Tank of the Month - March 2007

[drtango]

THEKIDSTA1

I've found, as have others, that wild caught SPS are MUCH more prone to bleaching than captive grown frags.

I'd suggest obtaining frags from well established, captive grown colonies. ORA is an excellent source for hardy, fast growing frags, as is your local reef club.

John

 

[Jerry's_Reef]

Sweet Tank! Very Cool.

Sweet Tank! Very Cool.

A very beautiful field of SPS corals. I especially like the way some of them are flat on top.

 

[MSAreef]

Hi John, Absolutley lovely. Definitely a setup to aspire to. I was just wondering how you keep the back glass so clean. Do you scrape it off often? That must be a challenge to do without damaging any of the corals.

 

[drtango]

MSAreef-

Thanks for the kind words. I use a Hammerhead magnet. Several of the tabling corals need to be periodically hacked back to allow passage of the magnet...

John

 

[nosh]

Amazing tank!

 

[AquaPython]

a beautiful tank!
can someone tell me what this coral is and where to get it?
this is one of the most beautiful things i have ever laid eyes on!

 

[Skipper]

I think that's the Pachysersis rugosa.

 

[drtango]

Once again, Skipper is right on.

I love this coral as well---I'm lucky that mine took on a green flourescent coloration. My wife actually picked this out at a LFS years ago, it was browned out and sickly, but she thought it was "pretty". I've got it in a high flow area on the bottom, and each year it gets more bizarre looking.

These corals do turn up at the LFS periodically, but are often brown. If you see one, take a chance--mine has been extremely hardy.

Side note--"pachy" is the latin derivation, I think, for elephant----thus the common coral name "Elephant skin coral"

John

 

[mattsilvester]

Hey Dr. Tango

Just wanted to say well done, what a great tank. I am setting up a 240 at the moment, and absolutely love your (relatively) low tech approach.

Regards

Matt

 

[AquaPython]

dr tango,
this is exactly why i like it. i have seen this coral in one LFS many times in tan-brownish color frags the size of coffee plates. I always liked the texture and it had gone under a different common name. i have tried to ask if people have had any luck or pictures with it in the past, and never gotten any results.
are you saying this piece was that color when you got it, and turned flourescent green in your tank?
also, any chance of you ever fragging it ?

 

[mattsilvester]

I am still in amazment about how simple your system is.

As someone that is currently gearing up for an SPS system, with a few big fish - not at all disimilar to your fish - I am getting quite nervous about managing everthing...... but your tank gives me some inspiration

So basically you feed well, you top up with kalk, you have a calcium reactor, and you do weekly 15 gal water changes.......... together with heavy skimming and good water flow, and that is more or less it? No refugium either?!?!?!?

I must say, well done, you are an inspiration to us all! You give me hope!

Thanks for sharing,, and once again well done on TOTM!
Regards,

Matt

 

[drtango]

AquaPython--

Yes, it was quite brown, sort of an "olive drab" when I got it. Have not really fragged it much as it's very hard to reach. If I manage to break off a chunk during a tank cleaning mishap I'll let you know..

Matt-

Yes, that's about it. Basically I'm exporting nutrients "up front" by removing as much as I can before it settles and breaks down. Simplistically, a barebottom system is like flushing a toilet---and a DSB/refugium system is more like a septic tank with a leach field. Both work, both can go horribly wrong, it's a matter of choice, though I personally have had much better success with SPS in my current system.

Thanks for the kind words

John

 

[mattsilvester]

John,

I prefer the concept of bare bottom, personally. However, my newest tank has a 2" brace running the length of the tank at the top and bottom - its the bottom bit that worries me. If I were to put a starboard tye substance on the bottom, then I would end up with a 1/4" void under it - and I think it would look awful it the the board was cut to 20" wide to allow for a 2" gap at the front and back........

Bare bottom and just glass....... I;d be sort of worried if a rock fell or something that it would chip / crack the bare glass.

Hence, I am planning to go ahead with a thin scattering of sand on the bottom ..... initialyl I tohught 1", but now I am thinking a half inch.......

Cheers,

Matt

 

[TropTrea]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9548285#post9548285 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mattsilvester
John,

Bare bottom and just glass....... I;d be sort of worried if a rock fell or something that it would chip / crack the bare glass.

Cheers,

Matt

Yes having beedn in the business of selling larger tanks as well as custom building them I must admot thaqt there are rare ocassions or returns.

1. case of return is someone put the tank on an un-even surface and the unequal presure on the glass caused a side or the bottom to crack.

2. I have not seen this with tempered glass but tanks with none tempered bottoms will crack when a heavey object like live rock is droped on them. This is one reason why I never had even one bare bottomed tank out of over 100 when I ran my pet store.

Now what I have seen done frequently is the use florescent light grills spaced off the bottom which protects the tank bottom from falling objects plus with forced water circulation under the plate blows out and dirt that wantys to settle on the bottom. The only big draw back here Algea control on the bottom as well as grate.

Dennis


Dennis

 

[volivier]

coral id...

coral id...

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9526794#post9526794 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Skipperâ"žÂ¢
I think that's the Pachysersis rugosa.

wow, it is very pretty, i'd have guessed a monti cap with that grew in strange formation. LOL I've seen the elephant coral i've seen are ugly, guess i'll take a chance next time i see one.

 

[sweetcheeks]

This is my very first post EVER, and of course I think your tank is beautiful.
Mostly, I wanted to thank you for your statement on the spouses and:
"the art of negotiation, creative budgeting and, most importantly, taking advantage of any opportunity to upgrade our systems"
because this is so true. And I thought that I was literally crazy about my tanks. Now I realize: I AM, but there is a support group for people like me! Thanks Dr Tango.

 

[CJ]

Congratulations, John. I have been rather inactive on this board for some time due mostly to health problems. Your tank is an inspiration and rekindled my interest. It has to be one of the most beautiful tank of the month in a long time.

Is the big beautiful blue coral, top center, the ORA Blue Tort Staghorn?

 

[drtango]

sweetcheeks--

Welcome to Reef Central! You'll find this board is one giant support group for our mutual obsession!

CJ-

Yes, that's the ORA Blue Tort. Gorgeous, hardy coral!

Thank you both for the kind words.

John

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

John- I see you've been very busy answering questions about your beautiful aquarium
One question- I'm trying to find info regarding the PAR of Reeflux 10k's run on eballasts. You wouldn't happen to have any links/data offhand, would you?

 

[mattsilvester]

John,

Do you think your methodology could be applied to a tank with a shallow sand bed? Apart from the sand, my system is going to be pretty simlar to yours:

Skimmer - Deltec 1060s (rated for 530 gals)
1000 gals/hr going through the sump (on a 250 gal system) - not a big sump like yours though.
4 or 5 Tunze streams in the display giving a total of 40-50 tank volumes/hr circulation
I am also rigging up an automatic water chage system, and plan on doing a 5% water change weekly.
I also plan on having a similar stocking plan to yours, and plan on feeding generously.

Is the concept of having a shallow sand in total oposition to your methedology?

Thanks

Matt