Ron's Saltwater Heaven

Part 1

For those interested in ordering from Ron or getting in touch with him, Ron Hunsicker can be reached at: (717) 321-REEF. You can access his web site on the Planet Reef one: Ron's Saltwater Heaven

I arrived in Williamsport yesterday (Aug. 28) and Ron and his Wife were kind enough to pick Sarah and myself up at the Airport. In fact, we arrived earlier than expected as the flight we were supposed to be on out of Atlanta was cancelled. Because we arrived early at the airport, the carrier put us on another flight out of Atlanta that got us to Williamsport about 45 min. earlier than had we taken the original flights we were booked on. So even though our flight was cancelled we made it in plenty of time.

Good thing there were other flight into Williamsport even with Little League being here and the finals taking place today. Flight could have been sold out! Guess we were lucky in the end, even though having one's flight cancelled is not much fun.

Ron's new Saltwater Heaven houses more large aquariums, stocked to the max, than I have seen in a long time. Indeed, with 220's all over the place and a 715 gallon center piece right in front of you when you enter, you can only be impressed with the layout and set up of this store, and eager to look at what is in the tanks.

The fish section contains medium to large reef safe fish that look in super condition. The tanks are clean and sparkle and one immediately notices that a lot of time is spent taking care of the animals and maintaining conditions.

I have taken over 60 pictures already and will put those up on our site as well, as soon as I have them scanned in. Later today I will be putting up some digital camera shots for you to see (in the interim some have been loaded already and can be accessed from the links below).

There is so much that I could go on and on, and take hundreds and hundreds of photos and I still would not have pictures of all the corals that are here.

The 715 gallon show tank is absolutely superb and houses the XXXXL super size Leather coral that Ron has had for over 10 years and that is so big it barely fits in a 30 gallon garbage pail (which is how it was transported to the new store). I have photos of it which I will put on the site later today or tomorrow.

The store is 2000 square feet and set up in such a way that, unlike many other stores, you still have plenty of space to walk around. That is quite a pleasure. So many stores are so crammed full that it is not fun to be inside them. Ron has kept an open type set up (room for growth?) even though he already has 5000 gallons of reef tanks and some fish-only tanks in his store.

The assortment of corals is very very large. You can find just about anything you are looking for including some of the most colored SPS corals (in pink, blue, purple, red, and so on).

The quality of the water appears to be real high. In fact, given how the corals look, it has to be. I did not run any tests (no time really) but the way the corals look tells me that the water has to be of real high quality.

Ron had one of the most unusual Catalphyllia corals I have ever seen: a competly round skeleton, with the polyp all the way around. Looks like a donut actually with the actual polyp running on the flat edge of it. Quite a sight especially because it is so large. The coral may or may not be here to see for those who visit this week end as it was sold.

I could go on describing corals but I think that putting up graphics is really the best way to do this store justice. I will try to put some up later today. We are getting a digital camera so I can add them immediately rather than have to wait for photos to be developed and then scanned in.

Skimming is performed by using Ron's by now well known tall counter current, rotational, skimmers. I saw half a dozen or more of them in operation. Let me tell you, these units "skim". They appear to be real efficient indeed. The skimmate is such that one cannot doubt that Ron's skimmers really clean up the water.

Yesterday (Friday) I was at the store from around 16:00 till 20:30 and we had a flow of visitors from the time I got there till when we left. Lots and lots of customers stopped by and business was real good. Guess with such high quality stock and such good looking aquariums that is not uncommon. I do not think that there are too many stores in the area and elsewhere can have such spectacular looking tanks as Ron does.

Ron also has a very large selection of top looking saltwater reef safe fish. You can choose and pick just about anything you may be looking for. A few non reef fish are available as well but most of them are intended for reefs.

There even is a pet clown trigger! A super specimen, large, active and with lots of personality. Reminds me of OOP and his doings. This one is much larger though.

Ron carries some dry goods but focuses mostly on corals and also on fishes. I could not tell you how many corals the tank house but it is in the hundreds and hundreds. Yes, that is quite a lot indeed. Not only are there many, but they all look in super condition even some that have only been in his tanks for a short while.

There is no doubt that Ron has a "reef thumb". One only needs to look at the animals to understand that.

In the next installment I will be adding graphics and describe the filtration and lighting used. I am also interviewing Ron and will post the transcripts of that interview as we go along in presenting information about Saltwater Heaven.

Part II

Before going on with the actual description of the store and the transcripts of my interview with Ron dealing with his methods of keeping reef aquariums, I am going to post some pictures (graphics).

During the week end that I was there for the Grand Opening we had many many visitors (no one really kept track so we do not know for sure but if I had to take a guess I would say between 100 and 125). The number of hours we all spent at the store was taxing my feet (guess I am not used to stand up 10 hours on a hard floor anymore) but it was well worth it. The store was so busy that it did not close at 20:00 as is the norm but more like shortly after 21:00 on both days and even then there were still people in the store and other ones trying to come in. Guess the word of the grand opening got around real well indeed.

As an anecdote ... a small angel somehow was placed in the 715 gallon tank and even though it had been really well behaved for quite some time, it decided that corals looked good and started nipping on them. Sarah, my wife, who was there too, eventually got the fish with a fish trap that Ron had, and a lot of patience. I think she fished for about 3 or 4 hours to get it out but, eventually, with the trap and some food she caught it. Thanks Sarah, the corals appreciate it a lot.

I guess as a general remark, before I even begin this series, is the fact that the corals all looked so healthy and that all tanks were in real good shape (and 5000 gallons of water is a lot of tanks). Ron does not use any fancy methods but tried ones that keep the system simple and easy to duplicate by anyone.

We visited Troy (an employee at the store) at his home and I saw a really beautiful looking aquarium, loaded with healthy and growing corals. Troy did not know anything about the hobby what so ever but did everything Ron told him to do. The result is obvious. Troy will be sending me some pictures of his tank as well and when I have them I will add them to this article and our web site. Congratulations to Troy are in order too.

Some of the pictures I took have not yet been "cleaned up" in Photoshop, and may not be as sharp as they will ultimately be. I have posted them anyway so you can get an idea of what things look like. I will clean them up somehow and then post the more light balanced versions. This is only a first batch as I have over 100.

Below are the links to the first set of pictures (I have about 100 of them): All the pictures below were taken early in the morning right after the lights came on

Pictures

• Acro 1
• Hammer 1
• Meat 1
• Meat 4
• Meat 5
• Meat 6
• Meat 7
• Mushroom 1
• Graphic 2
• Yellow Leather
• Purple Elegance
• Ron and Jane Hunsicker
• Yellow Leather 2

Notes: The corals were not fully open yet as these pictures were taken early and not long after the lights came on. Note the purple middle of the polyp on the Elegance coral shown. Some of the pictures need cleaning up in Photoshop, which I have not had a chance to do yet.

Part III

Before I post more graphics let me get a little into Ron's thinking and philosophies on how to set up aquariums.

Nothing Ron does and advocates is difficult, or perhaps not even new, just overlooked or not applied he thinks. What is obvious though, is that success is not a fluke but the result of carefully doing what one is supposed to, and keeping an eye on the tank and its inhabitants. When one watches the animals well and in detail they will tell you the whole story.

Just observing them and determining how they resact, gives one a lot of clues on whether something negative is going on in the aquarium or not. Ron is a firm believer that the way the animals appear, and react, is one of the best gauges you can use to judge your techniques and the quality of the tank environment.

Of course testing is necessary too but so many factors can influence the water chemistry that more is indeed needed to determine the quality of the water. We cannot test for everything. There are too many factors that we can either not test or the cost of the tests is prohibitive.

One manner in which to determine changes easily is to make photographs of your tank at regular intervals and have someone else rate them in terms of how the tank looks. Because, as hobbyists, we see the tank all the time, it is usually better to have an outsider rate the photos as the judgement is very likely to be more objective. Ask another hobbyist to do so for you is a good compromise in the choice of who should do so.

Most animals react rather quickly to negative impact and can, therefore, give you a rather fast and definitely valuable sign. If the animals do not look good one can safely assume that something is not right in the aquarium. Whatever that may be could be harder to determine but at least the hobbhyist will know that something is wrong.

Doing what one is supposed to do basically comes down to maintenance and husbandry but also includes making sure that water quality parameters are in the general ranges they should be.

While interviewing Ron it became very clear that he is highly motivated to do all that is humanly possible to keep his aquariums in as good a shape as he can, and will go to any length to achieve this. He also carefully researches (in his own way) what works and what does not. Without wanting to offend him I can state that he is far more concerned about the well being of his animals that would come accross from the messages he posts. This is a man who loves what he does and it shows.

At the basis of a Ron type set up are a number of matters that appear important to him and I find it hard to disagree in any way with what he has to say and what he actually does (which is by the way what he says). Ron is very forthright and does exactly what he says he does or will do. No empty words here I can assure you of that.

Ron suggests that one of the important factors is to check other tanks out and find one that seems to meet what the hobbyist is looking for. Once such a tank has been found at another hobbyist, on the Net, at a store or wherever, he suggests that such a hobbyist should get as much information as possible on that aquarium and what makes it what it is (lighting used, additives, skimmer, rock, corals etc. are but just a few of the things to look at).

That makes a lot of sense and is in line with what hobbyists who have been around for a while actually do. Ask questions, get on mailing lists, read, research if necessary and, in short, get as much information as you can so you will be better positioned to be successful. There is nothing wrong with asking. On the contrary.

What is important is not necessarily duplicating the actual system, as that would hardly be possible anyway. Duplicating the methods though is what is important. By this Ron means the techniques and equipment that is used and the additives that are added.

Ron states that he has tried just about all the additives that are on the market and that he always keeps coming back to Thiel Aqua Tech products as those are the ones that give him consistent good or better results. Thanks Ron (even though I am no longer associated with the products that carry my name I do appreciate the vote of confidence for them).

His remarks did not imply that other products were not good. Just that the ones he uses are better and give more consistent good results.

He states that he knows of other people in his area that have had the same results with TAT products (and I guess his own tanks, Troy's and the comments I received from a good number of the people who visited the store this week end, confirm that).

Based on what I could see and on my own experiences there is no doubt that this can indeed be so. I have no interest in TAT so this is an objective commentary confirmed by others.

Part IV

So how does Ron suggests that a hobbyist should start, once he or she has found a tank that is pleasing, and that they would like to use as a guideline for setting up their own (especially the methods and equipment used).

The essence of any successful system lies, according to Ron, in having real high quality porous totally cured and really live rock. This is not as easy to accomplish as would seem at first, unless you get the live rock from a really reputable source, or you cure it yourself. Mind you reputable sources may have various qualities of rock. You may need to clearly explain what you really want to buy. One way to go is to buy rock from Ron directly of course as he does sell the type of rock that you can use safely (as demonstrated in the various tanks seen in his store). You can reach Ron at (717) 321 REEF (7333).

Your nose will probably be the best tool to use when you evaluate the rock you receive. Hold it close and smell all pieces, and all parts of it, so you are sure as to which direction you need to go with the rock you have. Seems odd that we have to rely on such a non-scientific method, but the odor given off by the rock cannot not otherwise be tested accurately. Again, make sure that there is nothing on the rock that is dead or will die when you put it in the tank. As a result Ron does not like Florida rock as it tends to be dense and covered with sponges and other life forms that will die off soon after the rock is placed in the aquarium. He favors high quality Pacific Rock, free of a lot of the undesirable life forms that will pollute your tank when they die off.

One of his comments is that even if you get Pacific rock you still need to make sure that it is of high quality and that it is not subject or likely to have die-off which is going to pollute the water.

If the rock you get is not cured, you will have to do so yourself and that could take anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks depending on how much die off there is. This will also cost you a good deal of money for all the water changes you have to perform to get the rock in good condition so it can filter the tank correctly and harbors enough other life forms.

The cost of all this is high and probably justifies buying the higher quality type rock up front. I agree with that statement wholeheartedly. The problems one can go through to cycle rock are not my favorite ones. You can dispense with them by buying higher quality rock, and you should do as Ron suggests as that will indeed avoid such problems. The extra amount that such rock may fetch is well worth the investment. It saves time and does not pollute the water, leading to the hobbyist having to clean up the tank water and the rock itself before even being able to add animals. This can mean a delay in starting the tank of several weeks.

If you do start with non cured rock or with rock that will still exhibit die-off, you should take all the time necessary to let it cycle and clean itself up. The polluted water that ensues will have to be cleaned up several times and a large number of water changes may be necessary to accomplish that as those who have gone through this will attest.

If the rock is well cured you will be able to add animals shortly after the rock is added to the aquarium. If it is clean and does not show signs of die-off you can do so in a matter of days or less, as suggested by Ron.

The suggested amount of rock is between 1 and 2 lbs per gallon, in larger tanks the amount can be around the lower end and in smaller tanks more towards the higher end. The more cured the live rock is and the more porous it is, the more likely it is that you will do fine with the lower range. Do not go too low though as you may not have enough biological and biochemical filtration if you do, especially after the tank gets more loaded with animals.

After all has cycled, or when the tank is ready and shows no signs of ammonia and or nitrite, you can start adding corals and fish if you wish (the method that Ron uses). Which fish to use is described in another installment but I can say now that Ron uses a good number of Tangs in the tank for additional control of algae.

If you are going to follow Ron's method, there are still additional methods, and set-up recommemdations, that are required and that need to be added to your aquarium for its safe and successful operation. They include a skimmer, good lighting, certain additives that Ron suggests, a selection of fish, possibly a Kalk reactor unless you add it manually, ultraviolet and possibly ozone.

Some may find that these are not widely used by hobbyists. It is hard to fault someone who is as successful with his tanks as Ron though, and his method is therefore something we should definitely consider using when setting up aquariums. This is obviously not the only method but it definitely is one that works real well.

As a side note, many photos of Ron's tanks have been used by authors and placed in articles in AFM and other magazines. Unfortunately he was not always given credit. Pitty indeed but I guess by now lots of people are starting to hear about Ron and his store and that is well deserved.

He uses ozone intermittently and runs UV all the time. This arrangement appears to work real well for him gauging how the tanks look and how healthy the fish are.

Here are some more pictures:

• Mushroom 2
• Store Fish Side
• Hammer Coral 5
• Hammer Coral 4
• Hammer Coral 2
• Hammer Coral 3

We will look at these in the next installment.

Part V

As I indicated Ron Hunsicker uses methods that not every one is practicing or is no longer doing so. Indeed the use of UV and Ozone was far more prevalent a few years back and have lost their following as time as gone by.

Does that mean they are not good for the aquarium? Well, looking at the shape that Ron's tanks are in certainly would not indicate so. Indeed his tanks look in super shape (the animals that is).

Before we look at those though we need to take a look at Ron's suggestions about skimmers. Ron has a proprietary skimmer, 6 foot tall with 2, 4 or 6 airstones depending on the size of the upright portion (4 or 6 inches). This is a counter current, rotational skimmer, with a self leveling feature that can easily be installed. Some who have the skimmer tell me it takes no more than 15 minutes. For detailed information and pricing you should call Ron at (717) 321-REEF or email Ron.

I saw several of these skimmers in operation at the store and can assure you that, even though the tanks look in excellent shape and all animals are thriving, these skimmers are making a great deal of real dry foam and the cups hold skimmate that attests to the fact that the skimmers are pulling out what they are supposed to.

Ron suggests that the water that should be skimmed is water that comes from the tanks. Not water from the sump or water that has gone through some other form of filtration (e.g. trickle filters or a sump with an algae or mangrove add-on or anything else meant to filter the water.

Ron uses Magnum filters to circulate water through the skimmers so the flow is relatively low and the water is in contact with the many airbubble for a great deal of time. That allows the bubbles to load themselves with lots of organic material, hence the dry foam. Overall these skimmers work far better than many a skimmer I have seen. If you are in the market for one, strongly consider this skimmer. They are very efficient.

Ron runs his skimmers around the clock as does not feel that he is overskimming. It certainly would not appear so as even his SPS coral tanks are in very healthy shape and are skimmed in the same fashion. I took some pictures of the SPS corals and I will put those up too in the next few days or sooner.

These skimmers have been around for many many years and have been adjusted as needed based on how the tanks were doing and have been sold in their present form for longer than he cares to remember. Several manufacturers have copied them and claimed them as their own.

One of the interesting features of his tanks (see Advanced Reefkeeping, 1990 Albert J Thiel) is large spray bars behind the rocks, running all across the aquarium and moving water around so no stagnant areas develop there. This is a far more important feature than many imagine as it allows everyone to prevent lower quality water settling behind, and in between, the rock formation. Do not overlook this.

The method is also better than using power heads only, as this large spray bar does not clog and does not need to be cleaned, neither does it fall to the bottom. Additionally, they do not transfer heat to the water. This is another part of the Hunsicker Method you should implement.

Ron has been in the hobby for over 20 years, starting with freshwater and then moving up to saltwater in 1971 and he got into reefs in 1986 so about 11 years ago. That is quite a bit longer than many a hobbyist I know.

His experience is wide, and deep, and in many areas of our hobby. He does not find the hobby difficult or challenging. If one does what one is supposed to do, success is around the corner. Ron makes things sound real simple and forthright and practices what he says when running his aquariums. I certainly canot fault him for doing so, especially that he can show what his way of running tanks accomplishes.

The present method he uses, the Hunsicker Method as I call it, has been in the works for a long time and has been refined over the years to what it now is. It really what I would call a core method that does not go out on a limb and gets into the latest new suggestions found on some mailing lists but that sticks with the tried and true.

Ron uses UV to protect the fish from parasites and to clean up the water and runs his units all the time. The amount used is not massive, certainly not when one looks at the size of the tanks. What is important is to make sure that the UV bulbs are clean and changed regularly based on manufacturers recommendations, or sooner. There is no way to test the efficiency easily so it is better to play it on the safe side and change the bulbs more frequently.

Ron does not feel that his UV set-ups harm anything in the tank and the corals show that they are not stressed or under nourished. They expand to large specimens and look healthy. It would appear that their use either benefits them and certainly does not harm them. The fish look real healthy as well and exhibit vivid colors. They eat as much as they can get basing myself on what I could see. Except for a yellow tang chasing around a purple one, all seemed very peaceful in the large show aquarium.

Ozone is not running continuously but only if disease or parasites are suspected. Ron has had real good success at keeping all forms of disease at bay by doing so. He has also used vitamin C to combat disease. He firmly believes that this is the right way to go and states that he has proven so to himself over and over.

He feels that the benefits of using ozone outweigh its potential negative effects and he makes sure that no excess ozone gets into the tank. He suggests that hobbyists should consider having an ozonizer on hand in the event that disease breaks out.

More on ozone in the next installment.

Some more graphics:

• Catching the Angel
• Cladiella Coral
• SPS coral 1
• SPS Coral 2
• SPS Coral 3
• SPS Coral 4
• SPS Coral 5
• Yellow Leather
• Yellow Leather 2
• Fungia Coral

Part VI

As I indicated in the previous installment, Ron uses ozone to combat the incidence of disease. He also use UV.

This is unlike what most hobbyists have been doing. Ron is however very successful with this techniques and keeps disease at bay. This is a big plus of course as both coral and fish disease is a serious matter in reef tanks and is often hard to treat.

His SPS coral tank which is stacked with all sorts of corals that are growing nicely, looks very healthy and I could not find any trace of disease or a history of disease in that tank at all.

Having said that let me give you some details on what the Hunsicker Method includes in terms of UV and Ozone:

1. Ozone

Ron uses 1/2 mg per gallon of water for 9 days whenever fishes appear to scratch and whenever new fish are introduced in a system. This keep parasites under control and does not lead to infestations even if parasites are visible. They disappear after a few days. He then lets the ozone run for longer anyway to be on the safe side (hence the 9 days of usage).

Ozone is injected in an Ozone reactor (see Advanced Reefkeeping where I first introduced those devices in 1990). A Wisa airpump and a reactor equipped with an Eheim 1250 pump are used to inject ozone and water. Internal pressure is maintained at 3 psi. If you run a larger, e.g. 6 inch reactor, you will need a stronger water and air pump for the system to run properly. You can use a Wisa 300 and an Eheim 1050 pump when using the larger size reactor.

It is important to make sure that your unit does emit the ozone you plan to inject in the reactor by cleaning it if necessary or changing the bulb when needed. What to do depends on the type of ozonizer you use.

The reactor discharges in the sump after oxidizing the water that comes in contact with the ozone. Ron reports no problems with this system and indicates that disease is not a problem when applying this technique.

2. UltraViolet Lighting and Radiation

UV is run on a continuous basis. Ron uses 40 watts of UV per 150 gallons of water. The units are cleaned at least once a month to ensure that the rated UV is indeed emitted.

All water from the tank eventually goes through the UV and polishes it and kills off free floating parasites. No problems have come up with corals when doing so. The tank certainly show that the practice is not harming anything, on the contrary.

The combination of the two techniques gives cleaner water and allows Ron to concentrate on other matters of his tanks as he does not have to deal with disease.

Combine healthy and clean water with high quality live rock and you get a system that ends up being a real excellent environment for the corals to grow and thrive as evidenced by the graphics posted of pictures I took while at Saltwater Heaven (717-321-7333). Ron will be glad to answer questions you may have if you wish to call him.

Luis Mercado has set up a web site for Ron's a few months ago. You can visit Ron's Saltwater Heaven and check what he has to offer.

As you may have noted, ozone is not used all the time whereas UV is. Ron has been using this method for quite some time and has not had any problems with corals or fish as a result of it.

Below are some more graphics of photos I took (using William Hort's camera - Thanks William)

• Hammer Coral
• Hammer Coral 2
• Pink Tip Elegance
• Pink Tip Elegance 2
• SPS Corals
• SPS Coral
• SPS Coral
• Clown Trigger

• Holding Vat for Live Rock
• Holding Vat II for Rock
• Close up of skimming cup
• Different skimmate Close up
• Emperor Angel
• Scolymia 1
• Scolymia 2
• Ron's Rock with corallines

One thing I need to mention and have'nt done so yet, is that Ron does not, I repeat not, use snails and slash or hermit crabs in his method. The tanks are doing just fine without them. Tangs take care of whatever needs to be grazed on. I guess that solves the problem of opportunistic feeding and aggressivness real easily.

Part VIII

Water circulation and motion is achieved by using large spray bars made of pvc that is perforated behind the live rock. Mind you the way the live rock is set up, lots of void space exist which promotes even better water movement in the tank. Ron maintains and I do agree with him completely, that lots of water movement is absolutely necessary.

To achieve the desired flow you will need to use strong pumps. Ron suggests 600 to 800 gallons for a medium tank and even more for a larger one. The continuous flow coming in many different areas out of the pvc pipe behind the live rock end up creating an uneven and well spread out flow of water for the benefit of the animals.

Water moves water, in Ron's own words. Nothing is closer to the truth. Spreading the water return out in the way he has certainly generates a large amount of flow in all areas of the tank, starting with flow behind the rock. This is important to prevent the settling of detritus on rock and prevents the rock from plugging up and loosing its internal structure for water filtration and nutrinent recycling.

In addition, corals and fish need good strong water flow to allow them to rid themselves of slime and whatever else may settle on them that could have negative or nefarious effects if left on them. Good water current allows them to clean themselves, so-to-speak.

This type of water current also eliminates dead spots, which are areas in the tank where water circulates without properly mixing with the tank water or remains stagnant. Most of us know that such is not good for the animals. The method used eliminates the risk of ending up with such areas.

To obtain the desired effect it is not only necessary to send a lot of water through the pvc return but it is also necessary to make sure that the live rock is not tightly packed in the aquarium but has lots of void space. Without such void space the benefits of the spray bar approach would greatly be wiped out. Keep this in mind when you set up live rock.

This brings up the question of how to set live rock tanks up of course and how to position the rock. Many methods are suggested and they all recommend to keep the rock away from the back pane of the tank by using ledges or real large pieces of rock, or by leaving lots of void space between the rocks. This is far easier to accomplish when one uses larger pieces of live rock than when small pieces are stacked on top of each other.

Ron is a strong proponent of using Thiel Aqua Tech products. He has used them for many years and as at times switched to other brands. He keeps coming back to the TAT ones though, because both he and his wife state very clearly that they obtain better results with the TAT ones. Having seen his tanks I certainly have to agree that they are the best advertising for a product that one can think of.

I will not belabor this although Ron went into lengthy explanations on the products during the interview I held with him. His tanks, I think, demonstrate that what he says is indeed so. Given that my name is on the bottles it is obviously good to hear that they do indeed work for a professional like Ron the way they do and are expected to. My experience has been the same.

Note in this respect that TAD Reef Enterprises is introducing two new products that I have developed for them: a new and more efficient nitrate remover and a magnesium supplement. These products will be available as soon as Alan Adams announces them to the list. Note that other than quality control that I do because I want to make sure the products meet the standard, and product development which I agreed to do as part of the terms of sale of Thiel Aqua Tech, I am not associated and have not been with the products since april 1997.

Back to water current though. The current is achieved by using a strong pump and pvc pipe that is capped off and that is perforated along its entire length to spread the returning water as much as possible over the entire width or length of the tank. How many holes are necessary and how large they need to be depends on the size of the tank and the strength of the pump used.

If you check in my book Advanced Reefkeeping you will find that this set up is described and that Ron has modified it to work even better. In aquariums up to 100 gallons I would suggest that you use 1 inch pvc and place the holes at a distance of about 1 inch to one and a half inch from each other.

Run the pipe along the whole length of the aquarium and position it in such a way that it covers as much as possible. Ron runs them from one side to the other at an angle, thus providing flow at different heights. This helps even more than running it at the top or the bottom as I had suggested.

Ron gauges how the tank is doing by looking at the animals. If they look good conditions and methods are obviously favorable. If they do not look good then one must find the reason and make the necessary changes. That does not mean that he does not test.

What it means though is that how corals are doing is the priority more so than having the water quality at a certain level. Indeed, it would not serve much of a purpose to be able to say that all parameters are in line with the general recommended levels if on the other hand the corals did not look good. Adhering too stringently to guidelines is indeed not a good idea, especially if the animals do not look good. Their health and appearance is what ultimately counts.

• Graphic of A 160 Pound Leather Coral while it is being moved to a new Aquarium at Ron's Store
• Closed large Hammer Coral
• Pink Acropora 1
• Pink Acropora 2
• Lobophytum sp. Leather Coral
• Elegance Coral
• Elegance Close Up View
• Lobophytum species 2
• Open Brain Coral

William Horst, President, Eastern PA Reef Club

© Albert Thiel, September 1998
To be continued