Congratulations to SeeDemTails for being selected for our April Reef Profile! Her 37 gallon nano reef is a gorgeous and diverse system. Below she has written a profile of her aquarium's progress over the past two and a half years, and shares her experiences in the hobby. Check it out and share your comments and questions in SeeDemTails' featured reef profile thread.

Wow what a privilege to be featured as the April Reef Profile on the most distinguished nano reef site on the internet! My tank is one of my most cherished possessions and to be chosen for this honor is something that means a lot to me! Thank you to everyone who has ever complimented my tank and those who have helped me in this hobby!!!

Tank Specifications

Dimensions: 37 gallon AGA 30" L x 12" W x 22" H with no sump
Lighting: 2 x 150w Metal Halides on ARO ballasts with 14k Phoenix Bulbs supplemented with 2 x 65w Actinic's on Sunpark ballasts
Circulation: 3 Maxi-Jet 1200 pumps on a Natural Wave timer, cycling at 20 seconds
Protein Skimmer: AquaC Remora with overflow box powered by a 4th Maxi-Jet 1200
Cooling System: Current USA 1/15th HP Prime Chiller powered by a Maxi-jet 900
Other Equipment: 120mm fan to keep PC ballasts dry in the hood, Azoo 300w titanium heater

Established in August of 2006

Maintenance

Daily
• B-ionic 2 part dosing 20ml of Calcium and Alkalinity twice daily, 20ml of Magnesium weekly
• Top of twice daily with RO/DI
• Feed fish Formula 1 and 2 flakes twice daily, feed Mandarin mixture of Spirulina Brine and Mysis Shrimp once daily
• Clean Skimmer cup
• Clean glass

Weekly
• Clean pump intakes
• Clean skimmer outflow
• 5 gallon water change with Tropic Marin salt
• Clean chiller's air filter

Monthly
• Clean all pump impellers
• Clean Metal Halide UV shields
• Scrape Coralline
• Clean salt creep
• Clean Skimmer injector
• Test Ca, Alkalinity, Mg, and NO3 with Salifert test kits

Parameters

pH: 8.3
Temp: 79-80 degrees Fahrenheit
Ca: 420ppm
Alkalinity: 10dkh
Mg: 1300ppm
Specific Gravity: 1.026

Photoperiod

2 x 150w Metal Halides: 10am-10pm
2 x 65w Actinics: 8:30am-10:30pm

Livestock

Montiporas

Idaho Grape and Leng Sy Swirling
Top Down November 2008
Valida

• Montipora capricornis - "Candy Apple Green"
• Montipora capricornis - "ATL Blue Polyp"
• Montipora capricornis - "Solid Purple"
• Montipora capricornis - "Orange"
• Montipora capricornis - "Purple with Blue Polyps"
• Montipora capricornis - "Leng Sy"
• Montipora digitata - "German Blue Polyp"
• Montipora digitata - "Roab"
• Montipora digitata - "Green"
• Montipora undata - "Idaho Grape"
• Montipora tuberculosa - "Sunset"
• Montipora spongodes - "Green"
• Montipora danae - "Rainbow"
• Montipora danae - "Pokerstar"
• Montipora danae - "Hulk"
• Montipora confusa - "Purple Rim"
• Montipora hirisuta - "Elkhorn"
• Montipora setosa - "Setosa"

Acroporas

Red Table Growth August 2008
Red Table Growth October 2008
Red Table Growth March 2009

• Acropora millepora - "Blue"
• Acropora millepora - "Green"
• Acropora anthocercis - "Red Table"
• Acropora valida - "Tricolor Valida"
• Acropora austera - "Austera"
• Acropora yongei - "Bali Slimer"
• Acropora yongei - "Blue Slimer"
• Acropora tortuosa - "Cali Tort"
• Acropora tortuosa - "Blue Tort"
• Acropora Sp. - "Blue Torch"
• Acropora Sp. - "Green Table"
• Acropora Sp. - "White and Pink"
• Acropora Sp. - "Scripps"

Other SPS

Red Table At Night
Blue Millepora
Pink Stylophora

• Psammacora superficialis - "Autumn"
• Pocillopora damicornis - "Green"
• Seriatopora guttatus - "Green Birdsnest"
• Seriatopora hystrix - "Pink Birdsnest"
• Stylophora pistillata - "Pink Stylo"
• Pavona maldivensis - "Green"

Zoanthids and Palythoa

Nuke Greens Mix
Another Mix
Zoanthid Side

• Fire and Ices
• Reverse Gorilla Nipples
• Eye of Rahs
• Willy Wonkas
• Bam Bams
• Eagle Eyes
• Pink Panthers
• Peanut Butter Cups
• Orange Envys
• Green Bay Packers
• Blue Bullseyes
• Dragon Eyes
• Sweet Pinks
• Candy apple pinks
• Neon Greens
• Unattainables
• Nuclear Greens
• Purple Deaths
• Emeralds on Fire

Other Corals

• Blue Anthelia
• Purple Fungia
• Green and Pink Hairy Mushrooms
• Green Mushrooms
• Acan Lord

Fish

Female 4 Year Old Black Ocellaris
Pair Of Mandarins December 2008
Neon Goby On Red Cap

• Pair of 4 year old Black Oce's "Amphiprion ocellaris"
• Pacific Sailfin Tang "Zebrasoma veliferum"
• Neon Goby "Elacatinus oceanops"
• Spotted Mandarin, female "Synchiropus picturatus"
• Orchid Dottyback "Pseudochromis fridmani"

The Tank's Story

Double Sided January 2008
June 2008
October 2008

This tank was given to me by my husband as an anniversary gift in August of 2006. I originally had the tank in an old window that was inside after additions to the house, allowing it to be viewed from both sides. This was a great setup, but left little room for coral growth, at least SPS. We moved to our new home in March of 2008, and the tank came with us. The move was easy, and the new spot for the tank is spectacular! We converted an old brick planter that was to the side of our fireplace into a stand for the tank. This is such a great location for the tank, right in our living room for everyone to see. The top of the planter is over 5 feet high so the tank is right at everyone's eye level, no bending over, and no one misses the details of even the SPS polyps. It's so high that the caustic shimmer from the Metal Halides carries out onto the floor of our living room at night, giving the whole room a reef like feeling. The top of the tank is over 7 feet high, so maintenance is a challenge and requires a ladder, but it's well worth it.

Major Changes

Aquarium Room
Left Side
Right Side

The biggest change was from double sided to single sided after the move. The tank also originally had only the 2 x 65w PC's for lighting, so the change to metal halides was great, and with this came the chiller for much more stable temperatures.

Inspirations

There are a few people I would like to thank for inspiring me in this hobby. TJ_Burton is a great inspiration and has always had tanks that really gave everyone something to shoot for. Some other people who deserve credit would be J'field, ezcompany, Pookstreet and Bluebastion.

Disasters

I haven't had many disasters in this tank. The biggest loss I have had was my male Spotted Mandarin of 2 years. Watching them pair up was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. He and the female had just begun to court when he went missing. He was later found behind the tank inside the planter.

Goals

I may attempt to spawn my female Mandarin again in the future. I really enjoy spending time with these fish, training them to eat prepared foods and hopefully at some point raising fry.

Advice to New Reefers

• Always buy good equipment the first time
• Learn about Calcium and Alkalinity right away
• Buy your own test kits, and good ones
• Take your time with livestock purchases, especially fish
• Dip everything in iodine
• Always use black tubing for you returns and chillers to prevent algae
• Always wash your hands before putting them in your tank

Thoughts on...

• Lighting technology
  I am a big fan of Metal Halide lighting, especially the 14k spectrum. I look forward to the day that LED technology becomes more widely available, but until then my tank will be lit with Metal Halide.
• Skimmers
  I think that a skimmer is one of the most important pieces of equipment used on your tank. The bigger the better, I don't think you can over skim.
• Sandbeds
  I have what most would call a pretty deep sand bed in my tank, in some places it is over 3" deep, in others it is much shallower thanks to the clownfish. I really like the looks of a sand bed, and I also think they do a great job keeping you tank healthy once they mature.
• Dosing & Feeding
  I like to feed my fish. I feed them twice daily, and a pretty good amount. If your tank is healthy feeding is a good thing, and everything in your tank benefits from it, not just your fish. I also think dosing everyday with some kind of Calcium and Alkalinity supplement is necessary, for every tank, not just those with SPS corals.
• Aquaculture
  I am a big fan of aquaculture. The shop I work for sells only corals they propagate. I believe this is the future of our hobby, and also the way to share better quality and healthier corals that are disease and pest free.
• Foods
  I like to feed flake so it doesn't sink and get caught in the rocks. Flake is easier for the fish to eat and also easier for the coral to catch as some inadvertently passes through the power heads and is finely minced. For frozen foods I really like Spirulina Brine and Mysis Shrimp.
• Coral Fads
  They are probably never going to stop and we all get caught up in them. I feel like its part of the fun of the hobby, always having something cool and new to desire! Plus fad corals are almost always aquacultured.
• Cleanup Crews
  My favorite cleanup crew members are Stomatella snails. They are nimble, fast, and reproduce. I also like micro brittle stars, and a few hermits are always a must. Blue legs are better than Scarlets in SPS tanks, in my experience the Scarlets always get stuck in the branches, causing many unwanted frags.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank A.D. and Alex Castillo and their great LFS for many of the great corals in my tank, as well as many of the members on here I have traded with. And a big thanks to the N-R administration for choosing my tank.

@SeeDemTails