Ross B Reef'n 170 Gallon & Fishroom Megabuild

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Ross B Reef'n

Ross B Reef'n

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Just realized I've never posted a finished picture of the tank, so here it is!
20190904_085254.jpg
 
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Ross B Reef'n

Ross B Reef'n

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Thank you Blutspitze. No corals just yet. Possibly one more round of fish and then transition to coral. Most likely a small group of blue chromis. I want to make sure the tank bio filter is established and stable to suit the livestock before I even think about adding coral.

Coral additions will also be very slow and selective, as I know what throwing a ton of green in a tank ends up looking like.

Update:
I think I'm going to avoid the Chromis addition. Extensive research revealed a leaning of bad behaviors for these fish.
 
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Ross B Reef'n

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Things are progressing nicely! What're you looking to add instead, if not the Chromis?
Thank you! I think they are too!! I had a little trouble getting our Naso to start eating, but once she did, look out! It was a constant battle to keep ammonia at zero with 3 tangs in 20gal QT, even though they were all small. With that said, I decided to bypass the second round of GC and move the tangs to the DT. They were stressed, scared, and hid constantly in QT, but once they got in the DT, they seemed so happy, and that makes me happy.

20191001_082100.jpg


Everyone swims around in the water column, including the clowns. I've never seen clowns do that. My first pair were wild caught and never went more than a few inches from thier host. I would hate to introduce anything that disrupted this.

I've thought about anthias, but I'm concerned about keeping up with thier feeding requirements. What and if I add any more fish, they have to be extremely peaceful. My wife also thinks firefish are too "eelish", so those are out.

Soon I'll be thinking about a "test" acro from the LFS.
 

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Thank you! I think they are too!! I had a little trouble getting our Naso to start eating, but once she did, look out! It was a constant battle to keep ammonia at zero with 3 tangs in 20gal QT, even though they were all small. With that said, I decided to bypass the second round of GC and move the tangs to the DT. They were stressed, scared, and hid constantly in QT, but once they got in the DT, they seemed so happy, and that makes me happy.

20191001_082100.jpg


Everyone swims around in the water column, including the clowns. I've never seen clowns do that. My first pair were wild caught and never went more than a few inches from thier host. I would hate to introduce anything that disrupted this.

I've thought about anthias, but I'm concerned about keeping up with thier feeding requirements. What and if I add any more fish, they have to be extremely peaceful. My wife also thinks firefish are too "eelish", so those are out.

Soon I'll be thinking about a "test" acro from the LFS.
Looking great! Glad that the transfer to the DT went smoothly and, more importantly, that everyone's getting along. Anthias would be cool to have - add some great color to the tank. What about a goby and/or a blenny or two? They tend to get along well with most others. Hawkfish would be adorable with all the rock, as well, depending on your crustacean situation.
 
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Looking great! Glad that the transfer to the DT went smoothly and, more importantly, that everyone's getting along. Anthias would be cool to have - add some great color to the tank. What about a goby and/or a blenny or two? They tend to get along well with most others. Hawkfish would be adorable with all the rock, as well, depending on your crustacean situation.
Thank you :) the tangs get along great (so far, please stay that way!) Naso acts like a big mama. Unfortunately my wife and I already had the talk of donating her to the Knoxville aquarium when she gets too big. I would definitly consider some gobies. I also highly discriminate against blenny's ever since I had a tribal blenny kill /eat all of my prized euphyllia one by one. Flamehawks are out of question due to thier "with caution" status. Since after all, it's all about the coral.

I'm most interested in fishes that swim in the water column to encourage all tank members that it's a safe and stress free environment, with hope that it encourages such free swimming reef-like activity.

Current fish that are subject of my research are Zebra Angel's, luminous cardinalfish, and a battle between Ignitus Anthias and princess anthias.

For the anthias, I'm developing a leaning toward the ignitus due to thier shallower natural habitat.

At the end of the day, still haven't made any solid decision.
 

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Thank you :) the tangs get along great (so far, please stay that way!) Naso acts like a big mama. Unfortunately my wife and I already had the talk of donating her to the Knoxville aquarium when she gets too big. I would definitly consider some gobies. I also highly discriminate against blenny's ever since I had a tribal blenny kill /eat all of my prized euphyllia one by one. Flamehawks are out of question due to thier "with caution" status. Since after all, it's all about the coral.

I'm most interested in fishes that swim in the water column to encourage all tank members that it's a safe and stress free environment, with hope that it encourages such free swimming reef-like activity.

Current fish that are subject of my research are Zebra Angel's, luminous cardinalfish, and a battle between Ignitus Anthias and princess anthias.

For the anthias, I'm developing a leaning toward the ignitus due to thier shallower natural habitat.

At the end of the day, still haven't made any solid decision.
Fair enough on all points. While any individual fish'll have it's quirks, going for docile, friendly species in a tank like the one you want will always be best. In-fighting is always the worst to see :( . Sounds like you've got a decent group to choose from, and none are likely to be bad. The best part is that you've got time to make the final call still :D
 
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So the addition of the tangs has started a second mini cycle.
20191005_094907.jpg


Thankfully there aren't any corals in the tank yet, so lighting tactics are still an option. This time around I also see some patches of green ;Doctor. Cleaning the sand and the glass is in order for this weekend.
 
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Dang! Hoping that you can/did manage to curb the growth/scrape things clean the last couple days.

Took some strategic measures to stop the foothold:
1) cut the DT light intensity in half on saturday,
2) raised the fuge light 8 inches and upped the time to 7 hours (on at the same time as DT light)
3) ~20gal water change while siphoning the sand

As of this morning, the posterior edges of rock are clear of growth. So far, so good.

I have a feeling this roller coaster will continue for awhile, but that's why I'm waiting for coral. Relavent fish Parameters are all in good status, so it's just the bio filter catching up with the new load.

Dispar anthia's also on the way!
 
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I must say that having your tank in such an obvious place puts you on a whole new level of "in-tune" with your aquarium. My prior tanks were always in my bedroom, but this is still a level up. Can't walk anywhere downstairs without passing it.
 
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what does your clean up crew look like?

Hah, I knew this would eventually come up. It's been my silent war within. Right now he's 6ft tall, handsome, armed with siphon tubes, and a small pump with a hose. I'm not a big fan of hermit crabs, but the idea of some snails is always on my mind. Any way I look at it, a CUC is 72 days out, with QT, after they arrive. Right now I'm primarily handling nuisances like fire. Take one of the key ingredients out, and no more fire.

To put some icing on my conundrum, I also have a clown fairy wrasse on the way with the anthias, so that complicates things a little more.

If I can find balance without little critters crawling over everything, I'll feel like I've won the stability battle. If not, I'll have to break down and buy a small army.
 

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So the addition of the tangs has started a second mini cycle.
20191005_094907.jpg


Thankfully there aren't any corals in the tank yet, so lighting tactics are still an option. This time around I also see some patches of green ;Doctor. Cleaning the sand and the glass is in order for this weekend.
I like the scape!
 

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