the 1700g stingray reef

[spazz]

Originally posted by Labman48076
Wow that is is fantasic reef job and setup he did don't know what kind of camera you will be using when you go back I have a Canon Eos 20D 8 megpixal would even concider letiing you borrow it if you want to for better photo's but you did a good job concidering that drool factor! WOW!!!!!!

i was using a cannon rebel to take these pictures. but i was so awe struck that i didnt take the time to do a proper job with the pictures. im hoping i can bring my tripod over there and get some better pictures. its hard to take your time when you are having brain overload. im still in a state of shock over the shear size and scope of this eco system. i feel he has tried to mimic the natural reef in every posible way. he has animals in his reef that most people have peoblems keeping. but the size of his system and the diversity of it allows him to have these amazing animals.

[nbd13]

could you give some examples of those animals that most couldnt keep? i am intrested to see what he stocked that tank with.

thanks

Nick

[spazz]

Originally posted by nbd13
could you give some examples of those animals that most couldnt keep? i am intrested to see what he stocked that tank with.

thanks

Nick

i plan to take a trip back there in the next couple of weeks. when i do, i plan to take alot more pictures of his system and try and answer some of these questions.
one of the animals i saw there looked like a chucumber but its not. it does not do very well in an aquarium but he is able to keep 6 of them in his system. its the food they need to survive. and because his system is so big it can grow enough food to support these awesome looking animals. he could house morish idols too but he is growing his sponges out as a natural filtering system. the sponges are in there own tank in the fish room. so he decided not to get any moris idols. there is a pipe fish in the main display that looks like it will explode at any second its so fat. it was crusing around eating off the rocks. most people couldnt support a pipe fish in there main display because of the lack of food. they need lots of it. i think he could have 5-6 pipe fish if he wanted. there are so many awesome spices of wrasse in the tank that it makes my head spin. im a huge wrasse lover and he has 3 types of wrasse that i have never seen.
there are very few common fish in his system. i did see a cbb and a lawnmower blenny, but for the most part all the fish are uncommon to most reef tanks. even his regal tang is a rare spices of regal. i think he called it a yellow striped regal. if you look at his belly it has a yellow stripe on it. i have never seen one of those either.
i know that pictures are worth a thousand words and in this instance i dropped the ball big time! the more i think about this system and the more i look at the poor quality pictures i took, the more i feel im not giving this system the recpect it diserves.
to the owner of the stingray reef . i promise to do alot better job next time i come over there. i think then the shock will be less and i can concentrate on better picture taking.

[nbd13]

thanks sounds good, i saw that Gem tang too, is he in quartine i take it?

that fish alone is amazing, do you know where he picked that up at?

also that black tang, any idea where he go that?

do you know if he gets most of his corals/fish/live stock online or locally?

thanks again! cant wait to see more pics in a couple weeks!

Nick

[spazz]

Originally posted by nbd13
thanks sounds good, i saw that Gem tang too, is he in quartine i take it?

that fish alone is amazing, do you know where he picked that up at?

also that black tang, any idea where he go that?

do you know if he gets most of his corals/fish/live stock online or locally?

thanks again! cant wait to see more pics in a couple weeks!

Nick

that gem tank is not in quarintine. thats the sponge tank he is in. i think he is afraid to add him to the main displya untill he grows a little bit. he cam in a little small so he might get beat up in the big tank. im not positive about that though. i do know he is health and eats like a pig.
i think he gets most of his fish on line but im not sure where. i do know he has some specal places he shops at. i think most of it is ressearching the fish that he wants then getting the different places to aquire them for him. but im not positive on that either.
i was there for 2 1/2 hrs and it felt like 10 mins. the shock of seeing the stingray reef is still with me today. its that amazing. i plan to get a pen and paper and write down all the different names of animals in his system. and even that will be incomplete. there was animals going in and out of the rock the entire time i was there. only a video camera could capture all the livestock.

[Kreeger1]

there you go, next time bring the video camera then post that on the net for us to watch
Erik

[jent46bow]

so sexy, i would kill 50 men for a tank like that

[spazz]

Originally posted by eriksmacks
there you go, next time bring the video camera then post that on the net for us to watch
Erik

if there is some one who could help me with the hosting and linking of the video i will ask the owner of the stingray reef if i can take video and post it on the web. i just dont want to assume its ok to post video, i want to ask him first. then we can go from there.

[nbd13]

how many stingrays does he have in the tank? how big do you think they are?

Nick

[sixxer]

I would love to have one of those Blue-Spotted Rays in my new tank!!!!!

[spazz]

Originally posted by nbd13
how many stingrays does he have in the tank? how big do you think they are?

Nick

there is only the one blue spotted ray in the tank. its the size of a dinner plate plus the tail. it was awesome to see the stingray eating. he gets a specal diet mixed up just for him.

[nbd13]

wow! does he hand feed it? or does it eat off of a stick?

does the stingray get along with everyone? are his main rocks secured in placve so the stingray doesnt get under them and dislodge stuff?

thanks

Nick

[spazz]

Originally posted by nbd13
wow! does he hand feed it? or does it eat off of a stick?

does the stingray get along with everyone? are his main rocks secured in placve so the stingray doesnt get under them and dislodge stuff?

thanks

Nick

he has a specal feeding tube he uses to feed the stingray. his entire rock structure is built together and wont come apart. that is one of the amazing things about his design. the rocks are lifted up and supported so the fish can travle through out the reef and find many hiding places. i think thats why his animals look so healthy and happy. they dont have as much stress as fish do in smaller tanks. suprisingly there is not alot of fish in his system. but the ones he does have are big and beautiful.
if i remnbe right he said there is 1200 lbs of live rock in the tank and alot of hand built sturctures that are half live rock and half man made stuff. when you look at the rock work you can tell what he built and what is natural live rock.
by the way to give you an idea of size this tank, it weighs in at a slim 14 tons! my semi tractor weighs less than his reef tank.

[nbd13]

WOW, thats amazing!

how often does he feed?

thanks

Nick

[spazz]

Originally posted by nbd13
WOW, thats amazing!

how often does he feed?

thanks

Nick

if i remember corectly he feeds twice a day. but the portions are small for the amount of fish and the size of them. i think the black tang could eat 1 whole cups worth of food. that fish is a monster.

[Lunchbucket]

WOW! glad to see the tank all set up! it was empty the last i saw....very very impressive!!! i hope to see it up and running in person someday.

keep the pics coming! the more the better!!

Lunchbucket

[spazz]

Originally posted by Lunchbucket
WOW! glad to see the tank all set up! it was empty the last i saw....very very impressive!!! i hope to see it up and running in person someday.

keep the pics coming! the more the better!!

Lunchbucket

just please keep the owners idenity quiet for now. he wants to remain nameless for the time being.
and you need to get an invitation over there and see that system. im not doing it any justice right now. i think the floor had a drule puddle on it after we left there. if he ever has a group of people show up there he will need to have bibs there for people to wear.

[kappaknight]

I must ask... does he still do water changes at this point? Or can he just top off with the system sustaining itself?

[spazz]

Originally posted by kappaknight
I must ask... does he still do water changes at this point? Or can he just top off with the system sustaining itself?

he does water changes. i think but in not for sure that he feels its best for his system. if i were to have a system that large and that big on an investment i would do water changes just to insure i dont loose any of the animals in the system. he has it down to a couple of valves he opens and then closes. the water changes are almost automatic. the system was very well thought out. i think with all the years of having different systems and animals he has the knowledge to design a system that makes maintaince a breeze. for the most part this system looks like its self sustaining. and in alot of ways it is because of the shear size of it. but also think he is in the fish room alot. the one think he did that i thought was very cool was to design it so he could be with his family as much as possable. he is a very devoted father. so the reef is designed to be opened up so he can see what his children are doing if he is in the fish room. his children are some of the luckiest kids around because i know he loves his reef tank but his children always come first. and this system shows this.

[Lunchbucket]

spazz - no problem buddy..i'll keep the secret. i have an invitation i just need to call ahead of time he said.

hope that wood floor infront of the tank is drool proof!!!

he is a very devoted father...and his kids are cute too

Lunchbucket

[Kent E]

That is an incredible tank. Great aquascaping. I thought a 450 was big but its just chump change. I admire his vision and the ability to pull it off.

[got2lb]

Man that is just unreal. I think that is just about everyones dream tank in there living room! The pic. with him on top of the tank reaching in is too funny. But I guess you have to have access somehow. And I bet he has more lights on that thing than wrigley field! His utility bill for a month is probably more than mine for 2 years!!!

Just simply amazing tell him he has a beautiful setup!

Matt

Oh yeah, I'm in the midwest too just incase their were to be some top secret invites!

[spazz]

Originally posted by got2lb


Oh yeah, I'm in the midwest too just incase their were to be some top secret invites!

i think once the owner of this system lets the cat out of the bag there will be a waiting list for invitations to see this system.
i also think this tank will make tank of the month with in 6 months of the owners first post admiting heis the owner of one of the greatest privatly owned reefs in the country. i think everyone will vote for this system just to see more of it and to have the little details that my 2 hr visit cant describe. i know there are some awesome system out on the west coast and down in florida. i also know there are huge fish only systems out there. but i dont know of a privatly owned reef in this country that is bigger. there might be but i have not heard of them.

[got2lb]

If you don't want to answer this I totally understand. But is he currently a member on this board? Did he get alot of his ideas from RC or did he come up with a lot of it just by trial and error and looking at other peoples setups?

Might have to buy a new keyboard now, mine's full of drool.

[Lunchbucket]

no idea if he is a member..i've never seen him post

Lunchbucket