SleepEatCorals
unregistered
Hey Fellow Reefers before I start I wanted to to say Thank You to My Wife for her support, I couldn't have got this far without her. My Last Thanks for all their Guidance and Knowledge is RichReefer and John Goldengate Corals. I'll tell you what guys these guys were my Lifesaver and just such a big Help in this Hobby, and these two People I met are now my Best Friends Today. Thank You Guys
A little about me and how I got into this Hobby!
My name is Walter (SleepEatCorals) and I live in Jacksonville, NC. I Been in this Hobby for 11 Months now and I got to say it's addicting and full of surprises. Now what got me into this Hobby was My Father George Googas! As a young child he always brought me fishing and snorkeling down in Key West and Off Miami Beach, just From seeing all the corals, fish and the bright Colors it always blew my mind. So as time goes by joining the US Marines and getting Married I decided "let me start My First Reef Tank". With my Wife support and Loving the Hobby it Happened. I started with a 29 Gallon Tank and let me tell you guys I made a lot of mistakes, but by mistakes i learned from them! After 3 Months I went and upgraded to 65 Gallon and at that point I met RichReefer and John GoldenGateCorals on facebook. From that point on I started learning from these guys. All my information I got wasn't from forums or youtube, it all came from RichReefer 20 years plus, he is just a Guru when it comes to this Hobby. And John has helped me in many cases that was a lifesaver also. I would recommend many Saltwater Hobbiest to Follow these 2 ReefKeepers as they have so much Respect an Experience in this Hobby and just Full of Knowledge. So let's get started about my 65 gallon Reef Tank
Dimensions
36" 18" 24" Glass Tank
Tank Parameters
KH 11-12
Cal 450
Mag 1370
Phos 0
Nitrate 0
Salinity 1.026
Lighting
Their are many debates on which lights are the best! I did start out with LEDs and I loved the color pop from the corals but I had problems with Growth and Coral bleaching. I'm not here to say I don't like LEDs but from my experience with them I just didn't like the results. So went ahead and switch to Sunteck T5 HO 6 bulb Fixture 4 ATI Blue Plus and 2 ATI Coral Plus. RichReefer recommended me to go this route, and guy let me tell within 2 weeks I seen awesome results the Growth and Color was even better. I want to someday upgrade to Metal Halide/T5 but that will when I upgrade to a bigger tank.
Light Schedule
14 hours of light period
Blue Lights 6am-8pm
White Lights 8am-6pm
Moonlights 8pm-6am
Sump
20 Gallon Sump
ASM Skimmer G-1X
Mag 9 Return Pump
Filter Socks 200
2 Two Little Fishies 150 Reactor
2 BRS Dosing Pumps Alk/Cal
5 Gallon Refiugium Chaeto/ 8lb LR
Circulation
Circulation is the 2nd most important factor In a Reef Tank, especially when keeping SPS. I make sure their is no dead spots in the Tank. For Circulation I used 2 MP10 Vortech and also with the return pump that's another 500gph. With the flow I notice more extension from the SPS and LPS. Circulation play a vital Role in a Reef Tank.
Live Stock
I have about 60 different Corals and 8 Fishes. A lot of people ask how can I keep so much livestock in a 65 gallon tank. Keeping the right fish together and introducing correctly plays a major role. Corals wise, placing them correctly and learning what corals can be near each other was also important doing some research on the families was a big help. It took time and some help but by doing this it was success.
Filtration
My 3 main Filtration is Live Rock, Live Sand, and Protein Skimmer. Live Rock is your main Biological Filtration that's hosts both aerobic and anaerobic nitrifying bacteria required for the nitrogen cycle that processes waste. Additionally, live rocks have a stabilizing effect on the water chemistry, in particular on helping to maintain constant pH by release of calcium carbonate. Live sand can serve as the main base for biological filtration in a saltwater aquarium, while the organisms help consume organic matter in the sand bed. Last primary Mechanical filtration, is the Protein Skimmer it helps remove organics such as food and waste particles from your aquarium. In my Display tank I use 125 lbs of Live Rock and 80 lbs of Live Sand. I don't use any media unless needed. Found that running media can take out additives out of your water that benefits corals. Also notice loss of corals color if I run media
Supplements
I use BRS alk/cal daily and magnesium when needed. I have my dosing pumps timed to the Reefkeeper Lite to 1 day will be alk and next day calcium, each dosed for 12 hours a day. Another important supplement I add every days is Coral Amino which I found out to be very vital to corals. The main benefit of this quality is the ease in which corals can assimilate the amino acids into their tissue for the purpose of growth and tissue repair. Secondary benefits of some amino acids are their role in enhancing the coloration of corals. Some of the other supplements I use from Brightwell when needed is Potassium, strontium, iodine, replenish, sponge excel, and Koralcolor.
Feeding
Feeding time is probably my favorite part! Feeding the fish and watching them go nuts is just funny to watch especially watch my clown bring their food to their bubble tip. For fish I blend up some fresh seafood Squid, mysis, brine, tuna, clams, and garlic for flavor. I Feed the corals 3 times a week at 2am, reason for this is because coral feed mostly during night time ours. I've seen better growth and also coloration. For corals I use ReefRoids, Coral Frenzy, Cyclopeeze and Brightwell feeding products.
Brightwell Food
Phytogreen S and M
PhytoGold S and M
PhytoCrom
Zooplanktos S,M and L
Conclusion
I hope you guys have learned something from this and enjoyed my tank. Most important thing I've learned from this Hobby it's about patients, that is the key to success. Many Hobbiest make this mistake and have no patients in this hobby. So just take your time and plan before rushing. All this work I couldn't have done this without RichReefer and John Goldengate Corals. Helping me and Guiding me to success.
A little about me and how I got into this Hobby!
My name is Walter (SleepEatCorals) and I live in Jacksonville, NC. I Been in this Hobby for 11 Months now and I got to say it's addicting and full of surprises. Now what got me into this Hobby was My Father George Googas! As a young child he always brought me fishing and snorkeling down in Key West and Off Miami Beach, just From seeing all the corals, fish and the bright Colors it always blew my mind. So as time goes by joining the US Marines and getting Married I decided "let me start My First Reef Tank". With my Wife support and Loving the Hobby it Happened. I started with a 29 Gallon Tank and let me tell you guys I made a lot of mistakes, but by mistakes i learned from them! After 3 Months I went and upgraded to 65 Gallon and at that point I met RichReefer and John GoldenGateCorals on facebook. From that point on I started learning from these guys. All my information I got wasn't from forums or youtube, it all came from RichReefer 20 years plus, he is just a Guru when it comes to this Hobby. And John has helped me in many cases that was a lifesaver also. I would recommend many Saltwater Hobbiest to Follow these 2 ReefKeepers as they have so much Respect an Experience in this Hobby and just Full of Knowledge. So let's get started about my 65 gallon Reef Tank
Dimensions
36" 18" 24" Glass Tank
Tank Parameters
KH 11-12
Cal 450
Mag 1370
Phos 0
Nitrate 0
Salinity 1.026
Lighting
Their are many debates on which lights are the best! I did start out with LEDs and I loved the color pop from the corals but I had problems with Growth and Coral bleaching. I'm not here to say I don't like LEDs but from my experience with them I just didn't like the results. So went ahead and switch to Sunteck T5 HO 6 bulb Fixture 4 ATI Blue Plus and 2 ATI Coral Plus. RichReefer recommended me to go this route, and guy let me tell within 2 weeks I seen awesome results the Growth and Color was even better. I want to someday upgrade to Metal Halide/T5 but that will when I upgrade to a bigger tank.
Light Schedule
14 hours of light period
Blue Lights 6am-8pm
White Lights 8am-6pm
Moonlights 8pm-6am
Sump
20 Gallon Sump
ASM Skimmer G-1X
Mag 9 Return Pump
Filter Socks 200
2 Two Little Fishies 150 Reactor
2 BRS Dosing Pumps Alk/Cal
5 Gallon Refiugium Chaeto/ 8lb LR
Circulation
Circulation is the 2nd most important factor In a Reef Tank, especially when keeping SPS. I make sure their is no dead spots in the Tank. For Circulation I used 2 MP10 Vortech and also with the return pump that's another 500gph. With the flow I notice more extension from the SPS and LPS. Circulation play a vital Role in a Reef Tank.
Live Stock
I have about 60 different Corals and 8 Fishes. A lot of people ask how can I keep so much livestock in a 65 gallon tank. Keeping the right fish together and introducing correctly plays a major role. Corals wise, placing them correctly and learning what corals can be near each other was also important doing some research on the families was a big help. It took time and some help but by doing this it was success.
Filtration
My 3 main Filtration is Live Rock, Live Sand, and Protein Skimmer. Live Rock is your main Biological Filtration that's hosts both aerobic and anaerobic nitrifying bacteria required for the nitrogen cycle that processes waste. Additionally, live rocks have a stabilizing effect on the water chemistry, in particular on helping to maintain constant pH by release of calcium carbonate. Live sand can serve as the main base for biological filtration in a saltwater aquarium, while the organisms help consume organic matter in the sand bed. Last primary Mechanical filtration, is the Protein Skimmer it helps remove organics such as food and waste particles from your aquarium. In my Display tank I use 125 lbs of Live Rock and 80 lbs of Live Sand. I don't use any media unless needed. Found that running media can take out additives out of your water that benefits corals. Also notice loss of corals color if I run media
Supplements
I use BRS alk/cal daily and magnesium when needed. I have my dosing pumps timed to the Reefkeeper Lite to 1 day will be alk and next day calcium, each dosed for 12 hours a day. Another important supplement I add every days is Coral Amino which I found out to be very vital to corals. The main benefit of this quality is the ease in which corals can assimilate the amino acids into their tissue for the purpose of growth and tissue repair. Secondary benefits of some amino acids are their role in enhancing the coloration of corals. Some of the other supplements I use from Brightwell when needed is Potassium, strontium, iodine, replenish, sponge excel, and Koralcolor.
Feeding
Feeding time is probably my favorite part! Feeding the fish and watching them go nuts is just funny to watch especially watch my clown bring their food to their bubble tip. For fish I blend up some fresh seafood Squid, mysis, brine, tuna, clams, and garlic for flavor. I Feed the corals 3 times a week at 2am, reason for this is because coral feed mostly during night time ours. I've seen better growth and also coloration. For corals I use ReefRoids, Coral Frenzy, Cyclopeeze and Brightwell feeding products.
Brightwell Food
Phytogreen S and M
PhytoGold S and M
PhytoCrom
Zooplanktos S,M and L
Conclusion
I hope you guys have learned something from this and enjoyed my tank. Most important thing I've learned from this Hobby it's about patients, that is the key to success. Many Hobbiest make this mistake and have no patients in this hobby. So just take your time and plan before rushing. All this work I couldn't have done this without RichReefer and John Goldengate Corals. Helping me and Guiding me to success.
