clsanchez77
Member
Hello everybody:
This is, what I hope to be, my last thread regarding stocking my tank before I actually start stocking my tank.
I am putting together a 90g biotope/niche tank that will feature a mated pair of cherubfish as the center piece. I have threads about this tank all over and have come up with a very comprehensive plan, except there last detail that bugs me and it is my selection of a LPS coral.
The tank being a Caribbean biotope, the native corals are illegal to collect, with exception to aquacultured live rock. Corals on the live rock are random selection and generally small. While I will preserve these corals to my best ability for diversity, they will not be centerpiece by any means, will take too long to grow them.
What I would like to have in the tank is Montastrea cavernosa or Mussa angulosa, neither of which are available in the hobby trade. Eric Borneman had suggested favia, Diploastrea spp. and Lobophyllia hemprichii.
What recomendations do you all have?
I know there is a Pacific Montastrea species. Anyone familiar with it? How would it compare to the Atlantic species?
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So while the tank is not a mono-species oriented scheme, I want the livestock selection to remain small to reflect a local niche of the reef instead of trying to capture the overall diversity. What I have come up with is:
Aquascaping
Tank is 48"long by 18"wide by 24"deep
4-5" sand bed
Small seamont backdrop, 12" high, Florida Aquacultured Rock, right 2/3 of tank
Patch of 'coral rubble', Haitian Lettuce Coral Rock, front and left of seamont
Large Lettuce Rock used as rubble base, Nano Lettuce Rock to create caves & crevices
Small patch of sand left with more 'rubble' as sides & back perimeter
3-4" sand perimeter around tank
Fish
1) Mated pair of Cherubfish Centropyge argi
2) Schoal of Blue Chromis Chromis cyanea (3 or 5)
3) A grouping of Masked or Glass Gobies Coryphopterus personatus/hyalinus (3 or 5)
Corals
1) Mushroom Polyps Ricordea florida atop the rubble in several small groupings
2) Large polyps Palythoa grandis on the faces of the seamont in 3-5 pathces
Mix of two photo/partial photosynthetic gorgonias, one small branching and one large upright:
3) Feather Gorgonian Muriceopsis flavida or Silver Sea Whip Muricea laxa several specimens aquascaped such to break up light on the rubble below
4) Porous Sea Rod Pseudoplexaura spp. or Split-Pore Sea Rod Plexaurella spp. 3-5 scattered planted vertical in the rubble/sand
5) A LPS coral to be selected, aquascaped to anchor the seamont in the left rear and right front, and center piece in the sand patch
Others
Assorted sponge growth as captive grown from live rock, tube worms & feather dusters, group of peppermint shrimp (half dozen), blue-leg hermits (1 dozen), cerith snails (2 dozen) and Halimeda algae throughout.
As you can see, I wish to make use of multiple specimens of the same species.
I return home from a 6 month assignment in 1 week. Pendants are hung from the ceiling and the RO/DI is ready to go. The new tank is setup, but I still have to do some mods and electrical wiring to the stand, build my sump, plumb it all up and get married.
I plan to get water in the tank in two weeks, let it stabilize and start curing rock after my honeymoon in mid-May. Start stocking corals in July and fish in September. I am planning on 6 month stocking period to maximize/stabilize worms/pod/sponge growth. Tank will be fed DT phyto and oyster eggs. I will eventually get into home batch phyto & rotifers when my new laundry room is completed.
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So in the end, what LPS coral do you recommend...or...would you use in this tank if you were setting it up?
Thanks for your help,
Chris
This is, what I hope to be, my last thread regarding stocking my tank before I actually start stocking my tank.
I am putting together a 90g biotope/niche tank that will feature a mated pair of cherubfish as the center piece. I have threads about this tank all over and have come up with a very comprehensive plan, except there last detail that bugs me and it is my selection of a LPS coral.
The tank being a Caribbean biotope, the native corals are illegal to collect, with exception to aquacultured live rock. Corals on the live rock are random selection and generally small. While I will preserve these corals to my best ability for diversity, they will not be centerpiece by any means, will take too long to grow them.
What I would like to have in the tank is Montastrea cavernosa or Mussa angulosa, neither of which are available in the hobby trade. Eric Borneman had suggested favia, Diploastrea spp. and Lobophyllia hemprichii.
What recomendations do you all have?
I know there is a Pacific Montastrea species. Anyone familiar with it? How would it compare to the Atlantic species?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So while the tank is not a mono-species oriented scheme, I want the livestock selection to remain small to reflect a local niche of the reef instead of trying to capture the overall diversity. What I have come up with is:
Aquascaping
Tank is 48"long by 18"wide by 24"deep
4-5" sand bed
Small seamont backdrop, 12" high, Florida Aquacultured Rock, right 2/3 of tank
Patch of 'coral rubble', Haitian Lettuce Coral Rock, front and left of seamont
Large Lettuce Rock used as rubble base, Nano Lettuce Rock to create caves & crevices
Small patch of sand left with more 'rubble' as sides & back perimeter
3-4" sand perimeter around tank
Fish
1) Mated pair of Cherubfish Centropyge argi
2) Schoal of Blue Chromis Chromis cyanea (3 or 5)
3) A grouping of Masked or Glass Gobies Coryphopterus personatus/hyalinus (3 or 5)
Corals
1) Mushroom Polyps Ricordea florida atop the rubble in several small groupings
2) Large polyps Palythoa grandis on the faces of the seamont in 3-5 pathces
Mix of two photo/partial photosynthetic gorgonias, one small branching and one large upright:
3) Feather Gorgonian Muriceopsis flavida or Silver Sea Whip Muricea laxa several specimens aquascaped such to break up light on the rubble below
4) Porous Sea Rod Pseudoplexaura spp. or Split-Pore Sea Rod Plexaurella spp. 3-5 scattered planted vertical in the rubble/sand
5) A LPS coral to be selected, aquascaped to anchor the seamont in the left rear and right front, and center piece in the sand patch
Others
Assorted sponge growth as captive grown from live rock, tube worms & feather dusters, group of peppermint shrimp (half dozen), blue-leg hermits (1 dozen), cerith snails (2 dozen) and Halimeda algae throughout.
As you can see, I wish to make use of multiple specimens of the same species.
I return home from a 6 month assignment in 1 week. Pendants are hung from the ceiling and the RO/DI is ready to go. The new tank is setup, but I still have to do some mods and electrical wiring to the stand, build my sump, plumb it all up and get married.
I plan to get water in the tank in two weeks, let it stabilize and start curing rock after my honeymoon in mid-May. Start stocking corals in July and fish in September. I am planning on 6 month stocking period to maximize/stabilize worms/pod/sponge growth. Tank will be fed DT phyto and oyster eggs. I will eventually get into home batch phyto & rotifers when my new laundry room is completed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So in the end, what LPS coral do you recommend...or...would you use in this tank if you were setting it up?
Thanks for your help,
Chris
