December 2011 Tank of the Month

[Genetics]

This month we are featuring the beautiful Reef Aquarium of Thorly Tan (Crazy4Acros).

http://reefkeeping.com/joomla//images/stories/totm/dec2011totmCrazy4Acros/DPP_07.jpg

More details can be found here (http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/current-issue/article/103-december-2011-tank-of-the-month).

Congratulations, Thorly!

Also check out the Reefkeeping Blog (http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/home)!

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<TD bgColor=#006699 width="73%"><CENTER>If you'd like to nominate a tank for Tank of the Month, click here (http://reefcentral.com/forums/newthread.php?s=&action=newthread&forumid=189) or use the button to the right.</CENTER></TD>
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[IridescentLily]

Congratulations Thor! :)

[ridetheducati]

Very nice.

[Misled]

Well deserved!! Congrats!!!

[psteeleb]

Beautiful
and congrats on a great tank and TOTM

[jporter]

Beautiful!

[Telaverus]

Inspiring. Zen.

[tqpolo]

This can't be his first time as TOTM is it? This tank is legendary.

[sweet ride]

Congratulations on TOTM!!!! well deserved!!!!

I can't believe it took this long for you receive the well deserved recognition!!!! this is one of my favorite tank and an inspiration in my own build!!!!

[PokerReefer]

I have also always enjoyed looking at this tank. Do you target feed your corals at all or broadcast feed them? If so how, what, when? What do you feed your fish? Tia.

[caliking]

CONGRATS!! Less is more and simplicity is abundance.

I did want to ask you what the name of the yellow fish with the black tail was called (species). Thank you.

[caliking]

Questions:

• What salt do you use?
• How often do u perform Water changes?
• What do you feed your coral?

Thanks...

[jsdancer]

Congrats for TOTM Crazy4acros! I am currently choosing the no sand bed as well. Star board to be exact. Your tank is beautiful and have some very interesting coral specimens.
I love the goldflake angle fish. Has he not been a problem?

May you continue and enjoy your success!!!

[n0rk]

Damn, it's about time man. Congratulations :)

[crazy4acros]

A big thank you to YOU ALL! Your support is what made this possible. I will answer any questions as best as i can and really this is what keeps my tank and motivation going!

@ PokerReefer, My corals don’t get fed honestly I don’t know what they are feeding on in my tank other than fish poo and leftovers. My fish only get fed Dainichi pellets (tiny). When I introduce a new fish to the system, I feed Hikari frozen Mysis to entice it but eventually start to feed on the pellets.

@ cali king, The yellow fish is a juvenile Gold Flake Angel. As for salt I use Reef Crystals, I order buy bulk because they are already pre packaged in 50g bags. I have a 50g Poly barrel and make RODI water overnight pour the mix first thing in the morning and by noon ready to go in the tank. This gets done once a month.

@ jsdancer, The Gold Flake has not been a problem at all. When i first introduced it to my system, it did nip at certain corals but not enough to do any damage. This is the reason why i choose a juvenile, It is now eating nothing but Dainichi pellets.

Thor

[tamarindthai]

beautiful tank,,congratulation:wave:

[GPB]

Great job. I noticed in your first picture your tank had a sand bed. By the time that it became TOTM, it is barebottom. Why and how did you transtion. Are you glad that you did?

[crazy4acros]

Great job. I noticed in your first picture your tank had a sand bed. By the time that it became TOTM, it is barebottom. Why and how did you transtion. Are you glad that you did?


The tank started out with sand but I am a bit of a perfectionist and if there is one part of the sand that is not white I’d get irritated. I started thinking I would need some way of accessing the sand as I knew it will not stay clean in the long run, my plan was to have a shallow sand bed and I would siphon detritus out of it during water changes and turn over the sand to keep it white. I also wanted to change the sand bed with new sand annually.

With the small footprint of the rock work it allowed me to freely move around the structure and siphon the sand during water changes I would also change out the old sand with live sand annually. However as the years past the structure grown and took on a shape of its own making it hard to siphon without breaking pieces of coral. Currently I decided to remove the sand to avoid breaking corals and to eliminate the need to siphon sand all together. The tank is now bare bottom and has drastically lower my maintenance tasks.

The sand was slowly siphoned out during water changes. i think it took about 2 water changes.

[tmc1313]

Great Tank, absolutely one of my favorites. Since stopping the VSV and Microbacter, have you noticed if it's any harder keeping your Phosphates and Nitrates to a minimum? I see you said you're not using any GFO or other media for nutrient export other than a 50 gallon a month water change. The reason I ask is that I have been considering stopping GFO myself. I don't overfeed and I also change about 50% of my water once a month, while continuing to use GFO. I too, strive to keep things as simple as possible, but still maintain the best environment for the inhabitants. Once again, great tank, an inspiration that proves you don't have to have all the bells and whistles, just a keen eye, observation, and some solid reef knowledge.

[crazy4acros]

Great Tank, absolutely one of my favorites. Since stopping the VSV and Microbacter, have you noticed if it's any harder keeping your Phosphates and Nitrates to a minimum? I see you said you're not using any GFO or other media for nutrient export other than a 50 gallon a month water change. The reason I ask is that I have been considering stopping GFO myself. I don't overfeed and I also change about 50% of my water once a month, while continuing to use GFO. I too, strive to keep things as simple as possible, but still maintain the best environment for the inhabitants. Once again, great tank, an inspiration that proves you don't have to have all the bells and whistles, just a keen eye, observation, and some solid reef knowledge.

Well i had used VSV/Mb7 when i had sand in the system, in hopes that it would help keep the sand white. When i decided to remove the sand i stop the dosage all together. Dosing or no dosing or no GFO, i feel its the discipline of not overfeeding and the strict 50g water changes that really helps my phosphate and nitrates manageable. You should be fine without GFO and besides you can always resort back to it if you see a spike in your parameters. ;)

[tmc1313]

Thanks for the reply. One more question, I know you said what you feed your fish, but did not mention how often. Is it everday? Thanks, again.

[crazy4acros]

Thanks for the reply. One more question, I know you said what you feed your fish, but did not mention how often. Is it everday? Thanks, again.

Yes once a day, pellets only.

[sahin]

This is one of my top favorite tank on RC, and I am not surprised that your tank is Dec TOTM. I love the look of this tank, I love the placement of the corals and everything just looks like a chunk of the reef.

I just have two questions; what rock did you start out with and what method did you emply in the first 6 months of the tanks life as it were to manage nitrates and phosphates?

Many thanks.

[jdarr]

Stunning! Nice job. I have been using halides for a long time, but this pics really make me consider a change!

[crazy4acros]

This is one of my top favorite tank on RC, and I am not surprised that your tank is Dec TOTM. I love the look of this tank, I love the placement of the corals and everything just looks like a chunk of the reef.

I just have two questions; what rock did you start out with and what method did you emply in the first 6 months of the tanks life as it were to manage nitrates and phosphates?

Many thanks.

Thank you! This tank started with Fiji Pukani Rock hand picked from my LSF stock tub. The first six months during start up i did water changes 2x a month and used GFO but really the system heavily relied on the beckett style skimmer that was powered with a sequence barracuda external pump. After about a year i replaced the GFO with a Ozone generator then a year after i tried VSV/MB7 dosing.

[crazy4acros]

Stunning! Nice job. I have been using halides for a long time, but this pics really make me consider a change!

I was a die hard halide user for a long time also, in fact for the first 2 1/2 years of this tank i used a 400w 20k Radium MH and a 250w 20k XM system. They worked great! however i wanted to remove my chiller and did not want to risk overheating with the MH.

[miwoodar]

Grats Thor. Well deserved, for sure. I recently rescaped my 140...I had a dozen bonsai images laid out in front of me on the ground plus images of your tank, parts of Sanjay's early scaping, invincible's, and a few other tanks. I swear I tried my best not to copy but somehow the final scape ended up being more like yours than I would like to admit.

[Jamie9169]

Very nice. Congratulations on ToTM.

[crazy4acros]

Grats Thor. Well deserved, for sure. I recently rescaped my 140...I had a dozen bonsai images laid out in front of me on the ground plus images of your tank, parts of Sanjay's early scaping, invincible's, and a few other tanks. I swear I tried my best not to copy but somehow the final scape ended up being more like yours than I would like to admit.

Hahahahaha that's quite alright I bet it is stunning! Its flattering how my tank has been an inspiration to others and really feels satisfying. I'm so glad I could share my tank with the world.

[jbliss]

Stunning tank and a Nice job, first off. I have a few quetions. How long was it until you completly removed the sand? Did it affect your tank at all? Besides using the calcium Reactor do you dose anything? I also have been looking for the bonsai style aquascape, how long did it take you to come up with this masterpiece? Sorry if I am asking so many questions, But your tank blew me away! Congrats again on your piece of nature.

[EDJFA]

My wife was standing behind me looking at the pics in the article. She was very impressed by your tank. She said that she would like my tank to look like yours. Which I took as an OK to upgrade my tank from it's current 55g status. For some reason she didn't give me the go ahead.

But, she wanted to know what the different corals were. I had to admit that I don't know their names. So, if you don't mind, her favorites are the red/purple/green pancake looking one in the front right of your tank and the red/green favite - I'm guessing that's the Christmas favia. What's the name of the first one? Those colors are awesome.

[crazy4acros]

My wife was standing behind me looking at the pics in the article. She was very impressed by your tank. She said that she would like my tank to look like yours. Which I took as an OK to upgrade my tank from it's current 55g status. For some reason she didn't give me the go ahead.

But, she wanted to know what the different corals were. I had to admit that I don't know their names. So, if you don't mind, her favorites are the red/purple/green pancake looking one in the front right of your tank and the red/green favite - I'm guessing that's the Christmas favia. What's the name of the first one? Those colors are awesome.

Thank you, your'e right it is the Christmas Favia and the other one is a Tyree Watermelon chalice.

[crazy4acros]

Stunning tank and a Nice job, first off. I have a few quetions. How long was it until you completly removed the sand? Did it affect your tank at all? Besides using the calcium Reactor do you dose anything? I also have been looking for the bonsai style aquascape, how long did it take you to come up with this masterpiece? Sorry if I am asking so many questions, But your tank blew me away! Congrats again on your piece of nature.

Thanks! I think it was 3 yrs in before i deciced to take the sand out. It really did not affect anything probably due to the sand being just for aesthetics, and would be disturbed durring water changes. As for calcium, a reactor is all i use.

The rock formation took about 3 tries in 2 days and even then i messed with the second top level days after to get it sitting just right.

[crazy4acros]

Just in case for those who have not seen my build thread.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1288059

[jgalvin]

Amazing tank, an inspiration. Congratulations.

Three really quick questions for you?
(1) with the open top, have you lost fish due to jumping, if so, how many?
(2) i'm setting up a refugium in my tank and wondering if its worth it, i notice you don't have one, what are your thoughts on the pro/cons and why you chose to forgo it?
(3) for the bare bottom, do you have your rocks on anything, or do they rest directly on the glass?

Thank you and again amazing tank, makes me want to upgrade for xmas :-)

[AJ1080]

wow,

thats just awesome.

[crazy4acros]

Amazing tank, an inspiration. Congratulations.

Three really quick questions for you?
(1) with the open top, have you lost fish due to jumping, if so, how many?
(2) i'm setting up a refugium in my tank and wondering if its worth it, i notice you don't have one, what are your thoughts on the pro/cons and why you chose to forgo it?
(3) for the bare bottom, do you have your rocks on anything, or do they rest directly on the glass?

Thank you and again amazing tank, makes me want to upgrade for xmas :-)

Thank you!:wave:
I'd be lying if i said no fish lost with an open top, I have lost quite a few i think about 8 all together. 4 Apagon Parvulus, 2 Apogon leptacanthus due to being spooked by other fish while handing out in the open water and also a couple wrasses.

I don't have refugium nor do i care for them. I don't what any macro in or anywhere near my tank. I'm sure they have their benefits and are a great addition to a reef just not in mine.:twitch:

As for the rocks, this tank started with sand and so i hadn't thought of placing anything on the bottom, however i havent had any issues with the rocks sitting right on the glass. Eventually coralline algae covers the glass anyway.

[dc]

Your tank is absolutely stunning. Very unique.

[Paul B]

Very nice, I love it

[jgalvin]

Thanks much for the reply! Congratulations again!

[sirreal63]

One of my all time favorite tanks. Very well deserved!

[crazy4acros]

Thank you so much guys!:beer:

[Ratkiller]

By far one of the best aquascaped tanks I've ever seen. I have early pics of your tank, I collected off your build thread, on my computer for a few years now. I keep them around for inspiration incase I ever start up a new system. I've saved this video as well. I love how much those corals have added to the shelving effect of your rock work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs5Kwh7d9zk&NR=1&feature=endscreen

[crazy4acros]

By far one of the best aquascaped tanks I've ever seen. I have early pics of your tank, I collected off your build thread, on my computer for a few years now. I keep them around for inspiration incase I ever start up a new system. I've saved this video as well. I love how much those corals have added to the shelving effect of your rock work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs5Kwh7d9zk&NR=1&feature=endscreen

Hey thank you so much for posting up my video! Wow i totally forgot about it, and regretting not including that on my TOTM article :headwally: Im so glad my tank has changed the way a lot of people do aquascaping it is truly an honor!

[tqpolo]

I'm surprise a 6-bulb Tek fixture can handle the this tank's number of sps. Why didn't you go with the 8-bulb and did you notice any color loss or slow growth switching from the 400w MH?

[crazy4acros]

I'm surprise a 6-bulb Tek fixture can handle the this tank's number of sps. Why didn't you go with the 8-bulb and did you notice any color loss or slow growth switching from the 400w MH?

The 6 bulb only covers where i need it to cover, i think if i went with the 8 i'd be scrapping the front and back glass a lot more frequently. I also feel that water clarity is more important for light utilization rather than more bulbs or intensity. At first my intent was to slow down the growth by using T5's and focus on color, well to my surprise growth hasn't slowed at all however i'd say my colors has become more full as a whole rather than just intense colors at the tips of my acros which i prefer. I like the fact i can play with the bulb combo to enhance the colors of my corals especially the multi color ones, and being able to remove my energy hog chiller was an added benefit.

[seeya]

heah guys

[tqpolo]

The 6 bulb only covers where i need it to cover, i think if i went with the 8 i'd be scrapping the front and back glass a lot more frequently. I also feel that water clarity is more important for light utilization rather than more bulbs or intensity. At first my intent was to slow down the growth by using T5's and focus on color, well to my surprise growth hasn't slowed at all however i'd say my colors has become more full as a whole rather than just intense colors at the tips of my acros which i prefer. I like the fact i can play with the bulb combo to enhance the colors of my corals especially the multi color ones, and being able to remove my energy hog chiller was an added benefit.

Awesome to see you're not on the LED bandwagon. They are the future but they still have a way to go. T5 is still great for lowering heat and getting that color and growth.

[mattsilvester]

Your tank is inspirational, and its great to see its evolution over the years. I am especially impressed / inspired by the fact you are using T5 ..... I presume that is 6 x 39W? ..... low heat, low power consumption, excellent!!!

I also like your no-nonesence approach to water quality - a monthly 50 gallon change, end of story, right?

Being an engineer, I have an afitnity for "mechanical" solutions..... and I am a firm believer in the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) :) ...... your equipment pic is great..... sump+pump+skimmer+calcium...... full stop..... I am enthused and again inspired.

Couple of questions if I may:
1. How much LR do you have in the system?
2. How big is your sump?
3. You lighting, they are 39W tubes right?


Thanks for sharing - it is inspirational......

[crazy4acros]

Your tank is inspirational, and its great to see its evolution over the years. I am especially impressed / inspired by the fact you are using T5 ..... I presume that is 6 x 39W? ..... low heat, low power consumption, excellent!!!

I also like your no-nonesence approach to water quality - a monthly 50 gallon change, end of story, right?

Being an engineer, I have an afitnity for "mechanical" solutions..... and I am a firm believer in the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) :) ...... your equipment pic is great..... sump+pump+skimmer+calcium...... full stop..... I am enthused and again inspired.

Couple of questions if I may:
1. How much LR do you have in the system?
2. How big is your sump?
3. You lighting, they are 39W tubes right?


Thanks for sharing - it is inspirational......

You totally understand my logic! Probably cause you are and engineer :beer: Im sure you know all about "over engineering" and I have been a true believer of KISS especially with reefkeeping, there are a lot of unnecessary equipment in todays market. Don't get me wrong they got the cool factor but ultimately comes and go however the bare components to a successful tank pretty much stays the same and is what i focus on. To answer your questions, i don't really know how much pounds of LR are in my system but i also don't think LR to gallons ratio applies anymore, i do know there are 5 major pieces that make up my structure. My sump is capable of holding 30g and yes my bulbs are 39w x 6.

Thank you for the compliments!

[mattsilvester]

..... Im sure you know all about "over engineering" .....



Yep - sure do :)

In terms of LR - I'm guestimating you have no more than 40-50 lbs.

Never did believe in that lbs per gallon rule either.....

[Poingas]

Hi

The filter bag is a bag that filters the smallsolid thing that helps to maintain the water clean.
I usually clean it 2 times per month.
In a close future I will star to put active carbon on the sump but for the begining i thhink that skimer + filter bag is doing a great job!

The aditives that I put for now it´s only: coral vitalyser and aminoacids all from the zeovit.
In about one year meybe I will star the full program but for now let´s wait for the results of this easiest method.

[shandy_say]

Congrats thorly! Your tank truly is an inspiration!

[crazy4acros]

Congrats thorly! Your tank truly is an inspiration!

Thank you buddy!:wave:

Hi

The filter bag is a bag that filters the smallsolid thing that helps to maintain the water clean.
I usually clean it 2 times per month.
In a close future I will star to put active carbon on the sump but for the begining i thhink that skimer + filter bag is doing a great job!

The aditives that I put for now it´s only: coral vitalyser and aminoacids all from the zeovit.
In about one year meybe I will star the full program but for now let´s wait for the results of this easiest method.

Sound like you are off to a great start.

[JonF]

Great tank. Makes me want to start another reef tank. Could you describe in detail how you sued the acrilic rods, zip ties, and other to hold the rocks together? Seems you have some serious weight on some of your "bonsai branches" and wondering if you drilled the rock etc to insert the rods or what? If you have already done so in one of your other threads, please just provide a link. Great inspiration. Thanks.

[crazy4acros]

Great tank. Makes me want to start another reef tank. Could you describe in detail how you sued the acrilic rods, zip ties, and other to hold the rocks together? Seems you have some serious weight on some of your "bonsai branches" and wondering if you drilled the rock etc to insert the rods or what? If you have already done so in one of your other threads, please just provide a link. Great inspiration. Thanks.

Here is a link from my thread that better shows the Peg and Ziptie position.

Post #464

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1288059&page=19

The Red lines = Acrylic Rods and the Green lines = Zipties, keep in mind the Auquamend finished it of by filling the gaps.

[wliang]

Hi Tan:

Congratulation on December 2011 tank of the month. I was thinking of upgrading my tank and wanted to know how do you like the dimensions? If you were to change anything about the tank would you? I was thinking of get a tank with similar length and width but considering less height.

I didn't see it mentioned but what is the size of your sump?

Thanks,
Way

[wliang]

My bad. OK sump is 30 gal. Didn't read the postings.

[ReeferEric]

Great job, enjoy the fame while you can! I love the idea of K.I.S.S. and plan to stick to something like it.

[crazy4acros]

Hi Tan:

Congratulation on December 2011 tank of the month. I was thinking of upgrading my tank and wanted to know how do you like the dimensions? If you were to change anything about the tank would you? I was thinking of get a tank with similar length and width but considering less height.

I didn't see it mentioned but what is the size of your sump?

Thanks,
Way

I wanted to keep a cube look and was worried i would lose that look if i went any shorter so i only went as low as 24". I'm very pleased with my dimensions.

[csmorris32]

First of beautiful tank! I hope mine turns out half as good as yours and i'll consider myself lucky!

I was wondering if you use any sort of night/moon light during nighttime hours? Do you utilize any sort of easy on/off timers to bring the lights in and out? How long is your on period for the lights?

[crazy4acros]

First of beautiful tank! I hope mine turns out half as good as yours and i'll consider myself lucky!

I was wondering if you use any sort of night/moon light during nighttime hours? Do you utilize any sort of easy on/off timers to bring the lights in and out? How long is your on period for the lights?

Thank You!
No moon lights, and the lights are on for 7 hrs controlled by just regular timers with on/off tabs.

[IridescentLily]

Unstickying this as the Jan 2012 ToTM is up.
I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about your gorgeous tank Thorly, thank you so much :)

[crazy4acros]

Unstickying this as the Jan 2012 ToTM is up.
I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about your gorgeous tank Thorly, thank you so much :)

A big THANK YOU to you for helping me with this article! :thumbsup:

[fire_06786]

Congrats!! Beautiful tank!

[supervdl]

Congrats! Great tank!

[tmc1313]

After re-reading your thread, I realized that you don't use a kalk reactor in conjunction with your calcium reactor like alot of reefers. How do you keep from running low pH without the kalk reactor? I really want to switch to a calcium reactor from my dosing pumps now that my SPS are growing out, but I don't want to have to get a kalk reactor also.

[ashish]

This tank is my inspiration. I actually have it on my wallpaper since i am re-doing my aquascape. It rivals some of the best aquariums in the world. Thor say's he keeps it simple...many say that...But he actually does. All that runs this tank is a sock, lighting, 2 circulation pumps, skimmer, floatvalve for make-up h20, & reactor (bare essentials for a healthy sps tank). Similar to my tank minus the reactor but now I am confident I don't need a kalk reactor when I get my reactor and I can fit all the equipment in my 120gallon cabinet. I hope you don't have one (kalk reactor) hidden away somewhere. lol