Canreef Tank of the Month

Gools' 180 Gallon Reef

It's a great honor to be selected as TOTM. I was totally surprised and shocked. I have been in the saltwater hobby for 6 years now, starting out with a 45 gallon tank only. When I made the move to Winnipeg from BC I started up my 180 gallon tank as a fish only, then started getting interested in soft corals, then leading to hard corals.

System

The tank is 180 gallons and measures 72 x 24 x 24. It has been up and running for just over 4 years and is also hooked up to a 30 gallon sump and a 30 + gallon refugium. Attached is also a 33-gallon frag tank.

My favorite part of my system is my skimmer! I could sit and watch it for hours. It's an aqua medic 5000 Shorty 2 gravity fed by my overflow. This has been my best investment. I also have my 30-gallon refugium that I have above my main tank. I use chaeto, macro and mangroves to help export some nutrients. I also have over 200 lbs of live rock, some base rock as my biological filter and about 80 lbs (2") of sugar sand.

I don't have very much flow in my tank, but it's not something I've ever worried about. My main system is run off of a Mak 4 pump. I also use a Red Sea Wavemaker with 4 Maxijet 1200s. My refugium pump is around 650 gph but by the time it pumps up I'm getting about 300 gallons per hour into my display tank.

Tank Chemistry

Specific Gravity: 1.025 Alkalinity: 9 dkH Calcium: 390 ppm

Temperature: 78-83F pH: 7.7-7.8

I don't do regular water changes. I do a 30-gallon change every 4-6 months. I’ve been doing it this way for the last 3 years. I used to do regular, monthly changes but saw no difference between the two. I also don't add a lot of additives. I have an Acrylic City calcium reactor that is very undersized for my system but the little guy just seems to chug away. I also have an old school Rubbermaid container that I use to mix kalk in and then to a Kent float to top off the sump.

Lighting and Photoperiod

For the first couple of years, I started simple using 2 - 175 watt 10K Ushios and 4 - 40W URI actinics and actinic whites. They worked great even when I started getting into hard corals but I wasn't sure they were giving me enough light to get the best color out of my Acros, so I upgraded adding 2 - 400 watt 20K XMs.

Feeding and Maintenance

Twice a day, morning and evening, the tank gets flakes from an automatic feeder. Once in a blue moon, I feed frozen mysis. I feed sheets of nori, a few times a week. I also feed live mussels/ clams from the grocery store because that's the only food my copperband will eat.

Tank Inhabitants

Fish and Invertebrates:

1 purple tang 1 false perc 30 blue legged Hermits

1 Mimic tang 1 neon goby 30 snails

1 yellow tang 13 green chromis 5 scarlet hermits

1 copperband 1 brittle star 5 blue knuckle hermits

1 royal gamma 1 cleaner shrimp

1 blue damsel 2 peppermint shrimp

Corals:

Montipora capricornus, M. digitata

Acroporas- staghorn, tenius, millipora, humilis, tricolours, tables, deepwater, others that

I have no idea.

Birdsnest

Frogspawn, hammers, bubble, candy cane, corky finger, leathers

My next goal is to build a 10 foot long tank into a wall. I want to be able to hide all the plumbing, wiring and noise so I can just enjoy the view. And of course, there are always upgrades adn toys to be added. I also have to thank Quinn at Prairie Reef Supplies, for all the help and toys.

Back to Canreef

Back to Tank of the Month Discussion Forum