600 gallon Acrylic Reef

[KAZEKY]

Wow Nice Tank, I love it!

 

[pwhitby]

Thanks....im kind of partial to it myself.

Cant wait for the corals to get growing again.

 

[Travis L. Stevens]

Absolutely stunning. That's exactly how I wanted my Monti tank to look. Minus the Acros

 

[dugg]

Looks like you are ready for the tank of the month. Beautiful job Paul.

 

[mskohl]

what size of pvc pipe are you using and did you have any trouble getting the rocks to balance on the stand?

 

[pwhitby]

3/4 inch pipe and no, the rocks sit nicely on the white eggcrate materials.

Paul.

 

[aaparkr]

Can't wait to see it in person! Sort of looks like you extracted a 600 gallon slice of a reef. I wonder if that would've been more or less work...

(and how'd you get all that sunlight in those little bitty tubes?)

Tony

 

[Russ Braaten]

Paul, did you drill the rock again like last time? It sounds like you didn't and made shelves out of eggcrate. If so how did you keep it from looking like you just piled rock on egg crate? Did your corals just become a bunch of frags?

 

[pwhitby]

Russ,
I did these pillars exactly the same as the last set I made. The eggcrate is a shelf at the back and on the edge that sits 8 inches high and 6 inches wide.

P.

 

[NexDog]

Looks great, Paul. How many Pearlscale Butterflys do you have in there and how do they nibble?

 

[pwhitby]

I have just the one in there.

As for nibbling, well some days I am convinced it is eating my sps but have yet to see a real sign that it is doing nothing more than catching bugs on the base of them.

Often it will hover and it seems like it is looking for something, then it will take a bite and swim away. It doesnt appear to graze upon any coral.

It did eat my open brain, but that was a long time ago. It ahsnt touched or shown interest in any LPS since.

 

[NexDog]

I almost bought a pair once but was scared off. I love fish that hang out together and this Pearlscale pair did at the shop. My heniochus pair hang out together too. Hmmm, might put them back on my list.

 

[pwhitby]

I am partial to wrasses.

I ahve a pair of H. melanurus, H. chryseus, and will be getting a pair of H. ornaticmus (sp)- the christmas tree wrasse.

They do well together and swim as pairs for the most part. I also like them since they are a great first line defense against a lot of nasty bugs such as flatworms, pyramid snails and montpora eating nudibranchs.

Paul.

 

[pwhitby]

This is the melanurus wrasse

http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/other/halichoeres_melanurus.htm

this is the closely related Christmas wrasse, or ornate wrasse
http://www.vividaquariums.com/10Expand.asp?ProductCode=01-4129-S

Paul.

 

[poke75]

Paul, will these wrasses eat any shrimp? (cleaners, peppermints etc)

 

[pwhitby]

no. I have harlequins, coral banded and cleaners. I have had camels and peppermints in the past.

These wrasses are not that large , maybe 2 inches when young, maybe 5-6 when adult.

They are great for parasite defense.

Paul.

 

[pwhitby]

Well, I think I am finally done with the main part of the aquascaping. All that remains to be done is fill in a few spots that still have PVC visible, but that pretty easy to do.

Here is the finished product:

the right side:

the left side:

the view down the length (left side)

and the view from the right side:

Im pretty happy with how this now looks. I cant wait for the corals to start covering the rock.

I have my next 4 fish in quarantine (2 six lines and 2 christmas wrasses). Once they come out I have to decide on the next set of fish. Im debating anthias or a large shoal of chromis.

Hope you like,

Paul.

 

[steve68]

Paul thats looks Sweet u did a great job.

 

[pwhitby]

Thanks Steve.

Once the weather cools a little more I will begin skinning the framework and getting the false wall installed.

I still have a few decisions to make regarding the design of the false canopy/stand.

P.

 

[sadsak]

Fantastic Paul Me and Amanda can't wait to see it in person...