KathyC

Moderator
Location
Barnum Island
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Our May 2011 Tank of The Month honor is awarded to Sanjay Joshi and his beautiful 500 Gallon ?nope check that?25G Solana Candy Basslet Tank!!!
Congrats Sanjay!


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[FONT=&quot]What does being chosen as Manhattan Reefs ToTM mean to you?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Being selected for ToTM is always an honor. This one especially so, because it?s not my big 500G tank.[/FONT]
Oh I?d happily make a bet that you may find yourself in the spotlight here again in the future!


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[FONT=&quot]So tell us?how did you get involved in the hobby?[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
I have been keeping fish ever since I was a kid. It was all freshwater back then, but saltwater was always a dream. When I saw my first 30G reef aquarium at a store almost 20+ years ago, I knew that is what I really wanted? and jumped head first into a thrilling and exciting hobby. It?s been a long and fun journey.[/FONT]

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We?re certainly glad you jumped in! When you speak about this tank a smile is always on your face, why is it special to you?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I was looking for a small tank that would be relatively low maintenance to house a pair of Liopropoma Carmabi (aka Candy Basslet). This system has been setup for about 2 years. The Solana cube tank was the perfect size that would allow me to enjoy these little fish and along with its integrated and sleek design would not be ?yet another ugly reef setup? that I have a propensity to setup quickly. Additionally the Solana system came with the Panorama LED, and I wanted to set up a tank to be able to play with LEDs.
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What are the specifics of the tank..equipment?husbandry?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I am a big proponent of simple systems, and I wanted to set up this tank in the simplest manner that I could. Additionally this tank has to have very low power consumption. So this tank essentially has nothing other than the very basic items listed below.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Lights ? The standard 17.5? Panorama LED from Ecoxotic augmented with 3 additional blue modules, for a total of 7 12W LED strips (84W)[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Circulation pump that comes standard with the Solana System[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]50W heater, controlled by a RANCO controller.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]That?s it?? you cannot get any simpler that this !!! I wanted to show people that reef tanks do not need to be unnecessarily complex and complicated.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Husbandry is also very simple. About 40-50% water change about once a month, with premixed salt water using Instant Ocean Salt. I have been using Instant Ocean for almost 20 years and see no reason to change or do anything different. The water is taken from the premixed saltwater that I always keep on hand for my large tank.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]No Carbon, no PO4 remover, no dosing. The glass gets scrapped with a razor about once every 7-10 days.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The tank has about 25lbs of live rock, and an approximately 2? sand bed with primarily aragonite based oolitic sand from Caribsea with some areas covered with rubble (calcium reactor media). The plan was to add a pair of jaw fish to the tank ? hence the coarser media mixed in with the fine sand.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]Do you plan to change anything about this great little tank in the future?[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
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[FONT=&quot]No.. I like the way it?s set up and the minimum effort that it takes to run this tank.[/FONT]

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Please tell us about the critters and creatures that call this tank home?
The tank was set up to house my pair of Carmabi, so initially the plan was to set it up as a Caribbean Biotope and was initially stocked with several ricordia and gorgonians. This did not last long, as I soon started putting in other corals that were either not doing too well in my large system or were too small to put in the large system. So now the tank has several zooanthids, one acanthastrea, 3 scolymia and some clove polyps.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The fish load is very low ? a pair of Carmabi and a tiny yellow tang. The yellow tang was added to take care of some algae issues that occurred last summer while we away on vacation and tank went through a neglected phase. I keep meaning to remove it, but that would entail tearing down the live rock to get the fish out. I just like the way the rocks and corals look right now that I do not feel like tearing down things to get the fish out. It seems happy in there, eating well and fat and happy. So the tang is in there for now.[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]Since this tank was set up for the Carmabi pair, obviously they are my favorite fish in the tank. Its one of those fish that I always dreamed about keeping, ever since I saw one in Greg Schiemer?s tank. The fluorescent lavender and red lines against a orange/red background make it a truly striking fish. These fish are quite shy and cryptic hence suited for a smaller display where they are the only fish. They usually love to hang out under over hangs and hence the layout of the tank was geared to providing them with a cave with an overhang.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]These fish are very hardy and easy to keep as long as they are not kept with larger dominating fish, they tend to come out of the rock work, explore the tank and be more visible once settled and comfortable in their surroundings. I have even had the chance to see them go through the courtship ritual and spawn in this tank!![/FONT]
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Even though all of your pictures are stunning, the following 2 pictures of your Carmabi pair are probably my favorites of all...


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What has Manhattan Reefs contributed to your enjoyment of the hobby?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I have been part of the MR community for a long time (although not a very active poster), ever since my first talk at one of the earliest frag swaps at Pratt in a crowded classroom. Over the years I have made a lot of good friends in the MR community and attending the frag swap at Pratt in April (even if I am not speaking) has become one of my annual reefing rituals. Even though I am from PA, I feel like I have been adopted by the MR community. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]
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[FONT=&quot]You are certainly correct about that and we are thrilled to have you with us![/FONT]

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Anyone you would like to thank?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The one person that deserves the most thanks is my wife, who has put up, tolerated and accepted my obsession with the hobby. She could tell you all the horror stories of having to deal with reef tank issues while I am busy gallivanting around the world. Nothing goes wrong while I am around![/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Photo Credits: ALL of the AWESOME photos were taken by Sanjay himself?.the man has talents [/FONT]:)

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sanjay

Junior Member
Rating - 100%
27   0   0
i love the simplicity. This really shows that you don't need a bunch of complex equipment to run a successful reef tank. I'm envious of your macro skills, must have been a lot of practice. :)

Exactly, its not the equipment, or the chemicals that make a tank successful. Throwing money in equipment and additives is a wrong way to approach a tank.

I did a talk on simple reefkeeping, and this tank along with a couple of others were my main examples.
 

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