A Reef Tank in the Desert - +/- 1,400 gallon system

[Newbie Aquarist]

Wow. Bruh I have to say you do have a challenge ahead of you. Are they going to be the last fish in the tank considering they are known to be a major major PITA with later additions?

 

[nanoohio]

im nervous for you! world war three at dans house!

 

[irishindoexpat]

Keep the updates coming... great set up...would also like to know how you get on with those 2 sohals..

 

[dotcommer]

My Sohals tonight are on fire!

Even though they are separated by the egg-crate, they have been going after one another all day/night. It's as if there is one tang performing in front of a mirror. When one tang goes up, so does the other. Down - the other files suit. Up, down, sideways....

LOL, it does look like they are starring in a mirror.

I love my Sohal, (as you can see he is my avatar). However I had a bad experience with him and passive clown tang I purchased a while back. I posted a thread about it and had some good input from Sohal owners.

The big difference is you have a small ocean of a tank and I had him in a much smaller tank. I currently have him and a bi-color Angel in a 125 gallon by themselves while I consider possibly adding him as the last fish in my 300 Gallon build.

What you have achieved so far with all the tangs in your tank is outright amazing. I love tangs and it is so nice to see that you are achieving that success.

I am watching this thread closely, thanks for keeping us updated every day.

 

[bcfd144]

Nice

 

[Crazy_Beaver]

Unfortunately you cant consider that as a good indication I am afraid Dan!Hopefully they will get used of each other!

 

[Made2Rock]

Wow. Bruh I have to say you do have a challenge ahead of you. Are they going to be the last fish in the tank considering they are known to be a major major PITA with later additions?

I have to agree with Wayne BUT you have had a lot of success with this approach and being patience so stick to what has worked and I believe you will win (it may be a few years but......:lolspin.

Joe

 

[danfeig]

Just did my catch up dan!

Glad to hear Those Achilles are getting along and sticking together.
They look amazing. I hope you have the same luck with the Sohals!

As Wayne has pointed out its not something we see every day!

All the best

Thanks Loukas! They are continuing to do well. They still are staying close by one another but are starting to swim around the entire tank a lot more.

I will make it with the Sohals. It will take some time, but, they will end up together in the main display.

I am glad to see that your build has been kick-started again!

 

[danfeig]

Cold water NPS tank?

I agree cold water macro tank would be a great addition! And full is that in your vocabulary? Might be time for a tank upgrade! Haha thanks for the inspiration and great ideas we all derive from your thread. Hopefully one day my system will be as great as yours, but not likely

Joe.

Jelly fish tank?

Breeding clowns or Bangaii Cardinals would be cool. I personally think the cardinals would be better since they are being pressured in certain areas of harvesting. Tank bred is always better.

A montipora tank sounds pretty cool, too. Maybe a color wheel of different monti caps...

All good ideas guys!

I thought about going with a colder water tank and some how tying it in to my Seahorse tank, that likes temperatures in the low 70's. I really want to still have it connected to my main system though and given how hot it gets here - my chiller would be working overtime.

Jelly fish would require a round tank, so that's out of the question.

A breeding tank is very intriguing to me. I thought about trying to breed Clowns or Bangaii. I think my wife and kids would love the idea of little Nemos...

We'll see. I have some time to think about things.

 

[danfeig]

Looking great... Love the new pics

Beautiful tank

David, Chrisrex,

Thank you both very much!

 

[mpsti05]

Dan after reading all 74 pages over the last few days I decided to join rc despite all the crap I hear about it. This reef is amazing! The amount of detail and care and equipment is freaking awesome and the fact that you continue to keep everyone updated is just awesome. Keep up the awesome work I look forward to more updates.

 

[danfeig]

Hey times are tough and your buddy Leroy was willing to pass some radions to Worm and me lol. All jokes aside, looking good Dan. Its sucks none of our college teams moved forward. But that Genesis system looks cool and you can't beat a little less maintenance. How are the Sohals doing? Hope they both do well and get along. Keep those great updates coming!

Thanks Erwin!

The Genesis system is doing its job. It's been replacing 10 gallons of freshly made salt water each day. Roughly a gallon every two hours and forty minutes. The Sohals are doing good as well. They act like they are looking at a mirror, mimicking one another. I was a little concerned that one of them might have a little Lymph or something of the sort... I noticed that the smaller one had a small lil cotton ball on its pectoral fin and by its mouth. I was able to wipe both off and I noticed one of its fins has a little rot or something.

I am feeding it a ton of food, 4x daily, soaked in garlic and selcon. It's acting completely normal. Hopefully it will get better on its own. If not, I will place it in a 29 gallon tank and treat it with some sulfa medication for five days.

 

[reef_of_flames]

Hope the tang gets better and you won't have to set up its own QT. I would say that sohals and purple tangs are my favorite (but I love just about all the tangs lol).

 

[danfeig]

Beautiful looking tank and really interesting read, all 73 pages of it. Out of sheer interest how much do Convict Surgeons go for in the States? Reason I ask is because we catch them locally in the rock pools here and are considered really common. It's strange seeing them being bought.

ZaReefer,

Welcome to Reef Central. I am honored to being your first post here!

It's funny that you ask that question. A girlfriend of my wife's is from Johannesburg. When she was visiting she exclaimed, "We have lot's of those fish!" Well to answer your question, not too much. I've seen them anywhere from $18 - $45. Some people have difficulties keeping them alive. I have found them to be very easy to keep!

 

[danfeig]

What a great build thread. I think having two Sohals in one tank might be tough. I have a 8 inch one and he rules my 180 gallon. They are pretty fish.

Keep us posted.

Thanks ejpreefer!

Wow! You have an 8" Sohal in 180 gallons??? I agree, keeping two of them together might be tough, however, I am up to the challenge. Next week, I plan on removing the egg-crate for a short while and let them chase one another. I won't let it get out of hand. Maybe for a half hour, no more. It's going to be a slowwww process.

 

[danfeig]

That is perfectly fine. To be your delivery man is the sacrifice I am willing to take. Heck I'll wear a tutu with high heels and sing a jingle and would still be honored to be your driver. :jester::jester::jester:

I do want to say thank you for your passion in the hobby and getting me through this time. I know I cant replicate your tank but your ideas or the way you handle things, but I can say that it has made me a better reefer and even more a better person.

Wayne, I don't think anyone here wants to have a vision of you in a tutu with high heels. However, if it means that much to you, you are always welcome to deliver my packages. My wife's too! She get's a lot of shoes delivered to the house!!!

In all sincerity, thank you for the nice comments pertaining to my passion for the hobby. It means a lot to me! The great thing about Reef Central is that we all help each other out. Coming online and checking on all the builds, is something I look forward to every morning. I never miss checking on yours! I learn so much and enjoy sharing with everyone what has worked for me along with all the mistakes that I have made. That's what makes this forum great!

 

[Eville]

I can only imagine a soon to come picture from you of two sohals and two Achilles in one aquarium with little to no aggression. Having the ability to successfully maintain such large amounts of fish only goes to show that you will soon be successful with your sohals.

 

[danfeig]

Wonderful aquarium. I have to say you are a very brave sole for having such a large glass aquarium.

Thanks guezei!

I am not worried about anyone taking a bat to it! I did think about going with acrylic for a short while. I just became too concerned with scratches.

 

[danfeig]

Awesome build

Thank you!

 

[danfeig]

So you have a UV sterilizer AND you're running ozone?

I do/I am. I have both Ozone and UV being run on the entire system and a smaller, 50 Watt - High Output Smart UV on my QT System. When I don't have anything in my QT, it also runs on the main system.