Tank of the Month - May 2003

[Skipper]

This month we are featuring Ken Uy's (Salt Creep) gorgeous 29 gallon tank:

<img src="http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-05/totm/images/wide1.jpg"> (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-05/totm/index.htm)

More details can be found here (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-05/totm/index.htm) or by clicking on the picture above.

Congratulations, Ken!

[chromis]

Let me be the first to congradulate you Ken!

Awesome tank, could you wedge any more corals in there?;)



Andrew

[Vixyswillie]

Gorgeous tank, Ken! Congratulations on your accomplishment - it's certainly well deserved! ;)

[somethingfishy]

Congratulations, a well deserved tank of the month. Just spectacular.

[visualscapes]

:thumbsup: Wow! Very beautiful indeed! It's nice to see a smaller tank as TOTM. Gives me hope for my 20. :) I love the powerhead overgrown with zoo's, very cool!!

[rbaker]

Beautiful tank, beautiful pictures, awesome reef...

Congratulations! Well done!

Ryan

[johnrags1234]

Very cool! At first sight I was sure it was a 90 tall or something. Then I saw the clowns and it looked more in porportion. You have an amazing varietyof corals too!

John

[usagolf]

Very nice looking tank, but I think 9 fish in a 29 gallon is a bit much.

[reef enforcement]

hi there, that is one hell of a tank:D ; keep up the good work:rollface:

[Questlove]

Amazing tank,
Congrats...dont forget to thank the Academy & God & your lovely wife who's been with you through everything.........:)

[melev]

Congratulations! As I read your summation, a number of questions popped up in my head, but now I can't remember them all.

Two maximas under what most would consider miinimal lighting?! Way to go!

How much longer will that powerhead keep going? I was wondering from the first picture on that page what those Zoos grew over, but I never thought it was a powerhead.

How are you handling your reverse lighting? Is the room dark all day long so the fish & corals can sleep?

Beautiful specimens!

[Vert20]

That is truely and amazing tank! Looks fintastic sir!

[acroporas]

Originally posted by melev
Two maximas under what most would consider miinimal lighting?! Way to go!

256 watts over a 29 gallon tank. I would not consider that minimal lighting.

[Rock Anemone]

VERY impressive tank. I keep looking at the pictures and it looks more like a 90 gallon as mentioned above, maybe larger like a 125.

Keep up the excellent work! A well deserved Tank of the Month!

Rock Anemone:D

[melev]

I guess I read it wrongly. I saw 4x40w bulbs. 160w?


Lighting:

• Four 40 watt fluorescent tubes (currently a mix of Coralife 50/50's and 10,000K's) on a Coralife electronic ballast, plus one 96 watt 6,700K compact fluorescent; shared by the main tank and the propagation tray.
• One 18 watt compact fluorescent and one 15 watt regular fluorescent over the algae tank.


Oops. Now I see it now that I've quoted it. That extra 96w bulb wasn't there the first time I read this! :lol:

[Skipper]

Ken should be back in town tomorrow and will field your questions when he returns.

[Jimbo327]

Congratulations Ken. I knew you will make it to the TOTM! I've seen Ken's system in person, and there is absolutely ZERO bare space in his tank - it is packed full of life. He should have posted a picture of his powerhead, it is completely covered with zoo's (all you see is the spray nozzle). Ken, if you could add more pictures, I would include one of your powerhead! Good job.

Jimmy

[Jimbo327]

Sorry double post.

Jimmy

[Skipper]

He should have posted a picture of his powerhead, it is completely covered with zoo's (all you see is the spray nozzle). Jimbo: look a lil closer, bud. It's there. :D Right above the coral list.

[supernova]

simply breathtaking :rollface: i am gonna set it to be my wallpaper.

[supernova]

simply breathtaking :rollface: i am gonna set it to be my wallpaper.

[smokinreefer]

stunning.
i love how the tank is so established and filled in.
the maxima on the turbinaria is way cool!
very inspiring.:eek1:

[DJ88©]

Very nice. Have to love the smaller tanks. :)

[stan]

hi ken,
very very nice, you should be proud of that reef. it just looks fantastic.
happy reefin,
stan

[Rock Anemone]

supernova,
[welcome]

Rock Anemone:D

[Project Reef]

A title well deserved. Not many people have the artistic ability to create a miniture reef of that caliber in a 29 gallon tank.

I've seen Ken's tank a couple times in person, it's awesome. Great guy too.

[skippy2]

WOW, FANTASTIC, STUPENDOUS, GORGEOUS!!!!!!! Maybe I shouldn't worry about upgrading my tank. Maybe there is hope for my lowly 20. I hope you don't mind that it is now my background!!!

[piercho]

This is the most interesting tank, for me, since RC featured Bomber's Carribean tank (before RK mag started, I think). The RTOTM is usually one of the last articles I looked at in RK, but this month the picture of Ken's tank sucked me in first. A beautiful tank done very simply, the kind of tank I would have benefited from seeing before starting to put together my tank two years ago. Ken' write-up is above par and the quality of the photographs is excellent. Well done to the RC selection crew for finding a tank which more average reefers (in terms of budget for eqt) can identify with.

[Feather Duster]

Ken, from the moment I first saw your tank I thought it should be TotM. It is beautiful to look at in person!

MM

[Pineapple House]

Ken,
That tank is simply beautiful! Great work!

BTW- I gotta come over and see that tank sometime :) It must look outstanding in person!

Take Care,
Graham

[ToiletTank13]

Beautiful tank bro...Congrats!

And you have absolutely no warfare going on between your SPS and all those softies? Everything appears well established yet it looks like there's a lot of toxic softies in with the SPS and LPS.

Again congrats for working up a showpiece!

[Jamesurq]

simply awsome. Very refreshing to see a "non-MH" setup get TOTM.... I'm loving the: "Not sure what my levels are" approach!!:lol:

That covered powerhead is just cool as all hell!! Now I know how to make mine harder to see.. Might take a while though..

Congrats.

[dattong]

Wow, I thought it was a real big tank! Amazing beautiful tank!

[MUCHO REEF]

I would like to echo what everyone else has already eluded to, you have done a great job creating a reef that is aquascaped to perfection. May you fall asleep tonight with a smile on your face, knowing you have placed a smile on so many others.

Well done my friend.

[supernova]

Thank you rock anemone:D

Guys, if you've looked harder, you will notice that the left wall of the tank is covered with zoos too. AMAZING!! :eek:

[sbelanga]

Ken, after moving to progressively bigger tanks over the last decade, you've inspired me to try my hand at a smaller tank. What an amazing amount of life in a relatively small space! And no MH lighting or fancy equipment! Reminds me a bit of Julian Sprung's old 15 gallon. . .

Really nice.

[loudog]

WOW!!

That is a very awsome tank!

:celeb2: :celeb2: :celeb3:

[loudog]

WOW!!

That is a very awsome tank!

:celeb2: :celeb2: :celeb3:

[loudog]

WOW!!

That is a very awsome tank!

:celeb2: :celeb2: :celeb3:

[BCooksey]

Awesome reef man. I thought my 29 was packed. Keep up the good work.

[sahin]

Well done man. That truly is an awesome setup. The mixture of corals is amazing. The growth of zoos on the tank wall and powerhead is a work of art. I really enjoyed reading the article and looking at the pictures.

[Just Fishing]

Very nice!!!:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[ccsc3400]

Very Nice.....Absolutly Beautiful!!!

[Wilafur]

as another reefer that has seen ken's tank in person, I can say it truly takes your breath away. great job and congrats!

[johnvlahos]

This is incedible. I'm amazed at your blue maxima under this lighting. There' hope for me yet!

[mnreefman]

one word describes this
wow!
or how about
perfect!
amazing!
incredable!
i love that tank

[Mad Scientist]

This is one of coolest TOTMs in a while, congrats!

[Ewan]

Love the powerhead. Simply amazing.

You've got some serious growth. I really enjoyed reading the article.

Great job, congratulations.

E.

[mars2001]

I'm really impressed.
I'd like to imitate your method of dosing with lime & vinegar....
rather than kalk, trace, etc.....VERY cool to know it really
comes down to the "keep it simple stupid."


I'd also like to say that this:

Ken, after moving to progressively bigger tanks over the last decade, you've inspired me to try my hand at a smaller tank. What an amazing amount of life in a relatively small space! And no MH lighting or fancy equipment! Reminds me a bit of Julian Sprung's old 15 gallon. . .

Is one hell of a compliment.


Congrats again!
(Oh yeah, and I'm about to frag my zoos onto my powerhead :))

[Salt Creep]

I'm back from a wonderful vacation in Seattle! Thanks for everybody for all the kind words! The tank seems to have made it fine for the week I left it in my dad's care, except for a rock that my female clownfish has decided to move. I'll check it out when the lights come on tonight.

Ken

[cecilturtle]

Congrats Ken to a much deserved TOTM winner. Truly inspirational, from the pairing of several fish and excellent husbandry, to the nonchalant attitude with the pics to back it all up...first class.

[giantxtc]

Can't wait till my tank fills in like yours!Beautiful setup!:D

[mathman]

Is there any way you can give more descriptions about your supplements? I am amazed that you only use pickling juice, vinegar, and baking soda!! If this is so, man I am embarrassed to say how much money I waste every month. I would love more info.

Thanks

[Salt Creep]

Originally posted by mathman
Is there any way you can give more descriptions about your supplements? I am amazed that you only use pickling juice, vinegar, and baking soda!!
Thanks

That's it, besides the usual fish food (Brine shrimp flakes from Brine Shrimp Direct, plus frozen mysis and shrimp). I figure that along with occasional water changes, it's enough. I'm sure if I had higher calcium levels and more light, the stony corals will take off but with the room I have left I don't think my tank will be able to handle a lot of growth.

I do keep some potassium iodide solution handy, but I only use it to wash a soft coral that that used to be prone to infections. I just take the coral out, squirt it on, then rinse with tap water for a few seconds. I haven't used it in a while though.

Ken

[Salt Creep]

Originally posted by melev
Congratulations! As I read your summation, a number of questions popped up in my head, but now I can't remember them all.

Two maximas under what most would consider miinimal lighting?! Way to go!

How much longer will that powerhead keep going? I was wondering from the first picture on that page what those Zoos grew over, but I never thought it was a powerhead.

How are you handling your reverse lighting? Is the room dark all day long so the fish & corals can sleep?

Beautiful specimens!

Thanks, melev!

I actually lost the smaller maxima a while back. It fell off its perch, and I think it got stung by some polyps. I moved it to the propagation tray but it died. :( It's also possible that it didn't get enough to eat in there.

I try to keep the powerhead's intake screen clean. I just pull out the screen and brush it down; fortunately the polyps don't seem to try to grow over it.

The room stays pretty dark, but there's light enough that the gramma and the clowns and SOMETIMES the damsel will eat when I feed the Tubastreas during the "night" phase. The other fish won't stir until the lights go on at night though.

Ken

[Gary Majchrzak]

Great aquarium, Ken! There are so many corals I could not locate any of my mini carpet anemones in any of the pictures!
BTW- great pictures gregr!:D

[MtnDewMan]

Very nice tank .... excellent picture quality of your inhabitants as well ...

Well Done .... :dance:

[Salt Creep]

Definitely thanks to Greg for excellent pictures... now I look at the ones I took myself, and they just look so... BAD! :)

Gary, I'm sure the anemones are in there somewhere. I saw one up to a few weeks ago, then it decided to take a walk and now I can't see any! They never reproduced for me, probably because I don't feed them enough.

Ken

[GTR]

I must agree with everyone, wonderful example of what can be accomplished with time and care (and funds).

As it seems to me many are obsessed (myself included) with what to add or change next about the tank or it's occupants. You must have a great feeling of satisfaction when you look inside your tank knowing you have reached this plateau. Or does one ever get to that point?


As for....
Very nice looking tank, but I think 9 fish in a 29 gallon is a bit much.

I think you have earned the right to keep your fish:lol:

Steve U

[Salt Creep]

Originally posted by gtrestoration
As it seems to me many are obsessed (myself included) with what to add or change next about the tank or it's occupants. You must have a great feeling of satisfaction when you look inside your tank knowing you have reached this plateau. Or does one ever get to that point?


As for....


I think you have earned the right to keep your fish:lol:

Steve U

It never gets to a satisfying point... sometimes I fret about not being able to wedge anything else in there, so I'm eyeing a bigger tank.:D

As for having too many fish, I'm just glad that half the fish are on the tiny side! I agree that it's a lot of fish for this sized tank. I do need a rabbitfish or something to (hopefully) graze on the bryopsis, but I certainly don't have room for a big poop machine at this point. :rollface:

Ken

[BobCReef]

Great tank Ken. u did an awesome job with limited space. a truely beautiful setup you can be proud of. thanks for the inspiration you've given me.

[THEBMAN]

well put together, way to go, makes it all worth it...

congrats

B-Man

[K. Lee]

Excellent well stocked reef tank. Are there any stars at all? I don't know if anyone else commented on them, but those pink zoanthids are out of this world. ;)

I don't think you want to upgrae, maybe start another. :D

[Salt Creep]

Thanks again, everybody!

K. Lee, I do have a blue linckia in the tank. It's kind of small and very active. Actually it's the only one that I've successfully acclimated... I just floated the bag, then squirted water in with a baster over the course of maybe ten minutes, then tossed the star in. The ones that I tried doing the hours long acclimation with never lived. :rolleyes:

If I do upgrade, I think I'll be plumbing this tank in anyway. Preferably with an overflow hole drilled in!

Ken

[THEBMAN]

i noticed you were talking about acclimation, when you were doing that, did you cut the lights off, i used to have the same problem, then i read up on acclimation, and supposingly, by doing that, it doesn't stress them out as bad, so far, i've had good success, but that may not be the total reason either, it could be a hundred different reasons, but you nver know.

B-Man:thumbsup:

[Salt Creep]

Now that I think about it... yes, I did have the lights off for the successful one. And I'm pretty sure I had them on for the other one that didn't make it.

I think finding a good healthy one to start with was the most important thing though. I managed to find one that was active with a rock hard body. The previous star was active too, but the body (in my admittedly faulty memory) was rather spongy in comparison.

Ken

[pete_ra]

sps under only 256watts of flourescent/PC?? how do u do it?

[Salt Creep]

All the corals that need a lot of light sit just below the surface of the water, and they don't grow fast they way I see corals under MH lights do. It's probably the lack of enough light, but there's also all the soft corals competing with the sps.

Ken
I'm not doing it, the corals are. And they're being real slow about it. :D

[chipnfish]

True simplicity! Your basic approach to additives is going make people rethink what they put in there tank. Keep reefing, your tank looks awesome!

[jaydse]

Hello I've been gone awhile & to see your tank is A welcome it's self!!

[Salty Jeff]

Beautiful tank Ken!!! You just inspired me to work harder on my 42 gal hex reef. Mine is getting their but with more rock and soft corals it can be beautiful like yours!

[Salt Creep]

Thanks again, everybody!

Ken

[lebowski]

That's nice dude.


I have a 29, and your lighting IMO would not be minimal, but a great amount. I run 110 watts of pc over my tank, and have a maxima in mine.

Pete_ra. There are many SPS that can be kept under lighting like his, and as well as mine. Many can't. Lighting isn't all the fundamentals of keeping SPS. Calcium, PH, current, all that adds to a healthy colony.

Your tank ispired me. Now I'm going to go buy more corals, and lighting.:rollface:

[tarheel4life]

DEFINITELY looks like a huge tank. you did your thing man.

[Old Yeller Tang]

Originally posted by Salt Creep

I just floated the bag, then squirted water in with a baster over the course of maybe ten minutes, then tossed the star in. The ones that I tried doing the hours long acclimation with never lived. :rolleyes:

Ken

This always worked best for me as well!

Thanks Ken for that frag! Looks like purple tips w/ green polyps, sweet! The cool thing about your frag is that I can probably place it low in my tank since I have halides. I got a lot of real estate down low.LOL
Once again, congrats on your TOTM honors!

Roland

[Patrick G.]

Very, very nice! Congrats! :thumbsup:

[cali_reef]

I have seen ken's tank various time in the last two years, I always go home disappointed that my 150 gal SPS tank is not as nice as his 29 gal.

Keep up the good work and enjoy your well deserved title.

[deansreef]

Beautiful tank. Congrats

[Salt Creep]

Thanks everybody!

Well, I've had a busy week at work and have been ignoring the tank.... I replaced one of the 40-watt lamps with an actinic and the polyps on the powerhead sure weren't happy about that! I think I'm going to have to scrape off some of them because they seem to have burned and are turning white and smelly!!!!! :( Stupid me, I forgot to shade them or at least shorten the photoperiod after I put in the new lamp. None of the other corals were affected other than getting better colors, but scraping off rotting zoanthids sure doesn't sound like an
appealing price to pay. Oh well, it'll give me a chance to give the powerhead a cleaning, finally!

Roland, regarding the starfish: it was your comment at the fish place (I got it when we were shopping there together) that made me do the quickie acclimation thing!

Pierce, didn't you see me wiping the drool off my chin when I was looking at your tank??? And not jsut the tank; the neatness inside the stand makes me ashamed to show my tank's equipment to anybody! Ask Greg what it took to get a photograph of my sump.
:rollface:

Ken

[skippy2]

Hey, Saltcreep!!! Your tank is now my wallpaper. You have a gorgeous tank.::cool:

[charvel]

Very nice,congrats.

[dudah]

Seeing this tank gives me inspiration to save up money so I can get more than my little 10 gallon!!

Great job!

[Fantasy Reefer]

Very nice. Congrats.