View Full Version : Tank Of The Month - January 2006 - Haydn Gopsill
UltimateReef.com is proud to feature its latest 'Tank of the Month'.
Haydn's Reef Tank.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/haydn2005.jpg
Details can be found below.
Congratulations Haydn amazing tank and thankyou for the fantastic write up.!
If you have any questions or comments for Haydn then please post them in this thread.
On a personnel note I would like to add that I have enjoyed my time completing the TOTM features and completing this TOTM on a tank that I have known for many years, knowing the problems Haydn has faced and kept going through the bad times was an honour, so much so that if Mikey gets his way I will continue to complete the TOTM (please dont turn this thread into a craigg keep doing the TOTM please) this is not about me but about Haydn's fantastic natural looking tank, and it was nice to get the chance to visit and take the photos myself.
Thanks.
Craig
Haydn’s Reef Tank
Introduction
My name is Haydn Gopsill and I have been keeping marines for 35 years.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/haydntank2005.jpg
Craig has been trying to get my tank for TOTM for some time now but I’ve always considered it not ready and certainly not as good as the others featured. But as its Craig’s last TOTM I let him persuade me.
First a bit of history- I have been keeping fish for as long as I can remember, there were always various containers with goldfish or sticklebacks in the garden, but my first ‘real’ tropical tank was a present for my 16th birthday. My (then) new wife bought me my first marine tank for my 21st birthday (boy! did she not know what she was starting), a 30”x15”x12” stainless steel frame with the glass fixed with an amazing new product, silicone sealer! Needless to say the frame went rusty in a short time.
That was replaced by a 48”x18”x18” that my batfish out grew in about 6months, and so was replaced with an all glass 7’x2’x2’ -a size unheard of in the early ‘70s, it had to be built specially and the builder wouldn’t guarantee it! It has so much bracing you could have held the Forth Bridge up with it. That was home to a collection of angels, including a Queen, which I grew from 1” to a 13” adult and a Moorish Idol which I kept for 3 years, all on U/G filters and no skimmer.
I down sized when I moved house and setup a small soft coral tank.
When I moved to my present address and had the opportunity to set up my dream tank from scratch. In place of an old falling down conservatory, we decided to build a “garden room” and this would be the home for the tank.
Aquarium Profile
Tank 2000mm (6’6”)x 1000mm (3’3”)x 1000mm, 18mm all glass made by Fit Filtration (480 galls)
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Sump 1500mm long, 1000mm wide and 600mm deep set into the floor like a pond (120galls).
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Stand concrete blocks and because the builders were worried about the weight it stands on a 2 cubic meter block of concrete, I reckon it would withstand an earthquake.
Return pump ITT Marlow 2700gall/hr
In tank circulation five Tunze Streams (three 6100s and two 6200s) and the spare ITT Marlow 2700 gall/hr as a closed loop.
There are four Maxijet 1200 blowing through pipes under the rubble bottom to keep the detritus down.
Lighting six 400watt M/H in Lowbay units, and two 125watt actinics.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/haydn2005%20(31).JPG
Sump Lighting 100watt spotlights
Plus lots of sunlight (the conservatory faces due south)
Skimmer Aquamedic 500
Ca Reactor Koralin 4001
Kalk Stirrer Deltec KM500s modified to include a maxijet 200. I found I wasn’t getting a saturated solution of Kalc with just the stirrer, since modifying it my corals seem better.
Phosphate reactor Deltec FR509
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Temperature control
Because the sump is set into the ground it tends to keep the temperature reasonably constant, it varies between 25 and 27 degrees even in the summer, and being a conservatory type room I can open windows. There is a fan blowing over the surface of the tank to reduce the affect of the halides and to increase evaporation (so I can maximise Kalk addition.
Top Up
Water level is monitored with a float switch in the sump and top up is via the kalk stirrer, directly fed from a ROman 200 gall/day six stage RO unit. The RO unit has a solenoid valve on the mains water feed.
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Aquascaping
There is a L/R rubble bottom in the tank to encourage buttons, leathers, mushrooms and other softies to grow and cover it. There are caves formed with glass structures and then covered with L/R. Because of the difficulty reaching the bottom and back of the tank I had to stand in it while Keith handed me the L/R.
Filtration
300 Kilos of L/R, 50 kilos of L/R rubble (thanks Keith), 6” deep sand bed in the sump, made up of various sized sands and calcium gravel. No mechanical filters are used. Fish were put in as soon as the aquascaping was finished and there was no ammonia/nitrite spike detected.
Livestock
I need to say here I like fish!!! As a scuba diver I have tried with this tank to copy the quintessential view of a reef crest in the Red Sea with lots of Anthias and damsels dancing in the current.
Fish
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5 Yellow Tangs Zebrasoma Flavescens
2 Emperor Tangs Zebrasoma Xanthurum
1 Yellow Eye Tang Ctenochaetus Strigosus
1 Chevron Tang Ctenochaetus Hawaiiensis
1 Powder Blue Tang Acanthurus Leucosternon
1 Wildfire Tang Ctenochaetus Tominiensis
22 Green Chromis Chromis Viridis
15 Marceas Anthias Pseudanthias Marcea
15 Threadfin Anthias Nemanthias Cranberry
12 Peach Anthias Pseudanthias Dispar
28 Tuka Anthias Pseudanthias Tuka
5 Resplendent Anthias Pseudanthias pulcherrimus
2 Percula clowns Amphiprion percula
4 Banggai cardinal Pterapogon kauderni in the sump, hopefully to start a breeding program
1Green coral goby Gobiodon Rivulatus
3 Bellus angels 1 male and two females Genicanthus Bellus They spawn each month
1 Copperband Butterflyfish Chelmon rostratus
1Algae Blenny Salarias Fasciatus
1Foxface SiganusUnimaculatus
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Inverts
6 Cleaner Shrimps
2 Harlequin Shrimps
Lots of Turbo, Cerith and Nasserius Snails
Hermit Crabs
2 large Brittle stars
Tons of bristle worms, Mysids and other tiny inverts
Corals
Soft
Button Polyps various colours
Leathers
Mushrooms mostly Red
Most of the Buttons and all of the leathers appeared out of the L/R I didn’t buy any colonies. The mushrooms were in my old tank but I thought they has disappeared 3 years ago and they have suddenly regenerated.
Various Xenia types
Gorgonians
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LPS
Hammer coral Euphilla species
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/haydn2005%20(15).JPG
SPS
Various Acros, montis and pocipora species
Blue coral Helopora species (yes I know its really a soft coral)
Fire coral Milipora Species (and this is a hydroid)
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Plants
Red Mangroves in the sump
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/haydn2005%20(8).JPG
Feeding
5 times per day with two Ehime auto feeders containing a mixture of Underworld flake, Kent carnivore and vegetarian micro pellets, Cyclopese and (I think its called in the UK) Golden Pearls in various sizes (I get mine directly from America).
Once a day (evening) with a mixture of frozen food, Marine Mix, Krill Pacifica, Mysus, Brine and a teaspoon of Cyclopese. This feed is for me to check that all the fish are present and eating.
Parameters
S.G. 1.025
Nitrates 0
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
Ca 430
KH 7.5
Mg 1300
Photoperiod Halides 9 hours, actinics 12 hours, sump reverse photoperiod.
Ph 8.1-8.3
Phosphate 0
Maintenance
Cleaning the glass every 2-3 days, cleaning the skimmer 2-3 times per week, my wife usually does this because her sense of smell is better than mine. Kalc stirrer topped up with Calcium Hydroxide (about 40gms) every two days. 100 gall water change with Reef Crystals and R.O. water once a month. Testing when I think about it or sense something is not quite right.
The tank has gone through a number of ups and downs- I lost a lot of corals to an RTN outbreak about a year after it was set up and all the corals were growing wonderfully. Then a cucumber became stuck in one of the streams and poisoned almost all my fish. After that the DSB in the tank started to breakdown but now I think the tank is starting to come back and is maturing slowly.
I hope you get as much enjoyment from the tank as I have over the years and if you have any questions or comments please feel free to post them
Regards
Haydn
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MaidstoneMarine
23-12-05, 19:32
One thing I love is tanks with lots of fish and this one has them in abundance!
Very nice indeed. Congratulations.
Chris
Stunning, a tank that I have always admired. I love those anthias :thumbsup:
Thanks
Paul
:thumbsup: well deserved haydn,you have a tank with character,which gives it that natural look :bow:
:wacko: 100 gallon water change :wacko:
Very very nice :wub:
Are you sure you measured it correctly, it looks much bigger than the dimensions stated :P
The shoal of anthias is very impressive :thumbsup:
Having seen this tank on a few occasions now I have to say the pics don't do it justice (No offense Craig) ;) It just has to be admired in person to really appreciate the beauty of it.
As a scuba diver I have tried with this tank to copy the quintessential view of a reef crest in the Red Sea with lots of Anthias and damsels dancing in the current.
A pretty good attempt in my opinion!
:bow: Well done Haydn.
congratulations haydn
and as suk has already mentioned it has to be viewed in the flesh
lucky for me i only live down the road
well deserved
darryl
instantsquid
23-12-05, 21:51
Absolutely love it! :wub:
Particularly interested in the LR rubble instead of substrate - how did you deal with the potential detritus trap that this could have been?
- Ian.
A natural looking tank. Thoroughly deserving of the TOTM title - well done on creating such a setup.
S.
Oh WOW!
It's just like looking at a slice of the ocean!
Fantastic achievement - well done - an inspiration!!
Hadyn,
As I've always said this is favourite tank by far. Tha most natural looking and best scaped around. Shame I live so far and have never got down to see it.
Well done mate.
Mark.
What an amazing aquarium beautiful fish and corals growing really well. I love the idea of the sump as a pond and those mangroves look really healty too! I too love Anthias they are a must if trying to recreate a reef!
Great work a credit to you!! :thumbsup:
Daza
Stunning, Haydn :wub: . Very natural looking and soooo many fish.
Love it. Well done.
Tony
5061litres
24-12-05, 05:59
Nice fish, but i just don't like the rest of the tank. it looks natural, but it looks too brown. it needs some colour.
tony.
simon garratt
24-12-05, 11:48
Tony. no offence, but maybe you should read the write up again. Youll notice that this tank has had some major upsets and Hayden has overcome some instances that would see the end of many set-ups. In haydens own words. (the tank is recovering slowly)..so its not really surprising that this has knocked colour from some of the corals
I say fair do's hayden. after everything youve been through its testement to your abilities that things are getting back on track.
Well done and best of luck as things grow out again.
regards
Si.
5061litres
24-12-05, 12:50
just my opinion.
hope things get better. :thumbsup:
tony
Thanks for the replies....
Tony- with such a large tank it is difficult for the photgraph to pick out colour, you are trying to get 2 square metres into an 800x600 space- for example the table acro is about 15" across but you can hardly see it in the picture. Also I prefer large sweeps of zooanthids and corals rather than lots of small clumps. So I'm trying to limit the different types in the tank. The mushrooms do look much brighter in real life. Also not having a sand base reduces the brightness.
If you are round my way come and look at the tank you may change your mind
Ian- there is a series of pipes with holes in with maxijets at each end which keeps the detritus in suspension.
Haydn
It's a dam shame some just can't help themselves and spoil a thread.. :angry:
5061litres
26-12-05, 15:55
Criticism can be an excellent thing, be it good or bad. It's just that i tell it as it is, whereas most people keep it to themselves. That is why our Great Britain is the poor state that it's in.
tony
5061litres
26-12-05, 17:46
Originally posted by Lambretta Madman@Dec 26 2005, 17:19
Whatever... :bored:
Is that all u can come up with??
Very intelligent.
Would a mod please erase the last few posts.
thanks.
tony.
Why does everyone start getting touchy as soon as someone gives constructive
criticism?
Tony only mentioned a couple of things that could be done to make the tank even better than it already is, he wasnt exactly running the tank down was he?
What sort of pathetic world do we live in if we cant voice our opinions anymore :angry:
Elliott
Please don't spoil this by turning it into a slanging match.
I value all opinions good or bad as long as they are seen to be constructive. tony has his view, more colour- I beg to differ prefering a more subtle approach.
I suppose in some ways it is like gardening, many people like the 'parks department' (method lots of brightly coloured flowers all in a row), whereas others see beauty in a cottage garden or a forest glade where plant are jumbled together and the strongest survive. all these are wonderful but in different ways and I belive this is what reefkeeping is all about.
Haydn
michael wareing
26-12-05, 19:59
OH i love it!!! Merry xmas..... Barrrrrrrrrrrrr humbug. Colour no colour, small or large!!!!.We all find beauty in different things.....If we didnt the world would be a boring place!!
Hi Hayden
Great tank really love the fish.
How are your tukas coming along?
Cheers
Sanj
stunning , :thumbsup:
a very natural looking tank well done :thumbsup:
how do you find all the different anthias get on with each other.
Nice tank, but what happened to December Tank of the month?
Suffolk Reefer
27-12-05, 09:34
Crackin tank Hayden, your piece of YOUR ocean, and thanks for sharing it with us. Have always admired this tank from a far :bow:
Kind regards
Paul
Smashing tank :thumbsup: well done for sticking with it.
I agree with 5061 it does look a bit brown, but I like it all the same and as a scuba diver its more the colouring that you would see in the wild anyway.
I'm more a softie person as well so its nice to see lots of mushies.
:D :D :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
paisley_pirate
29-12-05, 13:16
I love it and as you say you have had some probs and it wins tofm while recovering! i also thought our goal as reefers was to get as close as natural as pos there was pics there that could be straight from the see stunninf fish i really like it, love to see that in person grt job hadyn :thumbsup: :bow:
Thats smart that, nice......
Well done, inspiring.
Matt
:thumbsup: :dance:
manic_asif
29-12-05, 19:02
Congratulations Haydn
Thats a stunning setup - just so much going on and very natural looking.
Well done....something to aspire to
Thanks for the comments guys :blush:
Sanj-the Tukas are coming along fine- they are feeding on frozen and Cyclop-ese (lots of it :blink: ) and some are showing an interest in dry food, which means they should start putting on weight :D. Interestingly the Threadfin anthias, which have always been shy, are getting brave with the larger group and coming out from the caves and mixing with the Tukas :D :D
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/tuka1.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/tuka2.jpg
Andy- Because I pick the shallow water, grouping(shoaling) smaller anthias they tend not to be inter-specis agressive although the male(s) do vie for the best position to show off to the females. Also the specis I have don't get heirarchys like female Lyre-tails so no female in-fighting.
Vic- If your lot ever decide to invade England again ;) or if you're down this way give me a PM. You are welcome anytime.
Haydn
very nice tank haydn, looks superb to me and the anthias are sommat else keep at it chris........ :cheers:
Originally posted by haydn Gopsill@Dec 26 2005, 19:30
Please don't spoil this by turning it into a slanging match.
I value all opinions good or bad as long as they are seen to be constructive. tony has his view, more colour- I beg to differ prefering a more subtle approach.
I suppose in some ways it is like gardening, many people like the 'parks department' (method lots of brightly coloured flowers all in a row), whereas others see beauty in a cottage garden or a forest glade where plant are jumbled together and the strongest survive. all these are wonderful but in different ways and I belive this is what reefkeeping is all about.
Haydn
anyone will always critisize another persons tank
but what they forget is that it is your tank and that is the way you want it to look
by the way nice looking tank :thumbsup:
Your Anthias are out of this world :wub:
Amazing selection of fishes
Thanks
Elliott
Good to see those Tuka Anthias doing well how many times do you feed them? I found I needed to feed mine up to 8 times a day(had 10 in a 150 Gall tank) to get them to stop loosing weight?! They look amazing must be one of the most stunning coral reef fish
Daza
Great looking reef, considering all the probs you must of had.Stunning Tukas :wub:
Be interesting to see this reef in a years time.Keep up the good work :thumbsup:
Congratulations Haydn, a very well deserved TOTM :bow:
Love the aquascaping, very natural, and the fish are fantastic.
A real slice of the ocean. Well Done.
Hi Haydn
Really nice to see your tank as TOTM as anyone who has spoken to you will know how much you have lost and the years of effort.
As for the rather glib comments oh its too brown a good bit of this comes down to the photography. The pictures seem fairly straight from the camera without the obligatory run through photoshop that has become the standard these days. With ever louder colours. I grabbed a couple of the images and edited them in PS and as I said when you are shooting through 18mm of glass and the cameras white balance is trying like crazy to up the red to knock out the blues from the halides and actinics etc then colour will not look as nice as it does in real life without trying to correct this back to what we actually see.
You only have to look at the colour of the green buttons to see what is going on.
Anyway I think the tank looks real the fish are to die for and you deserve all the recognition comming your way. As one of the longest serving reef keepers in the country your tank is a lesson to all in creating a natural look.
All the best
regards Jez
Hi
I can confirm that the photos have NOT been edited in ANY way.
I do not play that game and in my opinion that is not photography.
I still say the tank is the only real natural looking tank I've ever seen, followed closely by Keiths. ( I have many other favourites but here I'm talking about natural).
Craig
Originally posted by craigg@Jan 2 2006, 18:25
I still say the tank is the only real natural looking tank I've ever seen
Have to say I felt similiarly to Craig on this, theres no doubt in my mind that this tank looks as natural as could be hoped for.
I dont believe in this brighter is necessarily better and a closer and more accurate representation of true reef environment. Yes you get bright colours, but not ALL OVER the reef.
If I can achieve something like this in my new setup Ill be a happy bunny even if others are disapointed.
Matt
As one of the longest serving reef keepers in the country
I hope thats not a euphemism for geriatric old g*t ;) and any chance you can post/PM the piccys, I would like to see what you managed to do- I'm usless with PS :(
Daza- 6 time per day- 5 dry food, 1 frozen feed and as I said lots!! :blink: of cyclopese.
Haydn
Lovely tank Haydn. Anthias are :wub:
Haydn,
Yep, nice looking natural tank and the fish are superb. The tank's background colour on the rear glass doesn't help the perception of the tank's overall colour though but guess at a metre tall and wide it would be a complete b*****d to keep clear, even if you wanted to. In fact I can't really tell what the BG colour is so it may not help anyway :D .
Cheers
John
edited : removed photo stuff
Wow, Brilliant reminds of the red sea....
World Class :wub:
AMAZING! B)
Would love to see it in the flesh.
Since when has TOTM been about the photography :wacko:
Lets stop drawing conversation away from the TOTM, and focus on this great tank...
Haydn - very nice mate, and deserving of this write up.
fantastic set-up well deserved :bow: i count over 120 fish, is that some kind of record for this size tank???
coupla questions,
1) if you could change anything on this system, what would it be?
2) what is your favourite piece(s) of kit that you would highly recommend and think are vital to creating what you are showing us now.
3) apart from the recouperation process of this tank, do you have any larger than life future plans or do you intend to just let it run its course as is?
4) how do you manage to keep an in the ground sump so healthy with that weimeraner of yours (or am i thinking of someone else :wacko: )
Ok SCOOB- As I said, I like fish :D
1 I would have got John at FF to drill the tank so I could use closed loops with external pumps, because although streams are fine I find them intrusive, a pain to clean and dodgy for the inhabutants.
2 This is a good question (and a hard one!)- I've thought about it long and hard. I suppose the non-equipment answer is my very understanding wife :wub: - without her I think I may well have packed this tank in- its cost a lot of money.
Equipment wise (and I know this is a cliché) my computer so I have access to lots of current info on the web.
3 Currently we have developers after our house and land- if they suceed we will be moving (BUT NOT YET so no reserving any stock ;) ) so with the experience I've gained from this large system I would like a 2metrex2metrex1.5metre deep system (John says with improvments in tank building technology 1.5m is possible) with 2 sides viewable. It would also be lower so its easer to see over the top. But of course it would depend on the new house ;)
4 He spends lots of time looking into the sump but he hasn't been in it (yet :blink: )
Haydn
Hi Haydn. Nice tank there love all the fish, i think it looks superb and especially when the pics have'nt been doctered with photoshop. If i am ever in Leicester i would like to have a peek if possible, cheeky blighter that i am. Well done Eric. :thumbsup:
Very nice / 100% respect : for commitment & dedication in your magnificent achievment.
Well deserved as far as i am concerned.............and many others too ;)
Regards Ian.
As wives’ have a tendency to do, Lesley was clearing out some old boxes we packed up when we moved and left in the loft. At the bottom of one were some old photos.
So I thought you might like to see some of them, they are scanned so I apologise for the quality of some of them.
As I said in my write up- after the small stainless steel on I had a 48”x18”x18” These pictures would have been taken 1974-5, before tang police, let alone Moorish idol police ;) , although I seem to remember keeping it for at least 3 years.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/first1.JPG
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http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/first3.jpg
The Moorish was the reason for me having this tank the pictures would be 1978-80 the first one was just after I set it up, I wonder where I got the idea for the landscape in my latest set-up.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/second1.jpg
Note, no L/R I think it was set-up with Keramic rock, an artificial rock made from clay, it looked good but was so sharp.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/second2.JPG
I had a shoal of Achilles Tangs (7) for about 18months before the tank was stripped for my move.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/second2a.JPG
I grew him to this
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I even managed to spawn clowns
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This was probably one of my most successful tanks (fish only with anemones) I kept various large angels, including a Majestic, considered impossible then and spawned clowns. All this on air driven U/G filters made from corrugated roofing plastic and no skimmer
When I moved to a modern house in 1988 there was no room for the big tank and inverts were becoming popular so this was my first ‘reef’ system, Hummm I seem to be very unimaginative with my landscaping.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/third1.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploads/third2.JPG
Interesting trip down memory lane............. really shows how we have developed our knowledge and skills over the years. Wish I had my old tank photos too.
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