June 2005 - Tank of the Month
Jamison Hensley

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1) Your name, location and occupation. Include how long you have been an aquarist, how long you have been a WMAS member and how you heard of our club.
Name: Jamison Hensley
Location: Layton, UT
Occupation: Investment Advisor Rep
How long have you been in the hobby? 16 months
How long have you been a member of the club? 1 year
How did you hear about the WMAS? I used to frequent reefcentral.com and a fellow WMAS member enlightened me.

2) Describe your tank. Acrylic or glass? Size in dimensions and gallons. How long has it been set up?
Acrylic / Glass: All glass
Size in gallons: 120
Dimensions: 2 X 2 X 4
Age: (how long has the system been running) Since January 2004

3) Describe your lighting system, including your photo-period. Add what you would change if you could.

I have two 250 Watt 10k metal halides and two VHO actinics. My actinics are on from 8am to 9pm
and my halides run from noon to 8pm. If I had it to do over again, since I like LPS and softies and
since my corals seem to bleach out a little, I would likely go with 175W halides.

4) Describe your filtration system. Include: How deep is your sand bed, plenum, your skimmer size and model and how long you run it, your circulation pumps (how many and their size in gallons per hour), your sump/refugium including Reverse Daylight, biowheels and skilters, HOT systems, clean up crew.

I have a crushed coral sand bed 4 inches deep, complimented by 140 lbs of Fijian live rock. I have an ASM G2 skimmer that I run constantly. I have a 40 gallon sump with a small built-in refugium, with lights on 24/7 with a 2 inch sand bed and various macro algaes. I have one fixed return and one Sea swirl powered by an Iwaki 40 which pushes 2400 gph. I supplement the water flow with a small submersible pump at 320 gph. My clean up crew consists of a variety of about 50 hermits, 30 snails, an emerald crab and a green brittle star.

5) What are your maintenance techniques? Include water change schedule.

I do a bi-monthly 20% water change with Instant ocean salt and RO/DI water. I clean my skimmer every ten days and clean the glass once every four days. I harvest macro algae, Sargassum kelp and pesky nuisance algaes every couple of weeks.

6) What additives do you use? Kalkwasser, Strontium, Molybdenum, Iodine, Magnesium, Other

I dose Kalkwasser to replenish a healthy balance of Calcium and alkalinity. When one or the other gets out of whack, I use Kent Superbuffer for alkalinity and Prestone Driveway Heat for calcium. I occasionally dose iodine and strontium.

7) Describe your feeding philosophy. Include your schedule, and what you prefer to feed your system?

The remaining fish in my tank are quite opportunistic in feeding and fend pretty well for themselves. I do feed about once every 3 days with frozen brine and Nori. I target feed my BTA with krill and my corals with Cyclopeeze and phytoplankton.

8) DIY ie, Calcium reactor, stand / hood, skimmer, sump, ect. Any Do-it-yourself items of interest? Web-sites that you may have referenced?
I once attached a hang-on desk fan in my hood all by myself. I am not a DIY-er, though I do plan to build a closed loop with Shane Heil in the near future.

9) Stand and Canopy
Wood: Maple
Color: Natural
Special Characteristics: Custom made

10) Items of interest: Favorite or unusual Fish, coral, or invertebrate

Favorite Fish: Juvenile Imperator Angel
Favorite Coral: Pink Bird’s Nest
Favorite Polyps: Super Green Star polyps
Favorite Crab: Boxer or Pom pom crab
Favorite Worm: Coco worm

11) Can you include a table showing your elemental levels of Ca+, alkalinity, S.G., temperature, pH and other interesting testables?

Salinity – 1.025 sg
pH – 8.2
Alkalinity – 10 dkh
Calcium – 400 ppm
Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate – 0, 0, 0. (as far as I can tell)
Temperature – 78 degrees

12) What experiences and challenges have you had with the tank? Any lessons learned? Is there anything you do differently than others (or differently than previously)? If so, why?

Where do I start? I am the poster child for one of those “Total Makeover” aquarium shows. I have battled Cyanobacteria, hair algae and now a red algae that looks similar to Bryopsis. I’ve lost my share of expensive corals and fish as well. What I’ve learned, is this hobby is totally worth it. I honestly learn something new every day. If I were to start over again, I would have made a bigger refugium, added more water flow, and bought a lot of high quality used materials. I also would have joined the club about 3 months before buying a tank. WMAS is awesome!!! I figure I’ve got a couple decades to make improvements on this tank to learn as much as I can before I do this all over again.