Non-Photosynthetic Reef Tanks

[Stottlemire]

Hi, my name is Chuck Stottlemire and here are the specs on my NPS tank:

my main system is 180gal NPS reef tank; plumbed to 300gal, to 80gal, and back up to the 180, all a closed loop. Tank is 1+ years, and I have kept dendros, scleros, numerous seafan species, chilis, and other NPS organisms. Also 2 sea pens, 7 basket stars, 5 crinoids, tubastrea, micranthus, and others. Some baskets are 4+ years.

Feeding:
I dose twice daily, 50mls at a time, shellfish diet. I also dose, 37.5mls twice daily (Reed Mariculture).
Nightly I feed
4x4" block of mysis shrimp (for basket stars and fish)
2x2" block of baby brine to whatever wants it

Nothing is target fed other than the baskets.

All corals feed from the water column. I also dose 9mls vodka and 11 drops of iodine daily. Vodka dosed for increased bacteria to feed copepods.

I have 4 large Tunze's on wavecontroller, all located on left side of tank; also 2 Mag550's on the left side.

1 large skimmer; no carbon or phosban.
Nitrates .01, phos .05 - water always clear due to phyto and no algae build up on glass.

Temp 75-76

The main system is 5+ years, and the NPS tank for 1+ years. Tank cycled for 1 month. Majority of corals for close to the year, some gorgs added throughout the year. Fish are, 2 clowns, copperband butterfly, vlaminge tang, eel, indigo dotty, magenta dotty, parrot, skate/ray.

I'll have Morgandy (amy mcbride) upload pictures of it just shortly that she's taken all year of it.

What do others have?Thanks and let me know if you have any questions.
Chuck

[morgandy]

Hi all, Chuck asked me to post pictures of his tank that I have shot throughout the year (every 6 weeks or so).

Just a few here, but there are several pages of pics at http://www.twilightreef.com - click the dendro icon on the right. Also, I'm just about ready with a page that has a lot of videos of it too.

http://www.twilightreef.com/072507_c24_w.jpg

http://www.twilightreef.com/072507_c6_w.jpg

http://www.twilightreef.com.com/072507_c22_w.jpg

http://www.twilightreef.com/csept15_07_2.jpg

http://www.twilightreef.com/csept5_07_4.jpg

http://www.twilightreef.com/csept5_07_28.jpg

http://www.twilightreef.com/c_nov11_11.jpg

http://www.twilightreef.com/csept5_07_16.jpg

thx..Amy

[morgandy]

Actually, here's a few more :)

http://www.twilightreef.com/c728_30.jpg

http://www.twilightreef.com/csept5_07_11.jpg

http://www.twilightreef.com/neospogodes2.jpg

[KeithM]

Chuck & Amy, thanks for the great write up and fantastic photos!

Chuck, what is kept in the 300gal and 80 gal tanks? Any chance of some photos of those tanks?

What do you see as the key to keeping Dendronephthya, Scleronephthya and NP Seafans?

Do you think the crinoids are able to survive on mysid alone?

[jobr]

Welcome to UR, superb tank.

[johnski]

Welcome to UR, gorgeous tank , the little corkscrew gorg? is a stunner

[Stottlemire]

The criniods do not take the mysis, the basket star fish do. The criniods eat baby brine, Roti-Feast, and Shellfish Diet. The 300 gl tank is a prison tank for fish that go after corals, and the 80 is a sump. The corksrew gorg is a Black Coral Whip.

Chuck

[Andy]

amazing tank mate, truely inspirational. I don't comment on alot of tanks but a great tank is a great tank.

well done mate, ill be pming you in the near future with questions.

where you based.

[Tony B]

Wow! :thumbsup: :worship: Awesome :thumbsup:

[ChrisBFish]

Look stunning! :)

[Marc Foord]

definitely a breath of fresh air :thumbsup: - be interesting to see longer term results of this tank i.e. if the feeding regime is able to maintain these corals ongoing..... keep up the good work ! :)

[Shultz]

Wow! thats just stunning Chuck.... Also interested in your views, especially since you say you don't run any phos removers, but don't have algae probs with the heavy feedings? :worship: :worship: :worship:

Cheers, Shelton.

[Stottlemire]

Hi Shultz

Amazingly I have no algea problems. I think it has to do with the phyto I feed.
Keith sorry I have not gotten back to you sooner. I will try to pm you soon.


Chuck

[Shultz]

I've just started feeding a fresh phyto "mix" that my LFS has started stocking a reasonable price, claims to be a blend of 5.....

Thalassiosira weissflogii, Isochrysis, Pavlova, Tetraselmis & Nannochloropsis oculata

So will see how it goes

Cheers, Shelton.

[morgandy]

Here is another picture of one of Chuck's dendros that I just dug up on my computer..it's actually a small one I picked up in October, and gave to him to 'care' for. It's one of the prettier ones I've seen.

http://www.twilightreef.com/octdendro.jpg

[KeithM]

Congrats to both you, Amy and Charles for your article in reefkeeping.com!

For anyone else who has not see this yet: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-02/feature/index.php
(it has also been made a sticky on our essential reading list http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?t=230643)

I am very impressed with your methods and absolutely love your system. I am most intrigued by your feeding regime and the fact that you almost exculsively use live phytoplankton and preserved rofiters. Do you feel that most of the corals feed directly on this? or would you say that it feeds a base level of animals (pods) which then go on to feed your corals?

I am taking a quite different route with feeding and I am not using live phytoplankton, but instead, I am using prepared foods.

I completely agree with you regards to the food concentrations. I believe that these need to be consistent throughout the whole day (small multiple feeds) as I i've seen some corals shut down when concetrations are too high.

Keep up the good work and I look forward to hearing more about your tank.

Keith

[dannyfromholland]

Hi Keith

I thought that instant algae is no live food but a preserved concentrate?


link: http://www.reed-mariculture.com/microalgae/shelldiet.asp

Cheers

Danny Dame

[KeithM]

Hi Keith

I thought that instant algae is no live food but a preserved concentrate?


link: http://www.reed-mariculture.com/microalgae/shelldiet.asp

Cheers

Danny Dame

hmm I think you're right..

Now I am even more intrigued that Chuck is only using a preserved phytoplankton and rotifer mix. Do you think the dendros and other corals feed directly on this? even the large polyp seafans/rods?

I am also surprised that the tank is so sucessful with such high nutrients. IME, water quality plays a major factor in the health of dendros.

I love how this tank is so successful yet goes against nearly everything I believe is required for azoo corals! Chuck, would love to bash heads with you and discuss what you think makes your tank tick. What areas do you think are most important to success?

[Stottlemire]

Hi guys

I thank you for the compliments. I was also surprised about the article, by the way. Shellfish diet is a is preserved.

[Taylor_Made]

Chuck, your tank is amazing, to me you are the break through aquarist. I have for a long time aspired to keep NPS corals, in the past I kept one dendronepthea alive for one year, but the issue was, I was only able to keep it alive. While that is progress for most reef keepers, until the NPS corals can grow and propagate, keeping them alive is only a start. Chuck you have gone further, you are sustaining and growing. Of course the longevity remains to be seen and I would imagine you are still learning and it will only get better. I have been often criticized for my mantra of corals need to fed, every day, photosynthesis only provides a portion of their nutrition. A lot of folks think I am a little of center in the feeding of corals. Have you used any Fauna Marin products? They have a sea fan food and other foods that target the NPS corals. My goal is to devise a system that I can slowly feed the corals, my sump/frag/fuge is all on my basement floor while the display tank is on the first floor. I want to tap into the return and pump viable food into it. I keep trying to figure out how to pump use-able food that has not spoiled and just becomes pollution. Because of my feeding habits, my fuge, is a teaming brew of life, from the small to the large pods. I have always been stingy with phyto, as most corals are carnivores, I understand the concept of feeding phyto to feed the zoo plankton, which feeds the corals. I now must rethink the feeding of phyto. Your success is a huge break through in my opinion, to me it was only a matter of time until someone figured it out. I wonder, can we every have both SPS, LPS and NPS in a captive environment? In the ocean that occurs, but obvisiously our tanks are nothing like an ocean. Well I have blathered enough, way to go Chuck!

Amy, your photo skills are awesome, thank you for sharing!

Dan