ALexpsycho Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 Very good thread! Thanks for all the information and pictures you provide. Link to comment
TimberC Posted December 4, 2012 Share Posted December 4, 2012 I love your set up! I like how all cables and equipment are hidden. Your corals, fish and aquascape are equally impressive. Link to comment
urbaneks Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 December 4th, 2012 - Response to Feedback Urbaneks, Your thread is such an inspiration for me. Your tank has become my new favorite and I appreciate the amount of detail that you've put into this tank, and your routine to maintain such a beauty. Following. buddythelion - Outstanding! I'm excited to hear that you've gotten something out of my journal and that my tank ranks up there as one of your favorites. Thanks for taking the time to view and comment on my journal. Great build thread and great setup. Fantastic work here - Keep it up! 1fishmonger - Thank you very much! Very good thread!Thanks for all the information and pictures you provide. Alexpsycho - Thanks for the compliment on the thread and photos. Two of my favorite things to do is reef and photograph so the two go nicely together. I love your set up! I like how all cables and equipment are hidden. Your corals, fish and aquascape are equally impressive. TimberC - Many thanks! My tank is in a main part of the house so it's important that it's clean as well as the installation. Link to comment
Veng Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I hate you.... this tank look ####ing amazing... Link to comment
JDigital Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 Be right back... I need to gather my tongue and jaw that are rolling around on the floor........................ ...... ............ .................. ......................... Ok, I'm back. The new photos are fantastic Urban. I truly like them all, but.... I'm a huge fan of the Cali Tort with the Purple Rimmed Green Cap in the background. The "View from Below" is a sharp photo too, as is the Torch macro shot. Keep up the Stunning work! Link to comment
urbaneks Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 December 4th, 2012 - Response to Feedback I hate you.... this tank look ####ing amazing... Veng - Don't hate the player, hate the game. In all seriousness, thanks for the view and comment. Be right back... I need to gather my tongue and jaw that are rolling around on the floor.............................. ............ .................. ......................... Ok, I'm back. The new photos are fantastic Urban. I truly like them all, but.... I'm a huge fan of the Cali Tort with the Purple Rimmed Green Cap in the background. The "View from Below" is a sharp photo too, as is the Torch macro shot. Keep up the Stunning work! JDigital - Thanks many times over for the kind words and compliments on some of my coral shots. It's fun to grow and then photograph the tank. Link to comment
urbaneks Posted December 5, 2012 Author Share Posted December 5, 2012 December 4th - Photo Update The journal has spilled over to another page which means it's time for a few new photographs. Here are a few that I took in the last week. This first photograph is of my Bennett Tort. This coral is very similar in appearance to the Cali Tort but has the soft green interior with the blue tips. I captured this photo when taking the pictures for the CADLights photo contest but chose not to upload it. The more I look at this photo, the more it becomes my favorite coral photo that I've ever taken. The bright green background is actually the polyps from a Poker Star Monti which is encrusting up against the base of the Tort. The tip on the Tort seems to be glowing under the 20K MH's. My new favorite coral photo of all time - Bennett Tort This next photo is of an X-Factor Cap, a coral that I've posted before. This is a piece which I fragged from the main colony and mounted on a flat spire across the tank. You can see from the edges that it's starting to heal from the fragging. I absolutely love the contrast between green and blue on this coral. The next time I photograph this coral, I will increase the aperture so that more of the polyps are in focus. X-Factor Monti Cap I was trying to get a good shot of the YWG with the Pistol when the Blue Tang happened to swim by. You can see from the flared gils and open mouth that the Goby took exception to the Tang being too close to home. I've mentioned it several times in my journal but if I could keep just 2 animals in my tank it would be the Shrimp and Goby. We get hours upon hours of entertainment watching these guys. Yellow Watchman defending his shrimp, even against the biggest fish in the tank This is the same FTS that I posted on the previous page but I try to keep a current FTS on each page of the journal. FTS - December of 2012 Link to comment
hawks66 Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 As always love the tank. As my winter break project im building a stand for a 40g that Im going to start, im stealing your retractable sump shelf / equipment panel / towel rack / auto led lighting ideas for my stand. im wondering is there anything in hindsight you wish was done different on your stand? Link to comment
NewbieMarine Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 First post. This thread finally got me to register after browsing for a while. Awe. Some. I'm thinking of setting up a 29g nano, but this has me drooling for a mega tank. Though I'd never be able to replicate your precision. Link to comment
Deleted User 4 Posted December 6, 2012 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Love the utmost tip of that acro in the 1st picture ahhaa. Link to comment
urbaneks Posted December 6, 2012 Author Share Posted December 6, 2012 December 5th, 2012 - Response to Feedback As always love the tank. As my winter break project im building a stand for a 40g that Im going to start, im stealing your retractable sump shelf / equipment panel / towel rack / auto led lighting ideas for my stand. im wondering is there anything in hindsight you wish was done different on your stand? hawks66 - Thanks for the view and comment! I'm excited to hear that you got some ideas from my journal and you will be putting them into your system. As for improvements that I would/will make there are plenty. First off, I did not build my stand, I bought it from CADLights with the tank. When I do it over again, I will build the stand to be between 40"-43" tall. The current stand is 30" which does not leave much room for the plumbing and equipment under the stand. My tank is also only 18" tall so I think a taller stand will make it seem more substantial. When I build my next stand, I will also move the equipment panel to the outside of the tank but build a door that conceals it. This will mean that my stand is larger than the tank which will also help for additional room under the stand. First post. This thread finally got me to register after browsing for a while. Awe. Some. I'm thinking of setting up a 29g nano, but this has me drooling for a mega tank. Though I'd never be able to replicate your precision. NewbieMarine - First of all welcome to NR.com. My first reef was a 28g Nano Cube which you can see on the first page of my journal. I still often times want a smaller tank. Once of these days, I may add a small 8g display to my current system. As for replicating, never say never and I by know means have all the answers. I constantly read and look at other systems to see how I can make improvements. Again, welcome and thanks for making my journal your first post! Love the utmost tip of that acro in the 1st picture ahhaa. IIX - It is a really cool pic! As I mentioned in my post, it's become my favorite coral photo. Thanks for the comment! Link to comment
urbaneks Posted December 7, 2012 Author Share Posted December 7, 2012 December 6th, 2012 - Photo Update I liked the "View looking up so much from the CADLights photo contest shot that I decided to get one from the other side of the tank. The first shot was taken from the left side and the second shot was taken from the right. Thanks for looking. Left Side - Looking up Right Side - Looking up Link to comment
Deleted User 4 Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 Doesn't get any better than this...lol TOTM ALREADY. Link to comment
pschom Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 Yeah when is this going to win TOTM? Or did I miss it? I guess it's not really a nano, but its awesome. Link to comment
JDigital Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 Would love to see one of those shots from the bottom when you have your pumps turned off to get that sharp reflection of the tops of the corals on the water surface contrasting with the view of the bottoms/sides. I think that would look really sharp. (not that they aren't already) Nice photos as per usual. Link to comment
Bello Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 Beautiful tank & some awesome photography! I share your distaste for corals on the sandbed, though my dropoff is an entirely different story. I would like your opinion on sand-beds. My other DT is currently barebottom. While it's satisfying to see that there is no detritus collected, i dislike the look of bare bottom tanks. I'd like to put in a very shallow sandbed using KZ coral sand of maximum 0.5 inch, but am now worried about the detritus. SPS look good at the moment, and don't wanna ruin it. This sounds really silly, but by "vaccuming the sandbed", you are essentially using a gravel cleaner for the detritus.... you never actually remove the sand from the tank, right? Any particular equipment that you recommend for this? Thanks! Link to comment
urbaneks Posted December 7, 2012 Author Share Posted December 7, 2012 December 7th, 2012 - Response to Feedback Doesn't get any better than this...lol TOTM ALREADY. IIX - While I appreciate your kind words, I beg to differ. There are other tanks out there that are better. In addition, this one is not quite where I want it so it will get better. As for TOTM - I would love that honor but not sure a 110g tank would make the Nano requirements. Yeah when is this going to win TOTM? Or did I miss it? I guess it's not really a nano, but its awesome. pschom - Thanks for your support and compliments. If we compare my tank to the ocean... it's still a nano... Right? Would love to see one of those shots from the bottom when you have your pumps turned off to get that sharp reflection of the tops of the corals on the water surface contrasting with the view of the bottoms/sides. I think that would look really sharp. (not that they aren't already) Nice photos as per usual. JDigital - Great idea on the still reflection shot, consider it done. Next time I get the camera out, I will make this happen. Thanks for your kind words here. Beautiful tank & some awesome photography! I share your distaste for corals on the sandbed, though my dropoff is an entirely different story. I would like your opinion on sand-beds. My other DT is currently barebottom. While it's satisfying to see that there is no detritus collected, i dislike the look of bare bottom tanks. I'd like to put in a very shallow sandbed using KZ coral sand of maximum 0.5 inch, but am now worried about the detritus. SPS look good at the moment, and don't wanna ruin it. This sounds really silly, but by "vaccuming the sandbed", you are essentially using a gravel cleaner for the detritus.... you never actually remove the sand from the tank, right? Any particular equipment that you recommend for this? Thanks! Bello - Thank you for taking the time to comment on my Tank Journal. Your views and comments are very much appreciated. As for my opinion on your sand bed, I would not hesitate adding a shallow sand bed to your tank. If I were to do this after the tank was setup, I would use one of the live sand products that don't have all the dust to rinse. Then I would just add one cub at a time until you get it how you want it. On the vacuuming, I use a $8 gravel vac from PetCo and control the flow by making a small kink in the tubing. This allows me to control how fast the vacuuming goes and ensure that it does not pull out any of the gravel. the gravel vacuum I have is actually the one for nano tanks as it dates back to when I had my 28g Nano. I've often times considered getting a bigger vacuum but never remember to pick one up when I'm buying dog food. Link to comment
urbaneks Posted December 10, 2012 Author Share Posted December 10, 2012 December 9th, 2012 - Photo Update I had a few photos that I had not posted and figured they might as well be uploaded. I liked this photo of one of my clown fish. My two clowns were the first fish that went into my Nano Cube which was about 5 years ago. While they refuse to host, they still add to the tank and of course all the kids that come over love the clowns. This is one of my two clownfish - They were moved from the Nano to the new tank This is my Poker Star Monti. This was one of the first corals that went into the tank. While I still love the color, the coral is starting to claim a lot of real estate and recently started pushing up against my Bennett Tort. It will be interesting to see what comes of the interaction. Poker Star Monti This is a small frag of Mint Berry Crunch that I added to a second location in my tank. The piece is getting less light than the other and shows a deeper green than the piece that is up high. Mint Berry Crunch These next two photos show how well this coral has responded to the Red Bug treatment. I previously posted that this coral had no polyps on the base prior to the treatment. You could see some green specs under the skin of the coral but they would not extend. The first photo was taken 2 days after the treatment and the second photo was taken about 2 weeks after. Photo taken 2 days after Red Bug Treatment, polyps are starting to break thru the skin Photo taken 2 weeks after Red Bug treatment - Polyps out with full extention Link to comment
Bello Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Thanks urbanek I have started with sandbed. I already purchased the KZ sand, so a bit late. It's a decent sized grain that won't fly around all over the place, so that helps. I must say, no matter how convenient bare-bottom is, it will never look right to me. But, that's just me I'm trying to outsource my sandbed cleaning duties to my sea cucumber, that I've had for about 2 years, but not sure how he'll do with the larger grain size. In that case, gravel vaccum, here we go. Your pictures are just insane and do justice to your tank! Link to comment
urbaneks Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 December 11th, 2012 - Response to Feedback Thanks urbanek I have started with sandbed. I already purchased the KZ sand, so a bit late. It's a decent sized grain that won't fly around all over the place, so that helps. I must say, no matter how convenient bare-bottom is, it will never look right to me. But, that's just me I'm trying to outsource my sandbed cleaning duties to my sea cucumber, that I've had for about 2 years, but not sure how he'll do with the larger grain size. In that case, gravel vaccum, here we go. Your pictures are just insane and do justice to your tank! Bello - Glad to hear you are moving forward the with sandbed. Hope all goes well for you. Thanks for the compliments on the photographs. IIX - Thank you! Link to comment
najluni15 Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I love the pic of the clown in what looks like his castle gate...What type of clean up crew do you have? Does it help with the clean sand and glass that you always have, or do you do most of the work? Great pics as always Link to comment
Marco Madeira Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Congratulations!! Very well organized, very nice tank! Your ideas, tank conception and design are truly amazing! Link to comment
shroomie Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Awesome thread, I really like the shot of the poker star..great detail. Link to comment
urbaneks Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 December 12th, 2012 - Response to Feedback I love the pic of the clown in what looks like his castle gate...What type of clean up crew do you have? Does it help with the clean sand and glass that you always have, or do you do most of the work? Great pics as always najluni15 - Very cool observation on the Clown Fish photo, after your post, I revisited the photo and it certainly does look like he's guarding the castle. In terms of a CUC it's pretty typical, I have ~15 hermit crabs, 3-5 Turbo Snail, 3-5 Trochus Snails and 10-15 Nassarius Snails. I would say the items I have that may be a bit out of the norm is 2 Tiger Conchs and 2 Urchins (1 Tuxedo and 1 Halloween). With all of that said, I'm responsible for the heaviest of lifting when it comes to the CUC. Thanks for your views and comments. Congratulations!! Very well organized, very nice tank! Your ideas, tank conception and design are truly amazing! Macro Madeira - When I first read your post (Congratulations!!!), I thought I had won something! I really appreciate your kind words here, it's always nice when someone appreciates the organization that goes into things. One of my favorite quotes is, "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication" by Leonardo Da Vinci. I think this holds very true in our hobby. Awesome thread, I really like the shot of the poker star..great detail. shroomie - Many Thanks! I have a similar shot of my Superman Monti, I need to get that posted here as well. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.