metrokat

December 2012
Congratulations to metrokat for being selected for our December Reef Profile! Her 34 gallon nano
reef with display refugium has incredible biodiversity, home to countless species of coral, fish,
invertebrates, and macro algae. Below is the profile she has written for us sharing her experiences
in the hobby and her aquarium's progress over the past year. Check it out and share your comments
and questions in metrokat's featured reef profile discussion.

Tank Specs
Display: Red Sea Max 130D 24" X 20" X 23.8" 34G
Lighting: Stock T5's supplemented with 2 Ecoxotic Panorama PROs & 1 stunner strip,
Marineland accent LED
Sump: Custom Sump 17" X 20" X 16" with Mag 5 and LifeReef Overflow
Powerheads: Vortech MP10 X2
Bioreactor: Phosban 150 running BRS ROX Carbon and BRS GFO
Dosing: BRS Peristaltic pumps for Alkalinity and Calcium
Skimmer: SCA301
ATO: JBJ with a custom acrylic reservoir
Heater: Eheim Jager

Left Side View

Right Side View

Display Refugium

Maintenance Routine
Weekly water change of about 10% with Red Sea Coral Pro and RO/DI water. Test for Alkalinity,
Calcium, Phosphate, Nitrate, and Magnesium every 10-15 days unless something is out of line.
Dose 2-part with auto dosers. Clean out the filter sock every 3-4 days. Scrape off unwanted algae
as needed. Monthly dose of Coral Amino, Aquavitro Fuel, Pottassion, MicroBacter7. I also have a
little stick I beat the inhabitants with when they get out of line.

Feeding
I feed something different every day. The foods I rotate between are Reef Nutrition ROE, Dr G's
Gut loaded mysis, Caviar Max, Oyster Magnifique and Copepod Max, AlgaGen's Phycopure,

Greenwater and Coral Smoothie, Reef Cleaners Filter Feeder Formula, Golden Pearls, New Life
Spectrum pellets, Omega One algae wafers, Hikari rotifers, Masago from the Japanese
supermarket, and spirulina flakes. Occasionally I add a drop of fish oil, selcon, lugols and garlic. I
am currently also culturing phytoplankton and have plans for BBS.

Display Refugium
My sump/display refugium is my most important upgrade. It has allowed me to keep my macro
algae, grow live foods, and have an expensive night light all rolled into one. My cat likes to sumpwatch with me so it also provides an outlet for quality time with him.
The refugium holds my display macros, soft corals like mushrooms, polyps, leathers, and also has
a good amount of xenia for nutrient export. It runs on an opposite light cycle from the display and
the dosers dump their chemicals into here.

Corals
I have multiple species of all kinds of corals in the tank and fuge. Hobbyists will say you cannot
mix softies, LPS with SPS, but I have a little bit of everything, including macros, and they do well
together. I have over 80 different corals and invertebrates, too many to list in detail, but this is a
short overview.

SPS Coral

ORA Green Birdsnest

Pink Birdsnest
Bird of Paradise
Birdsnests
Montiporas
Digitata
Millepora
Acroporas

LPS Coral

Rainbow Acanthastrea

Austalian Duncan
Jason Fox Evil Eye Acan Echinata
Acan Lords
Acan Echinatas
Leptastreas
Duncan
Brain coral
Favias
Blastos

Soft Coral

Zoanthid Garden

Sinularia Leather
Green Yumas
Zoanthids
Palys
Leathers
Mushrooms

Invertebrates

ORA Squamosa Clam

Caribbean Porcelain Crab

Lettuce Nudibranch
Clams
Crabs
Snails
Shrimps
Starfish

Fish

Yasha Goby

Mandarin Goby
Wheelers Shrimp Goby
Charlie, Yasha Goby
Draco, Male Mandarin
Ruby & Max, Clownfish pair
Hunch & Finny, Neon Goby pair
Geowge, Midas Blenny
Grumpy Glen, Wheelers Shrimp Goby
Gnocchi, Bangaii Cardinal

Macro Algae
Sargassum
Red Titan
Blue Ochtodes
Halimeda
Halymenia
Red Grape
Chaeto
Caulerpa Serrulata
Flame Algae

History
I disguised myself as Santa and set up this tank on Christmas 2011, it was difficult to hide it under
my tree for very long. I only had experience with freshwater aquariums until a friend of mine
asked me to help him pick out a tank two years ago. While shopping we saw the BioCube and the
reef bug hit us both, a few months later I had my own BC14. I quickly realized that it was too
small, and I upgraded to this tank within six months.

December 2011

May 2012
October 2012
I put a lot of thought into building and defining the aquascape. Researching corals and fish became
an obsession. Most Red Sea Max owners don't get a sump for their tank, but I knew early on that
long term success with what I had planned depended on having the additional volume and space
for reactors and a skimmer.
A tank with just coral and cute fish was not enough for me, I needed display macros. My uncured
live rock came with abundant halimeda which immediately gave the tank a natural look. With each
re-do of the rock scape and coral placement, the tank evolved into something that I could look at
with pleasure, instead of something that needed fixing.
Over time I learned not to freak out over every little thing with my aquarium. I can laugh at myself
now thinking about the sleepless night when I installed my overflow. My family loves my tank and
are indulgent of the many hours I spend on it. My brother is the international "Tank Sitter" who

himself evolved from watching a BioCube and reporting daily, to knowing which wire belongs to
the Mag5 in the event of a sump overflow.
Nobody ever told me that an added expense in this hobby is a good camera. For a while I was
taking pictures daily and have managed to capture many progression shots of my corals to see
growth, disease, and color changes.
After hurricane Sandy killed some of my livestock, I feel I am better prepared for the next power
outage. It was heartbreaking to see my Mandarin lose color and fade right before my eyes while I
was holding him in my hand, but by some miracle he survived. I'm not sure if it is normal to be
this emotionally attached to a fish.
I am still finding new things in the tank, like my Frilly Limpet which has been with me for over 6
months now. Each day I get to look upon the tank is another day it mesmerizes me.

Inspirations & Goals

I am inspired by color and texture. It amazes me that nature has such beautiful animals. Being able
to keep a little piece of reef in my home feels like a blessing. Oddly enough, I am not a beach
person and have only gone snorkeling for a half second in Acapulco. I am deeply curious about
every tank I see on the forum and they each fuel my imagination.
I have 3 goals for this tank: total water stability is one. Second, to keep my hands out of the tank.
Third, to find a way to hide the wires from all the equipment around the tank!

Future Plans
I plan to enjoy this tank grow out and hopefully learn how to frag polyps successfully. I am toying
with the idea of a frag tank and I still have the retired 2G pico staring at me...

Advice For New Hobbyists

Read. Research. Slow down. Don't use tap water. Welcome unsolicited advice.
Frag swaps are ripe grounds for impulse buys. After my first one, which resulted in a tank upgrade
within 2 weeks, I learned to pre-buy before swap day to prevent impulse purchases, and by visiting
Jason Fox at the very end. This hobby is both an addiction and an investment. I maintain a
spreadsheet of all my purchases and sales to keep on track. While I have never had a budget for the
hobby, it helps to look at my spreadsheet the next time a de$igner zoanthid is posted somewhere.

Thoughts On Designer Corals

I totally get them, in fact I have them. They are most certainly in the same must-have category as
Channel, Louboutins, and Bottega Veneta. I'm rolling my eyes at myself!

Tips & Tricks

Two words: Uncured rock. It can be scary because of the unknown hitch hikers, but uncured rock
is simply stunning. It comes straight from the sea with life on it. It gives you a mature reef look in
just a few months.

Acknowledgments
Thank you to Christopher Marks for considering me as a TOTM winner. I love this site, it is a
wealth of information and fun. Thank you to all the members that contribute to my thread and
indulge my love of hot shoes.
I wanted to also mention people that I admire: Rehype for his patience and knowledge of the
hobby and willingness to share. MedRed for the level of detail he shows in his tank. I want to
spend like a rock star like ZephNYC, I admire him for his tireless search for a cure of PM disease,
and for getting me hooked on to clams. JediMasterBen is cool in his single minded determination
to beat ICK and aspiring for LED world domination. LongPig is the sweetest man for getting a tug
boat toy for his Octopus and for being my forum boyfriend. KGoldy for being my first friend on
NR, and IRL, and for having a little bit of everything and then adding a little bit more of
everything to his tank. I miss Newman, who knew every little thing about every little thing in his
little thing. I learned how to do a water change and about gluing frags from StevieT, and I wish I
could keep a pico alive like Brandon429. I want to build amazing little things with the finesse that
NanoTopia shows, I want to know everything there is to know about RO/DI like AZDesertRat,
and I want to be detail oriented and minimalistic all at the same time like Nano Sapiens.
These folks and others inspire me every day. This hobby has enriched my life in ways I cannot
express.
- Kat

Marine Depot, Supersizeme, rick12 and 23 others like this

2 Comments

Reelknotty
Feb 13 2014 06:09 PM
Beautiful... Congratulations

MarieH
Sep 26 2014 04:43 AM
Congrats, beautiful tank!
Quote
I have 3 goals for this tank: total water stability is one. Second, to keep my hands out of the tank.
Third, to find a way to hide the wires from all the equipment around the tank!
me too... enjoy more, fiddle less

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Current Issue Tank of the Month

Volume 9, Issue 7
Tank of the Month

This Article Features Photo Zoom

Krzysztof Kudraszow's (kshow) Reef Aquarium

Introduction
I am not going to be original here, but I have to say that this prize is a great surprise
for me. Like others, I initially created the tank for myself. Every step I made brings
great satisfaction to me. However, I also found that I like to share my hobby with
others. I usually place my tank on online forums because I want to get some feeback
(notes, tips, etc). Im always curious to hear what people think about it. Its even
better when you find that people appreciate what you do! I have to admit that having
my aquarium as the Tank of the Month is a huge privilege.
My name is Krzysztof Kudraszow. Im from Biaystok, Poland where, unfortunately,
having a marine aquarium is quite an exotic hobby. I got into the hobby after my first
visit in Egypt in 2003. Before that time I didnt realize that it was possible to have a
piece of that beauty in ones home. Fortunately, I found some information about how
it is possible! I decided no matter what, I was going to have a reef tank. Though I now
know it is a difficult and expensive hobby.
Before getting my first aquarium set up, I decided to wait until I got my new
apartment. During that time my goal was to gather some knowledge on how to keep
marine organisms. I found most of my information from mainly Polish forums and, of
course, Reefcentral. I made a trip one day to go see Andrzej Niewiarowskis aquarium.
This was the first time I had actually ever seen a reef tank and I have to add it was
probably the most beautiful aquarium in Poland. It made a huge impression on me
and I also now had an outline to follow for a functional reef tank.
In 2007, I managed to start up my first tank. It was a 300 liter cube (79 US gallons)
located in a wall of my place. It was my first attempt keeping live rock, soft corals,
fish, and somethings incredible! I found myself in front of the glass staring at it for
many hours, not mattering if it was day or night. Every time I found myself staring, I
happened upon a beautiful finding or something coming out from my own piece of
coral reef that I didn't know was there.

I played around with a few filtration methods, checked out some devices, and worked
with the lighting. I was already waiting until I could bring my new knowledge into play
with a new tank.
A new stage of my journey came with the advent of the most beautiful thing in my
life, the birth of my son. I had to make room for my newborn so I was forced to move
my tank to the main room. I took advantage of this situation and decided to enlarge
my aquarium to 500 liters (132 US gallons).

Current Tank
In my previous aquarium I used ceramic rock and my own PCV tube for aquascaping.
This time I chose a construction methodology that gives the viewer an impression of
depth while providing lots of space for placing SPS corals. In the current tank I
forewent PVC tubes all together and decided to go with a lighter rock while using less
of it. This allowed me to give the tank a sense of depth and create a lot of room for
SPS corals, while at the same time giving the fish and the inverts a lot of nooks.

While moving to the larger aquarium, I decided to change the skimmer, circulation
pumps, and lighting. The most important change was the filtration method. Around
that time a new product appeared on a market, NP Reducing Bio Pellets. After my first
visit at Krzysztof Tryc I knew that I had to use this method with my new tank.
During the move it took about 2 months to tear down my old tank and put up my new
one. For those two months I had a friend of mine, Rafal Omieljaniuk, keep my corals. I
would like to formally thank him for his kindness as all of my livestock was kept in
good hands. Some livestock from my old tank did quite well during the move and to
my surprise in the course of those two months it grew and had some nice colors
appear. So from the beginning of my new tank it looked nice.

System Profile
Display tank: 130 gallons / 500 liter (122 x 72 x 58 h)
Sump:44 gallons 110 x 40 x 40 cm .
Skimmer: Royal Exclusive Bubble King mini 180
Lighting:ATI Powermodule 8 x 54 W
Circulation: Return- Deltec HLP 4040 Tunze 6105 x 2, Nano Wavebox
Controllor: Profilux

 Dosing Cotroller: Profilux

Media Reactor: BioPellets and RowaPhos
Lighting
The size of my tank depended on the type of lighting I had available. Ive always
claimed that the best solution for both the corals and me was HQI. I chose this
lighting for my old cube tank (250W Reeflux 12k + Lumenarc). However, with my new
aquarium I went with an alternative, the T5 bulb. I chose T5s after weighing the
economic and aesthetic benefits/losses and also with eliminating the large amount of
evaporation I get with my old HQI setup from heat. Fortunately, it turned out to be
great idea and better than I expected. The reef is quite colorful and catches
everybodys eye. I found that the colors of corals were more important than the
shimmering light. The corals felt that way too as everything started to become
brighter. The large selection of bulbs to pick from allowed me to get the right
combination of color to my eyes.
I feel that I only made one mistake with this lighting choice, an 8x54W. In the future I
will replace it with 10 x 54W ATI Powermodule. The reason is not because of the
actually diference in power from the extra bulbs but the ability to better light my
tank. Currently, the corals at the front are shaded, resulting in slower growth as well
as the corals towards the back. I believe this upgrade will solve that issue.
Ive tested only ATI and Korallen Zucht bulbs. My current configuration, starting at the
front, is:
Lighting from Front to Back:
54W ATI Blue Plus
54W ATI Purple
54W ATI Blue Plus
54W ATI Aquablue Special
54W ATI Purple
54W ATI Blue Plus
54W ATI Aquablue Special
54W ATI Blue Plus

Filtration
I didnt want my filtration to be complicated or too time-consuming with upkeep so I
bet on simplicity. The main filtration is the live rock of about 60 kg, the live sand
(Nature's Ocean - Bio-Activ Live Aragonite about 40 kg), and a skimmer (Bubble King
mini 180). The water filtration is assisted with a fluidized bed filter containing Bio
Pellets (aboout 800 ml). If the phosphates go up above 0.04ppm I use an additional
flow filter with Rowa Phos to help bring the levels back down. In addition, once a
month I refill a bag with 200mL of Ehein lub KZ carbon. This amount of filtration works
well together giving me the desirable efects I want.

Water Parameters:
Specific gravity: 1.026
Calcium: 410 ppm
Alkalinity: 6.9 dKH
Magnesium: 1200 ppm
Temperature: 25 - 26 C
Phoshates: <0.04 ppm
Nitrates: undetectable
Water Movement
I believe that this was the most difficult issue in my tank to resolve. It took a lot of
time until I found the best location for my flow pumps. I use the Tunze pumps due to
my belief that the Tunze have a lower incidence of failure. If they do stop working the
service on them is fast and in my opinion the best. I started with Tunze Turbelle
Stream 6105 controlled with Profilux but after few months I ended up adding a Nano
Wavebox. My tank is also supported by a Deltec HLP 4040 main pump.
Maintenance, Feeding & Supplement

Most of aquarists would concur that regular water change is key in this hobby. I try to
do one every two weeks, roughly 10-15% of the total water volume with Aquarium
Systems Instant Ocean salt. During these changes I do other maintenance like
cleaning the cup of skimmer and refilling new carbon once a month.
I use the Balling method. Sometimes I add KZ amino acids (2-3 drops per week). My
fish are fed 2-3 times a day with a blend of artemia, mysis, lobster, crab eggs, and
Spirulina-Algae. The tang fish also eat nori from time to time.
As for coral feeding I have to admit that they werent fed for a long time, but when I
started I notice some diference in growth or colors. When I feed it is mainly Reef
Pearls and Reef Booster.

Livestock
My tank is filled with about 35 fish. I like to keep many of the same species so that
they will swim in a group, such as my Pseudoanthias and Apogons. Unfortunately, I
cant feed the tank inhabitants often so I chose Pseudanthias squamipinnis and
Zoramia leptacanthus for easier upkeeping. My tank includes:
Fish:
Zebrasoma flavescens
Paracanthurus hepatus
Naso elegans
Ctenochaetus binotatus
Amphiprion ocellaris x 2
Pseudanthias squamipinnis x 3
Zoramia leptacanthus x 17
Genicanthus bellus
Anampses meleagrides
Halichoeres chrystus
Labroides dimidiatus
dragonet

My coral collection contains about 30 SPS (acropora, seriatopora, and montipora).

There are 10 LPS species (catalapylia, cynarina, and goniopora). My favorite coral is
Seriatopora caliendrum and Pavona decussatus (cactus coral).

Acknowledgements
I want to thank Reefkeeping magazine for giving me the chance of showing of my
tank. Lots of thanks to Krzysztof Tryc, Andrzej Niewiarowski, Rafa Omieljaniuk, and
ukasz Kur. These are great people that are knowledgeable and passionate. I can
always count on them. Last but not least, Im grateful for everything my wife has
allowed me to do. Without her help I wouldnt have this tank.

Feel free to comment or ask questions about my tank in the Tank of the Month thread
on Reef Central.

Reefkeeping Magazine Reef Central, LLC - Copyright 2002 - 2015 - All rights
reserved.
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