Ryan's 150g Marineland Deep Dimension!

[Ryan S]

I'm going 3 days with the lights out (today, tomorrow, and Sunday). I will do a water change Sunday evening, and then turn the lights on per their regular schedule on Monday. Hopefully that's enough to get me past the cyano phase. Yesterday it was already starting to disappear from what I could tell, so this should work.

[Ryan S]

Lights went back on today. All of the cyano is gone. The sand is white. I will take a photo when I get home. Hopefully it doesn't come back!

 

Thinking about my fish list again. Not sure I want to try a Powder Blue Tang again, nervous about ich. Also unsure on trying a Copperband Butterfly again since it's so hard to keep them alive. Lastly, uncertain on trying anthias again.

 

Current, tentative, fish list:

 

July 1:

1 Ocellaris Clownfish, Male, Tank Bred

1 Ocellaris Clownfish, Female, Tank Bred

 

August 1:

1 Swallowtail Angelfish, Male

1 Swallowtail Angelfish, Female

 

September 1:

1 Yellow Watchman Goby

1 Tiger Pistol Shrimp

 

October 1:

1 Midas Blenny

1 Melanurus Wrasse

 

Down the Road (next year):

1 Scooter Blenny

1 Green Mandarin

 

Iffy:

1 Male Bartlett Anthias

3 Female Bartlett Anthias

1 Male Lyretail Anthias

3 Female Lyretail Anthias

 

1 McCosker's Flasher Wrasse, Male

3 McCosker's Flasher Wrasse, Female

 

1 Blue Hippo Tang, Small

1 Desjardini Sailfin Tang, Small

1 Yellow Tang, Small

1 Powder Blue Tang, Small

 

1 Copperband Butterflyfish

[Jan]

I'd reconsider adding 4 tangs. They are gorgeous but 4 in anything less than 200 gallons is just too much. They grow fast and will compete for space and food. They eat like pigs so unless you have a really good skimmer and flow you may have issues with nitrates down the line. They can get aggressive when not well fed. Always check the maximum size of any fish you're purchasing to make sure you can keep them for the long run. I think good rule of thumb to follow is 1" of fully grown fish per gallon.

Edited May 14, 2012 by Jan

[Ryan S]

I'd reconsider adding 4 tangs. They are gorgeous but 4 in anything less than 200 gallons is just too much. They grow fast and will compete for space and food. They eat like pigs so unless you have a really good skimmer and low you may have issues with nitrates down the row. They can get aggressive when not well fed. Always check the maximum size of any fish you're purchasing to make sure you can keep them for the long run. I think good rule of thumb to follow is 1" of fully grown fish per gallon.

 

Definitely. I wish I could have a powder blue tang and desjardini tang again, but with my new fear of ich... I am leaning towards a blue tang and yellow tang pair (boring I know)... though any of them could get ich I suppose. I may not get any tang at all in that case. I guess we'll see. If I do get any tangs, it will be definitely be down the road.

 

I wanted the focus to be a large anthias school or two. But am nervous on them as well...

 

Another thought is a reef-safe wrasse focused tank. I think that would be fun.

Edited May 14, 2012 by Ryan S

[trockafella]

Oh boy.. Here we go....

[Jan]

Ick magnets, especially the yellow and blue hippo.

 

Definitely. I wish I could have a powder blue tang and desjardini tang again, but with my new fear of ich... I am leaning towards a blue tang and yellow tang pair (boring I know)... though any of them could get ich I suppose. I may not get any tang at all in that case. I guess we'll see. If I do get any tangs, it will be definitely be down the road.

 

I wanted the focus to be a large anthias school or two. But am nervous on them as well...

 

Another thought is a reef-safe wrasse focused tank. I think that would be fun.

[Ryan S]

Oh boy.. Here we go....

 

oh come on. 2 fish per month is a totally different approach this go around

[trockafella]

oh come on. 2 fish per month is a totally different approach this go around

 

 

Ryan, it could be 2 fish a year and I would still joke with you... I think you should just avoid tangs for a while. Get a few feel good fish. Re-establish you confidence again, then work your way up..

[Ryan S]

Ryan, it could be 2 fish a year and I would still joke with you... I think you should just avoid tangs for a while. Get a few feel good fish. Re-establish you confidence again, then work your way up..

 

I am hoping these will be exactly that - feel good fish - hardy - reef safe - non-aggressive:

 

1 Ocellaris Clownfish, Male, Tank Bred

1 Ocellaris Clownfish, Female, Tank Bred

1 Swallowtail Angelfish, Male

1 Swallowtail Angelfish, Female

1 Yellow Watchman Goby

1 Tiger Pistol Shrimp

1 Midas Blenny

1 Melanurus Wrasse

[Amuze]

1 Melanurus Wrasse - skip this one...

[roni]

hmm, i've got a melanurus wrasse without any issues...any reason you don't like them? they are generally not aggressive and have the side benefit of being good flatworm predators.

 

Ryan, I think in general your fish list and plan for adding looks good (if anything slower then I'd do but I tend to be impatient). In terms of tangs, the 3 ft length of the tank isn't as good for the big swimmers. I'd look at fish like the yellow/purple/black/scopas complex, the kole/chevron/tonimi complex, and possibly a small acanthurus sp (maybe a convict). A powder blue tends to like a lot of swimming space and I prefer 4 ft minimum length tanks for them. The blue tang would probably work for the short term, but my two blue tangs are 7 and 5" now and very, very fat. A desjardini gets two big imo. My desjardini is possibly too big for my tank and I will likely move him to a 500 gallon tank in the future.

 

in terms of anthias, I've had success with bartletts (though others report that they tend to become all males and fight), squammipinnis, and ignitus. Those should all do well in your tank, assuming you're willing to feed them enough.

Edited May 14, 2012 by roni

[Fishie]

I really like my melanarus too...had him over 4 years now...I got a frag a few weeks ago and he ate a giant worm off it that even a dip in Revive did not get rid off.

Plus he is not at all aggressive to any fish...even other wrasse I have...I have seen him bite at a snail...who was upside down and trying to flip with all their fleshy part visible...

But that's about it .

[Jan]

Melanurus wrasse is the best. I have one. Love it! Eats all the bristle worms and doesn't bother anything.

[Amuze]

Lol. I probably had mine longer than you had your entire tank set up. They will begin to eat your snails and crabs (if they aren't already) and will eventually start to harass any new introductions to your tank. Mine was a perfect angel too, at first. Then he got big. Roni's tank is larger enough to house an aggressive fish or two with plenty of hiding, but if you plan to add leapord wrasse or any other more expensive and passive wrasse, you should plan for an upset. Everyone's experience is different, but the clean up crew being eaten is more likely a definite for this fish over time when it gets larger.

[trockafella]

i had the exact same experience. mine was great at first but then it decimated the snails and crabs. i do feel there great fish for eating pests, but it can come with a cost. saying all that, id probably keep one again, but i would try to make it one of the last additions. very pretty for sure though. i would only buy it if you want to use it for pest control, otherwise id go with a different wrasse..

[Amuze]

Yellow coris was good for some pest control as well, was not aggressive at all and I had it for about 4 years before it found it's way to a pump while being stored somewhere else during a move. Mine got quite large and was a model citizen. Was only mean towards me. It would get angry and start flipping it's rear half of it's body off the glass really hard whenever I came up to the tank. Haha. Males will get the same coloring on their heads.

[Ryan S]

I have hired Adam to make me the "chaeto box" I mentioned earlier. The box will be 1/4" acrylic, and 18"L x 8"W x 18"H in dimensions (approx 10 gallons). I plan on using a home depot shop light to light the fuge during the evening hours. I am doing this as another method for combating algae/nitrate/PO4 in the DT and to supplement my chemical methods, including Carbon, GFO, and Vinegar dosing. (I don't know if this will replace any of the chemical methods, or perhaps allow me to lower the dosages of each - but I am thinking each has a role in our system and running them all (even if at low dosages) should only be beneficial?)

 

I can "picture" in my head what the input and outputs should look like, and I tried to explain them to Adam in a PM, so hopefully it makes sense to him. My sump is 12" tall and will be "behind" the box. I am going to use a Maxi Jet to send water to the fuge box (probably a MJ1200); and thus I want the input tube to the box (input and outputs to the box will be on the back side, same side as the sump) to be 1/2", the same as the MJ, so I can simply attach a 1/2" ID hose to the MJ and the input tube. On the inside of the box, I picture a 90 elbow facing downward so the water can flow down into the sump, maybe with a fitting like this. The output (which will gravity feed to the sump), on the inside, would have a 90 degree elbow facing upward, with a strainer like this. I don't know what size the output hole should be. 1/2" like the input? Or something bigger to prevent possible blockage/flooding like 3/4" or 1"? And the output tube on the outside would be the same size as the inside (1/2", 3/4", 1") and I would attach a tube to it and then run the tube directly into my sump. Another question I don't know is, should the input and output holes on the box, be the same height, or should one be higher than the other? Say 16" mark for the input, and 17" for the output?

 

Lastly, what should I put in the fuge box once it's complete? Just large hunks of chaeto? What about mud? Or a DSB? Or other macro algae in there with the chaeto? Any specific inverts or small fish?

[londonloco]

I've been reading this thread since it started. First off, Ryan, sorry for all your pain, it's a learning curve, we've all been thru it, and I'm about to go thru it again, for the 3rd time . Secondly, even with all you've been thru in the past months, you have a beautiful set up.

 

I'd like to comment on your fuge plumbing. I had a 120g reef set up from 2003 to 2009 with a Lifereef sump and ps, back then, Jeff didn't make/sell anything that would accommodate a fuge. I added a simple fuge 2005-ish and had it running til I broke the tank down. I placed two cinder blocks next to my sump, put a 4g rubbermaid container on top, the top of the container sat a few inches above the sump. In the container I added one container of Fiji Mud (I think that was the name), an inch of live sand on top, a little rubble, and a baseball size ball of chaeto. Eventually I also added a snail and hermit to it. To feed the fuge I had an old zoo med pump, 25gph maybe?, that I simply clamped the hose that ran from the pump onto the side of the fuge. I cut a hole in the container 1" below the surface, stuck a piece of 1/2" hosing in the hole, a little silicone to hold the return hose in place, the fuge then gravity fed down to the sump. No elbows, no fittings, just hosing. I had a 10g florescent strip light lighting the fuge at night, after my tank lights went out. I've read over and over chaeto needs to tumble to grow, but that is not my experience. The only flow in my fuge was water in, water out. It was crude looking, but grew chaeto so well I had to harvest it monthly. Never flooded, never clogged, worked perfectly. Sometimes it's better to keep things simple.

 

I had intended to replace the rubber maid container with an custom acrylic box, but this worked so well, I never felt the need. However, if Adam was in business back then, I'm sure i would have gone with one of his boxes. I did this time

[ArtFully Acrylic (Adam B)]

I have hired Adam to make me the "chaeto box" I mentioned earlier. The box will be 1/4" acrylic, and 18"L x 8"W x 18"H in dimensions (approx 10 gallons). I plan on using a home depot shop light to light the fuge during the evening hours. I am doing this as another method for combating algae/nitrate/PO4 in the DT and to supplement my chemical methods, including Carbon, GFO, and Vinegar dosing. (I don't know if this will replace any of the chemical methods, or perhaps allow me to lower the dosages of each - but I am thinking each has a role in our system and running them all (even if at low dosages) should only be beneficial?)

 

I can "picture" in my head what the input and outputs should look like, and I tried to explain them to Adam in a PM, so hopefully it makes sense to him.

 

Clear as Fiji Mud Ryan LOL. Yeah, between your PM's and this post in your thread I figured it out. That's part of the ART of it all you know...

 

 

I had intended to replace the rubber maid container with an custom acrylic box, but this worked so well, I never felt the need. However, if Adam was in business back then, I'm sure i would have gone with one of his boxes. I did this time

 

You so sweet Loni. I aim to please

 

 

 

[Ryan S]

Some new photos from 6/3/2012. The tank is 3.5 months old. PS: Chemi Clean really works for cyano. Very impressed. I did the 3 days with the lights off and it came back. Then I tried a Chemi Clean treatment and the sand is bright white 1 week later. That stuff really works. I am in the process of raising my MAG to kill off the bryopsis in the tank.

 

FTS:

 

SPS Frags #1:

 

SPS Frags #2:

 

Florida Rics (and notice at the bottom left, my first signs of coralline algae!:

Edited June 4, 2012 by Ryan S

[Muddy357]

Ryan if you want I can come by this weekend and take some pic's of your tank like I did for Steve?

 

Jake

[Ryan S]

Ryan if you want I can come by this weekend and take some pic's of your tank like I did for Steve?

 

Jake

 

Jake, you don't like my iphone pictures? haha. I definitely would love that. Lets figure something out down the road though, maybe next month? I am out of town for the next few weekends, but would definitely love that. I will hook you up with a frag of something for your time.

[icecool2]

Tank looks awesome! Here's a cool trick someone just taught me for ridding frags of algae. Works like a charm!

 

http://www.delvalreefclub.org/forums/index.php/topic,12604.0.html

Edited June 4, 2012 by icecool2

[Ryan S]

Tank looks awesome! Here's a cool trick someone just taught me for ridding frags of algae. Works like a charm!

 

http://www.delvalreefclub.org/forums/index.php/topic,12604.0.html

 

thanks for the tip, and welcome to the club. i have been brushing them off with a toothbrush once a week, and the algae just keeps coming back! i hoping once I mount the frags to the LR in the tank, and with the increased MAG regiment, it will eventually die back. (plus i will be adding a fuge with chaeto in the near future which should help as well!)

[icecool2]

Thanks for the welcome! I tried increasing mag and wound up killing all my inverts. Apparently you can only use Tech-M to get that method to work. Just be CAREFUL!