My 500 + gallon system. Last 13 years to now. Build, Aquascaping & more. Lots of pics

[slief]

You actually have a eel in there, huh? Never noticed it before.

I believe that's an engineer goby. The only reason you can see it is because there is no substrate, otherwise it would disappear under the rockwork and you'd be unsure if it even existed.

Dave.M

Dave is correct. They are Engineer Goby's. I've got two that are about 12" long and two smaller 6" ones. They are model citizens but tend to hide except when it's feeding time. They are pretty cool though. One of the fish that when you are looking around the tank, they pop out of the rocks and for somebody that hasn't seen them or the tank, it's a surprise seeing fishing staring out of the rocks. Especially when most of the other fish are in your face and follow you around the tank. What I like the most about them is that they remind me of a Tessalata eel which is my second favorite eel next to the Hawaiian Dragon eel.

I've had the one you see for a few years now. He was my sole surviving fish after my bleach disaster last year.

 

[saf1]

Epic on the goby. Learned something new after this (I did a bit of reading )

 

[slief]

Epic on the goby. Learned something new after this (I did a bit of reading )

He's a trooper! :beer:

 

[McPuff]

The fish look incredible... big and fat! And I believe you've got a blue unicorn (Naso brevirostris), yes? I'm a bit jealous! Just seeing these pictures, it's clear to see the advantage of a very large tank with respect to the fishes.

 

[slief]

The fish look incredible... big and fat! And I believe you've got a blue unicorn (Naso brevirostris), yes? I'm a bit jealous! Just seeing these pictures, it's clear to see the advantage of a very large tank with respect to the fishes.

My fish and definitely fat. I always joke about the filets I could get off those fish. They are well fed pigs!

That is indeed a Blue Unicorn.. He's a fast grower too! I can't believe how much his horn or whatever you call it has grown. Then again, he's nearly quadrupled in mass over the last year.

This is him about a year ago. He barely had a bump where the horn would soon be. You can also see my Vlamingi in this picture. Both were just a few inches long and tiny! Now I could make a meal of them! LOL

This was taken a couple months ago.

This was taken a couple days ago.

 

[McPuff]

I love it! A couple years ago I bought a Vlamingi that was probably the size of a 50c piece. It ate more than all the rest of the fish in the tank that were 4-5 times his size. In a matter of 2-3 months he was bigger than everyone else. After about 1 year my 180 became too small but he was a beautiful fish. Now I've got a 120 which is way too small for those guys. I will likely go to a larger system again (pond maybe?) and do large tangs, angels, and maybe puffers and triggers. Corals are great but fish really provide that touch of personality, especially large fish. Your tank is awesome!

 

[slief]

I love it! A couple years ago I bought a Vlamingi that was probably the size of a 50c piece. It ate more than all the rest of the fish in the tank that were 4-5 times his size. In a matter of 2-3 months he was bigger than everyone else. After about 1 year my 180 became too small but he was a beautiful fish. Now I've got a 120 which is way too small for those guys. I will likely go to a larger system again (pond maybe?) and do large tangs, angels, and maybe puffers and triggers. Corals are great but fish really provide that touch of personality, especially large fish. Your tank is awesome!

Thank you very much! Yea, the fish are definitely the ones with personality.. I was fish only for many years but decided to get back into corals several years back. I think I've found a nice balance between the two. Personally, I like the motion which is one of the reasons why I've stuck with the soft corals. Their constant motion in the flow is very soothing and natural. While I love the look and colors of SPS, the soothing nature of the soft corals is where I gravitate towards. Plus, the soft corals are much less sensitive to the excessive feeding and waste from the fish so it lends for a nice balance between the fish and corals.

On the subject of Vlamingi's.. It is amazing how fast they grow. Out of all the fish and tangs I've kept over the years, the Vlamingi's and their Unicorn counterparts are probably the fastest growing fish I've ever kept next to sharks. I suppose if I didn't feed as much as I do, their growth may be slowed some but I feel guilty when I walk by the tank and they chase me around giving me the hungry eye look. I can't resist their needy nature. Especially when they beg. :lmao:

I swear, those damn fish eat better than me! I will be picking up nearly $200 worth of froze LRS Reef Frenzy, Fish Frenzy and Nano Frenzy today just to stock my freezer with a few months worth of food that it typically hard to get around here. Fortunately, I got my local LFS to start carrying the LRS stuff so hopefully they and their customers like it as much as me and my fish do and they will keep it on the shelf moving forward.

 

[slief]

Love these guys. The two in my big display are always hanging out together foraging around the tank.

 

[slief]

I picked up this cool gorgonian a couple days ago. I had these years ago and haven't seen them in a while. It's got finger thick branches and lots of really long polyps. It's starting to open up nicely.

 

[bbaz123456]

OK, You sold me! I want a unicorn....Now!!:love2:
Just picked up a teeny tiny vlamingi a few weeks ago

Beautiful tank BTW

 

[slief]

OK, You sold me! I want a unicorn....Now!!:love2:
Just picked up a teeny tiny vlamingi a few weeks ago

Beautiful tank BTW

Thank you very much! You will love the Vlamingi. They have great personality and you have a great display for it too. Be prepared, they grow fast and are healthy eaters!

 

[biecacka]

Scott, how do those pipe fish(I think that's what they are) do in the main tank with all that flow??


Corey

 

[slief]

Scott, how do those pipe fish(I think that's what they are) do in the main tank with all that flow??


Corey

So far so good. I'm not sure I had high hopes for them but flow wasn't really my concern as much as them being able to find sufficient food such as copepods. They have no issues with the flow at all. This particular type of pipe fish spends most of its time creeping around the bottom as well as the rocks looking for food unlike other pipe fish species that spend their time in the water column foraging around.

 

[edavis]

wow

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

A beaUUUUtiful display as always Scott.

 

[usingthejohn]

Oh my goodness. Beautiful tank.

Has this setup been up for 13 years? Or just different tanks over 13 years? Sorry I didn't read through the entire thread.

 

[slief]

A beaUUUUtiful display as always Scott.

Thanks Wayne!!

Oh my goodness. Beautiful tank.

Has this setup been up for 13 years? Or just different tanks over 13 years? Sorry I didn't read through the entire thread.

The title is misleading since I started this thread about 5 years ago. I guess it should say "last 18 years to now" but I can't edit the title of the thread. The thought at the time was to document the tanks progression from when I first built it in to this house after moving it from my previous house.

The tank has actually been setup here since 1997. The last break down was about 15 ago I think. That is to say that 15 years ago, the water was drained, rocks and livestock removed, the tank was polished then the Aquascape was redone with the present layout. Since then, the tank has never been drained. I did a pump, sump and plumbing redesign/replacement about 5 years ago which was documented in the first pages of this thread but I did that while the tank was up and running and fully stocked.

 

[slief]

As a side note, I have been working a bit every day on the coraline algae on my viewing panes. Slowly but surely I am knocking it down. I've gone through 4 Algae Dozer Pads from Mighty Magnet so far over the last several days. Fortunately I bought a dozen or more of them for this tank. It's a nightmarishly slow process. I will continue going over the coraline every day until I get most of it off the viewing panes. Then I will make a point of not letting it get out of hand again.

 

[woodnaquanut]

As a side note, I have been working a bit every day on the coraline algae on my viewing panes.Then I will make a point of not letting it get out of hand again.

Good for you! The end result will be like having a larger tank!

 

[slief]

Good for you! The end result will be like having a larger tank!

That and arms like Popeye. I've got a long road ahead and dozens of Algae Dozer pads. I wish there was an easier way that was equally as safe. There's not much good access for arms which is really limiting. I am making some progress though.