My new 600 gallon reef

[Cougarman]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12443391#post12443391 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Goodwin9
Can anyone help identify this tang?

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m95/goodwin9/FISH%20-
%20New%20Tank/AA2.jpg

Acanthurus Leucocheilus. My favourite Acanthurus. Good find man!

 

[erics3000]

NICE FISH

Is that a powder grey??? I have one that is 2 inchs. If he grows up too look like that ...sweeet.. I was at a lfs a couple days ago and he mentioned that thee\ extra plants and mangroves use iodine. I just got a mangrove today that I just put in my sump..

J and Hop are plant guys and they might care to elaborate a little more,,,

 

[jnarowe]

yeah, that's news to me. I'll have to look that up in my FW Planted books.

 

[Reeftanks6]

Hey this is great tank. Congrats on the split as well.

 

[stdreb27]

From what I've read Mangroves require less nutrience than a macro algea like calerpa or chaeto. So unless you have a BUNCH of them they said they weren't very effective in lowering NO3. But it looks like you got a bunch of them.

 

[Cougarman]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12472239#post12472239 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by stdreb27
From what I've read Mangroves require less nutrience than a macro algea like calerpa or chaeto. So unless you have a BUNCH of them they said they weren't very effective in lowering NO3. But it looks like you got a bunch of them.

I've read that too.

Goodwin9 a couple months ago, I got my hands on some sea grass from Australia. I planted it in my refugium and it's growing. The growth appears to be quite rapid. I'm thinking I may set up a tank dedicated to seagrasses, or plumb a seagrass refugium inline with my current tank. Have you ever thought about in corporating seagrass into your system?

 

[Goodwin9]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12473290#post12473290 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Cougarman
I've read that too.

Goodwin9 a couple months ago, I got my hands on some sea grass from Australia. I planted it in my refugium and it's growing. The growth appears to be quite rapid. I'm thinking I may set up a tank dedicated to seagrasses, or plumb a seagrass refugium inline with my current tank. Have you ever thought about in corporating seagrass into your system?

Post a picture if you can, I guess I'm not sure if I know what sea grass looks like????

 

[Cougarman]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12473512#post12473512 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Goodwin9
Post a picture if you can, I guess I'm not sure if I know what sea grass looks like????

Here's a pic of my patch of seagrass in my refugium. You have to buy it with the roots intact. The roots seem to tunnel in the sand and sprout leaves up into the water column. I think you have to plant it in an established sand bed, or in mud to provide enough nutrients. I've had this patch for about 2 months and it seems to be sprouting more leaves. It's pretty neat stuff. I think a sea grass tank would be a pretty cool tank.

 

[jnarowe]

I have some of that but it is a bit tempermental. (At least it looks like that.) I have plenty in my fuge and currently experimenting with it in another tank. I will like to plant it in my display if I can.

 

[Cougarman]

I have a 120 gallon sitting in my garage. I may set it up as a seagrass tank. I think a surge device like a wavebox would create a neat effect. If only there were pygmy manatees!!

 

[Bax]

I'd love to do a 100g or larger sea grass tank after a good sized fuge. Imagine what larval stages might develope there! It's a missing link in our little ecosystems for so many creatures.

... pygmy manatees ... he he he!

 

[PRINCE_NAMOR]

How many fish do you have in the 600 gallon?

 

[Cougarman]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12486773#post12486773 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PRINCE_NAMOR
How many fish do you have in the 600 gallon?

Probably about 40 fish. Some large some small. Also I'm fishsitting about 10 fish for a fellow reefer until June, so I have more fish than normal right now.

 

[PRINCE_NAMOR]

Do you have any trouble with the tangs fighting? I want several different tangs, but every article i see on line says you shouldnt put similar fish in the same tank.

 

[cbui2]

Prince not all fishes you buy will have the same personalities, some reefers have good luck and some don't. IMO i think its a hit or miss with buying fishes. i been having my powder blue tang for about 6 months now and just recently added copperband butterfly. powder blue attacked him for 3 days straight and nearly murdered him 2 weeks ago, but he bounce back and is almost completely healed from all the scars. i have 30 fishes in my display

 

[PRINCE_NAMOR]

Thats what i figured, besides I think my system will be large enough to allow for more stretching of the rules. I want a powder blue, a clown, and a school of yellow tangs & purple tangs. and possibly a couple of vlamingi.......................... everything else will be smaller fish, like damsels and cardinals.

 

[AJT]

I would stay away from damsels, they are extremely mean as they get older.
.02

 

[PRINCE_NAMOR]

I was gonna do the green chromis...............

 

[jnarowe]

there is an initiation process when introducing new fish. I have several tangs and they all get along fine. But add a new one and it's hectic for 3 - 4 days.

 

[Cougarman]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12489848#post12489848 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PRINCE_NAMOR
Do you have any trouble with the tangs fighting? I want several different tangs, but every article i see on line says you shouldnt put similar fish in the same tank.

Interesting question, this is a touchy subject for me, as I was kicked of another site because of my opinion on this very issue. So here's my long winded answer.

As long as you keep tangs well fed, you will minimize there territorial behaviour. Traditionally reefers restrict food in favour of optimum water quality, and as such the fish become competetive for food. If you provide plenty of food then there's no reason to compete and risk injury. It's simply not worth it.

Really there are only 3 things that make an organism territorial:
1)competition for food
2)competition for mates
3)protecting young offspring

In the tangs case:
1) Lots of food means no reason to expend the energy to compete.
2) Tangs reproduce by releasing millions of gametes into the water column at the same time and rely on random interaction to produce larvae. Tangs are also not sexually dimorphic (you cant tell one sex from another). Sexual dimorphisim is a trait of animals that compete for mates. The male is usually larger or more colourful to fight and compete for females. Since tangs dont need to compete, there's no need to look different then the opposite sex.
3) Tangs don't rear their young, so there's no reason to guard a territory

In the wild the real competition is for food, a shortage of food makes it worth while to risk injury to guard your territory and the food it produces. The same happens to people in times of crisis when food and water are in need.

Everybody who sees my tank asks how I'm able to get my tangs to grow so large. I believe the reason is if the fish doesn't have to expend energy competing, it will put the energy towards increasing biomass.

I believe the same applies to corals. If you feed your corals, they will be less competetive with each other and spend less energy in biowarfare. If filter food is provided there's no need to spend the energy to compete for space and sunlight. They will then spend more energy on growth.