"Phil's 125 Semi-Aggressive Reef"

[moriarty]

Adding the vinegar is interesting, had never heard of this til now. Going to read up more on it, will also check into the socks.

Anyone with a miniatus or a cephalopholis argus that would be willing to give on input on what they've experienced or done in a similar setup?

Is there any green vegetation that I could add that doesn't take the reef needed lights, 12 in plus in height? Mangrove caulerpa? Or is this a bit much? Just an idea I've had about having the cave area with the openness having like a grass floor.

As for the miniata grouper, "Bad fish... Saw one eat a rocking chair one time". Seriously though, I had a very nicely colored one from the Red Sea for several years in a 240 that was so aggressive/territorial, he could not be kept with anything other than cleaner shrimp (had a couple dozen in with him, which in of it's self made for a cool display). He was about 5" when I got him, and he eventually grew to about 14" (one of the largest I've seen in an aquarium). He was fine when smaller, but once he hit about 8", he bullied every other fish (existing and attempted new additions) to the point that they would stay in the upper corners of the tank. I had a love/hate relationship with him as not only could I not keep any other fish, I had to remove the entire substrate as he would consistently fan his tail creating huge mounds of sand all over the tank.

As for macro algae, look into Caulerpa prolifera. Will do well under modest lighting, and has a cool seagrass look.

 

[Duke4life]

As for macro algae, look into Caulerpa prolifera. Will do well under modest lighting, and has a cool seagrass look.

That's for the input. Are there any other groupers you would recommend?

Gonna look at the prolifera, just looking for a seabed kinda look.

 

[Betta132]

I second the C. prolifera suggestion. It grows fast enough to suck up nitrates somewhat, but it won't go mad. It needs pruning now and then, but that just means reaching in and yanking out the bits that are wandering into places you don't want them to wander into.

 

[Duke4life]

I second the C. prolifera suggestion. It grows fast enough to suck up nitrates somewhat, but it won't go mad. It needs pruning now and then, but that just means reaching in and yanking out the bits that are wandering into places you don't want them to wander into.

Even better, more of a natural filtration. I had been told to give up and that there was nothing that I would be able to add to give me this look. Guessing the fish and eels will also love this?

 

[dom418]

Most of the fish you listed will outgrow a 125g in short order so that's something to consider. I'd hate to spend the time picking out the perfect fish only to have to sell them in a couple years.

I buy all my fresh seafood frozen. Scalop, muscle, clam, shrimp, squid. I feed a different meaty food every day and supplement with formula 2 pellets and mysis shrimp. I feed 3 times per day. Many UNDERFEED their fish in this hobby.

With that being said ditch the bioballs! This isn't 1990 lol. Get a high quality skimmer rated for DOUBLE your tank volume. I like Reef Octopus. This will be the priciest thing you purchase but it's a necessity given your taste in fish.

 

[Duke4life]

Most of the fish you listed will outgrow a 125g in short order so that's something to consider. I'd hate to spend the time picking out the perfect fish only to have to sell them in a couple years.

I buy all my fresh seafood frozen. Scalop, muscle, clam, shrimp, squid. I feed a different meaty food every day and supplement with formula 2 pellets and mysis shrimp. I feed 3 times per day. Many UNDERFEED their fish in this hobby.

With that being said ditch the bioballs! This isn't 1990 lol. Get a high quality skimmer rated for DOUBLE your tank volume. I like Reef Octopus. This will be the priciest thing you purchase but it's a necessity given your taste in fish.

You make some very good points. I realize that in time I'm going to need a bigger tank, just want to get my feet wet again before going BIG.

Feeding? What is the right amount of feeding? Lol
But my question to you is what do you mean by underfeed?
I've read from 3 times daily all the way to once per week, I've been thinking daily or every other day once I determine the CHOSEN 1's for my tank.

The bio balls are gone, and your right in the protein skimmer. But here's my next question; protein skimmers are used to remove Nitrate from the water, now if I have caulerpa prolifera in my tank, would I be better off going with 1 recommended for it or still go double?

My taste has changed a bit was going to go with an eel more in the viper group, that is until I realized NO fish would be safe.

 

[kegogut]

I wouldnt use the bio balls. Theyre a thing of the past. Wherever you were going to use them use live rock rubble instead. I remember using the green plastic army men before bio balls. lolz

 

[Duke4life]

Locks so far:

Chainlink moray eel: with everything I've sen, read, and researched this has been the 1 eel that has stood out in everyway.

Caulerpa prolifera: my question is why not? Will provide a sea grass type effect and help lower nitrates. Another fits in everyway.

Undecided with why:

Snowflake eel: this is 1 I'm torn on, while all the criteria meet, it's just not 1 I've put in the "locks" yet. Why?
The Carpet eel blenny/wolf eel: this is an intriguing creature and by what I've researched 1 would do good in the type of tank I'm setting up. Only question I have is compatibility with the chainlink? Did I mention I have huskies? This 1 has me really thinking.

Grouper: still undecided, so many beautiful 1's out there.

Angel: expanding my research on these.

Still need some suggestions on fish that like to swim in the mid to upper level of my water column.

 

[Duke4life]

Return pump size

Return pump size

I have 1 that has a valve to control the rate, and can do 1000 gph. I've seen that I want to turn my tank over anywhere from 3-10 times per hour. I can almost do 7-8 times.

Is this enough?

 

[JBarnes]

Forget the tank. Quitting smoking is far more important. Lost two friends in the last year to small cell lung cancer which is caused by smoking. Believe me, thats not a pleasant way to go and to die before you are 60 is just wrong. Good luck to you.

 

[humaguy]

Congrats, and good luck with the tank...

 

[Duke4life]

Forget the tank. Quitting smoking is far more important. Lost two friends in the last year to small cell lung cancer which is caused by smoking. Believe me, thats not a pleasant way to go and to die before you are 60 is just wrong. Good luck to you.

The tank isn't the most important thing here, it is about QUITTING SMOKING. Going to use the tank as motivation, as well as a way of keeping on track. I love the hobby and couldn't think of a better way to get back in.

A little extra bonus can go a long way.

Thanks for the support

Now keep coming with 1st hand insight and knowledge ya'll ....... Lol

 

[Duke4life]

Where we stand:

The tank is in the process of being setup for sanding (couldn't find Novus around town). Salt and a few other decorative items will be here this week. Depending on free time, I'm going to hopefully mix and add water next week.

Decided to go with dry rock over live rock.

Lighting and skimmer still unsure.

Still looking at other tank mates for the Chainlink eel. The green wolf eel is 2nd on my list, with some type of grouper, angel, and wrasse.

Any advice on barracudas, came across these yesterday, seems like they might be a good fit.

Any thoughts?

 

[MondoBongo]

congratulations on quitting.

i'm well over two years since my last smoke, best decision i've ever made. i can't stand even stand the smell of them now, makes me sick.

keep up the good work.

 

[Duke4life]

After doing more research the barracuda is out of the question. On to looking at more

 

[jjk_reef00]

Best way to get ideas for fish is to go on liveaquaria or another site and pick some you like. Then research them and decide if they fit your tank and/or your other selected tankmates. There are a lot of optoins for fish but I'm not familiar with the temperemnt of the eel you have selected.

 

[JohnniG]

Love the moray pics. Im getting a snowflake myself.

 

[Duke4life]

What I've found out in my process of selecting fish, it's very tricky. With that being said, while I'd love to have that bad a++ aggressive predator tank, maybe that's not what I want after all.

With that comes my next set of questions. Can 2 Chain links be kept together if purchased when small/juveniles?

By what I've read they seem to be the least aggressive toward fish, so can they be kept with anthias, hawks, and smaller fish like these?

 

[Kyuss]

Don't know about keeping two of them together, might be possible but I think space might be an issue unless you have a really big tank. I've never read anything on it though so I'm just guessing there.

Definitely isn't aggressive towards any fish though, he pretty much just goes about his own business. Feeding time with a much smaller fish might cause an issue however. He's pretty aggressive when hitting food on the feeding stick and while he's never actually bit anyone, he's come close a few times. It's likely just due to their poor eyesight as he stopped when he got close enough to see. I don't think he'd really do any damage at his current size with the type of teeth they have, but once full grown even a mistake with something on the small side probably wouldn't end so well.

I actually came across this vid recently that shows some fat adult chainlinks in the wild being hand fed at the beach, they get pretty thick


Which also reminds me that I need to get on building a better system for the cover on my tank. :lol:

 

[Duke4life]

That's a great video of them, my wife saw it the other day when we were you tubing different 1's and seeing what others have in their tanks.

I'm setting my 122.5/125 around eels. Using clear pvc up front and sides for tunnels, anywhere the tunnel branches off and it out of view I'm using white pvc. Going to incorporate my other hobby into this with a custom built piece using pvc, plastic tubing, and plastic chain. Plus the rock will have various caves, lots of hiding spots.

I can't find anywhere that says no to 2 chain links. You can have 2 similar size snowflake eels right? If so why not 2 chains?