Joe Johnson’s 40 Gallon wonders. 10/29/08

This post was written by TMR on November 30, 2008
Posted Under: Reef Tank Gallery

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Joe Johnson… Handyman, Property Manager, Professional Reefer!

On a cold night in late October, my wife and I were driving around, on a dark, unmarked, dirt road, looking for the home of Joe Johnson, when I spotted the unmistakable blue glow of reef lights, glaring from a second story window. Yes we had arrived!

Joe politely escorted us into his living room, which by the way, looks more like a professional aquarium than someone’s home, where we both gazed in amazement at his three beautiful tanks.

40 gal. SPS Tank

Joe has been reef keeping for just over a year now, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at his tanks.

He attributes most of his success to the T5 lighting he uses on his two 40 gallon breeder aquariums. He has experimented with various bulb configurations, but now uses a mix of 420 & 460 atinics, as well as 10K and 18K bulbs. He recommends the T5’s for their strong light output and small size, which allows for a greater mix of bulb colors.

Joe’s favorite and 1st tank, is the 40 gallon breeder tank pictured at right. This beautiful tank features a mix of SPS and LPS corals. The custom built, closed circulation loop, delivers 1100 GPH, and that doesn’t even include the 4 Koralia power heads. He likes the high circulation, but admits it was difficult at first to not overwhelm the large polyp stonyies. Skimming is performed with a hang on Aqua C Remora. The tank is lit with 6- 36″ T5’s.

SPS Corals

When asked what advice he would give to new hobbyists, Joe says, “Be sure not to skimp on live rock. Quality live rock is very important to insure the tank is well established from the start.” He also mentions buying quality hardware. “Cheap equipment is just that, CHEAP, and will lead to problems down the road” He recommends people buy the best equipment they can afford, even if it means starting with a smaller tank.

Nice Lights!

2nd 40 Gallon Breeder. Zoo’s Galore!

40 Gallon Breeder

Joe has done an amazing job documenting the design and production of this wonderful tank. The entire project can be seen, start to finish, at: Salt Water Addicts of Maine. Another of his great recommendations is to take pictures of your tank once a week so that you can see your progress and to show growth. Here are some shots showing the progression.

This tank features a “coast to coast” overflow, 1000+gph w/6 port return manifold, 20 gallon custom sump, 3 Koralia nano power heads, Aqua C Urchin, & 5- 36″ T5’s.

Coast to Coast Overflow

Dry rock in place, coral frags added.

See how nicely the corals have developed after just a few months.

Joe likes the 40 Breeder tank because of the large footprint. “It allows for more surface area and a more aesthetically pleasing tank.”

Aquacultured Corals

Zooanthid coral

12 months old.

I like to give away frags of all my corals.” Joe says, “This insures against system crashes, and protects the species, by guaranteeing local availability should a crash occur. It also lets others share the beauty of rare corals.”

Joe is very adamant about the use of only aquacultured coral. “Aquacultured corals are great. The weaker corals, that can’t survive the aquarium environment, are weeded out in the process, so your guaranteed only those strong enough to thrive and grow in a tank.” He is constantly fragging his corals, because they grow quickly, and may harm other corals if allowed to touch. As far as coral placement, he recommends the following procedures: “When placing a new coral, move them around a few times until you find a place they are happy and color up, then be sure to glue down every piece. Accidental problems, like a coral being knocked into another coral are one of the biggest causes of coral deaths.”

"Duncan" LPS

Bio Diversity

Joe believes in a very diverse tank. The more diverse the better. He regularly mixes substrates, rock, and water from other saltwater reef tanks into his own systems to bring in new life to his systems. “Nature is very bio diverse, therefore your tank should be as well.”

Feeding

The massive growth and vibrant health of his corals probably has a lot to do with his feeding routine. Joe grow his own rotifers, which he feeds regularly to his coral along with a varied frozen diet. Copepods are also encouraged to grow in large clumps of vividly colored macro algae placed in all his tanks.

Growing coral food at home.

Live Stock

Joe seems to like a challenge when growing fish and coral. Recently his most recent success is Dendronephthia, a rare and extremely hard to keep coral. “The Dendronephthia is actually growing… I’m kind of surprised (pleasantly). Moving them under overhangs, but still with good current seemed to help. The larger of the two frags is encrusting the rock already”. He has also experimented with many other creatures as can be seen in the pictures below.