420G Airlift powered AIO Reef Aquarium (Worlds first?)

[14crazychris]

So good news and bad news! Today all fish are awake which is great! Three of the new four fish ate well, I’ve finally seen the Juwel leopard wrasse which im very thankful for, however the bad news is my male peacock wrasse won’t stop chasing him arghhh! It’s really hard to watch and he’s definitly stressing the juwel out. The juwel doesn’t seem happy as there is lots of glass surfing but I hope it calms down eventually. Have also ordered a new light for my refugium as it hasn’t really been growing with the grow light which is frustrating so hopefully the new daylight spectrum will work.

thanks

 

[i cant think]

So good news and bad news! Today all fish are awake which is great! Three of the new four fish ate well, I’ve finally seen the Juwel leopard wrasse which im very thankful for, however the bad news is my male peacock wrasse won’t stop chasing him arghhh! It’s really hard to watch and he’s definitly stressing the juwel out. The juwel doesn’t seem happy as there is lots of glass surfing but I hope it calms down eventually. Have also ordered a new light for my refugium as it hasn’t really been growing with the grow light which is frustrating so hopefully the new daylight spectrum will work.

thanks

Bipartitus is a nasty species when it comes to aggression in males but if you have the Marisirubri then I’ve found they’re actually worse. Do you have a photo of the established leopard?

Depending on aggression, it’s likely you’ll have to remove one of the two.

 

[14crazychris]

Bipartitus is a nasty species when it comes to aggression in males but if you have the Marisirubri then I’ve found they’re actually worse. Do you have a photo of the established leopard?

Depending on aggression, it’s likely you’ll have to remove one of the two.

Unfortunately I don’t have any pics, both fish have gone to bed already, I guess I could try and put the aggressor in the filter compartment i definitly don’t want the lapillus dying. I looked up marisorubri and can confirm I definitely own Macropharyngodon bipartitus, I guess I will see how they do tomorrow assuming the lapillus comes out and will make a judgement then. Thank you for your advice.

 

[14crazychris]

Another small update. So I havnt seen the Juwelled leopard unfortunately although I have been at work all day which is when it usually would come out. Tomorrow I have the day off so I will see if I can spot it but I am sure it is no longer around. Im really hoping the male peacock wont be a nuisance to other new fish. I did want to add a potters wrasse and a leopard wrasse next year but im worried now. All other 11 fish are feeding well and looking good. New refugium light seems nice and bright so hopefully the algae will actually start growing! I've also added a few more corals. A couple of gold hammers, raja rampage chalice and a few other bits. My freind came over yesterday and took some half decent pictures so finally I can update the thread with some good pictures of the tank. I believe we are now on day 68 since the fill. Cheers

 

[i cant think]

Another small update. So I havnt seen the Juwelled leopard unfortunately although I have been at work all day which is when it usually would come out. Tomorrow I have the day off so I will see if I can spot it but I am sure it is no longer around. Im really hoping the male peacock wont be a nuisance to other new fish. I did want to add a potters wrasse and a leopard wrasse next year but im worried now. All other 11 fish are feeding well and looking good. New refugium light seems nice and bright so hopefully the algae will actually start growing! I've also added a few more corals. A couple of gold hammers, raja rampage chalice and a few other bits. My freind came over yesterday and took some half decent pictures so finally I can update the thread with some good pictures of the tank. I believe we are now on day 68 since the fill. Cheers

I bet you’ll find the Jewelled “leopard” to be in there, just likely to be hiding. Ideally when adding other leopards you may just have to get rid of the blue star unfortunately.

 

[14crazychris]

I bet you’ll find the Jewelled “leopard” to be in there, just likely to be hiding. Ideally when adding other leopards you may just have to get rid of the blue star unfortunately.

I really hope so but I am still happy with how well the tank has done so far and this is the first and only hiccup yet! I don’t mind removing the blue star if it means peace and harmony is restored. I have the day off today so I will keep a watchful eye on the tank and look out for it. I have been testing the water now and I feel it’s finally starting to get ready for dosing. I have the TMC all for reef powder that I plan to manually dose, will likely take a bit of time to work out how much I need to add. Onwards and upwards we go!

 

[ScubaShane]

This is Awesome!!

 

[14crazychris]

So good news! The new refugium light is working really well! The chaeto is definitly growing nicely now along with the other macros as well. I think I’ll give it another two weeks before I trim any out to allow for new growth. I think over the next month or so with limited feeding I should be able to get the nutrients back under control before the next bath of livestock goes in (February). Added a few more small frags here and there but nothing too extravagant.

 

[14crazychris]

So! Some extraordinary news today! I can’t believe my eyes but the Juwelled Leopard wrasse is ALIVE! after adding it on the 23rd of November and then only seeing it once on the 26th of November whilst being harassed by the peacock wrasse it has finally made an appearance today! It must have been In hiding for 18 days and incredibly still looks in decent shape. I’m really hoping that it will make it long term in the reef and the aggression will subside a bit. But I’m happy overall!

the chaeto algae has started to go brown so I think I will turn it and mix up the refugium a bit. Tank is doing well but mag levels have been dropping so I am going to increase the magnesium up to the desired level and then continue with dosing all for reef.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Tank looks great so far!!

 

[Eric R.]

Interesting setup, following!

 

[14crazychris]

Well amazing news! The Juwelled leopard wrasse has made another re appearance and looks reasonably healthy! It also took some frozen food today and the aggression has completely stopped! The male peacock doesn’t seen interested at all anymore. I’m extremely surprised but very happy! Just need to get a bit more weight on it now.

 

[14crazychris]

Um ok wow.........so basically you have a what? A large 6 week old skimmerless tank here with an overload of fish and corals already?

The AIO "airlift" system is literally pointless. Too many fish and corals is asking for a tank crash.

Too many wrasses........too small a tank for that many. Im not even talking about the bioload either.........im talking about the "territorial room". Those fish are under constant stress now. Plus you didnt even allow your tank to develop and mature to establish a food source(copepods etc) for them as alot of wrasses need to eat constantly through the day.

Alot of corals you have are "filter feeders" so the "air lift"(undergravel filter concept) filter floss is pointless. Are you running constant carbon and phosphate remover? Why?

When you chose your fish and corals did you actually do any worthwhile research on their needs, habits and/or requirements for healthy living?

Your concept of running an "airlift" setup to save power is near pointless too. Many of todays lights, pumps, skimmers etc use energy efficient equipment that draw less amperage than the power of a traditional incadescent light bulb.

as you had edited your original post after I responded I missed your last paragraph so apologies. The airlift is NOT solely used to save power that’s just one of the numerous benefits it provides.

thanks

 

[i cant think]

Um ok wow.........so basically you have a what? A large 6 week old skimmerless tank here with an overload of fish and corals already?

The AIO "airlift" system is literally pointless. Too many fish and corals is asking for a tank crash.

Too many wrasses........too small a tank for that many. Im not even talking about the bioload either.........im talking about the "territorial room". Those fish are under constant stress now. Plus you didnt even allow your tank to develop and mature to establish a food source(copepods etc) for them as alot of wrasses need to eat constantly through the day.

Alot of corals you have are "filter feeders" so the "air lift"(undergravel filter concept) filter floss is pointless. Are you running constant carbon and phosphate remover? Why?

When you chose your fish and corals did you actually do any worthwhile research on their needs, habits and/or requirements for healthy living?

Your concept of running an "airlift" setup to save power is near pointless too. Many of todays lights, pumps, skimmers etc use energy efficient equipment that draw less amperage than the power of a traditional incadescent light bulb.

Hey there, I just wanted to mention something about your comment on the wrasses.
In an 8’ tank, you can easily have 15+ wrasses (I’ve seen people with 30 or so wrasses in a similar tank dimension to the OPs). So actually territory isn’t a big issue, especially with what species the wrasses are. But also, aggression is expected when introducing a wrasse into any tank with other wrasses in. It’s them sorting out the hierarchy, and if we’re going off of this then any new fish you add in after one or two are in the tank no matter the tank size you’ll stress out the new fish anyway.

Now, for the feeding side of things, again I recommend you really look into the wrasses a bit more. They don’t need to eat 24/7 unlike Dragonets do. I assume this comment on the feeding is aimed towards the Macropharyngodon and the Halichoeres lapillus. In which case, these guys can wait for their next meal. I know that when I look at my 3’x16”x1’ tank, I don’t always see my Macropharyngodon bipartitus grazing. In fact she spends more time just swimming calmly than she does actually grazing. It’s more so she’ll look at the rock and then swim away even if she sees something.
And again, I see this exact same thing with my Halichoeres wrasses in my 4’x2’x18” tank. So no, wrasses do not need to eat 24/7, instead they graze and swim very much so like tangs and butterflies do. In fact, my Ctenochaetus binotatus grazes more than my Halichoeres, Pseudocheilinops and Macropharyngodon wrasses do. So should tangs be kept in tanks that are young even if they’re stable?

This isn’t meant to insult you, instead think of this as a challenge against your thoughts

 

[14crazychris]

Hey there, I just wanted to mention something about your comment on the wrasses.
In an 8’ tank, you can easily have 15+ wrasses (I’ve seen people with 30 or so wrasses in a similar tank dimension to the OPs). So actually territory isn’t a big issue, especially with what species the wrasses are. But also, aggression is expected when introducing a wrasse into any tank with other wrasses in. It’s them sorting out the hierarchy, and if we’re going off of this then any new fish you add in after one or two are in the tank no matter the tank size you’ll stress out the new fish anyway.

Now, for the feeding side of things, again I recommend you really look into the wrasses a bit more. They don’t need to eat 24/7 unlike Dragonets do. I assume this comment on the feeding is aimed towards the Macropharyngodon and the Halichoeres lapillus. In which case, these guys can wait for their next meal. I know that when I look at my 3’x16”x1’ tank, I don’t always see my Macropharyngodon bipartitus grazing. In fact she spends more time just swimming calmly than she does actually grazing. It’s more so she’ll look at the rock and then swim away even if she sees something.
And again, I see this exact same thing with my Halichoeres wrasses in my 4’x2’x18” tank. So no, wrasses do not need to eat 24/7, instead they graze and swim very much so like tangs and butterflies do. In fact, my Ctenochaetus binotatus grazes more than my Halichoeres, Pseudocheilinops and Macropharyngodon wrasses do. So should tangs be kept in tanks that are young even if they’re stable?

This isn’t meant to insult you, instead think of this as a challenge against your thoughts

Thanks for your first hand knowledge, once my fuge is fully up to capacity I plan to increase feedings to frozen morning and night. marine grazers during the day and pellets via an auto feeder. I may not need to do this many feedings but I have the ability and capacity to, to provide the fish and corals with everything they need.

so far everything seems very happy and healthy

thanks

 

[Rit6942]

Hey there, I just wanted to mention something about your comment on the wrasses.
In an 8’ tank, you can easily have 15+ wrasses (I’ve seen people with 30 or so wrasses in a similar tank dimension to the OPs). So actually territory isn’t a big issue, especially with what species the wrasses are. But also, aggression is expected when introducing a wrasse into any tank with other wrasses in. It’s them sorting out the hierarchy, and if we’re going off of this then any new fish you add in after one or two are in the tank no matter the tank size you’ll stress out the new fish anyway.

Now, for the feeding side of things, again I recommend you really look into the wrasses a bit more. They don’t need to eat 24/7 unlike Dragonets do. I assume this comment on the feeding is aimed towards the Macropharyngodon and the Halichoeres lapillus. In which case, these guys can wait for their next meal. I know that when I look at my 3’x16”x1’ tank, I don’t always see my Macropharyngodon bipartitus grazing. In fact she spends more time just swimming calmly than she does actually grazing. It’s more so she’ll look at the rock and then swim away even if she sees something.
And again, I see this exact same thing with my Halichoeres wrasses in my 4’x2’x18” tank. So no, wrasses do not need to eat 24/7, instead they graze and swim very much so like tangs and butterflies do. In fact, my Ctenochaetus binotatus grazes more than my Halichoeres, Pseudocheilinops and Macropharyngodon wrasses do. So should tangs be kept in tanks that are young even if they’re stable?

This isn’t meant to insult you, instead think of this as a challenge against your thoughts

Just because you've seen other tanks with X amount of species in it doesnt mean its right or close to optimal.

I have roughly same size tank as OP. How many wrasses do I keep in mine? Please ask me.

12 wrasses, 30 wrasses, 6 wrasses etc........too many for a tank small tank(less than 500g). I keep 1 single wrasse in mine.

 

[14crazychris]

Negativity? Bro.........lets go over your reply:

Being your "5th tank" and keeping fish for a decade means nothing. I have reef tanks and coral colonies DECADES old. Success in keeping a reef/marine tank is measured in years and decades.

The fact that you "corrected" me stating your tank is 12 weeks old vs 6 weeks says it all. It actually takes about a year MINIMUM for a tank to fully cycle and mature and develop algae and food colonies.

12 Wrasses in 1600 litres of water,...........again reread what i said, its not the actual bioload, its the TERRITORIAL LOAD. Are you understanding what im saying? In the wild are you gonna see 12 wrasses together hanging out in 1600 litres? No.

It doesnt matter that you sold goldfish and HOT filters at a Petco, you got alot to learn.

And seeing your fish and coral choices jammed together does not scream "you did your research" . Certain corals like clean water, certain corals prefer diry water with phosphates. Do you know which ones? Which corals need high flow? Light? That oil slick covering the surface of your tank shows how effective the air lift system is with carbon n phosphate bags tossed in.

Stating here that you havent lost a fish or coral yet on a 3 month old tank does not prove anything. Get back to this post when you can say that after 3 years............this tank has the high probability to go south in a hurry.

My post may come across as negative to you, but its an honest blunt response to what I see.

Sorry mate! Merry Xmas regardless!

no worries, thanks anyway for your comments, please feel free to check back in in 6 months. I’ll continue to test the boundaries and see how it works

 

[14crazychris]

Just because you've seen other tanks with X amount of species in it doesnt mean its right or close to optimal.

Your tank is roughly same size as mine? How many wrasses do I keep in mine? Please ask me.

12 wrasses, 30 wrasses, 6 wrasses etc........too many for your size tank. I keep 1 single wrasse in mine.

you have an 8x2x2? My tank is just under double the display volume? Wrasse are very peaceful species. I don’t have multiple surgeon fish and angel fish like many keep. I think 12 fish in 1600 litres is incredibly under stocked compared to the large majority.

ohh and FYI I’ve never worked at petco, more selecting fish overseas, importation and wholesale. I have a Bachelors of science degree in Fisheries and for years I maintain over 60 Reef aquariums in the capital city

 

[Rit6942]

you have an 8x2x2? My tank is just under double the display volume? Wrasse are very peaceful species. I don’t have multiple surgeon fish and angel fish like many keep. I think 12 fish in 1600 litres is incredibly under stocked compared to the large majority.

ohh and FYI I’ve never worked at petco, more selecting fish overseas, importation and wholesale.

Wrasse are peaceful species? Really?

Your tank volume is less than mine being an AIO.

Regardless, once again its more territorial load and less bioload(but thats gonna catch up with you too).

The point of the Petco comment was that your "experience" is heavily lacking currently.

I would not allow you to take care of any of my reef eco systems with your current knowledge base simply put.

Anyway merry Xmas n carry on! There are lambs to slaughter under foot!

 

[14crazychris]

Wrasse are peaceful species? Really?

Your tank volume is less than mine being an AIO.

Regardless, once again its more territorial load and less bioload(but thats gonna catch up with you too).

The point of the Petco comment was that your "experience" is heavily lacking currently.

I would not allow you to take care of any of my reef eco systems with your current knowledge base simply put.

Anyway merry Xmas n carry on! There are lambs to slaughter under foot!

You have no idea on my knowledge base, just becuase I’m trying something that may ruffle a few feathers of the old reefing community. Please check back in 6 months to check on my success. I’m always an advocate of change and experimentation sorry you’re not a fan.