JP's 240. A decade of work.

[jdg]

awe ... some ...

That is all.

[JPMagyar]

Don't know if a mod can help, but here's the same picture I tried to hot link in my original post, but I've put a copy on another website so this link is better.

Can it be added to the original post?

Thanks either way!

Joe

[JPMagyar]

Originally Posted by Pylos

You have really done an amazing job. Just as others have said, I really can only hope to achieve such a living work of art.

What was your inspiration in starting this tank - both in terms of aquascape and stocking? Did you use epoxy, acrylic rods, etc in order to put it all together? And did you start out with smaller colonies or small frags from some of your coral?

I'd really love to see your sump area if possible?

Also, what have some of the hardest hit mistakes you've had to live through while being in the hobby? What would you change knowing now what you didn't then?

Thanks for the generous words everyone . . . feels great to be able to share!


My inspiration came from Steve Weast and C.P. Farms. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Steve in person many years back, and that really set me on the course of creating a visually spectacular display because I realized 90% of what made his tank so awesome was simple hardwork.




As for the hardest lesson that's easy and an issue that was discussed well by several recent TOTMs. Namely, disaster preparedness. I was on vacation during the big Northeastern power outage of August '03 and learned that backup power is worth every penny and having a house sitter when your on vacation is essential. I didn't lose everything but almost. Since then I have several folks check on my system when I'm gone and I bought a generator which has saved me many a sleepless night when the power goes out for any length of time.




No epoxy or rods. Instead I used several large LR pieces to start and then I let my colonies grow large and cement everything together with the growth. It definitely took a great deal of patience to let the pieces grow.






My OT in 2003!



and today . . .




and of course I am incredibly lucky to have a dedicated "fish room" in the basement . . .








and one of my favorite macros





Thanks again everyone!


Joe

[dzhuo]

No disrespect to your tank Joe but since you bought it up. This is definitely my all time favorite. I have not seen another tank that comes even close to it. It just shows what a little open space can do:

[bif24701]

TOTM!!!!!

I would love tp know more about you setup.

HOW BIG IS THAT SUMP!?!!? LOL

[Fish4Me2]

Truly stunning tank, thank you for sharing. I'd be thrilled to see you use this as a place to update on what you're doing with the tank. It's nice to have the reminder of how important regular maintenance is to success like this.

[reefrf]

Great job!! Wow... You have a beautiful reef tank.

[justin_g]

Really like the monster sized colonies and the openness. So many reef today look over crowded and artificial. Excellent job.

[denash24]

The only words that come to mind is WOW...
Your tank is definitely a work of art, it's simply amazing.
Please provide us with your parameters and maintenance schedule.

[ser_renely]

Wow, I am embarrassed

[JG1]

Originally Posted by JPMagyar

and of course I am incredibly lucky to have a dedicated "fish room" in the basement . . .

Jeez I wasn't expecting to see that!

How I'd love to run the plumbing into the basement and haven't a setup like that....I just don't have the balls to cut through my hardwood floors! lol

[Mr.Tan]

absolutely amazing! i can't get over how stunning your tank is. And to top it all off, seeing your setup in the basement just makes it so much better!!!! Well done man, props on creating something so beautiful.

[JG1]

Can you post some pictures of the left and right sides of the tank? Not close-up's, so we can see the whole setup...stand, lights, tank.

[jbachert]

Beautiful tank!

[JPMagyar]

Originally Posted by MVPaquatics

very nice tank! What have you determined the relationship between CO2 and alk?

Hey MV, I'll post some pictures tomorrow, but because the weather has been temperate of late, I opened the windows in my basement and setup several fans. The result was no precipitation of calcium carbonate in my most recent batch of fresh saltwater. Here's a picture of what the mixing vat looked like after the previous batch versus my most recent batch. The only conclusion I can draw is that the presence of added CO2 triggers faster precipitation of calcium carbonate, and this seems to be born out by a reduction in deposits on the rim of my display as well. The trouble is when the weather gets cold I can't keep the windows open in my basement, but hopefully I can figure something out

Originally Posted by frankpayne32

Amazing tank! I counted 13 chromis in that last pic. How long have they been living together?

Actually at the moment I have 20 and they have been living together for about 18 months. I have tried different sized groups and it seems that 13 is not enough, but 20+ is. I also feed them as many times a day as I can remember or as people are around the house. That plus having plenty of hiding spaces for the little guys seems to make a difference.

Originally Posted by Chupakabra-King

I hate you.

Damn what a nice tank . How the heck do you keep it that clean ? sheesh I should just give up now . I have been keeping saltwater since 1998 and havent had a tank that looks that good .

Thanks! Truth is I leave my tank alone for several days at a time when I'm working as my job involves lots of travel, but when I'm home I would say it takes 3 hours a week cumulatively. That means some days I do 3 hours and some days I do zero, but there's always a project waiting for me for sure.

Originally Posted by 110galreef

Beautiful and great layout! Love the Anemonee. About how big is he? I am wanting either a mag or haddoni carpet. Really like the tentacles on the Mags tho! Do you know what kind exactly you have? Also what type of clowns are those in there?

Again SWEET Setup!

The anemone is an Heteractis Magnifica. I have had it for 9 years and so far it has created 4 clones. The anemone in my display tank is actually one of the smaller clones as I sold the largest specimen to a local reefer about a year ago. Fascinatingly enough it hasn't moved in 8 years nor have any of the clones. I will add that my specimen as well as all the clones receive enormous amounts of flow.






Thanks again everyone!




Joe

[JPMagyar]

It's always something . . .

That's my line for saltwater aquariums. Today I had to replace my main recirc pump only to figure out that the problem wasn't the pump but rather a restricted intake so I had to remove my ten year old bulk head and replace the 3 feet of pipe going to the pump. Then I siphoned my sand bed, did a 150 gallon water change, and put a new bag of sand into the display one cup at a time . . . time 2 hours today . . .

[cside]

where do you guys get these giant rubbermaid things?

[rkaires]

When its a labor of love your time is well spent.

[JPMagyar]

Originally Posted by cside

where do you guys get these giant rubbermaid things?

Agway watering troughs. Incredibly tough and cheap and delivered right to the house for free!

[justin_g]

The awesome thing about water troughs? CHEAP. Imagine if they were marketed directly to the aquarium market what the price would be.

[rhdoug]

Hey Joe, is that the same mag that was hosting a baby bangaii? It was in one of the magazines lately, maybe CORAL I think. In any event, as others have said, beautiful work, I hope you are proud!

BTW, we are practically neighbors!

[JPMagyar]

Originally Posted by rhdoug

Hey Joe, is that the same mag that was hosting a baby bangaii? It was in one of the magazines lately, maybe CORAL I think. In any event, as others have said, beautiful work, I hope you are proud!

BTW, we are practically neighbors!

Hey Randy, Yes I had several baby Bangaii host in the anemone and delivered them to a local retailer, and you can find my tank in CORAL magazine two issues back. Thanks for noticing! Drop me a PM if you're ever in the "neighborhood" nothing I like more than to hand out free frags! Never know when you might need a frag back! Joe

[rhdoug]

I will definitely do that, and if you are in the Carmel/Fishkill area please do the same. You can take a peek at my old reef and we can swap some reef stories. It turns 12 next month!

[Algaenot]

Sweet tank - Aquascaping at its best.

[Dyzio545]

Stunning!