my new project-Aquarium keeping part 2

[ocnbrze]

so a little bit about the clownfish. first off let me talk about sustainability of saltwater aquarium fish. most are not really sustainable. in fact Hawaii, this January just shutdown any collection of fish for the aquarium trade. so what used to be common saltwater fish like yellow tangs will not be collected and are now considered rare. they used to be sold for as little as $50, but now with the ban, i have seen them sold for as little as $500!!!!!!!! this is a good thing as it will force scientists to look into breeding them in captivity which as of yet has not been done.

there is a reason why a lot of saltwater fish have not been bred yet. captive breeding saltwater fish is not as easy as it sounds, but yet scientists have figured out a way to bred a select few of the fish.

Clownfish are one of the few that breed relatively easily in captivity. in fact they are so easy to breed that they have been able to manipulate the species to get certain colors and patterns that are not found in the wild. the black storm clowns in the previous post is one of them. since they are captive breed and raised in aquariums and fed frozen foods, it really makes these fish very much sustainable and very hardy.

once my tank is more established i am going to add more fish.

on my wish list:
1. gem tang
2. tomini tang
3. flasher wrasse
4. chevron tang
5. princess anthias

 

[MrJavi]

I never realized breading salt water fish in captivity was so difficult. I leared something new reading your information post @ocnbrze . Thank you

I apologize for being off topic, I found this of interest and just a quick shear and back on topic

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.th...orida-leatherback-turtles-coronavirus-beaches

 

[ocnbrze]

I never realized breading salt water fish in captivity was so difficult. I leared something new reading your information post @ocnbrze . Thank you

I apologize for being off topic, I found this of interest and just a quick shear and back on topic

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.th...orida-leatherback-turtles-coronavirus-beaches

yep it sure is hard.....mainly because it is hard to get the right conditions to have the fish breed. as well as getting the baby fish fry to eat when they are very tiny in an enclosed space. it is all about finding and also raising the right kind of food for the fry to eat and grow that in the past has proven difficult, until recently.

check out ORA, one of the best at captive breeding saltwater fish.
https://www.orafarm.com/about/ora/

 

[ocnbrze]

ok a quick update on the beast

i have added more fish so right now here is the fish list:
5 yellow belly damsels
1 chocolate tang
1 gold lightning maroon clown
10 hernit crabs
5 astrea snails
1 cleaner shrimp

i had to install a lid on my tank as i had 2 gold lightning maroon clowns, but one decided to go for a cliff dive. i discovered the fish a tad too late to rescue it

almost getting full as far as fish goes but i still plan to add more. the focus of the tank is not really the fish. the focus will be more on the corals. pretty soon i'll start to slowly add corals to the tank.....maybe in a month or so.


right now it is still going thru the ugly phase of the tank, but with my cleanup crew of hermit crabs and snails, the ugly phase is slowly phasing out.

things still do list:
1. i need a protein skimmer and possibly a UV sterilizer as well as a chiller.
2. i want to make a saltwater mixing station using RO/DI water

once the tank is past the ugly phase i'll post photos of how the tank looks

 

[MrJavi]

I've seen thoughts little shrimp but did know there name. Thanks @ocnbrze , from now on I'll refer to them as cleaner shrimp. I've always thought they were aesthetically pleasing.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

I've been away for awhile.
Any pictures?

 

[ocnbrze]

I've been away for awhile.
Any pictures?

nothing recently. i'm gonna try this weekend. i have my tank on a timer and it has a set of parameters that i do not want to change.....mainly because the fish are relatively new and do not want to freak them out.....for sure friday i'll post picks of the current stage of the tank and try and get some pics of the fish.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

I've given up on fish. Maybe a cat? They require much more space.

 

[ocnbrze]

ok so pics are coming i swear....LOL

but i have been thinking, i need to make a saltwater mixing station.

so since i am dealing with a saltwater tank and not a freshwater i tank. i have to mix a specific salt designed for saltwater aquariums. it is not recommended that you use tap water to mix your salt. depending on where you are at, local tap water can have a bunch of nutrients that is not good for saltwater tanks, especially reef tanks. nutrients like nitrates and phosphates can be potentially found in tap water. you want to avoid those as much as possible in reef tanks. to get rid of unwanted nutrients you need to use reverse osmosis/de-ionized water otherwise known as RO/DI or RODI.

the problem with that is location in the house. you need a water source and a place to drain the waste water. most people put their mixing station in the garage where you can use your washer/dryer for your source of water and drain. so folks have a sink which is perfect for your RODI and mixing station. the problem i will have as with most folks is that here in LA summers here can get really hot.....and i will have to install a chiller to keep the temperature down......plus if i do this in the garage, i will need a very strong pump to pump water into the tank which i measure to be about 75 feet away......that is a lot of head pressure and i would need a really powerful pump to do that.

an idea just popped into my head today. i can reorganize my closet(i really need to do this anyways) and i have enough room for a mixing station there. my water source would be a spigot right outside of my bedroom window. i just need to tee it off and drill a whole in my wall thru the stucco thats on the other side and i can feed the RO line thru to the mixing station and also have the waste water exit from the same whole.

now this is going to be a major project. so i have a 80 gallon tank in my room and a 20 gallon tank in the living room. i want to be able to do 20-30% of the water weekly so i would like to be able to take out about 20 gallons in my room and 5 gallons frrom the living room tank. so in total i would need at least 25 gallons on a weekly basis. but i also want extra just in case i need to do an emergency water change. or need to setup a hospital tank...........so i;m thinking of getting 2 50 gallon brute trashcans from Home Depot. i need 2 because i need one to hold the RODI water and another one to hold the saltwater.

so the first step i need to do is to get a better closet organizer then what i have now to make room for the station. next i will need to build a way to hold the trashcans where i want them....and finally i will need to get a decent pump and plumb the whole thing.

 

[ocnbrze]

here is a good video to give you an idea on what i want to accomplish:

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Where's the pics?

 

[ocnbrze]

Where's the pics?

not the best pic:

so the colored rocks are actual live rock. live rock in the past used to come from various regions like Fiji. but the problem was that they were actually ripping out chunks out of the reefs in Fiji.....not very sustainable. now what they are doing is adding manufactured rock into those locations and letting them grow the local flora and fauna before scooping them back out and shipping them. the problem is that they are just not the same to some degree. different looking rocks and not all flora and fauna survive shipment. the main benefit is the coraline algea that is growing on the rocks......it is the main reason why i added them. over time my white rocks will turn purple which is what every reefer wants.

 

[MrJavi]

not the best pic:

so the colored rocks are actual live rock. live rock in the past used to come from various regions like Fiji. but the problem was that they were actually ripping out chunks out of the reefs in Fiji.....not very sustainable. now what they are doing is adding manufactured rock into those locations and letting them grow the local flora and fauna before scooping them back out and shipping them. the problem is that they are just not the same to some degree. different looking rocks and not all flora and fauna survive shipment. the main benefit is the coraline algea that is growing on the rocks......it is the main reason why i added them. over time my white rocks will turn purple which is what every reefer wants.

It's gorgeous bro!!! Man you out did yourself @ocnbrze .

 

[ocnbrze]

It's gorgeous bro!!! Man you out did yourself @ocnbrze .

thanx.....i'm digging it so far. i'm still looking for either a gem tang or a purple tang.....both are really expensive right now. that large yellowish fish is called a chocolate tang. the smaller blue and yellow fish are yellow bellied damsels.

it start to look better when i add some corals. i should be ready for them in about a month or so.

 

[MrJavi]

The white rocks you glued together previously , yes? I gotta admit, it was worth the wait

 

[ocnbrze]

The white rocks you glued together previously , yes? I gotta admit, it was worth the wait

yep evetually other things will grow on it that came from the live rock i added....hopefully. in about a year from now they will not be white anymore.

 

[MrJavi]

thanx.....i'm digging it so far. i'm still looking for either a gem tang or a purple tang.....both are really expensive right now. that large yellowish fish is called a chocolate tang. the smaller blue and yellow fish are yellow bellied damsels.

it start to look better when i add some corals. i should be ready for them in about a month or so.

Where are the little shrip? I mean the cleaner shrimp?

I know this is the beginning, so to speak. If I remember correctly, cleaner shrimp have an appointment life span of about three years. As for the gem tang or a purple tang, I have to ask how much do they cost and how long do they live? Will they procreate in captivity?

PS: What were those fish with the babys in there mouth called ?

 

[MrJavi]

yep evetually other things will grow on it that came from the live rock i added....hopefully. in about a year from now they will not be white anymore.

Man, you really put your heart out on this and it shows and Im not just saying that, I mean it. Its a beautiful tank my friend. I know, the more time, the more colorful and vibrant it will be.

 

[ocnbrze]

Where are the little shrip? I mean the cleaner shrimp?

I know this is the beginning, so to speak. If I remember correctly, cleaner shrimp have an appointment life span of about three years. As for the gem tang or a purple tang, I have to ask how much do they cost and how long do they live? Will they procreate in captivity?

PS: What were those fish with the babys in there mouth called ?

so the shrimp likes to hang out in the back of the tank. the tank is so deep that it is hard to get a photograph. i'll keep trying though.

and you are talking mouthbrooders......those are freshwater fish which are in my 180 gallon tank.

 

[ocnbrze]

Man, you really put your heart out on this and it shows and Im not just saying that, I mean it. Its a beautiful tank my friend. I know, the more time the more colorful and vibrant it will be.

thanx....definitely a lot of time, sweat and money went into this tank......and i'm not done yet.....lol

 

[MrJavi]

so the shrimp likes to hang out in the back of the tank. the tank is so deep that it is hard to get a photograph. i'll keep trying though.

It cool, take your time. Its worth the wait

and you are talking mouthbrooders......those are freshwater fish which are in my 180 gallon tank.

 

[MrJavi]

My batterys at 1% , I'm be back

 

[ocnbrze]

some updates will becoming this weekend. and maybe a new thread as it is not a project any more. everything is done. now it is time to tweak things and start adding and allowing things to grow.

 

[ocnbrze]

Hi all! Guys, I see there are experts and I would like to hear their opinion regarding nitrate levels in a saltwater aquarium. How do you conduct lower nitrate levels at home? I wouldn't want to use a lot of different chemicals, but I would also like to keep my aquarium in good condition. At the moment I'm trying to change the water more and more often, and what are you doing to do this?

is it a reef tank? if so, how is your nitrates? if it is a fish only tank than as long as you do not go any higher than 40ppm your tank should be fine.

the best way to keep low nitrates in any tank, reef or fish only is to do water changes. there are things like NOPOX or GFO's that can bring nitrates and phosphate levels down.

in my reef, my nitrates are around 15ppm with phosphates at around .18ppm (which is a tad high....i like it around .10). i plan on doing a water change later today.

your corals uses nitrates to grow.....so.....you do want low nitrates, but you do not want it too low.nitrates should be around 10ppm.

fish only tanks, you should not have to worry to much about nitrates as long as you do not over feed, over crowd, and do water changes regularly, you should be fine.

 

[ocnbrze]

Yes, just for the fish. Thank you very much for such a comprehensive answer

ok then fish only tanks.....water changes are the key to keeping good water quality....as well as not over feeding.