MM Reef

[ScottyB]

i'm finally finishing up the last stages of my recently set up saltwater tank. i love marine biology and i've been into saltwater tank keeping since i was a freshman but never had the chance to actually develop a good setup since i was always low on cash or moving back and forth from home to school and back again. so now that i'm kinda settled i bit the bullet and got things set up the way i've always wanted them.

its all coral right now, but i'll add a fish and an some small invertebrates in probably the next few weeks. i actually got the coral today from a local guy who mentioned on a message board that he needed to harvest some stuff that was growing like crazy. its about 100 bucks worth of coral, i gave him a 20 after he said he only wanted 15 i felt like i was practically stealing them!

anyway, it's a 10 gallon tank with a 10 gallon sump, using natural filtration and 80 watts of power compact flourescent lighting. the plumbing was actually the biggest PITA. don't let people tell you that you need a monster sized tank with computer controls and a room full of filtration equipment....you can make it work in any size, and in a million different ways. i could go on, but i'll just leave the pictures to talking and if you have questions, fire away.


hmm, a black stand could use a yellow sticker....hehe




refugium, filtration is all natural baby! the macro algae will quickly grow throughout this area and take care of all the mechanical and chemical filtration i need


green star polyp...this picture does no justice. they are fully extended now and glow a phoflourescent green...really vivid.


anchor coral


pocillopora coral


because the glass on a tank this small is so thin, i can't drill for bulkheads so i have to use a siphon system. tank return on the top, siphon and priming reseviour on the bottom



reefing is not necessarily expensive either....at least not much more than many hobbies that people like us are into. i ghetto fabbed alot of stuff after doing my research and learning that i could build something just as good for way cheaper.

for me, i find so much relaxation and fascination with a reef tank, when i come home from a long day just sitting there for a minute and observing it makes my blood pressure drop like crazy. its a very rewarding hobby and there are alot of good people involved with it :thumbup:


no project is complete without Hulk Hogan wailing in glorious celebration