Tank of the Month - May 2007

[dc]

Totally awesome. You have some spectacular corals.

[dvanacker]

Amazing Dave,.......way to rep the north side of the border !!

I plan to see your tank before I die......

It should be easier for me because I'm moving to the burlington area.....

Inspiring.!! I've heard stories but and a pic here or there but damn its better then I even imagined.

[SERVO]

WOW Dave, your tank is absolutely SICK. Pristine!

I wish I would have pegged!

[250G]

Well I am not sure how old you are, but I am sure we can coordinate something! Let me know next time you are in TO for a shipment.

About the "stories" you heard - let me tell you, most of them are right on the money!

Originally posted by dvanacker
Amazing Dave,.......way to rep the north side of the border !!

I plan to see your tank before I die......

It should be easier for me because I'm moving to the burlington area.....

Inspiring.!! I've heard stories but and a pic here or there but damn its better then I even imagined.

Pegging is sweet, however I do find the corals grow a little slower if you glue them on a small pice of rock. Those SPS love to encrust, but I love to be able to move them.

Originally posted by SERVO
WOW Dave, your tank is absolutely SICK. Pristine!

I wish I would have pegged!

[dvanacker]

Yes.....I tried to co-ordinate something with you before on reefescape once. I go by reefermadnesss on other forums. I've been to see Kevin a couple of times and have visited both RR and WTR when I can get in the area.

Im moving from London to the GTA for work. Not looking forward to moving my tank. Your in the Mississuaga area right??

[gman0526]

This is a really amazing tank and I wish you the best in the future with it. You have an awesome coral collection in there, great job.

[Waxxiemann]

Dave,

Great tank. I love how straight forward it is. Anyway, I have a quick question about your pegging scheme. Did you just drill a ton of holes in every peice of rock in yout tank and then put the corals in later or did you know where you wanted to place them before hand.

Also, did you use a drill bit exactly the same size and the airline tubing (1/4" I think) or did you go a little bigger?

Thanks and congrats on an awesome tank.

Waxx

[Waxxiemann]

Actually, I have another quick question for you. You were saying in your writeup that you would not have used the 1/4" black acrylic laminated to the back panel if it were up to you.

I have been putting a lot of thought into my next tank and I know that I want to go with an external overflow as well but I can't wrap my head around how to acheive a black backround and still have an external overflow without using the acrylic.

Do you have any thoghts you could share on this matter?

Thanks again!
Waxx

[Zoos]

This is one of the nicer ones i've seen in a while.
Congrats.

[Rokdog]

I love it

[yiliyang]

I can only imagine how beautiful it would be to look at that tank in person. It is absolutely gorgeous in the web posting.

I was intrigued by how you "pegged" your frags to the LR. How do you drill holes under water? Please share your technique.

Your collection of coral, your tank and your techniques are all amazing. I am an instant fan of your setup.

Yili

[SEAFLOWERS]

Very nicely done, give yourself a pat on the back!

[Ellery]

Awesome Setup Dave - You're right there's always something that will require more money and time to make the ultimate automated and maintenance free system.

That's my goal at least.

Ellery

[250G]

Just a post to clarify how I go about using the pegging system.

1. First, when I placed the rock in the tank originally I drilled a ton of 3/16" holes all throughout the live rock.

2. Also, when I got the aquascaping approximatly the way I wanted it, I took individual pieces of liverock out again, and drilled holes in all the aproximate locations I though I would want to peg a coral

3. Now, when placing frags in the tank (or any coral with a rock base for that matter), I drill a 3/16" hole into a small piece of liverock and insert a piece of rigid airline tubing into the hole, and then simply glue the frag to the rock.

4. I do not glue the rigid airline tubing into the small piece of liverock (or the rock in the tank), as I may want to remove the airline tubing at any time, to replace with a longer or shorter piece then.

Now, should I want to move the coral at any time I can remove it, whether it be to frag it or relocate it.

[SPS4Life]

That tank is amazing.

[Mac's zoas]

Amazing tank!!!

[MTB]

Great tank Dave! I have seen intermittent posts of some of your SPS. I have also looked on frags.ca. Some wonderful stuff you have. I am intrigued by the pegging system you have devised. Your tank is truly an inspiration to me and I'm sure several other members as well. Plus lots of pics, which is always a plus for TOTM. Or any other thread for that matter. Well done!

[reeferman]

well deserved dave,well done. Flavio

[coralfever]

Great tank! Who built the tank? Those are great dimensions.

[prop-frags]

Absolutely marvelous, Dave. I must say very inspiring to see you getting such obviously good results while keeping your system so relatively uncomplicated. I can tell you're a neat freak though just looking at the wiring and your tank room. Tell me, how do you acclimate & quarantine? AEFW or similar pests could be a horrible affair with so many SPS colonies you keep.

[cweder]

I would also like to know if you had any pests or problems and if you acclimate or treat your new coral.

I am really taken back by your awesome results and simple methods. I am just getting my sps started and find your method remarkably simple, compared to some TOTM I have read about. No carbon, phosban, zeo, prodibio, trace elements or even regular water changes and wonderful results. You must need magnesium though.

I also run a beckett skimmer and have noticed little improvement with carbon.

The beckett is very touchy though, it seems the smallest things like small snails or a little piece of chaeto can ruin performance and require daily adjustment. I was just about to buy a new skimmer when I decided to make the bullet a little narrower where the water shoots through. So far it is skimming just as good, but not nearly as touchy, otherwise I was considering the micron bags as you are using.

Thanks for sharing and proving once again you dont have to make things so complicated to achieve excellent results. You definately have the salty thumb!

[saltkreep]

SO! please fill me in on the overflow issue with that other tank. Iordered a 48x24x22 plexi with a 24" o/f on the back (external) Should I be worried????? BTW awsome tank! hats off to ya"

[250G]

Thanks Flavio. Had it not been for your involvement this TOTM would have never had my name on it. Your smart thinking kept me in the hobby last November/December at a very critical/stressful time, your name should also be up there.

After all this time I also appreciate the the equipment you sold be back in 02/03 still works as well today as it did back then. Thanks again.

Originally posted by reeferman
well deserved dave,well done. Flavio

[capn_hylinur]

Congratulations Dave:
I'm am one of the lucky ones to have seen this tank in person last fall. I was totally amazed by it then as everyone is now.
What is also amazing that is not shown in the pictures is the clarity of the water and the over all tank. This is the thing that influenced me most and probably has given me a great deal success with my tank considering my newness to this facinating hobby.
I owe you a lot Dave and its nice to see you get such recognition for your efforts--everyone here can appreciate the hours and hours that maintaining a tank of this calibre takes---and the fact that you still make time to help newbies like myself is really appreciated
Capn_hylinur

[250G]

First, thanks for all the positive feedback. Below is a response to some of the specific comments noted above.

1. Tank Manufacturer
I have no intent of personally disclosing the name of the manufacturer who built the tank which subsequently came apart. Generally known as a good/top quality manufacturer, just in my case there was no easy solution and that is why it presented a problem. For this reason I do not indicate the manufacturer of my tank in my signature, I used to as I was kinda proud of the tank! I actually plan on getting another tank from them in the near future. Only people on this site could appreciate the circumstances, stress and potential problems associated with changing out this size of fully stocked SPS tank!

...at the same time, a resourceful internet search for 220G in Canadian reef keeping forums would likely give you the name of the manufacturer. There is one forum I was banned from, and as such can not delete my profile which indicates the manufacturer. FYI, I do not agree with the way the owner of the Canadian site promotes the hobby to the "general" hobbyist, and we agree to disagree after some review. Had I never personally met him it would have never become an issue. The joys of the internet!

2. Pests.
Well I have had red-bugs and they have been addressed with Interceptor. AEFW, well I think I have them. That being said, reading on RC gave me the heads up so I think I found them early, and they have never really presented a problem, and I have never lost a coral because of them.

I would say I find about 2 or 3 AEFW every 6-8 weeks. Seems odd, but maybe it is just the species of flatworm. They do cause some minor damage if not detected, but the coral recovers quickly. I have never really had a "nice' coral suffer from them. Think I first noticed them about a year or so back.

When basting off my rockwork (and corals) of detritus should I find an AEFW I address the coral at that time, and inspect/baste all the others. As I can remove all my corals at any time , I take the coral to the frag tank for cleaning and close inspection. Honestly, I am not sure what the big deal is about AEFW, if I have them, they do not present that much of a problem. Again, maybe the species, although they visually appear similar to those identified on RC.

I do not quarantine corals before they go in my tank. I do however inspect them very closely before putting them in the tank. Quarantine would however be the best way to do things. At the same time, even with quarantine, I think it is impossible to protect your corals against everything out there and still survive.


3. Beckett Skimmer

I would never sell the skimmer I have, I love it, and would recommend a tall Beckett style skimmer to anyone with enough room for one. That being said, you do need to keep the skimmer input water free of particulate and debris for optimum performance. I have my skimmer intake in the same section of my sump as where the overflow's enter the sump. I have the micron bags filter all water that enters that chamber. These do a great job and also do great at controlling micro bubbles. At the same time, taking the time to clean out the injector weekly will also improve performance. A pressure-rated pump is also a good idea with a Beckett.

Also, clean/wipe out the reaction chamber when build-up occurs. And the square "box" at the bottom...you would be surprised how better the skimmer works when it is cleaned out! I did this after 3 years of never cleaning in, and WOW what a difference.