Nick's 360 Gallons Reef Tank with Angels

[Dai89]

Loving this tank, the aquascape and the coral placement is some of the best I've seen!!

 

[luis carreiro]

Agree. It looks even better in person. Very ingenious to use the location of the Hawaiian Islands for your landscaping.

 

[Joe Rice]

I love Chromis. Reason being they fill the upper part of the tank and take it look like a natural reef. I haven't found anything that would consistently hang out in the upper section of the tank like they do.
This is a Blue Reef Chromis.

Been reading a bit about these Chromis and it seems like lots of folks have trouble keeping them from killing each other. Any tips on how to keep them from fighting? How many would you recommend for a 150g?

 

[n21benson]

Here's the new addition. I picked it up last night from a local member. Spunky little guy. I tried to handle it with my hand after the acclimation but its jumping and resistance, my thumb was stabbed by its gill spine. Had to use the net.

Some scuff marks can be seen from the transfer.

I think it's the largest fish in the tank at around 6". I know the sailfin would be larger if it's fully flared, but just the body, the Blueline is the largest at the moment. I have no doubt the sailfin will outgrow it like it has outgrew everything else.
So far so good with its new tank mates.

OMG! Stop the fight, you win! Amazing!

 

[CoralWealth]

do you dose strontium at all?

 

[this is me]

Been reading a bit about these Chromis and it seems like lots of folks have trouble keeping them from killing each other. Any tips on how to keep them from fighting? How many would you recommend for a 150g?

Hi Joe,
I would say these Blue Reef Chromis are very similar to the gene/blue chromis. They pretty much have the same temperament and the same shoaling behavior. They actually will shoal together with the blue/green. I have a total of 4 green and 5 blue reef.
Like all chromis, you will lose some over time. If you want to have 5 chromis, you really should have at least 7. If you want 9 you should start with 12. I do feed the tank pretty heavy with many different types of food including live frozen clam(chopped up by hand before feeding), LRS fish food, mysis, brine, seaweed, flakes, pellets, cypopeeze, and prawn eggs. The Anthias and Chromis love the cyclopeeze and prawn eggs.
I cannot recommend the amount of fish you should have in your tank. It's not only depends on your bio-load but also how you take care of that bio-load. It depends on how much swimming space you have in the tank. And it depends on how comfortable are you with numbers of fish to feed. But whatever your target is, please account for some loss with these chromis. I've have not been able to keep the same number as I've put in the tank with these. But after the initial couple months of pecking order, the number of chromis will flatten out and with regular feeding, you should be able to keep them alive.

 

[this is me]

No Strontium. If I can't test it or the test is too tedious and not intuitive or I don't have any confident, I don't dose it. I bought some of the exotic elements test kit and it was a waste of money and time. The test was tedious and the result was not consistent from consecutive test to test.
My supplement regiment consists of ARM extra coarse media and Brightwell NeoMag in the calcium reactor. BRS Soda Ash and Calcium Chloride on doser to help with the undersized calcium reactor.

do you dose strontium at all?

 

[Brian W]

WOW Amazing reef! I love the fact that you learned how to finish your basement by watching YouTube! So Crazy!!

 

[locito277]

Hi Joe,
I would say these Blue Reef Chromis are very similar to the gene/blue chromis. They pretty much have the same temperament and the same shoaling behavior. They actually will shoal together with the blue/green. I have a total of 4 green and 5 blue reef.
Like all chromis, you will lose some over time. If you want to have 5 chromis, you really should have at least 7. If you want 9 you should start with 12. I do feed the tank pretty heavy with many different types of food including live frozen clam(chopped up by hand before feeding), LRS fish food, mysis, brine, seaweed, flakes, pellets, cypopeeze, and prawn eggs. The Anthias and Chromis love the cyclopeeze and prawn eggs.
I cannot recommend the amount of fish you should have in your tank. It's not only depends on your bio-load but also how you take care of that bio-load. It depends on how much swimming space you have in the tank. And it depends on how comfortable are you with numbers of fish to feed. But whatever your target is, please account for some loss with these chromis. I've have not been able to keep the same number as I've put in the tank with these. But after the initial couple months of pecking order, the number of chromis will flatten out and with regular feeding, you should be able to keep them alive.

Variety works do you have a source for cyclopeez? That’s like gold nowadays!

 

[rholguin]

Just read the entire thread. Amazing tank!!! And love DIY basement.

 

[this is me]

I bought a bar a very long time ago. And I only need to use half a pea size of it during feeding. The tangs and angels will not go for it and only spend their energy on larger size food. The Chromis and anthias will go nuts. Look into prawn eggs. I don't know the brand because the LFS puts them in a Ziploc bag. I'm trying to get fish eggs but haven't seen them for decent price. I think I just need to get into a real fish market to find them.

Variety works do you have a source for cyclopeez? That’s like gold nowadays!

 

[Tony Vargas]

Love this system, sent you a message...

 

[Newyorkerx]

Great reef! I have three questions:

1.) To get so much spread, how high above the water line do you hang your Giesemann Spectra?;
2.) Do you wish that you had gone with a something less than a 48" wide tank to get more light on the edges?; and
3.) Do you with that you had gone with a slightly longer tank (say 78"), given that your light is 72" long?

Thanks -

 

[this is me]

Great reef! I have three questions:

1.) To get so much spread, how high above the water line do you hang your Giesemann Spectra?;
2.) Do you wish that you had gone with a something less than a 48" wide tank to get more light on the edges?; and
3.) Do you with that you had gone with a slightly longer tank (say 78"), given that your light is 72" long?

Thanks -

1)The Geisemann Spectra is about 10" above the water line. Aquascape also plays a big role in light spread in the aquarium. Pile your rocks high on the edges and you will surely cut off light pretty quickly.
Think of a bell curve distribution in a box. You want to follow this to maximize your light spread. Underneath the bulbs should be the highest point of your rock work. Then gradually slope down.
2)No, I would not do anything less than 48" because aquasccape is very important to me. I would go wider if anything. In general, I prefer square(ish) tank than a rectangular tank.
3)Even though your fixture might be 72" long, you will find that the placement of the bulbs is not all the way to the edge of the fixture. The reflectors might also be designed such that it limits the light in that direction as well. The T5s are marketed at 60" but they are actually 58".
But sure, I could've gone 80"(4" in each direction) and I would think the Spectra would light it up just fine. However, if you look at where my tank is placed, I would not have enough space to walk.

 

[Newyorkerx]

Thanks. This is extremely helpful. It seems that you have come up with a way to run a larger tank without the excessive complexity that so many have.

 

[locito277]

I bought a bar a very long time ago. And I only need to use half a pea size of it during feeding. The tangs and angels will not go for it and only spend their energy on larger size food. The Chromis and anthias will go nuts. Look into prawn eggs. I don't know the brand because the LFS puts them in a Ziploc bag. I'm trying to get fish eggs but haven't seen them for decent price. I think I just need to get into a real fish market to find them.

Yes all I’ve seen are the LES fisheggs which is like 30$ for a smallish bag and I do love the ROE ones from ocean nutrition. Fish go nuts and the big boys eat the blob before they hit the stream from my return

 

[this is me]

See, any packaged stuff that's prep for this hobby is marked up more than it should.
I started buying wholesale quahog clams(100ct in a bag) from my grocery store and chopped them up myself. For the price of two LRS fish food pack, I can get fresh live clams that will feed the fish for more than 3 months. I still do use LRS because of the other ingredients in there that I can't easily access. I go through a lot of fish food every month.
I'll do a video of prepping food for the fish soon.

 

[Steelersfan]

Everything looks great Nick!!!

Reza

 

[this is me]

I think my female manderin is pregnant(?). I got her about 2 to 3 months ago with pinched stomach since it did not have enough to eat at the LFS. After about a month, it gained weight and kept going. But I think it's actually carry eggs(?)

Rounded dorsal fin clearly shows it's a female.

Look at that girth.

The male. Got him about 6 months now. 1st attempt of finding him a mate was a failure. Turned out what I thought was a female was actually a young male. That young male is now in my secondary tank and doing great as well.
Look at his dorsal spine. Very long spike. Too bad it wasn't flaring.

Together

 

[Anthony kolodziej]

Looking good nick , I killed most of the frags I got from you when I traded the 26 . I found out how and why though . I have that fixed and my little 75 is doing great now . , I am still very jealous of this tank lol