Out of Africa (picture intensive)

They are one of my all time favorite angelfish. I wish I could go diving and see one some day.

If you ever get pictures don't be afraid to send them to me.
 
I was in Durban this fall, and didn't see any while diving. :( They are reportedly common around Aliwal Shoals, but I didn't see a single Kingi. I did see my share of Gem tangs though. I had the same thoughts about bringing one back as "carry on". Not sure about the legalities, but I was going to try nevertheless.
 
Two more of my old timers"¦

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/4102190125/" title="DSC_0018_edited by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2719/4102190125_7a3e2e047b.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="DSC_0018_edited" /></a>

The Queen angel, has been with me for 10 years and was a juvenile when I purchased her, she is probably the most bossy and cheeky angel in the aquarium with a huge appetite and is probably the main reason that no softies or lps can be kept in the middle section of the tank, I have tried various things with her but she has a taste for many of the desirable corals and therefore I have the 2 side sections which she is not allowed into.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/4102950656/" title="DSC_0056 by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2682/4102950656_4be12ee06e.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="DSC_0056" /></a>

Also been with me for 10 years and rather shy and slow growing is my majestic angel, a very good natured fish the only disputes it ever seems to have are with the blue-face angel and its usually a few grunts and they part ways. I Love the colouring on Majestics, they truly reflect their namesake.
 
how large is the main section that houses the angels? there is an old adage to never keep large angels together as they will inevitably fight to the death, can you share your experiences and how you have overcome this? thanks again for sharing your experiences with us, very informative and impressive!
 
Elliott said:
how large is the main section that houses the angels? there is an old adage to never keep large angels together as they will inevitably fight to the death, can you share your experiences and how you have overcome this? thanks again for sharing your experiences with us, very informative and impressive!
Click to expand...

Thank you Elliot, i have a large custom made acrylic container with lot of holes drilled all over it, when a new angel (any fish)is introduced i place it into this container which is about the size of 80 litre aquarium) with some rock and i watch , to see it's and the behaviour of the other fish as they can both see each other and not be harmed. If there is no aggression i release the fish after about a day , if there is aggression i will wait for up to 2 weeks to see if it subsides , if not i try to trap the aggressor put it in the box and release the new fish to establish itself. Overall my main problem has not been with angels as much as it has been with tangs though, the one angel that did give me trouble though was the Passer which while small was really aggressive especially to my regal angel and so i had to find it a new home.
 
the main section of this aquarium is 3 metres long by 2 metres wide but it varies in some places due to the side compartments, i did design the decor in the middle to break line of sight so that fish arent constantly looking at each other , this does help to reduce aggression with some species of fish
 
you are obviously very experienced over a span of many years, so I hope you don't mind me picking your brain a little...

how do you like your sulpher denitrator? have you experienced any downside with using it? also please elaborate on your experience with nitrate and phosphate control with the substantial bioload you have: how you measure, your target values and methods used to lower.

you mentioned that you have experienced some heat transfer from your external pumps, is that due to the pump heating up the room and in turn heating the water? (since there is no direct contact between the water and the pump)

again, many thanks :)
 
Elliott said:
you are obviously very experienced over a span of many years, so I hope you don't mind me picking your brain a little...

how do you like your sulpher denitrator? have you experienced any downside with using it? also please elaborate on your experience with nitrate and phosphate control with the substantial bioload you have: how you measure, your target values and methods used to lower.

you mentioned that you have experienced some heat transfer from your external pumps, is that due to the pump heating up the room and in turn heating the water? (since there is no direct contact between the water and the pump)

again, many thanks :)
Click to expand...
Hi Elliot no problem ask anytime

The sulphur denitrator currently is quite hassle free but i did go through a learning curve with it, it is good at keeping my nitrates at between 5-10mg/l. In the beginning it used to clog up very rapidly with biofilm and the flow rate would go to almost nil out of it, to remedy this i mixed in some bioballs with the sulphur beads and also put some eggcrate at the top of the beads to prevent it clogging the outflow. Once a year i have to clean out a half of it and rinse the beads to keep it running smoothly.It doesnt require as anoxic conditions as conventional denitrators and i consider that a benefit it usually runs at -250 to -350mv.the outflow goes into a heavy aerated (skimmer outflow)area of the aquarium.Phosphate is my main burden with regards to water quality i run Gfo 3-4 litres in a fluidised reactor i change this every 3 months and my phosphate levels fluctuate between 0.03-0.1 on a salifert kit with this setup. Main control is water changes 1000 litres a month currently using R/o water and Aquamedic salt (The brand changes if i get a better price and quality), With Natural Seawater i experienced alot more algae problems.

The motor of the pump runs pretty hot and yes there is no direct contact between the motor and the water but the motor does transfer quite abit of heat to the impeller section so it always runs warm coupled with the fact that
it definitely heats up the room.

I have been toying with the idea of using my coldtap (11-18 degrees celsius) water supply to my home to cool down my Aquarium using a heat exchanger and perhaps solenoid valves but im not sure how effective it would be but it certainly would be cheaper than using a chiller( need to research this some more though)
 
hi kinlayan, i'm not sure if you've mention this already, but has the concrete tank helped with keeping your tank water a bit cooler? how much drop would you say it has done? thanks! more pictures please :)
 
stannn_ said:
hi kinlayan, i'm not sure if you've mention this already, but has the concrete tank helped with keeping your tank water a bit cooler? how much drop would you say it has done? thanks! more pictures please :)
Click to expand...

Hi Stannn, im afraid it hasnt done anything for cooling it seems to insulate very well as it is fibreglass lined , i have no problem with heating , but cooling is my main issue currently i use airconditioning and fans but im looking for a better alternative to a power hungry chiller which could perhaps one day fail on me and cause a disaster, i dont know much about chillers never used one but im scared they have thermostat like a heater and what happens if the thermostat malfunctions and im not in time to catch it?More pictures will soon be forthcoming! ;)
 
Oh wow!!! I'll be subscribing to this thread!! This is gonna go down as one of the neatest builds, with some of the most beautiful fish, that I've ever seen!!! Definitely among the top 4 anyway!!!
 
returnofsid said:
Oh wow!!! I'll be subscribing to this thread!! This is gonna go down as one of the neatest builds, with some of the most beautiful fish, that I've ever seen!!! Definitely among the top 4 anyway!!!
Click to expand...

Wow thank you what an amazing compliment,I appreciate it :rollface:
 
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