RocketEngineer's 75g/125g Setup
- Thread starter RocketEngineer
- Start date
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
Glad I'm not the only one who likes the new look. The only problem with it now is I need more corals.:lolspin:
Swope2bc
New member
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
I decided to add a few more fish to the tank. I ordered an Atlantic blue tang, a royal gramma, a yellowheaded jawfish, and 4 tank-bred Kauderns cardinalfish. They arrived last night and seemed to be fine when I went to sleep. Well, tonight when I got home the royal gramma had decided to go overflow surfing and was in the external box. It took well over an hour and multiple attempts but I finally netted the little guy and got him back into the display. It's always something.
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
The fish addition has gone horribly wrong :sad1:. Over the past week I've slowly watched my investment literally disappear in the tank. I haven't seen the jawfish since I introduced it, the Kauderns cardinalfish disappeared one by one, and this morning I pulled the Atlantic blue tang carcass out of the rocks. With a gorrilla crab attached to it's nose :headwalls:. This is the second time I've attempted to add fish and had them all end up dead in the last year. Time for a new direction, annihilation of the gorilla crabs.
FlyingFishSKYw
Member
That stinks, I know!! There was a period where my wife lovingly referred my aquarium as "the tank of death!"
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
With the cardinalfish it likely was just the crabs as the two gorillas I spotted this morning were as big as the fish. One of them had the tang but the other was down in the hole I thought the jawfish was digging. With the way my rock work is they have plenty of places to hide. Since the fish also go into the rock piles to hide I think the crabs may have come out at night and done in the fish. For the moment I'm going to try and catch the crabs, use them for bait for my mantis shrimp, and get more corals instead. The corals seem to be doing fine at least.
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
I was able to stab one of the ugly little buggers and it was bigger than the 4 cardinalfish that went missing. With the tang and the jawfish I'm not sure but the stress of a new tank may have combined to make them more vulnerable. I did notice that the tang had seriously torn back fins but I don't know when that happened.
The trap is set and I will watch it for a while to see what I can catch.
The trap is set and I will watch it for a while to see what I can catch.
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
I left the trap in all day while I was at work and what did I find in it when I got home? The tang, the biggest critter in the tank. I've modified the entrance somewhat so it is smaller and so things can get in but have a harder time getting out. We will see what I catch tonight.
You can also go to petco or any other local fish store that sells Beta fish. Use the container they are in, small enough, and cut a slit in the top. Place a cube of food or dinner shrimp inside, lean on the side like Shellsea above noted, and they won't get out.
Also, no large fish will get in
Tuperware container also works. Can place a bit of substrate in there so they don't freak out and it will weigh it down enough so it won't float. Or, place some holes in there for water movement if the food is meaty enough / solid so it doesn't seep out.
In either case sounds like you are on your way and have it under control.
Also, no large fish will get in
Tuperware container also works. Can place a bit of substrate in there so they don't freak out and it will weigh it down enough so it won't float. Or, place some holes in there for water movement if the food is meaty enough / solid so it doesn't seep out.In either case sounds like you are on your way and have it under control.
What a story. Just went through the whole thread… ok, skimmed some of it. A lot of it hit close to home, thanks for sharing. I broke down my 120 about 4 years ago; my excuse was moving, but it had a lot to do with frustration… And now my hiatus has ended, the tank is back up and cycling! Your trials and overcoming's will be an encouragement for sure!
As I said I skimmed a lot of the thread (its long,) so I apologize if this is at all redundant, but in hindsight, do you think that poor circulation was a major culprit for a lot of the issues you faced? What kind of gph are you pushing through your setup now, in total?
As I said I skimmed a lot of the thread (its long,) so I apologize if this is at all redundant, but in hindsight, do you think that poor circulation was a major culprit for a lot of the issues you faced? What kind of gph are you pushing through your setup now, in total?
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
shellsea, That's pretty close to what I have now. I have a large glass mug with a plastic cup wedged into the opening. The cut has slits in the bottom and on one side but the rest is intact so the critter can push in to get the bait but can't push open the other direction. There is a dinner shrimp in it now so I will see what I catch over the next few days. My Tomini tang was not part of the equation.
saf1, I thought about using a plastic container but I don't have many and had none on hand that would work well. I may try to pick something up if the current trap doesn't yield any catches soon. The sand in the bottom is a trick I've used before on other things.
Tsteak, It has been quite a journey. I hope you can learn from my mistakes and not repeat them in your own setup. The neat thing is there are always things to try as long as you are willing to take the risks. On the flip side, once you find a method that works for you, you don't have to change it.
The biggest issue I faced was due to the lighting switch after I upgraded the tank. To me, that did more damage than any other singular event. When it came to water movement, I would do things slightly different on the 75g but the 125g is set up pretty much as I intended it to be. At the moment I'm running a Waveline DC6000 return at full speed with a small amount feeding the refugium and GFO reactor so maybe 1000gph to the display. In the display I have a Tunze 6065 (1700gph), an MP10 on lagoon mode, and (2) MP40s on lagoon mode. I feel my biggest issue with flow isn't the amount, its the constant directions. I've been considering adding a seaswirl but the 1" version I bought didn't fit so I need to find a 3/4" version in order to test the change. There is always something to upgrade or replace.
saf1, I thought about using a plastic container but I don't have many and had none on hand that would work well. I may try to pick something up if the current trap doesn't yield any catches soon. The sand in the bottom is a trick I've used before on other things.
Tsteak, It has been quite a journey. I hope you can learn from my mistakes and not repeat them in your own setup. The neat thing is there are always things to try as long as you are willing to take the risks. On the flip side, once you find a method that works for you, you don't have to change it.
The biggest issue I faced was due to the lighting switch after I upgraded the tank. To me, that did more damage than any other singular event. When it came to water movement, I would do things slightly different on the 75g but the 125g is set up pretty much as I intended it to be. At the moment I'm running a Waveline DC6000 return at full speed with a small amount feeding the refugium and GFO reactor so maybe 1000gph to the display. In the display I have a Tunze 6065 (1700gph), an MP10 on lagoon mode, and (2) MP40s on lagoon mode. I feel my biggest issue with flow isn't the amount, its the constant directions. I've been considering adding a seaswirl but the 1" version I bought didn't fit so I need to find a 3/4" version in order to test the change. There is always something to upgrade or replace.
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
Okay, the trap hasn't caught anything other than a fish. Yet I've been able to stab two of them in the rocks. I know there is one more left but need to move the trap to a different spot as that one is at the other end of the tank.
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
Human: 3 Gorilla Crab: 6
Not the kind of score I want but I'm gaining ground.
Not the kind of score I want but I'm gaining ground.
Hi Rocket - bummer. You know it is bad when you are keeping a score card
However, you are making progress. They say good things come to those who wait 
You have a nice tank, keep at it!RocketEngineer
Space is big.
Definitely not giving up. Still more I want to do in the system including adding a few more corals. I need to fill in the empty spots and let those I already have grow out more. Its a work in progress.
