185 gallon fowlr

[sdunn90fowlr]

Please leave your comments on my latest build. All i have right now is the finished tank. I did not remember to take pics of the build in progress but I am going to re-do the stand and canopy. I will be recovering the stand with plywood and moldings and switching from 4 small doors to 2 larger ones and the canopy will be completely rebuilt. I will take pics of the stand makeover and canopy build. It will hopefully be started in April but no later than May.



All LED lighting
ASM skimmer (going to swap out in the near future)
40 gallon sump
180-190 lbs live rock
160 lbs live sand
25W UV
Chemipure (constant use)

[Kristy]

Nice tank. What are your FOWLR livestock plans?

[Fishstix@JewelsOfTheSea]

Very nice tank and setup, it's very roomy and clean for future growth. Normally the entire back wall is covered with rock and corals and very little for growth. Good job and look forward to more pics

[CoryDude]

That's crazy nice. Love the orange plating acro and the green staghorn. More pics please!

[sdunn90fowlr]

I have changed the aqua scape a bit since that pic and will post new pics by the end of the weekend. The rock is arranged in a C shape. I have really come to love the 30" width of this tank. It leaves me so much room to arrange things. I don't think I could ever go back to standard aquarium dimensions now.

As far as livestock plans are concerned, I have a few fish that are doing quite well right now and I will leave the livestock level fairly low to help curve aggression simplify maintenance.

Livestock list:

Blue Hippo Tang
Yellow Tang
Swallowtail Angelfish
Niger Trigger (going to re-home him, I want things a bit more peaceful)
Tomato Clown
Yellow Headed Sleeper Goby
Yellow Wrasse
Green Chromis (3)

I think once the trigger has been adopted I will add 2 Pakistani Butterflies and a Flame Angel. I researched, the Flame Angel and my Swallowtail Angel will get along fine cause they do not compete for the same food. Swallowtail Angel are zooplankton feeders. I will probably cut off anymore livestock addition after this so the fish will not be crowded when grown. I will add more corals as I come across really nice ones at a good price. I wait the seller out and buy them when the price is low. The most expensive coral in the tank is the Large Table Acro, and I paid $13 for that one. Currently over 20 pieces, with more to come.

[CoryDude]

The most expensive coral in the tank is the Large Table Acro, and I paid $13 for that one. Currently over 20 pieces, with more to come.

Did you forget to add a zero to that price?

[sdunn90fowlr]

Nope! I just look for a bargain price and jump on it if I like the particular piece. It has taken me a year to find all of the corals this way but I don't have the empty wallet usually associated with buying them. I may go back to a full reef setup in the next year so I don't want $1000 of fake corals laying around. That is one reason I am going to stick with a low stock level that is reef safe. I just need to catch the Niger Trigger and all will be good for a reef. He should be easy to catch because of their greedy nature when it comes to eating.

[sdunn90fowlr]

I have a new livestock list:

Yellow Tang
Emperor Angel
Moorish Idol
(2) Firefish
(4) Green Chromis
Yellow Wrasse
Swallowtail Angelfish (female)
Yellow Headed Sleeper Goby

I gave the Niger Trigger away to a new home because it was to aggressive and killed the Tomato Clown. Traded the 5" Blue Hippo Tang because it was to aggressive towards all fish. (very shocking, they are usually peaceful) All fish seem to be doing very well.

The Moorish Idol appears to be fine, but is still very new. It is starting to eat, so that is a good sign! I have some AngeLixir food soak from Brightwell Aquatics that I am using and it appears to be giving good results. Hopefully the food soak will provide the missing nutrition in the Idol's diet and sustain him. The Emperor is noticeably better (he was good anyway) after a few days of use.

I would like to get a moderate size Naso Tang or Pakistani Butterfly if anyone has either for sale.

[350gt]

I dont get it......



So all the coral is fake?

[sdunn90fowlr]

Yes! All coral is fake. My schedule does not leave me the proper time to get a reef going, so I did the next best thing.

Not enough time for a reef, but for some reason I ended up purchasing a couple of fish that require more attention than normal. (go figure, huh)

[350gt]

Well looks good to me..... I thought it was real...

[sdunn90fowlr]

Thanks for the compliment! I tried real hard to create a very natural environment for the fish. The extra deep 30" allowed me to create many tunnels and crevices in the rock work that are only visible from certain angles. None are clearly visible from front view. I also left about 6" of room behind the rocks for water flow and a safe haven for the fish.

I recently replaced the ASM Skimmer with a Bubble Magus NAC-77 and wow! The NAC-77 is awesome and almost completely silent. The darkest smelliest stuff I have ever seen from a skimmer and it has only been running for 2 weeks. it was worth every penny.

[Scutterborn]

Is that a DSA neo 185?

[betiuminside]

Where did you get the Fake Corals at?

[sdunn90fowlr]

To Scutterborn, The tank is an older Oceanic tank. I wish they still produced them like this one. 3/4" glass on bottom and 1/2" everywhere else. Only down side is the weight.

Betiuminside, the majority of the corals are from Natures Image. I purchased them from various suppliers online. I find they look pretty realistic and are the easiest to keep clean.

[Scutterborn]

Oh cool. I've got a DSA Neo 185 that's about to go online and when you said 30" depth I thought it was the DSA. That's a really great foot print. Also, the DSA has 3/4" glass all the was around with no center brace. That's a heavy tank as well.

[Mr Cob]

Love it, looks great!

Curious how to keep the fake corals clean so they don't get corraline growth all over them....?

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

[sdunn90fowlr]

I pull them out and soak them in a rubbermaid tub with 15 gallons of water and 1 1/2 cups bleach for ten minutes about every 2 months. I do this at the same time as a water change. Of course I rinse them very well after bleaching. This is the method Living Color recommends for there reef inserts and it works well.

[Mr Cob]

cool, thanks for the info, great looking tank

[sdunn90fowlr]

I re-arranged the rocks in to a new formation to help with acclimation of a new fish and will post a new pick as soon as I figure out how to up-load it.

[sdunn90fowlr]

This the new arrangement of the rocks. I like it better and the fish seem to love it. They are swimming more now.

[Scutterborn]

Thats a big playground for fish! Looks great!

[sdunn90fowlr]

I am very happy to say that the Moorish Idol is doing well and constantly grazing. Hopefully all continues to go well with him. He eats Clams and Mussells (HEB), algae sheets and New Life Spectrum Marine formula. I soak the NLS pellets in Angelixer every other day to provide the missing amino acids from it's sponge based diet. This formula of feeding seems to be working OK. I will post later about long term results. I have had him for about 2 months now. He got real skinny at first from not eating, (imagine that, huh) but is starting to put on some weight. Like I said, all looks well. He is also becoming more dominant in the tank.

[hobogato]

that is great news! they are one of my all time favorite fish, too bad they are so difficult to keep. sounds like that fish is lucky to have you :)

[sdunn90fowlr]

Thanks for the compliment! I try very hard to keep all fish very healthy. My wife laughs at me and says I'm obsessed with keeping them. The truth is, I really enjoy the hobby and do not want to be buying fish all the time for two main reasons. (1) I don't want to kill animals from not meeting their needs and (2) it can get pretty expensive buying new ones all the time. I have sold and or given away some fish and now have a new stock list that will be the one I stick with. Compatibility seems to be working well and all are eating and behaving normally.

Moorish Idol
Townsend Angel (Queen and Blue Angel hybrid)
Swallow Tail Angel (zooplankton feeder)
Powder Blue Tang
Yellow Tang
(2) Ocellaris Clowns
(2) Firefish
(4) Blue/Green Chromis
Yellow Wrasse
Diamond Goby
Long Tentacle Anemone
Chocolate Chip Starfish

[350gt]

Looks very good...

Really like the little island in the middle.. With a little mishap yesterday I had to do a little aqua scaping.. Thought about trying something like that but didn't want to stress the fish any more than I already was...

[sdunn90fowlr]

Thanks! I ended up having to pull all the rocks to get a super aggressive, large Blue Hippo out of there. I could not get him to go in a trap. I figured what the heck, perfect time to move things around to allow new residents fresh territory.

[sdunn90fowlr]

Good News! The Moorish Idol is still doing well! He now eats practically everything I put in the water. I am very happy that I have had some sort of success with this fish. I really did take a lot of patience to get him acclimated. Not that I am an expert, but I would NOT recommend this fish to newcomers to the hobby. Trying to figure out how to balance your system and acclimate this fish would prove to be a disaster.

I have added a Carpet Anemone since my last post. The Ocellaris Clowns went straight for it and don't stray to far away from it.

[sdunn90fowlr]

A little update! My Moorish Idol appears to be completely settled in now. (This species is VERY difficult to fully acclimate, just as the experts say in all the online articles.) He is absolutely amazing to watch! The only fish I have ever seen that routinely swims upside down and flips while eating. Looks like a gymnast moving through the water. I am fortunate, or lucky, to have kept this fish now, with some success. From my experience with him, if one wants to attempt keeping one, that you be prepared to constantly add food soak to it's food. Also, have a large variety of food on hand and try all of them to entice him to eat. Be prepared for a little more frequent water changes due to the more frequent attempts at feeding. This practice should only be necessary until the fish is eating well.

I have updated numerous times on this fish, not as bragging, but as information on possible ways to succeed with this species. They are very beautiful and graceful and most aquarists have been intrigued by them at point. I feel that continued research on food and supplements are beginning to allow acclimation of this fish, although as stated before, it is a very difficult species. The most difficult I have experienced in 22 years in the hobby. It actually required so much effort in the beginning that my wife actually said, "I feel jealous because the fish is getting more attention than I am." Of course, I had to balance that out VERY quickly!

[sdunn90fowlr]

SAD DAY TODAY! I lost the Moorish Idol. That was one hard fish to care for. He will be missed by all of us at our home.

The circumstances are just like you will find reading online. Eating well, looking good and just dies. Perhaps these beauties really should be left at the reef, for their sake!

[hobogato]

bummer. no one can say you didnt give it your best effort.

[Scutterborn]

Dang, that's no good. Sorry to hear about that.


-Ben-