Out of Africa (picture intensive)

[Reef_Noob]

great natural looking aquascaping....some of the pics youv posted gives a nice depth of field and a natural looking ocean floor/reef feel to it...Amazing job...

Me too am attempting something similar ...an aethetic natural look in my current tank build....but still early days for me just added my first cpl of fishes...do take a look at my thread.

The lighting effects looks cool too...

 

[kinlayan]

Entmogul- thank you!

Wowkingjames- thank you much appreciated!

Stumped- here is the latest pic for you!this fish was tiny black and yellow juvie when i got it over 10 years ago!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/6042683226/" title="French by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6089/6042683226_dd533e25a6.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="French"></a>



emdr888 - you have a great fish in a Clown trigger best of luck with it!

Reef Noob, will check in on your thread, thank you for the great compliments!!

 

[kinlayan]

posting some of my other favourite fish and i took pics of 2 special ones imo

The blue spotted jawfish is called Muji- he is so much fun to watch still has his home right in front of the glass, he never leaves it by day but at night he is out and about when the other fish sleep , i dont know if they do this in the wild as im sure predators would get them maybe only in my aquarium ? as the large fish make him insecure at daytime?
The potters in the second pic has been in this tank 2 years now has gotten very fat and seems very healthy! It came from another friends aquarium so it has been in captivity around 4 years
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/6042136567/" title="CSC_2178 by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6075/6042136567_184d593c59.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="CSC_2178"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/6042134239/" title="DSC_2136 by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6197/6042134239_907d40c832.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="DSC_2136"></a>

The gem tang i have had almost a year and 5 months it has not grown much at all in this time i suspect it is because it is in a side coral section with 2 other tangs higher in the hierarchy than it a Convict and yellow tang, he eats a ton so much so that it looks like it will burst but not much growth

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/6009494114/" title="CSC_2176 by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6125/6009494114_1f526a8f55.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="CSC_2176"></a>

 

[dubaygv]

Beautiful tank!!!

 

[kinlayan]

dubaygv- thank you!

My nutrients are pretty high and i have plans to add an extra macroalgae sump 700 litres outside exposed to natural sunlight in the future, i think this will allow me to have the least maintenance and energy efficient nutrient removal solution


some random extra pics that some may enjoy

On my left Soft coral section, this area is dominated by Leather softies, Mushrooms, Ricordea and large amounts of macroalgae -including some pesky bryopsis to try dent this i added 4 of these lettuce slugs, i see they munching away but i am hoping they will reproduce to levels to really make an impact- in themselves they are really beautiful creatures as slugs go

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/6057453538/" title="DSC_2187 by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6078/6057453538_0f3c398140.jpg" width="265" height="500" alt="DSC_2187"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/6057370700/" title="DSC_2215 by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6192/6057370700_f13eb94a6e.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="DSC_2215"></a>

Also in this section is the most shy and hardly ever seen fish in my aquarium, the golden pygmy angel , getting a glimpse of it is like seeing a leopard in the nature reserve!
In the time i have had it i have never seen it accept normal aquarium food but it has tons to graze on in the coral section and is pecking at stuff constantly

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/6057364570/" title="DSC_2201 by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6069/6057364570_21016db51e.jpg" width="500" height="303" alt="DSC_2201"></a>

 

[Elliott]

have you considered an algae turf scrubber?

 

[kinlayan]

this next fish has grown from this

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/4076091858/" title="DSC_1959 by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2759/4076091858_c823267043.jpg" width="500" height="335" alt="DSC_1959"></a>

to this in 2 years! they are only for very large tanks!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/6056892223/" title="DSC_2195 by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6203/6056892223_c2039c4f85.jpg" width="500" height="394" alt="DSC_2195"></a>

Vlamingii tang - it has the biggest appetite in the tank and produces alot of waste

My favourite tang!!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/6057423874/" title="DSC_2200 by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6181/6057423874_ab5e941c86.jpg" width="500" height="355" alt="DSC_2200"></a>

nothing beats them for colour and attitude! Achilles

And some of my "Angels"

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/6056898913/" title="DSC_2192 by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6087/6056898913_e1ca13e246.jpg" width="500" height="363" alt="DSC_2192"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/6057392574/" title="DSC_2217 by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6209/6057392574_cc349018df.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="DSC_2217"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/6057385152/" title="DSC_2197 by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6209/6057385152_73b1aeeedc.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="DSC_2197"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/6057367058/" title="DSC_2209 by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6183/6057367058_6de6464625.jpg" width="500" height="396" alt="DSC_2209"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/6056814645/" title="DSC_2196 by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6069/6056814645_d5813b4e52.jpg" width="496" height="500" alt="DSC_2196"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/6057368816/" title="DSC_2190 by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6090/6057368816_d869b2c755.jpg" width="500" height="304" alt="DSC_2190"></a>

 

[kinlayan]

and my hard working lawnmower blenny, he eats only micro and hair algae nothing else

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/42085951@N06/6056818661/" title="DSC_2208 by Kinlayan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6075/6056818661_0e2cfbde21.jpg" width="500" height="332" alt="DSC_2208"></a>

 

[kinlayan]

Elliot, i have a ATS powered by fluorescent lights on a reverse cycle , the macroalgae sump would give me less maintenance and no lighting costs in natural sunlight, to be fair though the ATS is undersized for my size aquarium.

 

[rehab]

Man I love your fish collections and how healthy they all look. Thumbs up!

 

[Elliott]

Elliot, i have a ATS powered by fluorescent lights on a reverse cycle , the macroalgae sump would give me less maintenance and no lighting costs in natural sunlight, to be fair though the ATS is undersized for my size aquarium.

will you have any temperature issues with it being outside? any costs factored in for heating or cooling from outside temperatures? how will it save you in maintenance?

 

[amfynn]

Loving the pics, loving the angels!

The outside sunlit macro algae idea is great, it will be a plus for your set-up. My chaeto and caulepra goes bos under the sun.

 

[kinlayan]

Elliot- currently my tank is run under airconditioning and cooling is my only problem but this summer i plan to install a properly sized chiller so the airconditioning wont run as much as it does, which is pretty much 24/7 even in winter.The reduced maintenance would be just harvesting portions of the macroalgae from the sump. I think how fast the water flows through this sump will also determine how much it impacts the tanks temp. I do believe that the chiller while energy hogs when on , will actually save me electricity if it is properly sized and not running 24/7 like my aircon does.

Thanks Adee, still need to plan it properly as Elliot pointed out temp issues and also how much water should flow through it per hour.

 

[robvdv]

...and I was just thinking "Hey, I recognize that?!".

Tagging along, sir

 

[solitude127]

Wow.

 

[RGibson]

Elliot- currently my tank is run under airconditioning and cooling is my only problem but this summer i plan to install a properly sized chiller so the airconditioning wont run as much as it does, which is pretty much 24/7 even in winter.The reduced maintenance would be just harvesting portions of the macroalgae from the sump. I think how fast the water flows through this sump will also determine how much it impacts the tanks temp. I do believe that the chiller while energy hogs when on , will actually save me electricity if it is properly sized and not running 24/7 like my aircon does.

Thanks Adee, still need to plan it properly as Elliot pointed out temp issues and also how much water should flow through it per hour.

Can you tell me what tem you keep your house?

 

[mndfreeze]

You need a giant pile of inverts for that tank! A swarm of cleaner shrimp (should they survive some of the fish that may eat them) would be a great boon for things like that isopod when still small, as they will help clean the fish of parasites.

It also is nice to have a good diversity!

Nice tank btw! All these big tanks in this forum section make me jealous and want to play the lottery. a custom 40B broke my bank!

 

[kinlayan]

Robvdv-
Solitude127- love that comment it is one of the best to get!
RGibson- the aquarium is in its own dedicated room, its the engine room that is airconditioned to control the temp of the tank , if i didnt keep that room between 17-20 degrees celsius the tank would easily hit 30 celsius irrespective of the outside temperature just becuase of all my pumps and lighting keeping at 17-20 celsius i am able to maintain an aquarium temp of 24-26 celsius in winter and summer at the moment.
Mndfeeze- i have alot of shrimps in the tank about 13 cleaner shrimps, 4 scarlet cleaners and 8 peppermint shrimps but they could never get into the corsshatch gills being so small unlike the angels which flare their gills to be cleaned
I agree diversity is best!
Also one can have the smallest nano - and it can look better than the mega tank its all in how you do it! and your passion!

 

[mndfreeze]

There are some other smaller cleaner shrimp you can get as well. I can't remember their names off hand but I think a pederson anemone shrimp will clean fish, along with some other hosting shrimp.

 

[kinlayan]

A small update about a month ago, I noticed that my blue spotted Jawfish was not eating well and seemed a bit distressed , Muji as he is called had what appeared to be fine hairs on his head .At first I was not sure what this was but soon realized that some of the monster bristleworms in my tank must have entered his burrow and this was his way of trying to evict them and getting their bristles in his skin, he could be seen trying to rub them off dashing on the gravel.

A day later he left his burrow and it collapsed I couldn't find him until, I saw him briefly , he had moved to a blindspot out of any view in my tank , needless to say I was upset about this as for at least a year he had resided in a perfect spot for watching right in front of the glass, I wondered now if I would ever see him again, over the course of the week he still was not happy and I could see him moving to various locations in the aquarium in an attempt to find a good spot to make a burrow again.

It was at this time I decided to try help the situation, I took a 50 mm black pipe and made perforations in it and buried into the gravel at a spot close to his original burrow, I also put 2 clam shells on either side of the pipe and scattered coarse gravel around, in the hope that it would look appealing for him to move into, sure enough 10 minutes after doing this , Muji was in his new improved burrow which would now be far more resilient to pests and also to cave ins. Since this time Muji appears to have settled in well and seems most happy with the new lodgings.

I can only say that these fish are just so full of character and charm that they are without a doubt one of the most interesting fish in my aquarium.


DSC_2326 by Kinlayan, on Flickr


IMG_1990 by Kinlayan, on Flickr


DSC_2312 by Kinlayan, on Flickr


DSC_2274 by Kinlayan, on Flickr