# DrHank's Tank



## drhank (Aug 3, 2009)

Here is a quick pictorial view of the build of my 200 gallon reef.

Day one









Now I need a stand

















I know what I can do with that old 55 gallon. A little paint, stain and varnish wont hurt either









How about a top and I need an overflow









Really don't like that overflow think I'll toss some glass over it and get the tank drilled. Let me add a couple of doors to the stand.









Ok I had to eurobrace the top of the tank and got it drilled. Finally it's done and I can call it my tank.









And now about three years later we have my pride and joy. It's a far cry from the fish farm tank I started out with.


----------



## eagleANTH (Jun 26, 2009)

wow doc, thats amazing! i wish i could trust myself to build my own stand. lol. i have absolutely no experience as a carpenter! i will however help you with drywall  lol.


----------



## Shotgun (Mar 1, 2009)

WOWZERS! that tank is AMAZING! you did an AUSOME job on the stand.

Hats off to ya.


----------



## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

Wow! My dad wants to go 500 with his coral catshark, he makes his stands out of wrought iron. he's building a stand for my 30gallon, he's gonna use wrought iron as the base and build an oak cabinet over the iron.


----------



## phil_pl (Apr 10, 2009)

Beautiful tank


----------



## drhank (Aug 3, 2009)

Thanks folks. The only complaint I got was "sawdust" from my wife. It was a lot of fun to build.


----------



## phil_pl (Apr 10, 2009)

drhank said:


> Thanks folks. The only complaint I got was "sawdust" from my wife. It was a lot of fun to build.


Yea building can be quite messy. What lights/skimmer are you running?


----------



## MediaHound (Jul 19, 2006)

Yea, good job on that stand and canopy, bravo. Sweet tank, enjoy it. 
Got my daily build thread dose, thanks Doc.


----------



## drhank (Aug 3, 2009)

I'm running an MRC MR-2 with a Mac 4. Lighinig is four 250w 14K SPS MHs and four T12 Super Actinics. My pleasure.


----------



## drhank (Aug 3, 2009)

Ok folks, I guess it's time to post a few more photos of the inside of the tank so here goes. Going from left to right we start with my Sebae Anemone, one of my Frogspawns, and a Hammer. The vegetation is Halimeda. You'll see it throughout the tank.










Next we come to a small field of pulsing Xenia, and a few SPS. There are also several rocks covered in Emerald green palythoa as well as a green monti cap and some zoas.










As we move on, we find my favorite green Acro and a Devils Hand. There are also a few Yuma Ricordea and some pink panther zoas.










One of my wife's favorite (the huge toadstool) appears in the next section. You can also see a number of other smaller SPS, Sime more rics, shrooms, some monti caps and some of my fish that decided to go on parade. I have high hopes that the blue acro will turn out as nice as my green one in a few years. I've only had it about six months but it's starting to branch out.










That pretty much get's you across my tank. It's going on 3 years old now and I really can't wait too see how it goes as it matures over the next few years. I'll end with a bit of an odity. In this final picture you will see some plating or stacking coraline algae. It's a bit of a rarity and I just thought you might enjoy seeing it.










Well, that's about all I have right now. I'll post more as i find other interesting things to see.


----------



## phil_pl (Apr 10, 2009)

Great tank Doc! I see why your wife like that toadstool so much,


----------



## JIM (May 27, 2009)

*Excellent, lots of time and effort involved there, not to mention the dollars*


----------



## smoothie (Aug 6, 2009)

Awesome! Love the fact you keep macro in the display


----------



## ladyonyx (Apr 20, 2009)

That plating coralline algae is great. Never seen it growing in a reef tank. Gorgeous setup you've got all around.


----------



## smoothie (Aug 6, 2009)

I'd be up for a chip of the ole plating coraline myself......


----------



## drhank (Aug 3, 2009)

Thanks folks. As you can tell the tank is my pride and joy. Being as large as it is, it keeps my maintenance down to almost nothing. I've spent much more time on a 29 gallon.

Alex, I had never seen it in a tank either and had to get confirmation that it was plating coraline.

Kieth, you have no idea how many folks are in line for a frag. I don't touch it or even get near it. I've been told that if it does break off the pieces form new plating coralines.


----------



## smoothie (Aug 6, 2009)

Now that would be funky


----------



## AlexisPets (Aug 27, 2009)

W0W!!! That is a very beautiful tank. Mine never looked that good. W0W!!! Very impressive.


----------



## jftmd (Nov 7, 2008)

Gorgeous aquarium keep up the great worK! jftmd


----------



## JIM (May 27, 2009)

*Yes indeed, Poor ole DrHank had to pop a lot of bones to pay for that puppy **run over


----------



## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

Thats it when the inhabitants die in the 52, its going salt.

I cannot deal with all this torture.


----------



## ltownsalty (Oct 3, 2009)

quite possibly the most beautiful tank i've ever seen! except for the salt exhibit at the shedd aquarium in chicago


----------



## Nicole85 (Aug 17, 2009)

This is just breath taking! wow... I don't think i'd be able to walk away from it if i saw it in person.


----------



## BlueSaphire (Nov 3, 2009)

Wow, that is amazing!


----------



## jpeltier (Jul 23, 2010)

Gorgeous tank!


----------



## drhank (Aug 3, 2009)

Well, it's been about a year or so since I posted pictures of my tank. Things have changed somewhat. I've gotten out of SPS and am concentrating on easy LPS and softies. Here are a few shots I took a couple of weeks ago.





































Honestly, I got lazy and decided that my tank looked just as good with easy to keep corals as it did with SPS. My SPS went to other hobbiests in my local area who want to spend more time keeping them up.

About all I do anymore is to feed the fish every other day, scrape the glass once a week and change 10% of my water every month or two.

I found out that often, less is best.


----------



## choprjohn (May 28, 2009)

Imperssive...no...really impressive...Johnnie


----------



## reefcrazy (Nov 10, 2008)

Sweet looking tank!!!!!!!!! Keep up the good work and the pics...


----------



## Man from Atlantis (Oct 22, 2010)

wow you really do have a fantastic tank. I have recently purchased a 220 usa gallons peninsula tank, its currently about 2 months old, i already love the hobby and looking at your images gives me high hopes for the future as it matures.

My dimentions are different to yours tho 60"*24*31*, i think that works out to be about 196 gallons of viewing plus i have a 33 gallon sump.

How do you keep your sand/substrate so clean? im having problems with the algae growing on it, what would you recommend?

I do have 7 turbo snails plus 11 very small hermit crabs and 10 smaller snails, would i have to add more of these to improve it?

Would apprechiate your response

Thanks again


----------



## drhank (Aug 3, 2009)

You are probably never going to have the sand as clean as you like. I know that I don't. I have a couple of huge serpent stars and a mixture of cerith and nerite snails. A sand sifting goby is also a help but make sure that you have egg crate covering your tank before you add one. They tend to carpet surf. Also make sure that you have good water flow. I use a pair of sureflow modded maxijets on a wave maker (helps keep the cyano down.

Hope that helps.


----------



## 9erfan1680 (Nov 26, 2010)

Awsome Tank!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## erichh (Dec 17, 2010)

Tanks like yours inspire me! Just curious, how much does it cost in electricity to maintain that tank (lighting, jets, etc)? I like the idea of low maintenance. When I start my first tank, I'm going straight to a larger size... Thanks for the photos!

Erich


----------



## drhank (Aug 3, 2009)

I've never isolated the cost. I'm sure that my electric company loves me though. If costs are a major concern, I'd suggest a 120 gallon tank. It would reduce my electrical costs by probably 35% - 40% and still provide a very nice tank.


----------

