View Full Version : Tank of the Month - May 2007 - Reef Bloke
MaidstoneMarine
02-05-07, 08:11
This months TOTM is special. Special because it is a stunning tank. Special because it's geographically close to me which allows me to see it grow and develop. But it's special because this tank received the highest number of votes in a single month. It's fair to say that this is a tank you all want to find out a bit more about. So, without further adue, congratulations Reef Bloke.
Tony Rogers May
http://www.ultimatereef.com/TOTM/2007_may/ (http://www.ultimatereef.com/TOTM/2007_may/)
http://www.ultimatereef.com/TOTM/2007_may/images/topImage.jpg
Thanks and congratulations Tony on awesome tank and wonderfully written article! If you have any questions or comments then please post them in this thread.
Congratulations Tony. Well deserved too
Now lets get on with that upgrade :)
Very well deserved. :)
The tank looks great Tony.
Jeff.
an extremely worthy winner, one I am very proud and fortunate to have seen many times. I love this tank to bits, BUT, i'm with Paul, let's get cracking on the mark II :)
:dance:
It's a cliche, but photo's can't do this tank justice, its a work of art.
:applause:
Reef bloke
03-05-07, 00:30
Blimey im gonna be skint this month with all these back handers im going to be giving out!
Cheers maties,still cant believe it.So many great tanks that i feel are better than mine that could have been voted for this month.Im so chuffed!
Hearty congrats, RB - thoroughly deserved!
Well done and great write up :thumbsup:
Stunning tank and superb writeup. :wub:
I have always loved this tank for its colour and coral layout, but seeing it for real the other week just blew my mind away. Pictures are good, but never do it justice. A well deserved TOTM.
Congratulations
Tony
Woo hooo!! Well done Tony.
Yet to see it for real but I love the pics of your tank :thumbsup:
The Chiller
03-05-07, 06:36
Well done Reef Bloke I think you should also win help and advice of the month for newbie fools like me with some dumb ass questions.Well done again and thanks for help and advice over the last few months since I joined
Gary
Well done Tony, very well deserved :worship: :worship: :worship:
Fantastic tank and will be using it for inspiration when scaping my new tank.
Superb tank Tony, well done. :thumbsup:
great write up, tanks looking stunning. i remember your tank build thread and the later thread on the feet on the cabinet collapsing, seems a long time ago now!
As always Tony, a real pleasure to see your tank.
Well deserved. :) :applause:
ATB
Tony well dome mate, totally deserved the attention to detail and cleanliness is superb.
as always a stunning system and a first class write up :applause:
Well done!! :worship:
Tony, I know you don't think the tank is "grown in" yet but..... I think you're your own worst critic! It looks superb mate ;)
Not having a dig at the photographers, but trust me people, the tank looks so much better in the flesh, I'm sure all the others that have seen this tank will agree; the pictures (as always) never do it justice.
Awesome tank, keep up the good work buddy! :dance: :applause:
Snowsurfer
03-05-07, 09:05
Very nice. Looks great.
Nice to see someone else who also likes a lot of fish and getting away with it :) A man from my own heart.
congratulations Tony :applause:
dan-the-man
03-05-07, 09:34
Thats looking great fella! Well done pal. :) Not bad shots either ;)
JOHN & CAM
03-05-07, 10:28
Fantastic:thumbsup: .Looks proper lovely. I hate to mention this as i dont want you to take this as criticsm coz it deffinitely is'nt but have you thought of getting hold of some large plating montis and breaking them in to flat peices and then milliputting them flat to the weir. If you put plenty of peices near the bottom they will grow into each other and upward.You can also frag the peices that grow outwards so they dont effect them lovely brains. It would allow you to put more corals in a system that is already looking brilliantly packed. Just a thought;) I would love to see the way that tank grows so post some pics in a few months:thumbsup:
Nice one Tony well done :thumbsup:
SPS Hoover
03-05-07, 10:43
Well Tony it doesn't look crud to me (who said that)
Considering issues you were having a few months back its a testiment to your hard work and persiverance.
Well done Tony. :thumbsup:
Very nice!
RichB.
Looking good Tony and as usual amazing photos!
well dione mate nice looking tank
Rob Martin
03-05-07, 12:35
Excellent write up & a beautiful tank.Congatulations on t.o.t.m Tony.
Rob.
Reef bloke
03-05-07, 12:58
Thanks ever so much peeps.
John and Cam,i do intend on sticking something on that great big weir.I did stick two milli frags on it earlier this month but a regal tang knocked em off within a few minutes lol.
Lucky Eddie
03-05-07, 13:35
Well done Tony. Just rewards for all your trials over the last few years !!!!
I disagree on your fish stocking policy however.
I think if you do the maths and calculate the tank volume, the surface area and the biomass of fish...........you still have room for at least one small damsel !!!!!!! :laugh:
Total quality, Bloke.
Yeah!!!!!:applause: :thumbsup:
Oh Tony I'm so pleased you got this mate, your tank really is beautiful and no matter how good you are with the camera you could never capture how amazingly colourful it is in the flesh!:wub:
You a top bloke and really deserve this!:worship: :worship:
Well done Hun:dance:
Fantastic looking tank and write up, the pictures are inspiring:thumbsup: .
Well done for the recovery from the impella rusting (just had the same thing happen, so it's given me some hope:) )
A worthy winner:worship: .
Jim.
Great tank and write up! :wub:
I still think you can squeeze a few more fish in there :whistling:
Well done and congratulations!
Dave
blazesnake
03-05-07, 19:18
brilliant reef mate:thumbsup:
but as dave_p said a few more fish would make it all that better
well done anyways:D
Great tank - keeps on getting better despite the little hickups :rolleyes:
Well deserved!
:thumbsup:
Great tank, well done! I think the Narva blue tubes really do make a great difference, make everything stand out more.
Great Tank :applause:
Nice layout. I have always liked to see some good swimming space alongside some fantastic corals :worship:
The colouration is stunning. This obviously has a great deal of care, love and attention lavished on it! :wub:
Top Job Reef Bloke :wave:
:cheers:
Wurgle
ChrisBFish
04-05-07, 19:52
Beautiful tank! Love the fish :) ...and the corals aren't bad, either ;)
Very nice hope mine looks this good one day
stunning tank ,great write up too:applause: congrats:)
Reef bloke
04-05-07, 23:29
Thanks again everyone,cant wait to see yours Andy!
Tony
Reefer Madness
05-05-07, 11:30
Love this tank, it's always stood out for me :worship: , and also the stunning photographs.
Well done mate, you deserve it:applause: .
Kenslovechild
05-05-07, 11:32
Well done Tony, I've followed your progress for a while and pinched a few ideas:D
Cheers
KLC:)
Tony, do you finally accept that your tank doesn't actually look too bad now?:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Keep telling you mate, best tank i've seen:worship: :worship:
Superb tank, very tidy too and i love the aquascaping !
Well done mate :thumbsup:
clubredeye
05-05-07, 20:13
thats a fantastic looking tank you got there mate, did you buy those corals as they are now or have they grown from frags ?:applause:
Reef bloke
05-05-07, 20:54
Hi mate Around 70% frags 30% medium to large colonies.Growth has been prett y rapid for the most part.
Heres a couple of pics one Mid Dec and one late March/Early April.
Dec
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/Mid dec.jpg
March April
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/march.jpg
extremley well deservered
show off :D :D
seriously tho, crazy growth. am i right when i say that the blue monti digi in the lower left corner of the pic got smashed to bits hence the slower growth over the others in the pic?
Reef bloke
05-05-07, 21:42
Hi Scoob
Yes mate,everytime it gets decent growth a fish(usually a regal tang) breaks a big bit off lol.You can see the growth rate though as there is a frag that got knocked off above the cleaner wrasse in the first pic,there is at least 100% growth of that frag in the second pic.
Just to add my belated congratulations. Was priviledged to see this tank in the flesh during the Essex reefers day-trip to Kent and it really was gorgeous. A thoroughly well deserved TOTM! :worship:
Keith
Well done a really stunning set up :)
Jay
Looks great in the pics - must look gorgeous in the flesh. Congratulations Tony. Shame there isnt a motorway between Sussex and Kent.
Reef bloke
06-05-07, 16:35
Looks great in the pics - must look gorgeous in the flesh. Congratulations Tony. Shame there isnt a motorway between Sussex and Kent.
Would love to come up and have a look at yours mate,i have some nice colurs but dont quite match yours.You could give me some tips and go through this balling lark with me.;)
There' a good thread over on ReefPark about the bailing method.
http://www.reefpark.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=23874
Dave
Reef bloke
06-05-07, 17:36
Cheers Dave,will have a butchers mate
congrats Tony very well deserved. I was wondering how you managed to lift the tank for the new feet?
Reef bloke
08-05-07, 01:43
Brute force mate lol,basically protected the cab with a piece of L shaped steel on the edge.Then levered against a block with a large crow bar.Then slowly chocked it up mm by mm.
Congratulations Tony, was wondering when your tank would make TOTM:D
Tony
Great tank and one to aspire to:applause: .
Have just read through your tank thread again and didn't realise you only started this tank last June as it looks a lot more mature than that.
Can I ask whether it was a lot more expensive to go for a 30" depth and height on the tank and cabinet? (as the website only shows prices up to 24" on depth) and also to have the cabinet 39" high? (as the website only prices up to 36" high). Please pm me if you do not want to publish figures;)
I ask as I like the dimensions of your tank and I will go for something similar when I upgrade. I think there is an aesthetically pleasing size to tanks (I know it's personal taste but this is mine) I think that a 4x2x2 has a good look to it so if you are wanting to go to 5 foot and beyond then both the height and the depth need to be increased accordingly.
Chris
Reef bloke
09-05-07, 17:56
The price of cab,stand,piping,delivery came to around £1400.Do yourself a favour though and remove those feet.I also braced my cabinet,probably not needed but i felt it was.If i was going to do it again id have a metal stand built.The tall cab is really a must though,it gives so much more scope when fitting skimmers,sumps and equipment.
Thanks for the info
Do yourself a favour though and remove those feet.
Definately I don't fancy lifting a full tank up to repair the feet:shocking:
Would love to come up and have a look at yours mate,i have some nice colurs but dont quite match yours.You could give me some tips and go through this balling lark with me.;)
Your welcome to come over mate, give me a PM when you would like to.
TBH, I'm not so impressed with the Balling method. My colors havent recovered since I started it - it entirely my fault, as there are some inspiring tanks using it - just opperator error on my part:whistling:
Top tank, top bloke, well deserved mate! :applause:
mattsilvester
16-05-07, 14:19
Tony,
Great looking tank! and a well deserved TOTM
A question if I may - i note you are running an OR6500 return pump. How did you plumb it? I have mine hard plumbed and I am getting nowhere near the turnover you are! I reckon the hose tail adapter thingy to my hard plumbing is throttling the flow back much too far.
cheers,
Matt
Reef bloke
16-05-07, 14:51
Hi ya Matt
If got mine hard piped with 25mm down to a hose tail,then a short piece of large bore 25mm id soft pipe to the pump to reduce vibration.Ive also got 4 90 degree elbows on the hard pipe.
Heads about 5 foot and output is pretty good.
Thanks for your kind comments everyone,Ive still got a permanent grin over this.
Tony
So good is this tank ive decided to upgrade my trigon 350 to a 60-36-24
For me it's inspiring in the fact it's so open i really like the way it has two sections of reef and loads of fish! ... again a top tank and in the coming months it's something i want to achieve .... thanks for the inspiration:)
If i can get it looking as good as this i'll be happy:thumbsup:
Reef bloke
19-05-07, 00:57
Gosh dude youve made my night,glad you feel that way about my humble reef.I expect big things from your new tank as its a great size.Hopefully ill be voting for you in the future.
Firstly it's not humble .. secondly it's gots lots of growing out to do ... If we were to get on the conversation of tank aquascaping, on a personal note reef tanks these days seem to be all about the amount of sps one can place in a tank, and certain tanks seem to heading the way of look how many i can cram in my tank effect and to me thats avoiding the natural look of how a reef tank should look ....for me youve done it perfectly and it's something i hope to emulate in the near future ..
Totally well done and thanks for getting me in more debt lol
finally got time to cast my over the whole thread from start to finish - and what can i say :eek: Its a really really REALLY nice setup. :wub:
A credit to you and your hard work mate.
Marc
Reef bloke
24-05-07, 12:51
Cheers mate,i see you have finally got rid of the 50 out of your screen name.I just want to let it grow out now then its upgrade time woo hoo!.
Cheers mate,i see you have finally got rid of the 50 out of your screen name.I just want to let it grow out now then its upgrade time woo hoo!.
Yeah i think people was thinking that was my age!
Your thinking of the upgrade already eh! Spose planning is the key to success and all that! Be a hard tank to follow this one though! :)
Still can't believe your tank was lifted whilst full! :eek: Need mine levelling so feel free to send the boys round - i'll pm you my postcode! :p
keith tomo
27-05-07, 13:05
magic ,Just set up my first tank 6x2x2 .I think its great but when you see a tank like yours it makes me want to start again .,but i will make changes as i go along .didnt realise there was so much to it .once again magic ,i enjoyed the pics and write up . regards keith
Reef bloke
27-05-07, 15:19
Cheers Keith,much appreciated.
WOW grate tank i love the corals in there:) no wonder thay picked you:D good luck for next month everyone:thumbsup: i might enter my self:)
Reef bloke
30-05-07, 01:47
Thankyou Amy,very kind of you.
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