Tank of the Month - February 2005

[Skipper]

This month we are featuring Tanne Hoff's (Tanu) beautiful reef aquarium:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-02/totm/images/RChomepage.jpg (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-02/totm/index.htm)

More details can be found here (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-02/totm/index.htm) or by clicking on the picture above.

Congratulations, Tanu!

[Tanu]

Thank you, Skipper... I'm very proud, don't know what I should say yet!

[Dennis_nl]

Also on behalf of the Dutch and Belgian reefkeepers (http://www.zeewaterforum.org/forums/showthread.php?t=10468) :

Congrats from all of us with this honorable mention!!!


You guys at RC did choose one hell of a tank! Great pick!

[TippyToeX]

Outstanding Tanu! :thumbsup: Congratulations.

[willra]

Tanu - I'd have to say it is my favorite tank out there right now!! I like how it is only lit w/ 2 150 watters, it just proves that excessive amounts of light are not neccesary.

Great pick for TOTM RC...

[Eloi]

Congratiulations Tanne!

You deserve this honor. Also because you help many people in Holland and Belgium with setting up and keeping a beautiful and healthy reeftank of their own.

And yes indeed, this is one of the most beautiful reeftanks in Holland.

Kind regards,
Michael...

[Habib]

Tanne, van harte gefeliciteerd! :thumbsup:

(translation: Tanne, congratulations!)

[CrocoDillon]

Congratz Tanne... B E A utiful!

[sfsuphysics]

Wow first Calfo's article, now this tank, man this issue of reefkeeping just gets better and better. Great tank btw, I am glad you mentioned the skimming load at the very end though I was thinking to myself "wow you have a lot of fish, how big is this tank 500 gallons!" then I saw it was 160 and thought "man that's a lot of fish", but the tank looks great so good job on it.

Also I commend you for your lighting choice, 2 150w HQI bulbs really shows you do not need 250w, or 400watt bulbs to get nice stuff.

[maxpower2112]

Tanu; I said it before, I will say it again your tank is one of the best. Congratiulations

[rijmpje]

tanne Congratiulations, en ga zo door met al dit moois.:rollface:

[MacnReef]

VERY NICE! I love how you have managed to grow sps in such a deep tank with only 150W DE's.

-Mac

[Tanu]

Thanx for all the compliments ;)

About the fishload: i was one of the advocates of 'almost fishless' till some years ago! Then I tried to increase the ammount of fish, this turned out to be a good idea!

I was also very sceptical about the light, but I decided to give it a try. So far, I'm happy with it! Corals placed on the bottom of the tank have less color and less growth, but they still do well!

I'm the latest to highjack my own TOTM-thread :D, but I have a nano at work, with 11 W 50/50 PC. The nano was setup about a month ago, so it is too early to prove things, but... The sps frags I've placed do well!

[sfsuphysics]

Out of curiosity how does one get chosen for a TOTM? Does someone just mention to the reefkeepers "Hey I've seen this guy/gals tank its great" or do you submit it yourself? Good luck on that nano, I know my LFS owner has a nano that's been up for 12 years with 18watts of PC bulbs, of course there are only mushrooms in it ;)

[Tanu]

sfsuphysics: I got chosen! I also didn't know how the selection worked, till then :bum:

In the nano at work is some more then mushrooms, also lps and, like i said, some sps. I'll post a pic one of these days.

I forgot to say 'thank you' to a fellow reefer, ArjenT. He took two of the pics of my gem tang which are used in the totm-article! Thank you Arjen!

[ArjenT]

Your very welcome Tanne!!! ;)

You deserve this! Without a doubt one of the best aquascapings I've ever seen. Great colors, beautiful fish, in one word: amazing. :thumbsup:

Prachtig!!!:rollface:

[Chip Douglas]

Great tank Tanu! Congratulations!

How much info can you give me(us) on that Gem Tang. That is an amazing fish. Price? Care? how long you've had it? whatever you care to answer would be great.

[shazz]

dang. That is pure aweseomness lol

[Ronsreef]

Tanne,

Congratulations! Dedication is the word!


Greetings,

Ron

[Jaffa]

Fantastic!

[phenom5]

great looking tank tanne, i love the way you used a smaller amount of LR...:thumbsup:

[honl1]

Great tank. Congrats!

[Tanu]

Chip Douglas: the care for the gem is nothing special, it is as easy as a yellow tang. The important difference is the fact that this fish is more agressive. The price tag in Europe is normally between 500-1000 Euro's, I paid less. The key to getting a gem tang is luck and money. Luckily for me, I needed more luck then money. Of course there's always a risk involved when buying any fish. But as I've seen THIS gem 3 years ago when it was still very small (i.e. young) I think it is only about 4-5 years old. Given the fact that Zebrasoma tangs can reach an age of about 40 years in nature, I think I've spent my money not too bad... Time will tell. What more do you want to know about it?

Today I got all stuff together to assemble my T5 lighting so I can keep the frags out of the main tank. I don't have the new sump yet, but I'll convert the quarantaine tank to a quarantaine and frag (QAF ;)) Tank ;)

[Dag]

Tanu, the results you achieved are stunning. I wish I could figure out your secret.

Could you elaborate on the substrate? Is that a fine sand (like what we call Southdown in the States) and how deep is it? What do you use to vacuum it? If I were to vacuum my sand, the sand would get sucked up the vacuum.

[Ancelot]

Great tank tanu!
I was thinking how did you manage the water circulation around the tank? Is that Red Dragon alone sufficient? I am really impressed totally! hahaha..
Lastly, looks like I am gonna to aspire to use 150W DE to start my sps tank! hahaha.. then :lol: :lol: totm? haha

[ToddG.]

I also agree with others this is a perfect tank showing you dont need to go overboard with lights 400w MH and powerheads and 20 returns on a tank to have a nice system one of the nicest systems ive seen congrats. Also thiers no 200 gallon sump ;)

[dodgerblew]

Outstanding tank Tanu

Congratulations:thumbsup:

[bigfishman]

Great tank!

I am also using 150 DE MH with 20k BLK bulb. It is working very well for me now.

[Julio]

great tank!! love the cardinals!!! i have one in my tank the only survivor of the school of 6.

[Julio]

one more thing, what iare the dimensions of the tank?

[Mad Scientist]

Great tank. I like pretty much everything about it - espically the "reasonable" ammout of light and all the fish! Congrats!

[OUinLA]

Congratulations Tanu. You definately deserved this.

[Reef Junkie]

Georgeous!
You make it seem so simple.

[CPT. MURPHY]

congrats on totm!:thumbsup:

[edsreef]

Awesome tank! Great job! Congratulations!

[The Cardinal]

Wow, what a stunningly beautiful tank! The aquascaping is excellent and gives a great sense of depth, something that I feel is lacking in many tanks.

I was somewhat surprised by your choice of lighting. Today more and more people are using T5 lighting to achieve great results with light craving sps corals. Do you think people in the hobby and shopkeepers often tend to exaggerate the high lightlevels needed to achieve results such as yours?

Again great work, and an inspiration to us all!

[Tanu]

Dag: The sandbed is about 1/4 " deep, so just deep enough to cover the bottom. The sand is 'live sand' by Nature's Ocean. I don't know what to think about the 'live' part, but I do know that I like the color and the grain size. When I vacuum it, of course I also suck up some sand, but I think that's not such a big problem. I use a DIY vacuum cleaner, I just made something like they sell in the lfs for cleaning sand. All water and dirt I suck up goes to the drain.

In my opinion many people tend to make things more complicated than needed. Water changes, live rock, flow, light and a good protein skimmer is all that's needed on the 'hardware' part. Many fastgrowing corals and some maintenance does the rest of the trick.

On the subject of light... I think some colors may improve with more light. I'm sure the corals would grow faster with more light. But, I don't have that much trouble keeping the tank cool enough now, and I also think many fish don't like to swim under 400 Watters, in nature most fish we keep in tanks don't swim right under the surface.

On the subject of flow: I designed the tank in a way that it is easy to remove debris. I also designed the rockwork in a way that allows most debris to reach the overflow, so it can be removed by the skimmer.

The cardinals are nice, but they aren't very long-lived, about 18 months at max. So I sometimes buy 5 cardinals to make up for the loss. I've kept a school of these for some years now, I'm toying with the plan of having a school of another species, but I'm not sure which species yet. I've thought about Anthias spp, but I think they grow too big for my tank. A school of 12-15 mid-sized fish won't look so good I think.

[Dag]

The sandbed is about 1/4 " deep, so just deep enough to cover the bottom.

Have you ever used a Deep Sand Bed? If so, can you share your comparative experience?

I assume you can't reach the detritus at the back of the tank or under the corals, but I guess that hasn't been a problem for you.

Finally, are you doing anything else to control nitrates other than vacuuming the sand (that you can reach), skimming and live rock?

Thanks for sharing.

[Tanu]

I've never used a DSB, because I think it is uncontrollable. Some friends of mine tried though. In their experience the tank did very well for some time, but crashed sooner or later.

I think when I try, I can remove all but 20% of the sand in the tank. I do this every now and then, say 4 times a year. In the past, I didn't do this. Maybe I should change the sand even more often, when I change the sand I see a clear increase in the colors of the corals. The sand is solely for aesthetics.

Apart from vacuuming, skimming, water changes, live rock and controlled feeding I also try to avoid situations which will produce nitrate: I have quite a cleanup-crew (shrimp, snails, hermits, seastars, serpent stars). I also don't use filter floss or other filtermedia which will lead to the production of nitrates.

[Rodeo Clownfish]

What size is this tank? It may have said it in your description, but I couldn't find it. It is beautiful.

[Tanu]

It is 130 x 70 x 70 centimeters, so not very large. I just connected the DIY T5 and it works!

I have to arrange some things, then I think all frags can move out of the main tank... :bounce1:

[The R/C Man]

Congrats for tank of the month!

Your tank looks great!

I was wondering where you purchased your Trace-el-controller. I did a search on google and everything that came up was overseas only. Do you know of any place in the states that carries them? Thanks!

[Tanu]

Thanx Greg! I don't know where to order a trace-el-controller overseas, you might want to check distributors of H&S, Royal Exclusiv and so on. They might have more German stuff ;)

The frag tank is running!

[Tanu]

See if this works, deeplinking to the Dutch forum, here a pic of the frag tank :)

http://www.zeewaterforum.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=9865

[dlancz]

WOW!!!! Congrats

[onefin]

Wow what a great looking tank, maybe someday i'll come close to your's, just beautiful, just love the placement of your corals.

[@LVIN]

nice tank, Tanu !!



@LVIN

[addo]

yes, verry beutiful

[Kelmen]

Hello Tanu, you mentioned about the quarantine tank in your TOTM article. Just wondering is it just a simple tank? Do you run UV on it?

I'm working out a good quaratine tank, preferable suitable to fish, invertebrate, coral, and plant too.

[FunkieReefJunkie]

I'm enjoying your TOTM. Everything about it, the layout, the contrasting colors of corals and the fish you chose compliment one another. Congrats and thank you for the eye candy. ; )

[Habib]

Tanne:

Are you still using Vodka? :)

TIA

[orion76]

Gefeliciteerd man! Fantastische bak! :D

[my2girls]

Great reading. Congrats on TOTM.

[Ninong]

Very nice! Congratulations!

:D

[Tomver1]

je hebt het echt verdient!! veel geniets nog ervan deze maand! echt heel mooi groeten -Tom-

[StangRRR]

Great job Tanu!!!
you mentioned that you have removed some fish, how did you manage to catch them without disturbing your reef?

Could you also provide a link where this ABC dosing kit can be found?

Thanks

[rjwilson37]

Very Nice Tanu!.. Very Nice indeed!

[Tanu]

Kelmen, No UV anymore. I used to use it, but the tank is so stable, I don't need it anymore. I do use some ozone every now and then. I've used the UV to battle ich when I started the tank...

FunkieReefJunkie: thanx ;)

Habib: For now, I don't use it. I've poored quite some wodka in my tank. I've stopped dosing it, because some of the corals got TOO light colors. They didn't look very healthy anymore.

I like to experiment, but I try to try only one thing at a time, otherwise it is nearly impossible to find out what change made what difference. I may try wodka again, but first I'll wait for my BK to arrive, i expect it to be here this week. I'll then see the differences with the new skimmer, after a few months I might try something new, I'll see...

StangRRR: I cought the fish with a fish trap, an acrylic box with a sliding door and some food in it. As soon as the right fish is in it, you let the door slide down and... Gotcha! These are available in some lfs's, but there are also people who make them themselfves. That isn't very difficult. Just make the box from acrylic and the door from glass so it slides down FAST as you let go of the line which holds the door up.

Grotech stuff can be found here: www.grotech.de. The controller I have isn't available anymore, I have an old model. This is the new one: Grotech Controller (http://www.grotech.de/en/dosier/tec3ng_en1.html)

Orion76: you speak dutch! Have we met?

[ReefJerk]

congrats, Tanu. i have one questions; how do you get 10,000 l/h through your overflows? do you throttle back your pump, or is it wide open? i guess that's 2 questions :)

[PaintGuru]

Where did you get the Red Dragon pump from? I've heard good things about them but never knew where to look for one! Very nice

[Skipper]

Just a note for everyone....

Tanu is located overseas in the Netherlands. He probably has no idea where to buy all of the products he's using in his reef that are available overseas and that may, or may not be, available in the U.S.

[Tanu]

Reefjerk: just wide open, full power :)

Skipper, thanx. I do read a lot of English (and German) websites, but i'm not very familiar with the trade 'over there'. I know the ways inside of Holland, Germany and partially Belgium, but that's about it i'm afraid ;)

You might want to check the sponsor forums on RC, I've seen at least 1 sponsor importing Red Dragons, Bubble Kings and so on :)

[Jow13]

Tanu, awesome tank. The aquascaping is definitly what sets it apart. Looks great.

This is my favorite time of month. I wait all month for the new TOTM's. Ah someday...

[jcopp]

Not sure if I missed it or not, but I am looking to do a similiar background for my 180g. Can you give any advice from your experience in terms of materials and/or techniques?

Thanks.
Jason

[PaintGuru]

Well I wasn't sure if his equipment was purchased from european web sites or his european LFS. It was not clear from the write-up.

[eflohr]

Congratulation!! I like how you keep everything so simple, the 150W Lighting, the three channel Trace-el-controller, filter etc...
It seems like you know what's really going on in your tank.

Keep the good work and good luck with your nano tank.

[ranceego]

very nice tank, great work:eek1:

[ranceego]

only use keepers know the work that it takes.

[orion76]

Originally posted by Tanu
Orion76: you speak dutch! Have we met?

Not yet but you're always welcome to come check out my tank and give me some pointers if you're in the neighborhood :D

[andrew_kin]

Beautiful tank!
love the school of cardinals you have
they are sooooooooooooooooo cute!

[NexDog]

Tanu - congrats on the TOTM and it is certainly more than worthy. :)

For me, I really appreciate the simplicity in the system and happy to see it works so well. One thing that is baffling me is the sump. It seems your Red Dragon is pumping out about 3,00 GPH through a 35 gallon sump? That feels like quite a lot of flow to put through such a small sump? Would like to hear your points on that plus:

1) How many overlows....
2) How many returns to the sump....
3) Sump dynamics (Overlow inlet, fuge, return etc)

I always look forward tyo TOTM and I'm enjoying this one immensely! Only have to read it another 50 times now. :D

[Melody]

Congrats, Tanu! Two big thumbs up for an incredible looking tank. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[Meisen]

Great tank, really impressive bioload too!!! And I was getting nervous planning for a quarter of that in a 120!

Congrats on a well done reef and some great livestock choices. It really looks like you put a lot of thought into the tank and its design.

Your gem tang is splendid as well. Really beautiful animal. Thanks for sharing with us.

[Flatlander]

Congrats on your selection as TOTM. Well deserved award. :D
I also am wondering about the overflow pipe dimensions?

[jaze36]

Great tank! I like all the angles you have in your tank. The regal angle is my favorite fish.

[Baalz]

That is a crazy amount of fish in a 160g. Sorry but that turned me off to it immediatly.

[jhunko]

Great tank, I love the growth on the Acros

[Tanu]

Orion76: I've spent some weeks in Thailand last summer (Bangkok, Samui, Kata, Katchanaburi...), where are you from in Thailand?

Andrew_kin: the blue eyes are cool indeed! They stay very close together. In the lfs they just look boring, in the tank they're beautiful!

Nexdog: 1 overflow (20 x 20 cm), 2 returns (16 and 32 mm). Sump dynamics: well... Nothing special, just a tank with the skimmer, heater (300 W) and Red Dragon.

Meisen: this bioload is only possible with agressive skimming and many fast growing corals! I think when this tank would have been FO, I would have reached the max.

Flatlander: the overflow pipe is only short, like 40 cm. It has 40 mm diameter. The overflow has a durso-standpipe to minimize noise. I HATE noise from the tank!

Jaze: I'm an angel-freak... Especially the Regal. I've observed in nature that Regals have the smallest territories of the large angels. Of course, it is not comparable to the territory of a dwarf angel, but it is definitely smaller than the territory of an emperor or even than that of a majestic angel!

Baalz: That's your opinion, of course I respect that! Indeed there are quite some fish, but I've seen more fish on some reefs in nature! Of course the fish cannot talk, but I think the fish don't have problems with this stocking rate. The fish choice was very well thought off: I'd NEVER add a Acanthurus-tang for example. They don't only grow too big, but in nature, they swim much faster than Zebrasoma-tangs and also establish much larger territories. I've explained the story about the angel above. The fact that quite some fish actually spawn makes me think they're comfortable!

Jhunko: I'm very proud of the Acro's, especially on some of the fast-growing species and some other species with a 'story' like the pink/purple tabe I got as a frag.

[orion76]

I am from Amsterdam but living in Bangkok now.

Nederlander dus :)

[JimmyNeutron]

LOVE THE TANK!!! :D

[dc]

Another outstanding choice for TOTM!:thumbsup:

[kewliz]

Tanu- it's a very nice tank! Do you have any photos of your rock when you first placed it into the tank? I'm always curious to see the barren landscape prior to all the growth. I'm not very good at rock stacking.

[Mad Scientist]

Originally posted by Tanu
. The fact that quite some fish actually spawn makes me think they're comfortable!
.

Exactly

[majesticangelfish]

Well DONE! GREAT TOTM! :thumbsup:

Hey a few Qs... does the "Pur-foam" have a online shop selling it? (in Europe).

Also are you thinking of upgrading the Water movement? With say some Streams (or something)? or is the DR plenty?

Oh and Please sing out when you get the BK! I cant wait to see how it goes on this great tank!

Cheers and Congrats again!:D

Josh

[Tanu]

The PUR-foam just comes from an ordinary hardware-store.

Today I received a sms from the lfs which says the BK should be here by friday. Of course I'll post pics and experiences as soon as I have The King ;)

Right now, I don't feel like I have to upgrade the water movement, but time will tell. I have used a smaller return pump together with a Tunze Turbelle and some other small pumps, but i HATED the noise, heat and electricity consumption of these pumps. The flow has improved since I 'downgraded' to the RD.

[majesticangelfish]

Cheers! :)

Sweet! about the BK! :cool:

Once again, VERY NICE tank!:thumbsup:

[joetattooo]

how did you do your aquascape can you tell me where i can get a book on aquascapes?

[systematic]

Great TOTM.
Very inspiring!!
Love the aquascaping.
I'm quite interested to know how you have aranged the water returns in the tank.
I am in the process of setting up a single pump system, and I would like to emulate your system somewhat.
I think I followed that you have a 16mm and a 32mm outlet.
Are the outlets just pointed straight at the front glass?
Cant really tell from the pictures.
You obviously have enough turbulence in the water for good coral growth almost everywhere in the tank.
As much information about the returns as you can give would be great.
Once again, great system.
I hope to have something even half as good as that one day.

Tim

[bmco]

Love your system, aquascaping, corals and fish.
I wish I could effort the Jem tang.

The simplicity of european systems is amazing and verified.

I use the same equipment and aditives and it works great for me to.

You deserve the title.

Moshe

[dbui]

Tanu, alsome tank congrat!!!
you mention using the vinegar and hot water to clean up the protein skimmer. Can you describle the process?
what happen when the vinegar get into the tank?

[panosb]

Maybe one of the nicest "Tank of the month" ever seen in RC...And personally speaking, the absolute reef inspiration! Congratulations!

PS: Far my favourite wall-paper!;) :rollface:

Tanu, I feel I have to thank you!:) :) :)

[eweldon]

A beautiful and well designed tank, Tanu. Congratuations. A quick question and perhaps you've answered it already, but how deep is you sand bed and what do you use to vacuum that doesn't remove the sand from the tank?

[clownlady]

Hello there,

I would first like to say thank you! Your tank is beautiful. I just recently purchased a 180 gallon acrylic that I wish to set up like yours. I currently have an onverloaded 40 gallon tank which includes, 2(med sized about 4 inches) juvenile Royal Tangs, 2 True Perculas, 2 Seabae Clowns, 2 Scooter Blennies, 2 Cleaner Shrimp, 5 Peppermint Shrimp, 2 Rose Anemones, One Entamacea Anemone, about 50 pounds of live rock, 1 flower coral, One anonymous, yet very large purlple coral and plenty of mushrooms ...a 10 gallon sump, Red Sea Prizm Skimmer, and one 8 watt UV Sterilizor ...whewww!!!

I need some good advice for setting up the 180 galoon. Can you help? I may be reached at traceys_home@hotmail.com, I would appreciate your help and time more than you know. By the way, I have only one year experience.

Thanks for your support and good luck with your future project!!!

:rollface:

[the_real_brian]

I was about to get a pair of 250 HQIs for my 120 but your beautiful tank has changed my mind. 150s it is!

Why use all that excess electricity and deal with the excess heat when you can get results like yours with 150s.

Beautiful tank! The best I've seen in quite some time.

:beer:

[danano]

Tanu, congrats! Great job on the reef scape. And corals and fish too.

And good move with the skimmer upgrade.

[Tanu]

Thank you all.. ;) Some answers here:

Joetattoo: as far as I know, there aren't many books about aquascaping. The first book by Delbeek and Sprung say something about this, as well as the first or second book by Fossa and Nilsen. I have the books by Fossa/Nilsen in German, the setup of the English series is a little different so I'm not sure. I got lots of inspiration by watching pictures and movies of coral reefs and looking at many reef tanks. Here is a pic of the 'bare' setup from day 1. Afterwards I changed some details, but this is the 'backbone' of my reef:
http://www.tanu.nl/tmp/overz1.jpg


Systematic: there are two returns. The 16 mm return is aimed from the right side of the tank to the left. This one is fixed. The 32 mm return is left of the middle and is aimed to the front glass. I made this one adjustable so I can create the right flow anywhere I want.

Bmco: The gem tang IS an expensive fish, but I got it for a very interesting price. This month I saw six gems for sale, they were almost twice as expensive as mine. Because Zebrasoma-tangs are very longlived, I decided to invest in a fish like this. I wouldn't have spend that ammount of money on an angelfish for instance. Especially the more expensive ones are too much 'hit and miss' in my opinion.

dbui: the hot water/vinegar process is quite easy. About 1 shotglass of white (household or kitchen) vinegar without ANY additions is added to 1 L of boiling water. I let the injector suck up this fluid, thus rinsing and cleaning the tube and the injector. The water together with the vinegar ends up in the tank. With this ammount of vinegar, no pH-problems occur normally. The leftover acetate from the vinegar is broken down by bacteria, just like alcohol in wodka ;)

The sandbed is very thin, just enough to cover the bottom glass. I use something like this to clean the sand:http://www.eheim.nl/images/int/tech_zub_mulm.gif

Clownlady: it certainly seems like you need an upgrade indeed :) What do you want to know? If we discuss this in here, others can join the discussion too!

Real Brian: 150 W is enough, mostly. But you need to make sure the corals which need the light the most are in the center of the light beam, otherwise they'll change their colour to dull brown! I don't regret I've decided to go with the 150 W's!

Danano: thanks!

I received the skimmer last friday! It is almost completely silent and it draws an unbelievable ammount of water and air. I've never seen bubbles as fine as these in a skimmer. Here are some pictures:


http://www.zeewaterforum.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10227
Just unpacked the skimmer. This is the smallest Bubble King there is, compare it to the can of beer in front!

http://www.zeewaterforum.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10229
Just installed.

http://www.zeewaterforum.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10230
The skimmer this morning. I've cleaned the cup yesterday evening! The skimmate is a little light colored, I like light colored skimmate, but I'll try to set the skimmer to a little darker substance. This is a little TOO light in my opinion.

Here's a pic I took of my tank this morning. Looks very clean without all the frags. The coral behind the clam on the bottom is either a Echinopora mammifornis or a Cyphastrea japonica. I got this coral yesterday, I have yet to find a nice place in the reef for it.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/1013overzaaa.jpg

[Tanu]

I had to decrease the quality of the photo in order to use it on this forum. Here's a picture of my tank with some more detail:

http://www.zeewaterforum.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10231

[majesticangelfish]

Some how the links arnt working for me, But it sounds cool:thmbsup:

Would you mind posting the BK (pic)here?

[Skipper]

<img src="http://www.zeewaterforum.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10227">

<img src="http://www.zeewaterforum.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10229">

<img src="http://www.zeewaterforum.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10230">

[Tanu]

Thanks Skipper!

[majesticangelfish]

Sweet:inlove::eek2:

Thanks Mate!

LOL How does it feel to have two RDs? :D

Cheers:bum:

[Loudz34]

Nice tank to say the least..... Quick question~ Where did you get the Red dragon pump from and do you know if its avail in the US?

[Tanu]

I got the RD pump from a Dutch LFS and the BK from another Dutch lfs.

From what I've understood, Royal Exclusiv will start producing pumps with US sized connections this month.

[Loudz34]

Thanks, I will have to keep an eye out for them....

[the_real_brian]

Anyone else have any thoughts on 150 HQIs on a tank of this size with Acros? Just a couple of years ago this would have been considered heresy.

I'm leaning towards this set up for my new 120. I've seen the benefits, I'd just like to hear about potential drawbacks, if any.

[Tanu]

How about this? This is my nano at work, only 11 W 50/50 PC on about 10 G of water. Of course, the sps is mainly in the upper half. Growth is slow, but there IS growth!

The tank looks better in life, I took this shot very early in the morning, the glass wasn't very clean and the surface looks better now.

<img src="http://www.zeewaterforum.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=10223"><br />
<br />

[bluereefs]

Beautifull tank tanu,congratulation:)
Do you know name of redish gorgonia frag from 11 g ofice tank?
I have identical gorgonia and can not find the corect latin name.
Thank you

[honkit]

Some of the recommendations in RC regarding lighting needs for corals have been over-the-top.

I have kept aquacultured SPS corals (acros, poccis and montis) for several months and they have been growing nicely with colour under 4 HO T5 bulbs with individual parabolic reflectors. Maybe it only works for aquacultured stock but at least there is an option for those with access to such livestock to be able to keep them thriving without the use of some crazy metal halide figures e.g 400 and 1000 watters.

[jeepjon]

Tanu, How did you make your foam rocks? I am interested in doing this in a 5.5 gallon tank of mine, covering over foam with concrete or mortar, and making a cool aquascape, and then seeding the tank with mature LR from my main tank. I noticed you said PUR-foam...is that like basic styrofoam, packing foam? It sounds like you did exactly what I want to do.

[Skipper]

Jeepjon - here's a short article in Reefkeeping Magazine about using foam:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/nftt/index.htm

[majesticangelfish]

Originally posted by honkit
Some of the recommendations in RC regarding lighting needs for corals have been over-the-top.

I have kept aquacultured SPS corals (acros, poccis and montis) for several months and they have been growing nicely with colour under 4 HO T5 bulbs with individual parabolic reflectors. Maybe it only works for aquacultured stock but at least there is an option for those with access to such livestock to be able to keep them thriving without the use of some crazy metal halide figures e.g 400 and 1000 watters.

Agreed! :thumbsup:

I keep all my sps (90% wild colonies -(as the sps frag trade is slow in Aus. )) under 150w MH :) Im sure 1000w would help the colour/growth... but 150w are great:)

Tanu, how are you finding the BK? :D

Cheers Josh:rollface:

[Tanu]

Bluereefs, if you refer to the forked frag in the middle of the tank, this is a frag of a birdsnest coral, Seriatopora caliendrum. It grows quite well, given the conditions. If you refer to the gorgonia on the left, I don't know it's name. It didn't do well in my tank at home, due to the fact of nipping ;)

Of course 400 or 1000 W hqi's will give faster growth and possibly also better colors, but I don't feel like the upgrade from the current situation in my tank is worth it. Because of the fact I admire variety more than just a pure sps-tank, I'd rather spend the money on water quality, so it helps all inhabitants.

Jeepjon: There are no foam rocks in the tank, only foam walls. The foam was sprayed on acrylic, this acrylic was glued (just silicone) to the aquarium walls.

Josh: the BK is a beast! It should come with a warning though... I've smelled quite some skimmer-fluid, but the gunk this machine removes is by far the worst on the subject of smell! It still pulls out huge ammounts! I think the tank is getting to look better, but I 'm not sure if this is true. Many reefers are under the impression their tank looks better when they changed just a small detail.

Only time will tell!

[palmerc]

Hi Tanu,

Beautiful set-up.

Just a quick question from a newb.

How do you manage to find space for all your corals on your rockwork?

How do you prevent them falling over?

Also having so many, so close together, have you ever had any instances of corals dying from being attacked by their close neighbours.

Thanks,
Clinton

[nvert]

Fantastic Tank!!!! The harmony of colors between your chosen corals and fish is really breath-taking. I'd love adding an angel to my reef but fear the chance of nipping. Nice job!!

[honkit]

Originally posted by majesticangelfish
Agreed! :thumbsup:

I keep all my sps (90% wild colonies -(as the sps frag trade is slow in Aus. )) under 150w MH :) Im sure 1000w would help the colour/growth... but 150w are great:)

Cheers Josh:rollface:

I'm not sure if Australian law allows it but there's two large aquaculture places at Bali and Sulawesi (Indonesia) exporting SPS frags and small colonies.

I don't come across too many where I live (Malaysia) but they do come in from time to time.

[jeepjon]

How did you spray the foam? Is it available in the US? Did you paint it? Or is it the kind of foam used around doors and windows (the expanding foam). Your idea is very similar to mine, except I'm going to try and make an arch out of it, and have some normal LR, too...

[jeepjon]

Also...your tank truly is breathtaking...it really is. I'm amazed, awed, and truly inspired to make mine work a little better...I need to get back up on my husbandry, but med school takes it's toll on time.

[majesticangelfish]

Originally posted by honkit
I'm not sure if Australian law allows it but there's two large aquaculture places at Bali and Sulawesi (Indonesia) exporting SPS frags and small colonies.

I don't come across too many where I live (Malaysia) but they do come in from time to time.

Nope, we cant import inverts :eek2: :(

SO its wild only in the LFSs.

[mrme]

nice tank .. i love how you have proved alot of people wrong by keeping corals healthy with half the lighting recomended .

it is alot of fish , but as long as you arent having problems with disease , aggression and nitrate .
then your doing fine .
im happy you were chosen for TOTM , you deserved it .



Jason

[honkit]

Originally posted by majesticangelfish
Nope, we cant import inverts :eek2: :(

SO its wild only in the LFSs.

So all the inverts sold in LFSs are from Australian waters?

No inverts e.g. peppermint shrimps available?

Regarding Tanu's tank, his is one of several that I have come across whereby plenty of fishes and inverts are kept and yet the water parameters are prisitine - it's all thanks to good old fashioned regular water changes and using damn powerful skimmers.

[majesticangelfish]

Originally posted by Tanu
Josh: the BK is a beast! It should come with a warning though... I've smelled quite some skimmer-fluid, but the gunk this machine removes is by far the worst on the subject of smell! It still pulls out huge ammounts!

:thumbsup: Good ol' BK:D Any new pics of the tank/BK?

Also how is your Frag tank looking?
Originally posted by Tanu
http://www.zeewaterforum.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=9865

Originally posted by honkit
So all the inverts sold in LFSs are from Australian waters?

No inverts e.g. peppermint shrimps available?


Yeah all the coral/inverts come from Aus. reefs... they brought this law in a few years ago... some ppl do have (now priceless) clams from the cook islands etc, taken from before the law. We can get Peppermint shrimp. and many other inverts... idk where to get Turbo snails or photosynthetic gorgs....

Cheers

[Tanu]

PalmerC: epoxy, wedges and tie-wraps do the trick! Many corals were placed as frags, so they didn't have much weight to make them fall over anyway! Of course, there have been some occurences of stinging corals. Mostly, this is time to frag some corals ;) Also, many corals just grow against each other without serious problems. I've also observed this in nature. I can spend a bottle of air on one square meter of reef, I don't feel like I have to see sharks when diving. Observing a group of small damsels in a nice Acropora is much more interesting in my opinion!

Jeepjon, it is unpainted expanding foam, it'll be covered with corals and coralline quite fast. Thanks for the compliment, what kind of med school do you do?

Mrme: thanks... Like I said before, I also didn't believe that it is possible with this ammount of light. But, given the fact it works, I'm happy with it!

Honkit: I've seen some more 'fish-sps' tanks, but they are a rare find! I know someone who keeps a tank of about the same size as mine, also with sps and softies and a HUGE ammount of fish, including 8 large angels, 2 teardrop butterflies... Unfortunately, I don't have pics of that tank!

Majestic: I'll post some pictures in a few days.

I just happened to discover that Finding Nemo is based on a true story. I keep 2 onyx percula's in the frag tank, just to teach them to accept flake food. I won't be at work for 2 weeks, so it won't be wise to add them to the nano now. Anyway, I came home today: no more percula's! It happened that I removed the cover of the overflow because the water surface in the frag tank won't stay clear with that cover. So, they must have left the tank through the overflow. After some searching, I found one in the sump and caught it. I felt really guilty, because I suspected the other one been minced by one of the RD's in the sump...

Anyway, the other one was in the main tank, looking brand new ;) So, I also caught this one, one minute after this, he already ate again!

[bluereefs]

Tanu do you have picture of onyx percula?
Regarding your nemo story,I regulary find small blenys under the filter sponge in aqua clear hang on filters,only way to go there is through pump impelor;)

[jeepjon]

Or by jumping into the overflow and squiggling past the foam....

[jeepjon]

Tanu: I'm a first year medical student at CASE Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Ohio. I haven't decided a specialty, as we don't choose until the end of third year. I really like Emergency Medicine and I also like orthopaedics. I've always worked with my hands a lot, and I am very technically oriented, so I think orthopaedics is a nice match for me...but I'm open to any ideas, really.

[Tanu]

Bluereefs: what kind of blennys do you mean?

Jeepjon: I'm not really into medics, but both emergency and ortopaedics seems interesting, I think.

The percs are still doing fine, I'd love to keep them in the main tank, but I don't want to have two species of clownfish. So, two more weeks to enjoy them at home, thereafter they'll move to the nano.

Pics will follow :)

[bluereefs]

Local adriatic sea blennys,I colect and keep them for fun during summer time.

[Tanu]

You keep them in the reeftank? Do you have a picture?

Today I moved some of the corals and I also made some frags. I'll take pics this evening or tomorrow I think.

[Isayso]

:D congrats Tanu!
your tank is astonishing ,and the scaping is one that resemble the real backreef

a question.....
how can you keep two flame angel in the tank withoout eating SPS and clam's mantle?????

I red a few books about flame angels ....I fell in love with one of them
but my tank is SPS dominated and 4 clams .....I'm so afraid to put one in it ....
can you giveme more info please
thanks:rolleyes:

[Tanu]

Isayo, adding angels, being it dwarfs or full sized, is a gamble you take. Flames belong to the 'lower risk' angels in my opinion.

In my opinion the risk isn't too high as long as you 've thought about these points:

1. Feed the fish enough. Fish need to eat a weight about 5% of their body mass in order to stay healty and to grow. So, 100 grams of fish, means you have to give about 5 grams (dry weight!) of food daily. If you don't feed them, they'll find food themselves...
2. Quality matters! Fats and Carbon Hydrates are presented in almost all foods. Proteins, fibers and vitamins do a lot, not only for humans but also for fish!
3. Keep them occupied. Bored fish will find something to do, this may be pestering other fish, nipping inverts... Keeping them together with fish of the same species is the best way to do this.

Some other advices on this subject:
- make sure the aquascape breaks their sight, so they don't HAVE to see each other all time.
- Buy two angels of a different size, the more difference in size, the better!
- Males have 'sharp' ends on their back and pectoral fins, the fins of the females are more rounded.

Like all angels, they WILL nip. But in my opinion many people overrate this. In nature, there are also fish which steal a polyp every now and then. In my experience 'nipped' corals keep a more compact growth, I think this is because they want to defend themselves against nipping. I know some aquarists who don't keep angels but who damage the growth tips of the Acro's to promote compact growth. I'm lazy and keep angels :bum: To keep it short: they won't kill healthy corals, but they may cause your corals not to open as much as they did before you added the angel.

The first weeks, nipping is very unpredictable. They like to sample almost everything, mostly the frequency of nipping is lowered to almost zero after some time.

There's always the change they really go berserk, but I've never heard or seen that first hand. I think I've described the tricks to avoid this above :)

If I didn't scare you away with this text... Go for it!

Male:
http://www.korallenriff.de/gu_centro_mann_1.jpg


Female:
http://www.korallenriff.de/gu_centro_weib_1.jpg

(Photo's borrowed from www.korallenriff.de!)

[Tanu]

News on the Bubble King: I shut it off today!

I've measured it pulls out about 4 times the ammount the previous skimmer did. Some corals cannot keep up with this fast change of water quality. At some corals, I see tissue receding or even some died parts. I see this at a purple Acro from Fiji, a green Fiji Acro, a bluetip formosa (which frags do well in almost all tanks!) and on a brownish jaquelinae. Because of the fact these problems became visible after the installation of the BK I think it might have to do with the too-fast-change in water quality.

I plan to switch it on during the night only the next few weeks. Here's what I did to stop this so far:
- Feed even more!
- Add an extra dose of amino acids to the tank
- add some fructose (small organic molecules, can be taken up by many organisms very fast)
- Shut the skimmer off. I'll switch it on next night.

I also ordered ammoniumchlorid at the drugstore. I wanted to have calciumnitrate or natriumnitrate, but that wasn't available. Because ammoniumchlorid is broken down by bacteria to nitrate, I think I can give the corals some extra power with this. The ammoniumchlorid comes in next morning.

I want to keep the skimmer on 24/7 in the future, because I believe it removes (almost) all unwanted substances. Some substances it removes are wanted though, but one can dose most of them.

[majesticangelfish]

Crikey about the skimmer! WOW!

[MrBojangles]

Outstanding pick guys.

Tanne, like on our "own" Dutch forum I wanna congratulate you with this well deserved mention here on ReefCentral.

Keep up the great job m8.


Cheers,

Dennis:)

[Tanu]

Thanks Dennis :)

Today, I added half a teaspoon ammoniumchloride. I haven't been home that much, so I couldn't thoroughly observe the inhabitants. I just came home, the blue lights of the tank are still on.

As far as I can see know, stn has stopped on these corals. The other inhabitants look ok.

I'm going to calculate how much am. chlor. should be added to 'create' 1 mg/l increase of nitrate. Then, I can make a solution which is more easy to handle. I didn't have time for this today, but anyone with a little chemical background would know that half a teaspoon on this ammount of water couldn't do any harm.

[majesticangelfish]

Originally posted by Tanu
. should be added to 'create' 1 mg/l increase of nitrate.

That something you don’t hear everyday. :eek2: shows how well the BK works!

[Tanu]

I did some calculations. On the estimated total volume of my system I should add 0,647 gram NH4Cl to get a theoretical increase of 1 mg/l nitrate. Theoretical, because the 'ammonium' part of ammoniumchloride can be utilized by the zooxanthellae as well.

Today, I added the second dose. Still, tissue loss has stopped :)

Indeed this says very much about the BK. It is a skimmer you should NOT underestimate!

[wastedalf]

Crazy awesome tank. Gives all of us something to shoot for. I only hope I'll have the talent you have when I'm more experienced.

[Tanu]

Wastedalf: enjoy every moment and every small critter. Also very important: watch the tank and note small details and small changes.

Watching a small pod crawling between the rocks gives me the same ammount of joy as watching the regal angel showing it's beauty.

[bluereefs]

You keep them in the reeftank? Do you have a picture?
I do not keep local bleny in reef tank because I have open aquarium and they jump out,people with close aquarium keep them without problem as long as they have plenty of algae for blenny to nip.
One of my local gobbies-triplefin,Trypterygion melanurus -in my reef tank
http://www.elegancereef.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/28.11.04.blue%20reefpijevcic.jpg

That something you don’t hear everyday. shows how well the BK works!
Interestingly,first time I heard about dosing chemical nitrate in the aquarium come from German reefer Marcus who use ecosystem-caulerpa-filtrations and he noted that he must dose nitrate to get corals growth because caulerpa took everything out.

[XxDutchxX]

Im chiming in a bit late, but that is a awsome tank. I lke the aquascaping as well as the cap on the left side. Great Work!

[Fliger]

Fantastic! I love the aquascaping - and I'm doing something similar with my sandbed. I've been barebottom for a while and am putting in a shallow sand bed.

I never knew the blue-eyed cards only live 18 months! I have a school of six and have been trying to find more to add, very unsuccessful.

On a personal note - after a successful 14 year career in advertising, I just quit my job and am going to teach biology. 18 months of school (no income) - then a whopping U.S. teacher's salary. I don't know about the Netherlands, but we pay our teachers like @#$ - make them pass unhelpful tests, overcrowd their classrooms, then we give them a hard time because all our kids are straight A students. ;-)

[crypt-keeper]

Originally posted by Tanu
It is 130 x 70 x 70 centimeters, so not very large. I just connected the DIY T5 and it works!

I have to arrange some things, then I think all frags can move out of the main tank... :bounce1:

Well this is simply a dream tank!!! I didn't have time to read all this thread, but shocked that 350watts of light is doing it for such a nice sps tank. At 168 gal. I just wanted to covert the tank measurments for anybody that needs it. 130x70x70cm=51.18"x27.56"x27.56"=168 gal.

Sure wish I had this in my living room to look at all day!!! I guess I need to rethunk my lighting requirements, 2watts/gal??? man I run 12watts a gal, And I just keep softies, new to the hobby. Just VHO not MH.

Wish I could get some full size pic's to add to my Wallmaster pro which changes my wall paper every hour.

What a Great Tank!!!:eek1: :smokin:

[Coleskank]

I was just wondering what kind of foam you used for Aquascaping because i was thinking about doing thee same thing. Youre tank looks really great!

[Mangas8282]

I have a question about the cardinals. Ilooked up the scientific name you listed Apogon leptacanthus, and it came up with long-spine cardinals, that look a little different then the ones in your tank. It also said that they were unsuccessful in breeding them in captivity, but you said that yours spawn regularly. I would like to find a schooling fish like that, and those fish are beautiful, a lot more interesting then green chromis. Where did you find yours?

[Fliger]

Mangas - the blue eyed cardinal and the longspine cardinal are one & the same - as far as all the research I've done.

I have never seen mine breed, I wonder if I've been missing something. I think I've had my school for close to a year now. Awesome fish, and I've had a H*LL of a time getting more. I would like a school of 10 or so in my 340.

Beautiful fish.

[Skorpinok]

Tanu.... , :D there's not much to say but what a tank, great job.

How were you able to keep so many fish in that tank and what do you feed your tank, fish / corals?

Where did you put your clams - in the middle of the tank, sitting on a lr or at the sandbed... croecea or maxima?

[Tanu]

Quite some time since the last time I visited this topic. Nice to see people still replying :)


Coleskank, just normal foam is used, the yellowish foam which is used for building purposes.

Mangas: they do spawn, but so far I haven't tried to bring up the fry. A few years ago, they weren't available in Holland. Now most LFS carry them.

To-arbitrate: I have one crocea and two maximas. One of the maximas jumps off the rocks and only stays in place on the sand bed. One other maxima is located in the lowest part of the tank but on the rocks. The crocea is located near the surface, on a rock as well.

After a major crash, I refurbished almost the whole tank. After installing the BK, things went downhill real fast. Corals were bleaching, tissue was peeling of the corals, the water was a little cloudy... I figured out the following: the previous skimmer was far undersized, so the other nutrients were broken down by bacteria in the tank itself. These bacteria didn't have much food left after I installed the BK. So, they died off, releasing sulfite, which killed quite some corals. After removing the sandbed, which contained quite some bacteria of course, the die-off stopped. I did some 50% water changes, and things got better slowly. I have bought some new colonies and I also got some frags back from fellow reefers, for which I'm very grateful.

This is how the tank looks now:

http://www.tanu.nl/tmp/overz74.jpg

http://www.tanu.nl/tmp/overz75.jpg

[majesticangelfish]

Sorry to hear abut the lost mate, but i must say, your tank is still stunning! Well done! Best TOTM ever IMO.

[Grimstalk]

Gents, what kind of 150W lights do you use, 10K, 14K, 20K?