Tank of the Month - November 2007

[JRaquatics]

Fudge: love your tank. I have been watching your tank build since your first posted it. Have always loved you rock structure. Geat job. Another amazing tank.

[Skipper]

Originally posted by shred5


Come to think about it why do they not have a diy section to begin with in reefkeeping magazine.

Dave

We used to when the magazine started. Since then, I've asked many times with a sticky thread in the DIY forum for authors to write DIY articles. Only a few people were interested, and of those, they all said I could use their thread for an article. That's not quite the same as actually WRITING an article, hence, none were used. Bottom line... no one stepped up to write an article.

[Midnightbreeze]

Wow, you must have scoured the global outlets for all that coral variety.

[blue_monkey]

Fudge,
Your tank is absolutely amazing. Congratulations on a well deserved "Tank of the Month" award. I doubt that anybody has put more into this hobby than you have. You have inspired me (Don't worry, I won't tell my wife it was you).

Enough of the flattery, I have a question: What weight of fiberglass cloth did you use on your tank? Are there any special considerations that need to be made for a reef tank?

Thank you!

[mlandrigan]

Originally posted by Fudge

I vacume the sand weekly and some sand is lost, but atleast one a month i will pull sand while vacuming on purpose.
Yes it clouds the tank for the day when a new bag is added, but i just expect that now.

What sand do you use? When I've tried replacing sand (I've been using white play sand (southdown) it looked pretty much white. Could only see about 6-10 inches into the tank. Is this the same degree as you experience or is my sand just much more filthy? I've tried prerinsing it and that helps somewhat. I am just nervous that it is to 'thick' for the fish (I don't have any corals right now). Any thoughts and do you have a picture of after you do this?

I just thought that if I used a 2'' piece of PVC I could pour the sand in through there to limit the agitation.

Thanks,

Matt

[Growurown]

Well deserved honor !!!!

I would be interested in power consumption for this system.
Is that something you can share with us ??

[chaseracing]

I think we all strive to have a tank like this someday. Do you charge an admission fee?

:-)

-=E=-

[bourbeaue]

Inspiring tank.

Do you have your purple firefish and Bangai Cardinals in your main display ? Do they get a chance to feed ?

[Fudge]

Thanks all, i am glad you liked it.

Originally posted by blue_monkey
Fudge,
What weight of fiberglass cloth did you use on your tank? Are there any special considerations that need to be made for a reef tank?

Thank you!

Blue Monkey,
I dont remember the weight, it wasnt the thickest....it was more like middle of the road, so that i could work with it a little easier as i was a rookie with fiberglassing.

Considerations... i think i would have to say i would vacume it next time...to get a nicer finish, it drives me nuts thast i cant clean the back and side wall very easy.
Bracing, ply is very flexible so bracing properly is one point i would not overlook on ply tanks. Resins wont like to be bent and flex too much after curing.

Originally posted by mlandrigan
What sand do you use? When I've tried replacing sand (I've been using white play sand (southdown) it looked pretty much white. Could only see about 6-10 inches into the tank. Is this the same degree as you experience or is my sand just much more filthy? I've tried prerinsing it and that helps somewhat. I am just nervous that it is to 'thick' for the fish (I don't have any corals right now). Any thoughts and do you have a picture of after you do this?

I just thought that if I used a 2'' piece of PVC I could pour the sand in through there to limit the agitation.

Thanks,

Matt

Matt, i used Caribsea`s aragamax select, and i place the whole bag in my sink and poke small holes in the bottom.
I cut the top of the bag off and rinse this way.
The i place the whole bag into the aquarium and slice it with a razor..this seems to keep clouding to a minimum, but a days worth is expected.

Ive tried using the pipe, but its tedious, bordering on painful.

Originally posted by Growurown
Well deserved honor !!!!

I would be interested in power consumption for this system.
Is that something you can share with us ??

Growurown,

With the old pumps and skimmer it was ridiculous, there was a total of 3-5800 seq at one point.
Now its 3 darts in total including the skimmer.
Lighting is about 2000 watts.
I would guess at an average consumption of 4000-4500 watts at peak use.

Originally posted by bourbeaue
Inspiring tank.

Do you have your purple firefish and Bangai Cardinals in your main display ? Do they get a chance to feed ?

Bourbeaue,

Yes they are in the main display. They are not as agressive at eating, though i will usually throw nori in and attract all agressive fish....then ill fire some pellets in and they get them fairly easily.

Marc.

[Water Box]

Incredible...

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

I still don't understand how you zip-tied the rock to pvc. It would seem that the rock would slide around the pvc and not stay where you wanted it. I guess it couldn't move much and the other pieces helped hold others together. I liked Paul's TOTM last month and wanted to redo my rocks like his but I wanted more overhangs and shape like yours. Really kool. Maybe I can fake it with some creative pvc. Just have to think about how to do it. Maybe even using glue of some type to hold rock. Do you guys use some sorta "reef safe" glue for rocks, pvc, etc.? I have a tube of something for frags.

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

I have a good question. I was reading Paul's threads on his TOTM and he talked about using a hole saw,,, and how it must have been the type of rock he had or something b/c he ended up ruining the saw. What sorta equipment and problems did you enounter to drill all your holes. You have an entirely different method than he did of course. You went with little holes for zip-ties and he drilled big holes for pvc to slide through the rock.

[Ellery]

Truly Inspiring - I will need to someday build my own plywood fishbox.

[JESUS VILLASEÑO]

i LOVE THIS TANK , WOW, REALLY AMAZING, I ENVY YOU MARC. SALUDOS DESDE MEXICO.

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

I tested out a small bit on a small rock and it broke in 1/2 pretty easily. Hmm.... I went to the store to ck. out bits for my 1/2" PVC (which the total diamter is actually 1"). The 1" concrete/masonry bit they had just looked too brutal. So I ended up with a hole saw bit 1.25". STill gotta test it out. What was the problem with yours Paul? You burned up your saw, or just broke the bit, and your bit was a wood bit too wasn't it??

Ooops... wrong thread.

[pwhitby]

you need a hole saw, not a masonary bit.

Hole saws are round with teeth around the edges and cut rather than drill...

but.............this is not my thread, so we should discuss the way i did the holes in my thread and not detract from Marc's thread....agreed?

P.

[fancyfish]

I love this tank. certainly worthy of tank of the month and one of the nicest that has been honored. Congratulations

[ScottC]

beautiful, and I LOVE the fish room!

[pwhitby]

Marc,

When I finally get round to swapping acrylic for glass I may hit you up for info and build a plywood surround with a starfire front.

P.

[myusername]

Fudge:
Thank you for the feed back.

[crazzy]

Congratulations on a fantastic eye on the Ocean and many thanx for sharing. At some point you mentioned that you had wished you had vacum done the epoxy. Why would you wish that? Stonger? Smoother surface? If so what difference what is the benefit?

[Aimforever]

Without a doubt, the nicest/cleanest install I've ever seen. Simply amazing. Thanks so much for sharing. Your creativity is very inspiring. WOW.

[kingnai]

WOW!!!

enough said.

[Kigs]

Congratulations on the win! Could you describe how the PVC skeletons were mounted onto the floor tabs?

[sirgeez]

Beautiful setup, keep up the good work!