my ideas for a 20g

[Kittikity]

We have a 20g aquarium that we'd like to use for a reef system.. He's more interested in the look and the fish.. I'm interested in that and more especially, the corals.. Here is our 20g tank and a 7g that I plan on using as a refugium..

(Ignore the third tank on the right.. That's a ten gallon that houses a mud turtle who keeps laying eggs even though she has no mate.. Silly turtle)

Like I said, I plan on using the 7g as a refugium.. I'm going to make my own skimmer and put it inside the refugium.. I plan to use vinyl/plastic tubing to draw water from the 20g and into the refugium, the skimmer will sit in the refugium, and the return tube will use a powerhead/pump to draw water through the skimmer.. The return for the powerhead I plan on having point towards the surface of the water to create surface movement and help eliminate gases and bubbles.. Thinking about putting a sponge on the return instead..

I want to put macro algae such as chaeto and anything else with lots of color that doesn't go sexual..

Both tanks right now are only filled with regular tap water because they were both pretty dirty and I'm letting them soak to make it easier to clean them out..

The skimmer I'm going to make out of a $5 3" diameter tube from ebay with a $2 piece of acrylic sheet from Lowes to make the base and cup pieces..

As for fish, my husband really likes the clownfish (yes, because of Finding Nemo) and I like the black ones.. So I figured one each of the orange and the black.. I'd also like something that would get along well with the clowns and be very colorful.. I also want to get a red headed neon goby but want to get advice on if it's ok to have with the above listed fish..

I'm not sure about other inhabitants such as crabs and shrimp, although I think sexy shrimp are neat.. Any advice on other livestock is greatly appreciated.. Particularly ones that contribute to the clean up crew..

As for corals, I've seen several that I really like.. Frogspawn, mushrooms, ricordia, star polyps, zoas, sun polyps, feather dusters and I'm sure several others that I can't remember at the moment.. Any advice on how to best care for these is appreciated, along with any other corals that would be appropriate..

For lights I plan on only using a mini compact or two for the refugium.. For the 20g, drsfostersmith.com has a nicely priced 4XT5 fixture with LED lunar lights.. That will probably be the single most expensive purchase..

For substrate I plan on using black sand.. For one, it should help bring out the colors of the corals and fish even more.. For another, I just like it because it's a little different then most people use.. If there's a reason I shouldn't use it, please let me know.. We're going to be getting live rock from our LFS so I'm not too concerned with having live sand right away..

Speaking of our LFS, one of the guys there told us that you can get RO water from the big water machines outside of grocery stores.. The ones where you can take regular gallon jugs and fill them.. Just wanted to make sure this was correct before I tried it..

Not sure if I'm going to get salt water from the LFS or if I'm going to mix it myself.. Kind of depends on whether the thing about the water machines is true or not.. It would be really convenient for me to just get my RO water when I go to the grocery store.. But if I end up getting it from the LFS then I'll just buy the salt water premixed while I'm there.. I'm kind of a DIY kind of person so I wouldn't mind mixing it myself.. It would also be better for my bank account since the grocery store doesn't have coral frags..

Of course, none of this will get done until I can get a part time job to pay for this hobby.. But I like to research as much as I can before I purchase anything..

Jacquie

 

[mr_X]

as far as the livestock- all those corals with exception to the sun polyps require very little care. the sun polyps might be easy too, it's just that i don't know enough about them to tell you anything.
if you have decent lighting, and good water parameters, those corals you mentioned will do well.
i, personally, like to target feed my corals and since i started that, i have seen massive growth spurts, so you might want to do that too.

the clowns will fight each other to death i'm told. you must have a mated pair of the same type of clown in order for them not to fight each other. 2 different types of clowns will battle to the end.

i don't know about the grocery store water. as much as i want an RODI unit, i'm waiting until i move to get one. as it stands now, i use treated tap water, and despite some small algae issues, it's working well enough.
i would rather mix my own water than to trust someone else to.

skunk cleaner shrimp are very amusing to watch and very helpful in the reef. you might look into those. i also have a peppermint shrimp which is useless, and i have a fire shrimp, which looks nice, but hides most of the time
i have a camelback shrimp as well, and if i could catch him, he'd be banished to the sump for life. (he's not going to make it to the new tank :evil: )

good luck with the skimmer. my thoughts on that are- for that size setup, you can get a used skimmer on ebay or in the "for sale" section here that will do a great job for little money.

macroalgae- i have chaeto, bubble caulerpa, and some other stuff i can't find the name for, and i haven't had any problems with the caulerpa going sexual. you'll have to prune it about once a week anyway because it grows so fast that it probably won't have a chance to go sexual. that's just opinion, not fact. that's how it goes in X's little ocean :wink:

 

[herpencounter]

The RO systems they have at the store work fine, (that’s what I use and have had no problems actually it has decreased my problems IMO) they have a few water purifications (one is for good tasting water and you know fish and corals love the taste of water ) steps it goes thru.

 

[Killagoby]

Run the lights 24/7 in the refugium so the algae does not go asexual.

Don't mix species of clowns. They will fight to the death. This holds true for most all saltwater species in a smaller tank.

Surface movement is always good. Try to get a wavemaker or SCWD on one of the pumps to alternate the current. Most ocean currents are made from the wind on the surface of the water. If you can create that in the tank it will work out well. Alternating flow in the tank recreates surge in the ocean.

I have a 29 gallon reef and I prefer RO/DI saltwater from the LFS because it is inexpensive and worry free. I use 5 gallon jugs to take it home in. Just have a few full on hand in case of water changes. Also, have a few jugs of fresh water on hand for top off. When saltwater evaporates from the tank the salt stays in it, causing the specific gravity to raise.

Always test the water. esp in the first month. It will cycle and go through an ammonia spike, nitrite spike, then nitrates will be left for the refugium and water changes to be removed. Don't add creatures or uncured life rock. This will bring certian death. Happy Reefing!!!

 

[Kittikity]

The clowns won't be ok even if they're both ocellaris?

 

[mr_X]

i don't run my lights 24 hours and have no trouble at all. i think that's a myth. pruning is the key. plant life needs a night and day.
i used to run my lights around the clock and they grew very little. now with 10 hrs of light they grow so fast that once a week i have to remove 2 or 3 handfulls, which i turn into the lfs for store credit. :wink:

my friend has a black and white. i just gave him a "nemo". he said they immediately battled. until he removed one. that's the only experience i can give you.

 

[Joew]

First off, in your fuge...Pick the right macroalgae...Only one is trusted Chaetomorpha, aka Chaeto. Never use Caulerpa, it's basically a timebomb waiting to go off. Chaeto will not go apesh*t and bomb your tank with a release. Second thing, when running a fuge. Lighting schedule should be opposite of your daylights to keep ph swings in check On the fish, keep the clowns the same.

Regads,
Joe W
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Television discussion

 

[Brian5000]

To add two clowns: two of the same species, and should be added simultaneously. Add them as juveniles and they can grow into a mated pair. My pair of ocellaris clowns will still squabble from time to time, but they live together ok (when the lights go out, the cuddle together in the same hole).

If one is added before the other, even the same species, the older fish can kill the new one.
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BMW M3

 

[Killagoby]

First off, in your fuge...Pick the right macroalgae...Only one is trusted Chaetomorpha, aka Chaeto. Never use Caulerpa, it's basically a timebomb waiting to go off. Chaeto will not go apesh*t and bomb your tank with a release. Second thing, when running a fuge. Lighting schedule should be opposite of your daylights to keep ph swings in check On the fish, keep the clowns the same.

Regads,
Joe W

I use Caulerpa and never have had a problem. I also run the lights 24/7 so it does not go asexual. Trimming it often helps also...