The aquarium is a non reef-ready 75 gallon Oceanic tank. It is lit by 2-175 watt 10000k metal halides and 2-40 watt n.o. actinics in a fan cooled aluminum hood. All lights are on timers... actinics on at 10am, halides on at 11am - halides off at 9pm, actinics off at 10pm. One of the most important lessons that I have learned is to CHANGE THOSE BULBS at least once a year. I can trace many problems with algae, lousy polyp extension, and with corals dying to not changing bulbs often enough. Yeah, I know they cost $100.00 bucks apiece and I know that it's a pain to get into your light hood but you will save money in the long run and have a happier tank.

The tank contains about 80 pounds of live rock; mostly Fiji with some Marshall Island. All Fiji rock purchased from Marine Center. IMO, the best place for LR, especially if you live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area as they will deliver to your door! The bottom is covered with about a half inch of Carib-Sea sugar-size sand. If you can, I highly recommend that you speak to the owner of Carib-Sea ( the guy in the water, in a tie). He is one of the most knowledgeable aquarium trade people that I have ever spoken with.

Water leaves the tank through a dual outlet overflow with stockman mod silencers. The overflow drains into a 20 gallon RubberMaid sump. The sump holds heaters, pH probe, ground probe, and a downdraft protein skimmer powered by a Mag 7 pump. Water is pumped back into the tank using an Iwaki WMD30RLXT through an Ocean Currents oscillating wave maker. Several powerheads provide extra current.

All make-up water is provided by a 35 gpd r.o. water system from UltraPure Water Systems, this tank has never seen tap water. Take my advice, Get an r.o. water maker. You will be more likely to perform water changes and you will have less algae problems.

Additives are generally limited to Lugol's, Strontium/Molybdium, and Turbo Calcium from Kent Marine. I am very careful about the chemicals that I add to my tank. I have been burned several times by the latest magic elixir. Be very careful about WHAT and WHO you believe about additives (or anything else for that matter)...very few products do what they say they will do. And just because someone has a product for sale doesn't make them a guru. That goes for your local fish store (LFS) as well.