Tank of the Month - July 2007

[Skipper]

This month we are featuring Rudi Placht's (phocuz) beautiful reef aquarium:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-07/totm/images/RChomepage.jpg (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-07/totm/index.php)

More details can be found here (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-07/totm/index.php) or by clicking on the picture above.

Congratulations, Rudi!


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<center><font color="#FFFFFF" size="-1">If you'd like to nominate a tank
for Tank of the Month, click <a href="http://reefcentral.com/forums/newthread.php?s=&action=newthread&forumid=189" target="_blank"><font color="#FFFFFF">here</font></a>
or use the button to the right.</font></center>
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<td bgcolor="#FFFFFF" width="27%"><img src="http://reefkeeping.com/images/nominate1.gif" border="0" title="Click here to nominate a Tank of the Month"> (http://reefcentral.com/forums/newthread.php?s=&action=newthread&forumid=189)
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[tom obrecht]

As one who is getting into sps corals your tank is one more inspiration for me!! Welcome to the TOTM club!! Job well done!!

[Growurown]

Very Nice system

[alf magne]

love your tank rudi! a realy whorthy TOTM winner!

[espenlg]

You had it coming :-) Congratulations!

[bigfishman]

Awesome!

[delock]

Wonderful Reef Tank

[sleevasteve]

beautiful tank. got me motivated to do something with my tank...lol I love how it splits the rooms and you can see it from all 3 sides.

[slojmn]

Rudi,
Your tank is a true inspiration. The aquascaping and coral placement is a work of art. You most heartily deserve this honor, Congratulations :D.

[flanque]

Can you please comment on the camera you've used, the lens the technique you've used to get the sharp quality without the flash? I'm suspecting you've used a long lens on a tripod.


Cheers.

[Gem Tang Rider]

Very nice tank Rudi.

I'm not sure what you meant about your local coral selection being dismal. Lots of nice corals from what I can see.

Too bad about the gem tang. Makes me think twice about getting one.

[melev]

Sweet reef! How did I never stumble across one of your threads! http://melevsreef.com/g/bravo.gif

[ghostrida3]

great reef!!! one question where are u hiding the tunzes?

[anothermineral]

Beautiful! Congrats!

[42un81]

Very nice setup, is there a thread for this tank prior to TOTM?

[i2ik]

Beautiful Reef! Really worth the TOTM! Congrats!

What kind of material your stand is made of? I love your open look for the aquascaping! Truly an inspiration!

[DLCanuck]

Wow, just like mine :D great tank, good luck

[mortenN]

Beautiful tank, Congratulations with TOTM Rudi, :thumbsup:

[Skipper]

Here's Rudi's other thread:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1077390&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

[tentacles]

good to see your tank won TOTM!

[phocuz]

Thanks everyone for your kind words!

Flanque – The pictures have been taken with a Nikon D70 with the standard 18-70 mm lens. I’ve used a Tamron 90mm macro lens for most of the close ups, and a Nikon 105mm on a few of them. White balance have been measured by holding the camera against the aquarium with a coffee filter in between. I usually prefer manual or aperture mode for the still shots, and shutterspeed priority for the pictures of the fish. The still shots have been taken with a tripod and the self timer to avoid shaking, and for the close ups I just hold the camera against the aquarium.

ghostrida3 – The pumps are on each side of the overflow. The wall between the stand and canopy have been extended to cover the overflow and pumps, so the pumps can't be seen while looking at the aquarium from the sides. You can see them on this picture http://www.cowfish.info/content/900%20liter/Oppsett%20900%20liter/1710.jpg

42un81 – I got one thread with some pictures in the photo section. It’s the same as Skipper posted above.
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1077390&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

i2ik – The stand is a custom built steel frame, and the woodwork is 12 mm MDF.

[hoxton]

very nice tank mate

[Lockes]

I thought the IKS could be controlled over the web and that it had an sms function

[THE APPRENTICE]

Wow Rudi what a nice SPS dominated Tank My Hats off to you for being so good with the angelfish I have never been so lucky.
I like the ideas you went with to minimize noise and the ideas with the bathroom fans is really a great idea as well. As for the short supply of SPS in Norway it looks like you are able to help fix that!
Again great tank and congratulations on your tank of the month!
Jeff

[UrbanSage]

Great looking tank! Congrats on the TOTM.

How come "2 hermits"?

[Catawaba]

Absolutely Stunning. I hope you realize what a great accomplishment you've made and wish you continued success!

[fishdoc11]

Very well thought out design and implementation.....just an amazing tank/work of art:D

Congrats on TOTM, well deserved!

Chris

[dc]

Your tank is absolutely beautiful. I would love to have a 3-sided viewing.

[polwick]

Very nice tank. You said you keep it silent, how do you achieve this?

[meschaefer]

Great looking tank, wonderfull job on it.

I noted that you have had to remove a number of angel fish and tangs from your tank due to nipping. How did you go about removing the fish. I love angel fish, but have been nervous about adding them to a tank, only to have to remove most of the rock to get them out later.

[cdcq12]

Awesome tank man, and I hope you know thats it's an inspiration for a lot of us.

[bahhareef]

props to you and your fish

[engine]

wow....very impressive tank

[phocuz]

Lockes – As far as I know you can only get readings over the web by a third party software, no option to change the settings. Regarding the SMS module it only works with som older mobiles which isn’t produced anymore.

UrbanSage – I’m not that fond of hermits as they tend to climb into the corals and get stuck. I’ve added a few to get some diversity, and I do think they look cool. Besides, for some strange reason, “that cute little hermit crawling in the sand” is usually one of the first things non-aquarists notices.

Polwick – The tank is placed in the living room next to the tv couch so I wanted it to be dead silent. By putting all the equipment in a room downstairs, and installing a durso standpipe and som very quiet fans, the only thing hearable when sitting next to it is a low humming sound coming from the tunze pumps.

Meschaefer - I got two size of traps that I use depending on the fish. I put the trap in the tank, and every time I feed the fish, the food is placed inside the trap. Within 1-3 days even the most shy fish will go inside for a snack. With a little patience I've had no problems getting the fish out. No luck with firefish, anthias and clownfish though. Here is a picture of the small trap: http://www.cowfish.info/content/325%20liter/bilder/_DSC5270w.jpg

Thx again all for the positive feedback :)

Rudi

[agoutihead]

what is the black material you used on outside? did you have to do anything to it to make it black, or did it come like that?

i wish i would seen your tank about 2 weeks ago, i just spent $115 on some black acrylic. its gonna look sweet, but its expensive.

[edwinn]

thats what i like not too much equipment no fuge right congrats.

[Rogger Castells]

Congratulations, A very inspirational tank. truly pretty tank. Quick question, I never saw anyone running the Deltec calcium reactor with ARM media, what made you change from the recommended Rowalith media? thanks in advance

Rogger

[tasos]

Great tank!!!
How do you manage to keep constant values with the calcium reactor while changing the ph inside?
I am afraid you will soon have to remove also the navarchus angel, as it wakes up one morning starting eating sps corals,so be prepared!!!Thank you for shearing info!!

[Sports Girl]

Rudi, your tank is beautiful. I especially like the minimalist approach in the design; your eye is immediately drawn to the tank, as well it should be. I love the looks of these kinds of tanks as the focus is entirely on the aquarium itself and not some overly embellished stand or canopy. Simple, yet gorgeous. Thank you for sharing!

[LobsterOfJustice]

Hey I just wanted to say that your tank is stunning. And I'm not one of those people who drops in on every TOTM thread and says that either. You truly had a plan and stuck to it, and the whole aquarium (even the room its in) comes together as one nice piece of artwork.

I love the aquascape, the amount of growth, and the overall look of the tank now. I wanted to suggest that you do not let the corals get out of hand and crowd the tank, and dont let the two reef structures grow together. Some more growth is okay, but dont let the whole tank fill in... it's appeal is the open space, the cleanliness, and the lack of clutter.

[Huachinango]

Wow, that's a gorgeous tank!

[gomle69]

Grattis:thumbsup:!

[NanoCube-boy]

Con graduation on totm, you deserved it for this month. :beer: I like your cool 3 view side because it makes me feel like I' m in the ocean.:fish1:

What kind of material you had cover the bottom, and top of your tank?
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-07/totm/images/1650.jpg

[phocuz]

Agoutihead – It’s 12mm MDF (medium density fibreboard) painted with grey color.

Rogger Castells – When I started using a calcium reactor, ARM was the only media my LFS had in stock. I heard many recommend it so I havent thought about changing.

Tasos – The ph in the calcium reactor is lowered while kalkwasser is added, that makes the values in the aquarium stay constant.

NanoCube-boy – It’s 12 mm MDF.

I have removed a lot of live rock and corals since the aquarium initially was setup in september last year, and its really hard not to add "just one more coral”, but im trying to
stick with the original plan, and that makes it rewarding getting such a good response. Thx again.

[NanoCube-boy]

phocuz, I see, thanks for answering.

What are these two device, or are they the same?
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-07/totm/images/DSC_1102w.jpg
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-07/totm/images/DSC_1114w.jpg

[melev]

The first one is a Calcium Reactor. The second is Kalk Reactor.

[raskal311]

Wow!!!!

[SLODEN53]

Very nice set up which is made even more beautiful with your decor. Everything flows so well throughout your home. The photo of your daughter speaks volumes for keeping a reef tank! My grandchildren love to come over and look into my two SW tanks with the magnifying glass. And they always notice when I have added something new.

Your photos are spectacular and I especially like the ones of your dragonet fish. The one with the black background is gorgeous! All of your inhabitants are very pretty and healthy looking.

Could you elaborate on what techniques you used for making the images? They are just great!

I love your little clams. Will they stay on the substrate or will you move them to the live rock at a later date?

Beautiful setup and home!

Susie

[Spleef]

off the chain

[Lomholt]

phocuz: How have you connected the 12 mm. MDF with the steelframe in the celling? Have you made som kind of put on/take off mekanism?

[streetracinsrt]

Awsome awsome tank very beautiful.

[piscies75]

love the modern minimal look, congrats.
future plans why not sell the tunze and get Hydor Koralia 4's (1200 GPH) ? can buy them here for $50 a piece.

I had the d70s and moved on the d200 love it. great pictures and technique , great lenses. the 105 is a vr? coffee filter may work but I like a plastic white bottle top in the water, I also use my flash the 500 and bounce it off my hammertone reflectors

like the trap idea I have to get rid of a pair of huge wrasses (elephant and eclipse) they have eaten all the snails and sandsifters. the food you feed is floating how do you do it?

copperbands ever considered?

again great stuff. Steve Toronto, Ont.

[Maverick27]

I just wanna say, what a beautiful tank you have. It's tanks like yours that makes me want to get back into the hobby. Great job, looks beautiful.

[ezcompany]

fantastic. congratulations on the nomination, very well deserved.

[phocuz]

SLODEN53 - Thx. I wrote how I do the shots in my first reply. In addition, I do some cropping and minimal adjustments in photoshop. If you look in the photo section in the forum, theres lots of tips and tricks on how to improve photos. One of the clams is directly on the sand, the other two are attached to small flat rocks hidden under the sand. Ill probably keep them in the sand in case i want to move them later on.

Lomholt – The frame in the ceiling is wood and the mdf attached with screws. The MDF at the bottom are connected to the steelframe with some kind of metal band with lots of holes in it. I didnt build it myself, and I dont know the english technical term for it :)

piscies75 – Thx. Its a Nikon 105mm VR. I havent had the time to try it out much, but it looks like a really good lens. Getting a macro lens really opened up a whole new world to taking photos of the corals. The D200 is on my wishlist. If I ever get a bigger aquarium a copperband will probably be on the stocking list, but at the moment theres no room for additional fish. I will probably change the naso if it ever gets totally rid of the bubble algae. It eats like a pig, and really polutes the water. The large tunze pumps have flowrate of 5283 gph, and the medium ones 3170 gph. Changing them for koralia 4’s 1200 gph would be a drastically downgrade in flow. The automatic feeder is built in the canopy at a little height. That makes the pellets gain enough speed to break through the water instead of floating. I soak the flake food in aquarium water for half a minute before feeding.

Thx again :)

[MikeG]

Beautiful! Love the openness of your tank.

Where in oslo are you? I might have to pay a visit (christmas) next time I'm in town! The wife's from Snaroyva.

Keep up the good work! ;)

[utdrmac]

very nice looking. i like the idea of using the tank as a "wall" separator. giving me ideas for my house. too bad we don't have basements in Texas.

[zed915]

Incredible setup! I especially like the design, it complements the area of realestate to work with.

[Cesar357]

I'm not sure if someone asked you this already, but is this tank on a second floor? I thought I saw the outside of your window and it looks somewhat raised.

You have an awesome tank by the way.

[Damsel13]

I LOVE YOUR TANK!
I love your goldflake angel
I was wondering about your thoughts on sand?

Thanks,
Deb

[phocuz]

MikeG – Sure, I live in Grefsen, its about a twenty minutes drive from snaryøya.

Cesar357 – The tank is on the second floor. The house has been thoroughly reinforced to handle the weight.

Damsel13 – I keep a shallow sand for the look of it. I have a few sandsifting stars, cerith snails and two fighting conch that do a good jobb cleaning it. Even though I switched from Carbib Sea Fiji Pink to Special Grade with larger grain size, I still have problems keeping an even sand bed. The goldflake is one of my favorites, the pictures really doesnt do justice to the colors of this fish.

Its been a rainy summer here in Norway so far, so Ive had some time to work on the tank. The smallest tunze pumps have been upgraded to 3,170 gph. That really made quite a difference. I think i made up my mind regarding the lights, and going for Lumenarc III Mini Stealth DE with 400 watts Giesemann 14,5k bulbs or XM 20K. Ive tried the 250 watts XM before and they really made the corals glow. Anyone know if the 400 watts XM 20K is whiter than the 250 version ?

Ive been noticing some of my corals looked damaged in the morning, so I put up a red light and kept the tank under observation. Big surprise. A worm at least 24 inches came crawling out from the rocks. Ive managed to get a hold of it, but unfortunately it split.

http://cowfish.info/images/DSC_3998w.jpg

[Cesar357]

Cesar357 – The tank is on the second floor. The house has been thoroughly reinforced to handle the weight.


Oh wow. I was worried about placing a 60g tank on a second floor. That's awesome.

[NanoCube-boy]

thanks for the reply melev, What do you add in there? I don't know much about thses stuff.

[invincible569]

Great job! I remember seeing your tank a while back as remembering the cowfish domain name. What an interesting great turn you have made from the previous tank.

Keep up the good work! Your corals are growing at a great rate and be ready to start chopping some of those down. ;)

[Antiguan]

"Ive been noticing some of my corals looked damaged in the morning, so I put up a red light and kept the tank under observation. Big surprise. A worm at least 24 inches came crawling out from the rocks. Ive managed to get a hold of it, but unfortunately it split."

Check this out from oregonreef.com http://www.oregonreef.com/sub_worm.htm

[NanoCube-boy]

That thing is huge...............

[Antiguan]

They are Fireworms.

[HaroldT]

Tank looks great. Good job.

[Chiefmcfuz]

Very nice tank. One day I will send you a PM for your plans LOL

[MarineGirl411]

Your tank is beautiful. I have a couple of quick questions. I went to your website and I only see 2 of the Tunzes. Where are the others? I really would like to do a room divider like you did. I love the fact you cannot see any equipment in the tank. =) That is what I am shooting for. Do you have any close ups of how you managed to hide those Tunzes? Thank you. Very inspirational!

[phocuz]

NanoCube-boy – I have A.R.M aragonite reactor media in the calcium reactor and E.S.V. Calcium Hydroxide in the kalkwasser mixer.

invincible569 - Thx. I was reading your new build thread the other day. I loved the open look of your old tank, and the new one is just amazing.

Antiguan – It looks a lot like the one Steve Weast had. I guess they are into SPS too. No luck catching it yet.

MarineGirl411 – I have two tunzes on each side of the overflow. The pumps at the bottom are Tunze Stream 6100 3,170 g/h, and the pumps at the top are 6200 5,283 g/h.
Im running them in pulse mode 50 – 80%.

http://cowfish.info/images/DSC_4209w800.jpg

http://cowfish.info/images/DSC_4220w800.jpg

[witoon]

Very beautiful tank, I have a question. Your tank dimention is 200 cm L x 75 cm W x 60 H cm and use four Tunze Stream pumps controlled by a Tunze Multicontroller: 2 x 20,000 liters/hour and 2 x 7,000 liters/hour. The pumps are installed on each side of the overflow, is it good position for pump? ( normally, two pumps are installed at the same side and two in opposite )
Thanks,





2 of the Tunzes. Where are the others? I really would like to do a room divider like you did. I love the fact you cannot see any equipment in the tank. =) That is what I am shooting for. Do you have any close ups of how you managed to hide those Tunzes? Thank you. Very inspirational!

[phocuz]

Witoon – I placed all the pumps in one side to make viewing of the aquarium free of any equipment. It would be better to spread them at opposite sides.

[The Cardinal]

One of the most stylish tanks I have ever seen, congratulations!

What are you using between the stand and the floor and between the aquarium and stand?

Do you notice a big difference when using optiwhite glass? I am planning a similar tank and I assume the difference would be quite big when viewing through two glasses of this thickness.

Heja Norge :) !

[phocuz]

The Cardinal – Thx. The stand is placed on MDF. On top of the stand Ive used depron isolation plate > mdf > depron isolation plate to even out the surface. The optiwhite glass is definitely worth the extra cash. In combination with the use of ozone the clearity when looking through the aquarium is amazing.

If you look at this picture you can see the difference. The support bracers are made with regular glass.
http://www.cowfish.info/content/900%20liter/Oppsett%20900%20liter/1100.jpg

[The Cardinal]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10465519#post10465519 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by phocuz
The Cardinal – Thx. The stand is placed on MDF. On top of the stand Ive used depron isolation plate > mdf > depron isolation plate to even out the surface. The optiwhite glass is definitely worth the extra cash. In combination with the use of ozone the clearity when looking through the aquarium is amazing.

If you look at this picture you can see the difference. The support bracers are made with regular glass.
http://www.cowfish.info/content/900%20liter/Oppsett%20900%20liter/1100.jpg

Thank you, I think I will go for optiwhite now and I bet the difference is even greater when you see it live.

Do you have a norwegian (or swedish :D ) word for depron isolation plate and where did you buy it? Is that the material you used under the stand on top of the MDF as well (the white squares)? It looks like a solid solution. Also, what paint did you use on the stand and MDF?

If you could share some info on the stand it would be great as well. I guess it is iron and not aluminium?

I hope you don´t mind all the questions and keep up the good work!

/Peter

[kev apsley]

Beautiful set up...how do you like the growth from the Giesemann 14.5K's?

[phocuz]

The Cardinal - No prob. Feel free to ask. Its "Depron isolasjon til bruk under parkett ". I bought it at my local hardware store Maxbo. If you google "depron isolasjon" you will find a lot of info. I have used metal brackets between the mdf plate and the stand to level it. The stand is made of steel. I actually used an aluminium stand first, but after filling it up halfway, I took it down because it was unstable . It was painted when I picked it up at my LFS, so Im not sure what kind of paint it is. The mdf plates are painted with Gjøco fashion 15.

kev apsley - I think they are great. Great color and great growth. Best of both worlds. I've tried a number of 20k and 14k bulbs before switching to Giesemann, and this
is by far the best bulb I've tried.

[Gisle]

Excellent tank and stunning photos, Rudi.

I feel lucky to have seen your tank "live" and I can't wait to see it with your new Lumenarc reflectors

Gisle :)

[melev]

Gisle,

[welcome]

It took you 3.5 years to post for the very first time. You have a lot of self-control. :D

[Gisle]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10595683#post10595683 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
Gisle,

<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

It took you 3.5 years to post for the very first time. You have a lot of self-control. :D


:cool: Thanks Marc

Yes, I was actually surprised myself that yesterdays post was my first on Reef Central. I've been a lot more active on other sites. I built www.cruisersforum.com (http://cruisersforum.com/) from scratch, but sold it after a few years when I didn't have the time for it anymore - and I'm webmaster on the Norwegian Reef Forum called Saltvannsforum (http://www.saltvannsforum.no)

Anyway, I realize that Reef Central is the most important place to be for serious reefers - and I'm getting there ...

Cheers!

Gisle