the 1700g stingray reef

[asnatlas]

Very nice... Keep the info coming

Thanks again
Shawn

[spazz]

congrats on the new baby boy! i hope you and your family are happy and healthy. its always hair rasing when a new child is born. i bet you had a couple of sleepless nights in in the last week. i think i rember telling you that your tank would be voted reef tank of the month with in 6 months of you posting that you owned it. well the bet is on. i bet one frag of anything in my tank that it will be 6 months or less. im placing my vote right after i get done making this post. i wish thay had reef tank of the year because i know this beautiful system would be voted in for that honor hands down.
next time i come over i will make sure there is a diper on my face to contorl the drool. he he he

[Energy]

Flow:

The main returns are powered by 2 sequence 5800's which bring the water back up the aquarium and through 4 sea swirls which are located in the front. 5 Tunzes further push water through the system. Total water movement is about 22,000- 25,000 GPH. This really isn't much but the tank was design to have slower water movement areas. The entire center island is supposed to have low flow. I did this to give the fish a break point or rest area. Further more I could place lower flow loving specimens in this area. The tank was designed to have two high flow reef walls on each side with lagoon in the center. All the pumps where placed to have a periodic crashing point which would create a random water current through out the system. Absolutely no pumps were aimed into this low flow area but the water crashing is so effective their really isn't much less flow in this area. I have actually seen water vortexes created in a lot of different areas of the tank ( really cool affect).

I'm getting tired so my spelling is getting bad but i'll try to cover some more stuff for everyone. I will try to check back another day and give more info but this will be it for awhile.

PVC Racks.

One of my more thoroughly researched points. The entire reef structure is hollow behind the rock work. I did this so the fish could get away from the people whenever they wanted and to increase the effectiveness of the biological filter. This was also somewhat modeled after Tyrees sponge biotope. The actual racks are nothing more than pvc piping coverd in Great Stuff styrofoam in a can. After researching for countless hours on Reef Central I found out the syrofoam in a can breaks down due to U.V lights. To eliminate this problem I covered the styrofoam with Epoxy resin. While the resin was hardening I used aragonite to dab (with a paint brush) into the curing resin. This worked awesome! The end product looked like a base rock. After it became covered with coraline algae the pvc rack can't be identified from the live rock.

Live Rock: During the planning proccess I collected cheap live rock from peoples tanks that were selling or moving. I also traded coral frags for live rock and investigated making man made rock. I placed all the excess rock in a 150 gallon tank which was hooked up to my main displays on my original system. By the time the new large tank was ready I had most of the rock I would need. I did purchase about three hundred pounds from a friend who was shutting down his tanks while mine was being contructed. Total guesstimeted live rock would be about 1200 -1400 lbs. After the racks were in place I began setting the rock work up just to cover the racks. Since most of the design work went into the racks placing the rocks was a breeze. Further more I didn't have to hide much of the rack system since I knew it would become corraline encrusted and look like live rock. I noticed that many of the hitchhiker corals on the rock work were doing great in the tank on the first day. I continued for about a month aquascaping and monitoriing the hitchhikers. Not only did they look good but they were growing. Since I was using cured rock from my system in the basement there was no cycling and no die off.

The inhabitants.
Lot's of corals- sps dominate, some lps, zooanthids etc.
The fish:
1. one blue spotted ribbontail stingray.
2. Varoius leopard wrasses.
3. Large Black tang.
4. Yellow scopas tang.
5.African blue hippo tang.
6. Chevron Tang.
7.two purple tangs.
8. Orange spotted rabbit fish
9. Two scribbled rabbit fishes.
10. Fairy wrasses.
11. Dragon headed pipefish.
12. Gem Tang.
13. Flame fin Tang.
I think the tank has a small fishload. One interesting observation is the fishes behavior, everyone that has been over has said that the fish don't seem to fight. I believe the ability to get away from each other and out of sight from the main viewing pane makes a big difference. The different tangs and rabbit fishes actually school. A red sea sailfin tang actually started to nip the tail of the stingray so he is being donated to a good home.

Thats all for now. I will check back and periodically answer questions and add to the info. I will gladly share all I can with everyone. Reef central has been one of the best tools in my tank design and knowledge acquisition. I will also try to post pictures over the winter( I will have to figure out how). Work and the new baby will keep me swamped for the next few months but things may slow down to a normal pace sometime. Thank you everyone for posting the pictures and Videos and Thank you everyone for the interest in the system.

[Energy]

Thanks Spazz your welcome over any time. Someone asked about how much the tank costs to run per month. My best estimate for the tank alone is about $350 per month. I view it equal to a motorcycle or sports car payment.

[spazz]

Originally posted by Energy
Thanks Spazz your welcome over any time. Someone asked about how much the tank costs to run per month. My best estimate for the tank alone is about $350 per month. I view it equal to a motorcycle or sports car payment.

for the enjoyment you get form your reef its money well spent.

[massman]

Hey mate,
Congrats on the boy, I too just had one (well my wife did) my first though (see avatar).
Great work with the tank. Looking forward to more info.
Curious to know if in hindsight you wished had made the tank a bit taller? Just thinking that with the 5' depth, have you found 33" limitin?.
Cheers

[Lordhelmet]

Energy I've been following this thread from the beginning and i must say you have truly one of the most beautiful tanks in the world! I'm looking forward to all the information you will be providing.
And congrats on the new addition. children are the best thing in the world.

Chris.

[bkwudzjeep]

Just finished the thread.....figured I'd get the hour back from daylight savings.

Energy-Congrats on little guy!! I have yet to have my own, but I love my nieces and nephews to pieces....have a great time with him!!
-Also just wanted to say that you've done a fantastic job with your aquarium! All the time and thought has definitely paid off (at least it looks as it has).

[fishdoc11]

Energy,
Congratulations on your new addition!
Chris

[jcanute]

thank you for showing us your masterpiece. what an inspiration!

[Lunchbucket]

To Reef Central

LOL thought i better welcome you to YOUR thread. Energy i'm glad to see you made it but i am quite shocked that you made it here so quickly

congrats on the little man i'm sure he will be a great addition to your wonderful family! please give your wife my best and i hope she is feeling ok. hope to see your new "little frag" sometime when i come visit again

i'm glad people can get the infor straight from the horses mouth now and Travis, Spazz, and I don't have to punt on a lot of it

i believe someone asked for a pic of the blue spot ray...i have one i'll upload it and post it later

Energy, thanks buddy!
Lunchbucket

[kappaknight]

Thanks for the details on the specs as well. One quick question if you don't mind, do you do water changes often? I was just curious if tanks like yours can somewhat stablize with the amount of water volume in there.

[Lunchbucket]

best pic i got of the ray



Lunchbucket

[Kreeger1]

thats not a bad pic, with my photo skills lately I'd call that one a good pic
Erik

[simonmr]

Wow energy just an amazing tank i am glad all is well, and that you made it to your thread. I have been enjoying this very much and now I get to learn much more.

[floppyfish]

Way to go Stan! Congrats on the wee lad. Pretty crazy the tank is so young. The corals have grown out so much that it looks like it should be much older than it really is.

I suppose a 2500g has the wheels a grinding in your head now, eh?!

[tom obrecht]

This thread gets better and better!! First a huge reef tank...now a new baby...does it get any better than this!!!

[jsteidl]

Energy, Congrats!

Been following along and what an amazing tank. Keep up the good work.

Get some sleep!

[JodiLynn]

Congrats! Thanks for coming on and telling us about your tank! Here's wishing you lots of sleep with the new baby.

[fishdoc11]

What's sleep?

[Soltaker]

Stan,

First off, congrats on the new baby boy! Nice to have a male frag in the house now eh? I first heard about your tank back in July when I bought Greg's old tank. I was amazed when I heard about the sheer size and could only imagine what it looked like. Once again you surpasses anyone's expectations. I knew you were up to something big when I heard you bought Bill's tank to used as a fuge, but I had no idea! Best of luck to you and your family. I can't wait till you host another TCMAS meeting

[onetrickpony]

congratulations on the birth of your son!
you'll have to spoil him by walking him to sleep in front of your tank. How big is your alligator gar? Any pics?
Again congrats on your new addition.. they grow up quick so enjoy.
Ken

[Energy]

Massman- the tank height is O.K I think maybe another 3" would look better but be to hard to deal with. I actually would go with a much larger tank if I could. The extra room would be left open for swimming space. I would gladly double the size of the tank and leave all the extra room for swimming space. It's the open areas that add to the natural appeal of the tank. Furthermore without corals in the open areas intense lighting wouldn't be neccesary just ambient lighting. With open tank designs and coral bommies or islands the light configuration can be cut back and limited to the coral areas.

[Breaker4show]

definately the best setup I have seen! very nice, and very natural looking! congradulation on the new baby! good luck and thank you for sharing this with us!

Nick

[k9asia]

Energy............Was just wondering about your comment about the foam breaking down under UV? I am planning on using to cover the back of my "small in comparison" 225 in the comming months. I had not heard about it breaking down, could you shed some light on your source? Thanks in advance Rick....