Coral Tank from Canada (1350gal Display Tank)

[tonyf]

... Note, I have not talked about fish yet. The final choices for the coral 'islands' will help determine the fish selection and I expect to have a very respectable array of specimens befitting this build and this tank. The underlying coral however will always be the mainstay of this presentation and the fish will be a compliment to that.

I am determined to maintain a positive stance when it comes to coral and fish selection. I am planning to deal with known sources for material and most likely farmed products whenever possible. I will likely go to the source when and where possible to hand pick the selection as I have yet to see anything decent in any of the local LFS. I am not being critical of our local commercial efforts to support our hobby, its just that this build is a little unusual in its scope and most if not all the LFS's are not set up for this kind of buy.

So Tone, there is a little distance yet to get where we need to go but I am determined to get there with patience and perseverance(not to mention the occasional golf game :beer.

Peter

Mate (feeling a little ozzie?), I'm so proud of you respecting the biotope idea and stocking once the form is established ... It is just such a good way to do things!

Tone

 

[dave.m]

Thanks to everyone for the great list of shops in the GTA. The next time I get to Hogtown I will have endless hours of "window shopping" to do. :thumbsup:

Dave.M

 

[Masoch]

Aquatic Kingdom (Mississauga)
Reef Raft (Mississauga)
ORG (Oakville)
Reefquarium (Markham)
Sea U Marine (Markham)
Aquarium Depot (Brampton)
Reef Maniac (Toronto)
NAFB (Scarborough)
Aquarium Services (Various)

Is Aquarium Depot still open? I know they changed locations a while back, and I've heard nothin' from them in ages.

For the other poster -- Dragon is the one next door to the BA / Aquarium Services in Mississauga.

 

[ReefingBuddha]

I've been following along as well, great build so far and wonderful attention to detail. This tank has the potential to be something truly exceptional, thank you for sharing.

As far as fish and coral selection goes, this might be a fantastic opportunity to create a monster display that can showcase the best that aqua-cultured coral, fish, and inverts have to offer. Imagine a tank this size, which is as completely stocked as possible with animals raised solely for our needs, not stolen from the ocean. At the very least it would be possible to get all of your coral from growers and not only would it not impact our ever shrinking natural reefs but it would also provide significant business to all those growers who are making the effort.

Just a consideration as well as a person choice I made in my tank. Its not as enormous as yours at 300g but minimizing my impact on natural reefs was a key stocking criteria for me.

I'm sure there are many people here with a wealth of resources allocated to aqua-culture. It would be great to see some large schools of aquaculture fish in there. Nothing looks better or more natural then a large school of small fish in a well thought-out tank.

Oh and I use the APEX aquarium controller. Great product IMHO.

Just my .02! Great going so far!

 

[PauChi]

All the listed LFS in and around Toronto (courtesy of mr.wilson) have some of the BEST selections and prices as well!!! The unfortunate part is there's always a line up to get one's hands on some really fine coral or fish specimens.

I'm sure either one of these LFS would be more than willing to assist Peter in obtaining his wish list of whatever he wishes (legally that is) and believe me ... they can get it ... regardless!! :thumbsup:

Paul

 

[mr.wilson]

Is Aquarium Depot still open? I know they changed locations a while back, and I've heard nothin' from them in ages.

For the other poster -- Dragon is the one next door to the BA / Aquarium Services in Mississauga.

Dee moved to a smaller place but I haven't been there yet. He may be by appointment or chance only, I'm not sure.

 

[nineball]

I Knew It............

I Knew It............

I knew it! I knew when I made the reference to the LFS's, that my qualifier would be ignored. I would not say anything negative that would be construed as a criticism. That is NOT what this thread is about nor will it be even if I have to censure myself. So for the time being, the subject of fish acquisition is off the table. In truth, the evolution of this build is far off sourcing fish or coral at this point.

As many have noted, this build represents an opportunity to get things right. Not necessarily the most expensive alternatives, and not necessarily the cheapest either. In other words, the best choices that are NOT a reflection of cost cutting or surplus should be the right choices. Let's take money out of the equation.

How many of us can relate to the experience of coming to the forum for information with the intent of finding unbiased, sound and accurate facts. We have a network of global experience in this forum that covers every possible variation of economic, professional and domain experience. I don't know whether Mr Wilson drives a Lada or a Bugatti, but I can tell you I don't care what he drives when it comes to his advice about feeding coral. Nor do I want Mr. Wilson to withhold information because he thinks it will be too expensive for me. Nor do I want Mr Wilson to give me the most expensive solution to a problem simply because he thinks I'm only happy when I am flushing money down the drain.

This build is about doing the right thing. What a fabulous opportunity for all of us to look back at this process and say to our peers, if you want to try and do this the right way look at "˜OUR' example. BUT, as we all know, all too often there are no clear cut principles that are definitively right or wrong. There's where the rub is. How can we possibly know for sure what's "˜right'? We can debate the issues but that too often turns into a win lose competition and that is not what any of us want. Can you imagine Capn_Hyliner's log full of information that was gathered on the basis of winning debates? That would be a terrible foundation for someone to use as a guidepost for this hobby. So as a group we need to raise the bar in how we present information and how we ensure that our discussion is fair and unbiased. The choices I make for this build are truly based on the quality of your collective feedback and the winner is our aquarium not me. Again for the umpteenth time, this is our tank and the quality of the outcome will be dependent on our collective ability to share and strengthen our knowledge of this domain.

We will not tolerate ad hominem arguments (personal attacks) in this thread and we will let the Moderators deal with those who do. There is a little button (triangle with the exclamation mark) to use to let the mods know when someone crosses the line. Let them sort it out. Also there is a feature in your profile that lets you specify individuals to block out so that you never see their remarks in the thread. Please don't try and sort it out yourself no matter how annoying the individual might be. I appreciate the support but we also run the risk of losing the thread (particularly this thread as I have it on good authority that the mods are watching!!!!). To prove my point, a mod will drop into this thread and leave no comment other than a happy face!!!!!!!!!!!

Yup, learn to love your Mod.......

Now I'm going to try and catch up on the last couple of days. With your understanding, I'm not going to pick up on the contentious issue other than to note and thank you for the excellent lists of LFS's which I am sure to benefit from in the long haul.

Peter

 

[Tanu]

As a long-term visitor of forums about reefkeeping, sometimes I get the feeling I've seen it all, which of course is completely wrong. Every now and then I am surprised. This topic is such a surprise.

Just like in Chingchai's thread, Peter's thread is already interesting to read before even the first drop of water is added to the system. The way everything is documented, the way you re-think almost everything most reefers take for granted while listening to sound advice... :thumbsup:

As another source of inspiration, have you already looked at this tank?

I am really looking forward to seeing how this system will develop.

Cheers
Tanne

 

[Mr Milt]

Is Aquarium Depot still open? I know they changed locations a while back, and I've heard nothin' from them in ages.

For the other poster -- Dragon is the one next door to the BA / Aquarium Services in Mississauga.

i love this thread
aquarium depot is now Coral Reefs located at 4525 Ebenezer Road, Brampton.
Dee gets just about anything that you wont.

 

[nineball]

As a long-term visitor of forums about reefkeeping, sometimes I get the feeling I've seen it all, which of course is completely wrong. Every now and then I am surprised. This topic is such a surprise.

Just like in Chingchai's thread, Peter's thread is already interesting to read before even the first drop of water is added to the system. The way everything is documented, the way you re-think almost everything most reefers take for granted while listening to sound advice... :thumbsup:

As another source of inspiration, have you already looked at this tank?

I am really looking forward to seeing how this system will develop.

Cheers
Tanne

Tanne, Thank you very much for you comments. If I was to list my top four tanks, the one you have listed is one of them. I was sort of hoping that Pieter's tank would have been identified. It's NOT just that its big, although it sure does make a statement, it is a very interesting seascape that is well thought out and managed. I do have my notion as to how I would describe the 'style' but I am ashamedly reluctant to suggest it for fear that the label might offend someone. The other principle that I have chosen to insist on for the selection of the Grand Masters is that the representation of the style be an excellent example. It took all of 2.6 nanoseconds for me to recognize that tank and know who was responsible for it. Excellent suggestion!!!!

I am very pleased to have you along for the ride.......

Peter

 

[nineball]

i love this thread
aquarium depot is now Coral Reefs located at 4525 Ebenezer Road, Brampton.
Dee gets just about anything that you wont.

Thank you Mr. Milt for the updated info and your enthusiatic support.

Peter

 

[nineball]

SOME PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE GIVEN THE TIME OR ENERGY OF A RESPONSE!
Please continue with this amazing build I'm truely enjoying it without the attacks.

+1

<font size="1" color="#0000FF">profanity removed</font> patwa your not making your case any better. and your loosing business for some LFS's.

Chingchai is dead on with this comment. my club and LFS knowledge helped make my new 75gtank what it is!http://s1005.photobucket.com/albums/af177/antonias1391/?action=view&current=75gaquarium004.jpg keep at it Peter! dont give him the time of day. :bounce3:

Thanks guys, I appreciate your support very much.

Peter

 

[nineball]

Wow what a build thread. This thing is just plain awesome. Down the street from me too(Burlington).
I can't believe how long this thread is after only a couple months. I'm going to have to sit down and read the whole thing.
Now I know who to contact if I ever want to unload some of my large Tangs.
Good luck with everything. I'm gonna be following along now.

Thanks Cougarman, its great to have you along for the ride even if you are living so close to the 'center of the universe'. Burlington eh?

Peter

 

[nineball]

You will do just fine with Reef Crystals, and I don't want to stoke the fire too much, but you will do fine with the reef specialty stores in the Toronto area as well. The local stores get in 1000 pcs of coral at a time and sell out pretty quick, so as suggested you need to be an early bird to get the premium worms. I know price isn't a major deciding factor but Toronto has the cheapest coral prices in North America from what I have seen in my travels. If you were to travel to hand pick corals, Indonesia or Australia would be the places to go.

Thanks Mr. Wilson, as you will know by now, I don't need much of an excuse to visit Australia.............:dance::dance::dance:

Peter

 

[nineball]

Peter
I will choose to post this statement as not to add fuel. we must move along and be cautious not to loose focus on the the battles ahead. looking foward to more sign of progress as always.
Lately i have been following intermitantly so ill give my $.02 on the salt and controler now. Reef Crystals has been a staple for me over the last 6 years no major malfunctions due to the salt mix, in my experience. Also have used the red sea on some smaller tanks prior to plumbing all into one system, it has done me justice as well. Curently I am utilizing the Reef Keeper Elite for a controler the system is still relativly new to me. I am really impressed with it thus far. I have found it to be extreamly user friendly and the unlimitted possible configurations as well as ease of adding additional plug and play modules has won me over.
NOW LETS SEE SOME PROGRESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:lol2:

I am told I can take some pictures tomorrow of the HVAC in the fish room and the system responsible for ensuring negative air flow in the canopy over the display tank.

Stay tuned,

Peter

 

[nineball]

Just want to say first off WOW what an amazing build !! and second what do you do for a living lol if you dont mind me asking?

Thanks Btortorelli, I am currently and I suspect permanently retired. Having said that I suspect I am going to be married to this tank for the rest of my unnatural life!!!!!

Peter

 

[nineball]

I was just at Sea U Marine in Markham a few days ago. He had an excellent marine fish selection and some great sps prices (2 for $50) making room for 1000 pieces of coral coming in. I may miss some stores (sorry guys) but here is what comes to mind for reef specialty stores in no particular order...

Aquatic Kingdom (Mississauga)
Reef Raft (Mississauga)
ORG (Oakville)
Reefquarium (Markham)
Sea U Marine (Markham)
Aquarium Depot (Brampton)
Reef Maniac (Toronto)
NAFB (Scarborough)
Aquarium Services (Various)

Some of these stores export to retailers in the USA, sell wholesale to smaller stores, and travel to the source and cherry pick orders. You have to shop around because orders come and go quickly and like any kind of fishing you never know what you will catch.

In addition to these stores, there are a handful of frag dealers who sell mostly captive (mariculture) produced corals. Fragd.it in Oshawa is a reputable frag supplier with great stuff. Some of the frag suppliers are chop shops that buy wild collected corals at discount prices then chop it up on the spot and resell that $25 coral as 6 $15 pieces. Photoshopping and short shipping is another problem. These coral scalpers make it hard for reputable companies (who hold corals until they heal and offer honest photos and descriptions) to do business.

The Marine Aquarium Society of Toronto (MAST) has frag swaps and I've heard of other frag meets where you can pick up the best of the best coral frags. These corals have been cherry picked over the past 20 years, passed from one fellow hobbyist to the other. In addition to getting choice colours and varieties, you know these corals are well adapted to closed system lighting and water quality and are disease free. Most mariculture (farmed) corals are grown in the ocean in relatively shallow water so they are no easier to acclimate to aquarium conditions than wild caught varieties.

Very usefull information Mr. Wilson. Noted and appreciated.

Peter

 

[nineball]

I don't know if I missed it but has plasma arc lighting, by seashine been suggested at all The early reviews seem to really show promise and with the size of your tank they kinda seem like a perfect fit. To put another controller out there, Peter you mentioned you were in electronics or something like that its called ReefAngel. it just came out but may have a lot of promise for your system. I have not used one personally but it seems like it is just a small computer basically that you can wright your own code for.

Thank you lost in it all. I will check both products out.

Peter

 

[nineball]

Caution is definitely warranted, but I think it bears mentioning that there is no settled science on what is the proper way to keep a reef tank, whether it be 20 gallons or 2000. We can all agree that the water should be somewhat salty, and preferably the tank should be lit with some kind of light. To criticize someone who is new to the hobby for taking a variety of advice from a variety of sources, being willing to change when large issues are identified, and drawing on the collective experience of a large community is misguided. The simple fact is, that many of our settled tanks are just as likely to experience a failure due to some unforseen or uncontrollable problem as Peter's will be. I think we should all strive to continue to positive vibe that this thread has held consistently since it's beginnings.

Thank you very much Cloakerpoked, for your comments and especially your positive sentiments are really appreciated.

Peter

 

[nineball]

Peter, it sounds like you have the same taste of sps domination fever that i have. If this is the case, the best place in Toronto is REEF RAFT. PERIOD.

John at North American Fish breeders has great sales and when he brings in aqua cultured SPS, he has a great selection of really good pieces but you have to fight with all the locals to get some as there is a lineup out the door waiting for him to open. Seriously some real animals out there!

I have heard good things about ORG. they bring in a lot of nice coral but its more expensive than any other place in the GTA.

Im not sure i would pick all teh coral from one source. Jay is the man to talk to at reef raft and he brings all kinds of amazing coral from Australia to teh red sea to the Philippines,

Hope that helps peter

Rob

Thanks Rob this goes into my fish file for future reference.

Peter