Building an SPS Monster- my 1300 gallon SPS display

[IPT]

Copps I haven't been on here in years looking at SPS so funny I would see your thread about the frags that led me to this thread. Your other tanks blew me away many years ago and this one is no different. The colors you get, maturity of the corals, and aquascaping are off the charts. Fun blast from the past seeing this thread and some of the pics of your old tanks that when I first saw them were "new" and so amazing to an aspiring SPS keeper. Congratulations on getting the dream setup done for yourself.

As an aside I am originally from NY now living up in AK. A few years back when Joe first did that 20,000 gallon tank I had to see it. When I went home we went and checked it out. He happened to be infront of the tank and I recognized him. I introduced myself and told him I had read about it on R. When he heard I was in from Alaska he gave us an incredible tour of the system. Some amazing people in this hobby. I am not as passionate about it as I once was with other hobbies and interests taking most of my time but it is refreshing to see folks like you still kicking it hard and as always willing to share what you learned over the years.

Best of luck with the setup, and you've inspired me. Maybe some days I will have some of your frags growing out in my tank .

[SawCJack00]

John, this is truly the most well planned spectacular build I've ever seen, however I think the real accomplishment here is finding a wife who will tolerate this level of obsession

I look forward to watching the progress of all your beautiful slices of the ocean!

[Gig 'em]

Originally Posted by copps

The 240 of course grew in quickly...





Here you can see two different groups of cardinals I have... I love cardinals... so cool to see a fish that will school in even small systems...





The tank got away from what I really wanted to display... so I made room for my anemones... mainly my gigantea collection... I know this is the SPS forum but is there really any animal as beautiful as Stichodactyla gigantea? Here's a top shot of my giant green one...





And I do have many bubble tips in there too...





But they take a back seat to my gigantea... here's an updated shot of the left side of the tank... just what I've always wanted... a BLANKET of all colors of gigantea... from left to right... a multicolor purple... my giant green... a rainbow... and a blue... this species is just incredible...





Copps

Your gig collection is simply incredible. Gigs and mags have always been my main passion in this hobby and it makes me happy to see amazing tanks featuring such awesome animals. I'm still waiting to get my first gig since they get so large. When I was in Thailand last year I saw some in the wild that were as wide as my outstretched arm! Simply huge and beautiful animals. Keep up the amazing work!

[Piper27]

The amount of fish in this system is insane john, I forgot to ask if you have tested nitrates and phosphates recently? I bet the corals eat up a lot of the nutrients from the fish, is there anything besides live rock and coral that's helping lower nutrients?
The corals in the plastic sump are also just massive!!! I cant wait til you start collecting again and start growing some new stuff. I would love to see what some species do in your tank. Humilus and other nubby reef rest corals would look superb up high in your system. And it's so rare anyone ever grows colonies of these types of corals. Like your tut, not a colorful coral but it's my favorite because of the amazing growth you have let it take on.

[Editour2]

John,
on the post referring to where you purchase the kydex ....the supplier lists only sheets that are 24" x 48" so...are you piecing together the kydex on individual panels? In other words in a 72" tank that is 28" high are you using multiple pieces on the back glass?
If so, how are you piecing them together?
thanks

[copps]

Hey guys, my apologies as I've been incredibly busy and am backed up on responses. I'll respond to everyone by this weekend. Thanks again for all of the comments.

Copps

[sirreal63]

I have no words that adequately describe what I see in your build John, it is simply amazing.

I love that you still employ the things from the past that worked. I have said for a very long time that what worked before will still work today. You are the proof of that. Your system appears complex but in reality is it just beautifully engineered to work correctly.

I thank you greatly for starting this thread, it is a lesson and a tool for the rest of us.

[hedgedrew]

Hey copps. Looks great. See you soon.

Andrew sandler.

[copps]

Thanks again for everyone's patience... I had a very busy March with three what were supposed to be quick flights up to Providence Airport and back to work in Groton, CT... I ended up driving the rental car back on two of the trips thanks to dealing with Noreasters... It was a good ooverall month though aside from that... I spoke at the Credabel Coral Lab in New London, CT and ended the month with the wife and kids in South Florida where I spoke for the Florida Marine Aquarium Society at the University of Miami... a great club I've spoken for a few times through the years... I also got my twelve year old son his Junior Open Water PADI Dive Cert... I now have a dive buddy for life!



Also it's become a tradition on each trip down there that I go out diving and fish collecting on friend Colin Ford's boat from Coral Morphologic. Julian Sprung always tanks my fish at his house... another great asset to this hobby and great friend...

Cruising the waters of Miami with two of the most knowledgeable people in the hobby in this area...


I caught a number of fish...



But the nicest was a little inshore queen I collected with my son...



Pack up day with Julian at Julian's house... apologies for the glare in the shot...

Originally Posted by gregkn73

Did in the past ,kept that beatifull externall tank, with huge sps colonies with just CSD?
do you thing, that a natural sunlit tank, can support sps, with just CSD? Nowdays wavemakers produce a lot of flow, with low Watt demand, but the simplicity of CDS, the lack of parts that can fail and the very natural and huge flow they can produce, is something intriguing, especially if they can be used, as the only mean of flow...

And something irrelevant with flow. Why do you think detritus are so bad for our tanks? Due to increased no3 and po4 they cause, or and something else?

Yes to the CSDs... they've been used for decades with success... in regards to the detritus it is beyond nitrates and phosphates... but I cannot explain it... something is going on chemically...

Originally Posted by fishguy597

You spoke of using crushed coral for your sand bed along with epoxying it to acrylic under your rocks. Is it pretty coarse?

It's Caribsea Special Grade Reef Sand (1.25–1.95 mm diameter grain size)

Originally Posted by fishguy597

How often do you vacuum the sand bed and do you recommend doing it in sections?

Every couple of months or so... as it's shallow and only used for aesthetics I can do it all at once if I have the time and am in the mood. I note when I do it and keep track of dates for everything.

Originally Posted by fishguy597

How deep is your sand bed?

Shallow... just enough for aesthetics... that's its only purpose...

[copps]

Originally Posted by ClintY

You are a systems engineer! That explains the intricate thought and planning behind your setup.

And placing new additions in quantized for months! I guess there is no better way of keeping the bugs out of a monster display with coral grown from frags that are from the beginning of reef central.

This is completely humbling.

A ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. While I'm an engineer by trade my passion is with the livestock... my engineering however allows me to spend the majority of my time doing what I love doing in the tank... dealing with the livestock... underwater gardening and planning fish additions.

Originally Posted by copps

Even though this tank is only 240 gallon...]

Originally Posted by biodegraded

That got a chuckle out of me.

Great thread. Thanks for taking the extensive time to put it together.

Reminds me of when my son got into the hobby a few years ago... we went to a guy's house that had a display over 300 gallons and my son thought it was small... he's since realized his Dad has gone a bit off the deep end...

Originally Posted by reefried

Wow great set up...I enjoy reading well written and documented builds as well as different tank theory’s...I like how you said if there is one thing you could tell people is “say no to detritus”.....I tend to believe in this too, but you also see people like Sanjay who’ve had their tank up for ten years and have never vacuumed the sand bed or the sump..(and has had the same skimmer for 20 years!!!) ..or even newer people like Jason Fox who runs an all bare bottom system, and regularly vacuums detritus, while at the same time having a Rubbermaid sump with 300 pounds of live rock that’s next to impossible to vacuum , and is basically a detritus sponge.... anyways great build, love the house too!....and keep the pics coming.....your a reef central legend and a great influence on the hobby

There are many methods I employ that are not necessary... and my system may thrive without them... just as other's systems would... just because someone with a nice tank does something does not mean the system is benefiting from it... many times it may be thriving despite certain methods. I always stay on the offensive with my system... even when it's doing well I try to employ methods that would benefit it even more. There are many reefers around the world I respect... and we all do things a bit differently... much of it is the same though... and many times it's not just what you do... but how you do it... many times it's not the ingredients in the dish... it's the chef.

Originally Posted by Mark SF

I loved this method. I volunteered with Matt when he was at CAS for a little over a year, and my weekly chore was to clean the Kydex (amongst a bunch of other stuff). Pretty unreal how quickly you can clean a dozen or so tanks!

I've really enjoyed reading your thread - I guess I have the passion but don't yet have a tank. I'm currently in the design phase and enjoying the process all over again. Once I get her set up I will be coming to you for a SPS frag pack!

-Mark

Thanks Mark... Matt's a great guy and a great aquarist. Time away from the hobby builds momentum and allows the accrual of potential brainstorming energy so that you can hit the ground running when you get that system.

[copps]

Originally Posted by YoeriV

Thank you very much for sharing these incredibly smart solutions. I've managed to work out a comfortable way of working myself, but did have some struggles with the algae cleaning as I like my sides and back to be clean as well in stead of overgrown which gives more depth. Also the color I chose is to bright blue to my personal taste.

But now you've given me the solution for both: the kydex... yet so simple, but I had never heard of it. I'll try to get some in my country (I'm from Belgium)
No more scraping anymore, just easily daily cleaning the front window and swapping out new kydex.. And I can choose for a darker/black color. Thanks for that!

Just a little extra question on it: You wrote that it holds its place on itself, but how does it do that in the front sides towards the front windows? Don't you see a gap there or is it due to it's stiffness that it tends to stick?

Thanks... I love the international aspect of this forum and the fact that we can share ideas from around the globe... I use magnets in certain areas to hold the Kydex in place... another reason it's nice to use black. If cut correctly you shouldn't need to use many of these though.

Originally Posted by IPT

Copps I haven't been on here in years looking at SPS so funny I would see your thread about the frags that led me to this thread. Your other tanks blew me away many years ago and this one is no different. The colors you get, maturity of the corals, and aquascaping are off the charts. Fun blast from the past seeing this thread and some of the pics of your old tanks that when I first saw them were "new" and so amazing to an aspiring SPS keeper. Congratulations on getting the dream setup done for yourself.

As an aside I am originally from NY now living up in AK. A few years back when Joe first did that 20,000 gallon tank I had to see it. When I went home we went and checked it out. He happened to be infront of the tank and I recognized him. I introduced myself and told him I had read about it on R. When he heard I was in from Alaska he gave us an incredible tour of the system. Some amazing people in this hobby. I am not as passionate about it as I once was with other hobbies and interests taking most of my time but it is refreshing to see folks like you still kicking it hard and as always willing to share what you learned over the years.

Best of luck with the setup, and you've inspired me. Maybe some days I will have some of your frags growing out in my tank .

Thanks so much for the kind words! I remember many years ago I shipped a few boxes of frags up to Alaska... this was over twelve years ago as I remember speaking to the guy in August of 2005 from my brother's wedding in California... my son had just been born and so my wife stayed back home. It was August and he would always tell me that guys would forget about their tanks during the summer and want frags when the cold started coming and the days got much shorter... I remember sending the first frags of the Original Superman monti to Alaska back in the day...

Anyway I am planning our trip to Alaska... we have hit 31 states together as a family (wife and two kids) and will have the rest covered by the time the kids leave the nest. Looking forward to visiting up there... this summer will be Western Washington State and coastal Oregon... and back to Hawaii as I have a work trip there and whenever the kids are not in school the family joins me.

Originally Posted by SawCJack00

John, this is truly the most well planned spectacular build I've ever seen, however I think the real accomplishment here is finding a wife who will tolerate this level of obsession

I look forward to watching the progress of all your beautiful slices of the ocean!

Thanks Bill! Comments like that mean so much from someone that can grow coral like yourself!

Originally Posted by Gig 'em

Your gig collection is simply incredible. Gigs and mags have always been my main passion in this hobby and it makes me happy to see amazing tanks featuring such awesome animals. I'm still waiting to get my first gig since they get so large. When I was in Thailand last year I saw some in the wild that were as wide as my outstretched arm! Simply huge and beautiful animals. Keep up the amazing work!

Thanks... you are preaching to the choir... gigs and mags are my passion too... seeing these in the wild is an otherworldly experience... what amazing animals... and it's so great to see their success rate getting so much better in recent years... yet they should still be left to (very) experienced aquarists.

[copps]

Originally Posted by Piper27

The amount of fish in this system is insane john, I forgot to ask if you have tested nitrates and phosphates recently? I bet the corals eat up a lot of the nutrients from the fish, is there anything besides live rock and coral that's helping lower nutrients?
The corals in the plastic sump are also just massive!!! I cant wait til you start collecting again and start growing some new stuff. I would love to see what some species do in your tank. Humilus and other nubby reef rest corals would look superb up high in your system. And it's so rare anyone ever grows colonies of these types of corals. Like your tut, not a colorful coral but it's my favorite because of the amazing growth you have let it take on.

Nice having you over Paul... I haven't tested nitrates and phosphates in a while... the only thing I test regularly is alkalinity... as I know this system well now... when I was testing nitrates were always in the low single digits and phosphates were between 0.05 and 0.12... and the corals absolutely do benefit from all of the fish I feed. And yes you can tell from my collection I get excited about growth form more than color... people with SPS have gravitated towards these corals that show pastel colors when blasted with blue and in a photo blown up... but what excited me are growing massive captive Acros in unique growth forms as seen in the wild under natural sunlight.

Originally Posted by Editour2

John,
on the post referring to where you purchase the kydex ....the supplier lists only sheets that are 24" x 48" so...are you piecing together the kydex on individual panels? In other words in a 72" tank that is 28" high are you using multiple pieces on the back glass?
If so, how are you piecing them together?
thanks

The Kydex actually comes in sheets from the manufacturer that are 8' x 4'. The link I posted above is not where I purchased mine... but works for other people and I recommend them. I had mine brought in by my local buddies at Avast Marine in full 8' x 4' sheets. It's very costly to ship the pieces that large but if you needed them I bet you can contact the company I link above.

Originally Posted by sirreal63

I have no words that adequately describe what I see in your build John, it is simply amazing.

I love that you still employ the things from the past that worked. I have said for a very long time that what worked before will still work today. You are the proof of that. Your system appears complex but in reality is it just beautifully engineered to work correctly.

I thank you greatly for starting this thread, it is a lesson and a tool for the rest of us.

Thanks for pointing that out. I'm amazed when I see guys that have a system 1/10th my size with plumbing ten times more complex. I keep things as simple as possible. Complexity is only warranted when there are no other viable options.

Thanks again to all... it's nice finally taking a breath and sharing my system with all of you. I say it time and time again... My wife and host lots of people at our house and my system gets seen by many... but sharing it with people around the world that share my passion is much more gratifying.

Copps

[Hoosier daddy]

Wow great thread and stunning setup!!!

[tripdad]

Hello John, please excuse me if my memory is wrong but I seem to remember you having a tank with pygmy angels and acropora? If my memory is correct did you have any experience with an Eibli? I have resisted the urge to buy one for years now but it's still there so looking for info. Thanks.

[Phixman]

Amazing tank, do you ever go scuba diving in your tank lol? Also, how in the world do you place your corals? I' currently running a 20 gallon and lose my mind when gluing my coral.

[DiscusHeckel]

You have been a great inspiration to me over the years.

I wish you the very best of luck with this set up. May reef Gods be on your side.

[ryanrid]

Awesome to see John, the grown out colonies look fantastic!

[fishresponse]

Incredible setup and system! I showed my wife and her first remark was that we could never afford that significant of setup but we all have our dreams. Hats off to you for achieving your “forever” tank. I told myself my current tank is my last tank but have always wished for a tank room as well. You sir have got that. And I love your rigorous QT process and the space for it. I think if you ever took it to the next level, you might be running an entire marine park with dolphins. When will you do tours of your tank?

[solitude127]

Thanks for sharing. Any chance we can get a few pics of skimmer in action? That thing looks like a beast.

[Piper27]

I remember seeing a small avast kalk stirrer by the skimmer. How much water do you run through that reactor daily? Is it the small model? I was wondering how you run such a large system with a small reactor, even though I know it's not running all your top off water. I would guess your timing the water to run through it periodically during the night and day so the water is fully saturated?

[copps]

Originally Posted by tripdad

Hello John, please excuse me if my memory is wrong but I seem to remember you having a tank with pygmy angels and acropora? If my memory is correct did you have any experience with an Eibli? I have resisted the urge to buy one for years now but it's still there so looking for info. Thanks.

Lol... I own over fifty angelfish... Since I was a kid I've kept angels in my reefs... I've done a few different presentations through the years... one was "Angelfish in Reef Aquaria" that I presented at MACNA in 2009 in Atlantic City and for a number of clubs... I also did one called "Darling Dwarves" which was specifically on the dwarf angelfish genus Centropyge. Below is a slide from that presentation... many people say it's a 50/50 shot with all dwarves... but the truth is it follows the species much more than it follows the individual. With that said when it comes to angelfish and SPS I don't hesitate to keep any in my systems... when it comes to the over thirty species of Centropyge I rated them years ago from green (the best choices for a reef) to red (the most likely to pick)... Centropyge eibli is part of the Flavissima complex of the subgemus Centropyge and in my experience more likely to pick than any other Centropyge. Again with that said I keep Centropyge cocosensis in my reef (added to this complex since I did the presentation). You may want to choose another species though if you have smaller colonies or a mixed reef.

Originally Posted by Phixman

Amazing tank, do you ever go scuba diving in your tank lol? Also, how in the world do you place your corals? I' currently running a 20 gallon and lose my mind when gluing my coral.

With experience you get really good layering superglue... using that along with epoxy, using tongs as an extension of your arm, and using cable ties to hold pieces in place until the glue/epoxy sets.

Originally Posted by fishresponse

Incredible setup and system! I showed my wife and her first remark was that we could never afford that significant of setup but we all have our dreams. Hats off to you for achieving your “forever” tank. I told myself my current tank is my last tank but have always wished for a tank room as well. You sir have got that. And I love your rigorous QT process and the space for it. I think if you ever took it to the next level, you might be running an entire marine park with dolphins. When will you do tours of your tank?

Thank you... keep in mind I've been a nut since I was a child... and was literally planning this in my head when I a child... this is not something I just sprung on my wife... she's known my passion and it's the reason we met twenty years ago while I was living and studying in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. There is no "next level" for me... this is everything I ever wanted... any larger and I would need employees to keep it enjoyable and would lose my passion. Life is short... follow your dreams before you are six feet under. Every guy has a "thing"... this is my "thing"... and the good thing is that it's in my house... my son is always with me in the fish room helping now... and my daughter hangs out sometimes too... here's a shot I took of her a few days ago... like any other nine year old on her tablet... except for the fact that she's sitting next to her Dad's 1300 gallon reef eating a piece of seaweed meant for the fish!

Originally Posted by solitude127

Thanks for sharing. Any chance we can get a few pics of skimmer in action? That thing looks like a beast.

Thank you... I just had Dan Lichens over yesterday... my buddy from Avast Marine... he and Justin are great guys and good friends... one of the few companies that are gold standards in this industry... great company... great product... great people...

Originally Posted by Piper27

I remember seeing a small avast kalk stirrer by the skimmer. How much water do you run through that reactor daily? Is it the small model? I was wondering how you run such a large system with a small reactor, even though I know it's not running all your top off water. I would guess your timing the water to run through it periodically during the night and day so the water is fully saturated?

Speaking of Avast Marine this is the K1 kalk stirrer... I run six gallons through it a day... and will soon be pushing that to twelve. This is just supplementary mind you, and it doesn't know how big my system is. By running more water through it all I to do is add kalk more frequently to it... no need for a larger reactor... just the need to add more kalk to it.

Thanks again everyone...

Copps

[jestronix]

Hi John,

after a decade of reefing I can relate to your view on halides. The expense of led units to get the spread and penetration of halide is high. I run leds on either side of my halide midday peak. I love fully controllable leds for lighting my tank for viewing purposes, it took weeks of sitting on my sofa to fine tune the look I wanted, something halide and T5 don't offer. I run two little Ai Primes, they are gr8 for lighting even big tanks to get a nice mood lighting of a late afternoon reef. Hands down though Halide is still king for me for coral health, up front cost is cheap, bulbs cheap compared to T5 and all the bits can be swapped out when something breaks.

Your tank is stunning and an inspiration , I dream of the open swimming space for my fish like that, I rent and move a lot so I go nothing bigger than 100G. Maybe one day I'll get to setup something like yours

[Poomba]

Any updates John?

[BruceWayne]

Looks amazing GOALS

[MichaelW]

Fantastic. Way to make your dreams (and many other peoples) happen! Congratulations. Its really great when we get to see a snippet into some of the most repected names in our hobby's personal tanks. Thank you for sharing a wealth of information.
I have so many questions but i wont bother you with them for now, just say "bravo".