December 2013 Tank of the Month!

[Nick S]

WOW!!!!! No offense to all previous tank of the months, but this is my favorite one to date!!! AMAZING!!!!

[Ninong]

Beautiful, Paolo! Congratulations!

[swissgaurd]

wow beautiful setup,very well done.
you talk about 3 different salts can you please share on the types of salts and how you go about this mixture.

vic

[MattM3]

What are those things in the sump? They look like roots or worms?

[swissbutcher]

Grandissimo Paolo!

one of the nicest Tank!!

[Ptyochromis]

A model system, putting biology well ahead of technology.

I love the sustainable approach you took to your tank. Really something I wish was done more often in our hobby.

[GreenTankCorals]

An amazing tank.
What are those long creatures in the sump? roots, worms?

[Humu Humu]

It is an amazingly beautiful tank, but I'm dissappointed in the write up of the mechanics of the tank. No mention of how the flow is brought to the sump, what kind of pumps, overflow specifics, etc. We all need to know how to do this and what works as well as what doesn't.

Please expand on the plumbing of this beautiful tank. I've looked and looked, but it seems like there are only two returns with a simple screen on them. Is that it?

[Paolo Piccinell]

First of all....

Thank You very much!!!
Thanks to all those who nominated my tank!!!

Now... I'll try to answer to some questions.

Have you have any trouble with your DSB like phosphates high?
do you vacuum you DSB or how do you clean it?

Yes, I had some problems during the maturation period, as i put in the tank an Halichoeres iridis wrasse that disturbed the sand bed diggning holes and craters and eating the useful spaghetti worms.

I had to eliminate it and to cure the tank adding bacteria for a month... without predation, the sand bed restarted digesting detritus.
Now Phosphates are constantly close to zero.

I never vacuum sand... I learned on my skin that DSB must be left its own.

just curious what those worm looking things are on the glass of your cryptic zone?

And what are those white rootlike growths in your sump tank?

don't know exactly... tube worms and spirographs

how to they drain the water from the tank itself?

Please check the pictures here:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...d+italy&page=2
They actually suck some air, but the noise is absolutely affordable.

How do keep the sand in place with all that current?

easy done... I used calcium carbonate, that's crushed marble with 0.7 to 1.0 millimetres grains, no powder in it.
It's fine enough for critters to dig, but it does not fly around.

can you get into a bit more detail on the creation of the cryptic zone in the sump? How it started, detail on base material, time frame of events.
Finally - if you're a football fan - how do you feel about Italy's group?

I promise I will open a 3D on this topic very soon...
About soccer... Arsenal got 2 cannonballs this week in neaples!!!

I am a MILAN AC supporter, but unfortunately during last years it is not the great team it used to be...

A model system, putting biology well ahead of technology.

I love the sustainable approach you took to your tank. Really something I wish was done more often in our hobby.

YOU HIT THE BULL'S EYE!!!

That was my target, and I hope it is my goal.
I started from sps frags, i bought only some LPS from LFS... the bulk comes from dismissed tanks.
I add to the tank just fish food and with my way to manage the tank it is well enough

you talk about 3 different salts

Yes, I use ATI coral salt, Royal nature salt and Red sea... each week I prepare saltwater using one or the other salt, so I hope to maintain a good balance in oligoelements.

Please expand on the plumbing of this beautiful tank. I've looked and looked, but it seems like there are only two returns with a simple screen on them. Is that it?

If you don't mind, please post your question in the tank's 3D... i will be happy to answer you.


Finally... thanks to all for compliments!!!

[Paolo Piccinell]

That big Monti cap is also one of the most deeply scrolled I've seen in captivity.

I'm proud of it... here you can see when it came to my first tank three years ago.
It has been cut more than 20 times...

[tom obrecht]

Stunning system! It has been put on my "I want my tank to look like this someday" list! Well done!!

[Paolo Piccinell]

ROTFL

Thanks Tom

[AmiJ]

Very beautiful tank!

[FastUno]

Awesome tank & thanks for all the responses. You said you do not vacuum out the cryptic tank & it would be awesome to get closeups of that. To be able to see what has settled down there & how it is possible to keep a system. Also it looks like your sump first compartment (the one that has skimmer) also has some build up in it. Do you vacuum out that, or simply leave for bacteria/fauna to handle?

If there is build up there, then does it really matter where it builds up, whether it is a DSB, overstuffed with rocks in the main tank, or a sump. Build up is build up and it is either handled by vacuuming out, natural fauna, or simply sits there.

[Paolo Piccinell]

Well... frankly speaking, I simply do not care until phosphates misuration give me 0.01 mg/litre.

I learned on my skin (well, on my corals' skin to be honest) that the silt must be left its own.
Just a couple of times i vacuued the skimmer compartment, throwing away the dirt water.

[bigzman]

Absolutely beautiful Paolo, Thank you for sharing! Second tom. This tank is on my I want to model setup. I am a fan of DSB. Very happy to see a large TOTM with a DSB.

[PeteV_LV]

Great looking tank - gratz.

[Bilk]

Bravissimo!

Paolo, from your thread, it is clear you had a plan and a recipe for success. Your TOTM honors are well deserved. The vision has been realized and quite successfully at that. Congratulations!

[Ink]

Hi Paolo,
congratulation for this great recognition.
Just a question.
How do You explain 2ppm NO3, totally unbalanced to 0,01ppm PO4?
Usually NO3 are about 10 times fold PO4.
I never had a DSB, but in my tank with bare bottom, higher NO3 value I've ever found is 0,2 and PO4 0,01 and only when I feed heavily. I wolud expect a DSB should even better manage NO3 than a BB tank.


Thanks.

Luca

[Paolo Piccinell]

Well, these were the test results, but they could be wrong.... The NO3 test kit is 27 months old for example.

I always feed heavily, and maybe the silt left on the bottom of the cryptics has something to do with high nitrates.
One thing is out of discussion... Mine is a "fat tank" that has nothing to do with "zero nutrients tanks", in fact my colours are thick and brownish if compared to the top coloured acros seen around here

[Ink]

I prefer to believe test result is wrong, because in my experience (but also my friend's whose tank I've personally seen - not only in photo) NO3=0,2 equals to much darker coral.

[andersGS]

Hi Paolo

First of all - you have created a beautiful system, well done - congratulations on that!

DSB in the display tank has allways been a dream of mine, but not one i have carried out yet. Hence I have a question for you? I see that you do not have a lot of Live Rock in your display, but how have you created the base? Are the live rock just lying on the sand or have you build a "scaffolding" to keep secure?

[juldelf]

congrats for your tank, beautiful corals

[trueperc]

First of as others have said, really amazing tank. Just curious how deep the sand bed is roughly?

[ryan1985]

you started only 3 years ago? stop making me feel bad about myself.

also, THIS: