swannyson7
Moderator/Acro Aficianado
Excellence Award
Reef Of The Month
Photo of the Month
CTARS Member
Moderator Emeritus
REEF SPOTLIGHT – July 2012
The Reef Aquarium of:
Dan Rigle aka "DanRigle"
You can also check out Dan’s tank build here on R2R:
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/general-sps-discussion/44692-couple-top-side.html
Introduction
Thank you for the honor to share my passion with the R2R community. Thank you to all that have nominated my tank and for your patience in waiting for me to accomplish this task. It’s an honor and I am thrilled to be able to share my tank. The hobby was more of a science experiment at the early stages, but it quickly became an obsession. I began keeping saltwater aquariums more than two decades ago and it all started with a 29 gallon FOWLR. It had a few chunks of live rock that I picked out from the only pet shop within 100 miles that ever even heard of marine aquariums. I find it amusing now that I chose rock that was covered with Aiptasia and Mojanos, assuming this was best since I was able to see abundant life. I also purchased a few damsels that later turned into a mistake. They soon became the Piranha-like fish we more experienced hobbyists know as blue devils. Anyways, it was a beginning and I have learned so much since then. The experiment was a success and I was able to keep a marine fish and some aiptasia alive and thriving with very little equipment and a large amount of maintenance.
After a few years with fish and the knowledge acquired from printed publications like FAMA and the like, I was ready for some corals. A few Actinodiscus and Palythoa were added and much to my surprise, lived and grew nicely. They were kept under N.O. florescent lighting, with a small air drive skimmer and some maxi jets. The internet was beginning to get popular and AOL was now my chief method of research. I found GARF and some other academic institutions that were propagating corals and their mission was to preserve the natural reefs by teaching aquaculture and coral propagation. This was something I believed in very strongly and this opened the door to a new world of the hobby; a very rewarding part that I knew nothing about previously. I began to study Saly Jo and Leroy Hendees processes and became friendly with the group. They were pioneers in propagation and the knowledge I acquired from them has kept me intrigued and interested over the years. I acquired a few Acropora from GARF soon after and began keeping the more sensitive reef building corals. My experience before trying captive raised corals was poor and I lost all of the first 10 or so wild colonies I attempted to keep. The fragments I acquired from GARF were much healthier and hardier then the wild corals I had seen previously and my success in keeping Acropora now was realized. I still have a few Acropora that have grown into large colonies that I had originally acquired from GARF. The fragments I had cut from these colonies have been distributed to many people the US and now many of those fragments are now large colonies that produce fragments to other hobbyists thus saving wild corals exponentially at this point.
My current tank is a 180 gallon stock All Glass mega flow. It’s packed with large brood stock colonies that require constant attention to keep healthy and thriving. The progression from the initial 29 to a 55, then a 125 to the current 180 was done over the course of 18 years. For each upgrade, I used the rock from the previous system. The tank now sports Radium 250 watt metal halides, VHO actinic supplementation, and an ETSS Protein skimmer. For flow, it has Tunze 6105 pumps on a Tunze multi controller and a closed loop circulation system that employs a Blue line HD40 pump and 4 penductors that are linked to a current switching device. The system is rounded out with a TLF GFO reactor, custom built sump with macro and LED lighting, Ranco controller with dual 300 watt heaters, a RODI system with 150 gallon storage capacity, and reef keeper dosing pumps for top off and kalk additions. A quarantine and frag grow out system are kept in the basement with Radiums, ETSS skimmer, Koralia 1400s on a wave maker, GFO reactor, macro algae and a custom built sump. The quarantine system is plumbed separately from the display.
The obsession seemed to grow and I began to study the more advanced caveats of the hobby in the early 2000's, finding the Reef forums incredibly useful and exciting I began to talk to the GURU's of the business. I met many of the people that run the hobby currently and picked the brains of each and every one that would allow me to do so. I found water chemistry and lighting to be the most interesting. I soon learned more about sea water chemistry then ever imagined. The college science courses I had taken many years prior on this subject only touched the surface of what I learned from the hobby. I also studied the work of Sanjay Joshi and Randy Holmes Farley to a great extent and I owe much of my success to people like these that took the time to open my mind to learning. Anthony Calfo also had some strong influence on my school of thought and much was learned from these great minds.
Around 2006 I first discovered that there was a Reef Society in PA.I was excited and had went to my first frag swap that was hosted by the society, North Central PA Reef Aquarium Society. I met some great people at this event and I was asked by the BOD to be on the panel, elected as the secretary at this time. The next year I was elected as V.P. and then the president, the following year. I have been the president for the last 3 years and I am proud to say the society has grown and prospered. We now have the largest society funded Tanks in Schools Program in the country, that I am aware of. Many Pennsylvania schools enjoy the benefit of a Reef Aquarium and the learning experience at the expense of our society. Students are now able to see firsthand the animals that are so very rare in the wild, thriving in their classrooms. Students are now aware of the impact that wild collection has on our natural reefs and how essential propagation of these sensitive animals is and will be in the future. This was a goal that I never thought I would realize. I was pleased to touch one person with this thought process and now I am able to instill it within hundreds at a time. As they spread the word, this realization of our impact on the oceans will grow exponentially. I feel I am partly responsible for many wild corals not being collected as often as before and the trend towards purchasing captive grown animals growth at least in my group. This is very rewarding and in line with my mission and goals.
System Profile
Display tank: 180 gallon all glass mega flow
Glass or Acrylic: Glass
Sump: Custom built sump with macro algae and LED lighting, 100 micron bags, changed twice weekly.
Protein Skimmer: AE Tech ETSS 600 pro skimmer
Carbon/phosphate filtration: GFO in a TLF reactor
Return Pump: Blue Line HD 40
Water circulation: Two Tunze 6105 on a 6095 multi controller. A closed loop powered by a Blue Line 40x driving four penductors on a Squid.
Lighting: Three radium MH in Lumenarc III mini reflectors, driven by ARO electronic ballasts. Actinic VHO supplements driven by an Ice Cap 660
Calcium/alkalinity/magnesium dosing: Top off with kalkwasser and dose 3/4 cup of Randy's 2 part (v2). Magnesium is dosed as needed to keep levels in the 1350-1500ppm range. Recently, (6 months ago) Iremoved the CaRx due to all medias adding to the PO4 level. Some had quite a high phosphate level in the effluent. Since the change to all kalk and two part, my colors have gotten better and the PO4 is much easier to manage on the low side.
Auto top-off: Reefkeeper dosing pump for kalk addition and top off
RO/DI: Commercial RODI 75 gpd with dual DI cans,150 gallon of storage
Heating/cooling: Ranco commercial temp controller with dual 300 watt heaters
System control: Pinpoint ph monitor to watch DT ph.
Water Parameters
*Temp: 79-82F
*pH: 7.9-8.4
*Specific gravity: 1.025
*NO3: <0.5
*Ca: 375-450 ppm
*Alk: 8.0-8.5 dKH
*Mg: 1350-1500 ppm
*PO4: 0.01-0.09 ppm
*Ammonia: Undetectable
*Nitrites: Undetectable
Last edited by a moderator:
