Innovative Marine 200-gallon INT Build

[Billldg]

They're gorgeous fish, I don't see why you couldn't. Your tank is big enough and you have the filtration to add more fish. Plus, they sleep in the sand, so they shouldn't bother with another fish's territory within the rockwork (assumption). lol, I don't know why I want you to add more wrasses haha. It's as if I'm viewing your tank as mine. It just shows how hobbyists care about another's tank, sometimes to a fault ;Writing.

Also thinking of a Blue star Leopard wrasse as well, but they are bad at shipping and even harder to get thru QT because of the shipping issue.

I love wrasses because of the personality of my late Pintail, so who wouldn't want a ton of wrasses, LOL!!! ;Hilarious

 

[Mr. Fishy Fish]

Also thinking of a Blue star Leopard wrasse as well, but they are bad at shipping and even harder to get thru QT because of the shipping issue.

I love wrasse because of the personality of my late Pintail, so who wouldn't want a ton of wrasses, LOL!!! ;Hilarious

A good diet may help with that. If you can get your buddy to feed the poor shippers white worms during quarantine, it should help get them through it. I mean that's if they weren't caught using cyanide. I think they catch a lot of wrasses with cyanide that's why they end up shipping so poorly, imagine trying to catch a wrasse in the ocean without some sort of drug. However, this is pure speculation on my part based on Paul B's book. Great book if you haven't read it btw. I'm halfway through it, and I can't get enough of his stories.

 

[Mr. Fishy Fish]

Update 7.0

White Worm Culture​

After reading about half of Paul B’s book I’m convinced that live foods are an important part of a fish’s diet. The bacteria stored within the white worms' guts is something we can’t get here in Canada (or almost anywhere else) unless we feed worms. So I decided to start my own white worm culture for the sake of that gut bacteria and share the process with everyone on here.


What you Need to Culture White Worms:

• Three large Tupperware’s
• Frabill Fat and Sassy Worm Bedding
• Everland Nutritional Yeast Flakes
• 100% wheat toast bread
• Probiotic Yogurt (organic)
• Needlepoint Mesh
• Marineland PA0382 White Diamond Ammonia Neutralizing Crystals (zeolite)
• White worms (you can buy them online for relatively cheap)

How to Culture White Worms?

Note: Frabill Fat and Sassy Worm Bedding is designed for culturing white worms, you will not need to moisten it, sterilize it or adjust the pH.

1. Spread yogurt over half a piece of toast
2. Now spread the yeast over the yogurt
3. Next cut the toast into three rectangular pieces and place it on the side for now
4. Use a needle and a hammer to puncture multiple holes in the Tupperware’s lid (don’t get lazy here, the worms need to breathe so make sure you puncture lots of holes).
5. Spread 2-3 inches of soil in the Tupperware
6. Add two tablespoons of zeolite to the Tupperware
7. Mix the contents in the Tupperware thoroughly then evenly spread the soil and zeolite mix
8. Next, add the white worms
9. Now place the bread covered with yeast/yogurt in the Tupperware
10. Place pre-cut needlepoint mesh on top of the food and soil then put on the lid
11. Every month, start a new culture with the other Tupperware containers.

Maintenance:

• At one point your culture is going to crash no matter what you do, so it’s advisable to start a new culture every month as a backup culture.
• Every two weeks you’re going to want to take out the leftover bread and add new pieces of bread covered in yogurt and yeast to feed the worms.
• Moisten the media if it gets dry

I'm not a worm expert, I just did a little research and developed this plan based on the work of others.

References:

The Avant-Garde Marine Aquarist: A 60-Year History of Fish Keeping By Paul B

White Worm Culture (Enchytraeus albidus) | Fish Laboratory

White Worms, Enchytraeus albidus , are commonly cultured by aquarists as a form of live fish food . They can be fed to a wide variety of fish fry and smaller adult fish species. They are also fed to newts, salamanders, and some frogs. When the white worms are submerged underwater, they will wiggle

www.fishlaboratory.com

.

 

[Mr. Fishy Fish]

Update 8.0
​

The aquascape is officially complete and inside the tank. I'm currently filling the tank up as we speak. However, most of the aquascape fell apart while I was moving it into the tank. I used one bucket of E-Marco-400, but I guess it wasn't enough. For those who read this and want to use E-Marco-400 I highly recommend only making small structures that you can slide together into one larger structure rather than gigantic structures. Also, make sure you use a lot of mortar (so buy extra). Or just mortar the rock while it's inside the tank to avoid all these issues. There are some pictures and a video below. The structures were much nicer before they broke apart, but I think it still turned out alright. I made a lot of tunnels, caves, and hiding places for the fish. Let me know what you guys think.

 

[recreative]

looking great!

 

[mattzang]

hah that's a bummer on the scape, that's basically what happened with mine too. most of my dry rock was the caribsea liferock tho and it is super dense and heavy. so anything i did that was like 3+ rocks ended up falling apart while 2 rocks seemed to work ok since i could support it easier carrying it to the tank

 

[Mr. Fishy Fish]

hah that's a bummer on the scape, that's basically what happened with mine too. most of my dry rock was the caribsea liferock tho and it is super dense and heavy. so anything i did that was like 3+ rocks ended up falling apart while 2 rocks seemed to work ok since i could support it easier carrying it to the tank

It worked out for the best, at least now I can re-scape any time LOL! Gotta look at the positives rather than the negatives, right? I'm going to need more rock though, Paul B didn't approve ;Hilarious . He said I ought to make the right side like the left side (I agree). I was being cheap since I already spent a fortune ;Dead. Oh well, that's just how it is. I don't care how aesthetically appealing it is anymore, I just want to give these god dang fish the best life they can get in my tank. They don't need to see my ugly face all the time ;Cyclops.

 

[shoelaceike]

Hey, great tank! I have the 100 INT on the way....did you drill a hole in the return Elbow to break the siphon or does it come drilled?

 

[Mr. Fishy Fish]

Hey, great tank! I have the 100 INT on the way....did you drill a hole in the return Elbow to break the siphon or does it come drilled?

I'm not really sure what you mean by drilling a hole to break the siphon. But if it's to stop water from backflowing into the return I did not, my sump is big enough to hold whatever backflows in the event of a power outage.

 

[TigerReef]

Update 8.0
​

The aquascape is officially complete and inside the tank. I'm currently filling the tank up as we speak. However, most of the aquascape fell apart while I was moving it into the tank. I used one bucket of E-Marco-400, but I guess it wasn't enough. For those who read this and want to use E-Marco-400 I highly recommend only making small structures that you can slide together into one larger structure rather than gigantic structures. Also, make sure you use a lot of mortar (so buy extra). Or just mortar the rock while it's inside the tank to avoid all these issues. There are some pictures and a video below. The structures were much nicer before they broke apart, but I think it still turned out alright. I made a lot of tunnels, caves, and hiding places for the fish. Let me know what you guys think.

Your aquascape looks great! I really like all the caves you were able to create.

I experienced similar challenges using the E-Marco-400. I also started with the Marco dry rock but ended up smashing the larger, heavier pieces into smaller, lighter bits. I then used a super glue gel with the BRS accelerator to hold my structure together during the design/construction. Once I was happy with the overall shape, I secured each of my aquascape sections to plexiglass bases. I decided to add the base 1) so the rock wouldn't sit directly on the glass bottom of the tank, and 2) to provide stability in case I bumped while cleaning etc. (which I almost always do!). Turns out, the plexiglass base also made it easier to move my structures into the tank. For the E-Marco mortar, I mixed according to the instructions, but rather than using a bucket and spatula to apply, I put small batches of mortar in a heavy zip lock bag, snipped off one corner and 'piped' the mortar into the joints and along the seams. I found this helped control the mortar and really allowed me to work it into the nooks and crannies of the dry rock.

 

[Mr. Fishy Fish]

Your aquascape looks great! I really like all the caves you were able to create.

I experienced similar challenges using the E-Marco-400. I also started with the Marco dry rock but ended up smashing the larger, heavier pieces into smaller, lighter bits. I then used a super glue gel with the BRS accelerator to hold my structure together during the design/construction. Once I was happy with the overall shape, I secured each of my aquascape sections to plexiglass bases. I decided to add the base 1) so the rock wouldn't sit directly on the glass bottom of the tank, and 2) to provide stability in case I bumped while cleaning etc. (which I almost always do!). Turns out, the plexiglass base also made it easier to move my structures into the tank. For the E-Marco mortar, I mixed according to the instructions, but rather than using a bucket and spatula to apply, I put small batches of mortar in a heavy zip lock bag, snipped off one corner and 'piped' the mortar into the joints and along the seams. I found this helped control the mortar and really allowed me to work it into the nooks and crannies of the dry rock.

I'm glad one of us likes it, but I'm going to redo it. I want to create more arches for SPS corals so I'm going to attach arches from the left structure to the middle structure. I will take the information provided by you and apply it this time around.


For those wondering what is going on with my build, I'll be posting a large update in the next few days.

 

[Mr. Fishy Fish]

Update 9.0​

Happy New Year Everyone,

It’s been a while here’s a list of some things that I have updated.


I ended up getting an Aquatic Life Hybrid to go with my two Kessil 360’s and I also got a Kessil AP9X as a center light.

In regards to overall tank turnover, I currently have a total of 20,000 GPH (three Jebao SDW 16’s, one Jebao OW-50, and the return).

Regarding the fuge, I put a half pound of Red Ogo, 5 jars of 5280 pods and 4 jars of ecopods from Algae Barn.

Regarding food, I was able to get two packs of LRS, so I’ve just been feeding that, live baby brine, and live grindal worms. I feed approximately ten portioned meals a day.

Regarding the CUC, to start I ended up getting about 30 cerith snails, 1 tuxedo urchin, 1 tiger conch, 14 tongo nassarius snails.

Regarding fish, so far I have 7 lyretail anthias (one male and six females), two clowns (long-fin and Picasso), yellow wrasse, cleaner wrasse, and a yellow banded possum wrasse.

Here are some horrible videos of the tank. I seriously need to get that camera filter.

 

[iamacat]

Update 9.0​

Happy New Year Everyone,

It’s been a while here’s a list of some things that I have updated.


I ended up getting an Aquatic Life Hybrid to go with my two Kessil 360’s and I also got a Kessil AP9X as a center light.

In regards to overall tank turnover, I currently have a total of 20,000 GPH (three Jebao SDW 16’s, one Jebao OW-50, and the return).

Regarding the fuge, I put a half pound of Red Ogo, 5 jars of 5280 pods and 4 jars of ecopods from Algae Barn.

Regarding food, I was able to get two packs of LRS, so I’ve just been feeding that, live baby brine, and live grindal worms. I feed approximately ten portioned meals a day.

Regarding the CUC, to start I ended up getting about 30 cerith snails, 1 tuxedo urchin, 1 tiger conch, 14 tongo nassarius snails.

Regarding fish, so far I have 7 lyretail anthias (one male and six females), two clowns (long-fin and Picasso), yellow wrasse, cleaner wrasse, and a yellow banded possum wrasse.

Here are some horrible videos of the tank. I seriously need to get that camera filter.

Nice! Download the aquarium camera app. 3.99 but works better than the lens

 

[Mr. Fishy Fish]

Nice! Download the aquarium camera app. 3.99 but works better than the lens

If that's the case, then I'll download it shortly.

 

[Mr. Fishy Fish]

Hey everyone,

I pulled the trigger on a supermale rhomboid fairy wrasse and a supermale lineatus fairy wrasse . I should get them late next week. Wish me luck, I'll post pictures when I get them ;Snaphappy.

 

[Billldg]

Hey everyone,

I pulled the trigger on a supermale rhomboid fairy wrasse and a supermale lineatus fairy wrasse . I should get them late next week. Wish me luck, I'll post pictures when I get them ;Snaphappy.

Luck being sent you way. Those are some Holy Grail wrasses. ;Woot ;Woot ;Woot

I'm not jealous, not at all. ;Jawdrop

 

[Mr. Fishy Fish]

Luck being sent you way. Those are some Holy Grail wrasses. ;Woot ;Woot ;Woot

I'm not jealous, not at all. ;Jawdrop

Now all I need is that flame wrasse you have to complete the trio LOL!

 

[Mike1970]

I like how you do things

 

[Mr. Fishy Fish]

I like how you do things

Go big or go home

 

[Mr. Fishy Fish]

Here are some photos

Parameters:

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
Phosphate 0.1
pH 8.3 constant
Temp ranges from 78 to 79

Feeding:

The equivalent of five cubes a day spread apart to ten feedings a day.
LRS Fish Frenzy, PE Mysis, live BBS, live grindal worms, and frozen Hikari brine.