New Crystal Dynamics 180 gallon Tank

[Cesteban721]

Update time! Tank has been progressing well, but slowly.

New Additions:
Red striped hogfish

Pink barred goby

Chalk bass

I started pulling out the damsels as they are an absolute nightmare. Any new fish additions immediately get sized up by these guys. I knew the aggression would be an issue and the plan was to not have the damsels in the tank for long. They’ve served their purpose as test fish and it’s for them to go. I’ve caught 2 of the 3, the little blue guy has disappeared and they’ve gone back to local fish store to terrorize someone else’s tank! Will catch the last guy on Sunday. Of course the most aggressive out of the 3 is the most difficult to trap, but his days are numbered.

Next fish additions will be a trio of Banggai Cardinals and Flameback Angel. Photos to come when they arrive.

On a side note, the Helfrichi firefish are doing really well. I’m surprised that they have not staked out individual territories within the tank. They hang out together all day which has been very cool to watch.

 

[Arabyps]

Fish list (Not order of introduction)
-Purple Tang
-Yellow Tang or tangs
-Purple Filefish (maybe 3)
-School of Bangaii Cardinal Fish (5-7)
-Lyretail Anthias (3-5)
-Leopard Wrasse
- Some type of Blenny
- One stunning fish that I have not decided.

I am open to suggestions and tweaks on this list. I have not had a tank of this scale before but intend on introducing the peaceful schooling types first before the tang gang arrives.

The majority of my planned fish will be introduced prior to corals.

The livestock list looks great. For a stunning fish you might consider a flame angel, powder blue tang or foxface. Best of luck to you.

 

[Cesteban721]

The livestock list looks great. For a stunning fish you might consider a flame angel, powder blue tang or foxface. Best of luck to you.

Thank you for the suggestions. I will definitely have a Pygmy angel of some type (flameback, potters or flame). I would love to have a powder or fox face, my only reservation is size. I don’t want large fish to take away from the aquascape. One of the two would definitely be doable. The fox face would be a nice utility fish for sure, something I am definitely lacking right now.

 

[Cesteban721]

Captured the last damsel.



New additions, mystery wrasse and 3 Banggai cardinals.

 

[Cesteban721]

Tang poll:

white tail and gem

or
A couple of yellows and Gem?

 

[Gablami]

Hard to choose. One white tail, one yellow, and one gem is not an option?

 

[Cesteban721]

Hard to choose. One white tail, one yellow, and one gem is not an option?

Would be totally doable. My plan was to add another round of fish in a couple of weeks. I would like to add the tangs at one time. All 3 would be cool. If I do, that would be an even number of zebrasoma. Would you do 2 yellows and the gem to even out aggression in the zebrasoma guys?

 

[Gablami]

I’m not sure how important those “rules” are. I’ve got 3 yellow tangs, 1 sailfin when it comes to zebrasoma, and a white tail, amongst others. The yellow tails just fight amongst themselves.

I think it hurts me that all three yellows are the same size. But they all ignore the other tangs I have. If you get a gem and a yellow of different sizes I think it would be fine. Not sure how different it would be with a second yellow. Each fish is unique. Hard to predict what will happen.

 

[Cesteban721]

Both lights are now running and the uglies are starting to pop up. Currently seeing diatoms and they brought a nice 2nd bacterial bloom with them.
Not the prettiest tank right now but I know it’s moving in the right direction toward stability.

Never thought I would say that I’m anxiously waiting for algae to pop up, which is a good thing. Once algae appears, the tang gang is going in. Will be taking gablami’s advice on the tangs:

1 gem
1 white tail
1 yellow

all added at the same time.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Update time! Tank has been progressing well, but slowly.

New Additions:
Red striped hogfish

Pink barred goby

Chalk bass

I started pulling out the damsels as they are an absolute nightmare. Any new fish additions immediately get sized up by these guys. I knew the aggression would be an issue and the plan was to not have the damsels in the tank for long. They’ve served their purpose as test fish and it’s for them to go. I’ve caught 2 of the 3, the little blue guy has disappeared and they’ve gone back to local fish store to terrorize someone else’s tank! Will catch the last guy on Sunday. Of course the most aggressive out of the 3 is the most difficult to trap, but his days are numbered.

Next fish additions will be a trio of Banggai Cardinals and Flameback Angel. Photos to come when they arrive.

On a side note, the Helfrichi firefish are doing really well. I’m surprised that they have not staked out individual territories within the tank. They hang out together all day which has been very cool to watch.

Love those Firefish! Got some and they are my favorite!

 

[Cesteban721]

Love those Firefish! Got some and they are my favorite!

Thanks man. They are very cool fish. Always out moving around the tank together.

 

[tricky_tran]

That’s a beautiful looking display. Looking to get the same size in the future. Following along.

 

[Jeffcb]

Small update. Tank arrived last Tuesday in great shape. Haven’t done anything else besides finish the mixing station. Need to figure out how I’m going to move this thing.

Looking really good. I am ready for a large build myself but haven't pulled the trigger yet. I have a Reefer 250 liter now and want to go large. I figure if I build the Mixing station I will buy a tank soon. What pump did you use on your mixing station?

 

[Cesteban721]

That’s a beautiful looking display. Looking to get the same size in the future. Following along.

Thank you. I strongly recommend going with a tall stand if you do it. It’s super cool being able to walk by the tank and view everything at almost eye level. It’s like snorkeling in my living room without getting wet.

 

[Cesteban721]

Looking really good. I am ready for a large build myself but haven't pulled the trigger yet. I have a Reefer 250 liter now and want to go large. I figure if I build the Mixing station I will buy a tank soon. What pump did you use on your mixing station?

Thank you. It has taken almost 2 years in to get to this point. Started planning in January of 19 and officially ordered around October of 19. I went with a pan world 100PX-X. Very happy with it.

 

[tricky_tran]

Thank you. I strongly recommend going with a tall stand if you do it. It’s super cool being able to walk by the tank and view everything at almost eye level. It’s like snorkeling in my living room without getting wet.

I have a 60x30x36 framing tech stand. I’m Asian, so that’s pretty tall for me. .

 

[Cesteban721]

Question for everyone:

Background:
I added a flame hawk fish a couple of weeks ago and was/still is a healthy specimen. With any new fish addition, I constantly check for signs of Ich/parasites. Today when I got home, I noticed 2 small spots (one on each side of his body) that were not present when I left today.

the fish is not flashing or rubbing on anything in the tank.

I have a red striped hogfish that has shown a small level of aggression to the hawkfish.

Here’s the question:

Does this look like early onset flukes?

or

could this be raised scales from the few fights with the hogfish?

I purchased prazipro with the intention of dosing the display prior to added my tangs this month.

All fish are healthy and no one else is in distress.
- no hovering at the surface
- no flashing

As a preventative , is it worth dosing the display with Prazipro now before the addition of the tangs?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Jeffcb]

Wait a day or 2.

 

[Cesteban721]

Wait a day or 2.

Thank you for your reply.

 

[thought]

Just read this whole thread, excited to follow along, great design and set up! I like your options for a Pygmy Angel, hoping the hogfish is ok in a couple days btw