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ReefBum's 187-Gallon Mixed Reef

ReefBum's 187-Gallon Mixed Reef

by Keith Berkelhamer (ReefBum)

Volume

187 gal

Dimensions

72" × 30" × 20"

Location

🇺🇸 Connecticut, USA

Established

2016

Tank type

Mixed reef

Proves that simple husbandry + consistency beats expensive automation. The 'big water change' school's flagship tank.

Keith's minimalist methodology — large weekly water changes, conservative dosing, no exotic additives — built one of the cleanest documented Acropora reefs online. His blog and YouTube channel are the antidote to "throw money at it" reef-keeping advice.

View original source

Source: Owner's blog + YouTube

Equipment Breakdown

Shop this build · 2 of 7 items priced

ReefBum's 187-Gallon Mixed Reef — Full Equipment List

$478

est. build cost

Some links here are affiliate links — AllCorals may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Filtration

Reef Octopus Elite 200INT Skimmer

Reef Octopus

Elite 200INT Skimmer

Protein skimmer

🏋️ Workhorse

Handles day-to-day export between Keith's signature large weekly water changes — nutrient control with zero exotic additives.

Bulk Reef Supply GFO + Carbon reactor

Bulk Reef Supply

GFO + Carbon reactor

Chemical filtration

GFO pins phosphate and carbon polishes — commodity media doing the job pricier proprietary products get sold for.

Lighting

AI

Hydra 32 HD

Display lights ×3

Three Hydra 32s make up the LED half of the hybrid — point-source pop with the T5s smoothing out the shadows.

$413.99 Buy → at Bulk Reef Supply Details →

ATI Sunpower 8-bulb T5

Sunpower 8-bulb T5

Supplemental T5s

Eight bulbs of T5 fill every shadow the LEDs leave — the classic hybrid recipe Acropora keepers trust for even color.

In our catalog →

Flow & Circulation

EcoTech Marine VorTech MP40 QD

VorTech MP40 QD

⭐ Premium pick

Three MP40s of randomized flow on a 187 — the one place this famously minimalist build doesn't economize.

In our catalog →

Water & Salt

Tropic Marin Pro Reef Salt

Tropic Marin

Pro Reef Salt

Salt mix

💡 Budget hack

When you change this much water weekly, the salt is the dosing regime — consistent parameters straight from the bucket.

$63.89 Buy → at Bulk Reef Supply Details →

Dosing

Brightwell

Reef Code A+B

Ca/Alk supplementation

Plain two-part, conservatively dosed — no trace-element cocktails, in keeping with the no-exotics methodology.