100 Gallon 48"X20"X24" Angel/Butterfly FOWLR

[nornicle]

Hi all, I've been a long time semi lurker, and I've had mildly successful reef tanks, but I've never had the budget or the patience to do things properly.

After a 5fter that fell to velvet due to poor practices, I haven't kept anything for about 5 years. Learning from some of the experienced guys on this forum I've restarted with my copper and prazipro in hand

Without further ado:












Super clean and super safe (maglocks on all the doors for the kiddos, pretty sure I'm the only adult that knows how to open them too).

Cross post from another forum for background:

Introduction:

I've had a desire to keep some more exotic butterflies/ angelfish for some years, poor QT practices led to velvet tank wipe out of some pretty rare/ hard to keep fish some years ago. It's time to get back on the horse but with lots of risk management practices in place.

Fish Objectives:
Keep a lovely mixed fish tank that is full of colour, energy and relaxation! I've been wanting to keep some angelfish including Regal, Majestic, Bellus, Goldflake, Multi-barred and Flames. On the butterfly front, Semilarvatus, Pyramid and Copperbands rate highly for me. Additionally I may add some Anthias/ Longnose Hawk Fish.

A couple of 'wish list' fish that I may add are the Bandit and Goldflake angel and not sure if even available but the Arabian Butterfly. Finally, a yellow belly blue tang might also make it on the scene, although I do understand this tank is at the very small end of a tang tank.

System Objectives:

I'm aiming for extremely low maintenance limited to feeding the fish, cleaning the glass and adding top off water. This means high automation including auto top offs and feeding and maintenance/ waste reduction regimes like using a large skimmer, skimmate collector w/ auto switch off, automated skimmer neck cleaner, UV steriliser and biopellet reactor. Servicing and water changes will be outsourced, so I will not be housing any water 'making' at my place.

This is not a very large tank, so stocking levels will be important. This tank will be heavily stocked by most people's standards, so either stay out of this thread, or wait till my fish die and you can tell me you told me so Note I don't intend to keep all the stock list in the tank at once, just the types of fish I am interested in!

Another aim is the purchase 'forever' gear, items that are extremely reliable and able to kept for a long time. This also includes gear that is extremely quiet, I dislike unwarranted noise. This will give me a leg up should I decide to go full reef.

System Type:
FOWLR (not quite a diverse tank and lots of reef equipment so I posted in here, hope that's OK)

Display System:

Strike up Date:
December 2015

Display Tank:
48"x20"X24" Starphire Herbie overflow
Black vinyl on back and bottom. Will be running bare bottom.

Display Lighting:
Makemyled - 2 x 12000K Full Spectrum Coral Reef Marine tubes + 1 x Super Actinic/UV tube, pretty nifty controller based set up for a fish only system. Can use a PC to create your own sunrise/ sunset programs.

Sump:
36"X14"X18" 3 compartment sump

Support systems:

System Water:
Natural Salt Water

Display Water circulation:

Depends if required

Return Pump:
Ecotech Marine Vectra M1

Skimmer:
Vertex Alpha 200 Cone
Avast Marine 8" Swabbie
Avast Marine Medium Skimmate Collector

Evaporation Top Up:
Float switches run through Apex
Not sure what return pump yet

Other Support Systems:
Neptune Apex Controller (pH and Temp)
JNS Alpha 2 Reactor running biopellets
UV Sterilizer under consideration
Super Feeder automated fish feeder
50kg of Caribsea Life Rock and Real Reef Rock

Resilience:
2 Battery Operated Airpumps on backup, will eventually add an Ecotech battery backup.

QT Tank running 4 weeks of Cupramine and 2 doses of Prazipro for all new comers. I've got formalin baths ready but hopefully never needed.

Current Water Chemistry:
Undetectable nitrates (or sometimes 'just' pink on the Salifert test)

Let me know what you all think . Very surprised at how much I have spent to date, sobering given this is not even a reef tank (no dosing/ lighting/ chilling to think about). I have gone for 'keep forever' level of quality in my purchases though, as now I'm older I tend to buy well, and keep for a long time. I use Vortechs/ ATI sunpower/ Eheim/ ADA and Dupla on my planted tank and have never looked back.

Fish list

Pygoplites diacanthus (regal angelfish)
Pomacanthus navarchus (majestic angelfish)
Chaetodon ephippium (saddleback butterflyfish)
Gramma loreto (royal gramma)
Centropyge multicolor (dwarf multicolor angelfish)
Hemitaurichthys polylepis (pyramid butterflyfish)
Clownfish (not sure species)

C. auriga (hospital)
O. typus (hospital)
C. trifasciatus (dead)
C. semilarvatus (dead)

 

[snorvich]

I would recommend only one of the angelfish.

 

[kmbyrnes]

I like the direction of your tank! Angels and butterflies.
Keep in mind that some of the really striking butterflies are obligate coral eaters.

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

I like the direction you are planning as well. Your setup and approach are fairly close to mine although my tank is 5' long and I have two tangs and one flame angel rather than multiple angels.

Good choices on the butterflyfish. I like the threadfin and saddleback. You might also consider the the ulitensis (double saddleback) and they are fairly hardy. These are fish that swim a lot and thus your tank will have a lot of activity.

I passed on a longnose hawkfish as I have shrimp that might get eaten.

If the yellow-belly blue tang is a hippo tang, the tank won't be close to big enough for it.

Is your equipment in the stand next to the tank?

I would put an MP40 or two in the tank for good water movement (I have two).

 

[scooter31707]

IMO, no large angels should be on your list. All of them require a 6ft, 180 gallon tank. You can do the Dwarf Angels. Check out www.liveaquaria.com and research the fish you are thinking about for their requirements, behaviors, and characteristics. On that note, fish labeled as semi-aggressive, might come aggressive because of the small environment. Just my 2 cents.

 

[golferbud101691]

I have to agree with scooter. Large angles in a 100 just isn't right. Yes, you could put two juveniles in, but they will quickly outgrow your setup. You could have one nice reef tank though. Very impressive equipment..and if you wanted low maintenance/water changes, slap you a big display refugium beside the tank..something your kids could learn about and enjoy.

 

[nornicle]

Here is a quick vid, I lost the C. trifasciatus (poor eating, and disappeared after prazipro treatment), longnose hawkfish and C. auriga both stopped eating well and so are in a separate hospital tank. The saddleback is eating poorly and seems to be losing condition, but the pyramid is an extreme pig on frozen food.

Other than that the three angels and other fish, C. multicolor, Majestic and Regal are eating NLS and Ocean Nutrition pellets, and all frozen food. The regal shows signs of lymphocystis but only on one fin and that is slowly coming off.

Planned next adds to the quarantine tanks are - blue tang, flame angel, lemon peel, pair of bellus angels and then search for my dream fish - Chaetodon semilarvatus, goldflake angel and Bandit angelfish. That should probably max this tank out.

Nitrates are not detectable with about 600mls of biopellets, but the skimmer does not seem to be pulling out much gunk so I'm not sure what is going on.

 

[nornicle]

Who am I? Oh my

 

[nornicle]

Bodianus neopercularis I've never seen it for sale in Australia before, I'm sure it's not that rare, but happy to have landed well. Feeding well!

Also bellus angelfish I've been chasing for awhile.

 

[nornicle]

I would love some suggestions on my skimmer it's a vertex 200 alpha kone. It seems to get very black and brown inside but does not seem to actually skim anything into the waste Chamber I've got it in 10" water exactly.

 

[SDguy]

I would love some suggestions on my skimmer it's a vertex 200 alpha kone. It seems to get very black and brown inside but does not seem to actually skim anything into the waste Chamber I've got it in 10" water exactly.

Can you post a picture? I have the same skimmer.

 

[nornicle]

Hi peter photo as above.

Could it be that the gunk is getting caught in the neck and not going 'up and over?'

I'll give the neck and cup a clean this week and maybe take the Swabbie out and use the lid it came with to test.

The fish are doing fine though maybe I'm just under stocked, it's only five fish in 120gal of water I think.

 

[Cichlidgeek]

I, too, am interested in learning more about your skimmer. I've heard from a few folks that this model is very good.

 

[Dr Colliebreath]

I think you are going too fast right now and are overstocking your tank with too many fish that are questionable or unsuitable.

If I understand it correctly, you have 3 angels, the pyramid, royal gramma and a clownfish in your main tank. In addition, you have a longnose hawk, a saddleback and an auriga in hospital tanks plus in quarantine a bodianus neopercularis, bellus angel, hippo tang, and black clown. Even without the hippo tang, which I would return to the lfs, you have a very heavy bioload and are probably more than maxed out.

You have plans to add a flame angel, lemon peel, pair of bellus angels and then a Chaetodon semilarvatus, goldflake angel and Bandit angelfish. This is unlikely to end well for the fish.

As others have noted and recommended, large angelfish tend to need tanks of 180 gallons and larger. LA recommends housing your angels in a at least a 125, so you are on the smaller end of the appropriate tank size and you have plans for a half dozen or more. I think you would be ok with one of the 125 gallon "large angels" and a dwarf or two, but certainly not with all you have listed.

The tank is too small for the hippo tang and it almost certainly will become a problem, beating on your other fish. I would return it.

Keep in mind that as you increase the number of fish in the system and thus the bioload, you will have more maintenance to do (skimmer cleaning and tuning, water changes, dealing with algae, etc.).

Your tank has only been running for a handful of months.

At this point I would target 8-9 fish in the tank, get rid of the hippo tank, limit myself to one of the large angels, and do nothing else for at least 6 months.

 

[scooter31707]

Bad fish keeping.

 

[kaiboshi]

Hi peter photo as above.

Could it be that the gunk is getting caught in the neck and not going 'up and over?'

I'll give the neck and cup a clean this week and maybe take the Swabbie out and use the lid it came with to test.

The fish are doing fine though maybe I'm just under stocked, it's only five fish in 120gal of water I think.

It looks to me like the skimmer needs to be a bit higher. As you have it now you'd need to have some accumulated liquid skimmate in the collection cup before it would be high enough to actually drain into the container. Try raising the skimmer so that the outlet tubing from the collection cup is above the side of your sump. Gravity should do the rest.

 

[nornicle]

Yes the tang will probably go back the display tank seems pretty empty at the moment.

The bellus and the hog fish will go in a month that makes it 8 fish in display... Amazing how attitudes have changed 100 gallon being 'small'

I get the need to have a fair sized tank but when did it become a good/ bad debate

I use four week QT I have a regal eating pellets and in good health...

 

[CONSPICILLUM]

A 100g IS small for multiple large angels, several others, and active tangs needing room

 

[nornicle]

A 100g IS small for multiple large angels, several others, and active tangs needing room

That's fair it's actually unlikely I will ever get a bandit or goldflake so it's likely the regal majestic and bellus pair end up being the only big angels in the tank and I'll just add pygmys

 

[BlueMac92]

Amazing how attitudes have changed 100 gallon being 'small'

I get the need to have a fair sized tank but when did it become a good/ bad debate

Usually when someone on here says this:

This tank will be heavily stocked by most people's standards, so either stay out of this thread, or wait till my fish die and you can tell me you told me so

We think this: :deadhorse1:

Attitudes have never changed. It's just, more often than not, when someone has that attitude, we know it's better to not say anything. Because, more often than not, the member doesn't listen anyways....