AUSTRLALIAN r0cksteady's attempted 8ft (500G'ish) Angelfish compatible REEF display

erics3000 · Dec 21, 2008

Wow looking forward to your updates

r0cksteady · Jan 20, 2009

Just a minor update.

Collected sea water for the first time in my new trailer setup. Lets say it was semi-sucessfull. The good things were that my water pump filled both IBC containers (2000L) in 3 minutes and 45 seconds which was very impressive. The downside was that the springs and tires didnt enjoy 2 ton on top so I had to empty one of the IBC and only collect 1000L. Im now working on upgrading the springs and more likely go to light truck tires but at the moment 1000L is enough to get me by for about 5 weeks.

Ive have now paid for my 4x 250w ice cap ballasts and my 4x Phoenix 14,000K DE MH globes on their way thanks to ausfrags.

Im slowly migrating the rock and corals from the 5ft accross to the 6ft.

I have now installed the chiller on top of my roof and ran the pipes + electronic module in the equipment cupboard.

I am getting a quote this week on the glass for the 8ft and im sorting out the finer details of my stand with my friend the cabinet maker.

Everything is on schedule for having the 8ft web by march. Just waiting on these Tunze Stream 2's to hurry up and come out in Australia.

I was going to take photos but im not sure that my half empty display tanks and a chiller sitting on the roof was much to show off at the moment. I will certianly upload a pic of the chiller etc once its actively working which probably wont be until the 8ft is wet and cycling.

Thanks for taking the time to read my tank JNL. Its certainly exciting to finally be near the finish line.

r0cksteady · Feb 4, 2009

Ok got some good news and bad news.

The bad news is that my tank is going to be another 6+ weeks away (due to $$$) but the good news is because I managed to score a 'Small Blue Haddoni Carpet Anemone'. Unfortunately it was insanely overpriced and I do mean overpriced, so im dark at the person for charging me so much. It has always been something I wanted to source and unfortunately due to their rarity its not something you get to choose when they are available. He is eating we and has only moved an inch or so since putting him into the tank.

<a href="http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/?action=view&current=_IGP3650.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/_IGP3650.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I had an outbreak of a type of bryopsis but without me even touching the stuff its totally vanished after a few weeks it helps that I didnt have many nutrients going on being that there are only 4 fish and i was doing small feeds plus my skimmer is rated for approx 6 times the system volume I have so im happy about that.

<a href="http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/?action=view&current=_IGP3592.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/_IGP3592.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Heres a photo of the chiller box on the roof just need to add the vents too it which I will be doing next week when my mates work calms down (he an aircon tech)

<a href="http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/?action=view&current=_IGP3668.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/_IGP3668.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

A few updates: Due to the whole finance thing going on at the moment and our dollar basically crashing vs USD I realised I needed to fast track a lot of option extras that I wasnt initially planning on getting until the tank was established but now that ive realised everything was about to double in price and quite possibly for more than 12 months I decided to get everything now and just wait a bit longer before I go for the Tunze Stream 2 which still arent in Aus yet anyway.

I have purchased a Super Feeder - Automatic fish feeder which will allow me with a simple mod to feed two types of dry foods ie. two grades of pellet sizes about 5 times a day and it also thankfully allows me to do very small servings which means I can finally actually feed as our books advise rather than just one serving a day.

<a href="http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/?action=view&current=_IGP3689.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/_IGP3689.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I purchased the following American marine pinpoint monitors and have modified them to use a 12V adaptor meaning they can be operated 24/7 if required:

Salinity Monitor
Wireless Thermometer + 2 remote sensors
Dissolved Oxygen Monitor
Calcium Monitor

<a href="http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/?action=view&current=_IGP3707.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/_IGP3707.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I purchased a Tunze Osmolator, I already have an ATO auto top off but I want it to power a 24V solenoid hooked up to my R/O unit which I was having a hard time figuring out how to do whereas the Tunze Osmolator has an additional addon you can purchase which will do exactly that.

Ive purchased a Stingray Filters Salinity Refractometer, 21.8Kg Miracle Mud and 17.2Kg Aragonite (for the sump partitions).

Other than that I forgot to mention a few things Ive previously purchased around xmas. Ive gotten a tank depth monitor which tells me how much water is left in my 3300L NSW storage tank

<a href="http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/?action=view&current=_IGP3697.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/_IGP3697.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

An apogee par meter.

<a href="http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/?action=view&current=_IGP3703.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/_IGP3703.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

A fire extinguisher (a present\joke from my dad at xmas because ive mixed water and electricity a few times).

<a href="http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/?action=view&current=_IGP3699.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/_IGP3699.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

A kill-a-watt meter which measures how much power each device is drawing so I can calculate how much money devices are costing me even when they are allegedly powered off.

<a href="http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/?action=view&current=_IGP3695.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/_IGP3695.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

And finally a red led torch which was surprisingly hard to source because most people just sell a normal torch with a shaded lens vs actual red leds. This is handy because I find that fish a less likely to notice me watching them at night (they still notice if you move the light around enough to cast shadows) and the major advantage I noticed is that inverts dont seem to be bothered by it so ive got a heap of flame scallops I got as hitchhikers who don't realise im there where as if I change the torch to be white light they disappear within an instant.

<a href="http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/?action=view&current=_IGP3700.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/_IGP3700.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I have been slowly moving all the corals & inverts across. I managed to catch my bicolour blenny with the help of a friend and also moved the two tomato clowns accross with their bubble tips. This time I decided to sit them all together rather than opposite ends as I was finding the tomatoes would try and host in all of them which was annoying for my pair of occ clowfish who were in the middle of the tank. I actually think having the two different contrasting colours makes them look awesome.

r0cksteady · Feb 4, 2009

Novacaine · Feb 4, 2009

Awesome build! how's the super feeder working out for you?

r0cksteady · Feb 4, 2009

Feeder seems good but havent got it going in full swing as I only recieved it this week. Im trying to make a partition in the hoppers so that I can have two types of pellets at the same time rather than mixing them together otherwise im at risk of all the smaller pellets sinking too the bottom.

waynem · Feb 5, 2009

Its looking really good.

btw

Do you circulate the stored water? 5 weeks is a long time.

Do you heat it before adding it to your tank?

JoeTSI · Feb 5, 2009

How long have you had the batfish?

BILLYO382 · Feb 5, 2009

Let me just say I love the tanks you have setup. I am a big fan of Moorish Idol's :rollface: . How long have you had the specimen? Was he hard to get to eat, he looks like the king of that tank with only a clownfish & batfish tank mates it looks like. I also love your Batfish, very interesting looking fish, great tank setup their in though. I hope my 450 will look as nice as yours or nicer, lol.

Bax · Feb 5, 2009

Great work!

That blue hadoni is fantastic!

I just picked up a used tank in the same dims, I'll be watching your progress with great interest!

r0cksteady · Feb 6, 2009

RE: Waynem
No I dont circulate the water stored. I use NSW and from everything ive been told \ read, you can keep the stuff for months with no issues so I just keep it in an air tight \ light proof water tank. When im planning a water change I will fill a 200L drum that I sit next to the tank and then throw a heater in and an air stone overnight to get the paramaters similar. Mind you I have been known to not bother with the heater or airstone when the weather outside has got the water at the same temp ie 25-28 degrees celcius. What I found is that even if you put freezing cold water in the sump so to speak its only going to drop the overall volume by a degree or two as long as your only to a minor water change so its a bit of trial and error but just be conservative with the errors

RE: JoeTSI
I have had the batfish for about 2 years now. He's my favourite fish I reckon out of the bunch. He has a great personality and will always nudge my hand if its in the tank begging me for food and if I stand infront of the tank he will come over to where I am and just swim back and forwards non stop until he either realises he's not getting anything or I throw some food it. I know they are incredibly hard to get eating but I was lucky enough to witness mine eating at the shop to made a calculated risk.
One thing ive noticed with compatibility issues is that some of the faster fish like lawnmower blennies and the moorish idol tend to nip his fins occasionally as they tend not to notice him until last minute and you can actually see them bump into eachother and freak out. Happens even more at night because he changed from the light grey to pitch black with just the neon orange outline showing his location.

RE: BILLYO382
The Moorish Idol like the batfish was eating in the LFS before I purchased it thats why I jumped on it at the time. He literally eats everything and was the king of the tank until I purchased my Sohal Tang which im very glad I did because he needed to be put in his place. He was starting to get slightly aggressive (not attacking but chasing) towards smaller fish and I think its because I had about 3 large sized fish and due to the live rock structure he didnt really have a defined territory so I found doing a restructure of the rock helped. Now with the Sohal if he even shows any sign of aggression even during feeding the Sohal chases him away. I made the mistake of adding a second Moorish Idol into the tank thinking that because they school in the wild and because there wasnt anything mentioned in any books that they would get along fine but my Moorish Idol essentially killed it within hours even with me turning the lights off, moving the rocks around etc. I desperately tried to get him out but they are so hard to catch and he was stressed enough that he died the next day at the LFS.

If I was to attempt it again with my guy I would add them to the tank at the same time OR add the new fish first before adding mine. It would be a lot easier if you could sex them to make sure im not adding two males etc.

Re:Bax
Thanks Mate, appreciate the feedback. Im looking forward to getting ideas and inspiration for everyone here as well as in Aus. Hopefully we might learn a few things off each other

conorwynne · Feb 6, 2009

That batfish is just incredible, loving it.

It's behaviour remind me of the oscar's (astronotus ocellatus) I used to keep years back. They would go mental when I walked into the room, and would sometimes open the lid and a wave would come over the top. One time they hit my 2year old's face, a big fish slap. Hillarious, although not for himself.

Such a pity they destroyed the decor on a daily basis, and plants were out of the question. Would love a batfish, but the tank is not big enough at 468liters. Any other fish which have similar characters?

Your tank should be TOTM. Loving it.

Elliott · Feb 6, 2009

super plan, great ideas, looking forward to seeing it all come together, thanks for sharing

r0cksteady · Mar 26, 2009

Ok Im getting a few PM's as to the status of my setup. First the good stuff:

*Display paid for and on its way (estimated April)

*Stand is finished and at the cabinet makers place pending disaster recover (see below)

*Purchased 20 x 20kg bags of 2mm Coral Sand

*Purchased approx 28kg of CaribSea Aragonite\Aragamax Select for SUMP

*Purchased 1.2Kg of PhosBan

*Purchased Deltec Rowa \ Lithc+ Calcium Media

*Purchased 5L Aqua Medic Sulphur Beads

*Purchased 11Kg of CaribSea Mineral Mud

*Tunze Stream 2's paid for and on their way

*Got a paired Pistol Shrimp and Goby of which the Goby instantly freaked out in a major way and jumped down the weir and is not living or not living in the sump somewhere (shattered) but at least Ive not got a Pistol Shrimp and if I can find the little guy and I can try and pair another Watchman Goby with him later on.

So everything is looking like Ill be going live in April.

Now the bad news, 2 weeks ago I thought I was lucky in finding another Pinnate Batfish who was eating prepared foods. Unfortunately due to some packaging mishap's he arrived from interstate on his side in the box and severely stressed\disorientated. Now rather than put him through the stress of QT.....you see where this is going.....I placed him into my 6ft temp display where the other Batfish has been happily in hopes that it may assist in the new Batfishes recovery. And in truth it actually did to an extent as I was quite amazed by how protective my existing Batfish instantly became of the new addition by encouraging him to swim in his territory and eat with my older resident. The problem was that the new batfish obviously had a bad case of whitespot that appeared due to the shipping stress and it with a combination of him being very unwell lead him to essentially die within 24 hours.

I quickly removed the deceased batfish fish and then two days later my original batfish fell very ill with whitespot and so fast tracking the story now all my fish have a very severe and aggressive case of whitespot. Half my fish have died within a very short period of time (as you can imagine the RAGE is more than caps can tell).
Thankfully I hadn't packed up my 5ft tank yet, even though all the stock was now moved across to the 6ft at this stage. I caught as many fish as I could (which wasnt many due to their evasiveness) and initiated a copper treatment. I have thankfully saved my Batfish, Sohal, Six Line Wrasse and Ember Blenny. I immediately lost one of my Bangaii Cardinals, Potters Angel, Bi-Colour Blenny, Black Cap Basslet and Royal Gramma.

My Moorish Idol, 2 Green Coral Goby's, 2 Mandarins and the remaining Bangaii seem totally unaffected and eating normally. The Blue Ring is really sick and not eating but I cannot catch the guy and I dont want to stress him past the point of being helpful. The Blond Naso is covered all over with whitespot but thankfully is still eating. The Harlequin Tusk fish is on deaths door lying on the sand bed just breathing but I got him into the QT so theres a small chance he may recover but I doubt it. Both sets of clowns are effected but if I put them in the QT they are going to kill eachother so ive been umming and aaring about leaving them in their hosts and just hope their immune system kicks the illness.

Im running both tanks now at Salinty 1.020 and have kept the temperature at 25 degrees. Not really sure the best way to proceed but all the fish in the 5ft are fully recovered except for the Harlequin so these are my options as far as I see:

1. Essentially do nothing - Wait until any fish in the 6ft look like they are sick enough they will let me catch them in hopes that their immune system will fight it off.

2. Pull down the 6ft completely move all the fish into the 5ft QT with the dilemma of the pairs of clowns fighting and most likely my Sohal going nuts with territorial disputes because he was there (in the 5ft) first.

3. Wait and watch essentially doing option 1. but once the new 8ft tank arrives in april move the 5ft QT to a different area so that way it wont interfere with the 8ft being setup but I can then remove all fish from the 6ft and leave it host free for as long as required.

So there you go, it never rains, it pours.

Beaun · Mar 26, 2009

How will you get your NSW from the source to the huge container? Do you have a set up with a truck or what?

r0cksteady · Mar 26, 2009

FOR NSW COLLECTION:

2 X 1000L IBC Containers

1 x Water Pump 6.5HP 1000 L /Min Petrol 4 Stroke Cara

1 x Dual Axel Tandem Trailers rated for 2 tonne

r0cksteady · Apr 24, 2009

Hi All,

Ok ive been busy and done a bit of hard decision making. Spoke to my electrician who told me not to have the tanks inside my equipment cupboard too close to power (makes sense) plus I still need room to put all my controllers, monitors, ballasts etc so as such I basically went as big as I could without effecting me slotting my skimmer in as I needed to add an extra support beam to the front.

I decided to get rid of the sink all together as I can use the laundry for cleaning and only need the water and drain for RO, unfortunately I cant really drop the taps any further due to studs in the way etc. As such im quite limited in height.

Ive got 18mm marine ply to be a base ontop of the frames which limits me to 22" of space for the hospital tank but needs to include room to obviously put a fish in with a net.

And 20" for the frag tank but needs to include room for the T5 reflector an a bit of clearance. NOT IDEAL!

But I can only work with what ive got so heres the frame:

<a href="http://s212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/?action=view&current=EquipmentCupboard-Update.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc108/r0cksteady_scarlett/EquipmentCupboard-Update.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

This essentially means that if I allow 6" clearance above each tank (not a lot I know) the hospital tank could be 16" high and the frag tank 14" high.

Im picking up the hospital tank and the frag tanks tomorrow as well as my 7ft x 2ft x 2ft sump.

Im still finishing final treatment for the whitespot (approx 2 weeks to go). I then need to spend a week raising the salinity back to normal which skewers plans slightly.

I reckon the first two weeks of May are going to be insane weeks of work and my mates are going to be hating the multiple phone calls to move heavy items back and forward.

Either way I would say all is going well. The whitespot has completely gone from the fish and no more have died. Dropping the salinity in my old established tank did cause a significant die off causing everything to spike but thankfully I was very observant with testing the water each day and with a bit of 'prime' and a few water changes the fish weren't noticeably effected and now the bacteria\dsb has kicked back in to take everything back to 0 including nitrate.

My bday is coming up soon and I asked the family to buy me a few marine books selected from amazon. Two of these are meant to be the bees knees in cultivating live foods as ive decided to try my luck with getting the tank to be able to feed itself (in a general sense) where possible though just early days at the moment and not currently a priority.

So my two goals after everything is running and stable is to somehow do automatic water changes on a daily basis hooked directly up to my 3300L storage tank and cultivate live foods for the purposes of eventually keeping some harder corals in a more specialised tank.

On another note:

Im really liking the idea of having two hobby tanks in addition way down the track:

1. To successfully have a small cube focused on filter feeders eg. xmas tree worms, dendro's, goni's etc.

2. To breed pinnate batfish

Big calls I know but something to enjoy reading up on and researching whilst im waiting for all this hardware to arrive etc etc. Im fairly confident on the filter feeders to a certain extent ie. wet skimming, nutrient rich, live cultivated foods etc BUT breeding batfish I havent actually found any evidence of anyone having done it before. Theres no published book I can find either focused on even keeping batfish.

Thought considering ive still got about 2 weeks for everything to be finished id at least take some pics of my 6ft DT. Even though its fishless at the moment with all the fish currently been treated for whitespot the corals seems to be going well and ive been picking up the odd addition along the way that takes my fancy.

Some of the corals are still settling in and are yet to pic up their full colour but you will get the jist. Hope you enjoy.

r0cksteady · Apr 24, 2009

TandN · Apr 24, 2009

Very nice set up

DamnPepShrimp · Apr 24, 2009

You have a gorgeous setup! Sorry to hear about the fish loss. How are all the other fish doing? Looking forward to see all the angels and corals in the same tank! I am working on adding corals to my 210g with angels.

AUSTRLALIAN r0cksteady's attempted 8ft (500G'ish) Angelfish compatible REEF display

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