Photos of Solomon Island/Fiji LPS Biotype Tanks?

jshorter

New member
Hi everyone,

I have sold off all my livestock from my Caribbean biotype tank (too difficult to find livestock to fill it) and have decided to set up another biotype tank instead. This time, I want to go with a Solomon Islands / Fiji / Vanuatu / Great Barrier Reef area biotype that is dedicated mostly to LPS. I would love to see what other people have done if there is anyone out there doing the same thing? Please post your photos so I can get inspired again!! :rollface:

Thanks!!!

Jason
 
I've been looking for nicely put together biotope style tanks forever. Nobody really bothers :(

As far as the caribbean tank, I'm surprised you had a hard time finding livestock for it, as liveaquaria has specific sections dedicated to Caribbean livestock, corals, algae, etc, not to mention all of the local outfits down here with basic websites where they've got divers who go out and capture livestock and sell them online for pretty cheap. Oh well.

Good luck on the biotope, i'd be nice to see some more of them (any of them even) around!
 
I don't have pics, but one of our LFS's has three "biotope" tanks set up. One is marshal island and I forget the other two locations.
 
Never heard of biotype tanks before.

I know a lot of Ric's/zoa's and softies come from the Caribbean.
 
A Biotype tank would be one where everything in it would be found together naturally. An example was my Caribbean tank where the live sand and rock was from Haiti, and all the livestock (fish, snails, crabs, Gorgonian, Ricordia, Zoanthid, etc.) was found in the same region.

I would like to set up a LPS tank stocked with creatures found around a specific island, or group of islands.

In a biotype tank, you wouldn't mix species from different oceans, and most likely not from different parts of the same ocean, though some fish species can be found in multiple areas where the corals may be more geographically specific.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15411266#post15411266 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jshorter
A Biotype tank would be one where everything in it would be found together naturally. An example was my Caribbean tank where the live sand and rock was from Haiti, and all the livestock (fish, snails, crabs, Gorgonian, Ricordia, Zoanthid, etc.) was found in the same region.

I would like to set up a LPS tank stocked with creatures found around a specific island, or group of islands.

In a biotype tank, you wouldn't mix species from different oceans, and most likely not from different parts of the same ocean, though some fish species can be found in multiple areas where the corals may be more geographically specific.


Sounds cool. :)
 
It's pretty cool, but takes a lot of research and prep work! I think it is going to be a lot easier to do a Pacific biotype tank due to the fact that most livestock in the aquarium trade is from the Pacific.

I wanted to recreate some of the tide pools I saw in the Bahamas but it was very difficult to find the animals I wanted to stock it with to make it look really authentic.
 
A good book to have on the subject is "Natural Reef Aquariums; Simplified Approaches to Creating Living Saltwater Microcosms" by John H. Tullock.
 
Good to hear that there is interest in the biotope (not spelling...LOL) concept...I have been messing with these types of tanks for some time, and I can confidently state that there is not a whole lot of material out there on the topic (at least in the marine world). Freshwater hobbyists have been creating biotope systems for decades, but the marine side of the hobby is a bit off the pace. I've been presenting on the topic at clubs and conferences, and there does seem to be a thirst for information on the topic, based on the feedback I've been getting!

I'm working on a book on the project, and research has been interesting, to say the least! There are not a ton of these biotope concept systems out there, so much of the research I have done has come from searching marine biology, diving, and travel sites. I have more recently done some field research (really fun!) and have constructed a few systems of this type on my own. It's really an interesting approach to the hobby, and an opportunity to get in on the "ground floor" of a new concept in reef keeping...OK, not really "new", but underappreciated for sure!

I say just do the best research you can and go for it! And share your tank with the hobby via RC or other forums! Inspire and grow! Good luck!

Scott F.
 
I consider my system a biotope aquarium... it replicates deep water (~200') environment between the NWHI and Japan. Click my red house to check it out!
 
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