Naso Spp. planning

[Genera]

I'm planning another tank, but have to confirm with family. I really love Naso Lituratus and N. Unicornis, but of course they have to be pretty large fish. The tank I'm planning is 108in x 60in x 30in. Would this fit one of each? On reefcentral's tang tank sizes they say 8ft for Lituratus & 10ft is for Unicornis, minimum, but I have a very wide tank of 5ft, so they basically have 28 feet around of swimming. When they reach full size, if you guys say its fine to have them in that tank, and they look cramped in there, then I'll donate them to a public aquarium. I've never had any experience with these fish (except for holding a juvenile Unicornis for a few weeks) so I'm trying to gather up info about them in my sized tank, I know all about these fish and their feeding habits, wild range, size, etc. and have for a while.

 

[moriarty]

Naso unicornis are hands down my favorite tangs that I've kept to date. Mine have never shown any sort of aggression toward other fish, including other Naso species, even when added to the system after they were already established. I keep my 2 in a 10' round pool, and they do use every inch of swimming space. They are both still a bit under 12", and have a good amount of growing to do yet. IMO, the system dimensions that you listed (108" X 60" X 30") would be better than a longer, more narrow tank, and should work very well for keeping both N. lituratus and N. unicornis long term.

Here's a pic of mine from a few months ago. I'd say they have put on at least an inch or so in length since.

...and one of the pool, with other tang/Naso species.

 

[Genera]

Great! Probably one of my favorite fish, with basically any other fish in the favorites list too. Lol. Would my tank fit one of each or two of each? I like to get fish in pairs or groups of their own genus and preferably species, I'd think they'd get lonely without seeing other fish of their genus or species for the rest of their life. I haven't really visualized what my fish list would look like in that sized tank. If I put that list in my 90, none of the fish could move.

 

[Dmorty217]

Naso unicornis are hands down my favorite tangs that I've kept to date. Mine have never shown any sort of aggression toward other fish, including other Naso species, even when added to the system after they were already established. I keep my 2 in a 10' round pool, and they do use every inch of swimming space. They are both still a bit under 12", and have a good amount of growing to do yet. IMO, the system dimensions that you listed (108" X 60" X 30") would be better than a longer, more narrow tank, and should work very well for keeping both N. lituratus and N. unicornis long term.

Here's a pic of mine from a few months ago. I'd say they have put on at least an inch or so in length since.

...and one of the pool, with other tang/Naso species.

I never grow tired of seeing pictures of your tank!

 

[Genera]

I never grow tired of seeing pictures of your tank!

Wow! I just read the thread! Amazing system moriarty! Now I'm reconsidering my planning and doing something similar to that, depending on the price. I'll have to calculate total approximate costs for each and compare. I know that a 10ft diameter intex metal frame pool is $135 at walmart. A 55 gallon tank is also $135. Who knows what a 675 gallon tank costs. I'm just looking for a good price, and large, aesthetically pleasing container that holds water, which are two things that don't seem to go together. I'm also looking to do lots of DIY things, so I might be headed over to the DIY forum sometime soon. I'm also wondering if it is possible to put a window into one of those pool/ponds. I'm thinking it would take a lot of $ though, will have to look into it. No pun intended. I do have an underwaterproof camera too, so if a window isn't an option, that would work.

 

[moriarty]

Great! Probably one of my favorite fish, with basically any other fish in the favorites list too. Lol. Would my tank fit one of each or two of each? I like to get fish in pairs or groups of their own genus and preferably species, I'd think they'd get lonely without seeing other fish of their genus or species for the rest of their life. I haven't really visualized what my fish list would look like in that sized tank. If I put that list in my 90, none of the fish could move.

108" X 60" X 30" would be a little shy of 850 gallons, and I really like the footprint for Naso spp. I'm guessing this would be custom built? If so, you could probably go with a little less depth. 30" can be tough to work in (may be a moot point with the 5' width) but extra height can really add to the cost of the tank given the increase in thickness of the materials that would be necessary for a taller system. Anyway... Naso spp. eat/defecate a LOT (at least mine do). I have a refugium for growing macro plumbed into my system to recycle at least some excess nutrients, and it's nice to have a near constant supply of fresh macro (my guys are particularly fond of Ulva spp.) as a daily treat.

In the system size that you are proposing, I wouldn't think it too unreasonable to do a pair of N. unicornis and a pair of N. lituratus. I think if I was building a system of this size around Naso spp., I would do a pair of N. unicornis, and a trio of N. lituratus. To keep up the scale of the tank, I would do a few groups of smaller fish such as chalk bass, and... well, lots of options here really. Probably wouldn't add too many more larger fish though. I would also add a couple to a few hundred pounds of LR to the center of the tank so that your fish can swim a "circuit" around the rock. Each of mine has it's own hiding place where they retire to at night, so I definitely recommend that each fish has a large enough cave or overhang to feel secure.

 

[moriarty]

I never grow tired of seeing pictures of your tank!

Thanks! Will try to update my thread when I get a chance!

 

[moriarty]

Wow! I just read the thread! Now I'm reconsidering my planning and doing something similar to that, depending on the price. I'll have to calculate total approximate costs and compare. I know that a 10ft diameter intex metal frame pool is $135 at walmart.

Will be much, much less cost wise. The most difficult part though, will be getting permission from your spouse/family members If you do decide to do a pool, the most important piece of equipment that you can buy is a good dehumidifier!

 

[Genera]

Will be much, much less cost wise. The most difficult part though, will be getting permission from your spouse/family members If you do decide to do a pool, the most important piece of equipment that you can buy is a good dehumidifier!

I know right! I had a hard time squeezing in a 90! My family wanted like a 20 gallon and they thought a 55 gallon was ginormous. I have a dehumidifier, but I might need a stronger one, or another one, or both combined.

 

[Genera]

108" X 60" X 30" would be a little shy of 850 gallons, and I really like the footprint for Naso spp. I'm guessing this would be custom built? If so, you could probably go with a little less depth. 30" can be tough to work in (may be a moot point with the 5' width) but extra height can really add to the cost of the tank given the increase in thickness of the materials that would be necessary for a taller system. Anyway... Naso spp. eat/defecate a LOT (at least mine do). I have a refugium for growing macro plumbed into my system to recycle at least some excess nutrients, and it's nice to have a near constant supply of fresh macro (my guys are particularly fond of Ulva spp.) as a daily treat.

In the system size that you are proposing, I wouldn't think it too unreasonable to do a pair of N. unicornis and a pair of N. lituratus. I think if I was building a system of this size around Naso spp., I would do a pair of N. unicornis, and a trio of N. lituratus. To keep up the scale of the tank, I would do a few groups of smaller fish such as chalk bass, and... well, lots of options here really. Probably wouldn't add too many more larger fish though. I would also add a couple to a few hundred pounds of LR to the center of the tank so that your fish can swim a "circuit" around the rock. Each of mine has it's own hiding place where they retire to at night, so I definitely recommend that each fish has a large enough cave or overhang to feel secure.

It would either be built by me, or custom built, and lowering the height might be a good idea, I can barely reach my arm to the bottom of my 90, which is 20in with my DSB. But I picked 30in because Unicorns grow to 24in, which would be the height of the tank :fun5:. I'd really like to have a large refugium tub with a few smaller fish such as mollies or silversides. Actually, I would have mollies in there since I have mollies right now in my 90. I was thinking of setting up one huge Indo-Pacific biotope with fish as large as Unicorn Tangs and as small as Ecsenius Bimaculatus, and three 40 breeders or other sized tanks with Caribbean biotopes. For rocks in the pool, I'd probably go with a big pile in the middle, with a few small islands around it. Right now I have a 90 gallon refugium, and an empty 40 breeder, but with a stocking plan. I love the look of marine planted tanks and macroalgaes. I'm scared to ask the family about this lol. That's a lot of space taken up (~78 square feet), but my house is 450,000 sq ft or so, so that's not that much space taken up. If they say no, I'll probably just go with a bunch of 40 breeder biotopes showcasing small life from different oceans and regions and maybe one or two larger tanks, but my family might not accept that either. I started this hobby with goldfish, then I went to a 55 gallon fowlr that had every rookie mistake ever in existence. Then I made a DIY all in one 40 breeder which was pretty amazing, but had to be broken down. Now I have a 90 and a bare 40 breeder, as mentioned before. This is becoming quite a discussion.

 

[reeferstace]

You must be the Emperor of Minnesota if your house is 450,000 sq. ft!

 

[humaguy]

I'm planning another tank, but have to confirm with family. I really love Naso Lituratus and N. Unicornis, but of course they have to be pretty large fish. The tank I'm planning is 108in x 60in x 30in. Would this fit one of each? On reefcentral's tang tank sizes they say 8ft for Lituratus & 10ft is for Unicornis, minimum, but I have a very wide tank of 5ft, so they basically have 28 feet around of swimming. When they reach full size, if you guys say its fine to have them in that tank, and they look cramped in there, then I'll donate them to a public aquarium. I've never had any experience with these fish (except for holding a juvenile Unicornis for a few weeks) so I'm trying to gather up info about them in my sized tank, I know all about these fish and their feeding habits, wild range, size, etc. and have for a while.

I would go 120 x 36 x 30, if you have the room...get them as babies and watch them grow. good luck...

 

[Genera]

You must be the Emperor of Minnesota if your house is 450,000 sq. ft!

Lol. I meant 4,500 sq ft!