Albertan22's 120g Reef

Albertan22 · #1 09-07-2009, 03:04 PM

Well, I fixed the flushing noise by drilling the air hole in my Durso one size larger. It seems that I'm running lower flow through it than it was designed for, but that's ok, I wanted a slow flowing sump.

On to more exciting things... I picked up some more rock and finished the aquascaping

And the tank with the canopy in place:

We had the lights on last night so we could enjoy our handiwork, but they'll stay off for the majority of the cycle in an effort to keep the algae down (probably a futile gesture).

Albertan22 · #2 09-07-2009, 03:14 PM

We've noticed a few hitchhikers in our tank, I'm sure there's more to come.

So far we've observed a featherduster worm, and a few snails.

While I was doing the rockwork I noticed a large crab (about the size of a toonie) way up in a deep crevice of one of my rocks. He was brown with red eyes, didn't look hairy at all. He was to deep in the rock to get out, so I let him be, I hope this doesn't turn out to be a mistake. I seem to recall reading on the forums somewhere that hairy crab=bad crab, and non-hairy crab=good crab. I'm hoping this is the case with this guy, who knows if he'll survive the cycle though.

We also found this guy:

MANTIS!!! My wife thought it was cool that she could see "yellow eyes" watching her from inside a rock, I didn't think it was so cool. The rock was at the bottom of the rockwork, but luckily was not load bearing and easily removed.

I wish I had a place to put him, or some fish to feed him to, but alas his fate was simply to end up in the garbage

Couldn't have him in my tank though. I hope there aren't any more in there.

I also found a small crab (about the size of a dime) climbing around on the rock that the mantis came out of. I decided to be safe and threw him in the refugium.

mark · #3 09-07-2009, 03:17 PM

nice layout and rockwork.

Mantis can go into the sump.

Leah · #4 09-07-2009, 03:27 PM

I think you will want to get rid of the crab...not good. Tank looks great!

Albertan22 · #5 09-09-2009, 06:47 PM

Well, there's definately another mantis haunting my tank

I can hear him excavating away in the rock and managed to catch a glimpse of him a couple days ago. He was in a rock that isn't easily moved, but I haven't seen him since. I think I'm going to try a DIY bottle trap this weekend and see if I can't get him out.

Another bit of good news, adding the second batch of rock (which was fully curred) did wonders to reducing the smell in the house. We don't even notice it anymore unless the cabinet doors to the sump are open. I've also noticed a lot of condensation in my canopy. The back is open, but the condensation problem seems to be up near the front. I'm hoping that the canopy is designed for the humidity and well sealed. Maybe it will be better once the lights are on and there's more heat in there?

fishytime · #6 09-10-2009, 02:25 AM

Looks like your off to a good start....if your handy you could mount/cut a couple fans into the canopy....this will also help keep the tank cool..

Albertan22 · #7 09-13-2009, 07:35 PM

Well I've had no luck so far catching that mantis with my bottle trap. I think I may need to redesign or just plain move it to another location in the tank. It's hard to get it to sit still without turning off my powerheads.

I also solved the humidity problem in the canopy. I just pulled it ahead about an inch so there is a small air space at the front, it stays pretty dry now. It may not be a long term solution if I ever get any jumping fish though. Which brings me to a more fun topic... Fish!

It occured to me that I need to start thinking about a stocking list. The tank is much to young right now for fish, but I've had a QT tank cycling in the basement for a few weeks that I'm hoping may be ready by next weekend.

I'm not exactly sure what I want, so I was hoping to get a few sugestions.

So far I'm thinking of an ocellaris clown pair, some kind of fairy or flasher wrasse, a mandarin (will not be adding until next summer) and a tang or two. I was thinking of going with a powder blue or powder brown for my tang, but I've since learned that they're very aggressive, especially in smaller tanks. I also really like purple tangs, but they can be pretty aggressive too... Any thoughts or suggestions?

Dez · #8 09-13-2009, 07:48 PM

The build looks good so far. I feel your pain with the mantis and having to hunt him down. I remember spending an entire superbowl Sunday 6 years ago hunting down a mantis in my fully stocked 120 gallon tank. Better get it now before you have any livestock.

For humidity in the canopy, I would suggest DC muffin fans (DC because you can then control the speed with a voltage adapter so you can keep the tank super quiet. I don't like AC fans cause I find most to be loud).

As for stocking list - if you are patient, then look for people shutting their tanks down. I have gotten quite a few nice specimens from shutdowns (the fish seem healthier and are more acclimated to aquarium life than a typical store bought fish. You never know if a store bought is cyanide caught or not). I like yellow tangs, a flasher, solerensis, or myster wrasse is nice, royal gramma maybe, and it depends what kind of corals/inverts you'll have in your tank I always like pygmy angels - either a flame, potter's or coral beauty (I am still on the hunt for one that won't nip at sps/clams).

Hope this helps, enjoying your tank journal so far.

Desmond

ponokareefer · #9 09-17-2009, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Albertan22

It occured to me that I need to start thinking about a stocking list. The tank is much to young right now for fish, but I've had a QT tank cycling in the basement for a few weeks that I'm hoping may be ready by next weekend.

I'm not exactly sure what I want, so I was hoping to get a few sugestions.

So far I'm thinking of an ocellaris clown pair, some kind of fairy or flasher wrasse, a mandarin (will not be adding until next summer) and a tang or two. I was thinking of going with a powder blue or powder brown for my tang, but I've since learned that they're very aggressive, especially in smaller tanks. I also really like purple tangs, but they can be pretty aggressive too... Any thoughts or suggestions?

The clownfish would be a good fish to get, as would the fairy or flasher wrasse's. If you are thinking about getting more than one type of fairy wrasse, it is typically better to add them at the same time to avoid fighting. Also, make sure you have a completely covered tank if you are looking at getting wrasse's.
As for tangs, with only a 4 foot tank(same as mine), you are more limited in what you can get. You're limited to mainly the following 3 groups: Zebrasoma(but not sailfin), Ctenochaetus, and Acanthurus(only the smaller ones). There are some really nice ones of the 3 groups, like the yellow tang, lemonpeel mimic tang, kole tang, and chocolate tang. You would probably only want to get 2, maximum 3 tangs total, and I wouldn't recommend getting 2 from the same group, such as a purple tang and a yellow tang. I have read that a lot of people have issues with aggressive purple tangs as well, just so you are aware.