Need ideas for 180 gallon

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Chago09

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 8, 2006
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Ontario
OK my 180 gallon reef has really pissed me off for some time now. Corals, clams and inverts have flourished and been amazing from the start (3 years go) I have SPS, LPS and softies in this tank a true mixed reef and its just packed with corals. Although for the entire 3 years I have been battling one algae after another. Green hair, then green bubble, then a cyano infestation, then some red hair and then back to the green:confused: I've had enough. I seem to always be battling some sort of algae and I can't stand looking at it even if corals are healthy.

My tank is set up very high tech with 2 Aqua C 180 skimmers, 8 x 54 watt T5HO, 30 gallon refugium and 20 gallon sump seperate. Mag 18 return pump wtih 2 koralia 1400's. Tank has 250lbs of live rock mixed tonga branch and fiji.

So my story is I was the guy with over a dozen tanks (al over 100 gallons) and loved central and south american cichlids. Got married and all those tank couldn't go with so I decided to sell off everything and put all the resources into one tank to keep my happy, so I went large reef. Now after all my venting, my question is. If I decided to sell off all the coral and make this a predator tank. What fish would closest resemble a Central American brute like Trimac, Midas etc. Seems to me all cool large salt water fish are hiders i.e. Groupers. I loved cichlids because they are large, colourful, always in your face swimming around, and can eat larger meaty things which is fun.

Lions I won't do... not worth the risk of being stung. Triggers kinda bore me, swim kinda like fairies with those mini fins. anything else out there?
 
Panther Grouper. Gets huge, intelligent, eats anything that will fit in it's mouth, does not hide and has great personality. There's nothing fairy like about large triggers like the clown, queen or undulated. They grow into large killing machines that usually have to be kept in tanks by themselves. Garibaldi damsel comes to mind also. It's a cold water fish though. Any of the big angels although most will outgrow the 180 in 3-5 years.
 
Cat shark
 
...I think cat's need larger tanks even if some site's say 180s.....trust me I though you can fit a 3 foot shark in a 6 foot tank also (comfortably) lol
 
I say go for a lion or lions...i have one right now in quarantine. Animals are morse scared of us then we are of them.....also it's a defense strategy not for ambush reasonings. All in all everyone is entitled to their own opinions, i just don't want you to fear their venom.

(Im 14, if i haven't gotten stung yet, then definite you won't lol)

Here is my lion,

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=361145

their is also a thread of my tank, if curious about trying a blue throat trigger.
 
Well they dont get to 3 feet that fast..

I hate to see sharks in particular kept as pets. Unless they're in an aquarium the size of my house...I wouldn't keep any.

Still, might be a good grow-out
 
I understand that a Lion is more afraid of me, and thats exactly why I don't one. Their spines are for defense when they are scared.

Cat sharks are a very lazy fish, they hide all day and sit still.

Maybe I will have to look into some triggers.

For the guy who mentioned the panther grouper. I have been curious about them. Panthers seem to always be on display at pet stores and never hide. I just figured they were like most groupers and hide constantly. I will look into them further.

Thanks
 
Panthers are a probably the best grouper...mine is hand feeding already at 2". Always in your face when you are near the tank.

Triggers are the same way, but skittish. Wait till they get big.

Lots of personality in puffers and lions. I had a volitan for a long time, and was never stung, despite the fact he was only hand fed, and would follow my arm around my tank while doing h2o changes. :D
 
I think you'd enjoy a panther grouper. They are always front and center, if you see one hiding chances are something is really wrong with the water quality, the fish is ill or both.

I'd also like to add I've also kept many volitan lions over the years and have one in my current 180 set up. They are NOT afraid of you. In fact I don't think they fear anything. They are just not overly aggresive towards anything that's not a meal. They are hunters and ambush predators. Who also happen to have a great defensive weapon. I'm not trying to talk you into getting one, just explaining why they act the way they do.
 
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