pics of my new fish/sps reef :)

[Tanu]

... And the last one: an overview. I personally like overviews a lot as they show the growth of the tank over time

I wish all of you a great 2014!

[Jelmer]

Stunning aquarium!

[Tanu]

Originally Posted by Jelmer

Stunning aquarium!

Thanks Jelmer!

I just took some new shots today:
Pygoplites diacanthus:


Chaetodon mitratus:


Oxymonacanthus halli:


Overview:


Also, I wrote a book. It was first published in Dutch, but is now also available translated to English. It explains how to successfully set up and keep reef aquaria. As Chingchai was so kind to take some pictures specially for my book, I sent him two copies

Chingchai's son Peak with two of my books

[Gary Majchrzak]

Congrats Tanu!

It's looking good as ever.

[Tanu]

Gary: Thank you so much!

Time to blow off the dust of this thread

As some of you may have read, the C. tinkeri has passed away. It stopped eating and even the vet (really, I went to the vet with the fish in a bucket...) could not help me. I added two Chaetodon declivis and unfortunately the C. mitratus tried to convince them to swim to somewhere else... I ended up selling the C. mitratus to a fellow reefer who has a nice reef for it.

The two C. declivis are in my hands since March and have been model citizens so far.

In case you're interested in my book: http://www.reefsmagazine.com/forum/r...-aquarium.html

Time for some pictures :

[Tanu]

Last month I travelled in South-East Asia.

I did make some very nice dives in the Philippines, I combined some video I shot.


On the way back home we made a stop over in Bangkok. There I visited Chingchai, I shot some video of his fabulous tanks:



Enjoy!

[Tanu]

Time for a bit of an update... My old tank does not exist anymore. As I moved into a new house 2 years ago, I also set up a new tank. Slightly smaller as I did not have more space, but I tried to make best out of it. The new tank is built in a wall in the living room and still contains about 600 litres of water...

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Back side:
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Just as the previous tank, the tank was set up as a fish tank which also contains corals. While I like the corals a lot, the fish are even more tempting.... Here are some of the inhabitants I am particularly proud of:

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Chaetodon tinkeri

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Oxymonacanthus halli (pair, they even lay eggs!)

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Centropyge colini (I have two, but they are no pair yet)

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N. helfrichi and M. choati over three Tridacna squamosa

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Pygoplites diacanthus, I got this fish in 2003

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Chaetodon larvatus. I got this fish on December 7th 2015. Apart from grazing on the coral polyps, I got it to fatten up by feeding it fresh oysters every day. Needless to say this is definitely the most difficult fish in my tank. With the right attention, I feel it will stay with me for many years to come.

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Gramma dejongi - right before its introduction to the tank.

Have a nice day

[sirreal63]

Beautiful as always. What are the lights?

[Tanu]

Thanks Jack!

The lights are the new Philips Coralcare lights.

Other equipment I use:
Supplementation: Triton Core7 dosing with Grotech TEC III,
Skimmer and filtration: Bubble King 200 deluxe, small carbon filter, small algae filter, small phosphate filter
UV: Deltec 20 Watt
Return Pump Red Dragon 10.000 return pump
Water movement: Hydrowizard ECM 42

[Tanu]

I also have a short video of the tank:

[sirreal63]

Awesome! Truly inspiring, as all of your tanks have been.

[jimmy n]

Love these tanks

[Tanu]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h8N3eK-G3U

Tank as of now. Chaetodon larvatus is swimming around happily, in December it will be 12 months. Also, I have added a small C. meyeri a few weeks ago. So far it is doing fine, but it is currently only eating corals. Other foods are not yet accepted.

Time will tell if I can train it as well as the larvatus which now eats oyster meat from between my fingers.

[Darth_Tater]

Very nice! I really like that fan. Is it photosynthetic? You have some very cool fish in there.

[Tanu]

Originally Posted by Darth_Tater

Very nice! I really like that fan. Is it photosynthetic? You have some very cool fish in there.

Thank you very much. It is indeed photosynthetic, it is a Gorgonia flabellum from the Caribbean. Here generally sold as G. ventalina. Easy to keep if water values and light are ok and it gets TONS and TONS of flow.

The fish are my main interest indeed

[saf1]

Great looking tank. I really enjoyed the videos, thank you for taking the time to post and share. Quick question it looks like you have several royal gramma? Did you add them all at the same time? I really like how that looks. Also there is a yellow fish that looks similar but maybe with purple on the lower fins? What is that if you don't mind me asking.

[brody83]

Originally Posted by Tanu

I also have a short video of the tank:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/m1zt8ZJVtho?

You got a nice fish collection there. Nice tank!

[Darth_Tater]

Originally Posted by Tanu

Thank you very much. It is indeed photosynthetic, it is a Gorgonia flabellum from the Caribbean. Here generally sold as G. ventalina. Easy to keep if water values and light are ok and it gets TONS and TONS of flow.

The fish are my main interest indeed

I'll have to keep my eyes open for one. Thanks!

[Darth_Tater]

Originally Posted by saf1

Great looking tank. I really enjoyed the videos, thank you for taking the time to post and share. Quick question it looks like you have several royal gramma? Did you add them all at the same time? I really like how that looks. Also there is a yellow fish that looks similar but maybe with purple on the lower fins? What is that if you don't mind me asking.

The last picture in post #207? Gramma dejongi?

[saf1]

Originally Posted by Darth_Tater

The last picture in post #207? Gramma dejongi?

Yeah, that was it. I went back a couple pages and then on this noticed the image of the fish with the name. Then did some reading about that fish on the 'net. Pretty fish but caught up in politics I guess and otherwise high price tag. Also saw a few people talking about how they keep multiple Royal Gramma's which looks interesting. Added to my list

To the OP: also watched your diving video. Good buoyancy control!

[Tanu]

And reefcentral ate my post...

[Tanu]

Originally Posted by brody83

You got a nice fish collection there. Nice tank!

Thank you!

Originally Posted by Darth_Tater

I'll have to keep my eyes open for one. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Darth_Tater

The last picture in post #207? Gramma dejongi?

Yes it is. Good luck finding one. I have heard small numbers of legal tank bred dejongi are available in the USA...

Originally Posted by saf1

Great looking tank. I really enjoyed the videos, thank you for taking the time to post and share. Quick question it looks like you have several royal gramma? Did you add them all at the same time? I really like how that looks. Also there is a yellow fish that looks similar but maybe with purple on the lower fins? What is that if you don't mind me asking.

Thanks! I have added 2, about a year later I've added 2 more as I really like these fish. About a year later I've added the dejongi. No serious fighting or other issues as there are lots of hiding places for them. In nature you also see them in groups, apart from some solitary strays in shallow water.

Originally Posted by Tanu

And reefcentral ate my post...

[Tanu]

Originally Posted by saf1

Yeah, that was it. I went back a couple pages and then on this noticed the image of the fish with the name. Then did some reading about that fish on the 'net. Pretty fish but caught up in politics I guess and otherwise high price tag. Also saw a few people talking about how they keep multiple Royal Gramma's which looks interesting. Added to my list

To the OP: also watched your diving video. Good buoyancy control!

Indeed the dejongi is caught up in complicated politics. I'm lucky to live in the Netherlands and have good contacts with the importer of these fish, De Jong Marinelife. They are now setting up a huge collection station in Cuba and are planning to export directly worldwide. No USA unfortunately. Hopefully these trade embargos will loosen in some time.

Thank you for the compliment on the buoyancy. It takes a diver to see it . You mean the video shot while diving in Japan? I have more footage on my computer but need to find time to merge it to a nice video. I've also shot some nice material in the Caribean earlier this year but I still need to do something with it...

Good to see fellow divers here. Do you have any recommendations for my next dive?

[Tanu]

If any of you want to see a bit more on my tank: it is TOTM on another website: http://totm.ultimatereef.net/2017_december/



Also, the larvatus celebrates it's first full year in my care. It is still doing great based on the methods described in the TOTM article.

One month ago I also added a small C. meyeri which is also doing fine. Unfortunately the only thing it eats is Coral. I still need to invest more time in getting it to accept other foods.





Have a nice day

[saf1]

Originally Posted by Tanu

Indeed the dejongi is caught up in complicated politics. I'm lucky to live in the Netherlands and have good contacts with the importer of these fish, De Jong Marinelife. They are now setting up a huge collection station in Cuba and are planning to export directly worldwide. No USA unfortunately. Hopefully these trade embargos will loosen in some time.

Agreed - I'm sure it will all work out. There are also a few possibilities about captive breeding. In either case not a fish I will own for a while especially due to the price tag (but I can dream and admire others who do own it).

Good to see fellow divers here. Do you have any recommendations for my next dive?

I live in Northern California so mostly dive in the cold waters which is a big turn off for many. Having said that some of the best diving in the world can be found in Monterey (my opinion). You won't see SPS or LPS corals but you will dive through kelp forests and see some amazing color with various rock, macro algae, and wild life. It truly is amazing to dive here when the visibility is good. Beach or boat you can't go wrong. Point Lobos is one great area, Monastery beach another with sheer depth and 100 ft tall kelp raising from the sea floor (but also properly named due to accessibility (advanced divers only recommended)) - but the water like I mentioned can be a big turn off with temps ranging between 49 to 56 or so degrees Fahrenheit.

Sounds like you have been to the areas I've been to Since I have not traveled much lately my previous places include the Caribbean, drift diving in Cozumel. Costa Mia and Hawaii are also worth it. Hawaii can be a bit tricky with expectations but I've enjoyed it. Then again anytime the water is warm I'm happy.