Coral Tank from Canada (1350gal Display Tank)

[nineball]

wow peter the tank has come a long way
looks real good.
looks like your a good student,both with photography and a reef keeper

vic

The truth is Vic, Mr. Wilson, Bros Grimm, Shimoda Bros and The Water Boy all deserve credit for the progress. There really is a benefit to working with a talented, passionate team who are committed to excellence and best practices.
I still have a long way to go on the photography front but I'll get there.

Peter

 

[swissgaurd]

just thinkin .a cool picture would be taken from one end and get an inside relection of one of the sides.

true you have a great team to work with

vic

 

[Jim.mer]

Nice Tank, just gotta see how things turn out

 

[nineball]

i got it now!

for the photography-did you use a tripod for some shots?

did you use a flash on or off the camera?

hi iso setting?

Carl

I should use a tripod (I have one) but I didn't. The camera I have shoots well in low light and I haven't had my classes on flash yet. I do know that I will eventually use both on and off camera flash when its time. Yes given the right shot hi iso settings are definitely part of the equation.

Peter

 

[nineball]

Nice Tank, just gotta see how things turn out

Me too. Thanks.

Peter

 

[Baldwin]

I may ave missed it if you have commented before on this topic Mr. Wilson, but how do you feel about emerald crabs benefit of algae eating vs. potential eating of corals. Also do you have any in peters system? I just bought a few crabs to hopefully help control valonia and as soon as I put them in they picked a couple zoa's off to eat but then spit them out so I'm hoping they were just really hungry from being in a small cubicle at the LFS.

 

[aquainas]

Excellent photos Peter!
Thank you for sharing the link to Michael Willem's blog site, a valuable tool to us hobbyists is the ability to "freeze time" in our constantly evolving ecosystems.

 

[syedjilani]

Very beautiful.. thanks for sharing...

 

[mr.wilson]

Peter-

you are doing great. i think we would all pass you.

what is growing on the returns at the top of the tank?

Carl

Just coraline alga sp far, but we will be adding some kind of colonial polyps soon. Any suggestions? Palythoa, zoanthid, parazoanthid, clavularia, cespitularia, anthellia? We have considered stony corals, but they may shade the rest of the reef below. On the other hand, some floating staghorns might be unique.

 

[mr.wilson]

just thinkin .a cool picture would be taken from one end and get an inside relection of one of the sides.

true you have a great team to work with

vic

It is a cool shot, but it hasn't quite worked out yet. In real life, the reflection doesn't look as symmetrical as you would expect, which helps.

 

[mr.wilson]

I may ave missed it if you have commented before on this topic Mr. Wilson, but how do you feel about emerald crabs benefit of algae eating vs. potential eating of corals. Also do you have any in peters system? I just bought a few crabs to hopefully help control valonia and as soon as I put them in they picked a couple zoa's off to eat but then spit them out so I'm hoping they were just really hungry from being in a small cubicle at the LFS.

I haven't had problems with emerald crabs, and they do eat some valonia, but they aren't a miracle cure. Peter has 25 of them in the tank, green and red ones.

 

[msr224]

Can you give us the lighting schedule for the DT? When everything comes on and turns off.....

Thanks.

 

[Reefski's]

i found that the Foxface eats Valonia in my tank. i had an emerald crab years ago that i did not see for many months until i was rearranging the rockwork and that crab scared the crap out of me. IT WAS HUGE!

Carl

 

[Reefski's]

i found that the Foxface eats Valonia in my tank. i had an emerald crab years ago that i did not see for many months until i was rearranging the rockwork and that crab scared the crap out of me. IT WAS HUGE!


not an emerald crab but a similar sized Sally Lightfoot Crab at the Long Beach Aquarium eating polyps.

Carl

 

[elijaher]

Sometimes rock give us bonus and a pest with it.

 

[youssef]

this tank is jaw dropping

 

[klipprand]

Looking really great - thank you for the updated pictures.

 

[nineball]

Can you give us the lighting schedule for the DT? When everything comes on and turns off.....

Thanks.

The display tank..........

11:30 am

The LED's come on alternately in sequence (16x3mins) for all 16 individual units from one end of the display tank to the other with first the blue lights only. The LED's are 40% royal blue and 60% white.

12:09 pm

Next in the same order in sequence and time frame (16x3mins) we add the 60% white until all the LED's are fully lit.

12:48 pm

Next the 3x6ft metal Halide and T5 units come on in sequence 10 mins apart

1:22 pm all lights are on the display tank.

Evening............

7:30pm Metal Halides and T5's start turning off 10 mins apart

8:00pm LED white lights start turning off with each unit at 3mins each(16x3mins).

8:48 only the 40% royal blue lights are left on until 11:00pm at which point they begin turning off in sequence leaving the display tank fully dark by 11:48pm.

We have been discussing whether to add a moonlight strip over the canopy or continue to use the external philips LED system to simulate the lunar cycle. I will post a pic later of the display tank blue phase and the post lunar external system if I can stay awake.

Peter

p.s.. Mr. Wilson is encouraged to comment with any corrections as he was the author of the lighting program for the tank.

 

[Baldwin]

i found that the Foxface eats Valonia in my tank. i had an emerald crab years ago that i did not see for many months until i was rearranging the rockwork and that crab scared the crap out of me. IT WAS HUGE!


not an emerald crab but a similar sized Sally Lightfoot Crab at the Long Beach Aquarium eating polyps.

Carl

Yeah I'm in the process of getting a magnificent foxface now. I'm going to attack the valonia from two fronts. What kind do you have?

 

[zaheda]

Mr Wilson, the Aquasunlight you use has magnetic ballast which you say is better in terms of par. I bought an Aquasunlight recenlty with one blown ballast. I connected a magnetic to the 250w halide but the bulb so dull. The orignal Aquamedic electronic ballast used is far more powerfull and far more par than the magnetic driven ballast.