Floating Garden

Benjamin Graindorge with Duende Studio designed a floating garden on top of an aquarium that uses fish waste (nitrate) as food supplement for the plants and at the same time it filters the aquarium giving a super clean water for the fish to thrive . Same principles of aquaphonics, but with style.

Aquarama 2009

Thanks to my friend Mike for providing some pictures :)

Aquarama 2009 "Magic Water"

Second Nature by Tokujin Yoshioka

Tokujin Yoshioka, the director of the exhibition, has attempted to incorporate in his own design work the many laws that exist in nature, while at the same time exploring the possibilities of technology. His works do not merely remind people of the natural world on a visual level or imitate the more apparent manifestations of the laws of nature, Rather, by using technology as well as his own ideas as a kind of sustenance, he creates new forms of nature, in a process that results in what might best be described as a "second nature".

Spotlight Halide

I am just testing a China made spot light fixture 150w metal Halide G12 bulb 20000k for my next project.

sneak peak of my new project :)

BiOrb Life Aquarium

The new stylish biOrb Life aquarium (12 Gallon) with slimline intelligent LED light. Set apart from anything else on the market, the designer aquariums feature a crystal clear acrylic front and back and are finished with seamless gloss colored acrylic wrap. Available in three striking colors; chili red, ice white or piano black, the handmade range are a unique must have item. Check out more details here: http://astore.amazon.com/pcnews00-20/detail/B00200LPG6

Some Close Up Shots...

Interactive Jellyfish

This is a display of work by the architect Akihisa Hirata and interactive artist Takahiro Matsuo.The collaboration between these two creative professionals, working in different fields, has produced a visual world of a new dimension. Hirata creates organic spaces formed from geometric principles, whereas Matsuo produces interactive images from fantastical light and color. With the mutual resonance of their sensibilities, it seems fair to say that this display presents boundless expanses and infinite possibilities. Canon. Video from Designboom

New Frags! New Look!

Last week, I fragged some of my large corals to smaller pieces and gave some to fellow reefers. I acquired 5 pcs. of Ricordea Florida and some of our beautiful local Ricordeas and Actinos. I did put most of the colorful corals on the top of the main rock as the focal point and placed a few pieces on the sand to give an open space for my fishes. Also, I added another cool false percula. This time I used a better point and shoot camera with higher resolution, love the results!

Update

Finally! I have some time to update my blog. I've been busy setting up aquariums for others :) Nitrate: 0 Phosphate: 0.5 Added carbon media, water change 2-4 lit. weekly, added 1 false percula and 2 blood shrimps, removed cleaner shrimp. Skimmerless! Dosing marine snow plankton once a week only. I will be fragging some of the corals to give some space for new corals. I'm also buliding an ELOS style nano 24x24x18, upgrade maybe:)

Ecsenius lineatus

Taken from LiveAquaria.com The Linear Blenny is also known as the Lined Blenny. The lower half is white and the upper half is brown to black in coloration. They are a smaller blenny. Their very large eyes and small mouth give these fish a very comical look. Linear Blennies are a great addition to any reef or peaceful fish-only aquarium, large or small. Generally found amid crevices and rocks on the bottom of its environment, the Linear Blenny needs a tank of at least 10 gallons with plenty of live rock for grazing, perching, and hiding. They should not be housed with aggressive species that may intimidate these fish into hiding. The Linear Blenny is a perfect candidate for the reef aquarium and is considered reef safe but may nip at the polyps or bases of Acropora sp. and other SPS corals. If the SPS dominated aquarium is not heavily stocked with mature colonies these fish may damage Acropora sp. and Montipora sp. in these displays. The diet of the Linear Blenny should include vegetable matter, including frozen and dried foods containing marine and blue-green algae. It will also feed on (and help control) algae growing in the aquarium

Beautifull Cowries

I got 5 cowries last week, only 2 made it.

See more beautiful cowries here

http://www.marinelifephotography.com/marine/mollusks/gastropods/cowries/cowries.htm#eratoidae

Re-Aquascape, New corals, Pods and Black Brittle Starfish

Hitchickers

I found this Green Brittle Star of genus Ophiarachna underneath my corals. This animal is a predatory fish eater, that does indeed do a spiffy janitorial job when small... but grows quickly, and under darkness of night can/ does learn to eat aquarium fishes. This species has been documented to arch up in "sleeping cave" of captive fishes and drop down on unsuspecting meals. I found this snail 2mm in size grazing every morning over the edge of the tank. I think it's a baby nausarrius, what do you think?

I found this species inside my overflow box. Can someone help me identify it?Finally, I caught it!!!

Alpheidae is a family of caridean snapping shrimp characterized by having asymmetrical claws, the larger of which is typically capable of producing a loud snapping sound. Other common names of these species included pistol shrimp or alpheid shrimp.

It's amazing to see different species everyday in my nano tank. Just like last week, I saw a couple of white swimming like jellyfish 2mm in size, but I can't take a good photos of them. I am pretty sure it's not pods, unless pods can swim like a jellyfish:)

Peponocephala Electra Stranded

Last Febuary 10, 2009, hundreds of dolphins stranded off Bataan saved the following day. Fishermen and villagers waded into the chest-deep water “clapping their hands and hitting the surface” to prod the creatures back to sea while more than 20 boats with shut engines guided them to deeper waters. According to Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), the pod stranded off Bataan could have strayed to shore after being disoriented by a strong seaquake. The dolphins could have also followed their sick leader to the coast. Other marine officials said that chemical pollution and water contamination could also have affected the dolphins, forcing them to seek shelter.

The melon-headed whale, Peponocephala electra (Gray, 1846), is close in size to the pygmy killer whale and the 2 species bear a strong resemblance from a distance. Adult males reach up to 2.7 m in length, adult females up to 2.6 m in length. Their maximum weight is about 225 kg. The melon-headed whale has a rounded somewhat triangular head when viewed from above or below. When viewed from the side the head appears rounded. Females and juveniles have an indistinct beak. They have a distinct dorsal fin located in the middle of the back. The flippers are long and pointed at the tips, a characteristic that differs from the more rounded flippers of the pygmy killer whale. Melon-headed whales also have twice as many teeth as the pygmy killer whale; the upper jaws have 20-25 sharp-pointed teeth, and the lower jaws have about 22-24. They are dark gray to black in color with white to light gray coloring on the ventral side and, like the pygmy killer whale, white lips. The black triangular "mask" on the face distinguishes them from the more uniformly colored pygmy killer whales. Melon-headed whales also have a cape that dips much lower below the dorsal fin than that of pygmy killer whales, although its margin is often faint.

Melon-headed whales are a social species. In the tropical Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans they have been reported traveling with Fraser's, spinner, and spotted dolphins.

The melon-headed whale, Peponocephala electra, is found in tropical and subtropical waters worldwide, most commonly in the Philippine Sea. They favor warm, pelagic waters. Melon-headed whales travel in pods of 100-1,000, although even larger pods have been reported. Feeding Behavior (Ecology) Melon-headed whales, Peponocephala electra, feed primarily on squid and fish.

The calving season of the melon-headed whale is thought to occur in early spring in the lower latitudes of both hemispheres. Little else is known about the reproductive behavior of this species.

New Aquascape and Livestock

Green Zoanthus Sp.Ricordea (Corallimorph Sp.)Cladiella Sp.Long-haired Mushroom (Sarcophyton Sp.) Devil's finger coral (Lobophytum Sp.)Sinularia Sp.Green Star Polyps (Pachyclavularia Sp.)Klyxum Sp.Heteroxenia Sp.Pizza Pie Anemone (Cryptodendrum adhaesivum)Actinodiscus Sp. Various Colors of zoanthus Sp.

Nassaurius Snails

ScientificName: Nassaurius vibex Their foot trails behind about a full shell length as they travel. Anything from a five gallon nano tank to a 1,000 gallon aquarium. One per 2 gallons is a good rule of thumb as far as tank population/distribution. Not aggressive toward any reef inhabitants, but when it comes to detritus or uneaten foods they are tremendous and relentless scavengers. It's very hardy as long as they are not exposed to high nitrate levels. Reef-Safe: Absolutely reef safe!!! I only have 4 right now :)

Aquatic Design Center

Aquarium Design Group

An underwater fusion of nature and design.

Nano Project Initial Aquascaping

one of my loyal clean up crew :)SideviewTop viewFront View Moonlight effect 95% of the corals that you see in my tank were given by my mentor and other reef hobbyist, thank you!

City Aquarium

Justin Muir is the American designer whose signature vision elevates custom aquarium installations to a new aesthetic.

Reinvented Phone booth -aquarium

What a great idea by artists Benoit Deseille and Benedetto Bufalino from France. As the designers stated: “With the advent of the mobile telephone, telephone booths lie unused. We rediscover this glass cage transformed into an aquarium, full of exotically coloured fish; an invitation to escape and travel.“

Now, here's my crazy idea again :)

Imagine every unused phone booths on your streets transformed into different reef biotopes.

I just like hanging lights...

I've been planning my light stand "katana Style" for months now, but I came up with this one the day before my corals arrived. I simply drilled holes on the wooden fan holder that I designed and attached it at the back of the stand. Then, added a blue 1 watt LED spot light for the moonlight effect. Also, I painted the side of the light fixture in black to block the glaring lights on the viewing side.

Quarantine tank

One day, I was looking at my old designs inside our room. I always tell myself that these set of 3 coffee tables were too ugly when it’s together. Then a fish whispered in my ear, "How about a QT stand?" so, I grab the medium size and measured it. Guess what? Same footprint of a 10g.

I am getting ready for my QT :)

Sunset at Aninuan beach resort, Oriental Mindoro

Me and my wife had a 4 day break from civilization last december :) The resort is very nice especially when reefs are meters away! I had a blast looking at corals and fishes, time to plan our next vacation and get those underwater cameras.

3 month cycling is over

Pest infestations: Diatoms, green algaes, red green blue and black cyanos, then diatoms again.

Clean up crew added ( lights off)

Hong Kong Quick Trip

Eco-Friendly Christmas Displays

My christmas designs for 2009 held at Manila FAME last april 2008.

Merry Christmas to all!!!

Sea Urchin Chair

Remember the sea urchin lamp...here's another great furniture. Every cable-tie is painstakingly stripped to another to give it the spiky appearance of the sea creature it’s named after.

DIY Phosphate Reactor

Nitrates: 0 Phosphates: 5.0

Materials: clear hose, plastic bottle, 50gph submersible pump, silicon and media.

I bought 100ml of rowaphos from a fellow reef hobbyist yesterday. Let's see if it will bring down the phosphate level in one week.

Day 51 Diatoms, Cyano, Algae and my diy fan hoder

DIY Coke Bubble Trap / Skimmer

Objective: Trapping bubbles to avoid saltspray

Bonus: Skimming without pumps

Materials:

Queen collection cup

1.5 or 2liter coke bottle (bigger the better)

pvc pipes and elbows reducer and couplings (not required )

cutter blade

marker

drill and hole saw 1"

Notes:

* I am using an OTP-1000 for return 264gph

* Make a bigger holes at the bottom of the bottle ( clogging issue)

* Add a gate valve to control water level

* Drill a hole on the collection cup (waste tube)

* Nothing beats the real skimmer :)

My 2008 Holiday Collection

In Memory of Lola 2004-2008

Her 1st day at home....

Sleeping beauty....

looking down...

caught in the act.... checking my nano project.....she loves weeds all day everyday....sippin some sizzers....hiding from me...

more weeds.... picture perfect....

BFF....

We will miss you Lola...she's one cool bunny!!!

coffee table or Pool table

It's a miniture swimming pool coffee table, great design!

How about a frag tank coffee table? :)

Meet Our Diesel

I would like to share one of the babies in the house, our dalmatian "Diesel". He's been with us for 5 years already and he is still cool to hang out with although sometimes he is hard headed. Now he is the new guard of the nano project, I just wish he can do water change too :)

Japanese inspired "Katana" floor lamp

Here's a cool inspiration light stand for my nano project. The "Katana" floor lamp was inspired by samurai swords made with carbon fiber and steel by I TRE.

Let's fire it up

After a couple of minutes of setting up the fixture, it's time to fire it up! I asked the supplier to add one fan to avoid heat issues inside the light fixture. I really like how it looks right now, it reminds me of the japanese ADA lights. But this will not be the final design for this fixture, I will design a separate light stand to create the minimal look that I wanted. Also, I will post some inspirations for the light stand that I will fabricate for this tank.

Solarmax Nano Series

Sea Urchin Lamps

If you can't have it in your aquariums, try it in your living room :)

Stand Designs

Earlier this year I posted a few stand designs for my next project tank here http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1289056&perpage=25&pagenumber=13 Then after a couple of months, Bret asked for permission to use my stand design for his new tank in Bangkok. It's really nice to know that someone, somewhere in other parts of the world likes my designs. You can follow Bret's tank thread here. I think he is moving back to Australia with his new tank. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1470182

Day 14 Diatoms

Water Parameters Ammonia: 0 Nitrites: 0 Nitrates: 10 PH: 8.2 Phosphate: 5 The water starts to clear up again and diatoms are starting to build up on the rocks.

Day 10 cycling

Ammonia 0ppm Nitrites 0ppm Nitrates 10ppm Removed the shrimp debris and then added 2nd batch of shrimp.

Day 7 cycling

I added 2 more shrimps ( day 2) to start with the minimum mass of 100 grams.

Day 7 Ammonia 8.0

Nitrite 5.0

I think the cocktail shrimps were haunting me, it floats around like a ghost :)

Lots of place to sit while looking at my boring tank.

Day 1 Cycling

October 15, 2008 Dropped the shrimp in a small fish bowl for easy clean up later on I borrowed a T-5 light fixture from a friend for viewing purpose only.

Setting it up!

20 kilos of live rocks

Saltmix

DIY coke bottle bubble trap, hopefully it will also get some skimmate :)

Installed Reef Octopus ATO system

Provided an automatic voltage regulator to protect my equipments from power surge.

DIY an eggcrate strainer for the overflow to protect from clogging.

I used glue gun to protect all my screws from rusts.

Thank you to my mentor ( one of the most experienced hobbyist in the country) for teaching me how to set up my refugium /sump tank properly.

Sump Tank:

8" DSB and 15kilos of Live Rocks

Aquascaping (shallow reef flat)

18g Reef

I just have to add Helfrich's chick 18g ADA aquarium in my list of the most beautiful and cleanest nano ever. I am looking forward to see her new tank (bigger) next year. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1159026&perpage=15&highlight=nTOTM&pagenumber=1

Equipments

Reef Octopus ATO

Reef Octopus OTP-1000 18watts Pump rate: 264gph

Solarmax nano Series 150 MH 14000k SunSun Wave pump 12w 1320gph Reef Octopus DNWS-110-6520

Black background

I've painted the background in black to hide powerheads. I am still waiting for equipments to arrive especially my 150MH nano series from Hongkong.

My 2008 Autumn Designs

Check out some of my box designs for Joseph Schmidt

http://www.artisanconfection.com/stores/josephschmidt/

Fullmoon Sideboard

“Fullmoon” sideboard furniture, produced by ENNEZERO and designed by Sotirios Papadopoulos, in a limited edition of 24 pieces. The “moon” on the furniture’s surface is a very special luminous and ecological paint (ELI ecolightinside), which creates special effects in the dark. The “ELI” material is an invention of Sotirios. According to his words, ELI comes from a special ecological powder which is modified into a gelcoat-PVC and covers the furniture. This could be an excellent stand for a rimless tank, maybe replace the moon with reef background. Cool! http://www.ennezero.it/

Concept Low and Shallow

I designed it early this year. A very low stand or bench to sit on while looking at your shallow reef. Where will I put all the equipments? A storage room under the stairs will hide all the ugly equipments. A simple hole will be provided to connect the tank to the sump. The drawercase under the tank can be provided for the test kits and reef journal.

Still no time for my nano....

I've been planning this nano for a month now, not much of a progress at all.

I am so busy with work. Hopefully my client will approve my "Reef Theme" for 2009 summer collections.

5 Gallon Reef

It's amazing to see the dedication of Mr. Dan Pelligrini in his hobby. A planted tank expert goes reef!

The tank is 11 months old today with no filtration, no skimming. All nutrient exports are managed with frequent water changes.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1192998&perpage=15&pagenumber=1

Super White

A simple white automotive semi gloss paint gives the stand a nice clean look and a silver accent on the base to match the light fixture. I used 4 pieces of cabinet magnets with white plastic cover for the door to avoid those rusty hinges later on. I just noticed that I need to repaint my house because this stand really stands out from the wall, super white!

Martin Sprouse Furniture - 4140

Exploring the idea that a table can look different from all views, 4140 breaks from past rectilinear designs with a random combination of angles and slants. The table's resin surface rests on a cross sectional solid walnut frame. The natural wood grain follows the design's horizontal lines and various cantilevers, creating the appearance of lightness and transparency. Used as a client's primary living room table, 4140's asymmetrical form offers a number of placement options, each subtly changing the area's spatial dynamic. more excellent table designs here http://www.martinsprouse.com/med/4140.html

I just like an in-wall aquarium that pops out a little from the wall. http://www.jawsaquariums.com/aquariums/in_wall/index.html

Low profile stand

It's not common to have a very low stand because of space issues for the equipments, but aesthetically it looks nice besides my sofa. I used magnets to attached the door for quick and easy access inside the stand when needed. Ok, just testing with an ordinary 6500k lamp.

Cubes are good for corners.....

This is my 2nd stand design for my nano, I made it to match my new sofa. It is the simpliest cube stand ever with magnet doors.

Concept sofa...done!

I want something that is simple, modern-looking and relaxed, so I began to sketch a new 3 seater sofa for my small living room.

After weeks of waiting for the fabric that I ordered and another 2 weeks to build the custom sofa, finally it's done!

Simple, Small and Shallow

I want it simple, small, and shallow…..of course rimless!

Finally! My shallow reef tank arrived, it’s a 24"x24"x12" polished and drilled. For your information, the low iron glass is not readily available in our country, so I have to settle with the ordinary clear glass here in Manila.

But still I can't decide which stand design to use....

Inspired by the Eames

My new nano concept inspired by the Eames storage unit. It's a coffee table size 48"x 24"x 24" with a 30 gallon rimless shallow cube aquarium on one side. The idea is to have zero visibilities of the equipments to accomplish the minimal contemporary look. The storage unit on the right side will hide the external overflow, PVC pipes, equipments and a 10 gallon sump tank. A moon light effect can be added by hiding blue LED lights in the sump area focusing on the side of the tank. All electrical equipments like the power supply, external pumps or a mini chiller can be stored under the glass tank.

Charles and Ray Eames

Charles (1907-1978) and Ray (1912–1988) Eames were American designers, married in 1941, who worked and made major contributions in many fields of design including industrial design, furniture design, art, graphic design, film and architecture. The Lounge chair prototype designed in 1945

The authentic and original Eames lounge ottoman, designed by Charles and Ray Eames and manufactured by Herman Miller for the Home.

Classic Eames DeskEames Storage Units

and this 1950s storage units brochure just gave me an idea for my next nano tank project.

Welcome

I am an artist from the Philippines who loves modern designs in all aspects. I've been in the visual display for 10 years both local and international. I’ve been a marine enthusiast for about 2 years now and everyday I still learn new things about this hobby. My goal here is to share all the things that I’ve learned from the past and create something unique in the future in terms of designs and reef keeping. Marlon