REEF OF THE MONTH - October 2023: Victory Reef! 650 Gallons of Thriving Marine Splendor!

IntrinsicReef · Oct 20, 2023

chipchipbro said:
Brother, thats a masterpiece of a tank!
I mean this looks like art to me, breathtaking and truly beautiful.

Amazing work

If it is art, it will be the only art I will ever produce, because I can barely draw a stick figure!
It is cool to think that something could be considered art that is just a distillation of a natural environment. I was listening to ReefBum's most recent interview with a bonsai grower turned reefer. There are definitely some similarities between how we manage corals in a reef tank and managing trees in pots.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 20, 2023

I think this is a fabulous reef tank that anyone should be very proud of. Congrats to both of you!

I do have to be a stickler and question the accuracy of this statement by Wes:

“The ocean has vast amounts of water to constantly replace minerals in water around the corals. The corals use these carbonates quickly in our small water volumes, and we get wide pH swings as a result.”

I don’t think consumption of alkalinity has much if anything to do with why we get pH swings. It’s variable amounts of CO2. Many folks tightly control alk and still get pH swings.

IntrinsicReef · Oct 20, 2023

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
I think this is a fabulous reef tank that anyone should be very proud of. Congrats to both of you!

I do have to be a stickler and question the accuracy of this statement by Wes:

“The ocean has vast amounts of water to constantly replace minerals in water around the corals. The corals use these carbonates quickly in our small water volumes, and we get wide pH swings as a result.”

I don’t think consumption of alkalinity has much if anything to do with why we get pH swings. It’s variable amounts of CO2. Many folks tightly control alk and still get pH swings.

Hi Randy. I had a feeling I would get called out for this. I probably should have clarified my observations ( I won't call it a position because I am open to different methods and ideas). I don't think I said anything about tightly controlling alk. In fact, that is opposite of what I do. I target an average pH of 8.2-8.3 and let the alk fall where it may. This depends on (like you mentioned) the amount of CO2 introduced to the water by the respiration of organisms like people, fish, bacteria, algae etc. The CO2 injection of calcium reactors will also have an effect on this relationship. I find the alk will settle at different readings in different situations. My statement was that even though people keep alk at elevated levels, there seems to be a consensus that it shouldn't go much over 8.5 dkh. I have not heard a good reason for this. I know there is some precipitation risk at higher levels, but don't know where those thresholds are. I have been mostly empirical in formulating my methods.
Using kalkwasser to break apart (?) carbonic acid and introducing fresh air are great for elevating pH. But I end up using 2 part buffer to make up the gap to achieve natural seawater pH. I have found this to be very useful in keeping sensitive Acropora, but many other corals don't mind the lower pH. I would love to hear your thoughts on this method. I have learned much from your articles and posts over the years but retained less than I care to admit. Thanks -Wes

stevieduk · Oct 20, 2023

Daniel@R2R said:
Tank Thread: Victory Reef 600 Gallon SPS Dominant 4.5 years Growth

Introduction: This month, we're excited to present this awe-inspiring reef from Austin, TX! This reef is owned by Dr. Billy Franklin and maintained by Wes Corbyn (@IntrinsicReef), owner of of Intrinsic Reef Design. Both of these men bring their unique visions and experiences as hobbyists to bear on the plan and formation of this beautiful reef, and so in this article, we will hear from both men with regard to the details of the design and vision of this reef system. Most of the answers below are provided by Wes, so unless exception is indicated, you can assume the maintenance plan is stated from his expertise. We're excited to present to you, the Reef of the Month for December 2023: Victory Reef! 650 Gallons of Thriving Marine Splendor!

Opening Thoughts:

Dr. Billy Franklin: My name is Billy Franklin. I am a Family Medicine physician in Austin, Texas. I never imagined our tank could ever be the Reef of the Month. Whether you would perceive me as innovative or oppositional-defiant depends on YOUR perspective, but in most things, I rarely follow convention. Though truly stunning, most ROTMs contain perfectly balanced and isolated colonies. While I admire and understand the practical aspects of this approach, my desire was to create a tank that looked WILD. My vision was something savage, chaotic, feral. This meant a tall display with massive (in my dream) corals. Polyps gathered from around the world, grafted to artificial rock and then placed in an acrylic container is anything but natural. Still, I wanted to convey in this simulated reality a sense of the coral making the decisions rather than the reef hobbyist. Fish were chosen mostly out of utility. The perfect synergy of polyp and zooxanthellae is king in this world. The tank is a custom build out of Florida that began life as a Dialyseas system that would theoretically eliminate the need for water changes.

The dimensions of the tank are 54" x 56" x 48" approximately and estimated to be approximately 650 gallons empty. Incrementalism over time added a custom sump along with a long list of gear. I am not proud of the fact, but I am the opposite of minimalistic. When I say “our” tank above, I am referencing Wes Corbyn of Intrinsic Reef who is the man who did the real work necessary to make my improbable fantasy tank into a reality. This is his tank as much as it is mine including being chosen for this honor.

Wes Corbyn of Intrinsic Reef Design: My name is Wes Corbyn and I own Intrinsic Reef Design in Austin, TX. I started my service company in 2008, and have maintained this reef for 7 years. We restarted this system from scratch in March 2019.

Photo by photos_by_mkay

System Profile:

Display tank: 54" x 56" x 48" (650 gallons)

Glass or Acrylic: Acrylic

Stand:Steel

Sump: 2 custom 48"x24"x28"T sumps plumbed together. First chamber is skimmer, 2nd is Live rock/ probe chamber, 3rd Sponge filters and carbon, 4th More live rock, 5th Submersible pumps, 6th Refugium with Caulerpa racemosa, 7th Return chamber

Protein skimmer: Deltec 6000i in-sump skimmer

Carbon/phosphate filtration: Carbon once a month, GFO in TLF reactor if needed

Return pump: Vectra L2

Water circulation: 4 EcoTech Vortech Mp60s, 2 Maxspect Gyre XF280s, and 3 Neptune Wavs

Lighting (display): Lighting: 8 Ecotech Radion XR30 Pro, 2 Kessil A500x, 2 Kessil Ap700, 3 Kessil A160 Tuna Blue for spotlighting vertical rock columns

Lighting (refugium): Pax Bellum C36, BuildmyLED 36"

Calcium/alkalinity/magnesium dosing equipment: Neptune Dos x 2 ( 4 channels)

Auto top-off: Neptune FMM

Heating/cooling: JBJ 1.5HP Commercial chiller, Ebo-jager heaters

System control: Neptune Apex

Any other details: Pax Bellum A.R.I.D C36 Chaeto Reactor, Aqua UV 120 watt sterilizer, 6 stage RO/DI

A photo of the tank in its early development

Here it is today.

Photo by photos_by_mkay

Water Circulation and Flow Summary and Objectives: The circulation pumps are mounted on the equipment room side viewing panel. They are mounted in a vertical configuration spanning the 4ft vertical height and create a gyre around the center rock work.

Water Parameters:

Temp: 76.5-78.5

pH: 8.2-8.4 over the course of the week. Fluctuation only about .1 daily

Specific gravity: 1.027

NO3: Currently running around 20ppm of Nitrate. We have discussed lowering it, but coral coloration is good and minimal nuisance algae

Ca: 400-450ppm I like to keep calcium on the high side. This gives a pool the corals can draw from if a dosing line gets clogged or pump fails.

Alk: 10 dkh. I recently bumped up the soda ash to target an 8.3 average pH. The corals have responded well

Mg: 1350pp

PO4: .4-.12ppm The corals utilize so much phosphate that this number jumps around depending when I test

What salt mix do you use? Reef Crystals. I am not especially picky about salt. I end up dosing what is needed anyway.

What kind of rock did you start with?

Real Reef Brand cultured rock. I stacked the center pyramid of rock around the overflow without epoxy or glue. I made a bottom ring and as I stacked upwards, the rock rings met in the center and became self supporting. The vertical columns have a PVC skeleton. We drilled center holes in the rock with a diamond tip bit and mounted to the skeleton. I have set up many tanks with Real Reef rock and have had great results. Cycles tanks almost immediately. We added fish and coral back in immediately after filling the tank with water.

What is your substrate? Nature's Ocean Live Sand

Calcium/Alkalinity/Magnesium Summary and Objectives:

I target pH and not alkalinity. I look at alkalinity as a buffer pool to keep the pH from falling. Personally, I think many hobbyists keep alk too low. The ocean has vast amounts of water to constantly replace minerals in water around the corals. The corals use these carbonates quickly in our small water volumes, and we get wide pH swings as a result. I test calcium weekly and adjust the doser as needed. We had a Neptune Trident on the system that was great for showing trends. Unfortunately, I struggle keeping those devices calibrated and trust my hand testing. I hand dose Magnesium weekly.

Photo by photos_by_mkay

What and how do you dose for the big 3 (alk/cal/mag)? Neptune Dos x2. The 1st channel doses 8700ml of RO water into the Kalkwasser stirrer daily, 2nd channel doses 1092ml of Soda Ash daily, 3rd channel doses 165ml of Red Sea Foundation A ( Calcium/ Strontium) daily, 4th channel doses minor and traces ( I custom mix according to ICP test).

Are you dosing anything else for your reef health (carbon dosing, aminos, etc.)? I hand dose Red Sea Trace Colors once a week according to calcium consumption. Red Sea AB+ aminos as well. The Trace Color system has provided a nice baseline for minors and traces. A few months ago I noticed a few Acropora turning green and one turning gray. I hadn't sent an ICP in a while, and it turned out iodine was very high and flourine was non detectable. I stopped the Trace A and started dosing ATI Flourine. The colors are coming back and iodine is falling. I believe in such an SPS dominant system, the corals were utilizing much more flourine for skeletal growth and less iodine. I have had more balanced results with the Red Sea Trace colors in more mixed reefs.

Lighting Summary and Objectives: Lighting on the display tank is made up of 8 Ecotech Radion XR30 Pro, 2 Kessil A500x, 2 Kessil Ap700, 3 Kessil A160 Tuna Blue for spotlighting vertical rock columns.

Photoperiod

Display tank: 10am-Midnight. Mostly blue for the first two hours, then full spectrum 12pm-7, then ramping down to blue/ uv for the evening

Refugium: Pax Bellum reverse daylight cycle 8pm-10am, Caulerpa refugium 24hr

Filtration and Water Quality Summary and Objectives: Skimmer in first sump chamber is main filtration. Sponge filters are cleaned monthly. They grow a lot of live Sponge and brittle stars on them between cleanings. I recently sent off an Aquabiomics test. Then dosed Dr. Tim's Waste Away and Eco-balance (alternately) for a month, and sent off another test. No other bottled bacteria had been added since the system reset. The ORP jumped by about 25% the first day after adding Waste Away. The first bacterial test showed low diversity and high Vibrio. A month later the test showed above-average diversity and much lower Vibrio. There was a reduction of STN on corals as well, but I raised pH and adjusted trace elements at the same time, so it wasn't a very controlled test.

What is your export strategy? Macro algae exports most nutrients. The corals themselves consume large amounts of nutrients so we dose Pax Bellum Nitrogen/Molybdenum to keep the ratio of Nitrate/ Phosphate above 100-1

What is your maintenance routine?

There are so many components to this system there is always something to do.

Daily: Feed daily and clean viewing panels a few times a week

Weekly: Average 4.5-5hrs weekly maintenance: Test water, 10% water change, clean skimmer cup/ venturi, refill dosing containers and kalkwasser, mix and dose minor/ trace elements, dose coral food and aminos, pull turf algae around top of tank where tangs can't access, trim and "garden" the corals (this takes significant amounts of time), battle coralline algae (this is always a losing battle. I end up sanding it down once a year or so)

Biweekly: Harvest Pax Bellum and Caulerpa

Monthly: clean sponges and replace carbon

Tank Inhabitants

Fish:

Achilles Tang "Acanthurus achilles"

Scopas Tang "Zebrasoma scopas"

Tomini Bristletooth Tang "Ctenochaetus tominiensis"

Spot cheeked Surgeonfish "Acanthurus nigrofuscus"

Heniochus Butterflyfish "Heniochus acuminatus"

Potter's Angelfish "Centropyge potteri"

Golden Dwarf Angelfish "Centropyge aurantia"

Marble Wrasse "Halichoeres hortulanus"

Dusky Wrasse "Halichoeres annularis"

Melanarus Wrasse " Halichoeres melanurus"

6 Line Wrasse " Pseudocheilinus hexataenia"

Ignitus Anthias "Pseudanthias ignitus"

Blotchy anthias "Odontanthias borbonius"

Maroon Clownfish "Premnas biaculeatus"

Mandarin Dragonet "Synchiropus splendidus

Red Mandarin Dragonet "Synchiropus splendidus cf."

Sleeper Goby "Valenciennea strigata"

Purple Dottyback "Pictichromis porphyrea"

Photo by photos_by_mkay

Photo by photos_by_mkay

Photo by photos_by_mkay

Photo by photos_by_mkay

Other Invertebrates:

Orange Collector Urchin "Tripneustes gratilla"

Pincushion urchin "Lytechinus variegatus"

Zebra Turbo Snail

Tridacna maxima

Dwarf hermit crabs

Corals:

Acropora (over 50 different species/color morphs)

Montipora (20 or so types)

Seriatopora (6 different)

Stylophora

Pocillopora

Pavona

Stylocoeniella

Porites, Psammocora

Cyphastrea, Leptoseris

Turbinaria

Duncanopsammia

Goniopora

Bernardpora

Euphyllia

Echinophyllia

Mycedium

Leptastrea

Favia

Acanthastrea

Caulastraea

Lobophytum

Zoanthus

Palythoa

Sinularia

Anthelia

Rhodactis

Gorgonians

Photo by photos_by_mkay

Photo by photos_by_mkay

Fish and Coral Feeding:

Fish: Once daily of TLF Sea Veggies, Mysis shrimp, Rod's Food, Formula 2, Reef Riot herbivore, and various other frozen cubes,

Corals: Poly Lab Reef Roids and Poly Booster once a week

How did you decide what to keep in your tank?

Dr. Franklin: I wish there was some method to the coral choices, but it really boiled down to choosing a wide variety of different corals that could handle the high PAR lighting and high flow current. While we have had some colorful and interesting invertebrates over the years, like fish, they were chosen as cleanup crew for the coral.

Any stocking regrets?

Dr. Franklin: Xenia, Green Star Polyps, and Anthelia have been too difficult to control

Any fish, invert, or coral you will NEVER keep?

Blue Palythoa toxica ("Arctic Ice" trade name). I (Wes) was poisoned twice trying to control it's spread. The palys and green star polyps started growing out of control, so I scrubbed the rock in tank. That evening I felt like I was coming down with the flu and had difficulty breathing. The next morning my hand was twice its normal size and infected. I visited urgent care and was prescribed Cipro. I did not know at the time about palytoxin. It happened again less than a month later and the urgent care doctor asked me questions about my work. I ended up doing some research and realized that the palys were poisoning me. I am very careful not to disturb palys now, and will never add them to a large system where they can't easily be removed with the rock. The silver lining is these incidents motivated the reset of the system. We broke the tank down with gloves and respirators, and bandsawed desirable coral from the rock. This reset gave us a clean slate to make the system what it is today.

What do you love most about the hobby?

Dr. Franklin: Trying to replicate a magnificent ecosystem is intellectually interesting but what I really love is watching the corals-like a mantra. Kind of a meditation and heart searching all in one until I notice something wrong with the tank then it's back in my head.

Wes of Intrinsic Reef: I love all aquatic habitats. When I can't be around water, having a reef tank in my home ( and work) gives me the same tranquility and wonder.

How long have you been doing this?

Dr. Franklin: I was 10 when I got my first tank 58 years ago but actual reefing began about 22 years ago.

Wes of Intrinsic Reef: I started my first Berlin style reef tank in 1998.

Who was responsible for getting you into the hobby?

Dr. Franklin: My best friend in my early childhood convinced me that we needed to start aquariums together.

Wes of Intrinsic Reef: In third grade, another student in my class brought baby black mollies to school, and I brought some home. We lived in a small town so my mom drove me 45 minutes to the nearest pet store and we purchased a small desktop aquarium.

Who or what in the hobby most influences/inspires you?

Dr. Franklin: My older brother needed a partner to dive with him. So in Junior High I began diving and that forms the true foundation of my respect for the ocean and coralline life. Sylvia Earle is an inspirational figure.

Wes of Intrinsic Reef: My first real inspiration was seeing Monterey Bay state aquarium as a child. The Mola exhibit was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen. I grew up exploring tide pools on the California coast, then moved to Central Texas when I was 9. I immediately started trying to recreate captive aquatic environments in the much more arid landscape.

If you could have any tank, what size would it be and why?

Dr. Franklin: 1,000 gallon display with 3000 gallon buried tank that would allow me to stock the display with a large number of fish. The tank would be layed out over 12 feet allowing for different coral environments from low illumination, low flow to high light, high flow.

Wes of Intrinsic Reef: I would like an aquarium I can dive in. Maybe someday...

Favorite fish? I (Wes) love the Achilles Tank in this tank. He is an incredibly active fish and fully utilizes the space and height of the tank. He does big loops in the MP60s' current. He also follows me around and begs for food.

Photo by photos_by_mkay

Favorite coral? Acropora in general. Their forms are so varied and archetypical of the reef.

Favorite invert? I recently collected Berghia Nudibranchs from a different tank they had cleared of Aiptasia, and added to this system. If they survive the wrasses and clear the Aiptasia, they will be my heroes.

How do you typically get over setbacks? Immediately jump into action to resolve the problems. I get anxiety if there are unresolved issues that I have the ability to remedy. I take stewardship of the animals very seriously.

Have you faced any major challenges with this particular tank, and if so, how did you overcome? One of the shipments of coral brought in pathogenic coral bacteria. It started showing up as distinct white bands on the SPS. I (Wes) read many scientific articles out of Florida and found that they were treating these issues with Amoxicillin. I started doing 4-hour antibiotic baths that were successful in stopping the necrosis. Sometimes, it required subsequent baths. The bacteria seemed to gain resistance to the drug over time. I tried Cipro baths, but it seemed harsher on the corals. As the colonies grew large, the baths were no longer feasible. Pulling a colony and mounting it back on vertical rock structure wasn't an option. I reached out to a company that formulated a paste to treat SCTLD in the wild. I ended up testing their product in this closed system with a very high success rate. They said they are trying to formulate a product for the hobbyist market, which will be a very useful tool for people with large coral colonies.

What's the best thing you ever bought for this tank?

Dr. Franklin: Kalkwasser.

Wes of Intrinsic Reef: Neptune Apex. The alerts have saved this tank countless times. Since someone isn't there everyday checking on it, the remote monitoring is essential.

What are your future plans for improvement/upgrade of the tank?

Dr. Franklin: Complete new build one day. See above, more lighting in the near future to get around the growth.

Any special tips for success or advice you'd like to share with other reefers? Consume information related to the hobby. Check out successful tank profiles on Reef2Reef and mimic their success. My reefing education was Two Little Fishies books and FAMA magazine. These days I listen to podcasts like Reef Bum, and read Reef Hobbyist Magazine and Coral magazine. Get your information from reliable sources and your journey will be much more enjoyable.

Final Thoughts?

Wes of Intrinsic Reef: Aquarium keeping has been mostly a personal journey for me throughout my life. When I started my service company, I enjoyed connecting with people through their aquariums. I have recently started sharing and communicating with the community at large, and that has been fulfilling. I have learned so much from forums such as Reef 2 Reef over the years, and I look forward to sharing my journey with others.

Reef2Reef would like to thank Dr Billy Franklin and Wes Corbyn of Intrinsic Reef Design (https://www.intrinsicreef.com/) for sharing this captivating reef with our community! The passion for the reef hobby that you both share has resulted in the creation and flourishing of an absolute masterpiece of a reef that we are grateful to enjoy with you. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and experiences with us!

Also, special thanks to Amanda Kay Myers for her excellent photographs contributed as part of the collection of photos of this reef. Her work is attributed under the photos above, and you can see more of her work on Instagram at photos_by_mkay.

When you see coral as good as this, it sort of blows a big hole in the teachings of "give your corals plenty of space because of coral wars"

Duzzy · Oct 20, 2023

Daniel@R2R said:
Tank Thread: Victory Reef 600 Gallon SPS Dominant 4.5 years Growth

Introduction: This month, we're excited to present this awe-inspiring reef from Austin, TX! This reef is owned by Dr. Billy Franklin and maintained by Wes Corbyn (@IntrinsicReef), owner of of Intrinsic Reef Design. Both of these men bring their unique visions and experiences as hobbyists to bear on the plan and formation of this beautiful reef, and so in this article, we will hear from both men with regard to the details of the design and vision of this reef system. Most of the answers below are provided by Wes, so unless exception is indicated, you can assume the maintenance plan is stated from his expertise. We're excited to present to you, the Reef of the Month for December 2023: Victory Reef! 650 Gallons of Thriving Marine Splendor!

Opening Thoughts:

Dr. Billy Franklin: My name is Billy Franklin. I am a Family Medicine physician in Austin, Texas. I never imagined our tank could ever be the Reef of the Month. Whether you would perceive me as innovative or oppositional-defiant depends on YOUR perspective, but in most things, I rarely follow convention. Though truly stunning, most ROTMs contain perfectly balanced and isolated colonies. While I admire and understand the practical aspects of this approach, my desire was to create a tank that looked WILD. My vision was something savage, chaotic, feral. This meant a tall display with massive (in my dream) corals. Polyps gathered from around the world, grafted to artificial rock and then placed in an acrylic container is anything but natural. Still, I wanted to convey in this simulated reality a sense of the coral making the decisions rather than the reef hobbyist. Fish were chosen mostly out of utility. The perfect synergy of polyp and zooxanthellae is king in this world. The tank is a custom build out of Florida that began life as a Dialyseas system that would theoretically eliminate the need for water changes.

The dimensions of the tank are 54" x 56" x 48" approximately and estimated to be approximately 650 gallons empty. Incrementalism over time added a custom sump along with a long list of gear. I am not proud of the fact, but I am the opposite of minimalistic. When I say “our” tank above, I am referencing Wes Corbyn of Intrinsic Reef who is the man who did the real work necessary to make my improbable fantasy tank into a reality. This is his tank as much as it is mine including being chosen for this honor.

Wes Corbyn of Intrinsic Reef Design: My name is Wes Corbyn and I own Intrinsic Reef Design in Austin, TX. I started my service company in 2008, and have maintained this reef for 7 years. We restarted this system from scratch in March 2019.

Photo by photos_by_mkay

System Profile:

Display tank: 54" x 56" x 48" (650 gallons)

Glass or Acrylic: Acrylic

Stand:Steel

Sump: 2 custom 48"x24"x28"T sumps plumbed together. First chamber is skimmer, 2nd is Live rock/ probe chamber, 3rd Sponge filters and carbon, 4th More live rock, 5th Submersible pumps, 6th Refugium with Caulerpa racemosa, 7th Return chamber

Protein skimmer: Deltec 6000i in-sump skimmer

Carbon/phosphate filtration: Carbon once a month, GFO in TLF reactor if needed

Return pump: Vectra L2

Water circulation: 4 EcoTech Vortech Mp60s, 2 Maxspect Gyre XF280s, and 3 Neptune Wavs

Lighting (display): Lighting: 8 Ecotech Radion XR30 Pro, 2 Kessil A500x, 2 Kessil Ap700, 3 Kessil A160 Tuna Blue for spotlighting vertical rock columns

Lighting (refugium): Pax Bellum C36, BuildmyLED 36"

Calcium/alkalinity/magnesium dosing equipment: Neptune Dos x 2 ( 4 channels)

Auto top-off: Neptune FMM

Heating/cooling: JBJ 1.5HP Commercial chiller, Ebo-jager heaters

System control: Neptune Apex

Any other details: Pax Bellum A.R.I.D C36 Chaeto Reactor, Aqua UV 120 watt sterilizer, 6 stage RO/DI

A photo of the tank in its early development

Here it is today.

Photo by photos_by_mkay

Water Circulation and Flow Summary and Objectives: The circulation pumps are mounted on the equipment room side viewing panel. They are mounted in a vertical configuration spanning the 4ft vertical height and create a gyre around the center rock work.

Water Parameters:

Temp: 76.5-78.5

pH: 8.2-8.4 over the course of the week. Fluctuation only about .1 daily

Specific gravity: 1.027

NO3: Currently running around 20ppm of Nitrate. We have discussed lowering it, but coral coloration is good and minimal nuisance algae

Ca: 400-450ppm I like to keep calcium on the high side. This gives a pool the corals can draw from if a dosing line gets clogged or pump fails.

Alk: 10 dkh. I recently bumped up the soda ash to target an 8.3 average pH. The corals have responded well

Mg: 1350pp

PO4: .4-.12ppm The corals utilize so much phosphate that this number jumps around depending when I test

What salt mix do you use? Reef Crystals. I am not especially picky about salt. I end up dosing what is needed anyway.

What kind of rock did you start with?

Real Reef Brand cultured rock. I stacked the center pyramid of rock around the overflow without epoxy or glue. I made a bottom ring and as I stacked upwards, the rock rings met in the center and became self supporting. The vertical columns have a PVC skeleton. We drilled center holes in the rock with a diamond tip bit and mounted to the skeleton. I have set up many tanks with Real Reef rock and have had great results. Cycles tanks almost immediately. We added fish and coral back in immediately after filling the tank with water.

What is your substrate? Nature's Ocean Live Sand

Calcium/Alkalinity/Magnesium Summary and Objectives:

I target pH and not alkalinity. I look at alkalinity as a buffer pool to keep the pH from falling. Personally, I think many hobbyists keep alk too low. The ocean has vast amounts of water to constantly replace minerals in water around the corals. The corals use these carbonates quickly in our small water volumes, and we get wide pH swings as a result. I test calcium weekly and adjust the doser as needed. We had a Neptune Trident on the system that was great for showing trends. Unfortunately, I struggle keeping those devices calibrated and trust my hand testing. I hand dose Magnesium weekly.

Photo by photos_by_mkay

What and how do you dose for the big 3 (alk/cal/mag)? Neptune Dos x2. The 1st channel doses 8700ml of RO water into the Kalkwasser stirrer daily, 2nd channel doses 1092ml of Soda Ash daily, 3rd channel doses 165ml of Red Sea Foundation A ( Calcium/ Strontium) daily, 4th channel doses minor and traces ( I custom mix according to ICP test).

Are you dosing anything else for your reef health (carbon dosing, aminos, etc.)? I hand dose Red Sea Trace Colors once a week according to calcium consumption. Red Sea AB+ aminos as well. The Trace Color system has provided a nice baseline for minors and traces. A few months ago I noticed a few Acropora turning green and one turning gray. I hadn't sent an ICP in a while, and it turned out iodine was very high and flourine was non detectable. I stopped the Trace A and started dosing ATI Flourine. The colors are coming back and iodine is falling. I believe in such an SPS dominant system, the corals were utilizing much more flourine for skeletal growth and less iodine. I have had more balanced results with the Red Sea Trace colors in more mixed reefs.

Lighting Summary and Objectives: Lighting on the display tank is made up of 8 Ecotech Radion XR30 Pro, 2 Kessil A500x, 2 Kessil Ap700, 3 Kessil A160 Tuna Blue for spotlighting vertical rock columns.

Photoperiod

Display tank: 10am-Midnight. Mostly blue for the first two hours, then full spectrum 12pm-7, then ramping down to blue/ uv for the evening

Refugium: Pax Bellum reverse daylight cycle 8pm-10am, Caulerpa refugium 24hr

Filtration and Water Quality Summary and Objectives: Skimmer in first sump chamber is main filtration. Sponge filters are cleaned monthly. They grow a lot of live Sponge and brittle stars on them between cleanings. I recently sent off an Aquabiomics test. Then dosed Dr. Tim's Waste Away and Eco-balance (alternately) for a month, and sent off another test. No other bottled bacteria had been added since the system reset. The ORP jumped by about 25% the first day after adding Waste Away. The first bacterial test showed low diversity and high Vibrio. A month later the test showed above-average diversity and much lower Vibrio. There was a reduction of STN on corals as well, but I raised pH and adjusted trace elements at the same time, so it wasn't a very controlled test.

What is your export strategy? Macro algae exports most nutrients. The corals themselves consume large amounts of nutrients so we dose Pax Bellum Nitrogen/Molybdenum to keep the ratio of Nitrate/ Phosphate above 100-1

What is your maintenance routine?

There are so many components to this system there is always something to do.

Daily: Feed daily and clean viewing panels a few times a week

Weekly: Average 4.5-5hrs weekly maintenance: Test water, 10% water change, clean skimmer cup/ venturi, refill dosing containers and kalkwasser, mix and dose minor/ trace elements, dose coral food and aminos, pull turf algae around top of tank where tangs can't access, trim and "garden" the corals (this takes significant amounts of time), battle coralline algae (this is always a losing battle. I end up sanding it down once a year or so)

Biweekly: Harvest Pax Bellum and Caulerpa

Monthly: clean sponges and replace carbon

Tank Inhabitants

Fish:

Achilles Tang "Acanthurus achilles"

Scopas Tang "Zebrasoma scopas"

Tomini Bristletooth Tang "Ctenochaetus tominiensis"

Spot cheeked Surgeonfish "Acanthurus nigrofuscus"

Heniochus Butterflyfish "Heniochus acuminatus"

Potter's Angelfish "Centropyge potteri"

Golden Dwarf Angelfish "Centropyge aurantia"

Marble Wrasse "Halichoeres hortulanus"

Dusky Wrasse "Halichoeres annularis"

Melanarus Wrasse " Halichoeres melanurus"

6 Line Wrasse " Pseudocheilinus hexataenia"

Ignitus Anthias "Pseudanthias ignitus"

Blotchy anthias "Odontanthias borbonius"

Maroon Clownfish "Premnas biaculeatus"

Mandarin Dragonet "Synchiropus splendidus

Red Mandarin Dragonet "Synchiropus splendidus cf."

Sleeper Goby "Valenciennea strigata"

Purple Dottyback "Pictichromis porphyrea"

Photo by photos_by_mkay

Photo by photos_by_mkay

Photo by photos_by_mkay

Photo by photos_by_mkay

Other Invertebrates:

Orange Collector Urchin "Tripneustes gratilla"

Pincushion urchin "Lytechinus variegatus"

Zebra Turbo Snail

Tridacna maxima

Dwarf hermit crabs

Corals:

Acropora (over 50 different species/color morphs)

Montipora (20 or so types)

Seriatopora (6 different)

Stylophora

Pocillopora

Pavona

Stylocoeniella

Porites, Psammocora

Cyphastrea, Leptoseris

Turbinaria

Duncanopsammia

Goniopora

Bernardpora

Euphyllia

Echinophyllia

Mycedium

Leptastrea

Favia

Acanthastrea

Caulastraea

Lobophytum

Zoanthus

Palythoa

Sinularia

Anthelia

Rhodactis

Gorgonians

Photo by photos_by_mkay

Photo by photos_by_mkay

Fish and Coral Feeding:

Fish: Once daily of TLF Sea Veggies, Mysis shrimp, Rod's Food, Formula 2, Reef Riot herbivore, and various other frozen cubes,

Corals: Poly Lab Reef Roids and Poly Booster once a week

How did you decide what to keep in your tank?

Dr. Franklin: I wish there was some method to the coral choices, but it really boiled down to choosing a wide variety of different corals that could handle the high PAR lighting and high flow current. While we have had some colorful and interesting invertebrates over the years, like fish, they were chosen as cleanup crew for the coral.

Any stocking regrets?

Dr. Franklin: Xenia, Green Star Polyps, and Anthelia have been too difficult to control

Any fish, invert, or coral you will NEVER keep?

Blue Palythoa toxica ("Arctic Ice" trade name). I (Wes) was poisoned twice trying to control it's spread. The palys and green star polyps started growing out of control, so I scrubbed the rock in tank. That evening I felt like I was coming down with the flu and had difficulty breathing. The next morning my hand was twice its normal size and infected. I visited urgent care and was prescribed Cipro. I did not know at the time about palytoxin. It happened again less than a month later and the urgent care doctor asked me questions about my work. I ended up doing some research and realized that the palys were poisoning me. I am very careful not to disturb palys now, and will never add them to a large system where they can't easily be removed with the rock. The silver lining is these incidents motivated the reset of the system. We broke the tank down with gloves and respirators, and bandsawed desirable coral from the rock. This reset gave us a clean slate to make the system what it is today.

What do you love most about the hobby?

Dr. Franklin: Trying to replicate a magnificent ecosystem is intellectually interesting but what I really love is watching the corals-like a mantra. Kind of a meditation and heart searching all in one until I notice something wrong with the tank then it's back in my head.

Wes of Intrinsic Reef: I love all aquatic habitats. When I can't be around water, having a reef tank in my home ( and work) gives me the same tranquility and wonder.

How long have you been doing this?

Dr. Franklin: I was 10 when I got my first tank 58 years ago but actual reefing began about 22 years ago.

Wes of Intrinsic Reef: I started my first Berlin style reef tank in 1998.

Who was responsible for getting you into the hobby?

Dr. Franklin: My best friend in my early childhood convinced me that we needed to start aquariums together.

Wes of Intrinsic Reef: In third grade, another student in my class brought baby black mollies to school, and I brought some home. We lived in a small town so my mom drove me 45 minutes to the nearest pet store and we purchased a small desktop aquarium.

Who or what in the hobby most influences/inspires you?

Dr. Franklin: My older brother needed a partner to dive with him. So in Junior High I began diving and that forms the true foundation of my respect for the ocean and coralline life. Sylvia Earle is an inspirational figure.

Wes of Intrinsic Reef: My first real inspiration was seeing Monterey Bay state aquarium as a child. The Mola exhibit was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen. I grew up exploring tide pools on the California coast, then moved to Central Texas when I was 9. I immediately started trying to recreate captive aquatic environments in the much more arid landscape.

If you could have any tank, what size would it be and why?

Dr. Franklin: 1,000 gallon display with 3000 gallon buried tank that would allow me to stock the display with a large number of fish. The tank would be layed out over 12 feet allowing for different coral environments from low illumination, low flow to high light, high flow.

Wes of Intrinsic Reef: I would like an aquarium I can dive in. Maybe someday...

Favorite fish? I (Wes) love the Achilles Tank in this tank. He is an incredibly active fish and fully utilizes the space and height of the tank. He does big loops in the MP60s' current. He also follows me around and begs for food.

Photo by photos_by_mkay

Favorite coral? Acropora in general. Their forms are so varied and archetypical of the reef.

Favorite invert? I recently collected Berghia Nudibranchs from a different tank they had cleared of Aiptasia, and added to this system. If they survive the wrasses and clear the Aiptasia, they will be my heroes.

How do you typically get over setbacks? Immediately jump into action to resolve the problems. I get anxiety if there are unresolved issues that I have the ability to remedy. I take stewardship of the animals very seriously.

Have you faced any major challenges with this particular tank, and if so, how did you overcome? One of the shipments of coral brought in pathogenic coral bacteria. It started showing up as distinct white bands on the SPS. I (Wes) read many scientific articles out of Florida and found that they were treating these issues with Amoxicillin. I started doing 4-hour antibiotic baths that were successful in stopping the necrosis. Sometimes, it required subsequent baths. The bacteria seemed to gain resistance to the drug over time. I tried Cipro baths, but it seemed harsher on the corals. As the colonies grew large, the baths were no longer feasible. Pulling a colony and mounting it back on vertical rock structure wasn't an option. I reached out to a company that formulated a paste to treat SCTLD in the wild. I ended up testing their product in this closed system with a very high success rate. They said they are trying to formulate a product for the hobbyist market, which will be a very useful tool for people with large coral colonies.

What's the best thing you ever bought for this tank?

Dr. Franklin: Kalkwasser.

Wes of Intrinsic Reef: Neptune Apex. The alerts have saved this tank countless times. Since someone isn't there everyday checking on it, the remote monitoring is essential.

What are your future plans for improvement/upgrade of the tank?

Dr. Franklin: Complete new build one day. See above, more lighting in the near future to get around the growth.

Any special tips for success or advice you'd like to share with other reefers? Consume information related to the hobby. Check out successful tank profiles on Reef2Reef and mimic their success. My reefing education was Two Little Fishies books and FAMA magazine. These days I listen to podcasts like Reef Bum, and read Reef Hobbyist Magazine and Coral magazine. Get your information from reliable sources and your journey will be much more enjoyable.

Final Thoughts?

Wes of Intrinsic Reef: Aquarium keeping has been mostly a personal journey for me throughout my life. When I started my service company, I enjoyed connecting with people through their aquariums. I have recently started sharing and communicating with the community at large, and that has been fulfilling. I have learned so much from forums such as Reef 2 Reef over the years, and I look forward to sharing my journey with others.

Reef2Reef would like to thank Dr. Billy Franklin and Wes Corbyn of Intrinsic Reef Design (https://www.intrinsicreef.com/) for sharing this captivating reef with our community! The passion for the reef hobby that you both share has resulted in the creation and flourishing of an absolute masterpiece of a reef that we are grateful to enjoy with you. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and experiences with us!

Also, special thanks to Amanda Kay Myers for her excellent photographs contributed as part of the collection of photos of this reef. Her work is attributed under the photos above, and you can see more of her work on Instagram at photos_by_mkay.

Exquisite tank, just beautiful!

IntrinsicReef · Oct 20, 2023

stevieduk said:
When you see coral as good as this, it sort of blows a big hole in the teachings of "give your corals plenty of space because of coral wars"

Oh, there are coral wars. Mycedium's sweepers are ruthless. Montipora steamrolls almost anything. Stylophora will outgrow just about any other coral. Lots of pruning and relocating. With a 4ft deep tank sometimes that is difficult. I resort to shading and playing corals against each other. Keeping like corals together as well. I recently glued a Bernardpora on top of a Stylophora to sting it and stop vertical growth. It is actually working quite well.

tsharpe291 · Oct 20, 2023

Absolutely incredible tank!

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 20, 2023

IntrinsicReef said:
Hi Randy. I had a feeling I would get called out for this. I probably should have clarified my observations ( I won't call it a position because I am open to different methods and ideas). I don't think I said anything about tightly controlling alk. In fact, that is opposite of what I do. I target an average pH of 8.2-8.3 and let the alk fall where it may. This depends on (like you mentioned) the amount of CO2 introduced to the water by the respiration of organisms like people, fish, bacteria, algae etc. The CO2 injection of calcium reactors will also have an effect on this relationship. I find the alk will settle at different readings in different situations. My statement was that even though people keep alk at elevated levels, there seems to be a consensus that it shouldn't go much over 8.5 dkh. I have not heard a good reason for this. I know there is some precipitation risk at higher levels, but don't know where those thresholds are. I have been mostly empirical in formulating my methods.
Using kalkwasser to break apart (?) carbonic acid and introducing fresh air are great for elevating pH. But I end up using 2 part buffer to make up the gap to achieve natural seawater pH. I have found this to be very useful in keeping sensitive Acropora, but many other corals don't mind the lower pH. I would love to hear your thoughts on this method. I have learned much from your articles and posts over the years but retained less than I care to admit. Thanks -Wes

I don’t pretend to know what the best way to keep a reef tank is. The availability of bicarbonate and carbonate to corals is intertwined with both alkalinity and pH In ways most reefkeepers do not appreciate. Control by pH is not an unreasonable approach, and clearly it is very successful here.

IntrinsicReef · Oct 20, 2023

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
I don’t pretend to know what the best way to keep a reef tank is. The availability of bicarbonate and carbonate to corals is intertwined with both alkalinity and pH In ways most reefkeepers do not appreciate. Control by pH is not an unreasonable approach, and clearly it is very successful here.

Thank you for the response. Do you know of any literature regarding the precipitation of elements by elevated alkalinity? The numbers I remember seeing for precipitation of calcium, magnesium etc were quite high, and not in a normal reef tank range. I am really curious about the alleged negative effect of high alk/alk swing on corals many people seem to agree on. I haven't really seen these issues across the systems I manage, but I am curious where the thresholds are. Where high alk becomes a problem from a chemical perspective. Thanks again

Peace River · Oct 20, 2023

Stunning tank!

Mikeltee · Oct 20, 2023

My Achilles tang does Loops around the MP40 all day long. That's nuts! He just started doing it a few weeks ago. Beautiful tank!

IntrinsicReef · Oct 20, 2023

Mikeltee said:
My Achilles tang does Loops around the MP40 all day long. That's nuts! He just started doing it a few weeks ago. Beautiful tank!

They are super energetic! They love that flow

Epic Aquaculture · Oct 21, 2023

Beautiful tank! Congratulations on a well deserved honor!

IntrinsicReef · Oct 21, 2023

@Epic Aquaculture Thank you so much. That means a ton coming from such a successful Acro cultivator as yourself.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 21, 2023

IntrinsicReef said:
Thank you for the response. Do you know of any literature regarding the precipitation of elements by elevated alkalinity? The numbers I remember seeing for precipitation of calcium, magnesium etc were quite high, and not in a normal reef tank range. I am really curious about the alleged negative effect of high alk/alk swing on corals many people seem to agree on. I haven't really seen these issues across the systems I manage, but I am curious where the thresholds are. Where high alk becomes a problem from a chemical perspective. Thanks again

This is a very complex issue and this thread might not be the best place to get into it, but I'll summarize some ideas here:

1. Many hard corals are limited in how fast they can grow skeletons based on the availability of attaining carbonate. That ability is made easier by higher alkalinity and higher pH, so they grow skeletons faster at higher pH and higher alk.

2. If certain hard corals are growing skeletons fast in a low nutrient environment, they can get "burnt tips", which may be from skeletal growth outpacing tissue growth at the tips. Keeping N and P at detectable levels or higher can help prevent this issue.

3. Normal seawater at pH 8.1 and alk of 6.5 dKH and room temperature is already supersaturated with respect to calcium carbonate, meaning it wants to precipitate. It typically does not for a variety of reasons, but if seed crystals are present, it may (such as new aragonite sand that can harden with precipitation).

4. Raising alk and pH (and temp) greatly increase the likelihood of calcium carbonate precipitation (on sand, rocks, glass tank walls, and eventually if you push things hard enough, all through the water column turning the tank milky white. High calcium can also do it, but folks rarely get calcium high enough to drive that, while alk and pH are most often the big drivers.

I detail topics 3 and 4 in this old article of mine:

Chemistry and the Aquarium: Calcium

Randy discusses calcium and its role in helping maintain a healthy marine aquarium.

reefs.com

IntrinsicReef · Oct 21, 2023

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
This is a very complex issue and this thread might not be the best place to get into it, but I'll summarize some ideas here:

1. Many hard corals are limited in how fast they can grow skeletons based on the availability of attaining carbonate. That ability is made easier by higher alkalinity and higher pH, so they grow skeletons faster at higher pH and higher alk.

2. If certain hard corals are growing skeletons fast in a low nutrient environment, they can get "burnt tips", which may be from skeletal growth outpacing tissue growth at the tips. Keeping N and P at detectable levels or higher can help prevent this issue.

3. Normal seawater at pH 8.1 and alk of 6.5 dKH and room temperature is already supersaturated with respect to calcium carbonate, meaning it wants to precipitate. It typically does not for a variety of reasons, but if seed crystals are present, it may (such as new aragonite sand that can harden with precipitation).

4. Raising alk and pH (and temp) greatly increase the likelihood of calcium carbonate precipitation (on sand, rocks, glass tank walls, and eventually if you push things hard enough, all through the water column turning the tank milky white. High calcium can also do it, but folks rarely get calcium high enough to drive that, while alk and pH are most often the big drivers.

I detail topics 3 and 4 in this old article of mine:

Thank you for the detailed response and the fantastic article. It answered some of my questions and raised more. I will take those questions over to an appropriate thread if I can't find the answers.
I'm sure you are aware of the impact you have on the hobby, but I want to personally thank you. You are bridging the gap between the scientific community and the hobby, and there seems to be very little of that. So, thanks again. Cheers