Types of Reef Tanks

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When setting up your first tank, it is helpful to know what your end goal is since some of the equipment required for the various setups is different. For instance, if you buy a lighting system for a soft and LPS tank and then decide you want to change to add SPS, you will probably need to upgrade your lighting, which can be expensive. Everyone goes through this, but the more that you can avoid it, the more money you will save yourself. The type of reef you want to construct will also help you to determine things like the optimum tank size to start with.

 Cost may help you decide on which type of tank to setup. In general, low light, lagoon, soft and LPS coral tanks can be less expensive to setup than SPS and high light clam tanks. Nice reef tanks are never cheap to setup and you should be prepared for this. Failure in this hobby is often a result of trying to go cheap.   Not to say that there are not ways to approach the hobby that are more or less expensive.  Going the inexpensive route usually means limiting your inhabitants you attempt to keep.

 A lot of dollars are also wasted in this hobby as well, such as buying specimens that have no chance of survival in your tank, purchasing an ineffectual protein skimmer which quickly has to be replaced, buying a lighting system only to have to upgrade it as your interest change, or buying the next great snake oil on the market for $20 a bottle.

 You can also think of tanks as falling into 3 basic types.

bullet Low demand systems
bullet Moderate demand systems
bullet High demand systems.

The demand level relates to the water and lighting demands of the specimens kept, the amount of effort required to maintain the system parameters and to some extent the amount of cost required to meet the demands of the specimens kept.

 There are several different basic types of reef tanks that can be setup.  These differences are based primarily around the types of reef critters you want to maintain, how much time you are willing to spend on the hobby and to some extent the money you are willing or able to spend on the hobby.

 Low Light tank

bullet Primary inhabitants are low light requiring corals which may or may not be photosynthetic. Typical inhabitants may include mushrooms, polyps, sun coral, non-photosynthetic gorgonians, mobile invertebrates and of course fish.
bullet Macro algae may or may not grow depending on light intensity.
bullet Water flow is low to moderate.
bullet Lighting usually consists of NO fluorescent bulbs
bullet Tank size can be small to large, but usually small
bullet Cost is generally low, mainly due to the fact that lighting consists of relatively inexpensive lighting.

This is a low demand system in that it places a low demand on water chemistry, budget and time. Many hobbyists create this type of tank accidentally when they start in the hobby because they do not fully understand the lighting demands of many of the critters that live on the reef. Significant restrictions need to be placed on the corals that are introduced into this tank to ensure that they can survive on the available light.

  Lagoon tank

bullet Primary inhabitants are soft coral and LPS.  Focus is on invertebrates that live in this reef environment. Anemones may be included if sufficient lighting is provided. This type of tank is popular for housing seahorses and pipefish.
bullet Macro algae is usually a component of this system.
bullet Water flow is low to simulate lagoon type conditions
bullet Lighting of moderate to perhaps high intensity is used.Usually VHO, PC or MH.
bullet Tank size is flexible and a small tank works well for this ecosystem
bullet Cost is potentially low as an algal filtration is somewhat built-in.
This is a ‘Low Demand’ system

 Softy and LPS tank

bullet Primary inhabitants are soft corals and LPS with enough lighting to support any photosynthetic soft corals or LPS corals that is desired to be kept.Moderate light clams may also be included, as well as mobile invertebrates and fish. High light clams may be included in lighting intensity is high.
bullet Macro algae is usually excluded as it may become a nuisance, but some people like the look it adds to the tank.
bullet Water flow is moderate to simulate a reef slope condition. Wave maker may be used.
bullet Lighting of moderate or high intensity is used depending on coral or clams types kept. Usually PC, VHO or MH
bullet Tank size can be small to large
bullet Cost can range from moderate to high primarily depending on the lighting system selected.
This is a ‘Moderate Demand’ system

  SPS and Clam tank

bullet Primary inhabitants are SPS corals and high light requiring clams. Although softies and LPS may be kept also, these are usually minor components of the system.
bullet Macro algae (especially Caulerpa species) should be excluded, as it will become a nuisance. Halimeda is one of the few macro algaes that is acceptable in this type of tank.
bullet Water flow requirements are high.Wavemaker capability is normally used to simulate reef crest conditions.
bullet Lighting of highest intensity is used, usually Metal Halide.
bullet Tank size tends to run on the larger side of the scale. This is mainly due to the fact that the higher cost of setup makes it more difficult to justify that cost on a small tank. Also, some items such as MH lighting tend to make more sense on larger tanks due to possible heating concerns, etc.
bullet Cost is high due to need for high intensity lighting, high agitated water motion. Specimen cost can also be higher when dealing with SPS corals and clams, but this is not necessarily true.

This is a “High Demand” system and places the highest demands on maintaining water chemistry, budget and usually the hobbyists time.

 Mixed tank

It is possible to mix and match these systems somewhat.  An SPS and softie tank for instance is fairly common, although care has to be taken to ensure the inhabitants don’t start turf wars.  It is also natural for some systems to evolve from one type toward another over time as the hobbyist gains experience and their interests change.

It is important to have a goal for what you want your reef tank to evolve into because the end goal will dictate your equipment and specimen selections going forward.  Although it is normal to evolve your thinking as you progress in this hobby, you can save both money and frustration by taking as clear a path as possible at the onset. 

 One good way to do this is to find a tank that demonstrates what you want to achieve and use that as your basic model as you plan your requirements.

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