upster

Here is my first saltwater tank which was set up in April of 2009. I have always liked the footprint of the 40 gallon breeder because I think it makes the tank seem larger than it actually is. The tank was drilled and fitted with a DIY overflow box made out of black acrylic along with a durso standpipe. I picked up some established LR from local reefers. I have gone through most of the usual newbie reef headaches: cyano, temp crashes, ect. But even though it looks a bit rough I am proud that I have tried to do as much DIY and frugal reefing where possible.

Any comments are greatly appreciated. I found this site after trying to find out when the next reefcast podcast was going to come out. I think it will offer a great source of info outside of the forums. I hope to continue with updates. Please stay tuned. A new stand is in the works as we speak.

The sump is a 20 gallon high fitted with glass baffles creating sections for a skimmer, refugium, and return. I fitted a Mag 5 pump as a return pump to try and balance out the flow through the refugium. I have found this to be successful but I plan on splitting the overflow using ball valves when I upgrade to a larger pump.

I outfitted the tank originally with cheap used equipment from local reefers including a Coralife super skimmer, a Hagen 2x24" T5, and Coralife 96w fixture. As I became more confident I have been slowly building the system. Researching and finding the right new and used parts.

Here is the tank shortly after it was set up. The tank has since received a lot of upgrades.



Current specs:

40g breeder (36" x 18" x 15")
20g sump (24" x 12.5" x 17") w/ chaeto in fuge

-250w Lumenmax 3 pendant
-DE 14K Phoenix bulb
-Sun Supply Galaxy HQI ballast
-Euro-Reef RS-80
-Reefkeeper Lite by Digital Aquatics (Temp, PH)
-Mag 5 return
-2 x Koralia 3 powerheads
-250w stealth heater
-Phosban 150 w/ GFO
-DIY ATO using aqualifter
-Kalkwasser reactor in line with ATO





The pendant is set quite high actually. The bulb is about about 12" off the surface. I've been meaning to bring it down to about 10". I set it that high originally because I was concerned about shocking my corals and the spread as you said. I have also noticed a cooling issue but I have taken care of that with a fan controlled by a timer.

There is a definite difference in par from the outer edges to the center but the visual difference is negligible. To be honest I kind of like the different intensities. I am still really new to this and it gives me lots of options for coral placement and helps me learn what they like. But who knows if it's the light or me that makes for an unhappy coral!

Inhabitants:

1x Tiger pistol shrimp w. Wheeler's goby
2x Ocellaris clowns
1x 6 line wrasse
1x Coral beauty angelfish
1x Cleaner shrimp

After 4 months I began keeping sps frags and have only lost a couple. I purchased most of them for $10/ea from a couple LFS. Just whichever ones look healthy. To see if I could create a health enough environment and bring back the brown frags before throwing in my wallet.

Corals of note include:

Various SPS frags (acropora sp., montipora sp.)
Maxima clam (Tridacna sp.)
Open brain (Trachyphylliidae sp)
Green Torch (euphyllia sp.)
Green candy cane (caulastrea sp.)
Green star polyps (cavularia sp.)
Various zoanthids

Things are definitely beginning to turn around. Colours and polyp extension are improving. I think the temperature stability from using the controller for the heater is one of the biggest reasons. I am really starting to see some growth and with time I am hopeful the sps colonies will take off.