Tank of the Month - August 2004

[Skipper]

This month we are featuring Archie Luz's (archie) beautiful soft coral reef:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-08/totm/images/fullSM.jpg (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-08/totm/index.htm)

More details can be found here (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-08/totm/index.htm) or by clicking on the picture above.

Congratulations, Archie!

[JumboShrimp]

ABSOLUTLY STUNNING!!!!!!!!!!! this is THE singular BEST LOOKING reef tank i have EVER seen.... well done!!! Do you have a photo of your Xenia? is it in the mag? I think the electric pink ricordea is the nicest one of its type ive ever seen!!!!

[Mrbeachbum2]

I was wondering what type of sand bed that is how deep?, also what type of skimmer and filteration he is using. I have a 55 im going to start up.

[niko5]

I agree with JumboShrimp that really is the best tank I have ever seen your Ric and Zoas are just amazing... I hope one day to have my tank look like that

[jedininja]

FINALLY!!! I've been waiting for a ROTM without SPS. That is one awesome looking tank. I like that multicolored yuma.

[bonerfortuna]

Outstanding work !

[Mrbeachbum2]

THERE IS a MAG??? I have to subscribe!

[Skipper]

Originally posted by Mrbeachbum2
THERE IS a MAG??? I have to subscribe! Heyas! We now have a subscription service wherein you can be notified via email when the new issue of Reefkeeping Magazine is online. Simply send a email to: reefkeeping-list-subscribe@reefcentral.com and you will be notified. :)

[boogs]

Amazing tank Archie! One of the most colourful reef tanks i've seen!

Scott

[frankberr]

I want to weep! I have been at this hobby for almost 10 yrs and have spend more money then i thought possible. My tank looks like crap and I still struggle to keep anything alive! THAT IS A TOTALLY UNBELIEVABLE TANK. Unfortunately it makes me want to totally give up. Is there someone I can pay to come to my house and make my tank look that way???? At this point I would pay whatever it takes to have results half that good.

[DEEC77]

ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!! Great job Archie!

Dee

[thedogofwar]

Beautiful, and also glad to see a non SPS dominated TOTM

[ruuskystar]

great looking tank, definitely up there with Mucho's tank back a few years ago.

incredible colours, an inspiration that shows you can have a great, colourful tank without going sps.

congrats

[Cearbhaill]

That is really beautiful and everything just looks so happy!

I'll echo some of the others and say how nice it is to see a TOTM that is actually affordably set up with lighting that folks can realistically afford to run without cranking up the A/C.

I believe your attention to good food has made all of the difference- just look at those ricordia and zo's!! They are screaming with joy!

I am impressed and so very happy that your tank was chosen.

[MUCHO REEF]

I only wish I could have been the first one to reply. Archie that is a stunning reef you have there. You have done an outstanding job, keep up the good work my friend. August must be the official month for softies. Again, 2 thumbs up.

Mucho Reef

[kmc]

This is without a doubt one of the most beautiful tanks I've ever seen. You said in the article that you used to keep sps corals but decided to keep zoo's and ricordea because you essentially wanted a tank that was lower maintenance or would require less of your time (my words, not yours). Could you comment on your maintenance routine with this tank and how it's less time consuming than your sps tank was? Thanks.

[Racenrich]

Nice tank Archie.!!!
Can i get some zoo and ricordia frags? :)
Keep up the great work!

RJK

[David Groos]

That tank is incredible. The corals don't seem to mind the heavy fish load!

[Jaffa]

Amazing!!

[drseuss620]

As a n00b all I can say is I aspire to have a tank that looks like that one day! Beautiful Job!

[Labrynth]

Absolutely beautiful. Was wondering if your Emerald crabs have ever gone on a hunting/mowing spree?

I've recently added a yellow polyp to my tank which already contained an Emerald crab. Shortly afterwards I caught him taking a taste of it... how do you handle his feeding so that they don't take an interest in other items in your tank?

thanks

[Toledofishguy]

AWESOME tank... again have to give a nod to the all softie tank (we get no credit sometimes).

Archie. I see your pH is 8.0. Have you had problems with this? It doesnt seem like your corals mind it. Nice growth. I have similar lighting on my 75 and have not exerpience anything close to the growth you have. Keep up the good work.

[Dag]

Stunning.

Can you tell me where I can different varieties of the clove polyps?

[reeftechie]

I didn't think it was possible for me to love a soft coral reef tank.... Until now that is.. Great looking tank bro, very nice work, the aquascaping is outstanding.. A very well deserved TOTM, keep up the great work.


RT


PS

DRSEUSS620 WELCOME TO REEFCENTRAL BRO.

[Doubledown]

This is fantastic - beautiful is the only description I can come up with.

I have always been a huge fan of thr Ric's and Zoo's and find great inspiration to do my own reef this way from yours. How do you think this would look as a 180 gallon?

I particularly like the fact that you have made the hobby seem more accesible. I mean that as a newbie, I am often overwhelmed by all the technical/chemical education that is piped at you relentlessly - seeing how gorgeous a reef can look with some of the more forgiving animals gives me hope for success.

I will be using your specs as a model for my own and will be overjoyed to have even half the success you seem to be enjoying.

Thanks for sharing.
Chris

[rjwilson37]

Your tank is awsome!

I love the zoanthid's and ricordea's and have that going on the right side of my tank as well as some mushrooms. I have a few LPS down in the sand and am still pondering how to complete the left side of my tank.

Does anyone give you any slack about the amount of fish you have in a 65g tank? I love alot of fish and think it really adds more life and color to a reef tank, but I do get alot of slack from time to time.

[Boomerblaster8]

breathtaking....

Where in the world to you purchase all of your corals? Do you make a lot of on line orders? That tank is gorgeous. By far the BEST TOTM on RC to date. You should be proud of your work, and your eye for the hobby. Congrats!

[Sumo2]

Archie Luz

I've been studying every single tank of the month issue on Reef Central and they always seem to get better and better. But, when I saw yours, no stony coral reef tank can hold a light to this beautiful arrangement of zoanthids and ricordia. My congratulations. It is perfect!!!!!!!!! The beauty you have attained is undescribeable (spelling?) You have to see to believe and I believe. I'm so jealous. I have always been partial to zoanthids and ricordia but always seem to get stuck with green or brown. Great photos - you seem to have perfected both.

Best regards,

[doRee]

OMG!!!! :bigeyes: That is absolutely the most beautiful tank that I have ever seen! I too would like to know where you get your corals? I love the ricordeas, STUNNING!! I spent a few minutes just staring in AWWW. Great work on the tank. :thumbsup:

[archie]

Wow. Thanks to everyone for your wonderful comments. Please bear with me as I try to address any questions you have regarding my reef tank. You've all had a part in the creation of this reef tank in one way or another. Definitely the reason that Reef Central is such a great forum.

JumboShrimp: I'll try to post more xenia pics. You can see the Fiji Pom Pom in the left section image.

Mrbeachbum2: The sandbed specifics are listed under the Filtration section of the article. I have been successfuly using DSBs in different tanks. I follow the work of Dr. Ron Shimek, and believe that his studies have led the hobby in the right direction. The skimmer is a Euroreef ES5-2. Although I find that softies generally don't require as pristine water qualities as SPS, my heavy bio-load dictated the inclusion of a skimmer.

frankberr: Please keep at it. This hobby is very rewarding, as long as you can find enjoyment in the challenges of providing the best possible home for reef creatures. I'll be glad to help you out in any way I can. Perhaps a trip to Garden City may be in order.

MUCHO REEF: Your tank was the inspiration to start up this one. I'm forever grateful of your magnificent article last August. Your posts have always been informative. I can only hope to be as helpfull to others as you have been to me.

kmc: When rics or zoos come into contact with one another, it is seldom fatal, unlike SPS. I found myself constantly worried about acros growing or falling on top one another. I'm sure many here have found themselves, flashlight in hand, inspecting their SPS tanks in the middle of the night.
Also the calcium/alkalinity uptake of softies is much lower than stonies. Therefore, less monitoring of those two components. I now find that I spend most of my time feeding the tank and sitting back, marvelling in it's vibrancy.

Labrynth: I've never had any problems with my emeralds. I do feed the fish heavily and really on the scavengers to take care of the excess. Then again this could also be the reason for the extra valonia gowth. :D

Toledofishguy: No problems with ph, although it sometimes jumps up to 8.2 every now and then. I think that live phytoplankton and rotifer feeding has made the biggest difference in my tank.

Dag/Boomerblaster8/doRee
: Most of the clove polyps I have are from the Indo Pacific. They are seldomly available in bright green, but I have an unfair advantage of being one of the largest importers of marine livestock in Canada.

rjwilson37: The fishload is basically the reason that I have to employ the use of a protein skimmer. Altough, I believe that the DSB has been instrumental in keeping the excess nutrients in check.

[page]

vary nice ,archie how much iodine would you put in a 90 gallon with sps and softes. thanks for any help

[hopkinkm]

wow, that is awesome,

your tank is exactly what I am looking to do

softies in a medium sized (55gal) with moderate lighting. (2VHO's now, will later add some PC's)

I will have to bookmark this one.

Kory

[MKz reef]

great looking tank wish mine looked that good!

[Drifters Reef]

Wow, What a great looking tank. Great job..

Do you culture your own phyto and rotifers?

--Drifters reef

[bheron]

Archie - I can only echo the sentiments of everyone so far. And its so nice to see a different tank (softie) featured as ToTM. They all started looking the same. Your tank is what I will plan for some day.

2 questions:

- did I count 17 fish in there? that sounds like alot for a 65g. I'm just starting to stock my 75g.

- on my 75g which is FOWLR and some inverts, I figured I didnt have enough light to get nice color from zoos and keep zenia. I have 2 30W NO and 2 55W PC. Not far from what you have?

Great work. Congrats.

[Steven Pro]

An absolutely beautiful tank and a perfect TOTM complement to showcase much of what Anthony Calfo talked about in his article this month in ReefKeeping titled, "Thoughts on Reef Aquarium Lighting… Keep Your Eye on the Prize!" You don't need MH's to have a stunning 'reef' display.

[CrystalAZ]

WOW! That is one incredible tank!

You have really outdone yourself there. The colors are unbelievable!

Definitely proof that you don't HAVE to have MH to have an amazing tank.

Crystal

[lebowski]

Not bad! I like your collection, I couldn't live without something branching though..:D

Keep up the good work.

[BUBBA9459]

Now thats a screen saver, If I ever saw one

Beautiful tank !!!

Great pics

[onefin]

WoW what a great tank, the colors are wonderful great job.

[Deuce67]

Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! I use to have 1 favorite TOTM. First was Aug 2003 Mucho Reef, and now i have 2! Yours! Great job!

[superswimmer]

I think your tank is beautiful!! I love softies. I think its amazing and it shows you can have easy corals and still have a beautiful reef. :D

[alcmaeon]

Wow, the tank is great and the photography is stunning! Archie, what equipment did you use to shoot your tank? It looks like pro work!

[John Brancheau]

Archie,


Fantastic arrangement of those softies, I really like the flow, and I am sure Mooch is glad to hear he was a part of the process........

John

[Ronald]

Amazing color in your tank! How did you get so many beautifully colored zoos? Did you mail order, from where? I am definately leaning toward adding more zoos to my tank. currenty I am heavy on the large polyp stony corals but have a nice xenia colony and some zoos as well as flourishing choralimorpharians (blue orange and green, a few blues have purple stripes). Congrats on your tank! I enjoyed the pictures.

:D

[camarojweed]

Super Awesome tank! Great job, and very deserving of TOTM!!!

If I might ask, what kind of camera was used to photograph the tank, there are some amazing close up shots!

Jason

[minfinger]

Very nice tank and congradulations.

You got me thinking about something. With so many people out there that have these tanks setup with all these color morphs of Zoos and Color morphs of that, has any one ever had a color morph created within there tank?

Now I'm not talking about when you buy a Zoo at the LFS and take it home and now it's a different color. Duh that's do to the lights. I'm also not talking about the same color getting bright or dark over a period of time. I'm talking about an actualy "new" zoo head with different colors that you didn't put in, buy or ever know about before.

[Chondro]

WOW, I love your tank !!!
The mag 700 is the only water movement you have?

[kwl1763]

This has to be one of my favorites. I have a 20L dedicated to zoos and rics and have to say I like it as much as my 135G SPS tank!

Is there any way I can get a hi res copy of that full tank pic. It is stunning and I want to look at it blown up!

[archie]

Thanks again everyone for your kind words.

page: I would suggest that you use a good iodine/iodide test kit to see where your tank is at and dose accordingly. I really like Seachem's Reef Iodide as a supplement and their test kit is also pretty reliable.

Drifters Reef: I use Reef Crew's (http://www.reefcrew.com/) phyto and rotifers. They are Canadian based, but ship all over North America. Check out their website, as it is very informative. I had thought of culturing my own, but that would go against my lazy "low maintenance" attitude. :p

bheron: Yes, the bio-load is a bit high, but the majority of the fish are quite small. The largest (Powder Blue Tang) will be moved to a 220 very soon and replaced with a smaller herbivore. I find that the collection cup of my skimmer needs to be emptied at least once a week.
I think that I can get by with relatively low lighting because the tank is rather shallow (18"). A 24" tank may require stronger lighting.

alcmaeon/camarojweed: I used a Nikon Coolpix 4500. Not the latest and greatest, but definitely idiot proof enough for me. It was suggested to me as a good mid-range camera (at the time) capable of good macro photography. Believe me, I'm no professional, hence the lack of fish shots. I'm still working on shooting moving objects.

John Brancheau: Flow is exactly what I was looking for in aquascaping the rock and arranging the coral. I also try to envision what the tank will look like when it has grown in.
I've always been a big fan of Takashi Amano's plant tanks and love the overall look of his designs. There is a zen garden-like serenity to his work. IMO, Mucho Reef is right up there too.

minfinger: Very interesting question you've brought up. I've never seen it happen though. At least not in my tank.

Chondro: The mag 700 is my return pump and is also the only source for water movement. A SCWD switches the flow from one side of the tank to the other. I've placed most of the zoos, cloves, and xenia closer to the areas of higher water flow, while the ricordea, are gathered toward the centre where the flow diminishes.

kwl1763: I'll try to post a hi-res image for you soon. I've very recently upgraded to a new computer and I'm currently trying to recover data from my previous one.

[toscano]

The tank looks fantastic. The one thing I don't understand about these great looking reef tanks is..I don't see coraline growing all over the glass and other components. Are these guys scraping it all off before it accumulates?

[dc]

Beautiful!

[AnemicOak]

Wonderful tank! I'm only in the planning stages right now, but softies are the direction I've been leaning. I'll be following the info in this thread closely as my planning goes along.

[Im Lon 2]

Sweet setup. The colors are Awesome. I'm thinking this should be Tank of Year!!

[Reefdrumz]

Wow.. I Guess I cant say anything you havent heard yet.
Beautiful Colors!

[krootk22]

Beautiful aquarium, so many colors, WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;)

[romunov]

How long have you had them conches? Do you know the exact species?

[Beholder]

Hi,

I'm so excited!!! I've been slowly getting my act together to upgrade my existing 24gallon to a 1.2M (4ft). AND going to be doing Softies. AND going to have PC lights (initally - T5's will take another 2 months to get here). People in the office thought I was nuts when I yelled in excitement. This is EXACTLY the type of tank I want. Absolutely awesome. Can't wait to show my wife this.

Question though, can you describe your sump setup, please?

Thanks

[szesteve]

Archie, great setup!!!

I love all your multi colored zoos and am very surprised u can get them here. I've been having trouble getting really colorful ones!

[Flatlander]

Hi Archie,
Congrats on the selection of TOTM. Well deserved. Thats an absolutely beautiful reef aquarium. Like others have said, its nice to see the variety that can be done in reef keeping.

Just as a side note, for others that dont know Archie, he also had an sps tank that was just as stunning and worthy of TOTM.

Again, congrats Archie.

:thumbsup:

[mhurley]

Beautiful tank Archie. Congrats! Some of those color morphs are just stunning..

[mia1974]

Archie I love all the tanks you set-up! Again, everything looks amazing!! Those rics and zoos look so very healthy and vibrant.
J

[majesticangelfish]

:eek2: :eek2: :eek2: Simply AMAZING! That's a beautiful reef you have there!
CONGRATS Archie!!
<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/23/23_28_116.gif' alt='' border=0></a>

<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_17_11.gif' alt='Bow Down Wave' border=0></a>
JOSH

[spamin76]

It just goes to show - people can have fabulous tanks without SPS - that and it is mostly PC lighting too!!

[kev apsley]

WOW! Beautiful display! my buddy has a zoo and ricordea tank and after I saw it in person I became a true beliver in that kind of set-up...I see a trend toward this kind of display evolving...keep it up!

[kev apsley]

Originally posted by kev apsley
WOW! Beautiful display! my buddy has a zoo and ricordea tank and after I saw it in person I became a true beliver in that kind of set-up...I see a trend toward this kind of display erupting...keep it up!

[seahorsie]

Awesome Tank
I have some questions:
How long has your tank been running.
When you talked about your lighting - I counted 11 blubs - is that 4 fixtures?
Where do you purchase your phyto / rotifers?
Thanks

[seahorsie]

Sorry one more questions

Your 1 Mag-Drive 700 connected to a SCWD - where is it in the tank?

[archie]

toscano: I suspect that most of us are scraping it off for the photographs. Although, I've never really had much of a coralline buildup on the glass or anywhere else but live rock. Even in my SPS tank that had both a calcium reactor and a kalwasser reactor. My assumption in my case is that my livestock was consuming the calcium as fast as I was adding it.

romunov: The conchs are Strombus gibberulus (a.k.a. Tongan Fighting Conch) according to my supplier. I've had them for over 6 months. They are doing a great job of keeping the sandbed clean and will climb on the glass and rockwork ocassionally, something I've never witnessed their Atlantic cousins do.

Beholder: Great to hear of your planned upgrade. I did loan a 4 lamp T5 fixture for a while and I was very impressed. The one thing that 10k PC bulbs do is wash out visually perceived colors. That's why I have to heavily supplement with actinics.
My sump is very simply set up. Nothing more than a standard 30 gallon tank. It has a baffle on one end to reduce bubbles from the dropping water with the skimmer in the middle and the return pump at the end. No rocket science, just a box of water. I'll have to post pics of it soon since some others had also inquired. I just hate having to show all of the mess under the tank. I'm the type of person that spends much more time looking in the tank than below. ;)

seahorsie: This tank in particular has been running for about 10 months now. I had the rock, some of the sand and livestock for almost 4 years. They came from my other tanks and were in holding vessels during my brief but enjoyable nano experience.
I actually only have 6 bulbs over the tank. Four 65watt pc in one fixture and two 40 watt normal output flourescents in another. Not very attractive looking above and below the tank, so I've tried very hard to draw attention to the contents of the tank. :D
All of my Rotifers and Phyto are purchased from Reef Crew (http://www.reefcrew.com). They also sell live Copepods, and all the necessities for culturing your own live food.
The Mag 7 is in the sump. The back of the tank is flush up to the wall and my SCWD is below the tank. It is connected to the return lines that are plumbed to holes drilled under the tank with the pipes that are situated inside the overflow boxes. I'll post some pics soon.

[bob124578]

WOW - this is the most beautiful coral set-up I've ever seen. Thanks for sharing!

[piercho]

Congratulations to you and what has become the superb selection commitee at RC. Glad to see tanks chosen regularly that are something else besides mega-acro tanks, which keeps the TOTM interesting for a wider audience.

One small nit, it's Pomacentrus auriventris (http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?ID=12483&genusname=Pomacentrus&speciesname=auriventris) , not Pomacentris auriventris. Those are some real beauties, if yours are like those pictured on Fishbase.

[archie]

My bad, Pomacentrus it is. Thanks for the clarification.
Yes, they are the same damsels as in the fishbase photos. Not nearly as fiesty as Blue Devils, but once they pair up will become quite territorial against conspecifics, will dig up some substrate and move small rocks to clear their living space (including prized zoo frags :eek1: ). They've never bothered other small fish species. They add a lot of color and character for such relatively inexpensive fish.

[kirstenk]

Fabulous tank!!! And I agree, you have a huge advantage being a major importer of coral. Congrats on TOTM.

[carisid]

Wow! Absolutely amazing!

[halibutk]

ABSOLUTLEY INCREDIBLE

My dream tank. I only dream that one day I will achieve the perfection of that tank in my home. By far the best tank I have ever seen. Saw it several months ago and I havent stopped drooling, now my drooling has increased seeing it as the tank of the month.

Once again Great tank

[shilo_1]

Phenomenal Tank !!! I honestly think it deserves TOTM two months in a row ! lol

Awesome job Archie !

[Happy to see me]

Holy cow

[Azonic]

Archie: Great to see the pink yuma is still looking as good as it did a few months ago!

[rgentry]

Archie, Your my new hero. Great tank.....beautiful colors and variety. I hope my tanks gets as healthy and full as yours. I'm half way there, but the 2nd half seems harder to achieve. Seeing yours is definitely an inspiration. Congrats.....and keep up the great work. Give us a new pic every month or so to keep us inspired.

[skearse]

As others have said, this is a beautiful tank. This is what I envisioned when I started my tank up, and now know that it's possible. Love the look, without the colored sticks, and again, congratulations!

[jslomo420]

Great tank!! You give hope to PC users everywhere.

[my2girls]

Truely Awesome!! I might switch my SPS tank to Zoos and Rics.

[MUCHO REEF]

To Frankberr,

I was going to send you a PM with a response to this,


"I want to weep! I have been at this hobby for almost 10 yrs and have spend more money then i thought possible. My tank looks like crap and I still struggle to keep anything alive! THAT IS A TOTALLY UNBELIEVABLE TANK. Unfortunately it makes me want to totally give up. Is there someone I can pay to come to my house and make my tank look that way???? At this point I would pay whatever it takes to have results half that good"

.......but I wanted to go ahead and post it in this thread for others who might feel as you do. My friend, this is not a hobby of perfection, and I'm sure your tank looks good as well. I want to encourage you and others who feel as you do, not to give up. This is a very rewarding hobby in the short and long term. Just take a step backwards and spend a little time reading and researching. Ask us as many questions as you would like. Post some pics and find a reef mentor so to speak, maybe someone at your LFS or someone close by from RC who will take a little time to lend a hand, but please don't throw in the towel. I just left Borders Book store a few minutes ago and there were tons of books on this hobby. Tullock's books are great. There were also a lot of books in the Animal/fish sections with a lot of color illustrations of reef slopes, walls, caves etc., which might serve as a reference when you do your aquascaping. If I were close to you, I would stop by myself to help in anyway I can.

I hope I didn't come off too personal in such a public forum. Just trying to keep you aboard is all. So hang in there my friend and post some pics of that tank of yours when you're ready.

Mucho

[EdKruzel]

BeeeeeeeeeeeUtiful

I would love to see how this tank's livestock sways in the current; one of the best TOTM's I've ever seen!

Congratulations,
Ed

:eek2: :eek1: :eek2: :eek1: :eek2: :eek1: :eek2: :eek1: :D

[woogie]

I'm happy to see that you can have such great corals w/ that kind of lighting.

How often do you change the bulbs? and does the flame angel ever nip at the corals?

[Emo]

Wow!

I am now seriously reconsidering my plans for the 65g reef I am building.
Great tank, congrats!

[alien9168]

What is the cost of a system such as the one that you have displayed...

[Dz99ls]

very awsome its about time we get have a softie tank chosen for tank of the month!!! good work!

[piercho]

My friend, this is not a hobby of perfection, and I'm sure your tank looks good as well. I want to encourage you and others who feel as you do, not to give up. This is a very rewarding hobby in the short and long term. Just take a step backwards and spend a little time reading and researching.
IMO, this is a well-spoken piece of advice. Fore-reef and reef-flat tanks featuring large dimensions, lots of expensive equipment, Acropora and near-pelagic fish have become the blonde-big-breasted-centerfolds of the marine hobby. The industry that supplies the reef hobby goes out of its way to reinforce this large-tank, equipment-heavy view because it's profitable for them. YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO DOWN THIS PATH TO HAVE A TANK THAT IS GRATIFYING FOR YOU! MUCHO REEF's and archie's tanks are two great examples of this and I'm happy RC decided to make them both tank of the month. My opinion is that people become happy in this hobby when they take satisfaction in setting and reaching their own goals - and don't accept the goals of the hobby at large.

[Julio]

Beautiful tank!!!

[gearhead]

simply amazing!!! ok, incredible & awesome. particular like the xenia & ricordea. how hard were those to find? i've never seen any xenia like those bi-color before.

[order_of_the_spam]

cool

[dknape]

<B>Outstanding Tank!</B>

I am thinking that I will have to have my next tank a softy tank and try to make half as nice as yours.

Again, great work!

[MmmmBeer!]

Where on earth did you accuire such beautiful specimins? Who is your supplier???? Absolutely amazing...never in my life have i seen such beauty...looks like somthing off of the movie THE DARK CRYSTAL! BRAVO! ...do you sell some of your specimins ever?

[shred5]

wow is all I have to say.. totally different...

Dave

[law086]

Archie - great tank. One question - how often do you have to re-order your live food? How much (say monthly) would you say it costs you (just for the food, if you don't mind me asking)?

Ron

[bvdelsen]

Hi there!

Very nice tank indeed... Since I'm building two tanks for the moment (approx. 260 & 130 gal. -I think so... here in Europe we're metric, remember... :rolleyes: ) I have a question on your lighting system: You say you use 5 LEDs as moonlight replacant, how does it work? Did you construct it yourself or you just bought some prefabricated system? What brand and/or can I have the plans? What are the characteristics? (meaning: is it burning every night at the same strength or do you vary that to mimic the natural cycle?)

Thanks a lot,
Bart

[fuzed]

wow!!!!!

[MmmmBeer!]

Yes, you sure do use ALOT of food, I too am curiouse of the cost for all of this live pytoplancton you feed... you probably breed your own, I guesss its pretty east to do.

[nvert]

amazing!! any frags for sale????? :)

[Andy]

Congrats Archie on a great setup. Love to see it in person some time. Looking forward to your next project.

Cheers,

Andy

[archie]

MUCHO & piercho: It's because of people like you, that make Reef Central a such a valuable resource to the Reef Aquarist community. Thanks for all of your helpful words of encouragement. Who knows how my tank would have fared, if it weren't for folks like the two of you.

woogie: The pc's are changed out every 6 months.
Although I have heard of many horor stories regarding pygmy angels, my Flame Angel has been a model citizen, leaving all coral alone. The fish aregenerally well fed. On average, I feed 1 cube of Formula One twice a day.

alien9168: I estimate that I've spent between $1,500 - $1,800 on the hardware alone. Most of the live rock and some livestock were from older tanks. Buying frags definitely helped keep the cost down in stocking the tank.

I'll get some hardware photos up here soon.

gearhead: My source for Indo Pacific coral is excellent. They have been able to provide me with some highly unusual pieces quite often. I've had as many as 6 pink Ricordea Yumas in a single shipment.
Here are some more images that I didn't get to submit in time for the article:

http://members.rogers.com/left-hook/reeftank/pink_yuma.jpg

http://members.rogers.com/left-hook/reeftank/bali_xenia.jpg

http://members.rogers.com/left-hook/reeftank/pink_zoos.jpg

http://members.rogers.com/left-hook/reeftank/asst_rics_zoos.jpg

law086/MmmmBeer!: I order my live food bi-weekly. I normally spend roughly between $40 - $60 a month. It would definitely be lower than that if I got off my lazy butt and grew most of it myself. It's really not difficult to do. Have a look at the Reef Crew website (http://www.reefcrew.com) for some information of phyto and rotifer cultivation.

bvdelsen: I'm currently using Miraclebeam Hi Lites (http://www.miraclebeam.com/aquarium_hilite.html) that are really designed for underwater use. I'm not much of a DIYer, so I opted to go this route since these lights come with suction cup attachments which occasionally come loose and fall into the water. The fact that they are waterproof was my reason for buying it. I'm sure that there are many other suitable products out there, but I chose this one due to space and technical (namely mine) limitations. I would suggest building your own system from one of the many DIY instructions within this forum. I don't currently have it set up with a moon cycle simulation, which can be easily done through a device such as an Aquacontroller. I'm quite sure that would enhance my tank's coral growth.

Andy: Glad to hear from a fellow Canadian TOTM'er. Would love for you to come by. Let me know when you plan your next trip to Toronto.

Thanks again to everyone for all of your compliments thus far. I'm quite overwhelmed by the nice stuff that all of you have had to say.

[robvia]

I love the tube worms and feather dusters, especially the purple one. Gotta find one of those.

[MUCHO REEF]

My friend, forget about us, you're the one in the spotlight. Stand up and take another bow.

Mooch

[bristopher]

archie, did you happen to get the pm i sent you?

[archie]

Yes, I've just answered it. Sorry for the delay. As you might imagine, there are a quite few more I still have to address.

[bristopher]

thanks i got response sent ya another. No problem I see you busy.

[Masoch]

Hi Archie,

I'm also in Toronto.

If you ever decide to frag those purple zoanthids (third from the top on this page), I will gladly take one. Not sure if I'd have much that'd interest you in trade, but I could defray some of the cost of the live food ;)

[billrollo]

great tank. where do you buy the live food?

[shred5]

Originally posted by billrollo
great tank. where do you buy the live food?

Its says in the article and a few posts above.. reefcrew.com

Dave

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

Congrats to u that is some awesome tank There !

[bugsy714]

I love this tank....I am so tired of seeing sps tanks. This one is so impressive. Great job!

[recampbel]

Archie,

Wow, I don't know what is left to say! Amazing tank. I just really want you to confirm your circulation. All you have is a Mag 7 with a SCWD?? I really want to do this with my 50gal ( Mag 9.5 w SCWD) but everyone is telling me that won't be enough!

Could you give a recommendation?!

Awesome tank! congrats on TOTM,

Russell

[archie]

recampbel,
Yes the MAg 7 is all I use. Although, you may wish to consider going with a stronger pump if you plan on keeping some high-flow-requiring coral such as SPS. Zoos in general will require stronger current than mushrooms. I have placed the majority of my zoanthids in areas of good flow such as towards the tank's far left and right. Most of my rics are located in the center area where the flow is diminished. I still find plenty of ricordea jumping to seek out more desireable locations when they seem to be getting too much water movement.

[recampbel]

Thanks Archie. Sorry if that just rehashed information. I only wanted to make sure I understood your ciculation okay.

Thanks again,

Russell

[archie]

No problem, Russell. I'm glad that I can help in any way. We reefers can sure get very specific when planning out a system. Something I find quite typical among those who care for their livestock, as much as we do.

[legnaordep@yahoo.com]

VERY GOOD JOB ARCHIE...
YOUR TANK IS GRATE...

CAN WE HAVE SOME MORE INFO ON YOUR CALCIUM REACTOR?? DOES HAVE A CO2 MEDIA INCLUDED?? LET US KNOW SO WE CAN LEARN. SPECIALY MY A NEW ONE ON THE HOBBIE.

THANKS
LEGNAORDEP

[Bitingthesun]

Hey Archie

There's not much left to say. I'm glad to hear that someone else is preaching the works of Takashi Amano in relation to tank composition. There is very little that can't be applied to reef aquascaping from his freshwater work.

Great Job!!

kevin

[joeychitwood]

Fantastic tank. I can't imagine how much skimmate you must generate from all of those "snot factories."

[downset]

nice tank
i gotta start feeding more live food

[raskal311]

wow.. you got my vote for tank of the month... very nice

[OceanproAquatics]

Archie Luz's (archie) Reef Aquarium

Can you say "Amazing"?

I'd like to visit this guy in person because you could definitly learn from him a thing or two. That photo looks like a 300 Gallon for one and not a 65 Gallon and it looks like he painted those corals in there it's so perfect! A life time of experience, 24 years career as a reef builder, and an ichthyology and marine biology background - I bow down to Archie!

If you live in or near California Archie, I would love to meet you and see your aquarium in person. Great job! Thanks for posting info on your system here so we can all learn from what you have obviously mastered.

Thanks,

[OceanproAquatics]

You mentioned using Reef Crew's live foods. I looked for them on google but had no luck. Can you pass on or PM me the link or website address please.

[archie]

Thanks for your very flattering comments. Reef Crew has a website at http://www.reefcrew.com.

[reefkeeper02]

Archie,

Really like the tank. I have a question about your powder blue tang. Does it do well in your size tank and seem healthy and everything. Also, I have been considering setting up a tank similar to yours with ricordea and zoos and such. Any suggestions about that?

[rjwilson37]

archie: I have some Ricordea's that are starting to get sort of large. How do you trim down or control the growth of your ricordea's since you have so many as one starts to get to big in an area.

[Diego]

Sweet!. My goals are in sight!
We've got a similar setup already (minus the corals).

Thanks,
Diego
FOWLR

[golf nut]

Archie

You have outdone yourself again, incredible looking tank, simply outstanding, Congratulations!

Paul

[T55]

Archie - I had the opportunity to see your old sps tank which I thought was incredible, but you really outdid yourself with this one. OUTSTANDING......GREAT LOOKING TANK.....

[alien9168]

how long does it take you to clean and keep this tank looking as good as it does... Was it expensive to start?

[page]

Good job archie, awsome tank.:bounce3:

[donmadison]

Absolutely stunning! The photography is fantastic! Everything is so sharp. I just set up a new 50 gal and was trying to decide where to take it. Your tank really inspires me. Great job.

[rbeleno]

This is my first post on Reef Central and I am more than happy to comment that I have been probably one of the few lucky ones to meet Archie in this hobby and see his tank LIVE!!! Being only 6 months in this hobby, he was the third or fourth reefer that I met - what are the chances to hook up with someone of his knowledge and calibre who lives about 5 minutes away from me and has already taught me a great deal in this hobby. Congrats again Archie from a local Canadian!!!

BTW, Jawfish is doing great and entertaining me constantly. Also, always keep me in mind for any colourful Ricordia that you get or frag - I'm inspired!

Ron from Scarborough

[rjwilson37]

rbeleno

http://neocool37.tripod.com/rc/welcome.gif

To Reef Central

I think we all want some colorful zoanthid and ricordea frags from archie.

[rfb3]

archie,
Kudos on TOTM!
How do you attach a frag to a rock that you cannot get a rubber band around? (Anyone else may answer as well).

Thanks,
Freddie

[35gallonhex]

what type of lights are those??? if they arent metal halides and you can still have such beautiful specimen... $$$ is a big concern. really all i need as far as hardware are the lights and a few powerheads. God your tank is beautiful.

[Dudester]

Archie, congratulations and ditto the comments above ... beautiful tank. Do you have any images you can post that include the stand? I know it's what's inside the glass that matters, but as a newbie I always find it helpful to see the variety of options available for stands. Afterall, they should enhance, not hinder the overall appearance of the tank, agreed?

[Melody]

Stunning tank! Wonderful photo's! :)

[Ronald]

Reef Crew can't ship to the US at this time due to FDA regulations! I am very disappointed. We should contact our congressmen to try to resolve this problem. In the mean time, does anybody know an alternative source of live zooplankton and phytoplankton for reef animals?

Ron

[LCGoldman]

Archie,

You're now my inspiration to go full out to get as many different color morphs of zoo's... I think they're fabulous, and your tank is gorgeous... truly inspirational.

[AnemicOak]

Originally posted by Ronald
In the mean time, does anybody know an alternative source of live zooplankton and phytoplankton for reef animals?

What about this stuff?
http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_additives_DTs_phytoplankton.asp?ast=&key=


~Brian

[mudder]

First time posting, hope I'm doing this right. Beautiful system!!! Can anyone tell me what the green "ball" shaped "things" are in the picture, it's the picture just above and to the left of the list of fish. Thank You

[Skipper]

Originally posted by mudder
Can anyone tell me what the green "ball" shaped "things" are in the picture, it's the picture just above and to the left of the list of fish. Thank You It looks to be Caulerpa, a macroalgae.

[The Claw]

Amazing, Incredible, Stimulating, Mesmerizing...Have all of those words been used yet. How about S W E E T!

[steshell]

your reef tank is stunning, back home in england i'am trying an all soft coral reef, hope it could look like yours. (stunning)

steve

[Dz99ls]

steshell & The Claw
http://neocool37.tripod.com/rc/welcome.gif

To Reef Central

you find loads of great info here!

[chorn74]

Archie,

That is the most AWESOME tank I have ever seen!
Could you take a picture of your lighting setup and post it?
I am working on a lighting setup for my 58 Gal.

I am freaking out on your pics!
SUPER,SUPER,SUPER Tank !!!!!!!!!

[kat_reefer]

As a newbie, I have been searching everywhere for info to determine the lighting requirements for my 75g. I am so impressed with your tank. It's just awesome.

You inspire me. That's what I want. Have any extra frags?

I visited the Tank of the Month site and printed out your requirements. I will follow them as a guide.

I am two months into this hobby. I had a FO tank for over five years.

Just at a loss for words to describe your tank. Keep inspiring the rest of the newbies.

[chucklez]

Ill repeat what everyone else here has said. ABSO-FREAGIN-LUTELY STUNNING!!!

Someday I'll have a tank like that, someday....

[Fernando Chang]

Archie, my name is Fernando Chang and I live in Panama (Republic of Panama). Your aquarium is absolutely beautiful !!!
I need yr help how to feed the soft corals such as the Colt, Kenya tree, mushrooms, etc.. There is a lack of product in Panama. I only can obtain some Kent products in town such as the phytoplankton liquid and Chromoplex liquid. and I wonder if these products are okay to feed the soft corals.
I thank you in advance yr attention and prompt reply.

Regards
Fernando Chang
Panama

[Allyson N.]

Absolutely beautiful! I am a softie fan myself! Are you going to share your source for such beautiful ricordias? Understand if it's a secret. You can PM me if it would help ;)

[toadjoe]

Archie's picture of his blenny seems to show something in the blennie's mouth. It lacks pigmentation and could possibly be a parasite.

[Skipper]

Originally posted by toadjoe
Archie's picture of his blenny seems to show something in the blennie's mouth. It lacks pigmentation and could possibly be a parasite. ... or some food!!! :)

[sohal tang 1]

Archie.....like all the rest I am totally amazed!
The colour...the quality of the corals...the colour
the whole set up is totally breathtaking!
Hats completely off....you are a pro!

Tim

:eek1:

[carcynogen]

oh my gosh..my eyes...my eyes.....
now i can't look at my own tank

how did you get such vivid colors with pc lights? i try to take them in my tank and the pics always come out sort of 'blah' and i've been wondering if i should get mh lights for this reason but your tank is telling me something else!!

[steve.bridges]

wow!!!!

[carloa]

Hi Archie,

I'm from the Toronto area as well. I would love to make some arrangements to come by and take a look at this beauty live. Please feel free to e mail me at cagostini@optrust.com if you are willing to have me come by.

thanks
Carlo

[reefhippie]

nice...

[Le_Corbeaux]

sps? what's sps?

[kingkillyah]

All I can say is SweeT !!

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

VERY very VERY sweet !!

[jmarko]

How do you keep your tank so cool? Is it just being so far north your house temp is OK? Do you think that is key for the zoo's you keep I mean the tempature being cool. My tank stays more 80-82 and my Rics are doing well but my zoo's have never done real well. I also believe the live food make sense. I just started feeding the DT's about a month ago hopefully this will help everyone. does anyone know of any rotifers available in US. Reef crew seems to still have some issues.

[KwajRocks]

Absolutely Gorgeous. What else can you say?

[seeingred]

Archie,

That really is a fantastic tank (I hope you're not getting tired of reading that). I love the simplicity and the elegance. You mentioned being influenced by someone in the flow of your aquascaping. Could you give some general guidelines fr aquascaping that you used to get that"zen-like" flow? Thanks!

Pete

[archie]

Sorry that I haven't been able to reply back any sooner, I've been extremely busy with work lately.

Thanks to all that have left their compliments since my last post. I must admit that I'm quite overwhelmed with all of your great responses. I'll try to answer all of your questions in order.

reefkeeper02: The Powder Blue Tang really does require a bit more space than I can afford in my 65. He has since been replaced with a Blue Regal Tang (Hepatus) that will do quite well in a smaller (65+ gallons) tank. The PBT is now in a much larger system.

rjwilson37 & rfb3: I find that Ricordea Florida generally have a tendency to jump off of the substrate they were initially attached to when get too large or are being overcrowded by other larger polyps. I litter the sand bed with small pieces of rock that they eventually attach to. It normally doesn't take more than a week or two before a ric' becomes firmly attached to a new surface.
Ricordea Yuma will normally move itself and leave a baby behind (pedal laceration), unless there is nowhere else to go. In the latter case, a Yuma will also jump.

alien9168: This is by far the easiest tank I've ever had to maintain. Cleaning the tank is usually no more than a weekly algae scrape off the glass and a quick dump and rinse of the protien skimmer's collection cup. I don't currently use any mechanical filtration, so there is no floss or carbon to refresh. A weekly (sometimes bi-weekly) 5 gallon water change is conducted (didn't I mention that I'm lazy).
There is no build up of organics as the critters in the DSB and other clean-up crew members, such as Serpent Stars and Nassarius Snails really do their job quite well.

35gallonhex: My lights consist of 4 x 65 watt Power Compact Flourescents and 2 x 40 watt Normal Output Flourescents. Tha tank is only 18" deep and really doesn't require the punch that metal halides can contribute to a deeper water tank. I also believe that live feeding of rotifers and phytoplankton help contribute to the color vibrancy of certain coral.
A good friend of mine has a 150 (60"x24"x24") and combines the use of high intensity mh and live feeding and has experienced incredible growth and coloration in both sps and zoanthids.

mudder: Skipper is absolutely correct in his reply to your question. It is a form of Caulerpa Racemosa. (Thanks Skip!!)

Fernando Chang: Both products you mentioned are good alternatives, but still not quite as good as truly live food. They should do well for you as long as you are carefull not to overdose. The benefit to live feeding is that whatever isn't immediately consumed will hopefully live on to multiply without the risk of polluting the tank.
If possible, you may try to acquire small cultures of Phytoplankton and Rotifers for home propagation. I know Reef Crew is working rather diligently in finding a way of shipping their product out of Canada.

toadjoe: Thanks for your concern. I believe that Skipper may be right (again) in his reply. I haven't had any problems with parasites in my tank before, and on last check, the Blenny appeared quite healthy. No problems at all with his mouth. He does have a voracious appetite, and may have just retreated to his favorite hiding place (an empty Coco Worm tube) to gulp down the food as I took the shot.

carcynogen: I also find that pc's have a tendency to wash out color in photography. I have a higher actinic to daylight lighting ratio in my tank. This scheme does seem to help bring out the color and luminous qualities of coral.

jmarko: Our summers here can be quite hot and humid, but due to the fact that I am not using any metal halides and that the tank is located in a basement that is well air conditioned also lend to my lower water temps.
Cooler water temperature is ideal, but not as essential as stable water temperature. 80-82 is well within the norm for reefkeeping. I would keep an eye on large fluctations in water temperature.
FWIW, my SPS tank, lit with 2 x 400 watt Radiums (HQI Ballast), did require a chiller during the summer months. The tank was also in my basement.

seeingred: As I had mentioned earlier, I have been greatly influenced by the freshwater plant tank designs of Takashi Amano (http://www.adaeurope.com/).
In my own systems, I like to keep the rock work somewhat low and sloping, avoiding building a wall or rock. I find it far more efficient in creating stable platforms for coral placement. Also I try to balance out the different colors. Lighter colors towards the top with more subdued ones towards the bottom.
I personally don't like the look of a tank that is arranged in a linear fashion. Amano's first book (Nature Aquarium World, Volume 1) describes how to triangulate the layout of a tank.
Zoos are really very easy for aquascaping designs, since they carpet out quickly and look very natural once they've grown in.




Phew!!! Sorry for such a long post. I promise to keep on top of any further questions anyone else may like to add.

[smoknjo]

GOT TO SAY THAT YOUR TANK IS TOTALY FANTASTIC, GREAT WORK ON YOUR PART KEEP IT UP.

[BiGOrange]

The "lights" are never truly turned off in nature even during a storm. As we all know, you can get sunburned on a cloudy day.

With that said, I'm not sure how I feel about turning the lights off for 24 hours to replicate nature.

[wantahealthytank]

Hi, your tank is awesome! I just wanted to ask you how long you have been running this tank? Do you ever have to add more critters to your sandbed, or do they seem to always replenish their own populations?

[archie]

BiGOrange: I think you may be referring to Mucho Reef's TOTM article. I'll leave it to Mooch to discuss that topic though.

wantahealthytank: This tank has been up for approximately 10 months. Most of the live rock and some of the sand came from older sytems. I haven't really done much to recharge the sandbed though. I've added some copepods a couple of times that i got from Reef Crew, and regularly use their live phyto and rotifers.

[aehicks2003]

Awesome...Are you willing to frag your zoos I'm willing to pay your price for a frag of blues and a frag of reds

[G.reef]

Good evening Archie,

I have been lurking around reading everyone's posts to learn all I can about reefkeeping. This would be my first post here and I suppose, nothing else can be added to all the ooos and ahhhs that everyone has expressed.

I did send you a PM hoping that you could direct me to someone, preferably yourself, who has colourfull Zoo colonies available for sale. Frags are more than welcome as well. I do live in the GTA . Thank you.

Regards,

Gerry

[vapovick]

G.reef

<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>


check out www.marinedepotlive.com and there are plenty more for frags, check out the sponsers page here on RC

[ReefAddict1]

Archie,

Awesome tank!!!

Similar question -- what / where are you sources for zoos and ricordeas? I have a hard time finding some of the rarer colors online.

Thanks

[joojoo]

ok first of all - amazing! I have a tank around this size which has recently been re-set up and i hope to keep softies. I have yet to have a sump though, which is my next addition to the tank. Could you possibly post pictures of your sump, design, etc. as whatever you're doing must be working great for you as your tank is simply beautiful!

Once again, well done,

J

[scottd34]

I am curious, what manufacturer is the tank? AGA and oceanic dosen't have a tank that dimention, and I like having the extra width.

[blenny01]

awesome tank, archie. great pictures.

i was wondering... how far from the water are your PC's? is your tank covered? also, do you find you have to do any "pruning" from time to time to keep more dominant zoo's from "choking out" slower growing color morphs?

thanks for all the info you've shared.

blenny

[archie]

joojoo: Sorry for the delay, but I definitely will post some pics of the sump very soon.

scottd34: My tank was from a Micracles Aquarium, a local manufacturer in the Toronto area.

blenny01: The PC's are around 4" above the water surface. The aside from the light fixtures, the tank is left uncovered.
I haven't really done any pruning. I have been letting nature run it's course. The only time that I'll ever step in is when a favorite colony may be encroached upon by a less desireable one. In which case, I would just move one of the two to another part of the tank.

[WmTasker]

I was going to have a sps tank, but not now. Im going all zoa's and ricordia.

Beautiful tank :D:D

Billy

[szeth13]

beautiful tank it gives me, a softy keeperhope and something to look forward to
how often do u frag?
do u sell the frags?
if so would u be willing to ship?
if so will u pm me? i would like to buy some

[Masoch]

Originally posted by szeth13
beautiful tank it gives me, a softy keeperhope and something to look forward to
how often do u frag?
do u sell the frags?
if so would u be willing to ship?
if so will u pm me? i would like to buy some

The tank has been torn down ...

But Archie now has a retail store in Toronto Extreme Marine -- http://www.emarine.ca .

And yes, they sell zoanthid frags. And lots of 'em!

If you're in the States, shipping livestock cross-border is a huge PITA, so you're most likely better off dealing with someone in your neck 'o the woods.

[woogie]

Hopefully your tank will have the same effect on mine, as MuchoReef's had you yours (or even a fraction of it!!!)

Amazing!!!

[nursefry]

I hope to someday have a tank as nice as that. Awesome job

[buffalo123]

I know this is old but any updates on this reef set up?

[juancho24]

What a beauty, I'm with the previous poster and new updates on this tank?

[Masoch]

Look up a few posts -- the tank's been torn down for years, and, AFAIK, Archie's been out of both the business and hobby since ... 2005?