A ~19,000 Gallon Aquarium

[nahham]

+1 great progress!!! bunker and electrical is looking great! love the rabbit fish!!!!

The bunker should be done by next week, including mounting of the lights. Cant wait

Great work!!!
Can't wait to see all those fish in action.

It is fun sitting down and gazing at the big fish swimming by.

Do you have a list of fish in mind - or basing it on what you can catch locally?

I have a list somewhere of what I saw while diving and wanted in my tank. It is solely based on local variety though. That is the concept behind the tank.

 

[nahham]

New Additions

New Additions

I came back today from a collecting trip. It was tiresome; no sleep, had to leave the house at 3:00am reaching there at 5:00am, made two dives and brought back tons of fish . I will need to dive in the tank for pictures, but here is the only photo I managed to take:

Here is an approximate list of the fish I've added:

• Red-toothed triggerfish (Odonus niger): I've added around 12 of those.
• Persian parrotfish (Scarus pesicus): Brought 3 different types of parrothfishes but only the Persian made it.
• Indo-Pacific sergeant damselfish: Wanted more but only managed to get around 6.
• Black-spotted butterflyfish (Chaetodon nigropunctatus): Only managed to add 2 to the tank.
• Orbicular batfish (Platax orbicularis): I currently have 2 of these, one quite large (10 - 12 inches). They reached alive but didn't seem to be doing very well at start. They are looking better now.
• Epaulet grouper (Epinephelus stoliczkae): We caught several of these and a malabar grouper. The malabar grouper was too big for me to bring back.
• Sorded rubberlips? (Plectorhinchus sordidus): A couple ended up in the tank. I am not sure of the ID though.

I didn't bring back everything; didn't have enough space. The weirdest fish I saw on this trip was a breaded scorpionfish (Scorpaenopsis barbata). It made us handle the cages very cautiously.

I like that the fish is usually not waisted, when a fish doesn't make it to the tank, it is usually lunch

 

[Cannon7]

Wow! Great collection of fish! I hope they do well in their new home. Post up pics when you can.

 

[nahham]

Wow! Great collection of fish! I hope they do well in their new home. Post up pics when you can.

Will do.

The batfish in the photo is actually the smaller one and I am sad to report is dead. The bigger one (10 - 12 inches) seems to be adjusting. I'll have an update in the morning.

 

[ritter6788]

The Indo-Pacific sergeant damselfish, do those look the same as these?

I just got back this weekend and collected a bunch of those from the Gulf of Mexico. They are really cool, interactive fish.

 

[dc2mlbsm]

Can we get another video of your tank? Making good progress so far

 

[nahham]

The Indo-Pacific sergeant damselfish, do those look the same as these?

I just got back this weekend and collected a bunch of those from the Gulf of Mexico. They are really cool, interactive fish.

Yup they look exactly like this. I've seem a lot of these around..

 

[nahham]

Can we get another video of your tank? Making good progress so far

I'll definitely make another video when the water clear up a bit ..

 

[magic-girl]

woooww i love

 

[Monkeyfish]

Magic-girl I love your avatar.

Hey Naham, think you can get one of those in t he tank? Just tell the wife it was a hitch-hiker lol

 

[megaspoot]

Thanks. The tank is shallow do I do not know how the wreck would fit. Do you have any photos for me?



For my last reply, I meant to say .5 x .5 meters bags. I've posted photos of them before I think, or was that at the local society?

nahham, my inspiration for the suggestion came from another ReefCentral member's tank build. Here is the link http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1039382&highlight=shipwreck+tank . He only had a front section, but with your tank's dimensions, you could easily fit whole wreck (model sized).

 

[nahham]

Magic-girl I love your avatar.

Hey Naham, think you can get one of those in t he tank? Just tell the wife it was a hitch-hiker lol

I can only say it's a hitch-hiker if it stays in the tank

 

[nahham]

nahham, my inspiration for the suggestion came from another ReefCentral member's tank build. Here is the link http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1039382&highlight=shipwreck+tank . He only had a front section, but with your tank's dimensions, you could easily fit whole wreck (model sized).

Thanks for the link. I had a friend come over and while talking about my old boat (a 30-footer) mentioned that I should sink it in the tank . I thought it was a funny coincidence. The 'problem' with the tank is that it is relatively shallow compared to the width and length. It will need a lot of preparation to do something like this. Maybe in my next project .

 

[mr.wilson]

Thanks for the link. I had a friend come over and while talking about my old boat (a 30-footer) mentioned that I should sink it in the tank . I thought it was a funny coincidence. The 'problem' with the tank is that it is relatively shallow compared to the width and length. It will need a lot of preparation to do something like this. Maybe in my next project .

I've seen a few intresting ship wreck displays at public aquariums. Mystic Sealife in Connecticuit has one with cownose rays. Yes, you need a deep/tall tank for it to work in the right perspective.

You could have used your old 30' boat instead of the concrete sitting platform. A decommisioned glass bottom tour boat would be even better. I proposed a public aquarium for the Indian government comprised of decommisioned ship which they have no shortage of. Their site was an estuary where the high seaonal sealevel put it 12" below water. I thought a small series of ships was a unique eco-friendly solution, but it was a little too off the wall for them. I don't know if they went ahead with the project, but they were going to spend millions filling the area and doing environmental assessments.

Sorry it took so long, but here's the UK version of the high Kelvin shade cloth. It's basically the same as the Chlorinet Blue but without UV protection which is usefull if you want to keep corals that live deeper than 1 metre. You could add a UV poly plastic layer on top of it to protect the corals and the blue poly itself. http://www.polytheneone.com/polytunnel_polythene_super_blue_plus.htm

I can help you pull the poly cover over a frame. Just make me one of your famous avacado shakes... Oh, and one other request... We wear dress like Crockit & Tubs from Miami Vice and sink your old boat with AK-47s

 

[Mangodude]

Any updates?

 

[nahham]

Any updates?

Nothing worth mentioning. The electrical work should of been done today, but the guys didn't show up saying they had an 'emergency' somewhere else. So they should be relatively done by Saturday. I saw several mistakes and I would want them to fix before I call them done. The tank is kinda stable with no deaths. I have the wiring for the lights and the lights but now we decided we needed an aluminium frame for the light and the shade. Doing it any other way is too ghetto even for me . I'm hoping to get quotes for the aluminium frames on Saturday and Sunday and then get it done by the week's end.

PS: Our weekend is Friday and Saturday

 

[nahham]

Sorry it took so long, but here's the UK version of the high Kelvin shade cloth. It's basically the same as the Chlorinet Blue but without UV protection which is usefull if you want to keep corals that live deeper than 1 metre. You could add a UV poly plastic layer on top of it to protect the corals and the blue poly itself. http://www.polytheneone.com/polytunnel_polythene_super_blue_plus.htm

I've found this from the hint you gave me in the email. Looks promising..

I can help you pull the poly cover over a frame. Just make me one of your famous avacado shakes... Oh, and one other request... We wear dress like Crockit & Tubs from Miami Vice and sink your old boat with AK-47s

I don't know how Crockit & Tubs dressed like but I think it will be easy to accommodate any dress requirements . I doubt the AK-47s idea is doable though.. sorry.. I can give you a 5 kg hammer and eye protection .

PS: Welcome back ..

 

[beex215]

one of the best projects ever

 

[kaslan]

Hey Nahham,

Im from U.A.E and i have not visited RC since 2008! Man im speechless and you dont know how lucky i feel that im that close! I stay in Sharjah. This is one of the greatest works i have seen, i hope that i would get to see it one day. Where is this project located?

see ya around

 

[marlinman]

What your doing is nothing short of incredible. It's funny but I have a Sohal tang and a Purple Tang along with an African Yellow bellied Hippo Tang and the Purple is by far the more aggressive of the three when it comes to new fish being introduced. The Sohal Tang swims like crazy all day and at night. I use strips of 2 ft. moonlights for night light and it's cool to look at.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D2kI_jVL5w
After a minute you'll get the idea. I bought these a while ago on ebay. I've had them running for almost two years. Just a thought..:wave: