A Reef Tank in the Desert - +/- 1,400 gallon system

Fish Room Pics

Fish Room Pics

So Sam came by after graduating from Columbia U's Film School. He shot several pictures of the tank and will be putting together an updated video soon.

I asked him to shoot a few pictures of the Fish Room, even though it is pretty filthy and is due for a good cleaning.

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hedgedrew said:
Just dropped in for an update and look. All looks wonderful. Just saying hi. Hope all is well. Sure looks it!!
Click to expand...

Thanks Hedgedrew! I hope that all is well with you!

o2manyfish said:
Cool feeling isn't it !!!

Congrats. It's amazing how neat they look when they finally pop out.

The 2 Fry I raised that i moved to the display tank last month have grown like crazy.

I still have almost 20 in the outdoor sump.

Couple days you should have a bunch more to count.

Dave B
Click to expand...

Dave, I am still waiting. Almost 5 days have passed and just the one. The male still isn't eating so hopefully, he will be spitting out some more shortly. I did decide to move the Whitetail Bristletooth Tangs to another tank, just so they wouldn't eat any of the offspring.
 
Hi Dan,

could you tell me how much of the chaeto (is it chaeto?)
you take out for getting rid of nutrients? And how often you do that?

Thanks
Mathias
 
Its great to see the behind the scenes pics. Looking forward to the others and video. I received the white tail bristletooth last week and he is doing great. A little shy, but is coming out a lot more. Beautiful Moorish Idol. I have had mine for almost 4 months, and just last week he started eating from the waterway and now is going crazy for nori. Before that he has only been eating live clams. He's currently the most beautiful fish in my tank. His streamer is very long and he has a great personality.
 
MathiasM. said:
You got them :)
Congratulations!Beautiful White Tails you got!
They look awesome and are some of the most interesting
fish out there. I am really happy for you, Dan :)

Best wishes
Mathias
Click to expand...

MathiasM. said:
Hi Dan,

could you tell me how much of the chaeto (is it chaeto?)
you take out for getting rid of nutrients? And how often you do that?

Thanks
Mathias
Click to expand...

Mathias... Where have you been? It's been a long time and it's great to hear from you!

Yeah, I am excited about the Whitetails. They are doing great. I need to fatten them up before they go in my main display.

With regards to the chaeto. I probably shave off half of the ball each month and bring it to my LFS. It is currently 1.5 times the size of a basketball and it's getting difficult to churn in the water.
 
He Dan,

my Grandma passed away in January and we had to take care of her flat and so on. In that time I had no time for my tank at all. Now I got it running again and slowly stabilize things:) Happy to be back here to see all of you :)

Thanks for your answer!
Do you feed krill to the Whitetails? My buddy owns a couple for 3 months now. They love red krill and added weight fast.
 
aquaph8 said:
That ball of chaeto is a little too perfectly round man.
Click to expand...

Newbie Aquarist said:
That MI looks huge. That soccer sized ball of cheato floating around is cool.
Click to expand...

kmu said:
Dan is that chaeto ball floating around or is it attached with to the magnet to the side glass? how did you hold it to the magnet?

THX in advance
Click to expand...

Thanks guys! I have a small mag-drive and a powerhead on the chaeto that keeps it constantly turning and churning. It's about the size of 1.5 basketballs and it is pretty hard or packed in. I know that it's time for a trim when the rotation of the ball (chaeto) slows down to a crawl. It's definitely due for a haircut!

I can't stick my hand in that tank without amphipods and copepods coming out of it. I have two Leopard Wrasses in that tank that stay fat and happy. Very rarely do I feed them. Most of their diet comes from the pods living in the chaeto.
 
dotcommer said:
Its great to see the behind the scenes pics. Looking forward to the others and video. I received the white tail bristletooth last week and he is doing great. A little shy, but is coming out a lot more. Beautiful Moorish Idol. I have had mine for almost 4 months, and just last week he started eating from the waterway and now is going crazy for nori. Before that he has only been eating live clams. He's currently the most beautiful fish in my tank. His streamer is very long and he has a great personality.
Click to expand...

Thanks Sal. It's good to hear from you. I was hoping that you were going to make it down to Tucson! Both of the Whitetails that I kept are also pretty shy. They have been in my QT since the end of March and will probably remain their until the end of summer. They are becoming good eaters!

Michael got a lead on more and so my rack system will probably be housing several more. If you want another or hear of anyone looking for one, just let me know.

The Moorish Idol is doing well. He is replacing the one that got stuck to my MP60 last summer. I made the mistake of leaving off the foam cover and came home from work only to find it stuck to the side. It's partner has been in my tank now for two years and is a ferocious eater. He's a gorgeous fish! I'm a little worried about adding this one to my main display. She is going to be moved from the cubicle system to one of my 75 gallon QT's this weekend and will remain their until the end of the summer.
 
Amazing system Dan....

We're building a home in Peoria and going to have 2 largish in wall tanks. How brutal has it been keeping the front panel clean without any front access? I'm only going 30 inch deep because of this, and I'm nervous about that.

Curious if you considered any of the AZ builders before going with A.G.E.? Though I guess Titan may not have been around when you did this? I'm considering a guy named Dominic through Southwest Seas. I already have a quote from ATM, tanks are a decent price, but delivery is a killer.

Thanks
 
Dan,

How many Baby Bangai did you find? Are they surviving in the refugium tank?

My new tank (100 gal planted cube) we got our first batch of baby mollies last night... baby fish are so much fun.

In the 400g tank, the pair of Bangai that we have grown up from fry have shot up in size since being added to the display tank. The young pair are always together, there are 4 old Bangai in the tank. This week one of the old females was doing the spawning shake with the young ones.

Dave B
 
MathiasM. said:
He Dan,

my Grandma passed away in January and we had to take care of her flat and so on. In that time I had no time for my tank at all. Now I got it running again and slowly stabilize things:) Happy to be back here to see all of you :)

Thanks for your answer!
Do you feed krill to the Whitetails? My buddy owns a couple for 3 months now. They love red krill and added weight fast.
Click to expand...

Mathias.

I am sorry to hear about your grandmother. I hope that you have great memories of her and the times you spent together!

I have mostly been feeding the Whitetails a combination of frozen food, live brine shrimp and nori. I try to mix their diet a great deal. I have not tried feeding any krill yet. I will have to give it a try!
 
kirkaz said:
Amazing system Dan....

We're building a home in Peoria and going to have 2 largish in wall tanks. How brutal has it been keeping the front panel clean without any front access? I'm only going 30 inch deep because of this, and I'm nervous about that.

Curious if you considered any of the AZ builders before going with A.G.E.? Though I guess Titan may not have been around when you did this? I'm considering a guy named Dominic through Southwest Seas. I already have a quote from ATM, tanks are a decent price, but delivery is a killer.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Thanks kirkaz!

To answer your question, keeping the front glass clean is extremely easy. I use a magnet cleaner twice a week to wipe the front panel down. I had a scaffold built behind the tank and every so often, I use a long scraper to hit any places that need extra attention.

Because the tank is in my living room, I wanted to have the aquarium and fish room completely sealed off. My wife did not want any smells. So, I eliminated any cabinetry or access panels.

I sought bids from 14 different companies before choosing my builder. First you have to decide if you want to go with acrylic or glass. Titan was not around at the time, but, ******* was. With the amount of money being invested in my system, shipping was not a major factor. I wanted quality of workmanship.

Send me an email or PM and I would be glad to discuss manufacturers with you.

Regards,

Dan
 
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