Tell us about yourself: 

My name is Brad Skiba and I am 24 years old and live in bellevue WA. I Spend my free time Either playing basketball or looking at a glass box full of water. I spend too much time on the regular web sites and forum's always trying to learn new stuff or help others.

How did you get involved in the saltwater hobby?

I started with a 29 gallon freshwater tank maybe three to four years ago. First fish was a tire track eel and then I added a school of small bala sharks and a figure eight puffer and a brasilian puffer. I pawned off all of my remaining fish on my girlfriend at the time and bought a skilter and some live rock and some pc lights. I have had soft corals and then added LPS coral and now have transitioned to all SPS.

Tell us about your tank? 

My current work in progress is a 75 gallon all-glass tank.

Lighting: I have 2 250 watt xm 10 se bulbs with two 28 watt blue t-5's

Filtration: ER es5-2 skimmer (need a bigger one because I fill the collection cup within a day and a half)

Water Movement: return is 500gph when it gets to the tank and then I have a pump under my rock hooked to a spraybar, next I have a tunze stream 6000 and a seio 620.

Livestock: live rock (not too much maybe 70 lbs), Blue hippo tang, ocelaris clown, just added a six line wrasse

Coral: all SPS (mostly frags) Aquacultured colonies: A. Gomezi(blue), A. Austera(red), A. Aspera(blue tips/coralites), A. carduus(tan with hint of teal), A. humilis(pinkish with hint of blue), M. hirisuta(tan with white polyps), Echinopora Mamiformis(tan with purple coralites) Wild corals: 2 A. efflo's( purple edge), A nana(purple tip), A. millepora(green) Frags: Blue mille, teal mille, blue tip tenius, purple thin branch, Orange cap, purple edge green(tan right now), brownish green cap, lime green cap, blue formosa(needs 20K to be super blue), purple tip yellow axial coralite A. desalwii(I beleive), teal small stag, greenish bottle brush, pink mille, purple cap, purple formosa, yellow stag, hairy blue tipped stag, A. valida(tri-color), yellow with green polyp poccilapora, orange digitata. Think that is it for this week.

How did you become involved with Reef Frontiers? 

Well I found PSAS through Chuck's website I believe. Chuck's tank was a strong influence on getting into the hobby and why I now have a 75 gallon. Reeffrontiers is a great place to get advice. Some of the overcrowded websites seem to give a lot of extreme and radical advice when it comes to reefkeeping. The I have done it that way and I can't explain why I am right attitude. We have some of the best experts in the world who give both sides and explain them with everything.

What is your reef keeping philosophy? 

Skim, flow, then light. In order I feel those are the three things people need to have handled to be successfull with SPS. I need to upsize my skimmer but have been very happy with its performance. I feel ER rates their skimmers as accurate as any company(example: a redsea berlin is rated to like 200 galllons but cant hang with my skimmer that is rated at 75 gallons). I have like 35X turnover and still want another 20X to get where I want. Deadspots aren't good for water quality. Light is something that is hard to get good advice about. Get decently strong lights and If your tank is deep, get strong halides. The right spectrum is more often the problem why you can't get that blue coral to look like it did in the other guys tank.

What is your dream tank? 

I love Steve weast's tank because of the canyon of coral. Disturbed reefer(todd) has the right idea in his new tank. Not to much rock so the corals have room to grow in. Tall columns with tables growing on the side towards each other like you see on the edge of the reef. Mojo's little tank is ok also.

Do you have any advice for others? 

Two simple things

1. Ask a lot of questions

2. Don't buy cheap equipment. (you hear this over and over and you dont listen like I didn't)

Feel free to ask me questions or email me if you have questions at bradskiba@hotmail.com