Matthew Graham, President

At the age of 6, I fell in love with fish-keeping. Over the years, my passion for the hobby continued to develop, fueled by the challenge of building a self-sustaining ecosystem that would thrive in my care. I took seriously my role as steward of captive water life, learning that only a truly healthy aquarium can be a beautiful one.

Eventually, I grew my passion into a business and started Aqua Tech Aquarium Services in 1994. It is my goal to approach every client’s aquarium with the same principle of holistic care I apply to my own to maximize a tank’s aesthetic and recreational appeal through the proper management of an ecologically harmonious and authentic environment.

After dismantling a closet and building a proper support structure out of 4x4s, 2x4s, plywood and Styrofoam sheeting, my tank now sits within a 62” by 28” cut out in the wall.

The tank was built in place due to the confines of the basement and the display tank’s size.
The ¾ inch sheets of glass were ordered pre cut, with the front panel made out of low iron glass to provide extra clarity. The sheets of glass were then glued together and, after several weeks of drying, the tank was positioned for display.

The Aquascaping was done using dried rock when the tank was empty. This allowed me to climb into the aquarium to properly position each rock before gluing them together with underwater epoxy. The tank is mostly bare bottom with two sections of sand near the front of the tank. Rocks were glued to the bottom of the tank to keep the sand from getting spread all over the aquarium floor. These two sand sections were added mostly for aesthetic reasons but also to give a home to some sand dwelling fish and invertebrates.

The dimensions of the display tank are 62 inches long by 42 inches deep and 28 inches high. This equals 300 gallons of water with another 200 gallons in the filtration system circulating underneath the main tank.

The 500 gallons of water that circulate between the four separate aquariums is completely hidden from view, leaving only the front display panel of the aquarium visible.

The lighting for the display consists of a combination of 15 lights: nine 5-foot T5 hi output fluorescent lights across the entire tank; a bank of three 150 watt metal halide lights across the back half of the tank; and three 250 watt Metal halide lights across the front half. With this configuration, the more powerful lights sit over the deeper part of the tank with the less powerful lights positioned over the rear of the tank, where the aquascaping is built up higher. Specific groupings of lights are programmed to turn on and off in a sequence to simulate dawn, noon day and dusk.

The water motion in the aquarium comes from two sources: There is one large external 3500 gallon per hour pump on a closed loop. The pump draws water directly from the tank through a hole drilled in the back pane of glass and distributes it through two rotating return devices in two upper corners of the tank. The second source of water motion comes from several pumps within the tank that are controlled by a small programmable device that turns the pumps on and off in a sequence. One additional large internal pump is attached to another rotating device. All of these pumps create strong and randomized currents within the tank, which is essential for proper coral health and growth.

The series of aquariums, or sumps, that are found below the main tank are constantly circulating water in a loop. Water drains out of the display and into the tanks below. It flows between them as each successive tank is lower than the last. Once the water has reached the last tank, it is pumped back up to the display.
As the water travels through these tanks it is naturally filtered by various types of marine plant or algae and sand beds that absorb dissolved organics and waste that would otherwise build up in the water.

In the back room, an air conditioner controls humidity and heat build-up caused by the pumps and lights. There is also a 42 inch tall calcium reactor for providing calcium, other minerals and buffers to control ph so that the corals can thrive.

A 39 inch tall dual pump protein skimmer is also used for waste removal. The entire system is plumbed into the city drain and connected to a reservoir (which is fed by a reverse osmosis filter for making purified water) so that 50 gallon water changes can be performed on a weekly basis. There is an automatic top off system that senses when system water has dropped, due to evaporation, and adds purified water to the system when needed.

A combination of frozen and dry foods are added daily to feed both the fish and coral. The frozen foods are added by hand and the dry foods are added twice daily via an automatic feeding device.

All of these pieces of equipment are used to maintain as consistent an environment as possible. Pristine water quality, stable water chemistry, proper temperature and good water movement along with proper nutrition are all essential for optimal health of the tank and its inhabitants.