Building an SPS Monster- my 1300 gallon SPS display

[copps]

Hello John, please excuse me if my memory is wrong but I seem to remember you having a tank with pygmy angels and acropora? If my memory is correct did you have any experience with an Eibli? I have resisted the urge to buy one for years now but it's still there so looking for info. Thanks.

Lol... I own over fifty angelfish... Since I was a kid I've kept angels in my reefs... I've done a few different presentations through the years... one was "Angelfish in Reef Aquaria" that I presented at MACNA in 2009 in Atlantic City and for a number of clubs... I also did one called "Darling Dwarves" which was specifically on the dwarf angelfish genus Centropyge. Below is a slide from that presentation... many people say it's a 50/50 shot with all dwarves... but the truth is it follows the species much more than it follows the individual. With that said when it comes to angelfish and SPS I don't hesitate to keep any in my systems... when it comes to the over thirty species of Centropyge I rated them years ago from green (the best choices for a reef) to red (the most likely to pick)... Centropyge eibli is part of the Flavissima complex of the subgemus Centropyge and in my experience more likely to pick than any other Centropyge. Again with that said I keep Centropyge cocosensis in my reef (added to this complex since I did the presentation). You may want to choose another species though if you have smaller colonies or a mixed reef.

Amazing tank, do you ever go scuba diving in your tank lol? Also, how in the world do you place your corals? I' currently running a 20 gallon and lose my mind when gluing my coral.

With experience you get really good layering superglue... using that along with epoxy, using tongs as an extension of your arm, and using cable ties to hold pieces in place until the glue/epoxy sets.

Incredible setup and system! I showed my wife and her first remark was that we could never afford that significant of setup but we all have our dreams. Hats off to you for achieving your "œforever" tank. I told myself my current tank is my last tank but have always wished for a tank room as well. You sir have got that. And I love your rigorous QT process and the space for it. I think if you ever took it to the next level, you might be running an entire marine park with dolphins. When will you do tours of your tank?

Thank you... keep in mind I've been a nut since I was a child... and was literally planning this in my head when I a child... this is not something I just sprung on my wife... she's known my passion and it's the reason we met twenty years ago while I was living and studying in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. There is no "next level" for me... this is everything I ever wanted... any larger and I would need employees to keep it enjoyable and would lose my passion. Life is short... follow your dreams before you are six feet under. Every guy has a "thing"... this is my "thing"... and the good thing is that it's in my house... my son is always with me in the fish room helping now... and my daughter hangs out sometimes too... here's a shot I took of her a few days ago... like any other nine year old on her tablet... except for the fact that she's sitting next to her Dad's 1300 gallon reef eating a piece of seaweed meant for the fish!

Thanks for sharing. Any chance we can get a few pics of skimmer in action? That thing looks like a beast.

Thank you... I just had Dan Lichens over yesterday... my buddy from Avast Marine... he and Justin are great guys and good friends... one of the few companies that are gold standards in this industry... great company... great product... great people...

I remember seeing a small avast kalk stirrer by the skimmer. How much water do you run through that reactor daily? Is it the small model? I was wondering how you run such a large system with a small reactor, even though I know it's not running all your top off water. I would guess your timing the water to run through it periodically during the night and day so the water is fully saturated?

Speaking of Avast Marine this is the K1 kalk stirrer... I run six gallons through it a day... and will soon be pushing that to twelve. This is just supplementary mind you, and it doesn't know how big my system is. By running more water through it all I to do is add kalk more frequently to it... no need for a larger reactor... just the need to add more kalk to it.

Thanks again everyone...

Copps

 

[jestronix]

Hi John,

after a decade of reefing I can relate to your view on halides. The expense of led units to get the spread and penetration of halide is high. I run leds on either side of my halide midday peak. I love fully controllable leds for lighting my tank for viewing purposes, it took weeks of sitting on my sofa to fine tune the look I wanted, something halide and T5 don't offer. I run two little Ai Primes, they are gr8 for lighting even big tanks to get a nice mood lighting of a late afternoon reef. Hands down though Halide is still king for me for coral health, up front cost is cheap, bulbs cheap compared to T5 and all the bits can be swapped out when something breaks.

Your tank is stunning and an inspiration , I dream of the open swimming space for my fish like that, I rent and move a lot so I go nothing bigger than 100G. Maybe one day I'll get to setup something like yours

 

[Poomba]

Any updates John?

 

[BruceWayne]

Looks amazing GOALS

 

[MichaelW]

Fantastic. Way to make your dreams (and many other peoples) happen! Congratulations. Its really great when we get to see a snippet into some of the most repected names in our hobby's personal tanks. Thank you for sharing a wealth of information.
I have so many questions but i wont bother you with them for now, just say "bravo".

 

[moondoggy4]

One of your sale threads sale from years past inspired my to give SPS a try, unfortunately I do not have the room to set up the tank but I have purchased all of the equipment to run the tank.

Wow what a great build thread I am looking forward to reading about it and learning from your experience. Thanks again

 

[JPMagyar]

As others have said over and over . . . amazing aquariums and amazing reefs. Thanks for sharing.

I was hoping a reef pro like you could offer some advice on my latest issue. This past winter life got a little busy, and I neglected my reef a little too much. In the end I lost all my acros and chose to restart with all new LR from KP Aquatics. The good news is my fish and H. Mag. all survived fine and the reef is recovering nicely with new LR and new acros. My question/trouble is in trying to re-establish copepods. Over the years I treated my system several times for Red Bugs and as a result killed off my copepod population. I thought perhaps the reintroduction of new LR would restart the population, but no such luck.

Question: Do you have any suggestions on the best way to restart a healthy copepod population?

Here's my system April 2013 TOTM

It doesn't look like that today, but the parts are the same although now I am using ATI Powermodules instead of Sfiligoi hybrids.

Thanks again for the great tank thread and any advice you can offer.

Joe in NY :beer:

 

[Piper27]

Aww man Joe sorry to hear about the trouble, that tank was one of my favorites. Look forward to the next setup.

John how is everything going? Still have the huge Monti cap colonies in that sump? If so I would love to see the growth on them. You should share that last piece I bought from you, how's your little colony doing? What's the colors like now?

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[smatter]

My old buddy Jason Bretzke is an ocean engineer out of the WNY, maybe you know him? We worked at The Marine Scene in the late Nineties together to help fuel our expensive hobby.

Thanks for sharing your stunning aquariums from the very beginning to present. You are a gifted reefist!

If I may ask, what is your go to halide bulb these days?

 

[ChrisRD]

Amazing work John...you are a legend in the hobby...thanks for sharing your vast knowledge with so many of us through the years!

 

[dbsandbox]

Angels

Angels

Love your tank,I like big angels also .Would a Queen or Emperor work in 350 sps tank?I suppose a regal is the best chose though.

 

[Fiish]

Holy heaven! I have taken several days to read this thread, but it has been worth it and I must comment Mr. Coppolino that you are a total genius of the angel fish, I admire your work a lot and read your subject has inspired me, thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.

 

[chuckbuc]

Amazing tank ..cant wait to hear you talk at our LIRA meeting next month

 

[DeepBlueZoas]

Amazing jaw dropping system...your 180 was what inspired me to get into sps corals more this tank is like a dream...

Had a few questions I am also running 400w halides but do not like my current pfo reflectors...what reflectors do you have over your 1300 display and are they still available anywhere that you know of? It's really hard to find anyone nowadays that knows anything about halides. Also what ballast are you using I have advanced m59 magnetic ballast. And where do you get your VHO Bulbs I can't find them.

 

[Gig 'em]

Any picture updates on the system?

 

[Bear1210]

Awesome build looking forward to more pics!!

 

[reef4life07]

Is your job hiring, I have my resume on hand.

 

[copps]

Hello all! My apologies for the tardy reply as I've been busier than ever between more work travel than ever, personal travel (doing all 50 states with the kids before they leave the nest) and my kids (now 11 and 14) being at a busy age. The tanks are humming along and doing well as always. I'm in the process of doing some long overdue hacking in the tank as it's overgrown and I've been too busy to chop. I'll get updated photos up soon when I get around to swapping my Kydex out and the time to photograph things.

My old buddy Jason Bretzke is an ocean engineer out of the WNY, maybe you know him? We worked at The Marine Scene in the late Nineties together to help fuel our expensive hobby.

Thanks for sharing your stunning aquariums from the very beginning to present. You are a gifted reefist!

If I may ask, what is your go to halide bulb these days?

I've been using the same two metal halide bulbs for years and years... 400 watt Ushio 14Ks on the 1300 which is supplemented by VHO actinics and Ecotech Radions with only blue channels turned on, and 20K Radiums on my frag tanks and mixed reef.

Thanks,

Copps

 

[BKREEFBABY]

I can't believe I just found this thread. I don't know what else to say other than amazing


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[panic]

amazing build John!