the 1700g stingray reef

[spazz]

i have the honor of being the first person to photograph the 1700g stingray reef. the owner asked me not to identify him but is allowing me to post these picture here on reef central. i feel this is one of the biggest honors i could be granted. seeing this reef is amazing! there is no other word to discribe what i saw. the pictures im posting here will not do any justice to the beauty of this eco system he has painstakingly created in his beautiful house. i must note that this person is not a millionare with tons of cash to throw around. he is one of the nicest people you would ever meet though. he was very willing to share his beautiful system with me and my family.
he has had fish tanks and salt water aquariums for most of his life. when he designed this system it was with the intent of having some of the most diverse livestock you could imagine. at some point in time he will answer peoples questions. but right now he wishes to be nameless. he is a busy man and does not have alot of time to answer questions right now. so if you know of this person please respect his wishes and leave him namless until he has time to answer any questions. but in the near future he might be able to answer a few questions.
the system starts off with a 1700gallon main display tank. yes 1700 gallons in one tank. then there is 4-5 other tanks that are sumps, sponge tanks, and such. i think he has some where around 2200 gallons total in the system.
the tank is 15 feet long by 5 feet wide and 33 1/2inches tall.
it has so many different types and sizes of halides and vho's over the tank that i can even begin to say what there is over the tank. i know that some are 400w mh and some are 250w mh. the tank was custom built on site its made out of 1 1/2" thick acrylic.
i have to make another trip back to his house to pick up so things and i plan to bring my tri pod next time so i can get some pictures that will do this system justice. im sorry for the poor quality pictures its hard to keep the camera steady when your druling all over the floor.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/frontview3Large.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/48336a3c.jpg

[spazz]

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/frontview2Large.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/frontview5Large.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/frontview1Large.jpg

[spazz]

this is the fish room behind the tank. its aprox 16ft long by 12 ft wide and holds all the support equiptment.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/fishroom1Large.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/fishroom3Large.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/fishroom4Large.jpghttp://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/fishroom2Large.jpg

[spazz]

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/72512f68.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/e420c245.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/armintankLarge.jpg

[spazz]

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/3b9d7119.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/4a89dd9b.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/83e90e49.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/f234b1b0.jpg

[spazz]

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/8e0d68cb.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/fish3Large.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/fish2Large.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/fish1Large.jpg

[spazz]

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/a4ed8686.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/a0e9116e.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/a0c1f26e.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/83e61aa6.jpg

[spazz]

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/fishroom8Large.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/fishroom7Large.jpg
this is an awesome black tang. sorry about the poor pic i will get a bette one next time im there.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/fishLarge.jpg

[spazz]

he has a colection of some of the most rare and beautiful wrases you could ever imagine.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/wrases7Large.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/wrases8Large.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/wrases2Large.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/8e0d68cb.jpg

[asnatlas]

This looks awesome... Thanks for posting...

Shawn

[zemuron114]

what kind of the fish is that with the poka dots (not the gemtang or the leopard wrasse) its on your 6th post... :)

oh, and very impressive tank.. what are the specs... and dont be shy.. keep posting pics :)

[spazz]

that fish is a rabbit fish. in not sure of the exact name. i will try and find out. i do know that its a very rare species of rabbit fish.
next time i go over to his house i will take about 300 more pictures if he dont mind me doing so. i will try and get some more info on the system specs at that time too.

[biggt 2k1]

Spazz, that is amazing. Thanks for sharing w/ us. Did you make any of his equipment?

[TxAggie08]

absolutley gorgeous. That is something i hpe someday to live up to with a home of my own

[aurorafish]

I gotta know what skimmer(s) he is using!!!!!! wow!!!

[steve68]

Awesome !

[tom obrecht]

I'm jealous!! SSSSSOOOOOOO COOOOOOOOOOL!!:dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance: :dance:

[Labman48076]

Wow that is is fantasic reef job and setup he did don't know what kind of camera you will be using when you go back I have a Canon Eos 20D 8 megpixal would even concider letiing you borrow it if you want to for better photo's but you did a good job concidering that drool factor! WOW!!!!!!

[Psyire]

Very Cool Setup! Everyone needs one of these, lol

[Kreeger1]

amazing

[Danster]

WOW!

[THE GIMP]

Thanks Spazz! A true pleasure! Yep.....Awstruck!

PLease -more info & pics!

My compliments to the Master Reefer!

[shaw]

beautiful

[spazz]

Originally posted by biggt 2k1
Spazz, that is amazing. Thanks for sharing w/ us. Did you make any of his equipment?
no. the skimmer and ca reactor were built by reef mania. i think the tank was built by midwest custom acrylics, i have to check to make sure though.

[sixxer]

Amazing! Love the Blue-spotted stingray.

Can't wait to see more pics.

[spazz]

Originally posted by Labman48076
Wow that is is fantasic reef job and setup he did don't know what kind of camera you will be using when you go back I have a Canon Eos 20D 8 megpixal would even concider letiing you borrow it if you want to for better photo's but you did a good job concidering that drool factor! WOW!!!!!!
i was using a cannon rebel to take these pictures. but i was so awe struck that i didnt take the time to do a proper job with the pictures. im hoping i can bring my tripod over there and get some better pictures. its hard to take your time when you are having brain overload. im still in a state of shock over the shear size and scope of this eco system. i feel he has tried to mimic the natural reef in every posible way. he has animals in his reef that most people have peoblems keeping. but the size of his system and the diversity of it allows him to have these amazing animals.

[nbd13]

could you give some examples of those animals that most couldnt keep? i am intrested to see what he stocked that tank with.

thanks

Nick

[spazz]

Originally posted by nbd13
could you give some examples of those animals that most couldnt keep? i am intrested to see what he stocked that tank with.

thanks

Nick
i plan to take a trip back there in the next couple of weeks. when i do, i plan to take alot more pictures of his system and try and answer some of these questions.
one of the animals i saw there looked like a chucumber but its not. it does not do very well in an aquarium but he is able to keep 6 of them in his system. its the food they need to survive. and because his system is so big it can grow enough food to support these awesome looking animals. he could house morish idols too but he is growing his sponges out as a natural filtering system. the sponges are in there own tank in the fish room. so he decided not to get any moris idols. there is a pipe fish in the main display that looks like it will explode at any second its so fat. it was crusing around eating off the rocks. most people couldnt support a pipe fish in there main display because of the lack of food. they need lots of it. i think he could have 5-6 pipe fish if he wanted. there are so many awesome spices of wrasse in the tank that it makes my head spin. im a huge wrasse lover and he has 3 types of wrasse that i have never seen.
there are very few common fish in his system. i did see a cbb and a lawnmower blenny, but for the most part all the fish are uncommon to most reef tanks. even his regal tang is a rare spices of regal. i think he called it a yellow striped regal. if you look at his belly it has a yellow stripe on it. i have never seen one of those either.
i know that pictures are worth a thousand words and in this instance i dropped the ball big time! the more i think about this system and the more i look at the poor quality pictures i took, the more i feel im not giving this system the recpect it diserves.
to the owner of the stingray reef . i promise to do alot better job next time i come over there. i think then the shock will be less and i can concentrate on better picture taking.

[nbd13]

thanks sounds good, i saw that Gem tang too, is he in quartine i take it?

that fish alone is amazing, do you know where he picked that up at?

also that black tang, any idea where he go that?

do you know if he gets most of his corals/fish/live stock online or locally?

thanks again! cant wait to see more pics in a couple weeks!

Nick

[spazz]

Originally posted by nbd13
thanks sounds good, i saw that Gem tang too, is he in quartine i take it?

that fish alone is amazing, do you know where he picked that up at?

also that black tang, any idea where he go that?

do you know if he gets most of his corals/fish/live stock online or locally?

thanks again! cant wait to see more pics in a couple weeks!

Nick
that gem tank is not in quarintine. thats the sponge tank he is in. i think he is afraid to add him to the main displya untill he grows a little bit. he cam in a little small so he might get beat up in the big tank. im not positive about that though. i do know he is health and eats like a pig.
i think he gets most of his fish on line but im not sure where. i do know he has some specal places he shops at. i think most of it is ressearching the fish that he wants then getting the different places to aquire them for him. but im not positive on that either.
i was there for 2 1/2 hrs and it felt like 10 mins. the shock of seeing the stingray reef is still with me today. its that amazing. i plan to get a pen and paper and write down all the different names of animals in his system. and even that will be incomplete. there was animals going in and out of the rock the entire time i was there. only a video camera could capture all the livestock.

[Kreeger1]

there you go, next time bring the video camera then post that on the net for us to watch :)
Erik

[wetWolger]

so sexy, i would kill 50 men for a tank like that

[spazz]

Originally posted by eriksmacks
there you go, next time bring the video camera then post that on the net for us to watch :)
Erik
if there is some one who could help me with the hosting and linking of the video i will ask the owner of the stingray reef if i can take video and post it on the web. i just dont want to assume its ok to post video, i want to ask him first. then we can go from there.

[nbd13]

how many stingrays does he have in the tank? how big do you think they are?

Nick

[sixxer]

I would love to have one of those Blue-Spotted Rays in my new tank!!!!!

[spazz]

Originally posted by nbd13
how many stingrays does he have in the tank? how big do you think they are?

Nick
there is only the one blue spotted ray in the tank. its the size of a dinner plate plus the tail. it was awesome to see the stingray eating. he gets a specal diet mixed up just for him.

[nbd13]

wow! does he hand feed it? or does it eat off of a stick?

does the stingray get along with everyone? are his main rocks secured in placve so the stingray doesnt get under them and dislodge stuff?

thanks

Nick

[spazz]

Originally posted by nbd13
wow! does he hand feed it? or does it eat off of a stick?

does the stingray get along with everyone? are his main rocks secured in placve so the stingray doesnt get under them and dislodge stuff?

thanks

Nick
he has a specal feeding tube he uses to feed the stingray. his entire rock structure is built together and wont come apart. that is one of the amazing things about his design. the rocks are lifted up and supported so the fish can travle through out the reef and find many hiding places. i think thats why his animals look so healthy and happy. they dont have as much stress as fish do in smaller tanks. suprisingly there is not alot of fish in his system. but the ones he does have are big and beautiful.
if i remnbe right he said there is 1200 lbs of live rock in the tank and alot of hand built sturctures that are half live rock and half man made stuff. when you look at the rock work you can tell what he built and what is natural live rock.
by the way to give you an idea of size this tank, it weighs in at a slim 14 tons! my semi tractor weighs less than his reef tank.

[nbd13]

WOW, thats amazing!

how often does he feed?

thanks

Nick

[spazz]

Originally posted by nbd13
WOW, thats amazing!

how often does he feed?

thanks

Nick
if i remember corectly he feeds twice a day. but the portions are small for the amount of fish and the size of them. i think the black tang could eat 1 whole cups worth of food. that fish is a monster.

[Lunchbucket]

WOW! glad to see the tank all set up! it was empty the last i saw....very very impressive!!! i hope to see it up and running in person someday.

keep the pics coming! the more the better!!

Lunchbucket

[spazz]

Originally posted by Lunchbucket
WOW! glad to see the tank all set up! it was empty the last i saw....very very impressive!!! i hope to see it up and running in person someday.

keep the pics coming! the more the better!!

Lunchbucket
just please keep the owners idenity quiet for now. he wants to remain nameless for the time being.
and you need to get an invitation over there and see that system. im not doing it any justice right now. i think the floor had a drule puddle on it after we left there. if he ever has a group of people show up there he will need to have bibs there for people to wear.

[kappaknight]

I must ask... does he still do water changes at this point? Or can he just top off with the system sustaining itself?

[spazz]

Originally posted by kappaknight
I must ask... does he still do water changes at this point? Or can he just top off with the system sustaining itself?
he does water changes. i think but in not for sure that he feels its best for his system. if i were to have a system that large and that big on an investment i would do water changes just to insure i dont loose any of the animals in the system. he has it down to a couple of valves he opens and then closes. the water changes are almost automatic. the system was very well thought out. i think with all the years of having different systems and animals he has the knowledge to design a system that makes maintaince a breeze. for the most part this system looks like its self sustaining. and in alot of ways it is because of the shear size of it. but also think he is in the fish room alot. the one think he did that i thought was very cool was to design it so he could be with his family as much as possable. he is a very devoted father. so the reef is designed to be opened up so he can see what his children are doing if he is in the fish room. his children are some of the luckiest kids around because i know he loves his reef tank but his children always come first. and this system shows this.

[Lunchbucket]

spazz - no problem buddy..i'll keep the secret. i have an invitation i just need to call ahead of time he said.

hope that wood floor infront of the tank is drool proof!!!

he is a very devoted father...and his kids are cute too :D

Lunchbucket

[Kent E]

That is an incredible tank. Great aquascaping. I thought a 450 was big but its just chump change. I admire his vision and the ability to pull it off.

[got2lb]

Man that is just unreal. I think that is just about everyones dream tank in there living room! The pic. with him on top of the tank reaching in is too funny. But I guess you have to have access somehow. And I bet he has more lights on that thing than wrigley field! His utility bill for a month is probably more than mine for 2 years!!!

Just simply amazing tell him he has a beautiful setup!

Matt

Oh yeah, I'm in the midwest too just incase their were to be some top secret invites! :D

[spazz]

Originally posted by got2lb


Oh yeah, I'm in the midwest too just incase their were to be some top secret invites! :D

i think once the owner of this system lets the cat out of the bag there will be a waiting list for invitations to see this system.
i also think this tank will make tank of the month with in 6 months of the owners first post admiting heis the owner of one of the greatest privatly owned reefs in the country. i think everyone will vote for this system just to see more of it and to have the little details that my 2 hr visit cant describe. i know there are some awesome system out on the west coast and down in florida. i also know there are huge fish only systems out there. but i dont know of a privatly owned reef in this country that is bigger. there might be but i have not heard of them.

[got2lb]

If you don't want to answer this I totally understand. But is he currently a member on this board? Did he get alot of his ideas from RC or did he come up with a lot of it just by trial and error and looking at other peoples setups?

Might have to buy a new keyboard now, mine's full of drool. :D

[Lunchbucket]

no idea if he is a member..i've never seen him post

Lunchbucket

[spazz]

im not going to answer this question because im not sure if he is or not. but i do know he has lots of experince in the hobby. or should i say the addiction. he said he has had fish tanks ever sence he was 12 and he in his 30s now. so i think after all these years of taking care of fish he is a master reefer. i do remember he said he has a fish that has been with him for over 9 years. what fish it is i dont know.

i will say if he is a member here on reef central and he is reading these post, i hope i am giving your system the recpect it deserves. it is truly a master piece.

[got2lb]

With a system like that I can't imagine the amount of planning it would take to make it all come together and turn out to be so spectacular.

[tom obrecht]

14 tons of weight! Holy smokes. Any special flooring prep for a beast that big?

[Kent E]

he could write an article or charge admission. I would pay to see that.

[Kent E]

my guess is that it is a cement tank, that would explain the beautiful rock work.

[spazz]

Originally posted by Kent E
my guess is that it is a cement tank, that would explain the beautiful rock work.
nope! this is an all acrylic tank. i think it was built by midwest custom acrylics. it was assembled on site. the front and back panes are 1.5" thick acrylic and the top and bottom is 3/4" thick acrylic. im not sure how thick the sides are. the rock work was done by the owner of this reef. the entire house was custom built by the owner. all log style home with lofted celings and balconys. it would be worth the money to drive there to see it. i think one of the big reasons(im not for sure though) he is keeping this such a secret is because of the mobs or people who would want the privlage to see this maserpiece. he takes alot of pride in this system.
the only reason i got to see this system is because he saw that i was looking for some 400w ballasts in trade for some icecap 250s. he contacted me and we agreed that i would drive to his place and do the trade.
the picture you see with his arm in the tank was so he copuld get a frag that had broke off he said i could have it if i wanted it. once he told me the size of his system i had asked if it was ok if i brought my camera along and took some pictures. he asked me not to post anything about the ownership of this system. i agreed i wouldnt post anything with out his permition first. after we had talked for a while he said it was ok to post these picture but not to disclose the ownership. i would like to thank him once more for his generosity in letting my family witness this wonderful masterpiece.

[Lunchbucket]

that log house is SWEET!! very very nice...but the tank wow...17000 gallons!!!! good lord!

Lunchbucket

[spazz]

Originally posted by Lunchbucket
that log house is SWEET!! very very nice...but the tank wow...17000 gallons!!!! good lord!

Lunchbucket
i think your druling too much again bucket. you added an extra zero in there.
<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008_ZNxdm41495US' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/36/36_11_6.gif' alt='ROTFL' border=0></a>

[Lordhelmet]

so it's to early to vote tank of the month. :D
the one thing i would change is i would make that in my bedroom so i could sleep next to that tank. simply amazing.

[spazz]

Originally posted by Lordhelmet
so it's to early to vote tank of the month. :D
the one thing i would change is i would make that in my bedroom so i could sleep next to that tank. simply amazing.
i think once the person who own this reef has come forward then we can put our votes in for tank ofthe month. its hard to vote vor a tank when the owner is a mystery. who would reef central contact? not me! i wouldnt tell them anything. it is truly an honor to be the first person allowed to photograph this system and present it to the world.

[Lordhelmet]

i know, just amazed at the size of that tank. patiently waiting for that day to come.

[i2ik]

This is amazing!!! Really love the stringray!!!

[snulma1]

I think i'm gonna throw up from excitement, That tank is SICK! Nice job!

[JnS]

time to go look at the tank in person :D last time I was there it was only getting water tested.

I know there is a black tang in there some where....

[GoldStripe]

Can't wait to see the list of equipment. spazz did you take notes while you were there... Seems like you remembered a lot. I'd have been to anxious / excited. Good work!!

[KingsX]

Yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiikes! that makes the seattle aquarium look pretty week!!!! If it was mine, I'd be cleaning it from inside with dive gear! Or maybe not with the Ray in there.. A most beautiful setup.. Very Nice!! Jeff

[Ebisan]

Ok, this and oregonreef are now my favs. Incredible.

[fishman805]

Originally posted by spazz
if there is some one who could help me with the hosting and linking of the video i will ask the owner of the stingray reef if i can take video and post it on the web. i just dont want to assume its ok to post video, i want to ask him first. then we can go from there.

spazz.... As everyone has already stated ( and I just now saw this thread ) that is an amazing tank .... I've got a thread in the Reef Discussion forums called "Home Reef Videos".... It's the largest thread in RC totally devoted to videos made and produced by "us" here in RC .... I'd like to point you to a couple of folks that might help you host a video for here and especially on my thread for ALL to see... contact: AJP or melev.... both RC members I'm sure they'll hook you up especially when you tell them about this tank and it's size.....

Bob

[reefez]

Holly BeJesus!!!!! Hellova nice reef!!! I have a new favorite reefer.

[Kreeger1]

Looking at the tank again, I'd say theres almost no way that tank is 15 feet long and 5 feet wide. Using the guy as comparision
Does anyone else see that?

[MickyB]

SWEET..

Thats 15ft long . The Cute little girl is about 2 feet Tall . The Tank looks at least 7 times longer then Her. My Tank is 8 Feet long and 5 Feet wide , This Tank looks twice as long, Hard to see the width in the pictures.

[Kreeger1]

well you figure the guy is 6 feet tops the tanks is a tad less then double him, and come on 2 feet for the girl my son is 2 years old and is 38 inches. shes atleast as tall as the tank which is sateated as 33 1/2
Im not saying the tank isn't more than amzing just that I can't see the 15 foot long and 5 feet wide, Look at the pictures with him on top of the tank I can't seem to figure the 5 feet wide out in those pics
Erik

[Kreeger1]

3 feet wide is my guess, No biggie the real owner should post the real specs and equipment he has, I really like to no what it takes to run a tank that big
Erik

[floppyfish]

Heh, wow. I remember Jerry telling me about this back when Greg was setting up his 450 and I thought that was a big tank! Course it was, but man..

I hope he hosts a meeting sometime!

[Lunchbucket]

eriksmacks - i've seen it in person...and i was told it is 15ft...everything i have heard from others is that the specs are 15ft. long. i didn't have a measuring tape along though :D just don't knock the system man...it ROCKS! it was amazing to see it empty...i couldn't immagine it full

Lunchbucket

[Kreeger1]

Im not knocking it by any means at all, Its amazing to say the least.
But the specs are wrong I believe, from the pictures you can see him on top of the tank with his feet hanging over and him hunched up, theres no 5 feet it may be 15 feet long but in the picture it looks 10 feet maybe 12 but thats pushing it. Im a carpentor so Eyeballing lengths comes second nature to me :)
Erik

[MBX5]

I vote 15 it prob goes into the rock a bit so from the pic it looks like 15 to me.
http://cupofjoe.org/Gallery/albums/other-tanks/frontview3Large.sized.jpg

[Kreeger1]

yeah maybe but try that with the 5 wide that won't work but still if hes 6 foot tall thats 12 ish 13 ish. Still thats a massive tank!!
Erik

[Kent E]

:lol:

[Kreeger1]

That is funny, lol

[dcoufal]

Using the above pic:

If he's 6'6" and the tank extends 3/4 of the way into the rock on each end (right is "deeper" than left), it would be 15'.


But, why is anyone nit-picking the dimensions?? It's a freakin' awesome tank -- 13' or 23' long!

Dwain

[willjeff]

I agree amazing, hey dcoufal what is that brittle star eating?

[David Corbett]

But, why is anyone nit-picking the dimensions??


Nothing else better to do I guess, 1700 gallons will eat up some floor space though, they should do the math. DOC

[Kreeger1]

not nit-picking just wanting to no it its really that big
Can anyone dispute the 5 foot wide fact?
Erik

[spazz]

Originally posted by GoldStripe
Can't wait to see the list of equipment. spazz did you take notes while you were there... Seems like you remembered a lot. I'd have been to anxious / excited. Good work!!
i just got an email back from the owner and he gladly invited me over for another photo shoot. im hoping i can get my head screwed on straight and ask some intillegent questions instead of leaving puddles of drule on his beautiful hardwood floors, and making sounds like im half insane.

[dcoufal]

Originally posted by willjeff
I agree amazing, hey dcoufal what is that brittle star eating?

A large piece of mysis that a snail didn't want to give up. ;) Guess who won?

Dwain

[spazz]

Originally posted by fishman805
spazz.... As everyone has already stated ( and I just now saw this thread ) that is an amazing tank .... I've got a thread in the Reef Discussion forums called "Home Reef Videos".... It's the largest thread in RC totally devoted to videos made and produced by "us" here in RC .... I'd like to point you to a couple of folks that might help you host a video for here and especially on my thread for ALL to see... contact: AJP or melev.... both RC members I'm sure they'll hook you up especially when you tell them about this tank and it's size.....

Bob
i will ask the owner if its ok if i videotape the system and fish room. if its ok i will try and get the details worked out to get this hosted on the net. stay tuned.

[spazz]

as for the dimentions of this tank. please dont start an argument about this. its little things like this that would cause the owner to just stay a away from comming on here and talking about his system and the the animals he has. i think this is why he asked me not to post who has this wonderful reef. i do know he has all the pictures from building this reef. and im hoping i can copy some of them next time i am over to his house. just be pacient with me and my descriptions of this system. i dont know the system that well. a 2 hr tour is hardly an expert at it. i will try and find out alot more next time im there. but i do know this tank is 15 feet long. and 5 feet wide. and i will prove it next time im there. so please let this be the last of this argument.

[Lunchbucket]

if i remember right it does go into the rock.

LOL guess you have to take a tape measure since some people can't just let a nice tank be a nice tank:rolleye1:

lets stick to the eye poping tank :eek: and not get hung up on if it is or isn't...if they say it is...it IS. i know the guy and he isn't a lier.

it was HUGE when i saw it so i would believe all of it

Lunchbucket

[Travis]

Wow! That is an amazing tank. I would go see that tank over any public aquarium I know of. Heck, maybe someday I will be lucky enough to see it. (fingers crossed)

I agree that the nitpicking should stop here. A beautiful tank has been posted and someone always has to sweat the small stuff. It is reasons like this that the owner probably prefers to stay anonymous. That and I can't imagine the flood of pm's and emails he will get when he "comes forth".

Looking forward to more pics and specs in the future. I would really like to hear more about the skimmer and see more pics of it.

[Jiddy]

Yes truly great tank, and spazz when you go there take pictures of the tank not him, lol, just messin with you, i cant wait until you go back, ask him if you can bring your scuba gear? lol

And for those of you who cant wait for more pics they actually have some of the manufacturing pics of this tank on the Midwest Custom (whatever its called) website, under custom creations, so you carpenters can get a better idea of what your talkin about, lol, its a teaser but shows how great this tank truly is!

And i cant wait until we go see it Travis, you are bringing me right? (fingers crossed)

[Lunchbucket]

Tavis and Jiddy i'm not bringing either of you :P LOL j/k

i'll have to check that out on midwest customes website

all i know is that his other tanks were super impressive and they were in the 110 and 180 range i think. the best i have seen so far.

later
Lunchbucket

[got2lb]

Pulled this off of Midwest Custom Aquarium's webpage. I would "ASSUME" this is the same tank and it shows the dimensions pretty well so you can "EYEBALL" them. :D

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y195/got2lb/40667f03.jpg

I've read a couple other threads where people had just amazing tanks and they stopped posting because of things like were said here. So please make that the end of it so we can continue to see such a beautiful piece of work.

[Lunchbucket]

that would be the same house and that would be the tank. heck the house is a work of art...very very cool

Lunchbucket

[10" Red Devil]

What the hell do you do that allows you to afford somthing like this? Do you hawk your wedding ring and give up all your kids college money or what?! That thing is awesome!

[spazz]

thanks for posting that picture got2lb i didnt know there website had that on it. i think you get a better idea of the size seeing all the poeple it took to build it and no rock work around it. as for affording this tank and house im sure he works 10hrs a day to afford a beautiful house and aquarium like that. but he did alot of the work himself so he saved a ton of money.

[Travis]

Dang, seeing that tank with all those people around really puts it into perspective. That thing is HUGE. I wonder how much it weighs in at dry....

[kappaknight]

Can I just nitpick at one more thing? For all the people that love water here, it's just bothering me.

Drool is spelled d-r-o-o-l, not drule.

[reefez]

It is without a doubt 15 by 5. I'm handy with eyeballing myself. From the second pic posted that is easy to see. Why do jealous people always want to pick **** appart?

[spazz]

here is a link to the website with the picture of the tank being built on site.
http://www.midwestcustomaquariums.com/onsitefabrication.html

[sls]

hey spazz, when are you going to start building aquariums that size???

[Kreeger1]

Dude, Can I post one more freaking time here that Im not nitpicking anything so back the hell off. Im not jealous of the tank one bit Its a nice tank, and if I wanted to deal with anything larger than the tank I have I would.
SOme people just jump to conculusions. From the original pics to me it didn't look 15x5 is all. For crying out that is all. I posted many many times that its an amazing tank.

[Mantis]

That is simply incredible and insane at the same time.
I thought I was nuts.

[sabodish]

my 360 has never looked so small.

that thing is a MONSTER..i wonder what he had to buy the wife to allow construction of that tank!

cant wait for more pics..and get some detailed specs for us!

[gooch]

Tank looks awesome. I saw it empty and it was jaw dropping then.

Good Job ******. I hope to get up there to see it again eventually. I still need to bring you some corals.

Thanks Spazz for puttin up the pics. Don't beat yourself up about the pics. They look nice.

I think I have the same reactor and skimmer for my tank. I had them built extra large with add on capacity when I saw this tank. I also tried to get my tank a little bigger but the wife knocked me back down to earth. You truly have to stand next to that tank to appreciate its size.

Gooch

[spazz]

Originally posted by sls
hey spazz, when are you going to start building aquariums that size???
never! lol

[spazz]

Originally posted by sabodish
my 360 has never looked so small.

that thing is a MONSTER..i wonder what he had to buy the wife to allow construction of that tank!

cant wait for more pics..and get some detailed specs for us!
if i remember correctly he said that his wife asked for a fireplace in the new part of the house. so she got a beautiful split rock fire place just across from the tank. now how could you not agree to a deal like that.

[spazz]

Originally posted by gooch
Tank looks awesome. I saw it empty and it was jaw dropping then.

Good Job ******. I hope to get up there to see it again eventually. I still need to bring you some corals.

Thanks Spazz for puttin up the pics. Don't beat yourself up about the pics. They look nice.

I think I have the same reactor and skimmer for my tank. I had them built extra large with add on capacity when I saw this tank. I also tried to get my tank a little bigger but the wife knocked me back down to earth. You truly have to stand next to that tank to appreciate its size.

Gooch
one of these days i have to stop by your place when im in green bay. i hear your system is awesome too.

[Lunchbucket]

i might get ot see it on Monday :D :D if i do i'll make sure to take PLENTY of pics!!!

Lunchbucket

[gooch]

My tank won't be set up for months. I just got the floor put in today. I should get started on it in December......maybe. I almost sold the whole works yesterday.

[Julio]

I remember seeing this tank when it was finished on the the floor and is great to see it finally stocked and nice to see how the stingrays are incorporated into the reef.
AMAZING TANK!!

[Pacific Reefs]

Spazz thanks for sharing these pictures. I cant wait to see the next round of shots. I spend hours in front of my little reef. The owner must spend weeks in front of his!

[Lunchbucket]

gooch why you almost sell it all yesterday??

Lunchbucket

[midwestcustomaquariu]

I received a call from the owner of this aquarium today to notify me that this thread had been started on Reef Central and that it might be a good idea to post.

I am the owner of Midwest Custom Aquarium and had the pleasure of building the tank on site for the owner. I would have to reiterate the first post of this thread and mention again that he is your normal everyday fellow, a sincerely good guy and not a millionaire who had this system up and running with the signing of a check. His family seems to be high on his list of priorities and because it is a busy time of the year for his work schedule, simply does not have the time to put into a thread and thus has asked to not be involved for the time being. He has indicated that he may step in if he finds the time in the future and may be able to answer some of the questions that only he himself would be able to answer for you. I am sure there are many and it is not hard to imagine that many hours out of one's week could easily be spent on just answering questions.

I should mention that I am not a regular visitor to Reef Central. Although I am a member, I have maybe posted a time or two and do not plan on checking back on this thread very often as it is a busy time of year for me also. I have been asked to post in case anybody has questions regarding the tank itself. As I mentioned, I will probably not be able to post or answer any questions here on Reef Central due to time constraints but I can be reached at the shop at 866-682-4498 or can be emailed directly at [email protected]

The tank itself is 100% acrylic. The outside dimensions are 184" long (over 15 feet), 60" deep, and 33" tall. The ends, bottom, and top are sunk into the rockwork which take up some viewing space but give a nice finished look. The liverock does have a PVC base onder some of it for a platform. I would have to agree that the pictures do not do it justice and that it does seem smaller in the pics. I am sure more pics will surface on this thread that may give a better idea. The pics of construction shown earlier are from our website and are the pics of that tank being built.

I would like to say that the owner should receive full credit for the design of this system....I built the tank only. From day one, he incorporated many features into the system that are beneficial to its health and maintenance. For example, there is a lot of heat generated my the thousands of watts of halides, which can be harnessed and used to heat the living space during the winter by the use of fans and ducts built into the house during construction. That is a lot of BTU's which are valuable to us up here in Minnesota during the winter months, especially with rising energy costs.

I have not been over and seen the tank personally since the first live rock was put in, put did see his former tanks and can say that they probably held the healthiest livestock I had ever seen. From the looks of the photos, this tank is on the same track. An experienced reefkeeper, only the owner could accurately tell you about his techniques and equipment used and deserves a lot of credit for the system he has worked very hard to put together. Please extend him some courtesy if he does happen to start posting by not hammering him with an extensive amount of questions.

Thank you,
Chris Boelke
Midwest Custom Aquarium

[Kreeger1]

Thanks for clearing things up, Truely an amazing tank
Erik

[law086]

Truely awesome tank.

Can somebody comment on how humidity is handled in the summer months with that volume of water?

Thanks!
Ron

[Broodingwolf]

Amazing tank, that really inspires! Maybe his friend could ask him some of the questions for us. Sounds like a nice guy. Can't wait to see more pics!

[spazz]

Originally posted by law086
Truely awesome tank.

Can somebody comment on how humidity is handled in the summer months with that volume of water?

Thanks!
Ron
hmidity is handled in 3 ways. first is direct venting of the fish room outdoors. then there is an airconditioner in the fish room just to handle the excess heat in the room. then on top of that there is central air through out the house that adds cooling and dehimidifying. but he said that because the house is a log home and the wood use to make the house so dry that they had nose bleads and such happening. the tank helps to bring up the humidity just enough to be comfortable but not ove humid.

[Lunchbucket]

nice say to combat humidity...a log house! maybe mr 4000 should have tried that :D :lol:

Lunchbucket

[gooch]

Hey Lunch,

When the wife realized we could remodel the whole house by just selling the tank,equipment and livestock within she made a few comments about selling. I do not think either of us were seriously considering it but if the contractor would have been willing we would have put serious thought into it. IF someone gave me my asking price I would sell it for sure.

[steve68]

:beer: more :beer:more :beer:

[chainsaw5vent]

wowwowowowowow!!!

[fishman805]

How's it comming with the video....? Will he let you film the tank??

Bob

[spazz]

Originally posted by fishman805
How's it comming with the video....? Will he let you film the tank??

Bob
dont know yet i dont want to bug him too much. will find out in a week or so.

[fishman805]

Originally posted by spazz
dont know yet i dont want to bug him too much. will find out in a week or so.

I fully understand.... I'll keep tagging along ....

Thanks

Bob

[sixxer]

Spazz :

Do you recall any info. on the sponge tank? I am curious what size tank, lighting, equip. he was running on that tank in particular and was it connected to the main system?

Thanks

[spazz]

Originally posted by sixxer
Spazz :

Do you recall any info. on the sponge tank? I am curious what size tank, lighting, equip. he was running on that tank in particular and was it connected to the main system?

Thanks
i dont think the sponge tank has any lights over it. i think its plumbed to the tank. thats where ha is housing his spotted tank at right now. and one little cardnal fry that went for a ride down the overflows. this is one more thing im adding to the list of things to ask him about.

[MH MN]

i have seen this tank in person and it is truly amazing. absolutely nothing wrong with the pictures spazz took, but they do not do it justice.

[kysmith]

who is in all the pictures?

[vitz]

imo, that setup is NOT appropriate for a ray of any kind-there's not nearly enough unobstructed sand flat area to match their needs

a SMALL bue spot should have an area at least 4'x6' of unobstructed swimming area, with no rock column, at a minimum, imho, and 99% of all tanks they're placed in are innappropriate for their long term husbandry

otherwise, nice tank

[spazz]

Originally posted by vitz
imo, that setup is NOT appropriate for a ray of any kind-there's not nearly enough unobstructed sand flat area to match their needs

a SMALL bue spot should have an area at least 4'x6' of unobstructed swimming area, with no rock column, at a minimum, imho, and 99% of all tanks they're placed in are innappropriate for their long term husbandry

otherwise, nice tank
its hard to tell it but there is alot of room in that tank for the stingray. the entire front of the tank is clear, so the stingray can swim the entire front and sides of the tank. not to mention all the other open areas in the tank that are open for him. trust me there will never be a better reef tank for a stingray than this one. he designed this tank around the stingray. its a better habitat than most national aquariums have. because its designed around his natural eco system. its not just a tank with a bunch of fake rocks and no corals or other animals that the ray is use to being around. i would have to say that the ray has 15'x 2' across the front alone then 5'x 2' on each side. so he will be just fine in that aquarium.

[JnS]

Originally posted by kysmith
who is in all the pictures?

the owner of the tank along with his children.




Originally posted by vitz
imo, that setup is NOT appropriate for a ray of any kind-there's not nearly enough unobstructed sand flat area to match their needs

a SMALL bue spot should have an area at least 4'x6' of unobstructed swimming area, with no rock column, at a minimum, imho, and 99% of all tanks they're placed in are innappropriate for their long term husbandry

otherwise, nice tank

there is ALOT more room then the pictures show.

[vitz]

Originally posted by spazz
its hard to tell it but there is alot of room in that tank for the stingray. the entire front of the tank is clear, so the stingray can swim the entire front and sides of the tank. not to mention all the other open areas in the tank that are open for him. trust me there will never be a better reef tank for a stingray than this one. he designed this tank around the stingray. its a better habitat than most national aquariums have. because its designed around his natural eco system. its not just a tank with a bunch of fake rocks and no corals or other animals that the ray is use to being around. i would have to say that the ray has 15'x 2' across the front alone then 5'x 2' on each side. so he will be just fine in that aquarium.

do you know what a 2' wide strip translates to for a ray that's close to 2' long?:lol:

once again-there isn't nearly enough room in that tank to even come close to a ray's natural needs and habits. period

[spazz]

Originally posted by vitz
do you know what a 2' wide strip translates to for a ray that's close to 2' long?:lol:

once again-there isn't nearly enough room in that tank to even come close to a ray's natural needs and habits. period
well this is just your opinion and i respect that. i have my opinions also. lets not start an argument over this. i know the ray has enough room to run. you could just a bout go swiming in this tank. and the owner has done it a few times in the begining to get the rock work the way he wanted it. so if he can swim around in there, a stingray will be fine in there.

[k9asia]

I vote we stop responding to or commenting to negative post, just like a little kid if you dont respond to negative behavior they will stop.

[law086]

Originally posted by vitz

once again-there isn't nearly enough room in that tank to even come close to a ray's natural needs and habits. period

Ironic statement, considering we all buy fish, taking them from a natural environment and stick them in little glass boxes full of water.

:rolleyes:

1700 gallons seems like a better environment than most of us provide.

Ron

[Lordhelmet]

Please stop all the critisims. it is one of the best private tanks in the country and we want the owner to respond and give us more details in this remarkable tank. So just knock it off and enjoy the positives about the tank. and for what it's worth, it is probably 10X better at recreating a natural reef and 10X for any fish/coral then any tank anyone here has. so lets take the beam out of our eye before we try to get the mote out of his.

Sorry for that, rant over.:)

[spazz]

Originally posted by Lordhelmet
Please stop all the critisims. it is one of the best private tanks in the country and we want the owner to respond and give us more details in this remarkable tank. So just knock it off and enjoy the positives about the tank. and for what it's worth, it is probably 10X better at recreating a natural reef and 10X for any fish/coral then any tank anyone here has. so lets take the beam out of our eye before we try to get the mote out of his.

Sorry for that, rant over.:) when i last talked to the owner this was one of his worst fears. the negitave comments and people telling him he cant do things like this or like that. its working for him so please leave it at that. the one thing you have to concider is by removing the stingray out of the wild and into the aquarium. your removing all known predators to that fish. so being in that invoirment with zero preadators to chase him around he will live a much more stress free life. also he is fed vey well with his own specal diet just for the stingray. how many people do you know that target feeds certan fish in there aquarium. first he feeds the other fish then he feeds the ray on the other end of the aquarium. that way he dont have to compete for food and get tthe specal diet he needs. the stingray is trained to the point where he goes to the exact spot every day during feeding times.

[steve68]

"how many people do you know that target feeds certan fish in there aquarium"

i would be one :)

AWESOME TANK!
The owner has done a great job.
all i could say is Awesome with a capital "A"

[chainsaw5vent]

Originally posted by Lordhelmet
Please stop all the critisims. it is one of the best private tanks in the country and we want the owner to respond and give us more details in this remarkable tank. So just knock it off and enjoy the positives about the tank. and for what it's worth, it is probably 10X better at recreating a natural reef and 10X for any fish/coral then any tank anyone here has. so lets take the beam out of our eye before we try to get the mote out of his.

Sorry for that, rant over.:)

AMEN!!

[simonmr]

I love this tank it is simply amazing. and whatever works for him works for him. We all have our own methods to reach the same desired results so sit back and enjoy the tank. I am so interested in this tank because it is something you do not get to see every day. So lets learn how he does it so when we will the lotto we can run out and get this tank with our wife's approval

[Lunchbucket]

i can't wait for monday. i better charge up my camera batteries...and buy a 10billion gigabyte memory card just to hold all the pics i'm gonna take!!

Lunchbucket

[asnatlas]

Originally posted by Lunchbucket
i can't wait for monday. i better charge up my camera batteries...and buy a 10billion gigabyte memory card just to hold all the pics i'm gonna take!!

Lunchbucket

Very nice... Take lots of pics and get alot of info :) Keep us posted...

Shawn

[Lunchbucket]

oh don't worry i plan on it!!!

Lunchbucket

[trodder]

Originally posted by kysmith
who is in all the pictures?

haaaaaa..... clever question....

followed by a nice resonse from Jerry (Jerry)....

Mr. 17000 You never cease to amaze us with your setups!!!! You just keep pushing the envelope making us all grin with envy :eek2:

I think keeping the rock look on the wall was a nice before but now that you have that nice viewing pane on the side like that too... it makes it look twice as sweet!!!

[fishdoc11]

Very very nice tank:D

[vitz]

Originally posted by Lordhelmet
Please stop all the critisims. it is one of the best private tanks in the country and we want the owner to respond and give us more details in this remarkable tank. So just knock it off and enjoy the positives about the tank. and for what it's worth, it is probably 10X better at recreating a natural reef and 10X for any fish/coral then any tank anyone here has. so lets take the beam out of our eye before we try to get the mote out of his.

Sorry for that, rant over.:)

criticism is part of any hobby, get over it, heh

no-one is flaming or slamming anyone, and neither should all posts be limited to only compliments-if one's skin isn't thick enough to deal with a critique of one's posts, one shouldn't post, then ;)

[eugimon]

Originally posted by k9asia
I vote we stop responding to or commenting to negative post, just like a little kid if you dont respond to negative behavior they will stop.

criticism is not a negative post... and without criticism how do you expect anyone to improve, learn or grow? It really is quite childish and more than a little narcissistic to put up pictures of your tank, ideas for comments and then say "positive comments only."

if you disagree with a comment or opinion.. explain why you think that person is in error.. maybe if you use reason and logic and the other person is likewise disposed you'll both come away with something.

BTW, telling someone to stop posting because they are saying something you disagree with is a negative post.

[sixxer]

Spazz,

If you remember on your next trip, could you try and find out how much flow and what size tank he is using for the sponge tank? I really want to add one to my new system and trying to get as many details on a sponge tank as possible.

Thanks

[grimmjohn]

Originally posted by sixxer
Spazz,

If you remember on your next trip, could you try and find out how much flow and what size tank he is using for the sponge tank? I really want to add one to my new system and trying to get as many details on a sponge tank as possible.
Thanks

FWIW, I think Tyree has a CD-ROM presentation that you can buy about his sponge/zonal filtration method.

Awesome tank as well () : )

Cheers,

grimmjohn

[reefman77]

his electricity bill probably comes in a box with that many halides.

[bond007069]

sweet tank.

[Psionicdragon]

Those that are critizing, get off your high horse. If you could do better, then prove it.

As Spazz stated, the owner didn't want to post because of comments like yours. If it works for him and the animals is healthy, thats fine.

Sure its great to critize to give feedback, but what is being said isn't giving good feedback if all the feedback is critizism. Apparently, almost every post from someone is an attack, an insult, or a flame regardless of what they believe. If that is negative, I do not know what warped world we are living in then.

Btw, the owner didn't post the pictures. Spazz posted it to share.

[spazz]

Originally posted by sixxer
Spazz,

If you remember on your next trip, could you try and find out how much flow and what size tank he is using for the sponge tank? I really want to add one to my new system and trying to get as many details on a sponge tank as possible.

Thanks
i will add this to my growing list of questions. i think this is #5000 for the list. he he he he he
i think he will hate me after i question him for 4 hrs about his system. lolbut i will ask.

[Lunchbucket]

i just saw the 1700gal BEAUTY today and seeing the 1700gal tank was AMAZING...to say the least :eek2: :eek1: !!!

UN-FRICKING-REAL!!!

i took 106 pictures and 5 movies. i need to see which ones turned out and start posting. anyone want to host the movies for me???

he was more then happy to show us (Travis and I) the whole works and explain all of it in pretty good detail. please don not ask me to recal every darn detail. i was drooling too bad and my mind was going 100mph. i'll answer what i can and this guy will come out sometime soon and answer everyones questions. he will not right now as they have a baby on the way and it wouldn't be fair to his family...did we mention he was a great family man? yeah we did.

well it is 4:45AM :eek2: :eek1: and i'm acclimating 10 corals that i brought home from my trip (only 1 from the 1700gal tank)..i need to sleep some before i got to work at 8:30am...good thing i slept 3-4hrs on the way home :D thanks for driving Travis and Krysee (did i spell it right ??? sorry if i didn't).

i'll post the pics tomorrow...and whoever wants to host hte movies let me know...i got some decent ones.

good night....a TIRED Lunchbucket

[kappaknight]

Lunchbucket, PM'ed ya.

[eugimon]

The animals aren't healthy. At least the stingray isn't. look at the tail, you can already see where it's being chewed up from rubbing up against the rock.

And where does this if you can't do better than you can't talk thinking come from... so... if a guy is keeping say a pet lion in his living room I can't criticize because I can't afford a lion? If a guy is locking up six kids in wire cages...I can't criticize because I can't afford six kids?

BTW... no one is saying the tank as a whole is bad.. nothing of the sort, the tank is a beauty... it's just that a stingray isn't right in that sort of setup... it needs more swiming space than just the corners...it needs open sand...

Originally posted by Psionicdragon
Those that are critizing, get off your high horse. If you could do better, then prove it.

As Spazz stated, the owner didn't want to post because of comments like yours. If it works for him and the animals is healthy, thats fine.

Sure its great to critize to give feedback, but what is being said isn't giving good feedback if all the feedback is critizism. Apparently, almost every post from someone is an attack, an insult, or a flame regardless of what they believe. If that is negative, I do not know what warped world we are living in then.

Btw, the owner didn't post the pictures. Spazz posted it to share.

[Snookums]

this tank is unbelievable!
it's got MY vote for TOTM :)
what a dedicated reefer......again, unbelievable!

[rburn99]

Originally posted by eugimon
so... if a guy is keeping say a pet lion in his living room I can't criticize because I can't afford a lion?
That's right, you can't. Well, you can if you're inconsiderate and rude.

I'm not sure what not being able to afford something has to do with common courtesy but whatever.. If someone is showing off something they are proud of (or someone is sharing something they have seen that they think is cool) it would be pretty rude to say something nasty or critical of it.

If someone posts and asks for critiques or help or constructive criticism of his setup and you post a critique or criticism then you are being helpful. Do you see the difference? Posting negatively in the first situation (showing, sharing) is inconsiderate, rude, uncalled for, and unwanted, where posting negatively in the second situation (asking for help finding problems or flaws) could be considered helpful (depending on the amount of tact and diplomacy you use of course.. typing anonymously rather than speaking face to face doesn't change basic rules of behaviour)


And on an unrelated note... WHAT AN AWESOME SETUP! I HAVE NOT SEEN A BETTER PRESENTED DISPLAY! I am looking forward to more detailed behind the scenes shots as well as closeups of the tank inhabitants.

[Lordhelmet]

well said rburn99. well said.

[vitz]

the purpose of posting here isn't simply to show off and brag, nor is it to only make fawning complimentary posts-there's nothing wrong with criticizing anything, if the criticism is valid


if criticism is frowned upon by posters, then they shouldn't post ;)


as i said-it's a nice tank, but not appropriate for a stingray


or would y'all rather i compliment someone for not keeping an animal properly? ;)

[spazz]

Originally posted by vitz
the purpose of posting here isn't simply to show off and brag, nor is it to only make fawning complimentary posts-there's nothing wrong with criticizing anything, if the criticism is valid


if criticism is frowned upon by posters, then they shouldn't post ;)


as i said-it's a nice tank, but not appropriate for a stingray


or would y'all rather i compliment someone for not keeping an animal properly? ;)
the problem i have with your post is that i have personaly see this tank and this stingray. you have not. you cant get a grasp of the room in the tank by looking at a couple of pitures. there has already been alot of arguments as to the size of this or that. pictures make everything look smaller than they really are. that fish has tones of room all over the tank. that tank was aquascaped with the stingray in mind. we all know they need alot or room. and this is the first tank that i feel and im sure alot of other people feel, gives this stingray ample room to run around and tons of sand the hide in. this is one of the reasons why this tank is so big. he wanted a stingray, and he needed a large enough tank to house him in. i would concider this a better inviroment than a 2000g fish only tank. because it an eco system not just a tank with fish in it. its more of a natural enviorment to the stingray.

[Lordhelmet]

like rburn99 said, not wrong. just rude.
When the onwer asks for you for your advice, then give it. until then let's sit back and dream about having this amazing tank for our own and what we would do with it.:)

And lets not forget that the owner did not post this. another reefer posted this with his permission and the owner will not post if he feels he will be attacked or overly criticized for what he has done. He looks like he knows what he was doing and he knows how to take care of his fish. not some Millionaire who wanted a neat fish tank and didn't care what it cost or what it was. I hope the owner of this tank is reading this and can see that for the most part people are very impressed with this system and want nothing more then to have a deeper insight on this remarkable system.

[vitz]

i just don't get the (overly) defensive attitude of the posters whos tank this doesn't even belong to

the censor-like attitude does your intelligence a great disservice, imo

and i couldn't give a rat's patoot how well designed, or well-intended a design the tank was built with in mind, it's STILL not appropo for a blue spot ray

it's not really possible to even come close to what a ray needs with a privately built tank, unless it's 10' square, w 90% cruising/burying room

i'll let 10 years be the judge as to whether or not the tank was/is appropriate for a ray-if it's still alive by then, i'll concede that the tank is adequate for keeping one alive, and still not 'correct' and 'proper' for an animal of that type and size


y'all should stop misinterpreting a husbandry observation for a personal attack, it shows an extremely narrowminded perception of what you read ;)

[S.Dogg]

I have been a member for quite some time now, but never really post or look on the forum because of all the people who have no lives (or unhappy ones at that) and try to ruin everyone elses day by picking apart anything posted on the forums. It the comments arent positive keep them off the thread...it makes reading the threads a lot more enjoyable for the rest of us.

[vitz]

what have i posted that's either positive or negative? my statements are purely observatorial


as i've said before, it's a nice tank, and inappropriate for a ray

no picking apart of anything here


and who elected you house censor ?


since when did this BB become a fascist environment where posters determine what can or cannot be posted?

y'all are doing a far greater dis-service to the aquarium owner by playing 'enforcer' than by any other post/poster here

you don't agree with my statement bout the ray? fine by me

but don't presume to tell me what i can or cannot post, or what value my posts have or don't have for the poster

quite frankly, i don't care-i'm thinking about the ray's life and needs, not your fragile egos, so deal with it

[Nanook]

[flamealert]

[fishman805]

Originally posted by Lunchbucket
i just saw the 1700gal BEAUTY today and seeing the 1700gal tank was AMAZING...to say the least :eek2: :eek1: !!!

UN-FRICKING-REAL!!!

i took 106 pictures and 5 movies. i need to see which ones turned out and start posting. anyone want to host the movies for me???


i'll post the pics tomorrow...and whoever wants to host hte movies let me know...i got some decent ones.

good night....a TIRED Lunchbucket


Must have been quite a day for ya.....

Listen, have you found someone to host the videos for you yet..?? I've got a couple of names for you and they all ar willing to host videos ...expecially for this tank...

melev ( Marc )
AJP ( Adam )

I've PM'd both of them and they've said they can accomodate you.... I'd love to see these videos make their way to my thread ( Home Reef Videos ) in the Reef Discusion Forums... Like I've mentioned before ( several pages ago in this thread ) My thread is the largest thread solely dedicated to Reef Tank Videos.. And we've got a ton of them...and still getting larger.... The thread has split now but you all can see them on the front page of the first half of the thread....

Please let me know what you decide.... I know everyone would love to see this tank in action....

Bob

[derrikd]

when are we going to see more pics. only if i had the room and money.

[spazz]

Originally posted by derrikd
when are we going to see more pics.
i think we are all a bunch of reef junkies that need there fix. he he he he
come on lunchbucket get them posted so we can drool some more. lol

[schulace123]

holy frigin crap that is sweet, that is the coolest tank i have ever seen, who ever said the stingray is unhealthy is dumb, u just are jelious that u dont have a sweet tank like that.

[BradL.]

I must say this mans love for the hobby goes without saying. Im interested in his background mainly where he aquired this level of knowledge. The time he has invested in this tank alone is probably staggering. Just keeping up with the coral line algae would be a full time job. Being able to juqqle this tank ,his family, and work is something to really be proud of. Id like to personally thank him for allowing others to present the pictures and details in his absence.

[Hop]

I Love it and am glad that it was shared here! My only question is how he manages to clean that thick acrylic with a mag float:)
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b308/spazz129/48336a3c.jpg

Really though I feel that only positive remarks can be said here!

[SERVO]

OMG he has more than 3 tangs in that tank!!!!! GASP, wait till the tang police read this thread!!!!!


Tell Prince that I like his tank, but hate his music!

[Nanook]

[flamealert]

Bringing up Tang Police is not what this thread is about.

Dave

RC Staff

[trodder]

Inflammatory post deleted....PLEASE READ MY WARNING!

Further inflammatory posts will be deleted and warnings given to each offender

Dave

Reef Central Staff

[trodder]

can you tell me what was "INFLAMMATORY" of my post?????

[Nanook]

Originally posted by trodder
can you tell me what was "INFLAMMATORY" of my post?????


I just put a flame warning a few posts up and you decided to carry it on more by quoting someone and continuing to argue.

This thread is finished with arguing...keep it on track. Please.

Dave

RC Staff

[Travis]

Originally posted by sixxer
Spazz,

If you remember on your next trip, could you try and find out how much flow and what size tank he is using for the sponge tank? I really want to add one to my new system and trying to get as many details on a sponge tank as possible.

Thanks

Well, I'm not spazz but I think I can answer your question. I didn't ask him what size his sponge refugium was but it looked to be the same size as his water change tank, which was right underneath it. So I'm pretty sure it is a 90 gallon tank. He said it takes about 2 years before it starts functioning because that is how long it takes the sponges to grow in. He also said that it is modeled after Tyree's cryptic sponge filtered systems. One of the neat things he pointed out to us was how "open" everything is in the back of his display tank. All of the rock is on pvc racks and the back of the tank has almost as much swimming room as the front. He placed a bunch of piece of LR randomly across the back on the bottom for sponges to grow on. He said that over time sponges will start to grow there and aid in the filtration.

[Travis]

As Lunch stated, we got to see the tank yesterday. I can certainly confirm that pictures (no matter how good they are) cannot do any justice to this tank. As soon as I walked into the room and saw the beast it immediately looked 10 times bigger than it did in the pictures of this thread. It was AMAZING, to say the least. What impressed me the most, however, was how knowledgable the owner was. I would love to just sit down and pick his brain for a weekend. When he decides to start posting he will have a lot that we can all learn from.

I took some pics but won't be posting them. My picture taking skills are not the best and the pics would just make the tank look worse than it is.

I filled one 256 MB card and one 16 MB card with videos of the tank. They turned out pretty good when I look at them on the camera. I've never uploaded vids so I will have to learn what I need to do. I will then see if I can get someone to host them. When you see the vids you honestly can't tell if you are looking at someone's tank or if you are looking at a video of the ocean. It is that realistic. I am busy and it will probably take a few days to get the vids up but I will do it.

BTW, the most memorable part of the tank to me was the huge black tang. I don't think I've ever seen a tang that big, more less a black one.

[Lunchbucket]

blah blah blah...enough and on to the pics :D

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/3944DSCN2564.JPG
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/3944DSCN2454.JPG
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/3944DSCN2523.JPG
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/3944DSCN2459.JPG
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/3944DSCN2460.JPG
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/3944DSCN2461.JPG
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/3944DSCN2462.JPG


these are only a few. and whoever wants to host the vids let me know

i'll keep uploading more but dang i have a TON of pics

Lunchbucket

[Lunchbucket]

travis - i'll get a pic of the black tang up next and the behind the rockwork stuff too

Lunchbucket

[Lunchbucket]

hind the rockwork. ALL OPEN
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/3944DSCN2485.JPG


Travis and the misses getting schooled on how to go about this sort of tank! you can see the twinkle in Travis's eyes and the gears turning
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/3944DSCN2529.JPG

black tang!
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/3944DSCN2455.JPG

this baby bangaii was born in the system.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/3944DSCN2521.JPG

i love these "across the top" pics
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/3944DSCN2525.JPG
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/3944DSCN2561.JPG
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/3944DSCN2497.JPG

does this look like PVC pipe to you?? IT IS!!
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/3944DSCN2532.JPG

no idea what these are but htey are rare i guess. i was asked to post a pic of them by the owner. what are they? i have no clue
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/3944DSCN2535.JPG

enough pics for tonight i'm beat after that long trip
enjoy
Lunchbucket

[floppyfish]

SWEET pic's Lunch!

Man that tank is a beauty!

[JodiLynn]

Holy cow. One day Ben and I will have a system like this. Just amazing.

And I think his house is beautiful too.

I just love this reef. I would go diving in it everyday. Now I just gotta get my man to build me one.

[sls]

the last i believe is some sort of anemone. i got a couple from a local biology professor. he just wasnt sure of what kind.

[CoralNutz]

Wow, that is awsome . I met you one day when you were leaving Jerry's house. And I was thinking, man, who drops off "frags" in multiple 5 gallon buckets. Now I can see why.

Thanks for posting the pictures Scott, and Lunchbucket :D

[Psionicdragon]

"hind the rockwork, ALL OPEN"

Where was this taken from (meaning which part) and could you elaborate on it?


"does this look like PVC pipe to you?? IT IS!!"

This is well hidden..I don't really see it, but my video card is kinda busted also..

[chainsaw5vent]

can you guys set up a show here in socal so i can convince the wifeola :inlove: :love2: that this is what i would like to put into the room addition?? after the the kiddie pool of course.:lol2: :bigeyes: :bigeyes:

[Jiddy]

First of all, wowzers! Thanks for takin all the SD guys, oh wait, you left one behind...... *pout*

More More More!

[Travis]

Originally posted by Psionicdragon

"does this look like PVC pipe to you?? IT IS!!"

This is well hidden..I don't really see it, but my video card is kinda busted also..

Yes, it is VERY well hidden. He pointed the pvc racks out to me and said "Travis, do you see the pvc see racks there?". I felt really stupid because no matter how hard I looked I couldn't find what he was pointing to. Turns out I wasn't supposed to see them.:lol: Even knowing where the racks are, you have a hard time believing they truly are pvc racks and not live rock.

The owner explained to me how he made them.
1) The pvc racks were constructed.
2) Styrofoam in a can was sprayed onto the racks. I didn't ask what "styrofoam in a can" was but I think it was that stuff you use for sealing windows and doors.
3) Fiberglass was placed on top of the foam. I asked what the purpose of this was and he said it helps the stuff in step 4 stick.
4)Rubble from sand was literally thrown at the foam to cover it.

The finished result is a pvc rack that looks exactly like live rock.

[spazz]

Originally posted by Psionicdragon
"hind the rockwork, ALL OPEN"

Where was this taken from (meaning which part) and could you elaborate on it?
"does this look like PVC pipe to you?? IT IS!!"

that picture was taken in the fish room with a ll the pannles of the back of the tank. he has dark pannles that atach to the tank to keep it dark under the rock structure. its an awesome area for the fish to run around in when there scared of people moving around in the front of the tank.

Originally posted by Psionicdragon



"does this look like PVC pipe to you?? IT IS!!"

This is well hidden..I don't really see it, but my video card is kinda busted also..

he used a specal way to cover up all the pvc pipes he used to build his rock islands. most of the islands were built with giant holes through them. if the owner starts posting on here he can better explain how he did it. you could never tell in a million years that it was pvc pipe in there. he even asked me if i saw any pvc pipe there. i looked for a long time and he pointed it out to me. it was right there in front of my face, and i couldnt tell.

[El_Chico]

Thanks to all those who have posted pictures of this beautiful tank.

Yet one more thing to keep me awake at night :)

[Lunchbucket]

spazz - thanks for answering those for me. you too Travis :D

Lunchbucket

[fishdoc11]

Thanks for posting the pics lunch....amazing tank:)

[Electrobes]

Just... wow. :D

[nbd13]

Very nice,

one question for any 3 of you to answer,

what does he have in terms of flow? he must have alot of it. is it closed loops? or tunzes? or something else?

also any pics of his sumps?

thanks

Nick

[Lunchbucket]

he has NO CL's. only the return pumps (Travis might remember what they are...i was taking pics and not listening :D ) and the rest is done by Tunzes i believe

Travis will help out more where i since i was taking pics and not listening

Lunchbucket

[Crusty Old Shellback]

Originally posted by Lunchbucket

no idea what these are but htey are rare i guess. i was asked to post a pic of them by the owner. what are they? i have no clue
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/3944DSCN2535.JPG

[/B]

I beleive they are gulf aneome's that come from the gulf of mexico. My LFS as a few of them in his display tank. Very bright colors and very beautiful. The colors are so vivid that it they rival most brightly colored corals. The one's he has are red. He got them from his wholesaler who said that's where they came from.

[spazz]

i know he has 2 sequence pumps that return water from the different sumps in the fish room. but most of the circulation is with tunze streams. i think there is 6 or 8 tunze streams and the 2 sequence pumps are huge ones. not sure on total flow in the tank though.

[Lordhelmet]

More pictures please.:)

[nbd13]

intresting, i do not see any streams at all? are they all hide in the rocks?

Nick

[asnatlas]

Originally posted by spazz
i know he has 2 sequence pumps that return water from the different sumps in the fish room. but most of the circulation is with tunze streams. i think there is 6 or 8 tunze streams and the 2 sequence pumps are huge ones. not sure on total flow in the tank though.

LOL, I find that kinda funny if he only has 6 to 8 Tunzes in his 1700... I have 6 Tunzes going into my 600gal (4 6100s and 2 6200s)...

Very nice pics... I would LOVE to speak to him in person... I also love how he covered the PVC...

NOTE: I would guess he used this stuff (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=9232&Ntt=polyurethane%20&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&N=0&Nty=1) to cover the PVC...

Shawn

[grimmjohn]

So where's the Star of the Tank in those pics? Or did I miss him :(

Cheers,

grimmjohn

[Travis]

Originally posted by nbd13
Very nice,

one question for any 3 of you to answer,

what does he have in terms of flow? he must have alot of it. is it closed loops? or tunzes? or something else?

also any pics of his sumps?

thanks

Nick

Hi Nick,
He has 2 Sequence 5800's for returns. Each one pushes water through 2 1" sea swirls for a total of 4 sea swirls. The SS's are located across the front of the tank. 1 in each front corner and the other 2 are in the middle with 1-2 feet of space between them. In the tank he is only using 4 Streams.:eek2: 2 6100's and 2 6200's. I must say I was quite suprised that he is not using 4x that much flow. I did look throughout the tank and there was enough flow getting to all areas. The polyps on every coral would move but not violently by any means. The strams are not hidden at all. There are 2 on the far left and 2 on the far right. You can see them in the pictures. When he said he was using streams I asked him if he had them in stream rocks or something because I didn't see them. But they were out in the open the whole time. With a tank like this you are too focused on everything else to notice a couple streams on each side of the tank.

[fishman805]

Originally posted by Lunchbucket
he has NO CL's. only the return pumps (Travis might remember what they are...i was taking pics and not listening :D ) and the rest is done by Tunzes i believe

Travis will help out more where i since i was taking pics and not listening

Lunchbucket


Lunchbucket..... Did you read my post ( last page I think ) about hosting the videos..??? It got barried pretty quick with all the responses......

Bob

[Travis]

Originally posted by asnatlas
LOL, I find that kinda funny if he only has 6 to 8 Tunzes in his 1700... I have 6 Tunzes going into my 600gal (4 6100s and 2 6200s)...


I agree Shawn. I was suprised myself, not to mention he only has 4 streams, not 6-8. Heck, I have 2 Sequence 5800's, 1 Iwaki 100, and 1 Stream 6200 in my 280.

[Travis]

The owner really loved the Diamond Lumenarc reflectors. He started the tank out with 11 metal halides. After switching to the Lumenarcs he was able to drop that down to 6. He said they were the best investment so far on the tank.

Another thing I thought was pretty cool about this system is that he is running it without a chiller. He has set it up to be very energy efficient. When we were there, his tank room was 81 degrees and his tank was 81.9. He does have 2 chillers for emergency, or to implement in the future if needed. He said he is waiting unitl next summer to see if he is going to need to run the chillers on the system.

Yet another interesting thing about this system was that with the flip of a switch, the air from the tank room could be ducted to the rest of the house in the cool months. With the flip of another switch, it could be ducted outside during the warmer months. He also has a few windows in the tank room that he can open and put fans in for more air circulation.

[Splach]

Wow.... Just read the whole thread. I am amazed that he is maintaining, no make that growing out, this system with 6 halides and 4 streams (granted there were a lot of tubes up in that light box too)... Still it seems remarkably efficient.

I wonder how he is handling detrious in the main tank. It seems like he has a thick sand bed and like that back area under the rock would be hard to get cruft washed out of. I was also surprized that he has a tank this big with acrylic. I have found my tank which is 32" deep is very hard to keep clean and very hard to keep from scratching with the mag float (from getting too close to the sand). Has he figured out some good way to clean the sand line, or to remove scratches from the inside of an acrylic tank...

[Travis]

His sandbed is no thicker than 1" in any given spot. It is fine sand. I wondered about detritus myself, especially behind the rocks and asked him about it. He said he has been thinking about it himself. For the most part, the activity of the fish and ray keep the detritus stirred up, which feeds the corals and is removed by the filtration. But it is something he is thinking about. So not sure if he will change anything in the future.

Not sure what he does about cleaning the tank but it certainly was spotless when we were there. FWIW, my Tunze magnet (largest size) keeps my tank (1.25" acrylic) free of algae, including coralline. It is strong enough to remove coralline when it is still small. So as long as I clean the front pane at least weekly it stays clean. Unfortunately, when I swap out the inside pad, it takes a couple months before it is "rough" enough to remove coralline again.

[AW2]

Awesome, awesome, awesome tank! Just absolutely breath-taking!

My only problem is that every pic I've seen, I keep thinking...."Damn...just think of the predators I could have in there, instead of my 300gal and 200gal.!!!" :D

[JodiLynn]

I would love to see a stocking list of just all the kinds of fish he has in there. I think I saw a copper banded butterfly in one of the pics. I'd love to know what else is in there (or at least, what he put in there. How would he be able to tell if something died?)

How long has this tank been running?

[Lunchbucket]

this is JUST from memory

HUGE black tang
yellow tang
male and female leopard wrasse
some other wrasse
baby bangaii
one or two yellow belly hippos
blue spot sting ray
orange spot rabbit fish

Travis and spazz can you chime in and add to the list.

there aren't that many fish in there IMO

Lunchbucket

[smokez01]

Gem Tang, thats a big one

purple tang

chevron tang

[Travis]

I uploaded the pics from my camera to my computer. Obviously they are not professional quality, but they are better than I thought they would turn out. So I have decided to go ahead and share a few. I am still working on the videos. I did find someone who will host them for me.

<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/website/1700/135_3582.JPG>
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/website/1700/135_3583.JPG>
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/website/1700/135_3584.JPG>
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/website/1700/135_3586.JPG>

[Travis]

Hard to tell if you are looking at someone's tank or at the ocean in this one...
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/website/1700/135_3590.JPG>
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/website/1700/135_3592.JPG>
The black tang may look small in this pic but trust me, it isn't. Compare it to the size of the rabbitfish in the reflection.
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/website/1700/135_3593.JPG>
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/website/1700/135_3595.JPG>

[Travis]

<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/website/1700/135_3596.JPG>
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/website/1700/135_3597.JPG>
Here you can see the 2 calcium reactors in the back right and the skimmer in the foreground. The skimmer is 12" diameter and around 45" tall, IIRC. It is run by 4 needlewheel pumps. I didn't ask what the pumps were but I am guessing Sedra 9000's.
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/website/1700/135_3599.JPG>
Sorry this shot is a little blurry but this is one of my favorite corals in his tank. It is an Atlantis Aquarium efflo. It started as a 1/2" frag 2 years ago and has turned into this.
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/website/1700/136_3601.JPG>

[Travis]

<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/website/1700/136_3603.JPG>
Here is a close up of one of the pvc structures that he made. If you did not know it was there you would never see it. You can also see the leg to another structure in the back left.
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/website/1700/136_3604.JPG>
I wish I was a fish in this tank just so I could swim through this valley.:)
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/website/1700/136_3607.JPG>

[jun41]

God, that rock structure is better than sex.

[MBX5]

WOW what more can you say!

[Herbert T. Kornfeld]

1. Who is it? Whoever it is...he has done a very fine job and obviously knows his products and a thing or two about reef design. Not just some rich guy who plopped down some coin for someone else to throw together. The design is very smart, and prolly uses less electricity & time to maintain than we think due to its smart use of lumenarcs, streams, PVC supports, sump room, etc.

2. For detrious, I would highly suggest investing in some sand sifter gobies. A half dozen of the diamond sand-sifters, or better yet, the yellow-headed sand sifters (they school and clean sand in packs if you have the space and numbers) would keep his sand perfectly clean and require very little effort...which on a tank this size is key.

[massman]

Originally posted by Herbert T. Kornfeld
2. For detrious, I would highly suggest investing in some sand sifter gobies. A half dozen of the diamond sand-sifters, or better yet, the yellow-headed sand sifters (they school and clean sand in packs if you have the space and numbers) would keep his sand perfectly clean and require very little effort...which on a tank this size is key.

I'm assuming you meant detritus?
Sand sifters might be a risky and short term solution with a ray in the same tank.:eek1:

[surg_xero]

wow

[surg_xero]

It would be a vacation everyday

[trmiv]

Amazing. I don't think a large private aquarium with massive funding could do better.

Gives me some great ideas too. I'd love that PVC rack idea, and I'd really like to know more about how it was done. I'd like to incorporate something like that (on a MUCH smaller scale) into my new 75.


BTW: Am I the only one that thinks that guy looks a lot like Anthony Calfo? I know it's not, but they look a lot alike.

[Travis]

Originally posted by trmiv
I'd love that PVC rack idea, and I'd really like to know more about how it was done.

Originally posted by Travis
The owner explained to me how he made them.
1) The pvc racks were constructed.
2) Styrofoam in a can was sprayed onto the racks. I didn't ask what "styrofoam in a can" was but I think it was that stuff you use for sealing windows and doors.
3) Fiberglass was placed on top of the foam. I asked what the purpose of this was and he said it helps the stuff in step 4 stick.
4)Rubble from sand was literally thrown at the foam to cover it.


not sure if you saw that post or not but figured I would repeat it just in case.

[Lordhelmet]

:eek2: :eek2: :eek2: i just want to swim in that thing.

[dmccrary]

what an amazing tank

[Lunchbucket]

wow a busy week. i need to contact a few people about hosting the vids.

i'll do that now
Lunchbucket

[blide]

Originally posted by jun41
God, that rock structure is better than sex.

That's funny...

[Shawnts106]

his electricity bill probably comes in a box with that many halides.

No... they stopped doing that ... Now when someones electric bill is as high as his.. they just send an email.. thats they only way to fit that many numbers on one sheet of paper... to do it electronically!



I dont know what to say about this reef....

This is the ONE reef tank that I dont know WHAT to say...

Im... speechless... I just cant begin to describe whats running through my head...


gah... no, that doesnt discribe it..

its more like a mute loudness.... yeah... a mute loudness!!!

[Mdwannabe]

Regardless of the (half empty glass) post's, what a great tank, and great family!
I know I can't afford it, but that doe's not stop me from appreciating it.
Not enough room for the ray? Well the last time I checked I was not a Ray, and can not address it's personal requirements, especially from hundreds of miles away, and by going from only numbers and picture's. :D
As, for not posting personally, I think the way the tone of this thread went due to some posters, I can't blame him.
God help me if I posted pictures of my new 200 gallon tank, as I"m sure I would be chastised for my lack of common sense, and animal husbandry. But it seems to work for me, and more importantly, my family.
Who ever you are, keep it your way, and keep yourself and your family happy.
As far as I'm concerned, you should probably not post, it's not worth the hassle.
But please keep it up, and keep it your way!
GREAT TANK!

Rick

[midwestcustomaquariu]

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/1/51777Cnv0325.jpg

For those interested in the basic structure of the reef here is a pic of the tank with some of the first live rock, but before any corals or other livestock were added. It shows the basic aquascaping layout. Note that the whitish PVC racks are now much larger islands in the tank after the growth on them.

Not a great picture with the window reflection, but if you look to the left and right you can see some of the PVC/foam racks before anything was placed on or started growing on them. Look closely at the one to the far right and you will see a tunze that was placed on top and I assume is now surrounded by growth and not noticeable on the reef.

For those interested in the timeline, I took this picture the first week of June (yes 05), which shows you the very fast growth of this reef, now at an age of only 5 months.

Chris Boelke
Midwest Custom Aquarium

[simonmr]

Thank you very much Chris for the extra info

[Travis]

By the looks of those PVC racks, he used a lot of PVC tee's. I wonder if he did this so the fish could swim inside the racks and use them for hiding and sleeping. Wish I would have noticed that when I was there, I could have asked him about it.

[asnatlas]

Originally posted by Travis
By the looks of those PVC racks, he used a lot of PVC tee's. I wonder if he did this so the fish could swim inside the racks and use them for hiding and sleeping. Wish I would have noticed that when I was there, I could have asked him about it.

I was thinking maybe to give the racks more support..

Shawn

[Travis]

Originally posted by asnatlas
I was thinking maybe to give the racks more support..

Shawn

Good point. I didn't think of that. So it has 2 benefits then.

[Travis]

I just got done messing with my website and it seems to have changed the URL's to the pics I posted last night. Since RC does not let you edit posts after 1 hour, I will post them again for those who have not yet seen them.

<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/1700/135_3582.JPG>
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/1700/135_3583.JPG>
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/1700/135_3584.JPG>
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/1700/135_3586.JPG>

[Travis]

<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/1700/135_3590.JPG>
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/1700/135_3592.JPG>
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/1700/135_3593.JPG>
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/1700/135_3595.JPG>

[Travis]

<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/1700/135_3596.JPG>
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/1700/135_3597.JPG>
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/1700/135_3599.JPG>
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/1700/136_3601.JPG>

[Travis]

<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/1700/136_3603.JPG>
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/1700/136_3604.JPG>
<img src=http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/1700/136_3607.JPG>

[JnS]

nice pics Travis :)
nothing can compare to seeing it in person!

[HOZERTHEBONEFISH]

Tagging along. Hope to hear from the man behind the masterpiece.

Just when you think you seen all the great tanks(HCRK, Oregonreef) this tank comes along.

Thanks to spazz and travis, and the ownerof this tank for sharing the pix

[Splach]

I am thinking this guy could make a profit on this tank from charging admission instead of fragging... Heck I'd pay $10 just to see the fish room...

[reefrider]

i dont know why people consider this tank of the month. i dont believe it should be that at all. i beleive it should be tank of the year!!! heck even tank of the decade!! that thing looks better then tanks at aquariums with an unlimited budget. whoever you are you got it going on and cudos to you.

[Lunchbucket]

i'm sending the vids to melev. then we will see it live when he posts them

Lunchbucket

[Mdwannabe]

I have to disagree, it should be "TANK OF THE MILLENNIUM", but I also have to restate my opinion "Please...don't post, it's not worth the hassle, or the ridicule".
Though that does not mean I would not be there tomorrow, just to drool, would the invite come.
Keep it up your way, and more importantly, KEEP IT THE FAMILY WAY! Ultimately that is what this is all about.
After all, this is just a hobby (regardless of research, and work involved). Coming home to "DADDY LOOK WHAT I SAW", or "HONEY....THANKS", is more important than any opinion voiced here!
I'm jealous, but I have heard both those statements's and am at least as proud of my tank ( in my mind's eye) as you must be of your's.

Keep it up:
Rick

[JodiLynn]

Can't wait to see the videos. Its about as close and I can get to seeing it in person, I guess.

I would live on a reef if I could.

[fish lad]

that is truely amazing

got to be favrite tank ive ever seen

[BradL.]

Originally posted by Lunchbucket
i'm sending the vids to melev. then we will see it live when he posts them

Lunchbucket Good choice LB.:beer: