Kinetic's 98 Gallon Custom

[kinetic]

Stocking, what would you choose for a SPS dominated, high flow 98g tank?

 

Op1:

6 Sepia Bandensis Cuttlefish

 

Op2:

1x Genicanthus Bellus Female Angelfish

1x Mandarinfish or scooter dragonet

1x Radiant Wrasse

2x Ocellaris Clownfish

3x Barlett Anthias (1m, 2f)

 

Op3:

5x Mini-Cardinalfish (max size 2")

3x Blue Eye Cardinalfish (max size 3")

2x Masked Goby

2x Trimma Goby

2x Red Striped Eviota Goby

2x Red Striped Neon Eviota Goby

2x Purple Firefish

1x Neon Blue Goby

1x Golden Neon Goby

1x Greenbanded Goby

1x Yasha Haze Goby

1x Randalli Goby

1x Highfin Goby

1x Mandarin / Scooter Blennie

 

 

op1:

cons: cuttlefish only live about a year. Needs daily feeding, and mostly live. No other tankmates other than snails and hermits.

pros: you can have up to 8 in such a sized tank. they change color, interact, and are VERY different =)

 

op2:

cons: Bigger fish, so only a few fish. Gobies will be too freaked out to ever come out to eat, so no small timid creatures. Beautiful creatures, but fewer fish.

 

op3:

cons: no centerpiece fish

pros: completly diverse and semi-schooling group of fish. All are very peaceful. easy to take care of, and teeming with life. will look like a real reef, and make it look bigger with more life.

 

 

Any suggestions? thanks!!

[supernip]

i'd go with 3 but lose the little gobies, that makes for a really sporatic display if you can see them at all. Go with like 10 of the mini cardinals. If you want a unique fish, I suggest this. It isn't the most glamorous fish but I've seen a full grown version of this fish when I was first starting off in the hobby and I have to say, it still rivals some of the rarer angels for me.

 

 

There are two versions available; the more common sailfin type and a less common triple spike finned type. I believe www.reefimages.com categorizes them as male and female but I'm skeptical on this. They're somewhat cryptic but do have metallic coloration spread throughout. They're called fingered dragonets, Dactylopus dactylopus.

 

 

They might not be for you though, but I think they're beautiful. op 1 isn't that impressive unless you get a Metasepia. Or a bobtail squid , Euprymna berryi, fo your nano

 

 

 

edit: here's more to entice you http://www.sergeyphoto.com/underwater/ceph...btailsquid.html

 

 

I'm contemplating a pair of these guys myself.

 

 

hth

nips

 

p.s.

whats the diff between plexi-g and cast acrylic anyway. I thought they were just diff brand names

[kinetic]

holy cow that squid is amazing!

 

how are they in terms of being in a reef setting? are they short lived like the sepia? I should go checkout tonmo for more info.

 

Yeah i was looking at the metasepia, but they live in much colder waters =P They look great. I doubt I can keep one in a reef tank without killing it early.

[kinetic]

p.s.

whats the diff between plexi-g and cast acrylic anyway. I thought they were just diff brand names

 

They are only brand names, but from some research I heard people liking polycast the best, and it is much more expensive. My socalcreations tank being all polycast, I was hoping he could have done the same. No biggie though, still looks great.

 

 

btw, where are you going to get the pair of bobtail? I can't find any info on keeping them =(

[supernip]

atlantis got them in once when i was working there, theyre really tiny, about an inch long. That's why I suggested them for your nano. I think Ming said he got them from hawaii. I hve to go back there and ask.

 

 

 

and as far as the brand names I dunno. If it's the same process to manufacture the same cmopound, I don't see why you should pay more for the name. Why exactly is it better? fwiw I like spartech polycast

[Sinistard]

Looks like the tank is coming along nicely.

 

I like o3 the best. With a big tank I would prefer to have diversity. That is kind of the plan for my tank, lots of smaller fish and inverts.

 

supernip that bobtail squid is very cool, any idea where you can buy them. I will be looking for something to do with my nano once my larger tank is up and running. I'll have to do some research into how to keep them.

[inkto]

p.s.

whats the diff between plexi-g and cast acrylic anyway. I thought they were just diff brand names

 

 

Acrylic actually varies a great deal from manufacturer to manufacturer... Pressure vessels such as aquariums should always be made from a cast acrylic and most people will tell you that any domestic brand is fine for our uses. Such as: Plexi- G, Polycast, or Acrylite GP.

 

Many tank builders that care about quality and not quantity use Polycast from what I can see... and Polycast was one of the few (or last?) [edit] to that hasn't switched [/edit] to metric so 1/2" is actually 0.500" and not .440 or something.

 

FWIW not all cast acrylic is made the same way or with the same recipe... and Plexi G is made in Mexico.

[kinetic]

Acrylic actually varies a great deal from manufacturer to manufacturer... Pressure vessels such as aquariums should always be made from a cast acrylic and most people will tell you that any domestic brand is fine for our uses. Such as: Plexi- G, Polycast, or Acrylite GP.

 

Many tank builders that care about quality and not quantity use Polycast from what I can see... and Polycast was one of the few (or last?) to switch to metric so 1/2" was actually 0.500" and not .440 or something.

 

FWIW not all cast acrylic is made the same way or with the same recipe... and Plexi G is made in Mexico.

 

do you mean they switched to standard, which makes it in inches rather than cm etc?

 

That's pretty interesting, I'll go check my tanks and see what the differences are.

[supernip]

=( I want spartech polycast now

[inkto]

I meant one of the few that didn't switch to metric... so 1/2" is 1/2" and not 12mm or something... sorry...

 

Keep in mind that thickness does vary over the sheet for any brand out there given the nature of the manufacturing process so it might not measure .5 everywhere.

[I Take Pictures]

I think I like op. 1 the most. Just sooooooooo different, a reef with lots of fish/corals, amazing, yes, but just kinda "the norm." I think something like the cuttlefish reef would be MUCH more exciting. JMO.

[kinetic]

I think I like op. 1 the most. Just sooooooooo different, a reef with lots of fish/corals, amazing, yes, but just kinda "the norm." I think something like the cuttlefish reef would be MUCH more exciting. JMO.

 

yeah, I wanted op1 because it's so much more unique. I only know of a handle of people who have these cuttlefish (on tonmo dot com). They're shortlived though, only about a year -> year.5 if you're lucky. They do breed and it's not hard to raise the babies (much easier than clownfish). Someone who lives near me has a bunch of cuttles too, so I'll ask her if we can swap cuttles from time to time to breed so that they don't turn into globs a few generations later.

 

The cuttlefish are playful with each other, they really actually "play". They learn fast, and cephelapods are very intellegent (relatively in the aquarium world) so they will learn fast.

 

Only problems is feeding them daily mostly live foods will be difficult. I want to try to keep them with a large tang, but then my tank is too small for a tang =( Perhaps a smalll kole tang. I know someone keeping these cuttles with a yellow tang for months without a problem.

 

And these cuttles only get to 3" max, so bigger fish won't be eaten... hopefully.

 

We'll see what happens. Thanks for the input, more is welcome!

 

 

(btw, I just sold my 82g, sad seeing it go).

 

=( I want spartech polycast now

 

gen checked out my socal tank, and gave them props for what they did. he was impressed they made it entirely out of polycast, I think he can be persuaded in future projects. demand him to get you all polycast for a new tank!

[I Take Pictures]

yeah, I wanted op1 because it's so much more unique. I only know of a handle of people who have these cuttlefish (on tonmo dot com). They're shortlived though, only about a year -> year.5 if you're lucky. They do breed and it's not hard to raise the babies (much easier than clownfish). Someone who lives near me has a bunch of cuttles too, so I'll ask her if we can swap cuttles from time to time to breed so that they don't turn into globs a few generations later.

 

The cuttlefish are playful with each other, they really actually "play". They learn fast, and cephelapods are very intellegent (relatively in the aquarium world) so they will learn fast.

 

Only problems is feeding them daily mostly live foods will be difficult. I want to try to keep them with a large tang, but then my tank is too small for a tang =( Perhaps a smalll kole tang. I know someone keeping these cuttles with a yellow tang for months without a problem.

 

And these cuttles only get to 3" max, so bigger fish won't be eaten... hopefully.

 

We'll see what happens. Thanks for the input, more is welcome!

Ya, like I said before I would just like to see someone on NR with something truly "unique." Live foods everyday would be a pain thought, but hey its your tank, do whatever you flippin' want to!

[kinetic]

my LSAT is on June 12th, and I'll be hanging out with my girl down in Santa Barbara, CA until the 18th. After that it's all about the tank. I'll have it running in about a month from the 18th =)

 

I'll be getting a few tank bred baby Sepia Bandensis as well.

[Sebea]

Ahah! Just figured out that your avatar is of a cuttlefish. lol

 

For the longest time, I just though it was a wierd insect thingy.

[kinetic]

Ahah! Just figured out that your avatar is of a cuttlefish. lol

 

For the longest time, I just though it was a wierd insect thingy.

 

 

lol aaron =) btw where's the latest on your tanks?

 

 

So I'm happy to say my LSAT is tomorrow! After that I can finally resume my project.

 

I'm hoping to get it all done by the end of July, then in August I'll finally get all the kinks worked out =)

 

I'm either going for cuttlefish if they're still available, or:

 

1x Female Bellus

3x Barlett Anthias

2x Ocellaris Clownfish

5x Banghai Cardinalfish

1x Mandarin Dragonet

1x Neon Blue Goby

1x Neon Yellow Goby

1x Trimma goby

1x Eviota goby

[Quash]

oh dag, you posted this a while ago bro, hope you did well on that LSAT, that sonofa###### is nasty.

[kinetic]

it went well =) thanks for the good wishes.

 

I'll be getting on with this project asap.

[kinetic]

I'm going to be replacing my Sequence DART for the closed loop with a Sequence Barracuda. The inlets are now 1.5" instead of 2", but I don't think it will hurt for me to go down in size in piping when it goes into the pump.

 

This will give me a bit more than 52x turnover when added to the power of the sump return!

 

w00t =)

[NanoReefer411]

Lol,

I just spent all night reading your 32 gallon nano post. Don't take it down. =(

I'm just starting a 40 gallon Nano and it's been months of saving for this thing! Do you charge most of your stuff? Holy Moses! You're blessed!

[kinetic]

I'll leave the 32g up =) I was thinking of asking Christopher to maybe send me a backup copy of that thread for my own as well.

 

I budget my income pretty well for my hobbies, since they are a big part of my life. I believe in a very good balance of hobbies and future savings, for what's so great if your entire life is spent saving? Instead I'll spend my life saving and playing with my hobbies

 

But spending a lot on initial setup will save you A TON of headache and money in the future on your setup. Doing it right the first time, you won't want to do it over again, nor would you need to.

 

I don't get into a hobby unless I know I can afford to do it at it's best.

[StanD]

I don't get into a hobby unless I know I can afford to do it at it's best.

 

I can attest to that The 5.5 I received from you is top notch. I'll post pics of my plumbing mods when I get back from vacation. Also, Tom from HogsHoods is building me a base and canopy for the tank. Woo hoo!!

 

Stan

 

P.S. I also thought your avatar was some kind of an insect (a beetle) but now I see the cuttlefish. lol

[kinetic]

I can attest to that The 5.5 I received from you is top notch. I'll post pics of my plumbing mods when I get back from vacation. Also, Tom from HogsHoods is building me a base and canopy for the tank. Woo hoo!!

 

Stan

 

P.S. I also thought your avatar was some kind of an insect (a beetle) but now I see the cuttlefish. lol

 

glad you're happy with the tank.

 

I'm thinking of not setting up my kritter creations tank and getting a custom rimless starphire tank instead....

[StanD]

I'm thinking of not setting up my kritter creations tank and getting a custom rimless starphire tank instead....

 

 

Haha ! Ever the perfectionist

[supernip]

great kinetics, but can you wait a few months? I wanted lee mar to make me a tank as well and was thinking we might get a discount for multiple tanks