novahobbies
Well-Known Member
Ah, Spring. When the sun peeks out and coaxes new shoots to push through the frosted earth and bask in her radiant glow. When wobbling newborns venture out of their mothers' dens to blink, bedazzled, at the verdant fields that beckon with the promise of warm days to come. When a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of....
...aquariums.
I think Tennyson just turned over in his grave and mumbled something dire about copyright infringement. Oh well. The point, however, remains the same.
This young man has finally gotten to a point where he can start thinking of setting up the 110g tank that has lain, lonely and abandoned, in the second bedroom since we moved into this new home. The final setup is still off in the future, but I think I can have this bad boy set up in its final home by the end of February, water in it by March, and hopefully cycled and ready for fish by the end of April.
I will be re-using the original 3 rock columns (all dry base rock now), but I have foamed in the interstices between the PVC frame with black pond foam so it's more tastefully hidden and provides that much more surface area for bacteria. All told, there will be about 120lbs of rock going in here, with a few pounds of new live rock to get the coralline going again. I will be using black sand for the display tank this time around, and a blue background that MIGHT be painted in a 3d shadowbox style to give the illusion of more depth. Flow will be provided with 2 Koralia 1200's on a Koralia wavemaker, and 2 old style K-3s on a 12 hour timer during daylight hours. Lighting will be a MH/t5 combo unit, and filtration is a 29g sump with filter floss, carbon, a GFO reactor, protein skimmer, and integrated Chaeto/Rubble fuge. I also have a TLF biopellet reactor I can add if necessary.
But enough with the technicalities. Here is the stock list I'm entertaining:
3 Evansi Anthias
3 Blue Reef Chromis
1 Blue Star Leopard Wrasse
2 Blue Mandarins
1 Green Banded Sleeper Goby
1 Flame Angel
1 Powder Blue Tang
3 Barnacle Blennies very iffy on these
OK, a couple notes to consider. First, the Powder Blue tang has to stay. As my darling bride's "Favorite Fish," it's sort of a requisite for restarting the tank. It's also fuel for the upgrade argument in a few years' time, but she doesn't know that yet. I know that 110 gallons is on the low end of the spectrum for this very active and difficult fish, so I'm combating that by placing the rock columns so the fish has free room to swim in front of, between, and behind all the rockwork. Also, I will be looking for a small specimen when the time comes to add this one.
Second, for those who are currently sharpening their swords about the mention of two Mandarins. This is a mated pair that I have owned for some time, and they are both trained for mysis. In fact, they're both in a 37g seahorse tank, and they are rather fat on mysis! **
Third, I know that the PB and the Flame are both aggressive, and as such will be the last additions to the tank. I will probably QT these two buggers at the same time in seperate systems, and introduce them within a few days of each other.
Not counting the Barnacle Blennies, I'll be looking at 12 fish. At first glance this seems like a lot, but I think I have them sorted out in their niches properly. The Mandarins and the Sleeper goby are bottom fish (Goby will be for sandbed maintenance as well as looks), the Angel and Wrasse are somewhat secretive fish that will use the rocks, and the Chromis and Anthias are upper and midwater dither fish. Of course, the PB Tang is the showcase fish. I'm a little worried about the Anthias and Blue Reef Chromis....I chose Anthias that are less aggressive than others in the hopes that, mixed with the Blue Reef Chromis, I can keep them from pecking at each other. I'd appreciate some comments from my more experienced friends here.
Finally, those little Barnacle Blennies. I have a few barnacle clusters fused into the rock stands. I've always wanted a trio of these; I'd love to see those faces peeking out from their homes in my tank! I don't know if I should though. I'm already seriously loaded, but honestly....how much poop can three tiny gobys make?? And they won't have any competition for homes...no other fish is small enough for that sort of thing.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas for where I can go and what I can do with myself when I get there?
** A note on the Mandarins. Please be aware that I've had a little experience with these fish, and this should not in any way be taken as the norm for this particular animal. These fish typically only eat live copepods, and should not be kept by beginners unless in a very large system with 75+ lbs of live rock and an adjoining refugium. Which, as you'll observe, is exactly how I originally kept these guys before they learned to eat mysis.
...aquariums.
I think Tennyson just turned over in his grave and mumbled something dire about copyright infringement. Oh well. The point, however, remains the same.
This young man has finally gotten to a point where he can start thinking of setting up the 110g tank that has lain, lonely and abandoned, in the second bedroom since we moved into this new home. The final setup is still off in the future, but I think I can have this bad boy set up in its final home by the end of February, water in it by March, and hopefully cycled and ready for fish by the end of April.
I will be re-using the original 3 rock columns (all dry base rock now), but I have foamed in the interstices between the PVC frame with black pond foam so it's more tastefully hidden and provides that much more surface area for bacteria. All told, there will be about 120lbs of rock going in here, with a few pounds of new live rock to get the coralline going again. I will be using black sand for the display tank this time around, and a blue background that MIGHT be painted in a 3d shadowbox style to give the illusion of more depth. Flow will be provided with 2 Koralia 1200's on a Koralia wavemaker, and 2 old style K-3s on a 12 hour timer during daylight hours. Lighting will be a MH/t5 combo unit, and filtration is a 29g sump with filter floss, carbon, a GFO reactor, protein skimmer, and integrated Chaeto/Rubble fuge. I also have a TLF biopellet reactor I can add if necessary.
But enough with the technicalities. Here is the stock list I'm entertaining:
3 Evansi Anthias
3 Blue Reef Chromis
1 Blue Star Leopard Wrasse
2 Blue Mandarins
1 Green Banded Sleeper Goby
1 Flame Angel
1 Powder Blue Tang
3 Barnacle Blennies very iffy on these
OK, a couple notes to consider. First, the Powder Blue tang has to stay. As my darling bride's "Favorite Fish," it's sort of a requisite for restarting the tank. It's also fuel for the upgrade argument in a few years' time, but she doesn't know that yet. I know that 110 gallons is on the low end of the spectrum for this very active and difficult fish, so I'm combating that by placing the rock columns so the fish has free room to swim in front of, between, and behind all the rockwork. Also, I will be looking for a small specimen when the time comes to add this one.
Second, for those who are currently sharpening their swords about the mention of two Mandarins. This is a mated pair that I have owned for some time, and they are both trained for mysis. In fact, they're both in a 37g seahorse tank, and they are rather fat on mysis! **
Third, I know that the PB and the Flame are both aggressive, and as such will be the last additions to the tank. I will probably QT these two buggers at the same time in seperate systems, and introduce them within a few days of each other.
Not counting the Barnacle Blennies, I'll be looking at 12 fish. At first glance this seems like a lot, but I think I have them sorted out in their niches properly. The Mandarins and the Sleeper goby are bottom fish (Goby will be for sandbed maintenance as well as looks), the Angel and Wrasse are somewhat secretive fish that will use the rocks, and the Chromis and Anthias are upper and midwater dither fish. Of course, the PB Tang is the showcase fish. I'm a little worried about the Anthias and Blue Reef Chromis....I chose Anthias that are less aggressive than others in the hopes that, mixed with the Blue Reef Chromis, I can keep them from pecking at each other. I'd appreciate some comments from my more experienced friends here.
Finally, those little Barnacle Blennies. I have a few barnacle clusters fused into the rock stands. I've always wanted a trio of these; I'd love to see those faces peeking out from their homes in my tank! I don't know if I should though. I'm already seriously loaded, but honestly....how much poop can three tiny gobys make?? And they won't have any competition for homes...no other fish is small enough for that sort of thing.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas for where I can go and what I can do with myself when I get there?
** A note on the Mandarins. Please be aware that I've had a little experience with these fish, and this should not in any way be taken as the norm for this particular animal. These fish typically only eat live copepods, and should not be kept by beginners unless in a very large system with 75+ lbs of live rock and an adjoining refugium. Which, as you'll observe, is exactly how I originally kept these guys before they learned to eat mysis.
