Coral Tank from Canada (1350gal Display Tank)

[nineball]

Hiya Peter et al.

I'm new to RC and researching a potential first tank. (Selling current home, planning to build next one, yada yada).

I wasn't going to post till I finished the thread, but it has been the better part of two weeks and I'm still not even half way through!

Thank you for sharing this great build - the wealth of knowledge of those contributing is astounding and your tank (so far in my reading your tank just now has water in it) is absolutely amazing. Much of the technical info is over my head at this point, but I will be certainly referring back to it as a tool when I am ready to build my 125 gallon (or 150, 180..do I hear 210!!!!).

ANYWHO, I am at the point in the thread where many of you were considering attending the 2010 MACNA in Orlando. My question is whether you considered the conference valuable and whether it would be to someone just (dreaming of) getting into the hobby. I have family in Des Moines and would consider rearranging my schedule to attend.

Looking forward to the rest of your tank build (from July 2010 on). This reads like a great novel - and I am trying very hard not to peek at the ending. :reading:

Lia

Stay with it Lia, it just keeps getting better. This is a challenging hobby for sure. It's expensive, time consuming, full of knowledge gaps and yet for those of us already on the path ...... hugely rewarding. I would not have started this build without Chingchai's example and the wonderful support from Reef Central members from all over the world. I have made some very special friendships with the hobby as the basis of our meeting. I believe that the MACNA is good for newbies in the sense that you get an impression fairly quickly that you are joining a hobby that is much bigger than your local fish store. Most of the folks attending are very supportive of new entrants into our community. The lectures are conducted by long time active members of this hobby who are well informed and incredibly accessible throughout the conference. I don't think you would regret attending and probably would get a lot of relationships established that will be helpful when you start your own build.

I have found that the folks who have taken the time to wade through most of the history of this build have not regretted it and most have become members of this extended family for all the right reasons. Tomorrow I will be releasing my new web site and making the announcement here. You might want to check back for that but in the meantime don't tell anybody.....let this be our little secret.

Welcome to the group Lia and welcome especially to the hobby.

Peter

 

[nineball]

Did someone say Cyano?

Now you've got my attention.......

I mean....I have this friend.......:worried:

Ok, OK if you ask Mr. Wilson very nicely to take you through his next confrontation with the Cyano threat he just might ask me to photo the whole sequence for the benefit of this community. We have an opportunity to document it if he agrees.

Peter

 

[msr224]

Ok, OK if you ask Mr. Wilson very nicely to take you through his next confrontation with the Cyano threat he just might ask me to photo the whole sequence for the benefit of this community. We have an opportunity to document it if he agrees.

Peter

Mr. Wilson, would you please document and share this experience for me.....errr... I mean for my friend.......:hmm2:

 

[nineball]

New Web Site..........

New Web Site..........

I wanted to introduce the new web site here as it was created very much on the feedback we have received over the past year from this thread community.

It is first and foremost an archival repository of information that tries to stick to the useful material content that has for the most part come from this thread. It has been largely divided into three basic streams of information:

Best Practices

Specifications

Gallery

The Best Practices stream covers most of the pearls of wisdom that have come from Mr. Wilson's valuable work experience that is general in nature and may or may not apply to my tank. This material should be useful quick reference material for those folks who want a quick refresher on a specific subject such as lighting or nutrition or flow engineering etc. If Mr. Wilson were to write a book the galleys would probably come from this section. I am hoping we can maintain the continuing high quality input from Mr. Wilson and in fact bring other contributors from this community into the fold. Remember this section is about Best Practices for our hobby for the general hobbyist.

The Specifications section is information specifically about this tank and build environment. It is relevant to those who want a quick status report on what elements make up this ecosystem. It may not be applicable to everyone in the best practice sense because it will also reflect, in its wisdom, some of the mistakes that were encountered along the way. My hope is that we will continue to update this section to reflect the evolution and growth of this build.

The Gallery section is the photo history of the build. Fair warning.....it is big and full of what may appear to be redundant photos. I decided a while back to keep all the photos even though many had only minor differences because there was enough detail to warrant the archival benefits to anyone who wanted them. Some might even be out of focus or over exposed but they are there warts and all for the benefit of this thread community. If you decide you want to download any please feel free and if you want detail then use the full or large image option on the download. What you see is what you get as far as quality is concerned. I am not a professional photographer but probably adequate as far as an amateur goes. I will continue to update this section over time.

This next item is very important and I would appreciate it if those of you who take the time to read all this will help me emphasize this point. Mr. Wilson and I will NOT be communicating on this archival web site. It is for reference only. We will talk about anything related to this material but ONLY on Reef Central. It is too much effort for us to keep multiple conversations going on various web sites. We just can't do it and maintain any hopes for sustained quality. Please help us by alerting folks when the subject comes up......If you want to talk to Peter or Mr. Wilson then use this thread on reef central to do it.

We have chosen this venue for a reason. This is a large tank build and I want to ensure that I can capture as much knowledge and support from other large tank builders around the world like Chingchai, Andy Tripa and many European and Australasian centres of excellence. Regional forums while great for local information and resources are, through no fault of their own, restricted on the number and sizes of large tank experiences. So again, if you want to find Peter and Mr. Wilson with respect to this ongoing build then its Reef Central.

So you have Best Practices, Specifications and Gallery to pour over at your leisure. There is one more additional item to add that is part of the launch of the site.......

A contest for the Reef Central community that has been loyal to this build. This contest is a way for me to say thank you and have a little fun at the same time. It is NOT a contest sanctioned by the Reef Central organization but I don't think it will be offensive to them as Reef Central Advertisers will be the beneficiaries.

You may recall we had some fun recently with a count the fish contest that really didn't finalize a winner. The challenge was that the impulse to suggest it was not well thought out as the picture was too blurry to be sure of the right answer. So this time to make it up to the whole family on this thread I am offering two prizes of $500.00 Canadian each for two contests.

The first is count the fish. The picture while not perfect is much better than the previous one for this kind of challenge. You will find it on the web site. All you have to do is count the fish.......fair warning it was a challenge even for us. The count can be posted by anyone on the site and don't worry about someone else seeing your count as there really isn't any benefit in choosing someone else's number unless you are convinced it is right. Remember ties will split the prize.
The contest starts on this posting of the web site and will end at midnight Sept 6 2011.

The Five hundred dollar prize will be in the form of a gift certificate to any one of the current Reef Central advertisers on the site. Hopefully that will keep me out of trouble.

The second prize of $500.00 is to name them. There is an email address made up on the site to accept the name the fish contest. These answers obviously can't be shared till the decision is made.

Yes it will be possible for the same person to win both prizes. That would be for the math challenged among you $1000.00 in total Reef Central advertiser gift certificates.

In the event of a tie the prize(s) will be split.

If I were in charge of the contest guys wouldn't stand much of a chance of winning and girls would be at the front of the line so to avoid any claims of politically incorrect bias I have asked Dave M to be the sole contest Judge. Mr. Wilson and I have collaborated with Dave on the count and naming but we will not be arbitrating the winner(s). We are effectively out of it. Dave M has been paid an enormous amount of money to ensure his objectivity so he can't be corrupted as easily as me.

Finally this contest is about fun. It is intended to be a thank you to this family that has stayed attached to this build and Reef Central. I have asked Dave M to use common sense in arriving at the Winner(s) and I will encourage Mr. Wilson to help me police that.

Now for some thank you(s) before posting the site. Dave M started working on this web site months ago and put a huge effort in to prepare the archive and edit it for human consumption. This has been a voluntary effort and the whole thread community owes him a big thank you for taking the time. Dave thank you very much.

Mr. Wilson, a true gift to the Hobbyists in this domain who has certainly given far more than he has received. My hope is that he will continue to be associated with this ongoing build for years to come and that we have the discipline to keep the 'stuff' of his fantastic imagination in this archive for all to benefit.

And finally to this thread community who has kept this build energized with the phenomenally positive culture that is the hallmark of this thread.

Peter

ps. Dave, Shawn ? did I leave anything out??

oh yeah of course...........and the web site is..........

petersfishtank (with the www and the dot com)

 

[ebonline]

WOW just checked out the new site Peter and all I can say is thank you to you and your team for taking the time and setting this up for all to view and use......:thumbsup:

 

[nineball]

WOW just checked out the new site Peter and all I can say is thank you to you and your team for taking the time and setting this up for all to view and use......:thumbsup:

Thank you Eric, Hopefully it works well for the whole family ........

Peter

 

[msr224]

Checked out the website earlier and just spent some time on it just now.

Very clear, concise and well thought out. I love all the pictures and am very much looking forward to the video tab.......

 

[Kipps]

WOW - Peter - you just destroyed all my free time for the next 3 - 4 weeks, with this amazing website and competition. My wife is not happy - she has a "fix-it" list of numerous items that have just been put on hold indefinately......

Thank you and all your team/s for taking the effort to document all of this - it has become an amazing source of reference for us rank amateurs....

Rodd

 

[nineball]

Checked out the website earlier and just spent some time on it just now.

Very clear, concise and well thought out. I love all the pictures and am very much looking forward to the video tab.......

I haven't had the time to concentrate on the video yet but hopefully soon.

Peter

 

[nineball]

WOW - Peter - you just destroyed all my free time for the next 3 - 4 weeks, with this amazing website and competition. My wife is not happy - she has a "fix-it" list of numerous items that have just been put on hold indefinately......

Thank you and all your team/s for taking the effort to document all of this - it has become an amazing source of reference for us rank amateurs....

Rodd

As long as your wife isn't in Des Moines I'll be ok then......

Thanks for the support Rodd,

Peter

 

[Elliott]

great site Peter, thanks!

 

[nineball]

great site Peter, thanks!

Thanks Elliott.....

Peter

 

[Jessie Gray]

wow Peter just checked out the site and it looks great and seams to work great too. Dave M did a great jog. I know where I will be spending my time for a while. I am sure it will be very helpfull sence I am just getting started on my new 240 galon. I have already learned so much from this thread. it will be great to be able to easily reafrence all the meterial as I go through my build. thanks Peter and team and a big thanks to Dave M

 

[chingchai]

Peter. The time and effort that you, Shawn and your team do dedicate to this reef community is invaluable.
Thank you so much.
http://petersfishtank.com/?page_id=12

 

[nineball]

Peter. The time and effort that you, Shawn and your team do dedicate to this reef community is invaluable.
Thank you so much.
http://petersfishtank.com/?page_id=12

Thank you very very much Chingchai. We are just trying to live up to the example you have set.

Peter

 

[canyousee]

Thank you so very much, all three of you have gone above and beyond with the web site. Your generosity and kindness is what makes reefing so special.Men and women from all over the world coming together to share and help.Truly this is a most appreciated gift from you 3 to all of us.Thanks again

 

[Padrino]

Peter. The time and effort that you, Shawn and your team do dedicate to this reef community is invaluable.
Thank you so much.
http://petersfishtank.com/?page_id=12

This is truly an understatement! Your website is everything I could have asked for. It has all the information and pictures to explain a trillion words. Thank you for compiling this fantastic resource!

Rob


Apparently I live on the wrong street, cause your house is where all the action is!! I just relived the tank arrival. Incredible. I wish i had a reason to call a huge crane company like that. Your website allows everyone to experience the same fantasy without leaving out any details!!!

Thanks again!!

 

[dainiusiva]

Finally, Peter's website is online.
Thank you Peter and Shawn for your dedication, you have really made a huge favor for all of us...
Also thanks go out to Dave for creating the website. I am currently at work so i will have to check out the website later when i get home.

 

[silentscream]

The people asked, and the TEAM delivered! Such a valuable website as this only furthers the hobby. Thank you for dedication.

 

[nineball]

This is truly an understatement! Your website is everything I could have asked for. It has all the information and pictures to explain a trillion words. Thank you for compiling this fantastic resource!

Rob


Apparently I live on the wrong street, cause your house is where all the action is!! I just relived the tank arrival. Incredible. I wish i had a reason to call a huge crane company like that. Your website allows everyone to experience the same fantasy without leaving out any details!!!

Thanks again!!

Thanks Rob, I agree, just proofing the site brought back many memories......most of them positive!!!!

Peter