brockboi
New member
thanks for taking the time to do this Mr. Wilson. First off, impressive once again. Next step is to watch this movie. It's not out on blu-ray yet, but hopefully soon. it's a fantastic movie with or without kids/reef tank!
Coral Tank from Canada (1350gal Display Tank)
- Thread starter nineball
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brockboi
New member
I must say I check this thread specifically on a daily basis. I'm new to the hobby and actually have introduced a few friends to reefing recently as well. Fish people or not, this thread is shown quite frequently to friends and family just to "show off" how a tank can and should really look and function. I believe we can says thanks to you as well!
nineball
New member
I was going to say ...I don't know what to say but Thanks except that I would say the same thing about ChingChai's thread. I don't think a day goes by that I don't check his for progress......
Thanks
Peter
chingchai
Premium Member
Peter. When I saw this tank on the cover of Marine Aquarist no. 60 , I really think of you.
RexBrown
New member
Hi Peter,
I mostly lurk here on RC, with 80% of that being on your thread. I'm certainly more active on a my local forum.
I have been following your thread from the beginning and am continuously impressed by not only your reef system, but by your graciousness and generosity with the community. Keeping up on information updates, photo updates, and personal responses is a lot of work. I know we all appreciate it. For every person who posts on here, I guarantee there are ten others like me who have quietly followed along.
I'm finally speaking up now to ask you about lighting. I have read that you are going to make the switch entirely to LED's. I am curious to know if you are going to add more PR-156 units or if you are considering Orphek's new DIF-100 pendants? I am going to purchase two of these for my 180 gallon system this week, along with two DIF-30 blue units. I am interested to know if you or Mr. Wilson have explored these as a possibility? What is your final lighting decision and why? Thanks again!
I apologize if any of this has been previously answered(i reviewed before posting this).
I mostly lurk here on RC, with 80% of that being on your thread. I'm certainly more active on a my local forum.
I have been following your thread from the beginning and am continuously impressed by not only your reef system, but by your graciousness and generosity with the community. Keeping up on information updates, photo updates, and personal responses is a lot of work. I know we all appreciate it. For every person who posts on here, I guarantee there are ten others like me who have quietly followed along.
I'm finally speaking up now to ask you about lighting. I have read that you are going to make the switch entirely to LED's. I am curious to know if you are going to add more PR-156 units or if you are considering Orphek's new DIF-100 pendants? I am going to purchase two of these for my 180 gallon system this week, along with two DIF-30 blue units. I am interested to know if you or Mr. Wilson have explored these as a possibility? What is your final lighting decision and why? Thanks again!
I apologize if any of this has been previously answered(i reviewed before posting this).
nineball
New member
Thank you very much RexBrown. I am just on my way out to play some competitive eight ball so I don't have enough time to give you a proper response. We have been through every permutation with respect to lighting and I must admit that I am very happy with our recent decisions to go all led's over the display tank. However, there is a lot to be said with respect to our specific choices so I need Mr. Wilson's help to give you a proper response. I very much appreciate your supportive comments so please stay tuned to a comprehensive lighting commentary in the next 24 hrs.
Peter
ENTMogul
New member
Peter. When I saw this tank on the cover of Marine Aquarist no. 60 , I really think of you.
Wow. How many Morish Idols are in that tank?? Awesome!
TheFishTeen
New member
Not just how many Morish Idols are in the tank, look how many clownfish! :eek1:
chingchai
Premium Member
Why can't he have a group of clownfish?
nineball
New member
I agree with you. I have four pairs and they have all settled into their own space. It would be nice if they bred in the display tank but I kind of doubt that will happen. I've got three more pairs in the fish room that I hope will breed but only time and Mr. Wilson will help that.
I have successfully increased my Cardinal population from 3 to a total of 12 so far. They were born in the tank, captured by hand and net to put in a separate Mars tank in the fish room for six weeks and then put back in the display tank to play with their friends.
I had great success with my 3 Moorish Idols initially. On arrival they were put into the 130 gal hospital tank with 3 larger fish including the Sohal. They all looked very healthy and because of the peacemaker (Sohal) there were no signs of aggression or fight for dominance. They ate very well and did not appear to be finicky eaters.
However after we successfully moved them into the display tank their behaviour was terrific. They swam together and having introduced the peacemaker at the same time they continued to function well in the tank. A month later as was observed by one member of our thread community one of the idols showed signs of malnutrition which didn't make sense because they were all eating very well and I was feeding very heavy so there was lots to eat. Mr. Wilson was pretty sure there was an internal parasite which eventually won the battle and we lost that fish. Then surprisingly one of the two remaining healthy idols disappeared, with no hint or sign of its demise. The only explanation I can possibly think of is our heretic serial killer stone crab. I have a picture of it's last molt and the size is estimated now to be about the size of a baseball. No we haven't been able to catch him/her. Well we think its a him if he really is a serial killer.
We have however been very encouraged by the prospect of having a school of idols in the display tank. We have learned that having a large isolation tank for the mandatory 5 week preparation is very helpful. Putting them in with a peacekeeper works well because we observed that they continued to hang around even after they were moved into the display tank. Getting them to eat was not difficult as we found that the seaweed we are growing in the sea horse tank was a real delicacy for them. Plus I have as most of you will know a rich and diverse menu selection for all the finicky eaters in the tank. So I do believe we are going to increase our idol population but very very carefully.
Chingchai your tank is looking spectacular!!!!!!!!
Peter
If you put the slideshow on loop it works just like an awesome screensaver.
nineball
New member
ahhh, so sorry to hear about the loss Peter.
May I ask what you were feeding the Idols ? and whether they fed on sponges ?
thank youlooking forward to more pics
Remember, this tank is 24 ft long. I fully expect sponges to be a target from time to time as that is very common on the reef. In a 200 gallon display tank the damage to the sponges would be very noticeable but this tank seems to handle occasional pillaging by various fish quite well. In fact the experience we have observed with this tank is that the Australian Spider Sponges were being picked on and I thought that we would loose them in short order BUT I was wrong and in fact they appear to be not only surviving the occasional nibble they are actually growing and looking healthier. Perhaps the 'pruning' by some of the fish is actually healthy for the sponge as it regenerates.
The Idols were great and ate everything. The loved the algae and favoured brine shrimp and mysis shrimp very much. I can remember any food they didn't eat.
Peter
canyousee
New member
Peter sorry to read about the 2 Idols passing on they are such beautiful fish. I was pleased to see your/our tank being used on the Orphek web site it looked incredible with the Orphek lights. Yet we all know the tank would look great with almost any reef light combination! Thank you for sharing your journey with us both the good and the set backs.
nineball
New member
Thank you very much, I hadn't seen the pics. I see from your avatar that your life is evolving at light speed. I wish my SPS was growing that fast.
Peter
Allmost
New member
interesting, thank you Peter
the reason I ask, is cause I have a moorish Idol, in my 200 G. the first week in my tank, as you mentioned, he finished all the natural growing sponges on the rocks and more. now he feeds on PE mysis only. 6 months in.
starting last month, I wanted to include some sponges in his diet, and well the only sponge I could get my hands on were the blue ones, you also have, and also the orange ones[ Australian Spider Sponges]. I got a large Blue sponge for him to eat, and he has not touched it ! so thought I would ask you about the orange ones, before I go ahead and add one to my system as food. maybe I will be as lucky as you and not loose the sponge fully
thank you for your reply
nineball
New member
interesting, thank you Peter
the reason I ask, is cause I have a moorish Idol, in my 200 G. the first week in my tank, as you mentioned, he finished all the natural growing sponges on the rocks and more. now he feeds on PE mysis only. 6 months in.
starting last month, I wanted to include some sponges in his diet, and well the only sponge I could get my hands on were the blue ones, you also have, and also the orange ones[ Australian Spider Sponges]. I got a large Blue sponge for him to eat, and he has not touched it ! so thought I would ask you about the orange ones, before I go ahead and add one to my system as food. maybe I will be as lucky as you and not loose the sponge fully
thank you for your reply
As I understand it my blue sponges are toxic so thats why the fish leave it alone. The orange sponge was a favourite food and toy for the blue faced angel while I had him.
The Idol does hang upside down under rocks looking for wild sponges but I think my brine and mysis keeps him from going on any rampages. Besides as I have said this is a big tank so grazing does not seem to do anything brutal. I haven't seen him eating the orange sponge but I wouldn't put it past him to nibble a wee bit.
Peter
sk
New member
I didn't think I would ever get through this thread, I would go to another page and more would show up. I wanted to go to the end and see where you were at but felt if you could take all the time to put this together for our benefit I could at least read it beginning to end (well probably middle).
I thought your Best Practices was a great idea but wondered if it could work with this forum. I must say that the Nineball Team and the rest of RC put that thought to shame.
I do wish that I would have had the benefit of all this wisdom when I first set up my little 300 gal reef as I would have done alot of things differently. When I tried to find a light fixture I wanted something that would look good hanging from the ceiling and also ended up modifing a Aqua-Medic from 3 250MH to 4. I think the first thing I will need to do is change out is my home water RO/DI system as it does seem to use resin way to fast. If or probably when I have questions I hope I can get answers here.
I appreciate all the info everyone has shared here and look forward to more in the future.
I thought your Best Practices was a great idea but wondered if it could work with this forum. I must say that the Nineball Team and the rest of RC put that thought to shame.
I do wish that I would have had the benefit of all this wisdom when I first set up my little 300 gal reef as I would have done alot of things differently. When I tried to find a light fixture I wanted something that would look good hanging from the ceiling and also ended up modifing a Aqua-Medic from 3 250MH to 4. I think the first thing I will need to do is change out is my home water RO/DI system as it does seem to use resin way to fast. If or probably when I have questions I hope I can get answers here.
I appreciate all the info everyone has shared here and look forward to more in the future.
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