the ocean...

My reef tank in my office is 30 gallons, with VHO (very high output) lighting, 30 pounds of live rock (this means it was not allowed to dry out before reaching my tank, thus all the microscopic inhabitants are still living,) and a skimmer for filtration. The stand and canopy were custom built locally.

The inhabitants include a Pacific Cleaner Shrimp,

One "Fire" Shrimp who hides all the time except for feeding time,

Several hermit crabs of various species,

A "Skunk" Clownfish and her tiny anemone.

A "tailspot blenny:

Plus several corals, mostly of the "softie" or LPS (long polyp stony) variety.

All purchases were made locally from Seahorse Aquarium Supply or World of Wet Pets. Woody, at Seahorse, is an analytical chemist turned marine aquarium guru and can answer any question you can think of (and a few you can't,) regarding the care and feeding of your corals and critters.

I have been an avid aquarist for many years now, and have several tanks at home. This is my first true "reef" tank though, and I have really enjoyed the process. Regular clients of my massage clinic seem to enjoy it too.

Many clients and visitors from the building have asked about the maintenance time spent on the tank. Once it is established and stable, the maintenance is minimal, such as wiping the front panel each day with a specially designed magnet cleaner. It also requires some minor tasks a couple of times a week, such as emptying the skimmer collection cup, (the skimmer collects protein and fatty wastes in the water using very fine bubbles. The waste is pushed up a tube and falls into a specially designed cup for removal.) I also replace evaporated water with filtered deionized water a couple of times a week. My tank evaporates about 1 gallon each week.

I feed a combination of foods approximately every other day. The food is a home-prepared "gumbo" consisting of various seafoods, algae, seaweed, oyster eggs and zooplankton. Occasionally the fish get other "treats."

Once every 3 weeks I haul 15 gallons of prepared saltwater, (Crystal Sea brand,) up to my office and change half the water in the tank using a siphon. The siphon also pulls out debris from the sand that the skimmer cannot remove. At that time I can scrub off any harder algae deposits that have accumulated on the glass during the last few weeks.

My system is very healthy, and fairly easy to maintain. There are plenty of crevices for small creatures to live in and reproduce; shining a flashlight after lights-out reveals numerous small bugs, worms and snails that "hitch-hiked" in on the rocks and corals.

Thank you for visiting my Aquarium page. Come a bit early for your appointment so you have time to relax and watch a tiny bit of ocean.

Stacey