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55 Gallon Vlamingii Tang Reef


AcroporaLokani

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AcroporaLokani

I set this tank up after my biocube 29 gallon leaked, I have to say I am much happier with this tank than with my biocube.

 

I set up the tank two days ago with all the old water and sand from my biocube and gave everything a chance to settle before I took pictures.

 

I have ten pounds of live rock and twenty of base rock.

For circulation I have one koralia #3 rated at 850GPH, For filtration I have a remora pro with a maxijet1200. The skimmer started pulling out gunk minutes after I set it up so I guess all the crud from the sand jump started the break in.

 

Lighting is two 54 watt T5 bulbs one actinic one 10K

 

For fish I have once eight inch vlamingii tang and one blue/green chromis.

For corals I have SPS,LPS,Soft and polyps in the tank. I also have five bubble tip anemones in the tank.

 

And now the pictures.

 

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cabage55120308zg1.jpg

 

In the next few weeks I want to get a kenya tree coral and a toad stool leather and possibly a friend for the tang.

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Dude, I'd hate to knock you but... You REALLY shouldn't have that big ass tang in your 55. That fish needs to be in a 6-8' tank man. Those SPS need like 80x turnover for flow and way more then 108w of T5! Those bubble tips are not going to live under 108w of T5 either.

 

Man you need to go out and buy some hardcore T5 lighting and/or MH lighting and get rid of that naso tang!

 

Edit: On a side note, I REALLY like your rock work. Love the two islands look :)

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Trust in the force young jedi ^

 

 

Acro knows what he's doing.

 

 

 

SPS corals are stereotyped as being the neediest of them all, in some senses they are..

but in the overall, water quality rains supreme.

 

ive seen SPS grown under4 x 20W standard out t-8 fluorescents, and with only a maxijet 1200 in a 28gallon...

 

 

those Bubble tips will be fine, ive kept them under pc lighting with no negatives. once again water quality comes into play.

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Look man I'm not trying to bash him. But if SPS were able to grow and thrive under T8 lighting then people would use T8 lighting instead o paying ridiculous amounts of money for T5 and MH lighting. The BTA's will bleach and eventually die. And there is no way to argue with me about the tang. That thing is going to get to be 2' long and his tank is 4' long. Come on now.

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As a rule, I agree with Corps on all that he's saying. But as the exception, seagul is right too, it can be done and WQ is key. The tang does need to go, soon. Vlamingi's like their space.

 

Other than that, LOVE this tank. Great rock work, love the blue background, very nice 55. Not helping in my decision of what to do with my empty 55 at home.

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Look man I'm not trying to bash him. But if SPS were able to grow and thrive under T8 lighting then people would use T8 lighting instead o paying ridiculous amounts of money for T5 and MH lighting. The BTA's will bleach and eventually die. And there is no way to argue with me about the tang. That thing is going to get to be 2' long and his tank is 4' long. Come on now.

 

 

SPS needs much more then just light to grow. The whole light thing is overrated. Example, I gave a buddy a 2 inch frag of bali slimer 2 months ago. He only has 2 55 watt PC on a 50 gal SeaClear. I thought the thing would brown out and have little polyp extension. I went there last week and the thing is over 5 inches long and fuzzy as hell fully encrusted. It really likes his water quality. Dont get me wrong, I have recently upgraded to MH on my RSM. This was to get more color and growth and I love the shimmering look, but as long as the chemistry is good SOME SPS will do fine IMO. The only thing that may suffer is the color.

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AcroporaLokani

Tang police in full force I see.

 

Dude, I'd hate to knock you but... You REALLY shouldn't have that big ass tang in your 55. That fish needs to be in a 6-8' tank man. Those SPS need like 80x turnover for flow and way more then 108w of T5! Those bubble tips are not going to live under 108w of T5 either.

 

Man you need to go out and buy some hardcore T5 lighting and/or MH lighting and get rid of that naso tang!

 

Edit: On a side note, I REALLY like your rock work. Love the two islands look :)

 

I have kept the bubble tips under much less lighting (two 40 watt T8 for over five years) With great results, I started with one and they multiplied in to five under the T8. Anemones are NOT hard to take care of and they do not need so much light that your electric bill goes up $100 a month ether. Most people just want you to think anemones are hard to take care of so it makes them look more "experienced" at reef keeping.

 

I don't need help with SPS I have kept them for years and they do not need 80x turn over rate to live (Some people like higher flow rates but saying SPS can only survive with 80x turnover rate is absurd at best). And again no SPS does not need as much light as you say ( I have kept acropora, montipora and pocilopora to be specific under T8 and they were fine not much growth but they were fine and still had some color).

 

I have had my tang for over three years and love him more than my grandmother I'm not getting rid of him, I never said this tank was his final home did I? If so please show me where perhaps I did say this tang was going to be in this 55 gal forever and I am just crazy, And please show me where I said did not know that my tang gets to be two feet. I am building my new house and living in a smaller home and do not have to room for some massive tank that a tang that is only eight inches does not yet require. You telling me everything is going to die in my tank will not sway me since I have kept the anemones and SPS in much less flow and lighting, Your comments can and will work on some foolish n00b but unfortunately not on me.

 

SPS are not as hard as most people say (I think they are so easy to keep, I crack up when people tell me otherwise). I have kept SPS and anemones under T8 and they were fine for years so I agree with Seagul completely.

 

SPS also do not require mas turnover rates like you stated. SPS (And all corals) do require flow in order to breath basically the flesh of a SPS is its lung and with the constant flow it allows the coral to breath, SPS also grow in accordance of the water flow under less flow they have thinner branches and grow more sparsely the bone density of the coral is also weaker, In more intense flow they grow thicker branches and grow in a cluster the bone density of the coral is also so strong fragging bone cutters have a hart time getting through them. Corals kept in higher flow do not get as large of an appearance as corals grown under less flow (It takes twice as long for a coral kept in 50x turnover rate to grow to the size of a coral grown under 25x turnover rate because the coral kept under mas flow grows in a clump and the coral kept under less flow grows outward to allow more water flow throughout the colony, The coral kept under less flow growing thinner branches thus gives your reef a more mature look because it give the illusion of a large coral in half the time. And SPS do not require direct flow laminar flow will do just fine for them. After all SPS and some corals on the reef have the flow blocked by all the bigger corals and all the rocks around them and thus get laminar flow.

 

 

If you do not believe me about my SPS keeping abilities click this Acro's Frag Tanks My frag tanks were 80% SPS so the fact that I have pages of proof on what I know about SPS proves I do not need help on how to make them live. They were also kept originally in two 12 gallon tanks (Most people cannot sustain the proper requirements for SPS in any tank smaller than 100 gallons, Not all but most and you can see the more experienced reef keeper could keep any SPS in a nano tank or pico tank for that matter).

 

And thank you about the rock work comment I also like the look of it.

 

Trust in the force young jedi ^

 

 

Acro knows what he's doing.

 

 

 

SPS corals are stereotyped as being the neediest of them all, in some senses they are..

but in the overall, water quality rains supreme.

 

ive seen SPS grown under4 x 20W standard out t-8 fluorescents, and with only a maxijet 1200 in a 28gallon...

 

 

those Bubble tips will be fine, ive kept them under pc lighting with no negatives. once again water quality comes into play.

 

Thanks Seagul, I'm never sure why people give such a hard time over stuff like this, A while back people said coral would never be kept in aquariums then once they were they said only a certain species of coral could be kept then after most corals were able to be kept it moved to "YOU CAN'T KEEP THAT IN A NANO" then people kept clams and SPS in nano tanks and now its "YOU CAN'T KEEP THAT IN A PICO" and now there are SPS and clam pico tanks popping up. So honestly I just crack up when people like "corps" think they can tell me what I am allowed to keep in my tank and under my lighting. Maybe I should just PM the "corps" boy whenever I am thinking of adding some thing to my tank, After all I am just so bent on his approval (If you could not tell I was slathering on the sarcasm like butter on a dinner roll :lol: ). So thanks again Seagul at least some people on this site know that with proper care any coral is able to be kept under any circumstances :)

 

Look man I'm not trying to bash him. But if SPS were able to grow and thrive under T8 lighting then people would use T8 lighting instead o paying ridiculous amounts of money for T5 and MH lighting. The BTA's will bleach and eventually die. And there is no way to argue with me about the tang. That thing is going to get to be 2' long and his tank is 4' long. Come on now.

 

Again I never said this was my tangs final home, And I have kept SPS under T8 and they lived and had ok color (Not garishly flamboyant blues and pinks but nice greens, yellows and oranges). And no the anemones will not bleach and die I have had them for years and for the most part they were under two regular 40 watt T8 tubes (In this very tank before I shut it down when I moved) and they multiplied and multiplied (I have even had LFS owners tell me they have never raised anemones other than aptasia, And for the most part they all suggested that I become an oceanographer or marine biologist since they all ended up calling me looking for help when the fish/coral in the stores tanks went south, They also gave my number out to customers who needed help setting up coral tanks or to those that were having problems). I kept the anemones under halides for about a month and hated the ugly brown color they took on and moved them back to the T8 where they had blue and green colors. The anemones also did not do well under the halides and shriveled under them even after acclimating them to the light.

 

And I would also like to say that I have seen sailfin tangs kept in 37 gallon tanks without a foul word (Not a large vlamingii most people do not want to spend the $375-$530 price tag that it takes to get a large one (If you can even find one that is). But sailfin tangs get to be a larger body mas than vlamingii tangs just for the shear fact that they can double body size simply by raising a fin. And yes the sailfin was the same size as my tang. So honestly I do not want to hear it, I am not some "tang n00b". I actually rescued my vlamingii tang from lateral line disease when I got him and nursed him back to heath.

 

And my tang was being kept at a LFS in a 400 gallon tank but I got in to an argument with the owner over store credit from a few hundred pounds of live sand and ten clowns and gobies I traded in (I wanted the $3.99 chromis) The owner got mad and threatened to sell my tang and showed me three smaller vlaminii tangs on liveaquaria's divers den going for $530. The owner then called me up the next day and said if I did not come and get my tang then he would put him in a trash bag and throw him away with the morning trash just to make me mad.

 

So honestly is you think my beloved tang would be better off in a trashcan dead then oh well for you because that is not the case. I actually had to keep him in my 29 gallon biocube for about a week until I could get my 55 gallon tank setup and he showed no stress at all (Even with the biocube leaking).

 

As a rule, I agree with Corps on all that he's saying. But as the exception, seagul is right too, it can be done and WQ is key. The tang does need to go, soon. Vlamingi's like their space.

 

Other than that, LOVE this tank. Great rock work, love the blue background, very nice 55. Not helping in my decision of what to do with my empty 55 at home.

 

My tang is fine for the time being remember he is not full grown and it probably will take four to six years for him to be a full grown adult (Not that he will be in this tank that long) I however do not agree with the "corps" boy (If that was not made clear in my replies).

 

Thanks, I actually painted the tanks background the same blue as my walls and the tank just fades in to the wall and it looks just so clean and neat. And thanks about the rock work, I have had most of the rock for over twenty five years (Not kept live the whole time).

 

 

SPS needs much more then just light to grow. The whole light thing is overrated. Example, I gave a buddy a 2 inch frag of bali slimer 2 months ago. He only has 2 55 watt PC on a 50 gal SeaClear. I thought the thing would brown out and have little polyp extension. I went there last week and the thing is over 5 inches long and fuzzy as hell fully encrusted. It really likes his water quality. Dont get me wrong, I have recently upgraded to MH on my RSM. This was to get more color and growth and I love the shimmering look, but as long as the chemistry is good SOME SPS will do fine IMO. The only thing that may suffer is the color.

 

I don't care to much about the color all corals are beautiful in my eyes. I had a Bali slimer under regular T8 and it grew at the same rate you described (Until my sea urchin pushed it in to one of my anemones, I did not notice it for possibly a whole day and the poor acro died...) And my water is good Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Ammonia 0, Calcium 480, P.H. 8.2 and not sure on the ALK I can't seem to find the test kit so I'll have to order a new one.

 

And I agree on the lighting being overrated, Most people just want to flash fancy 400 watt $600 MH pendants in my opinion that is.

 

Please get the tang out.

 

No.

 

 

 

 

 

And on a side note if you do not like my tank don't post, If you are not nice to me then do not expect me to fall on my face and kiss your feet. If you post negative comments do not be surprised to get a negative reply (And one with more information on my end just as in the case of the accusation that the SPS and anemones will die under T5 and when kept under 15x turnover rate).

 

And no the tang is not going to be kept in this tank fore his whole life.

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My tang is fine for the time being remember he is not full grown and it probably will take four to six years for him to be a full grown adult (Not that he will be in this tank that long) I however do not agree with the "corps" boy (If that was not made clear in my replies).

 

Thanks, I actually painted the tanks background the same blue as my walls and the tank just fades in to the wall and it looks just so clean and neat. And thanks about the rock work, I have had most of the rock for over twenty five years (Not kept live the whole time).

 

 

I think your tang is fine right now too. I'm not one of those "no tangs ever in small tanks" people. I think a 55 is plenty for most juvenile tangs. But like I said, and as you admit, he can't stay there forever. IMO that time is coming near. That's just sharing my opinion, I'd never tell anyone what to do with their tank. I hear ya on the sailfin in the 37 gallon. I've always wondered why that person doesn't catch much grief.

 

That's an awesome idea about the wall paint. I am going to have to try that. Could you take a picture from farther back maybe capturing that effect?

 

I think it's awesome that your water quality is good enough to house SPS with lesser light than the average person. Keep up the good work!

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I'm glad to hear you know your ######. I myself am an admitted noob and just spreading all the ###### I've always heard about both anemones and SPS as I haven't had either first hand. After reading what you've wrote, I'd love to hear some suggestions to put into my tank.

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reefman225gal

well i like your tankand you are right about certain sps living under certain lighting, but you have certain sps spp. that will brown out under that lighting. There are some that need high intensity lighting and if your lighting cant provide that intensity its going to brown out or die bottom line. Also just because its living dont mean its thriving.

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Militant Jurist

I love the tank!

 

I'm glad I'm not the only T8 person around here! I've got 4 15w T8s on my 10 gallon (2 actinic and 2 18000K). Since you're the first person I've met who has used T8s on a long term tank, how am I doing in terms of light and what I can keep in a coral and CUC inverts only tank?

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AcroporaLokani
I think your tang is fine right now too. I'm not one of those "no tangs ever in small tanks" people. I think a 55 is plenty for most juvenile tangs. But like I said, and as you admit, he can't stay there forever. IMO that time is coming near. That's just sharing my opinion, I'd never tell anyone what to do with their tank. I hear ya on the sailfin in the 37 gallon. I've always wondered why that person doesn't catch much grief.

 

That's an awesome idea about the wall paint. I am going to have to try that. Could you take a picture from farther back maybe capturing that effect?

 

I think it's awesome that your water quality is good enough to house SPS with lesser light than the average person. Keep up the good work!

 

Yea I'm planning a 125 gallon to a 240 gallon (If I can find one that is) for my new house, My camera is out of batteries but when I can replace them (Have to buy more on Monday) I can get some pictures of how it blends in to the room. I actually ran the batteries out taking coral pictures just a few minutes ago (Before I read your post) or I would have taken a picture of the tank and the wall behind it.

 

Thanks.

 

well i like your tankand you are right about certain sps living under certain lighting, but you have certain sps spp. that will brown out under that lighting. There are some that need high intensity lighting and if your lighting cant provide that intensity its going to brown out or die bottom line. Also just because its living dont mean its thriving.

 

Well all of the SPS that is in my tank now was once kept under T8 and they were fine and kept ok color (Not blue or neon green but nice colors). I do not care about brown corals as I said all corals are beautiful in my eyes.

 

As for them thriving they seem to be just fine with the same amount of growth that they had under 70 watt halides. They also have better polyp extension under the T5s.

 

And I never stated exactly what species of SPS I have so how do you know they will die or "brown out"?

 

 

I love the tank!

 

I'm glad I'm not the only T8 person around here! I've got 4 15w T8s on my 10 gallon (2 actinic and 2 18000K). Since you're the first person I've met who has used T8s on a long term tank, how am I doing in terms of light and what I can keep in a coral and CUC inverts only tank?

 

Depends on what you like if you want SPS I would first try a montipora capricornis frag or a regular pocilopora frag to see if it is ok in your water. Just make sure it in on a high place on your rock work. And don't buy a $90 SPS frag :lol:

 

But ANY soft coral will be just fine. Kenya tree corals (Also known as colt corals) have always had a place in my tanks so maybe you should try one of those, They grow like weeds. I had one that started as a four inch frag and then it grew to be a huge two foot by one foot by two foot coral in about a year and a half (Yes under two 40 watt T8 lights). But they do seem to take over a tank especially a small tank but they make awesome centerpiece corals.

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Militant Jurist

Thanks! So far, I've kept almost exclusively soft corals for the first (almost) year of the tank's life. Just this past month did I add three small frags of LPS. All of the sources I read suggested they'd be fine (I've got them placed fairly high in the tank), but it's nice to have someone with experience verify. I'm on the lookout for a kenya tree, because I'm amazed by their growth! I'm soon potentially starting up a new 10 gallon build, and I'm thinking of doing exclusively LPS (and eventually some SPS) in that tank. I'm was going to do a DIY T5 setup, but I'm contemplating another T8, depending on my money situation. Thanks again Acro!

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AcroporaLokani
Thanks! So far, I've kept almost exclusively soft corals for the first (almost) year of the tank's life. Just this past month did I add three small frags of LPS. All of the sources I read suggested they'd be fine (I've got them placed fairly high in the tank), but it's nice to have someone with experience verify. I'm on the lookout for a kenya tree, because I'm amazed by their growth! I'm soon potentially starting up a new 10 gallon build, and I'm thinking of doing exclusively LPS (and eventually some SPS) in that tank. I'm was going to do a DIY T5 setup, but I'm contemplating another T8, depending on my money situation. Thanks again Acro!

 

Sounds cool, I looked at your thread and you tank looks nice. Kenya tree corals are hard to find in fish stores for some reason, I have to drive three hours to my favorite fish store that always sells amazing kenya tree corals and huge toad stool leathers just to find them.

 

I was looking at retrofit kits for T5 on this site http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...mp;pcatid=19811

 

About $100 depending on the size of or wattage of the T5.

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All your rockscapes come out really neat. It looks very clean in there!

I like the FTS with the blue background, a lot.

 

And that tang is probably enjoying the new tank a lot more than the fish store. Hopefully this one wont leak like the aio.

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AcroporaLokani
All your rockscapes come out really neat. It looks very clean in there!

I like the FTS with the blue background, a lot.

 

And that tang is probably enjoying the new tank a lot more than the fish store. Hopefully this one wont leak like the aio.

 

Thanks Kyle, I was almost going to paint the back of the tank black but figured blue would look much better.

 

Yea my tang seemed to not be fed to well at the fish store but now he is fat and colorful (Tangs lose color when they are not fed enough dried algae/seaweed).

 

Yea I'm hoping not to have four tanks in a row that leak. I'm getting sick of cleaning salt water from the carpet around the tank so hopefully this one will be good and the silicone will hold.

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AcroporaLokani
that tang is huge!!!

 

I think your tank looks dark, you need MH brudduh

 

Yea I have had my tang for over three years, And when I got him he was 1.5 inches and had lateral line and I fixed that up by keeping him fat on dried seaweed.

 

Its just my camera that makes my tank look dark, The tank is actually quite bright in person. I want a new camera but the one I want is five thousand plus the lenses (That go from $100 to $600) so it may be a while before I can get that one.

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AcroporaLokani
nice.

 

Thanks Adin, That's a real compliment from you.

 

 

 

 

A few more pictures of my beloved tang from when he had his week long stay in my old BC29.

 

vlamingiats112808vj7.jpg

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vlamingiitang112908to8.jpg

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Militant Jurist
Sounds cool, I looked at your thread and you tank looks nice. Kenya tree corals are hard to find in fish stores for some reason, I have to drive three hours to my favorite fish store that always sells amazing kenya tree corals and huge toad stool leathers just to find them.

 

I was looking at retrofit kits for T5 on this site http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...mp;pcatid=19811

 

About $100 depending on the size of or wattage of the T5.

 

Thanks for the review and the advice! Once I get some more money, I think I'm going to pick up that kit. I'm hoping to start cycling a new tank under a T-8. My plan is to give it a good 4 months (maybe more) before I start anything other than live rock and maybe some sand in it.

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AcroporaLokani
Thanks for the review and the advice! Once I get some more money, I think I'm going to pick up that kit. I'm hoping to start cycling a new tank under a T-8. My plan is to give it a good 4 months (maybe more) before I start anything other than live rock and maybe some sand in it.

 

Sounds like a good plan to let the tank mature with the live rock, You probably should put the sand in with the live rock so it becomes live sand over the four months.

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