Tank of the Month - September '06

[Skipper]

This month we are featuring Kip Peeler's (Kip) beautiful reef aquarium:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/totm/images/RChomepage.jpg (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/totm/index.php)

More details can be found here (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/totm/index.php) or by clicking on the picture above.

Congratulations, Kip!
<table width="375" height="55" border="2" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="1" bordercolor="#006699">
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#006699" width="73%">
<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>
</td>
<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)
</td>
</tr>
</table>
***************************

[antony1103]

I love it, very nice!

[JW Jersey]

congrats on totm and well deserved, that is a sweet looking tank

[melev]

Kip, I had no idea!! What a stunning tank, you totally earned this recognition. :thumbsup:

[EricBrian]

Congrats. Beautiful tank. Well deserved.

[Gawain1974]

Kip, this recognition is long overdue, IMO. Your tank has been an inspiration to me for quite some time, and all your willingness to help me out and answer questions when I was converting my own tank to SPS is greatly appreciated.

Congratulations!!!

[Kip]

'preciate-it

all of that hard work hacking into RC and substituting my tank for the real tank of the month paid off

j/k

big thanks to skipper and the good folks at RC for being so kind to feature my reef.

[jocoxVT]

Congrats Kip definitely well deserved.

[fishypets]

Awesome tank Kip! I feel honored to have some of your coral in my tank.

Clint

[dc]

Wonderful tank, and great pictures. :thumbsup:

[rjwilson37]

Totally gorgeous tank, I just wish I had the time and patience for something so beautiful.

[OxInYourBox]

Congrats!! Great being able to see it every few weeks. ;)

[cward]

Fantastic reef aquarium and beautiful pictures:thumbsup:

[menard]

Congrats !!!...... KIP
Great looking tank man.
All that hard work pays off indeed, huh ?

[Kip]

thanks folks!


hard work... nah.. i just have a company come in and do it all for me :)

wait... wake up!

yeah.. there have been many a frustating moment, but having my hand in everything that was done is a bit gratifying.

going round and round over lighting wasnt fun

and to update... i quickly went from the 250wXM10ks to 400w EVC10ks... i just couldnt get the XMs to cooperate. I think i am now finally settled on lighting (i said that after going to the radiums, so who knows)

i was gonna get that updated in the article, but skipper was already getting mad at me changing the lighting every week up until this months issue was posted. i didnt wanna further aggravate him :)

[affan]

Beautiful tank. Congratulations. I hope I can get myself to this level soon :)

[KEEPERZ]

good stuff KIP!!! big ups to you- which ballast is pushing your evc 10k's and which pump is dosing your kalk?Thanks-

[Jamesurq]

Gotta love it Kip.

Congrats!

[jay24k]

Grats on the totm. It looks very nice. I always enjoyed looking at your tank.

[Kip]

further thanks to the recent congrats....

i am running pfo mag135 (m59s run them the same)

dosing kalk with reef fillers (there is a pic in the article... garage shot.. shows them lined up ... 4 of them in a row... blue pumps... above the k-reactors).... 1 goes to my softy tank (via one of the k-reactors)... 1 is the primary for the featured stony tank, 1 is a backup, and 1 is for the QT when i have it offline for hypo

[KEEPERZ]

thanks Kip- I ran those bulbs on the same
ballast, them suckers put off some energy!! I
liked them better then the xm10k look but now
I have gone to reeflux 10k on pfo hqi-pretty happy
with them for now-lol-thanks again-I need a good way to dose kalk in my 700-

[chetm2]

Beautiful! Congrates on an amazing setup.

[Wiskey]

Congrats Kip! I am glad to see your wonderfull tank pop-up as TOTM, I knew it was only a matter of time.

I was wondering if you syphon your sand at all, or maintain it in any way? I didn't see it mentioned, but figured it would be better to ask than assume you don't.

Great work, tank, pics, and writeup!
Whiskey

[RalfP]

Well deserved, Kip.
I instantly fell in love with your SPS, love the diversity, growth and color.
It looks like I am not the only one :-).
Thanks for showing!
Ralf

[Kip]

thanks again to all

whiskey.... nope, dont siphon my sand at all. never have, never will

ralf... wasnt sure i wanted to be the next TOTM after yours. it was a tough act to follow :)

[tom obrecht]

Good job! Keep up the good work!

[Kip]

thanks tom.... my wife and i spent a good deal of time a few months ago talking about how nice this shot was... beautiful home, beautiful tank :) .... http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-05/totm/images/DSCN6491.jpg

[GregM779]

Definitely a great TOTM, beautiful tank and I love how you're letting the corals go their course and grow together as they would in nature.

[Kip]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8095446#post8095446 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GregM779
Definitely a great TOTM, beautiful tank and I love how you're letting the corals go their course and grow together as they would in nature.

thanks,

not for long .... i am slowly removing colonies... i intend to reduce the coral load a good bit and open up the reef 'scape a bit.

"never satisfied" :)

[cw150]

Beautiful tank. Kind of eery- nearly all of your choices from tank stand, tank location, lighting, corals, fish room- nearly identical to mine. My tank is 1.5 years old but hopefully it will look as nice as yours. Awesome job.

[J4Life]

Well deserved Kip. It is nice to know that I am just a 1/2 hour away from this months TOTM. Thanks again for all of the frags and congrats.

:D

[Kip]

thanks

....and i am only 1/2 hour away from july '04s TOTM :) (well, maybe 45 mins).... and then only about 2hrs away from one of Paletta's Ultimate Marine Aquariums!!!



GO NC REEFERS!!!! :)

[J4Life]

Sorry to hear that the XM's didn't work out. Did you ever think of switching out the VHO's for T5's to see if you get the color you were looking for? I made the switch which I believes makes the XM's look great, but it cost me with some bleaching of corals and losses. Some I must admit were frags that I received from you.

Hey by the way how far down in the tank do you keep your Vietnamensis and the blue digi hasn't went blue yet on the polyps, but I still like all the same. It is growing quite quickly.

Thanks again and a bid Kudos to your tank.
:D

[Kip]

i like vho's for the flourescent look they have... t5's that everybody likes are blue... and the true act '03 T5's dont get rave reviews... i am just old skool i guess and like my vhos

i gotta believe that there were possibly other factors in your bleaching event besides the lights... the radiums that they were under for a year give around 1000ppfd at the water surface. Not sure that t5's can offer that much intensity or more to cause light shock.

the viet was half way down... the blue digi was up top, but in a corner... the blue digi went chocolate brown under the 250wXM10ks and now purple tipped under the 400wEVC10ks

[MAthU]

for me its the best TOTM so far!!! great job i learnd so much from reading it!!!

[Kip]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8097257#post8097257 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MAthU
for me its the best TOTM so far!!! great job i learnd so much from reading it!!!

wow, thanks.... dunno about "the best"... but thanks a bunch

[J4Life]

Thanks. There may have been other factors but for me the only change that I made to my system was adding the UVL Super Actinic T5's overdriven on an IceCap 660 ballast with IceCap's SLR's installed. Shortly after that I had corals bleaching out like crazy. Oddly though not everything experienced bleaching. The Vietnamensis is beginning to lighten up and the digi is chocolate brown but with purple tips.

Raising my lights up to 12 inches seems to have helped and some corals are starting to color back up. I might not be putting out quite the intensity that your radiums were giving off but I can tell you for certain the UVL's T5's are more blue than their VHO Super Actinics and look a whole lot better. I wouldn't have believed until I saw it for my self. However they are wicked hot to touch but not as hot as MH's.

Thanks again and love the tank. I will have to get down your way and actually see it in person. I don't want to take anything away from your shining moment in glory. I am happy to discuss on the side if you feel up to it. I have PM.

:D

[sabodish]

kip..tank looks great man! looks like you have expanded nicely compared to what you had when i met ya a few years back! im in the process of setting up my new 170 cube, ill be contacting you if you want to get rid of soem of those frags.

[Wiskey]

whiskey.... nope, dont siphon my sand at all. never have, never will


Thanks Kip!

Keep up the good work!
Whiskey

[Kip]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8098900#post8098900 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sabodish
kip..tank looks great man! looks like you have expanded nicely compared to what you had when i met ya a few years back! im in the process of setting up my new 170 cube, ill be contacting you if you want to get rid of soem of those frags.

yeah.. its been a while... i cant remember what all i got from ya, but i know the purple cap came from you that is wrapped around the green digi

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/totm/images/GrnDigPurCap.jpeg


and i remember getting a golden toadstool from ya (that i have fragged down to the base twice now).... it is in a different tank....

http://www.kipsreef.com/75gFTS.jpg


and you were the first person i got xenia from that lived....

http://www.kipsreef.com/XeniaColony.jpg


how is your tank these days... looks like you have changed to a cube setup

[slojmn]

Kip,
Beautiful reef tank and a much deserved honor here on RC. I really appreciate reading your posts and responses to people. You are very gracious, helpful, and always cheerful. Your tank is an inspiration to many. Happy reefing.

[Kip]

thanks slojmn.....

means a lot

[sabodish]

wow..nice to see some of my stuff in a TOTM!

we recently moved to holly springs, so the 360 came down and i jsut received my 36x36x30 cube from myreef. i am building the stand this weekend and hope to have it running by the end of the month. if you ever want to upgrade again, i still have my 360 for sale!

[Kip]

my next tank upgrade will need a house upgrade

i am thinking 1000+

[reefinmike]

very nice... i wish i had the problem of having too many sps and too little room... im in the grow out stage for the next two years...

[Kip]

my advice to you... give 'em space!!! :)

[slojmn]

Kip, That is good advice, I've got my little cubish 70g tank packed to full, mostly frags but I already know I need to give some frags up for more grow out space for the keepers. If I don't I know it will be messy in there by this time next year. Uhhhhgggggg, I hate having to choose but it must be done.

[Kip]

giving stuff room to grow is the hardest thing to do.. .especially when you have a bare spot you just have to fill

this table is about 10-11" in diameter...... then a shot of it just a little bit over a year ago..... frags grow!

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/totm/images/IMG_4896Medium.JPG



http://www.kipsreef.com/MacLimeRedTip.jpg

[Flatlander]

:eek2: Outstanding reef tank Kip. beautiful corals. Love the monti,s. I still have not finished looking at the pics. :thumbsup:

[antonsemrad]

Kip. I love your attitude. Please, keep sharing, and don't EVER get shy about those PICS.

I think, one day, (perhaps a less exuberant Kip), (think elbow room) we will look back at this TOTM, and reminisce.:lolspin:

Congratulations....:celeb1:

[Kip]

look back at this totm....

yeah, I guess now my little ol' fishy tank is permanently embedded in the precious tomes of Reefkeeping Magazine. Kinda nice it was featured before i re'scape... that way if i screw up, I will always have something to remember the tank by. :eek:

[annienl]

Congrats. Awesome tank!

[euroreef]

Beautiful aquarium Kip. What an inspiration!

Continued success-

-Jeff Macare
Euro-Reef, Inc.

[Kip]

euro.....

i am betting your contributions to my tank had a hand in my success

dont i win like a RC750 or something for winning TOTM?? :)

kidding.. i do like my cs83... but i am itchin' for a bigger model :)

[J4Life]

Hey Kip I just realized that you went back to a 400 watt bulb. What was the reason for not using EVC Tech's 250 watt 10k's instead? Par?

Thanks,
Bill

[Kip]

uh huh

[mikeo1210]

Excellent setup. Congartulations!

[NanoCube-boy]

Great set up kip. I really like your SPS and inverts, well actually everything in your tank. Congrad. man. Good luck wiith your future upgrade for a new tank.

What is this? I'm sorry I had seen this creature before, but I never know what it is.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-09/totm/images/RoyalTuxedo.jpg

I have some question I would like to ask you.
what do you mean by 150 gallon rubbermaid stock tank?
how often do you prune your chaets?
how often do you frag your corals?
What do you do with all the extra frags?

[Kip]

"tuxedo urchin"

[Kip]

sorry... i almost missed these questions
I have some question I would like to ask you.
what do you mean by 150 gallon rubbermaid stock tank?
how often do you prune your chaets?
how often do you frag your corals?
What do you do with all the extra frags?

150g rubber stock tank is a vessel commonly used for agriculture/livestock

chaetomorpha... not very often as it does not grow very fast in the "pristine" waters required for a stony reef. (maybe once every 8-10wks... i have other tanks that arent run as "clean" and i prune the chaeto in those every coupla weeks)

pruning frags.... i dont go thru and "trim the hedges" all at once, but i do cut here and there a few times a week

what do i do with them... put them in my frag tank or other tanks i run to see how they grow/color under other conditions, sell/trade/give to locals, sometimes i offer them to be shipped, which can be a pain :(

i like trading and even selling here and there... kinda helps ease the expense of the hobby... but i hate the business/negotiating side of frag selling. Shipping day can be quite stressful as well (having to try to get home from work early, rush to frag n bag n box, then rushing to get to UPS by 6pm before the counter closes)

then having to explain to the buyer a day later why the colorful coral that was shipped ended up faded or browned during shipping and them giving me a hard time.... BUT>>... i digress :)

[dgasmd]

Congratulations. Very very nice tank and set up. It always shows when there has been dedication and time consuming love applied to a system.

[cooper9177]

nice

[Kip]

thanks guys

[NanoCube-boy]

I see kip. I total agree with you on shipping, because it can be a pain. Though i have never try shipping any livestock yet, but i do order them online a few times and from reefcentral selling thread so kind know how hard to seal everything right before shipped out..

I have a 1.5lb live rock with a frag of 10 of polyps bright GSP and a single Red Button Polyps. The red center part will soon become Red Skirt and Green Center.

[Kip]

as far as shipping goes... i got a bag sealer off ebay for 20 bucks... best 20 bucks i ever spent

[Marko9]

I love the tanks of the month--gives me something to shoot for.

[nUgZ]

Unreal setup you have there Kip. I'll definitely come check it out as soon as I can since you aren't far from where I live.

[Kip]

thanks

if/when you do come... i doubt you will see the reef as seen in this months TOTM. I am soon to do some heavy re'scaping.

[vanmo92]

sweet tank kip. :) :) :) :) :)

[artc1688]

nice tank!! Makes me want to start another tank :D

So... what is the latest lighting configuration?
I am surprise CS8-2 is able to keep up with the bioload..

[Kip]

thanks folks

been running 3x 400w EVC10k SE on mangetic w/ 2x 140w VHO actinic for about 3 weeks or so now.... i really like this combo

the XMs used to the full tank shot and mentioned in the article came and went with the wind (i was in the middle of a transition as i was writing the article and snapping the pics)

skimmer.... it is a cs83 (if that matters)... but the pump was upgraded from the stock sedra5000 to a 9000 giving me a good bit more performance out of it. also, with the gate valve, i have the water-bubble line turned up pretty high so it is skimming pretty aggressively

other than that... yeah, i am interested in a new skimmer... if nothing else, just to have a new toy

[MinibowMatt]

Awesome Tank Kip! Congrats on TOTM!

[Kip]

'preciate-it

[bheron]

hey kip, a bit off topic, but i have to ask if youre also on saltwaterfish.com? theres a kip on there (one time it was kipass) who was really helpful.

[Kip]

Kipass4130 ... then a coupla variations

i was there for about 10,000 posts ... then management decided my presence wasnt needed

there was a good, solid gang there years ago, but i think everyone ended up moving on.

[bheron]

phenominal!!! i thought it was a longshot. reefcentral is my lifeline these days, but i have to tell you that I owe you and some other people at SWF.com everything! wow. i started there back in 2002 and, for obvious reasons, migrated out and found RC. just never knew you made it over here too.

just want to say thanks for all the help you lended back in 2002-2003 and really helped me get off the ground and into the hobby as I am today. thanks!

[Kip]

glad to be of service

i re-registered over there the other day to post and give props to Bang, broomer, et al. .... didnt get much response. (although i know broomer has taken a hiatus from the hobby for a while)

i spend most of my time on a local club board and here now.

[bheron]

yea, those guys were great. really helpful. what a flashback.

[Kalied20]

What a beautiful Tank and setup. I strive to one day have the space and conviction to do something as beautiful as yours is.

Thanks for sharing.

[Kip]

thanks, but dont do "as good"... do "better" ;)

[RobChuck]

Congrats Kip!

I remember seeing pics of this tank when you first set it up and had no idea that it would become this stunning!!!

And to second bheron's words, your contributions to swf.com a number of years ago have helped me immensely in this hobby.

[Kip]

happy i could help

[TheSaladCo]

That is a stunning display of dedication.

I am still new to the hobby (2mos) but seeing Kip's tank makes me feel inspired. Congrats! You deserve the award.

[baller71ss]

KIP-
Having just re-sodered my LED moonlight setup, I noticed yours looks like a string of christmas lights or something, but has the desired blue-green color. What exactly are they and where did you get them? I only have a 55 gal, but plan to upgrade someday. No way I'm sodering a couple dozen LED's and resistors together!

[Kip]

blue rope light... lowes... about 10 bucks or less... go ahead and get better clips to hold it up though... ones that come with it arent so hot

[Capt Crabtabulous]

Beautiful tank. Do you have a back-up power supply?

[Kip]

i have a large portable generator... of course, it doesnt work unless someone is there to run it. so.... i have an aquacontroller set to send me both an email and text message as soon as the power goes out.

i'd like an auto "whole house" generator.... next house, next tank.

[Jamesurq]

Good plan - the aquacontroller has a battery backup?

[Kip]

uh huh.. with it, the wireless adapter, and the broadband router all on UPS

[melev]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8173910#post8173910 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kip
uh huh.. with it, the wireless adapter, and the broadband router all on UPS

Good plan.

[Kip]

the tank re'scape is in full swing.... most of the rock is out and all of the corals have been "loosened" for repositioning

http://www.kipsreef.com/ReadytoReScape.jpg

[Kip]

some corals are in the 150g stock tub in the garage that i put a 400w 10k over

http://www.kipsreef.com/CoralHotel.jpg

[Kip]

and some corals have gone (or will be) to new homes like the purple cap/grn digi cluster seen here

http://www.kipsreef.com/FergCap.jpg

[Kip]

i am sure i am too late for october... but if i hurry and re'scape.. maybe i can get TOTM for november too :)

just kidding

[Skipper]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8185022#post8185022 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Kip
i am sure i am too late for october... but if i hurry and re'scape.. maybe i can get TOTM for november too :)

just kidding Since your tank is now dismantled, we may have to withdraw your TOTM title. :p :lol:

[melev]

:lolspin:

[Kip]

oh well... was fun while it lasted

[d_hartke]

Unbelievable!!! I can't even imagine the work you put into that. I wish I new, so I could appreciate it as much as it deserves. Nice job.

[Kip]

lots and lots and lots and lots of tinkering :)

thanks

[Kip]

re-aquascaping the tank has been a pretty arduous task over the last coupla weeks, but there is now light at the end of the tunnel. having to decide which corals will be left out of the display this time around wasnt very fun. I am happy to say that i havent lost any corals (yet) from upsetting their home which usually occurs during a tank re'scape. Some of the acros have darkened up from all of the junk getting stirred up in the tank and my purple lokani frag got burned pretty badly by a mille that placed a little too close to it in my coral holding hotel.

All in all this has been a good move and i am really starting to like the look of the display. I will try to get some update pictures up soon.

I have gotten a lot of PMs, IMs, and emails saying "why didnt you leave well enough alone?" The tank as seen in this TOTM had enjoyed too much success for its own good. Corals were beginning to fight, corals were growing out of the water, and other corals were being shaded. No matter how you set up a tank, there will always be competition... that's just the nature of a reef. There are just ways you can set a reef up that will allow more mean time b/w direct competition and thats what i am aiming for this go'round. The fish are also enjoying the vast room that has been opened up for them to swim. SO... to the emails, etc asking why i would immediately take down a TOTM... consider the tank still running just as normal... but that a hurricane came through and things got tossed around and are starting to regrow in a new form. :)

About emails, PMs, IMs, etc.... i have received TONS and TONS of congratulations, requests for frags, and hobbyists just seeking advice (i think this is par for the course for any new TOTM). In the beginning, I did my best to keep up and respond to every single person, but began to fail miserably after a few short days. For those who received no response, please dont feel like i "snubbed" or ignored you in anway and just understand that the volume of messages became very overwhelming. If you didnt get a response to a question about setting up your own tank, etc... i invite you to further ask questions here on the forums at RC.

Thanks again for all of the congratulations and nice comments from folks in this thread, thru emails, and PMs. I really appreciate it.

As of now, my tank has about 1wk left its reign and I hope to get updated pics of my re'scaped reef up very soon.

[NanoCube-boy]

haha... great gtreat... very glad that your happy, shoot... I wish my tank will be tank of the month when i set a 40 up...

[Kip]

snapped a pic really quick while i was home for lunch...

excuse the mess, but it is starting to take shape again

http://www.kipsreef.com/FTS9-25-06.jpg

[NanoCube-boy]

Your picture did not work when you posted it. You can try checking the link IMG and see.

N/M nice picture... Where are all the LRs? Did you do some trimming?

[Kip]

i pulled about half the rock... sold a bunch of colonies... and remaing colonies have been pruned here and there

once all of these guys settle and prove happy... i will put a coupla nice things from the frag tank in.

then i will need to clean up the debris on the sand bed.

every new beginning has to start somewhere.

[J4Life]

Hey Kip the pictures aren't loading up for some reason. Have you lost the link to them?

Thanks,
Bill

[J4Life]

Never mind they're showing up for me now. Sorry about that. So it looks so empty.:(

[Behroz]

hi. beautiful tank.congrations.

[OxInYourBox]

Coming back nicely. I'll need to come see it in it's new form soon.

[Typhon]

Wow!!! The tank looks so open now!! I see you got rid of the Caps. I am thinking about doing the same thing.

[Kip]

there still some cap in there.... just trying to figure out the least obtrusive places to put it... more than likely on the very bottom snuggled up to the rockwork is where it will go.

but yeah.... waaay open now.... lovin' it... seems a little more natural (well.. as natural as can be in a glass box)

[atzak]

Hey Kip, congrats! I haven't been online much at all lately, I almost missed this thread. Your tank looks fantastic as always. An honor I thought was long overdue. I need to come see it in person some time soon.

[MUCHO REEF]

Congrats, what an outstanding reef you have. Two thumbs up my friend.

Mucho

[Kip]

atzak...

thanks... c'mon down

actually.. i will be up there for a little 3 day getaway next week... i would say that i'd come see your tank, but that'd probably go over like a fart in a diving helmet with me missus.



thanks mucho

[nandan]

hi Kip... you have a great aquarium. Well you have also mentioned about Sanjay Joshi, who is he?

[Kip]

thanks nandan

Sanjay Joshi - Engineering Professor at Penn St University

He came to my house for a visit during a trip to speak at a local club meeting. The next day I was in the caravan that taxi'd him around the area, so I got to know him a little bit.

In the hobby, he is known for his work with halide lighting tests and the data derived from them. You can see that information at this link.... http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/index.htm