. So, the new tank will be 72″L x 36″W x 20″H and will be rimless. I plan to suspend a light over the tank, that way I can raise it or lower it to my liking. The canopy is killing me. As for style, this can be a simple fix, but I’m dying to start over. The stand and canopy don’t match the style of the new house. The cabinetry is the wrong color and the style is more old fashioned, whereas the house has a more modern feel to it.

But here’s the caveat…I cannot do all this unless I sell my the aquarium I am using now. So, the upgrade is depending on that. If I don’t sell my 180, I’ll just have to set it back up at the new place and start saving for the upgrade.

I’ll be sure to update regularly! So stay tuned.