That is just too cool.

Incredible!

I see you have a Staghorn hermit. I am thinking about getting one for the 125G. How do you like him?

He's awesome. Aclimated well and the porities is doing awesome too. Do note, they need a ton of sand space to walk around. They are not good at climbing, but without the proper space, they tend to climb rock and get caught in it. They can't flip their shells like other hermits (obviously) so that is the only concern.

Tons of sand equals tons of fun!

Good luck! I see your 125g is getting ready to be set up! Good luck!

Thanks!

I think he will have proper room in my sandbed. I am having a large sandbed for the pearly Jawfish and Goby/shrimps pair.

1.Do they shed their shell like other hermit crabs?
2.Can their Acro shell sting other corals?
3.Are they dangerous to snails like some other hermits?
4.Are they aggressive?
5.Any other additional info?

Thanks

OH. MY. GOD.

What kind of crabs are those?????? (The green bodied red clawed ones!) I am in total love with those!!!!!

1. No, they don't swap shells like other hermits. They burrow the inside of their shell to make the hole. Since the base is a living organism, it continues to grow bigger and bigger and the hermit kills off the inside to make it larger and larger.
2. No, the porities is actually very sensitive, so it would most likely BE stung by something else. Plate corals, anemones, and LPS are only the real culprits, as the other stuff wouldn't damage it quick enough to be a problem. Plus, that stuff usually stays up on the rocks anyway. What's funny, is I took a chance since I have two fungias and a crab-eating carpet anemone, yet the hermit stays away from them....so maybe it knows.
3. No danger as they are not trying to take the snail's shell.
4. Somewhat aggressive, but not too anything other than worms, etc. No sea slugs....
5. Nothing additional, other than the sandbed thing, which you have under control. Have fun with it! Makes sure you have the lighting appropriate for SPS though.

Pachygrapsus crassipes.

They are local to Southern California, and do marvelously in captivity. They thrive in fact, as I keep the food coming!

Perfect explanation -- and the zoomed-out pictures helped a lot, too.

Thanks!

Awesome thanks! Now I just have to find somewhere to get one rofl!

So I saw this tank awhile ago when you first posted it. I totally forgot about it and am glad I found it again. SUCH A COOL TANK.

more pichurs

Thanks!

1. Awesome!
2. I am not having anemones. I will have a few LPS though.
3. Good.
4. Ok, ok. Anything else besides worms and sea slugs?
5. Having awesome lights! 400 Watt MH with 80 Watt T5 Actinics with 1 watt LED Moonlights

GREAT lighting! Good luck!

Thanks for all the help!

Seriously awesome tank and amazing concept! Definitely top 10 that I have seen.

Wow, thanks! Thanks alot!

Here is an updated front shot.

Looks Great!


How is Big Fish?

can i come live with you? ide love to learn from you, and i can cook/clean/pay rent though i cant drive yet but i bike everywhere anyway

He's doing awesome. He's grown a bit and is filling out (he was skinny when I got him back).

He's a hero!

Here's our Fuzzy Lionfish.

I really love this tank. It's very unique. Great job!

I was just wondering about the crabs you keep. I once had them in my tank, and I noticed sometimes that they would try to attack my fish. Has you ever had any problems with them attacking anything?

No. With crabs, you can stifle their aggression with feeding (usually). I feed daily, and they get a lot of extras too. They eat most of my hermit crabs and snails (yeah, awesome....) so, we've never seen aggression. Frankly, the reverse. The fish are very aggressive towards them!

Also, crabs (or anything) become aggressive when they are dying....and many people (I am not saying you though) find crabs to be aggressive because they do not offer a way to get out of the water. Crabs will drown if unable to expel water in their gills completely. It is like us taking a deep breath and exhaling as much as we can. As such, a common conception is that the crabs become mean. This happens in fresh water too with the fiddler crabs.

Anyway, hope that helps!

Also, a side note on crabs...if they have extremely pointy claws, and often black-tipped, then they are aggressive and designed for tearing flesh. If the tips are really curvy, that is for going after shells, and if they are flat then they are algae-scrappers. Maybe your crabs were slightly different? These guys are more of the curvy type.

this has got to be one of the nicest tanks on the interwebs...

Oh thank you that helps alot. I think mine were agressive because the only out of water rock was hard to reach!
I'll keep this in mind for the future!

Wow, really nice! If I ever find a wide frag tank, I'm creating some sort of island above water for sure!

Wow. Any more of a description would be disrespectful.

If it weren't for the crabs, I'd say you should add plant life to the volcano itself. How cool would that be? With the constant salt drip, I'm not sure it would be possible, but even some sturdy orchids would just complete the effect.

Regardless, an amazing concept. I've seen this done on a smaller scale; this is one concept I'm not sure a Nano could recreate well.

I'm with you on the plant life thing.

You should hear my vision for my "big" volcano-style tank I have in the works! It's a secret until done, but I will say this.....what I am creating along the lines of a drip combined with a couple more ideas for waterfalls will accomplish the "plant life" request two-fold!

Though, with that said, given the current set-up, I can't incorporate that....though I wanted to.

Something tells me an ATO hooked up in some way to* water the plants would be cool, but then you have sediment issues. Just pitching ideas to the master, of course.

edit:can't post worth a damn.

Wow that carpet is getting big! Tank looks awesome!

You said it!

Amazing.... Truly amazing.....

I couldnt help myself...

That was RAD!

Glad Big Fish is doing great!

Congrats on the fuzzy! Are you worried it will bother your inverts?

No, but I don't have many "normal" invertebrates! No issues on that front.

What about the crabs?


This tank is looking crazy awesome! The carpet is huge!!!


What's the current fish list?

Looks like we're in the same line of work Kyle. I can't imagine how much better a business like this would do in California as compared to where I am in New Jersey haha

Beautiful tank.. I fell in love with it when I saw it a few months ago. I have to ask- is that one rock or multiple rocks in the center? Is it even a rock??

Amazing, huh? I am trying to break out of the corporate America and make this a full-time gig.

It's actually five rocks. One huge one on the right, one huge one in the middle, and one that goes up to the water level on the left. Then, I have the "basin" rock that lays on the overflow and sticks out to the left. Then, I have the "Volcano Tip" rock that sits on top. The waterfalls supply the huge rock on the right, and the Volcano Tip rock which fills the basin and drips down the left.

There was a certain level of luck involved....

Oh, and it is lace rock.

Just skimmed through, i have a problem with forgetting stuff so, this might have been asked before even by me.

Are those saddleback clowns?

Very very beautiful tank. Very nice aquascape.

This is one of the most amazing tanks I have ever seen. It's so beautiful and so original. I would love to set something up like it one day. Awesome job man!

one hell of a tank, great concept! ! im jealous haha

Every time I look at this tank I just think Amazing.

Sebae clowns.

Great idea
even better execution

that carpet nem really is amazing
love the mangroves too...

awesome tank ... keep the pics coming!!!

Biblical. Period.

Hang on to your saddles, tons of pictures coming!

on the edge of my seat...

This carpet is becoming more and more the focal point of the tank. Here, it is folded because I had fed it two full size raw shrimp. Like the tiger prawns that my wife and I cook. I feed the crabs those too and everyone goes bonkers.








Made a trip to the coast to get some snails and hermit crabs (which is more food for the big guys than anything else) and was welcomed by this big guy. He's extremely colorful and is "experienced." You can tell the "Rambo" crabs from the others by the amount of algae on them. This guy has been around....




So, this guy has molted twice in the tank, and you can clearly see the difference in color than the other guy...white collar vs. blue collar.





Really dig this shot. Finally, the color of the tank seems to be well represented here...










Doesn't that carpet look enormous?!












This guy is cool.




This is my favorite side...








I also got a huge mussel from the coast too. It is covered in tunicates and barnacles. The algae will be gone shortly of course, but the original mussels that I put in are still alive and kicking, so I bet this guy will do well too....




Just a cool shot. He is directly in front of the waterfall return and it was spraying all over the place. I wish I was a pro photographer because it was way cool in person.




I spend a ton of time looking at this angle a lot. I love the algae growth. This area is COVERED with amphipods, and copepods. It is awesome. I was trying to get pictures of that but my lens won't focus enough.




One of the beauties of the Volcano Tank set up....
Also, the return from the chiller is in-between the mushrooms.




My initial reaction to this shot was "Cool," and then I looked at it more....and it is really neat, I think...







Hope you enjoy. I LOVE taking pictures so, excuse the bandwidth!



Did you fall off yet?

Had to pick myself off the floor - those are some great shots... This is like artwork, a great expression of what can be done with some thought, imagination and ingenuity.

STUNNING!

As always, you stun us with your awesome photography skills and beautiful tank. Thanks for sharing.

THANKS! Lots of times, the shots are cool, or neat, but they never convey what it is like in person. A couple of these shots seemed to get closer. I need to get another video up...

Thanks for all the positive comments though! Well appreciated!