A few pictures of my 400g reef

[gettaReef]

How many gallons is your refugium?

 

[melev]

It is 58" x 6" x 13" and holds 20g, minus displacement.

 

[acropora4u]

how often do you perform a 55 gallon water change? awesome tank!

 

[melev]

how often do you perform a 55 gallon water change? awesome tank!

Typically every 4-6 weeks. But lately I've done a bunch of them to get nitrates back under control. So I guess I should have been doing more all along. lol

 

[acropora4u]

I change 20 gallons every week on my 240...thought it wasn't enough LOL

 

[Monster reefer]

Nice looking tanks

 

[melev]

I change 20 gallons every week on my 240...thought it wasn't enough LOL

I used to change 55g on the 280g monthly. So I really do need to step it up with this system. Maybe 55g every two weeks would be wise.

 

[mmw64]

I figured it's about time I share my reef with you Reef2Reefers. :smile:

I have a 400g Starphire tank set up with a 60g anemone cube to its right. The 400g is a reboot. I started it up in Feb 2011 and a year later it leaked. It took 18 months to get it replaced, and now I'm going again. These pictures were taken on the 2 month anniversary of moving the livestock into their new homes.

The 400g is 84 x 36 x 30 with an external overflow box. The 60g cube is 24 x 24 x 24 with an internal overflow box. Both are plumbed into a common sump.

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Beautiful tank! What is the fish in the picture with the yellow tang? Is that some kind of wrasse?

 

[melev]

That is a Melanurus Wrasse.

 

[Winschuc]

Hello. Are you still running the twin-arc 400's? Just ordered one for a 93 cube.

 

[melev]

Hello. Are you still running the twin-arc 400's? Just ordered one for a 93 cube.

Yes, every day.

 

[Winschuc]

Good deal. What are your run times and total burn time between replacement? Trying to get a gauge on the bulbs. I've only run 250 hqi's prior to this new tank.

 

[melev]

Good deal. What are your run times and total burn time between replacement? Trying to get a gauge on the bulbs. I've only run 250 hqi's prior to this new tank.

I run the 10,000K portion 1.5 hours per day, and the 20,000K portion 4.5 hours a day. They are easily 2 year bulbs due to the fact I don't run them 10 hours a day.

 

[melev]

Last week I received a huge shipment of clean up crew critters for my tanks, and that afforded me the opportunity to type up a long overdue article about Clean Up Crews. I see a lot of talk about CUCs, but overall the advice seems to vary quite a bit. I go by the rule 1 critter per gallon, and this has worked very well for all my reefs. If you'd like to read it, here's the link: www.melevsreef.com/cuc

Adding all those critters to my tank quickly changed my point of view for the better. I love seeing a clean tank and watching these guys work, but I also just like the new look it provides me when I see all those new snails dotting the glass abundantly.

And let me add a few pictures that I've taken recently. I came home with 15 beautiful frags from Seattle last month.

Tonight I took a picture of all the Skunk clownfish waiting to be fed. At 5:32 p.m. they all turn as a group and face to the left, waiting for the food to drop into the tank from the Eheim Autofeeder. I see this routine daily, but hardly anyone knows.

I'm currently loving my reef.

 

[cameronh]

That's nice!!!!!!

 

[J.guokas]

Amazing tank. I always enjoy seeing your new pictures.

 

[revhtree]

What's not to love?!!?

 

[arman]

Fantastic

 

[melev]

What's not to love?!!?

You'd be surprised. I see the flaws.

 

[melev]

Amazing tank. I always enjoy seeing your new pictures.