spamreefnew
New member
Nice! My wife is always begging me to put a lion in my 90 gallon mixed reef,and after seeing this I just might go ahead and try it! Great job!
Felicia's Lionfish Mixed Reef 40B
- Thread starter flsvedlund
- Start date
Very nicely balanced tank and your photography is absolutely stunning.
BTW, what is the white PVC pipe section coming directly off the black 90 degree elbow on the overflow side - I didn't see it included in the overflow parts listing on glass-holes site so I'm guessing it was something you added in your plumbing?
Mark
BTW, what is the white PVC pipe section coming directly off the black 90 degree elbow on the overflow side - I didn't see it included in the overflow parts listing on glass-holes site so I'm guessing it was something you added in your plumbing?
Mark
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pigskin018
New member
How are they when you need to move/add some corals?
I'm planning on making a similar tank set up but kinda nervous about the lionfish being ya know, poisonous and all ha.
I'm planning on making a similar tank set up but kinda nervous about the lionfish being ya know, poisonous and all ha.
flsvedlund
Lion Tamer
Thank you!
Well as long as you don't have small to medium fish or any shrimp for it to eat, then they do great in a mixed reef. They're really completely safe in a mixed reef system because they do just fine with all corals and clams. However, since they eat any fish that is about 3/4 their body size or smaller and any shrimp, which most people have, they aren't often kept in mixed reefs. Otherwise, the one thing to watch out for is nitrates. Lionfish are messy eaters, so people tend to have nitrate issues with lionfish. I have been having some issues with that, but I just switched my reactor over to biopellets, and that seems to be handling the nitrates now.
flsvedlund
Lion Tamer
Thank you so much for the compliments! The photography is all with my iPhone 5, so nothing fancy
That section is a quick disconnect fitting. I added it right after the elbow so that if anything ever goes wrong with the elbow or bulkhead (such as a clog), I can disconnect and get into that section of plumbing.
flsvedlund
Lion Tamer
The lionfish aren't aggressive at all, so I never worry about them intentionally trying to sting me. However, they do associate me with food, so they will sometimes swim a bit close to my hand if I'm working in the tank. You have to be super careful not to bump into them and accidentally puncture yourself with their spines. When I'm just doing something relatively quick in the tank, I just make sure I know where the lions are and keep an eye that I don't bump them. If I have to work in the tank for very long, or do lots of rearranging, I wear thick over the elbow gloves to be safe. I usually try to wear those when I have my hands in the tank. These are the ones I have:
http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-772-Nit...pebp=1434947549374&perid=1KY4D1SKZCVY9R4GNN0V
pigskin018
New member
And ordered me a pair! Ha
Also didn't say before but that is a great set up. Never seen the Antena lionfish before in someone's tank. Very cool.
As soon as I move and get my 120 back up and running I'm starting on my 'predator' tank. I'm pumped now after seeing how cool yours looks!
flsvedlund
Lion Tamer
Ordered the gloves? They're pretty awesome to have around for basic tank maintenance even if you don't have lionfish. Nice to be all nice and dry once I'm done working on the tank and take the gloves off.
Thank you! Yeah the antennatas don't seem as common as some of the others. My original plan was to have one of each of the three common dwarf species (fu manchu, zebra, and fuzzy), but then I heard that for some reason, people sometimes have issues with dwarf fuzzies attacking zebras. Pretty much all of the species will fight if you have two males of the same species, and since only the fuzzies have any sexual dimorphism, there's no way to tell what gender you're getting. So basically, not usually a good plan to keep two of the same species together. However, pretty much all of the different species get along just fine. There just seems to sometimes be an issue with the dwarf fuzzies and dwarf zebras. I didn't want to risk that, so I had to rethink my stocking plan. The antennatas are the next smallest lionfish. They're considered "medium-bodied", but they don't get too much larger than the dwarf zebras. After a year or two of growth, the antennata I got may be pushing it a bit for the 40B, but that will just mean its time for an upgrade. I got a nice small one (she's the smallest of my 3 right now), so I think I have plenty of time before she's full grown.
Glad to hear I've got you inspired to start your predator tank! I've always admired them, but always had too many small fish and shrimp that I didn't want to get rid of. I finally decided it was time for a change and I'm loving the predator mixed-reef!
pigskin018
New member
Yeah I meant I ordered a pair of the gloves.
And I know the lionfish I always wanted but was nervous about the whole coral placement with the stingers but the gloves solve that. So now I'm just gonna get my reef tank set up after my move again and then work on getting the predator tank started.
I haven't looked too much Into how to tell the difference male vs female in lionfish. Is there simple tells to differentiate the two?
And I know the lionfish I always wanted but was nervous about the whole coral placement with the stingers but the gloves solve that. So now I'm just gonna get my reef tank set up after my move again and then work on getting the predator tank started.
I haven't looked too much Into how to tell the difference male vs female in lionfish. Is there simple tells to differentiate the two?
flsvedlund
Lion Tamer
Yeah those gloves are really a great solution to worrying about the lionfish stings.
Unfortunately, you can't tell males from females for almost all of the species, so you normally can't keep two of the same species since you won't know if you have two males which will fight. The only common lionfish that I know of a way to tell the two sexes apart is the dwarf fuzzy lionfish. Those you can keep as a group of one male and two females.
"The rays of the semicircular pectoral fins are connected by a membrane and are adorned with dark bands and specks. This species is sexually dimorphic, with males exhibiting six or more defined dark bands on their pectorals while females have four to six dark bands. Additionally, adult males have longer pectorals that extend past the caudal peduncle as well as larger/broader heads." - Lionfish Lair
flsvedlund
Lion Tamer
Thank you so much! Glad you like it
flsvedlund
Lion Tamer
Did my weekly 10 gallon water change and other tank maintenance tonight. I've been working on adjusting my dosing to get all my parameters stable within the correct range. I am currently dosing B-Ionic 2-part Alk and Ca and B-Ionic Mg. Before the water change, I tested the parameters, and here's what they were:
Alk: 9.9 (stable since last week after I adjusted it a bit higher, so no change in dosing)
Ca: 400 (finally where I'd like it to be, so no change in dosing)
Mg: 1140 (closer to where I'd like it but still not quite there, so I increased dosing by 2 mL per day)
PO4: 0.03
NO3: 10-25 (color was somewhere in between 10 and 25 on the chart, probably ~15)
Nitrates are coming down. They were reading 25 for a couple weeks in a row, but then I switched my reactor over to biopellets two weeks ago and the reading has dropped to ~15. I only added about 1/4 of the recommended amount of biopellets to start with and I will slowly add more every few weeks. I didn't want to drop the nitrates too quickly.
Alk: 9.9 (stable since last week after I adjusted it a bit higher, so no change in dosing)
Ca: 400 (finally where I'd like it to be, so no change in dosing)
Mg: 1140 (closer to where I'd like it but still not quite there, so I increased dosing by 2 mL per day)
PO4: 0.03
NO3: 10-25 (color was somewhere in between 10 and 25 on the chart, probably ~15)
Nitrates are coming down. They were reading 25 for a couple weeks in a row, but then I switched my reactor over to biopellets two weeks ago and the reading has dropped to ~15. I only added about 1/4 of the recommended amount of biopellets to start with and I will slowly add more every few weeks. I didn't want to drop the nitrates too quickly.
flsvedlund
Lion Tamer
I'm sitting on my couch enjoying the tank and I ended up snapping a few quick shots. I didn't adjust the light for the iphone or anything, so these aren't perfect, but I think they turned out pretty well. You can also see Draco (dwarf zebra lionfish) up in the front right corner begging for food in a few shots.
Loving the view from my couch right now!
FTS 6/23/15
Can you spot Draco (dwarf zebra lionfish)?
And a bit different angle.
Loving the view from my couch right now!
FTS 6/23/15
Can you spot Draco (dwarf zebra lionfish)?
And a bit different angle.
RingingEars
Because they ring
Nice tank.
I love the clam garden. The one on the left is huge.
I love the clam garden. The one on the left is huge.
flsvedlund
Lion Tamer
Thank you!
flsvedlund
Lion Tamer
Thank you! I'm really loving collecting clams. I'm hoping to get a crocea to add to my collection soon. Yeah, that squamosa is a giant. I actually got that recently from a Nano-Reef member who was downsizing and would no longer have space for it.
flsvedlund
Lion Tamer
Time for an update. Let's start with a few photos of the lions.
The antennata.
The dwarf zebra
The fu manchu
I also took some fun videos. First off, here's a top down view of the predator feeding frenzy.
<iframe width="640" height="390" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JFFduGnGw0k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
And finally a video of the aquarium.
<iframe width="640" height="390" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TCnfEz2dHVQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The antennata.
The dwarf zebra
The fu manchu
I also took some fun videos. First off, here's a top down view of the predator feeding frenzy.
<iframe width="640" height="390" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JFFduGnGw0k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
And finally a video of the aquarium.
<iframe width="640" height="390" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TCnfEz2dHVQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Whiterabbitrage
New member
Wow. Your tank is gorgeous. Thank you for sharing the set up photos. You sure put a lot of work into the tank. You are really good, it looks great. Your photography skills are impressive too. I've had a great time looking at your creatures. Love the pictures of the little lions with the big clams! Also liked the mini movie of the lion " gronking".
