Pictures - 800 gallon reef - 7+ years in operation

[A Reef Scene]

Great tank

[smleee]

Would you mind if I moved into your basement? I'm not trouble at all! You wouldn't even know I was there.

I can't believe my eyes. I can't believe that anyone could have something so gorgeous in their home & still manage to go outside.


This is FANTASTIC!!! Thank you for sharing!!!

[partagas]

Originally posted by yoink326
NICE BAR!!!!!

LOL, I was thinking the same thing. Think of the parties and gatherings in that room. You should put a long thick curtain over the tanks and have people over that have never seen the tanks. Then after a half hour or so, open the curtain and watch their reactions. Not that you don't get those same reactions the first time and any time someone see that tank.

On a side note, the only problem I see with it is that it's not in my house. We have to do something about that......LOL

[SouthernReefer]

that tank is awe-inspiring! beautiful and stunningly jaw-dropping also come to mind as well!

[steve68]

SWEET !!!
that is an AWESOME tank cant wait to see the fish room.
& i love that BAR

[john rochon]

AWSOME! I see you like leathers and softies. ever thinking of going SPS? do you run carbon at all.

[kevinpo]

Awesome setup! I love the inwall look. Great job, keep up the good work.

Regards,
Kevin

[JB NY]

Beautiful tank! Looking forward to the fish room pics as well.

[RedEyeReef]

Very nice, can't wait to see the "behind the scene" of what is running this beauty (Skimmer, Lights, Reactors).

[120bamaguy]

holly Barier Reef batman!!!!!!

[jdsabin1]

Once in a while you run across a post that makes you go 'Holy ****!'. This is incredible. Absolutely incredible.

Thanks for sharing and would desparately love to see more pics of the setup, the behind the scenes equipment, a listing of the corals and fish, where all the livestock came from, etc.

Whoa....

[fishsoldseprtly]

Hot DAYAM!!! NICE!!! and very impressive

[biodegraded]

And after he writes up the Tank Of The Month article he needs to write up the Bar Of The Month article.

"And here we have a member of the Vodka genus. It's a V. stolichnayii var. 'lemon', over there is a S. macallani."

"Equipment includes a propane backup generator in case the mains goes out. That way the small refrigerator can still keep the olives cool and produce ice cubes."

[hcrk]

Originally posted by baseballpro1919
hey great tank. If u dont my taking the time do you think you could make a list of main fish and coral you have? Again amazing tank

As soon as I find the time, I will post an inventory list of my fish. The problem with the coral is that I have many many pieces and an attempt at identification would be very time consuming.

Originally posted by Phantom Phish
Amazing, simply stuning. And 7 years with a deep sand bed. Have you changed the sand at all over the life of the tank? How have you avoided the "old tank syndrome"?
It's a truly beautiful tank.

Never changed the sand. I am however required to top-up the sand every year or so as a portion of it dissolves over time.
Frankly, I don't know anything about "old tank syndrome". I consider the sand to be a necessary and integral part of the eco-system and have never encountered any sort of problem or concern.
I should note that I have 2 pistol shrimp/goby parys who are always digging in the sand bed. I also have a population of fireworms that seem to work as a maintenance crew.

Originally posted by ShipMate
That is one fantastic tank.
Would you tell us about the type of lighting, filtration and pumps, etc.. that you use?
What would you do differently?
TOTM material here...

Originally posted by RedEyeReef
Very nice, can't wait to see the "behind the scene" of what is running this beauty (Skimmer, Lights, Reactors).

Originally posted by JB NY
Beautiful tank! Looking forward to the fish room pics as well.

I will shortly post pictures of the system "backbone" including lighting, filtration, electrrical; etc.
On the issue of what I would do differently....excellent question that I will give some thought to and post my response shortly.

Originally posted by white_queen
VERY beautiful. How deep is the sand bed? How many lbs of LR did you put into that thing! SHEESH! That's a lot of time and money and effort but it looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing.
Angela <><

The sand bed varies in depth from a minimum of about 1" to a maximum of about 3".
This tank contains approximately 2,000 lbs of live rock

Originally posted by partagas
LOL, I was thinking the same thing. Think of the parties and gatherings in that room. You should put a long thick curtain over the tanks and have people over that have never seen the tanks. Then after a half hour or so, open the curtain and watch their reactions. Not that you don't get those same reactions the first time and any time someone see that tank.
On a side note, the only problem I see with it is that it's not in my house. We have to do something about that......LOL

Yes, I have to admit that I very much enjoy watching guests reactions as they enter my basement.....sometimes I wish I had a recoder set up to tape the reactions.
But in saying this, I want everyone to understand that the most gratifying aspect of having my reef involves the fact that it has often caused visitors to stop and think about life in all of it's complexity and diversity.

Originally posted by john rochon
AWSOME! I see you like leathers and softies. ever thinking of going SPS? do you run carbon at all.

First of all, I have used carbon but only very rarely.

If you look carefully at the various pictures, you should see a number of colonies of SPS at various locations throughout the aquarium.
Unfortunately I recently lost 2 of my largest and most beautiful SPS colonies.
Could not initially understand what was suddenly causing the polyps to retract and why branches on both colonies soon thereafter began to bleach. However, after watching the tank for a few days, I was finally able to diagnose the problem.
A Keyhole Angel that had been a good citizen for about three years had suddenly developed a taste for SPS (every now and again, he would swim by and either tear off a few coral polyps or nibble away at a branch. It took some time to trap the keyhole and get him out and, in-as-much-as the bleaching was progressing quickly, I broke both pieces up in order to try and save fragments for future colonies.
I also ran into a similar problem recently with a red sea rabbitfish who I also had to trap (I gave both fish away free to a local store that maintains a 700 gallon fish only tank on the promise that they would not be resold).
For me., at least, the moral of the story is this......a reef aquarium, as a natural ecosystem, changes as it evolves and matures and events such as those described above must be viewed as part of a natural process.....with time, the 2 lost colonies of SPS will hopefully regrow or new frags will take their place.
Finally, I should like to say that for me at least, "leathers and softies" are every bit as beautiful as SPS.
I'm a fan of diversity in all of it's aspects - shape, texture, color, growth pattern, etc. and that translates into an aquarium filled with a wide range of inhabitants.



Thanks again to all for your many kind words.....

[scbauer]

Great post... can't wait for more pictures and history

-Scott

[nseawater]

Word's can't describe I think of your tank... just too awesome.

Yes.. I would love to see your sump, filter's, and what have you. I don't think I can afford a tank of that size but you've convinced me in getting at the very least a 100 gallon reef tank and some how setup the reef like yours... LOL

How much did it cost you just to setup that tank?

Great job...

[danieljames]

^

[Phillips]

So who gets to put on the mask and fins when it comes time to clean the glass??

Damn beautiful tank, and I definitely approve of your tank viewing accessories!

[minfinger]

Amazing tank...I look forward to more detail.

[willis]

I am stunned beyond words. I think we are in the presence of greatness. A very beautiful tank

[Spin Man]

An absolutely fabulous tank. I can't wait to find out the details.

Roughly, what percentage of your corals are softies, LPS and SPS?

Also, what is your maintanence schedule, and what additives do you incorporate into your care?

Thanks.

Spin Man

[alanseah]

my mouth wide open and cant close it.. it so beauty...
one of the tank should be convert to be SPS and u will have the best of both world...

[WmTasker]

I'll give you my first born child for that bad boy. I'll even through in the wife

[hwynboy]

The funny part is when I see that tank...Im like yeah nice tank. But actually I am SOOO much more interested in the guts. The filtration, the skimmers, the back room and all the controllers and gizmos and gadgets. I suppose that makes me a nerd.....

How or do you need to clean the glass? And that is the SWEETEST tank and set up in the basement I have EVER seen. If you were single...man that is a total chick magnet. I thought my 280 was doing me good.....lmao.

One last thing...

HOLY JACK BATMAN!

I have spent a crapload on my tanks and fish and corals....I can't imagine what you have spent...could you round it off to the nearest 10 thousand?

[trmiv]

incredible looking tank and room. when i win the lottery, i'm digging this post out and having your whole setup copied for my house!