When I started my first aquarium I was told that most on average will end up having 4 tanks. Currently I have 3. I’m almost there. Occasionally I’m asked what systems I have, and what do I use. Below I am listing out pretty much everything that I use. I have one main 70 gallon display. One 30 gallon frag tank. One 8 gallon quarantine tank. Below are my tank builds with almost everything in it.
70 Gallon Display
My display came with a wood stand and canopy. If I could do it again I would have got a rimless tank. Having a canopy limits me on which lights I can use. The Kessils I was given to place inside are too close to the surface of the water. I am supplementing the Kessils with one Orphek OR2 90 to eliminate shadows. If I could have made another change at the start I would have used a lighter rock. After a few months of use I did change out half my system after purchasing it from a local fish store. Most of it was unusable for a mixed reef aquarium, even though I was sold as so. The skimmer and chaeto keep the system clean. Often too clean. I do a water change every 6 months. The setup is similar to a Triton system with large refugium. It has been up for a couple years now. I have had minor crashes while on vacation, and a fish that ate about half my coral while gone during the day. It has healed since then. Someday I’ll upgrade this system to something bigger. Below is a list of the equipment I use.
Lights:
2 Kessil A360WE Controllable LED Aquarium Light Tuna Blue
1 Orphek 35″ Blue Plus LED Light Bar (OR2 90)
1 Kessil H160 Tuna Flora LED Refugium Grow Light
Aquascape:
60 lbs of Real Reef Rock
Sump:
Trigger Systems Sapphire Sump – 26 inch
Skimmer:
Bubble Magus BM-Curve 5 Protein Skimmer
Return Pump:
Reef Octopus VarioS-4 Controllable DC Circulation Pump
Powerhead:
2 Aqua Illumination – Nero 5 Submersible Wave Pump (3000 GPH)
Heater:
Eheim Jager Aquarium Thermostat Heater 150W
Extras:
CerMedia MarinePure Block Bio-Filter Media
Chaeto
eKoral Controller
eKoral Doser
Red Sea Reef Foundation Liquid
30 Gallon Frag Tank
For this setup I wanted a custom size to place upstairs on some cabinets. I wanted an all in one system. So I order a Advanced Acrylics Custom AIO System. The only thing I don’t like about the system is the fact that it is acrylic. Acrylic will scratch over time, no matter how careful you are. This system I now only do a water change once a month. The skimmer (which is one of the best skimmers I’ve seen for size) and chaeto do a good job at eliminating nitrates. The doser does a good job at keeping things at normal levels, although difficult to setup.
Lighting:
AI Prime HD
AI Prime LED 12″ Flex Mounting Arm
Tunze Eco Chic Refugium LED Light Fixture
Return Pump:
Eheim AEH1000310 Compact Water Pump
Skimmer:
Aquamaxx Ws-1 In-sump Protein Skimmer
Powerhead:
Doser:
Heater:
Eheim Jager Aquarium Thermostat Heater 50W
Extras:
Red Sea Reef Foundation Liquid
XP Aqua Duetto Dual-Sensor Complete Aquarium Auto Top Off ATO
Inkbird ITC308S Temperature Controller for Aquarium with Submersible Probe
Chaeto
8 Gallon Quarantine Tank
I wanted a quick way to quarantine my fish. After loosing all my fish in the first couple days to ICH I decided the second round to trust myself rather than the LFS, and use a quarantine. So I use a JBJ Rimless Desktop 8 gallon with LED & Filter to quarantine one or two fish at a time. I like this little aquarium, however there are two spots that have to be covered so that fish do not jump out. Other than needing a heater, it is pretty much an all in one setup that just requires regular water changes.
Heater:
Eheim Jager Aquarium Thermostat Heater 50W
Extras:
Boyd’s Chemi-Pure Blue Nano Aquarium
