1700 gallon Stingray River

[Energy]

I just wanted to share some pictures of my system. The dimensions are 15'6" by 5' wide by 33" tall. Inside the system about 450-500 gallons of water with a 90 gallon elevated sump/filtration tank.

Water section contains- 9 Discus, One leo stingray and one Motoro, some cardinal and rummy nose tetras, a black ghost knife and one rope fish.

Land section has various Poison Dart frogs, some Anoles, some pygmy and Jackson's Chameleons,

Filtration- Daily 70 gallon water changes, 2 Fluval 405's, one Eheim Ecco, one Marineland Canister.

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/4-22-106.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/Easter20104.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/Easter2010-1.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/Easter20106-1.jpg

[zamboniMan]

WOW! That's intense. Well done!

[yikesjason]

Wow. That is a dream tank. Do you have a build journal on any other sites?

[Arjunpun]

That's Amazon river in your house. How about some wild discus there.

[YSS]

Very impressive set up. Hope the frogs don't get out. :-)

[blkrob]

No need to go the the aquarium anymore. That's impressive. WOW.

Robert

[Spardas]

Fill that up and I'll bring my scuba gears. :D

[2wheelsx2]

Great setup. Any pics of the ray?

[tcmemphisbbq]

All I can say is WOW! Very impressive......

[ZX10R]

WOW!! I am speechless awesome tank setup. Would love to see the rays since I have one and my brother has 10 rays.

[target]

Amazing looking set up. Very nice work. I'd have such a hard time not filling the entire thing for more fish room.

[MikeF]

Wow, that's crazy. I can honestly say that I have never seen a tank set up like that. That thing is sweet.
MikeF

[JL15219]

No need to go the the aquarium anymore. That's impressive. WOW.

Robert

Wow tell me about it....you should charge people to come to your house just to look at it LOL That is crazy.....Great Job it looks awesome!

[DiscusKeeper403]

:shocked: That is truly amazing!

[jball1125]

You have talent man!

[DiscusKev]

Unbelievable, I thought the title was a bluff LOL. Had to click to see if it was real!

Nice discus by the way, and I must agree with the rest, having a shoal of wild discus would be awesome, but off course with the increase of water depth.

That replica must took ages to do, considering the size of tha tank...This tank to an extent reminds me of Mr.amano altum angel tank.

all the best,

[kaceyo]

I had a paladarium in mind when I started back into aquariums. Then I decided to look and see what was new in discus, and the paladarium slipped from my mind. Yours is a dream setup and almost makes me wish I'd stuck to my original idea.

[rickztahone]

gorgeous set up! more shots please :D

[Disgirl]

That is some tank! I work in a large public aquarium and your tank rivals the very special tanks there! Well done!
Barb:)

[scottthomas]

That is the greatest home set up I have ever seen. More pictures please. I would go with a school of wilds and I dont see how it could be any better. Thanks so much for sharing.

[Ed13]

I loved this tank as a reef and I love it as it is now!
I really like Leopoldi ray that you showed in the other thread.;)

[Energy]

WOW! That's intense. Well done!

Thank you!


Wow. That is a dream tank. Do you have a build journal on any other sites?
I have a build site on the dendroboard under parts and construction. It starts from day one and describes the build in detail. 83 pages so far.


That's Amazon river in your house. How about some wild discus there.
I like the more colorful ones- must be something left over from my reefing days.

Very impressive set up. Hope the frogs don't get out. :-)
Only one has so far but the geckos and anoles are another thing.


No need to go the the aquarium anymore. That's impressive. WOW.

Robert

Thanks!


Fill that up and I'll bring my scuba gears. :D

I was inside it for most of the set-up as a reef and then again during the conversion.

Great setup. Any pics of the ray?

I'll get you some.


All I can say is WOW! Very impressive......

Thanks!


WOW!! I am speechless awesome tank setup. Would love to see the rays since I have one and my brother has 10 rays.

Pics are coming. what kind of rays do you have?


Amazing looking set up. Very nice work. I'd have such a hard time not filling the entire thing for more fish room.


Hahaha- Me to! I'm a fish head by heart-I have an alligator gar that is 27 years old! It's tough not to fill it up.


Wow, that's crazy. I can honestly say that I have never seen a tank set up like that. That thing is sweet.
MikeF

Thank you!!


:shocked: That is truly amazing!

:) Thanks!

[Energy]

Unbelievable, I thought the title was a bluff LOL. Had to click to see if it was real!

Nice discus by the way, and I must agree with the rest, having a shoal of wild discus would be awesome, but off course with the increase of water depth.

That replica must took ages to do, considering the size of tha tank...This tank to an extent reminds me of Mr.amano altum angel tank.

all the best,

Thank you- it didn't take very long at all. Initial set-up took 4 months of designing,rearranging and redoing it and then I gutted it all! The current set-up was put in place in 8-10 days work time.


I had a paladarium in mind when I started back into aquariums. Then I decided to look and see what was new in discus, and the paladarium slipped from my mind. Yours is a dream setup and almost makes me wish I'd stuck to my original idea.

How big is yours? I opted for this to do something different.


gorgeous set up! more shots please :D

OK


That is some tank! I work in a large public aquarium and your tank rivals the very special tanks there! Well done!
Barb:)

Thank you!


That is the greatest home set up I have ever seen. More pictures please. I would go with a school of wilds and I dont see how it could be any better. Thanks so much for sharing.

I appreciate all the compliments.


I loved this tank as a reef and I love it as it is now!
I really like Leopoldi ray that you showed in the other thread.;)

I'll get another ray shot for you.;)

[Energy]

Male leo-about 10-12inches

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/4-22-105.jpg

Male Motoro about 6-7inches.

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/4-22-104.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/4-22-10.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/Easter20103.jpg

[dbfzurowski]

Holly $&@"
if you dont mind ima pm you w/ some ?

[April]

that is one cool tank.howlong is it and how wide?
thanks for showing it. love it. if i ever get sick of selling little tropicals..i should setup a long display like that in my shop. then id have to extend my lease..for a very long time. lol.
beautiful.

[Eddie]

Yeah, that is my ultimate dream tank. I'd make it a total biotope....with Heckels being the main attraction. Do you have any pictures of the build in work? Basically on how it started and how it developed. That would be something amazing to see, how it all came together.

Thanks for sharing the pix and amazing work!

Eddie

[scottishbloke]

That is one of the most incredible paludarium setups I have ever seen!! If I had such a setup, I would end up being unemployed with no friends, as all I would want to do was look at it all day and never leave the house, lol. The other members are right, you could charge admission to your house with a setup like that. I recently took my school kids to the Georgia Aquarium, and trust me your tank and fish look better than the discus tank they have IMO...

Great Work,

Colin
P.S. I'm sure even Mr. Amano himself would approve of your setup, they do have a category for paludariums in the ADA contests...

[kitykatfunkiehat]

Dude, I'd swim in that thing too. It looks bigger than my bedroom. Does that not just eat up your money? Or are you a secret billionaire obsessed with fish? Cause that's my future plan...

[Energy]

Holly $&@"
if you dont mind ima pm you w/ some ?

Go ahead and PM or post them here- I'm sure others have questions similiar to yours.


that is one cool tank.howlong is it and how wide?
thanks for showing it. love it. if i ever get sick of selling little tropicals..i should setup a long display like that in my shop. then id have to extend my lease..for a very long time. lol.
beautiful.

Thanks! The tank is 15'6" long 5' wide and 33" tall.


Yeah, that is my ultimate dream tank. I'd make it a total biotope....with Heckels being the main attraction. Do you have any pictures of the build in work? Basically on how it started and how it developed. That would be something amazing to see, how it all came together.

Thanks for sharing the pix and amazing work!

Eddie

I do and I will post some for you.


That is one of the most incredible paludarium setups I have ever seen!! If I had such a setup, I would end up being unemployed with no friends, as all I would want to do was look at it all day and never leave the house, lol. The other members are right, you could charge admission to your house with a setup like that. I recently took my school kids to the Georgia Aquarium, and trust me your tank and fish look better than the discus tank they have IMO...

Great Work,

Colin
P.S. I'm sure even Mr. Amano himself would approve of your setup, they do have a category for paludariums in the ADA contests...

Thanks for the compliments!
There is a section for paludariums? Do you have any info? I would love to see them.

Thanks


Dude, I'd swim in that thing too. It looks bigger than my bedroom. Does that not just eat up your money? Or are you a secret billionaire obsessed with fish? Cause that's my future plan...

I'm not rich by any means. I had to build my house and the tank just so I could afford it, but yes - I am obsessed.:antlers:

[ZX10R]

Between me and my brother we have

1 Hystrix
2 Marbled Motoro
2 Flower
2 Jaguars
1 Castexi
1 Can't remember what the last one is called:confused:

Here is a link to some pics of my brothers rays

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=79211

[discusjoe27]

shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh WOW! I want I want I want. "i'm kicking and screaming like a little kid"

[csarkar001]

Your wife must be VERY understanding.

if i tried this it would be: :argue:

[rickztahone]

here's the link to the build. impressive to say the least (http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/43615-large-vivarium-construction.html)

you have to become a member to see pics however

[darkknight87]

HORY CRAP!!!!!
That is amazing.
That is exactly the kind of system I would want.
Except id love to find a species of turtle that wouldnt boother the discus, so I could have them too.
Thats..
just
Phenominal..r.eally amazing.
I want one.

[YSS]

Wow! That reef tank was amazing. How some people do this hobby is just SIMPLY amazing.

[lpiasente]

FANTASTIC ...drool drool drool

[mjs020294]

It is amazing but I would have thought 12 inches depth is insufficient for discus.

[Darrell Ward]

It is amazing but I would have thought 12 inches depth is insufficient for discus.

It is. That is why the poster has been getting unexplained scrapes on the fish described on another post. That tank really needs to be filled up, at least halfway.

[discusmurderer]

I've got a question. What do you feed the frogs? Do you catch flies out in the yard?

[Eddie]

I've got a question. What do you feed the frogs? Do you catch flies out in the yard?


LOL :D

[lonetraveler]

WOW!! I bet when you speak people listen!!...lol

[DiscusKeeper403]

Is it hard to heat such a big tank? Do you use regular heaters?

[Energy]

shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh WOW! I want I want I want. "i'm kicking and screaming like a little kid"

Come on over-I'll share.;)


Your wife must be VERY understanding.

if i tried this it would be: :argue:

I told her it was this or a race car. So I got what I actually wanted.


here's the link to the build. impressive to say the least (http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/parts-construction/43615-large-vivarium-construction.html)

you have to become a member to see pics however

Thanks- I'll try to keep posting some pics here if people are interested.


HORY CRAP!!!!!
That is amazing.
That is exactly the kind of system I would want.
Except id love to find a species of turtle that wouldnt boother the discus, so I could have them too.
Thats..
just
Phenominal..r.eally amazing.
I want one.

A fly ash river turtle would be fine with larger fish. They are an amazing animal as well. They look like a cross between a pig, and an ocean turtle but live in freshwater.


Wow! That reef tank was amazing. How some people do this hobby is just SIMPLY amazing.

Thanks- some of the reefs at Reef central are simply stunning.


FANTASTIC ...drool drool drool

Thanks- need a napkin?


I've got a question. What do you feed the frogs? Do you catch flies out in the yard?

Good Question- I cultivate flightless fruit flies and raise natural "flying" fruit flies in the former overflows of the system. I place a calcium powder over the flight less ones and dump in periodically and the flying variety I occasionally vacuum up and place in the tank but mostly let them naturally migrate in.


WOW!! I bet when you speak people listen!!...lol

If only that worked with my family.
:D


Is it hard to heat such a big tank? Do you use regular heaters?

I have 4 different heaters on two different controllers. I keep the water at about 82.5 using around 800 watts.

[Energy]

It is amazing but I would have thought 12 inches depth is insufficient for discus.


It is. That is why the poster has been getting unexplained scrapes on the fish described on another post. That tank really needs to be filled up, at least halfway.


Well -Let's clarify this. I do believe that 12" inches is shallow for Discus so in turn I only keep about 9 in the system. These 9 fish have a clear run of 15 feet 6inches with a width of 5 feet to call their own. I have also seperated the system into different distinct areas. This creates 6 distinct zones of seperation with a visual barrier bewteen each area. Three of the areas are completely covered "cave" structures for utter seclusion any time a fish feels the need to "get away". Their is enough area in the tank that if all 9 fish wanted seperation they could each find a place to go without bother or even visual interaction from the others. Furthermore I rescaped the aquatic section to represent a "shallow" riverbank similiar to that you would find the Discus living in the wild.

I will be the first to admit that it is not perfect -hence the extensive design work to make what I have as best as I could for the health of the inhabitants and overall system.

My concern in the other post was not from multiple scrapes but the possibility of a bacterial infection that may be "unique" but still common to discus.

[rickztahone]

Well -Let's clarify this. I do believe that 12" inches is shallow for Discus so in turn I only keep about 9 in the system. These 9 fish have a clear run of 15 feet 6inches with a width of 5 feet to call their own. I have also seperated the system into different distinct areas. This creates 6 distinct zones of seperation with a visual barrier bewteen each area. Three of the areas are completely covered "cave" structures for utter seclusion any time a fish feels the need to "get away". Their is enough area in the tank that if all 9 fish wanted seperation they could each find a place to go without bother or even visual interaction from the others. Furthermore I rescaped the aquatic section to represent a "shallow" riverbank similiar to that you would find the Discus living in the wild.

I will be the first to admit that it is not perfect -hence the extensive design work to make what I have as best as I could for the health of the inhabitants and overall system.

My concern in the other post was not from multiple scrapes but the possibility of a bacterial infection that may be "unique" but still common to discus.

while 12" is not that tall, the length more than makes up for it IMHO. in the wild there would be times where the water level would be lower than that

[erikc]

I've never seen something like this before !

The amount of work is phenomenal and the results are there to show. That is really an inspiring setup, thanks for sharing.

[dark_spell]

wow! excellent job!
do u mind the water/electricity bill? im guessing not! :D

[acroken]

that is a bad a$$ setup. awesome job. too cool.

Kenny

[zacrachhsv]

AWESOME......Full stop.


http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=55870&stc=1&d=1274254529

[Foxfire]

WoW! Where do I get tickets to get in and see the show!!!!

Please, details on the filtering system, now you keep the land system watered without doing the fish and how you heat the whole monster!

Amazing:thumbsup:!

[David J]

Absolutely amazing! Thank you.
I showed my wife, so she could see that I am only moderately obsessed. She said "Fine, buy me a bigger house and you can do whatever"
Oh boy, I won't be able to sleep tonight!

[Energy]

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/5-29-104.jpghttp://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/5-29-101.jpghttp://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/5-29-107.jpghttp://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/5-29-108.jpghttp://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/5-29-103.jpghttp://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/5-29-105.jpghttp://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/5-29-106.jpg

[catgoldfish]

Nice sweet setup. Wish I had the room.

[rickztahone]

those last pictures are spectacular! your river (can't really be called a tank) is so well thought out, and so well executed that all i can do is applaud, damn near speechless really :D

[Energy]

I've never seen something like this before !

The amount of work is phenomenal and the results are there to show. That is really an inspiring setup, thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the compliment!


wow! excellent job!
do u mind the water/electricity bill? im guessing not! :D
Yeah the bills do add up but I anticipated that going into it.


that is a bad a$$ setup. awesome job. too cool.

Kenny
Thanks!


AWESOME......Full stop.


http://forum.simplydiscus.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=55870&stc=1&d=1274254529

Cool- I appreciate that!


WoW! Where do I get tickets to get in and see the show!!!!

Please, details on the filtering system, now you keep the land system watered without doing the fish and how you heat the whole monster!

Amazing:thumbsup:!

3fluval 405's plus an eheim ecco are the mechanical filtration. Dual planted drip walls perform the biological. The system does automatic daily water changes- about 70 gallons or around 15%. 4 heaters on two different controllers keep the temp stable.


Absolutely amazing! Thank you.
I showed my wife, so she could see that I am only moderately obsessed. She said "Fine, buy me a bigger house and you can do whatever"
Oh boy, I won't be able to sleep tonight!

Yeah- I set the bar high for being"obsessed" so I can make others look normal:D


Nice sweet setup. Wish I had the room.

Thanks!


those last pictures are spectacular! your river (can't really be called a tank) is so well thought out, and so well executed that all i can do is applaud, damn near speechless really :D
Wow- I appreciate that!

[Disgirl]

I work in a public aquarium with the salt water stingrays. I never thought I would approve of having them in a home tank. But yours is definitely an exception and is totally awesome and looks like it is very well cared for and a great home for your freshwater rays! You have the stamp of approval from a gal who works with them :D! Beautiful river you have there!
Barb:)

[cyberhog05]

Oh my good god! I dont know what to say. Do you have a link of just tons of pictures? I want to look at hundreds of them!!!

[milton]

no words can give enough justice to your setup.

[Tito]

Did you order all those plants and poison frogs from Drs. Foster & Smith?

[Masterkush]

All I can say is one thing and that is dream tank. Looks like the tank that I plane out and dream about but never have the room for it:mad:.

[danny2013]

PLEASE MAKE A VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):)

[vandiscus]

Thats awesome!

[The_Finglonger]

PLEASE MAKE A VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:):):)

+1 on the video
+1 sweet tank :)

[kyubi]

wow wat a tank... all i can say is ur tank look even better than the 1 in SHEDD aquarium..nicely done..much prop..

[PC1]

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[prats]

tank looks more beautiful then the fishes ;-D

[Apistomaster]

Did you order all those plants and poison frogs from Drs. Foster & Smith?

Something this complex could not be put together with only what foster/smith can supply. This is a multi-discipline masterpiece.

[Deltad]

did you build the "tank" yourself or had it installed???

and O M G!!! That's the first thing I'm going to ask the architech to build when I build my first house :)

[MrYin]

i have never seen something like that before. ive been to the aquariums at the atlantis in the bahamas and still have never seen something so awesome....on top of that excuted by a hobbyist. do you do this professional? and has it ever been featured in any magazines? i think i need a tissue now......:o

[Energy]

A few quick pictures.http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/3-3-111.jpg

[Energy]

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/3-3-1110.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/3-3-119.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/3-3-117.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/3-3-118.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/3-3-114.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/3-3-116.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/3-3-115.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/3-3-112.jpg

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t149/Energy1212/3-3-113.jpg

[Arjunpun]

sweet

[gerrard00]

So cool...I don't really have anything to add, but man I want to see more pics!

[dadecountyalan]

VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

[allgav]

Wowwowwowee!!!! I absolutely love it and envy anyone who gets the priviledge of viewing it personally!!! I have a hard enough time peeling myself away from my 80 gallon Discus tank....if your tank was in my home, I would never leave, and everything would be totally neglected...thank goodness my children are Easy Mac experts, lol! Truthfully, hats off to you!!! I never even imagined a home tank designed or looking like yours, and it is truly an inspiration...my wheels are defintely turning!!! Thank you for sharing your magnificent river, but I agree with everyone else...more pictures and definitely a video, please!!!!

[Randy-S]

truly stunning system you have. Do you any problem with humidly build up fogging the viewing panels? If you do how do you combat it?

[greengreen84]

that is absolutly crazy I love it!! I'm almost tempted to try it my self mini version of course but maybe not the frogs lol how did you plan such a monster project?

[Aqua North]

Amazing, I am speechless. I have never seen anything so amazing looks like I was transported to the Amazon.

[Exotic Aquatic]

Im blown away! would love the time to achieve something like that! I had something similar looking but less diverse in live stock a while back in an 8X2X2 (far less impressive dimensions)!!!

I will try and dig up photos, tank was half full, with protruding levels from the background& submerged rockscape, and stock was large male eastern water dragon, 4 large green tree frogs, 3 adult archers, and 5 subadult-adult endlicheri.

Lots of java, riccia, old mans beard, and some bromeliads, small nepenthis, and air plants (tilandsias) which actually died due to humidity and splashing.

Ill get the wife to find a pic, but really nothing compared to the scale of yours!

[ericatdallas]

Yeah, that is amazing! Now that's someone dedicated to the hobby! Hopefully one day I can build something close. I did a quick search and found this one guy build a 50,000G tank! Now that's extreme. I think a 1700G is ambitious but still appropriate for a home. Not sure if I would even want to deal with the maintenance on a 50k tank.

The saltwater tank you had before that was amazing too! Too bad you couldn't have both :)