the 1700g stingray reef

[prostaff]

I used fiberglass resin to coat the styrofoam. The stuff in the previous link is for mounting frags. Different stuff altogether. This winter I might try to post construction pictures for everyone. I photo documented the entire construction process to share when I had free time. I might be able to get some photos of the fish room at that time as well.

SWEET!! That would be fantastic if you find the time Energy. By the way I remember reading that you contemplated making your own rock. why did you choose the pvc racks over the diy rock option? I am in the process of making that decision myself and any insights would be great

 

[dgasmd]

A page full of characters means your browser is trying to handle the file but it can't. You either don't have quicktime installed on your computer, you do but there is a problem with it, or your browser thinks it can handle quicktime movies when it can't. Try installing(reinstalling) quicktime (www.quicktime.com) Another option is to forget trying to watch them in your browser and just save the files to your harddrive and watch them. (no matter what you're going to need a functioning version of quicktime on your computer)

In case you don't know how to save a file from the internet to your harddrive, try holding shift down when you click the link.. OR.. rightclick on the link and choose Save Link Target As.. note: menu wording may be different from browser to browser.

Thanks for the tips. It must be something wrong with the browser because I used another browser and it worked just fine.

Energy:

Thanks for the sponge tank explanation. I was wondering myself. I ahve been reading some of Tyree's books as of late. I've had them for a while, but never had the time to sit down and read them. From the looks of the skimmer, yours must be the one that Greg told me a while back that he was building or was int he process of building. 6 pumps and 12" acrylic right?

You certainly have a fish in your list I had been looking to get for over 3 years and I am yet to see the first for sale: the orange spotted foxface. How did you come across it? In my mind, that fish is heck of a lot more rare than the Gem tang itself.

You are right on the fish behavior. I am sure it is something that is impressive and cannot really be described. Best of luck with the tank.

 

[Mr. Eko]

WOW!!!!!
I just found this thread and the tank is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am speechless...nothing compares to that.
Tell whoever made that, that i said "Hi, and good job" =-)

 

[Mr. Eko]

Sorry, double post.

 

[tomasz]

Energy I know you did say that you were later going to post some pictures of the construction, but could we see couple pictures of the pvc rack being done sooner? Me and others are in process of doing tanks right now and it would be helpfull. Thanks.

 

[Energy]

The orange spotted foxface is absolutely amazing. Up close it is one of my favorites and it seems to be such an underrated fish for popularity. I got lucky finding that one.
DIY Rock: I didn't choose this option after reading about all the curiing problems people were facing. In the mean time I collected live rock from just about anywhere I could get it at the right price. The PVC option made sense to create unique aquascapes and maximize open swimming area behind the structure. In some of the videos you can see that not many fish , including the stingray are not present. Whenever they get nervous they have an instant shelter which can easily handle all of them. The open area underneath the rock structure is probably 30% of the open area seen from the front. The stingray likes to seek refuge and comes out for appearances during the day.
Pictures: I'll figure pictures out when I have time. Now is a busy time so I'll stick with answering questions as best I can. If I miss anyones question please feel free to remind me.

 

[prostaff]

Thanks for the quick reply Energy. When you say " curing problems" are you referring to the amount of time it takes to cure the rock or is there something else?

 

[NexDog]

Finally got around to reading this thread and happy I did tol. Great read, great tank, truly inspirational stuff. So well planned and good to see that it's the result of many years of experience of finding out first hand what does work and what doesn't.

There's only one skimmer on this system? That's pretty amzing in itself but I'm sure adding another is somewhere in teh design if it's needed down the road.

Love the PVC racks because I'm doing something similar myself but putting flow through them and using them to keep the area under the racks clean. I'm just counting on the LR hiding the rocks though. I wish I could do the styofoam and epoxy method but that is something the language barrier will make sure never happens ( ). Maybe I'll just paint them brown, black and purple.

 

[Travis]

NexDog, If you have any specific questions that you are unsure of about the racks, feel free to ask. We'll see if we can break that language barrier.

Here is the foam that is applied to the PVC:
<img src=http://media.popularmechanics.com/images/tb_sealant-lg.jpg>

Then a coating of epoxy resin is applied over this. I don't know exactly what he used, maybe someone else can find a picture of some for you.

Then stick some sand or small rubble to the epoxy resin and you are all done.

 

[tomasz]

Travis if you could elaborate on the pvc rack it would be greate.

 

[smoney]

I was just wondering, What corals could you keep with the blue-spotted stingray that you have in that tank? I was under the impression that they aren't reef safe, but it is clear that they are to some extent. Is it mostly because of the fact they eat crustacions?

 

[Fishfirst]

yep... blue spotted stingrays won't touch corals... inverts is another story.

 

[Energy]

The stingray can be trained to eat the food you provide. If you provide the food they will not go after other sources. I have cleaner shrimp, small fishes and just about anything a stingray would eat in the same tank. The stingray has a set feeding time and location everyday. Since I provide food it doesn't actively hunt other prey. The animal stays full and satisfied. When I acquired the stingray it was somewhat malnurished which unfortunately is somewhat common. By looking at the area by the base of the tail a person can get a good indication of the health of the animal. If the skin is sunken and the tail is skinny the animal needs to be fattened up. My stingray has gained considerable weight since his introduction into the system. A few previous posters stated that the system was not adequate to house a stingray. I would like to agree with them. Most aquarium conditions are not appropriate for a stingray, shark or actually most of the fish we house in our systems. I would like to point out that although this not an ideal set-up I have tried to provide all the inhabitants with the best environment possible. One of the previous posts commented on the stingray's tail being damaged. I believe they stated it was due to abrasion by the corals. I was very impressed by this observation and would like to clarify the situation for others. The very end of the stingray's tail was damaged but not by the corals. This was done by a red sea sailfin tang that mistook the white tip of the tail for a piece of the food I feed the stingray. The red-sea then picked at the tail on a few other occasions creating the abrasion. This fish was promptly donated to another reefer and given a good home.

 

[Energy]

PVC Rack, Be very careful what kind of paint you use to cover up the piping. I didn't use any paint but I did test out the idea. I wasn't satisfied with the finished product and was worried about the paint releasing harmful compounds. The stuff in the picture is the styrofoam I used and it is supposed to become inert after it cures. I also chose fiberglass resin (Cheap generic stuff from HD) since many large aquariums are constructed with this material and it also becomes inert after about a one week off-gasing (curing)process. The sand was applied to the drying resin with a paint brush to add texture and provide a realsitic color match (same as base rock) until the corraline algae could take over. I will provide pictures over the winter months when possible.

 

[NexDog]

Damn, I need to get some of this stuff. So it's styrofoam first which is a spray on foam (never used it, heard the name, don't know what it's used for or hat it looks like). What other applications is it used for? Maybe I can explain myself to the hardware shop better if I give them a more common usage.

And then a fiberglass epoxy resin over the top?

 

[smoney]

How big of a tank do you need for the blue-spotted stingray, What size tank would you recomment?

 

[bond007069]

How big of a tank do you need for the blue-spotted stingray, What size tank would you recomment?

ahhh......1700 gallons, my friend

 

[GoldStripe]

Nexdog, that "Great Stuff" is used to fill holes and gaps in and around your house. It's actually a spray foam insulation. For example, if you put in a new exterior door and had some gaps around the frame. You would spray this stuff around the frame to seal it up.

 

[tomasz]

PVC Rack, Be very careful what kind of paint you use to cover up the piping. I didn't use any paint but I did test out the idea. I wasn't satisfied with the finished product and was worried about the paint releasing harmful compounds. The stuff in the picture is the styrofoam I used and it is supposed to become inert after it cures. I also chose fiberglass resin (Cheap generic stuff from HD) since many large aquariums are constructed with this material and it also becomes inert after about a one week off-gasing (curing)process. The sand was applied to the drying resin with a paint brush to add texture and provide a realsitic color match (same as base rock) until the corraline algae could take over. I will provide pictures over the winter months when possible.

Energy how thick are the coats of the styrofoam and the resin?
Also what size ppc did you use for the rack?

 

[melev]

If I owned a stingray, I'd love to be able to pet it one day. Of course, their name implies they are less than agreeable to that type of activity, but all the same, it would be sweet to touch it.

I wonder if Energy has ever tried.