Sonny Rimless Shallow Reef Is our December's Tank of the Month

375L Incredible Reef from Sonny Harajly (aka SunnyX) is our December's Tank of the Month. He presents
a modern and clean layout with an unique livestock selection

My Story in aquariums

I have been in this hobby for about 14 years now. I have seen the good and the bad side of reef keeping and technology and methods come and go. I started my first reef aquarium at the age of 13.  My aim was to create a beautiful reef but what I ended up with was lots of algae and dead creatures. I read many, many books afterwards and over the years experimented with many methods and tactics. But of all the things I have tried, following nature’s way has proved to be the best.
I have owned just about every piece of reef technology and gadget you can imagine. From Calcium reactors, kalk stirrers, controllers, ect. I have had great success with these technologies but it was only when I shed the technology that I truly felt good about my reef.
I had a successful 225gl in wall that had won numerous awards, including TOTM on Reef Central http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-07/totm/index.php but I was bored of it. I have always liked the “Euro” styled rimless setups and I wanted to build something similar. I wanted to be sure that everything in the tank balanced out and looked pleasing to the eye.

Aquarium setup date

08/01/2008

System Profile

Display Tank

120 cm (48") x 60cm (24") x 50cm (20") Rimless
375 Liter (100 gallons) from http://www.miraclesaquariums.com/
2 Sided Starphire glass( Front and left side)

Stand

The stand is hand built and tiled. No equipment will be under the tank. The sump and all equipment will be located in the room directly behind the tank.

Sump

17L (45 gallon) AGA tank

System parameters

Ph - 8.3; Temp - 26ºC (78 f); Salinity - 1.027; Kh - 8.4; Ca – 440; Mg – 1330; PO4 – 0; NO3 - 0

Lightning

Aquactinics Constellation 7x54W T5. The fixture is hung from the ceiling. The bulbs consist of the following:

• 3 ATI Aquablue Special
• 4 ATI Blue+
• 1 Aquascience 22k

After running high powered Metal Halides for years I decided to change things up a bit. After running the fixture over my holding tank I can tell you that the color combo is outstanding. Along with the great color and output the unit runs very cool and quiet.

Photoperiod

• 2 Blue+ and Aquascience 22k:    11:30 AM – 11:30 PM
  Aquablue Special and Blue+:  2:00 PM – 11:00 PM
  2  Aquablue Special:  4:30 PM – 9:30 PM

Filtration & circulation

Water Movement

Ehiem 1260 for Return pump
2 Modded Tunze 6025 Nano Streams
1 Un-modded Tunze 6025 Nano Stream
Vortech Mp40w
2 Un-modded Tunze 6045’s Nano Streams(now in sump)

Skimmer

Deltec AP851
Other equipment
I try to keep my system as simple and “low tech” as possible. The less equipment you have, the less problems you will have in the future. Follow nature, for it already has the best method of reef keeping.

Calcium & Alkalinity Supplementation:

Randy’s Two Part Solution

I ran both a CA reactor and Kalk Stirrer in the past and honestly have had better results will a simple DIY two part solution. I may also look into the Balling Method, but for now I am happy with the two part solution.

Maintenance, Husbandry & Additives:

Daily

4 drops of Microbacter7(bacteria)
1.8ml of Vodka
100ml of CA solution
100ml of ALK solution
Weekly
4 drops of Lugol’s Solution(potassium iodide)

Monthly

The Sand is vacuumed and water is changed, around 30gl. http://www.rimlessreef.com/1/post/2009/04/vacuumingyour-reef.html

Vodka/bacteria dosing

When I decided to setup the new tank I was trying to mimic nature as much as possible. I read extensively and found that the key was bacteria. Bacteria and the growth of it in a reef aquarium can not be underestimated. The addition of bacteria along with a carbon source, Vodka, to feed the bacteria has really changed the way I keep reefs and think. When looking into bacteria fueled systems I initially took a look into the Zeovit. The principle of Zeovit and its methods are a great way to maintain a beautiful reef system. I wanted to get into Zeovit but living in the United States it is hard to find and expensive. I looked around for a good alternative and found that the addition of bacteria and vodka could do a good job.
At first, I was only dosing vodka alone without any bacteria. The following two days after initially dosing vodka I was shocked to see how clear my water had become. My corals were equally shocked by the increased clarity in the water and lightened up a bit. I immediately cut back on my vodka dosage and the corals colored back up. The carbon that the vodka provides feed bacteria, sometimes the bad ones as I found out. A month after starting up vodka I had a large outbreak of red cotton like growth in my system. The bad bacteria had out competed the good and were taking over. I immediately stopped dosing vodka for one week and purchased a bottle of Brightwell’s Microbacter7 bacteria. I dosed a large dosage of bacteria daily for one week and the bad bacteria went away. I started the vodka again one week later and have been doing good for 5 months now with no more problems.

Benefits I have found with vodka:
-My skimmer is pulling out more waste then ever
-My water is even clearer now
-Polyp extension in corals has greatly increased
-Coral growth has exploded. Within two weeks of dosing I have counted 36 new, small coral heads coming out of my large mille.
-The sand bed is whiter.
-Glass and overflow box stay cleaner longer.

For those of you interested in vodka dosing please look here: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-08/nftt/index.php

Inhabitants:

Fish

Pacific Blue Tang
Sohal Tang
Yellow Tang(x2)
Male and Female Lyretail Anthias
Bartlett's Anthias (x3)
Royal Gramma
Ocellaris Clownfish(x2)
Blue Devil Damsel

Corals

SPS

ORA Pearl berry
ORA Red Planet
ORA Blue Voodoo
ORA Turquoise stag
ORA Aussie Delicate
ORA Chip’s Acro
ORA Nathans Green Millie
ORA Tri-color Staghorn
ORA Tri-color Valida
ORA Marshall Islands Blue Bottlebrush
ORA Blue Tort
ORA Green Stylophora
ORA Green Birds nest
ORA Pink Birds nest
ORA German Blue Acro
ORA Green Bali Slimer
ORA Joe the Coral
ORA Hawkins Blue
Blue and Busy Acro
Red Milli
Yellow Table
Yellow Tort
Blue hairy Tenius
Purple Monster
Unknown Deepwater acro
Green Slimmer
Blue Slimmer
Elias stag
Purple Bonsai

Monti

Orange cap
Idaho Grape
Pokerstar Monti
SupermanMonti
Superman Digi
Green Digi
Orange Digi

Acan

Rainbow, orange, green, red, etc..

Red Favia with green base
Red Lobo
Assorted Zoo’s (only a few)

Invertebrates

Clams
Gold Teardrop Maxima
Derasa
Serpant Stars(x2)

Aquarium photos

Problems that you have trough the years

The first few years I had major problems with algae and keeping corals alive. It took years of trial and error, reading, and participating in the reef forums before I was able to grasp the concept of reef keeping. Its kind of funny actually, one day everything just clicks and you suddenly know exactly what to do in every situation.

Final Thoughts

I would like to thank H2O + Something for giving me this opportunity to share my setup and knowledge. I recommend that everyone reading this to “think outside of the box” and experiment with new methods in your reef aquarium. Take things slowly and do not get discouraged by setbacks and problems. Learn from your problems and try to imitate and take methods and philosophies from all the great reef tanks you see out there.

Find more information at Sonny's website RimlessReef.com

Interview:

Occupation?

Self employed/Student

Family/Single/kids?

Married

What/Who got you into the reef hobby?

My 12th grade AP Biology teacher.

What are your favourite fish and coral?

My favourite fish is my Pacific Blue Tang, or “Big Blue”  as I like to call him. My favorite coral is any blue SPS.

What is your dream setup tank?

300cm (120") x 150cm (60") x 50cm (20")  open top tank, T5 and sun powered reef. Although it is not a dream, and will become a reality in a few years.

Camera & objective used:

Nikon D50 SLR with 18-55mm lens