Tank of the Month - June 2007

[zemuron114]

a healthy achilles and a healthy choati? man, you are doing something right! i love the choati leopards. I bring them in from AU but have had mixed results with them. Definitely one of the nicest fish around. How long have you had it?

[pbukow]

Just one question, what do you guys do for a living and how can I do it too.

Gorgeous tank, I admire the amount of planning that you guys underwent before water even entered the equation. Thanks for sharing your slice of the ocean with us.

[sidewinder770]

docwells-

I will try to get some pics and info posted about how the actuator is hooked up soon. I guess I never went into a lot of detail on that in the build thread but I'll try to get something going.

reefez-

I think 1000w works great for us. We would have liked a little more light on the bottom but they do work rather well. We mainly keep softies and such on the bottom so it works for us. We will be adding some T5's just for a little "fill" in the near future.

kysmith-

LOL- Yes we both have jobs . We need them to be able to pay for the tank!. As for the chillers- check the build thread and you should find a TON of info on them. There is a way to much info and tips to post in one reply so the thread should have what you are looking for including a parts list. I will also be adding a section on that to my website in the future so you can check there.

emuron114-

Thanks! We have been very fortunate to get very healthy fish. the first Choati I ordered came in DOA so that was not good. We were sure to get a healthy and eating Achillies and Regal angel locally to avoid any issues like that but the Choati we could never find locally and our only option was to order it. So far so good- they are all doing great and have been with us for a while now. The Choati we've had for a little over a year now, the Achillies almost 2 and the Regal angel about 6 months.

pbukow-

Nothing exciting really. I'm in computer networking and Erin is an office manager. We tried to think of everything we could in the planning stage and it was kind of strange when it was time to add fish. We'd though of nothing for months except planning and building and when we finally got to the point of adding livestock were saying "wow, really, finally we get to add fish"!

[Lytehouse]

Congrats on the totm. Stunning tank and beautiful display.

[Cuby2k]

wow

[Cuby2k]

oops sorry for the last short note. I wanted to say wow what an incredible project and then to document and maintain it. Very impressive. You guys are an inspiration to us all, thanks for sharing this beauty!

[mojoreason]

great tank!

[Randall_James]

must be nice to have a wife that does more than go "Oh thats nice"

Super nice design...

have you figured out the total current draw for the entire electical system on the tank?

(Mesa native myself)

[wakeboarder2342]

If you dont mind me asking what was your setup cost and monthly operating cost on that system?


Very very well done, some of the best work i have seen to date

[JustReefIt]

Do I spy any of my Corals?????? I miss them, and the wrasses, and I think the dottyback, but they look really happy in their new tank.
Is that orange/green eye echynophilla from my frag?

I'd stop by and see it in person, if I didnt' move to Columbia, MO!

Great job guys, congrats on TOM!

[sidewinder770]

Randall_James-
It is certainly nice that Erin and I are both into The tank. I wouldn't have even considered a system like this if it wasn't for her. I don't have exact numbers on current draw but I know it adds about $80 a month to the bill in the winter and about $140 or so in the summer.

wakeboarder2342-
I try not to think about how much we have invested in this hobby so I can't give you a very good figure on that. I stopped keeping track once the water was in the tank. As for monthly expenses, I guess about $220-$280 a month on average including food, water, electric, salt, test kits, RO consumables, new bulbs every 10 months, additives, etc, etc. Not including livestock of course

JustReefIt-
Hey Brian. I didn't know you moved to MO. I knew you were moving but I just thought somewhere local. Still have a reef tank? You are correct- the Orange crush, dottyback, ornate wrasse, and some of the SPS were from you. They are doing great and thanks again for providing us with some of our favorite inhabitants. Still have the flashlight as well- the main colony took a hit but we do have it and a few frags of it in other peoples tanks. You are always welcome to stop by and see it if you asre ever back this way.

[crazzy]

Congratulations, well deserved and great info on your build out.
Thanx for sharing & all the best to you and yours!

[Absolute Reef]

A true results of artistic view and scientific appriach combined.

[JustReefIt]

Cool, I'll have to stop by around the holidays when I'm back in phoenix.

No reef tank right now, too busy getting the business going, and only going to be in this house for about a year, don't want to move a tank.

Congrats again, this really is a masterpiece.

[Abominable Reef]

Beautiful tank

[Deuce67]

Wow thats a nice tank! Love that background. Did you just spay the foam directly to the tank? If so, how well does it stick?

[SLODEN53]

Very nice woodwork surrounds your awesome reef tank! I love the "garage style" opening mechanism on your canopy! That is just way cool! I can't say enough about how truly nice the woodwork is. A fine piece of furniture indeed.

Tis really nice that you gave your monthly expenses on this mighty fine marine tank and it's beautiful inhabitants.

Who needs a TV when you have something like this to bathe the eyes with?

[sidewinder770]

JustReefIt-
You know you are welcome anytime!

Deuce67-
Yes, the foam is sprayed directly on the acrylic and it sticks very well. I've heard conflicting info about it sticking to glass but it sticks just fine to acrylic. Check out my website and look in the FAQ section for some more info on the foam.

SLODEN53-
Thanks for the compliments. The wood looks a lot better in person- the lighting for taking pictures is just horible and took forever just to get a half way decent shot of it. That's one of the great things about the tank being where it's at- we see it from the dining room, the back patio, the kitchen and from the living room where the TV is located. So we get to look at the tank from almost everywhere and can watch the tank and TV at the same time

[RayinAZ]

I heard about your selection at the FRAG/PROP meeting, but I only got to see the posting tonight. Awesome! I remember seeing the postings about the metal frame when you had it made. I love the idea of being able to pipe everything to the garage.

You're my new heros.

Do you know if this thread gets archived somehow? When I make the big move from my converted 100 gallon freshwater tank (thus, no sump--just a ton of live rock) to a beautiful dream tank like yours, I'd love to use your thread and pics as a resource (especially those drawings and your foam).

Congratulations!

Ray

[jwilso]

can you tell me the name of the foam you used

[sidewinder770]

RayinAZ-
Thanks Ray! I think the TOTM threads get archived just like the rest so you should be able to look them up later. My build thread has tons of pics and information and that should be around for a while.

jwilso-
The foam I used was called "handi foam". Look on our website in the FAQ section and there is more info about the foam.

[grigsy]

That tank is awesome. Nice job.

[ivyvine1]

Amazing tank, well deserved TOTM. You have a "gorgeous" selection of fish. One question that quickly comes to mind as I was looking over your inverts. I noticed the absence of hermits ..... is there a reason for this? I keep lots of these as part of my clean-up crew; in fact, I rarely see a body when a fish dies, it just disappears. Hmmmm, am I overlooking something??
Congrats!
Irene

[NanoCube-boy]

Wow, your tank is incredible because I like how your tank goes very well with the hickory cabinets and keeping your system cool. I have a hard time keeping my little tank cool because of my hot room. Good Job and keep it up.

How does your device brain control your chiller? That ?I do not get?
How do you make your own reef food? Isn't human fresh seafood are bad for reef because of the chemicals and preservatives?