550 gallon in wall fowlr

[clekchau]

Juvenile Angels
French and Emperator came in together from Diver’s den and were eating from day 1, they hang out together and even clean each other, it’s hilarious. Emperator is especially very responsive always coming front and center begging for food and following you around. French also is a character, he wags his tale when swimming and my wife and daughter get a huge kick out of this, I need to videotape it someday.

Blueface, Annularis and Mac also came from Diver’s den about 2 weeks later. All were also eating from day one. Mac was tank raised and bred (I believe) and swimming around the tank like he owned but doesn’t hang out with the French or Emperator, also it’s incredibly difficult to get a shot of the Mac because he doesn’t stay still. Annularis and Blueface are a bit shy, both are not as outgoing but beautiful also, I think with time they will be just as much of characters as the other two. They have only been in the tank for a short while and already eating so I can’t ask for much more

 

[clekchau]

I would also like to know. thats just crazy. Everything lol

tank was used, tank, pump, uv, sump/wetdry (which i didn't use, using this on my cichlid setup), carpentry work, move, setup was 4.5k which was a steal, an all glass tank this big brand new is very expensive

skimmer brand new was 2.5k , the most important piece to a saltwater setup imho next to live rock so i didn't skimp

lights were about 1k or so

live rock sheesh i don't even know, multiply 2500 lbs x $3 a lb and and real world price would be about $7500 just for rock, i got it much cheaper from marco rocks and cycled it myself though, alot i've been collecting for over the course of 10 years.

fish as it sits about $1200 worth of fish? give or take.

note, i by am no means wealthy, i had saved up for this over the course of 4 years, same with my freshwater build going on now.

thanks for looking

 

[clekchau]

snowflake moray, also a survivor of tank crash, he is really tame, he eats out of my hand, no feeding stick required, i just swish the shrimp or squid in the water a few times and he smells it and comes up, sometimes the big vlamingii steals it lol. here are a few pics of him popping out:

 

[cichlid_king]

tank, hole in the wall, carpentry, LR, fish, EVERYTHING. I would also like to know... If you are married, How the hell did you convince your wife to let you do something like this? LOL

 

[clekchau]

tank, hole in the wall, carpentry, LR, fish, EVERYTHING. I would also like to know... If you are married, How the hell did you convince your wife to let you do something like this? LOL

heh i listed approximate cost on page one but could itemize it if you want or have specific questions on actual cost

i'm married yes, she got her barn / horse and i got my aquariums, i guess it is all give or take she's a great wife though and loves to look at the fish, just hates when they die

 

[Purevil21]

I really like the set up, I do have one question though. If you did not intend to keep corals, why did you sink so much money into lighting capable of supporting them?

 

[clekchau]

rounding out the inhabitants:
marine betta a really cool fish, super hardy survived the tank crash, perches on rocks like a grouper (i think they are groupers?)

1 inch royal gramma, so spunky for such a little fish, always moving so hard to get a good pic, here is a blurry pic of him in his huge territory of cavey live rock

blue damsel and tank bred occelaris clown, damsel has been with me for 12 years, usual damsel spunky, hardy, a little aggressive but not so bad. clownfish came in as 3 tank bred from live aquaria, one was doa, one died in 3 days, this one survived but hangs out in the corner although he is always eating etc, he just seems unhappy. we are considering starting a small nano and moving him there as the lone fish with a rbta. my wife feels bad for him lol but he isn't picked on and eating great so

bicolor foxface and scribbled rabbitfish about 4 and 3 inches, these guys are best buds always going up and down the sides and across the entire 8' footprint, don't bother anyone, eating great, grazing on algae etc great fish, highly recommended

longnose butterfly 4 inches, my fav butterfly, his swimming patterns are so cool, upside down, backwards etc, always on the go and front and center, not phased by bigger more aggressive fish, just a great all around fish and very beautiful

auriga butterfly 3 inches, my second fav butterfly, good eater, very active

pakistani butterfly 1 inch, such a cool little fish, seems he explores every nook and cranny, eating well, really neat patterns:

rounding out the stock mainly for color and activity
saddle butterfly about 3 inches and racoon butterfly (4.5 inches), they haven't ate much, picked on some rocks, not sure if they will make it, i tried so many different ways to get them to eat, he doesn't show signs of stress etc and swims and acts like a champ but he's really thin

my one big dissapointment, queen angel who i don't think will make it. i got him from liveaquaria as opposed to diver's den not sure if thats why, he came in almost full adult color and beautiful, eating etc, however in 2 days he started breathing heavy and now quite reclusive. not sure if he will make it and really bummed out about it but as everyone knows, these things happen, doesn't make it less sad but yeah...

cool blues

 

[clekchau]

I really like the set up, I do have one question though. If you did not intend to keep corals, why did you sink so much money into lighting capable of supporting them?

the inital tank (600) was designed to be a predator reef so i invested in t5's.

 

[Purevil21]

Ah I see, just out of curiosity, how long did it take to cycle this monster?

 

[clekchau]

Ah I see, just out of curiosity, how long did it take to cycle this monster?

rock has been around in a home aquarium for 10 years or so from multiple aquariums i have had over the years, so no cycle. also with so much live rock even with heavy feeding my nitrates are very low, less than 10 ppm