Today, I installed a Bio Pellet Reactor. I've heard a lot of excellent reviews on bio pellets and decided to give it a try. I'm starting off with a small amount to prevent shocking the system.
Since I wasn't using my Phosban Reactor anymore, I decided to use that as my reactor. It's a quick mod, in which the foam inserts are replaced with mesh inserts (my inserts were made by Two Little Fishies). I replaced the previous pump as it did not provide enough flow for the bio pellets. I used a Maxijet 1200, instead.
The best location for a Bio Pellet Reactor is to have its out take as close to the skimmer's intake as possible. I decided to place the reactor's pump inside my overflow, and its out take is place down the overflow's drain, which feeds directly into my skimmer.
The pump barely fits into the overflow, however, I had to mod the tank's rim slightly to get it to fit.
Once that was trimmed, I was able to slide the pump into the overflow. I then connected the hoses to complete the Bio Pellet Reactor assembly.
There's one more mod I needed to do, however, as I could no longer place the overflow lid on top. The lid prevents snails from crawling down my overflow, so it needs to be there. I modded the lid to accomodate the pump's hose and power cord.
As well, the lid to one of the overflow's PVC plumbing was modded to accomodate the Bio Pellet Reactor's out take.
I turned on the pump to test for leaks. Works like a charm!
I've had my eye on a Purple Tang and a Chevron Tang that have been sharing a tank in my local fish store for some months now. They were somewhat overpriced and I had been waiting to see if the price would come down to something reasonable. However, that time never came.
As well, I had a Striated Tang that was causing some issues in my reef community, as he was somewhat aggressive. He was also a fair size, around 9", which didn't help the situation either. I put up with his aggression for a few years, since I grew him from when he was 4". Anyways, it got to a point that I was looking for any reason to remove him. That's when I made an offer to the local fish store to trade him along with some cash... they accepted.
It took a few hours to catch the Striated Tang, and when I finally did catch him, I threw him into the sump. The local fish store, however, took a few days to catch their fish, but eventually we made the trade.
I got the Purple Tang and Chevron Tang home, acclimated them, and then into the tank they went. I was a little worried about how the Purple Tang and my current Yellow Tang would get along, as they are similar in appearance and share the same Genus, Zebrasoma. Also, I wasn't sure who would be the aggressor if there were issues. Purple Tangs are pretty aggressive, as that is their nature. However, the Yellow Tang is twice the Purple Tang's size and he's been a resident since the tank went up. Sure enough, there were issues from the start. The Yellow Tang, began to beat on the Purple Tang, and wouldn't let up. The Purple Tang put up a good fight, but he was no match for the Yellow Tang's size. I had to resolve this issue quick. I spent another hour catching the Yellow Tang and threw him into my sump, where he stayed for three days. Afterwards, I changed some rockwork and reintroduced him back into the tank... as if he were a new fish. Eureka! It worked, the Purple and Yellow Tang now get along, and I occasionally catch them feeding together.
Here is the Chevron Tang.
Here is the Chevron Tang and Purple Tang, swimming with the Tomini Tang and Yellow Tang.
As for the Chevron Tang, he's a pretty docile fish. He and the Tomini Tang actually share the same Genus, Ctenochaetus. However, they are the more docile of their Genus. I have had no issues with them, and usually find them swimming and feeding together.
I added an Orange Shoulder Tang to the tank. He's a fair size, roughly 10", which is good since my Hawaiian Blue Hippo Tang, roughly 8", can be initially aggressive to new fish. He did try to bully him at first, but the Orange Shoulder Tang wasn't having it and quickly put him in his place.
This makes the Orange Shoulder Tang currently the biggest fish in the system and is the new "King" of the tank. He's quite well tempered, and I sometimes find him "keeping peace" amongst other fish, whenever aggression breaks out.
