Hey all I am going to setup my 8 gallon via aqua as a nano. I am going to scrap the filter it coomes with and get HOB. I really want to ad some macro to the tank and maybe a small fuge. The lighting sucks I really don't know what to do about that yet. I may just leave it and stock the tank with softies. So what you folks think I shoud get for a showpiece? I have been thinking maybe a pair of clowns or a yasha hase goby and his counterpart shrimp. I am also interested in maybe a mantis shrimp :twisted: but I have had a hard time locating any for sale. Lastley I was think about trying my hand with seahorses but they might be a littloe too difficult. Any other ideas are welcome. Thanks
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What should I get?
- Thread starter abbeyspal
- Start date
Hiya. Sounds fun, here are a few suggestions!
1. Filter/fuge.
Go with a modified ac300 HOB filter as a fuge. You put a smaller impeller in it to reduce water flow, add a surface skimmer attachment and throw some caulerpa and rubble rock in it. Your LR and water changes take care of the rest. If you're hard up for more filtration get a very small whisper HOB and stuff a bag of chemipure and a poly filter in it. Also buy a clip on light for the fuge. Here are links to the products.
ac300 HOB "fuge":
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/pro ... ry_id=1721
Smaller Impeller for reduced flow:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/pro ... ry_id=2631
Surface skimmer attachment:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/pro ... ry_id=1721
Clip on light for fuge:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/pro ... ry_id=2555
And I'm a huuuuuge fan of Stomatopods now, I love mine sooo much, I would recommend getting a smaller species mantis, and you can probably throw some cleanup crew in there if they dwarf the small mantis. Like very large snails. I have a 2.5" n wennera that does not pester stuff larger than her, but ruthlessly savages anything even sized or smaller. Woot. Go to the mantis forums on RC ... there are multiples for sale/free right now!
If you are thinking of not doing that and getting a fish ... well I like the behavior of clowns with the anemone, but otherwise they're pretty run of the mill. Go with the goby, but make sure your tank is well established and all good!
1. Filter/fuge.
Go with a modified ac300 HOB filter as a fuge. You put a smaller impeller in it to reduce water flow, add a surface skimmer attachment and throw some caulerpa and rubble rock in it. Your LR and water changes take care of the rest. If you're hard up for more filtration get a very small whisper HOB and stuff a bag of chemipure and a poly filter in it. Also buy a clip on light for the fuge. Here are links to the products.
ac300 HOB "fuge":
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/pro ... ry_id=1721
Smaller Impeller for reduced flow:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/pro ... ry_id=2631
Surface skimmer attachment:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/pro ... ry_id=1721
Clip on light for fuge:
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/pro ... ry_id=2555
And I'm a huuuuuge fan of Stomatopods now, I love mine sooo much, I would recommend getting a smaller species mantis, and you can probably throw some cleanup crew in there if they dwarf the small mantis. Like very large snails. I have a 2.5" n wennera that does not pester stuff larger than her, but ruthlessly savages anything even sized or smaller. Woot. Go to the mantis forums on RC ... there are multiples for sale/free right now!
If you are thinking of not doing that and getting a fish ... well I like the behavior of clowns with the anemone, but otherwise they're pretty run of the mill. Go with the goby, but make sure your tank is well established and all good!
I tried that (macro in the main) despite all the advice I encountered and quickly came to regret it. The stuff is a maintenance nightmare and quickly began to crowd out stuff I paid good money for.
As of late, I have resigned myself to having a perpetual caulerpa problem in my tank. But I did come to one realization: most of my frustration stems from maintenance. Specifically, the continuous trimming to keep it shaped like a little shrub and not creeping around. Now that it's in pretty much every nook and cranny, I do this: When it's time to clean the caulerpa (every month or so) I prune the hell out of it. Just like you're trying to eradicate it. But you won't. There will be some left, some that grows. And I accept that because for most of the time, you can only see little cute bits of grape macro popping up.
So rather than thinking of it as a stable "bush" of algae and trying to freeze it in place, I think of it as type of plant you can harvest almost 100% of and it will "spring eternal" ...
...
Filter:
Again, I really suggest keeping macro out of the display area.
But ... if you just want a cheap HOB get a whisper1 or something and turn the flow down. Take out the filter media and put in a polyfilter pad and a bag of chemi pure. Don't change them when the boxes recomment, that's too often. But keep an eye to see when they get crudified by junk and stuff, restricting water flow. Then change the polyfitler first and a week later the chemi pure bag. chemipure and other similar bags of carbon rocks that soak up pollutants make good surfaces for bacteria after they mature, but do tend to accumulate an unhealthy amount of gunk.
Or, fill the HOB filter completely full of rubble rock, that would make a good filter as well.
As of late, I have resigned myself to having a perpetual caulerpa problem in my tank. But I did come to one realization: most of my frustration stems from maintenance. Specifically, the continuous trimming to keep it shaped like a little shrub and not creeping around. Now that it's in pretty much every nook and cranny, I do this: When it's time to clean the caulerpa (every month or so) I prune the hell out of it. Just like you're trying to eradicate it. But you won't. There will be some left, some that grows. And I accept that because for most of the time, you can only see little cute bits of grape macro popping up.
So rather than thinking of it as a stable "bush" of algae and trying to freeze it in place, I think of it as type of plant you can harvest almost 100% of and it will "spring eternal" ...
...
Filter:
Again, I really suggest keeping macro out of the display area.
But ... if you just want a cheap HOB get a whisper1 or something and turn the flow down. Take out the filter media and put in a polyfilter pad and a bag of chemi pure. Don't change them when the boxes recomment, that's too often. But keep an eye to see when they get crudified by junk and stuff, restricting water flow. Then change the polyfitler first and a week later the chemi pure bag. chemipure and other similar bags of carbon rocks that soak up pollutants make good surfaces for bacteria after they mature, but do tend to accumulate an unhealthy amount of gunk.
Or, fill the HOB filter completely full of rubble rock, that would make a good filter as well.
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