My name is Paul. 
I am a 28 year old flooring installer from Clarksville, TN. I have always had a strong interest in the ocean in general and especially all of the mysterious and undiscovered marine life that dwells within this deep blue watery area that covers over 70% of our planet’s surface. When I was younger I had my share of many 10 gallon freshwater tanks through the years, whether it be fish I bought at the local fish store or critters that I caught in the rivers, ponds and creeks in my area. I am an animal lover in general really as me and my wife also have 2 dogs and 1 cat and my iguana that is going on 8 years old soon. Years ago, my wife decided to get an aquarium for the African clawed frog which soon provoked me into getting my own tank. I started off with a green spotted puffer, one of my favorites. As he aged I slowly converted him to brackish, and later on it became full marine when he fell off. I progressed my tank into a FOWLR with a few marine fish, then slowly made my way into corals. It started off in a 35 hex front tank which then switched over to a 38 tall rectangle tank with an open top to let light in for the coral. Now everything resides in this 40 gallon breeder I picked up at Petco’s $1 a gallon sale. T he dimensions were a lot more “coral friendly”. I built my own stand, plumbed everything together myself using the “Herbie method”. I have done a lot of growing and trading corals (wheeling and dealing) to get to where I am now. This hobby is truly rewarding when things go in your favor and you are able to recreate a small piece of the big blue in a small glass box in your own home. For me it provides a certain peace, interest and a sense of accomplishment. Thanks to forums like Aquarium Advice I always had somewhere to go for questions and info to get me where I am!
SETUP:
- 20 gallon acrylic sump with refugium containing LR and Chaeto
- Aqua C Remora protein skimmer (MJ1200 pump)
- BRS media reactor running GFO (MJ1200 pump)
- 2 Hydor Koralia Power-heads with Smart-Wave controller
- Danner Mag 3 return pump
- Xen-Lux 120 watt LED reef lighting (Bridgelux) (10 hours ON/14 hours OFF)
- Aqueon Pro heater
- Auto-Aqua Smart ATO (5 gallon bucket reservoir)
MAINTENANCE:
- 5 gallon water change 1-2 times a month
- Mag-Float cleaning every day or 2
- Scrape and clean the glass 1 time a month using an Aqua-Blade
- Rinse all pre-filters (sponges) as needed (often) (skimmer, return & reactor pumps). Note: I do not use any sort of “sock filter” in my sump. The silt that gathers in my refugium has never seemed to have any negative effects on the system.
- I dose 3.5 ml of 40% vodka into my system every day. (1.75ml AM/1.75ml PM)
- Check water parameters once a week (or if anything seems unusual)
- Temperature – 78-76 F
- Salinity – 1.025
- pH – 8.2
- Ammonia – 0 ppm
- Nitrate – 0 ppm
- Nitrite – 0 ppm
- Calcium – 440 ppm
- Alkalinity – 8 dKh
- Phosphates – 0 ppm
INHABITANTS:
Fish:
- Orchid Dotty-back
- Melanursus Wrasse
- Eight Line Wrasse
- Orange Spotted Blenny
Inverts:
- Mini-Maxi Anemone
- Crocea Clam
- Halloween Hermit
- Red Linkia Starfish
- Scarlet Reef Hermits
- Many types of snails (banded trochus, nerite, nassarius, astrea, cerith, and possibly others)
Coral:
- Several types of Acropora and Montipora
- Several types of LPS such as Blastos, Wellso, Acans, Xenia, Blue Sympodium & a Lobo
- Several types of Zoanthids and Palys such as Kyrptonites, Bam Bams, Red Hornets, Green Implosions, Reverse Gorilla Nipples, Sunny D’s, Gobstoppers, Green Bay Packers, many unknowns, and so on…..)
FEEDING: I try to feed every other day. I always feed frozen foods except for Reef Chili. I have been sticking with LRS Reef Frenzy, but have also used San Francisco Bay & Nutramar Ova prawn roe. I combine the main food with the reef chili to give the small corals and inverts some nutrients. I target feed the corals often, but not every time I feed.
CONCLUSION: Thank you AA and all the friendly members here for selecting me to be this month’s TOTM! I feel very honored as there are a lot of deserving tanks out there. I still only consider myself to be a rookie, because there is so much to still be learned and observed in this hobby. It’s been a long, hard and time consuming road to be where I am now with my tank, but this tank is only really just beginning.
