The new standard in nano aquariums

[ReefCube]

If you thought Chingchai huge tank was great just look at what he does with a nano! If I was to say who inspires me the most he is at the top. Hes taking "modern reef" to a new level.


http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1790422

[RayAllen]

Very Nice, but I cant imagine the cost.

[txmaverickmh]

From following him for quite some time, and in full agreement with ReefCube on him setting a new standard in reef tanks, I am pretty sure he could care less what the cost is, he just wants the best, highest-end technology for everything he has.

I wonder what in the world he does for a living? anyone know anything about him?

[Europhyllia]

he's a pharma sales rep from what I hear





j/k!

actually tell me what you think is so great about this set up?
The light does look expensive.
But I don't understand what's so fabulous about the rest.
Not trying to be a jerk, just wanting to know so I can appreciate it more. Right now the white plastic stand with an almost round top doesn't do it for me aesthetically but you guys seem to think it's super special so tell me what it is that makes it that great, please.
Like if I saw it on craiglist I would think it's kind of retro ugly and wonder if he'd part out the light! lol

[glennr1978]

From following him for quite some time, and in full agreement with ReefCube on him setting a new standard in reef tanks, I am pretty sure he could care less what the cost is, he just wants the best, highest-end technology for everything he has.

I wonder what in the world he does for a living? anyone know anything about him?

I think I read somewhere that he exports fruit....seriously. He must move a whole lot of bananas!!!

[corruption]

Honestly -- I'm with you, Karin... The workmanship is nice, don't get me wrong -- but very little about the setup seems really thrilling to me, other than a ready-to-market LED unit I was unaware of... I also am not a big fan of curved tanks -- the angular distortion bugs me :)

-Justin

[jlh81]

Im sure if everyone had tons of money to drop on a tank like that they would.

[dipan]

You guys just live in the wrong place ...

I'm just speaking from some personal experience of how things work in India. I'm sure Thailand is not much different. If you guys want to water your lawn every day and have a nice green yard, what do you do? You don't have the time to do it by hand so you pay a few thousand dollars to put a sprinkler system in. One of the things that struck me when I went to India was that they don't really use sprinkler systems. We were staying on this resort like joint on the beach in a nice townhouse and there was this young kid who had a job. He held a hose and watered all day. Seriously. All day.

What I'm trying to get at is that this kind of thing is possible by mere mortals (maybe crazy fanatical mortals) ... in Thailand. Or India. Here it would be really expensive. Not that he didn't spend much on his hardware and livestock. He really does have to be wealthy to buy $1500 fish, but what I'm just trying to say is that this would be that much more difficult to do here.

Think about maintenance. He probably has some "guy" come by and clean every bit of the hardware every week to keep it **** and span. Here we've got to do it. Sure there are some that can hire out some weekly help, but there it's cheap. Just like labor in getting the stuff made is cheap.

That said, his two tanks still probably cost him at least a few hundred thousand dollars I would guess.

[txmaverickmh]

Well, perhaps, it is not what the actual tank looks like, except for the ooohhhs and ahhhhs at the expensive light setup, but I guess he gets his fame from what is probably going to go into this nano, as I am sure it will be full of ultra rare, crazy stuff!

So, I guess it is a wait and see attitude, but the style of his tank matches the rest of his crazy, ultra modern setups.

MH

[versach000]

Thanks for share link

[ismvel]

I wonder how big that tank is. I didn't see gallon or Liter size on there anywhere.

[Europhyllia]

Can we see his existing tank? Maybe that would help us envision where this is going.

I do like the light! :) I would prefer a less obtrusive option as far as mounting goes (acrylic brace with the big chrome hooks seems to attract so much attention. Some ultra thin (almost invisible) steel wire, ceiling mounted, without that brace would be more my thing)
I fully agree with dipan though that there simply may be cultural differences and I am sure it affects what different people consider modern/attractive/desirable/etc.

So what's the link to his super cool big tank? :)

[ismvel]

Tank:
http://i344.photobucket.com/albums/p354/ss_summer08/untitled.jpg

Part 1 of his tank book http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1640915 (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1640915)
Part 2 of his tank book http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1692183 (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1692183)

Thing is about 160 pages long between both threads.

[Europhyllia]

Thanks for posting the links and picture maelv! :)

[ReefCube]

whats so great about it?? wow.. eather you have a better looking tank or you just have not seen many tank setups.
I will name a few things I like
1. It is custom built
2. uses lighting that meets or beats any type of halide or t5 and it is controlable
3. it is going to be a SPS tank if your familiar with nano setups it is very hard to do
4. The design and layout is really clean the theme flows perfectly i really dig the acrylic light fixture.
5. looks better than a elos tank
6.show me a better nano
7. this is just the start of his setup and it is already better than anything i have seen if this is not your taste thats cool but again i like modern type aquariums if you don't that's your choice. kia or Ferrari its your choice hehe j/k

[Europhyllia]

ReefCube
thanks for providing the list. I really didn't mean to poo poo on your dream set up. I was curious as to why you thought it was the best so I appreciate you taking the time to summarize your criteria :)

[glennr1978]

I'd have to disagree with #3. SPS in a nano isn't all that hard at all.

[kkiel02]

I really like the modern look but his older tank is just too uniform on the sand. I like the sps branching out on his rock columns but dont like the clams, brains, scolys etc. To each their own though. I like a natural approach and have never seen that diving sooo.... But it is nicer than mine...



for the moment.

Edit- Also like his equipment.

[ReefCube]

due to water volume fluctuation swings and constant water changes. HEAT issues. I believe it makes it harder. Where in larger water volume you have more stability less water change. Maybe im wrong

[Jarob]

love that light!

[aggman]

i think we also have to understand that things don't cost the same in thailand as they do in the u.s., like that $1500 dollar fish. my brother, who is stationed in okinawa, just got an 8in. achilles tang for $50 american. and he loves reminding me.

in thailand chingchai's paying pennies to the dollar. and he tells you in the threads. i know that i personally asked him how much his chiller was and he sent me the specs. for his 1000g system the chiller cost $400 bucks. i will go through my pms on rc and post it here for everyone to see.

so yeah his tank is awesome but it didn't cost him nearly as much as it would cost any of us.

~alex

[Jarob]

yea I remember he said he gets huge 8in+ Acro colonies for ~$100

Oh yea has anyone seen his other nano thats in the same room as that big tank? The Azoo tank? Its just absolutely amazing

[aggman]

i like the zero edge one he has under the staircase.

~alex

[ismvel]

Gooooood Lawd, how many tanks this guy have?

But the question is does he have a saltwater version of this?????

http://forums.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=372439

[corruption]

ReefCube -- no reason to be defensive... Opinions are like armpits, everyone's got em :)

Just because Karin and I don't see the inane attraction to this setup, doesn't mean we don't respect the work that went into it. As for your points: SPS in a nano is not difficult if you take the time to set up your tank in a way that is maintainable, and I personally DO prefer the Elos nano, or the DSA Neo-Nano to this design... or even the Zero-Edge. My biggest beef is curved tanks -- I do not like the distortion provided once you apply the bends. I cannot disagree on workmanship -- he did a fantastic build, and it looks like a great, clean modern tank... but is it something I would install in my home? Probably not :)

The Kia/Ferarri thing is really the wrong comparison here... try more like Porsche vs Ferarri :) I don't think anyone would look at that design and think, "Eh, I can just buy a biocube."... but at the same time, if I walked in a store, ready to buy a nano and they had an Elos 22 gal, the DSA Neo-Nano, and this tank all lined up... I'd probably come home with the Neo-Nano :)

-Justin

[diego]

I really like his softie tank. I couldn't imagine having a full time employee do maintenance on my tanks from 8am - 7pm. That is crazy but cool.

[ReefCube]

well whatever floats your boat.. im not being defensive I know many reefers out there have different taste. I was just trying to share what I felt was the new standard in nano setups you can agree or not I have seen many builds I just have more respect for people like chingchai who has a different vision on how he thinks a setup should look like

[sharkboy]

I think they are both AWESOME tanks!!! And I would take either one in a heartbeat...

[profntbtr]

distortion is not so bad in a cylindrical tank, it's much worse when the tank has straight sides to a curved front. That being said, i still like the cube look over curved, hence my purchase of the 60 gallon cube that i will chronicle the setup of when i get around to it. i have complete respect for the guys devotion to the hobby, but it's just not something i'd do even if i had the cash, except for maybe that sweet light.

[dclegern]

SIiiiiiiCK tank!
on asked what he does for a living.............. think that one through!
Say you have a few bucks and not a lot of skill. Walk into a doctors office, and can almost put your hands in this perfect (almost portable) little world of its own being oggled by all.
you ask who made it, a call or two happens, and the 3-4K spent to build it becomes 7-8k real quick.
And billyjo money bags has his new conversation piece for the next year until he moves on to breeding monkeys or something.

Anyhow, Siiiiiiiiiick nano!!!!!!

[ErikH]

What's not nice about it? Lol that is simple, elegeant, and it matches his style. We should all be so lucky. It is beautifully sterile looking in it's own right.