Change Of Plans

Hey everyone,

just thought I would stop in and update...
do to finances (totaling my Car lol)
I have had to take a step back from the saltwater stuff... and take it really slow and do piece by piece... but
it turned out to be a good thing cause I was having a verry hard time with the size of tank and the fish and Corals I wanted to keep. and the lack of convience of the nano.. it was more frustrating than anything I figured the wattage only to be about 2.16watts per gallon.. not near enough for what I want to do.

soooooo the new plans are...

Just bought (with a gift Card mind you) a standard 20g Long tank and a versa top. I have enough gph (400 split between two pumps) and have a mariland (sp?) millenium 200 (up to 100gallons) which I will use as a live rock rubble holder on one side and pergin and what not on the other. it has a valve to turn the flow up or down so It wont be over kill. I have a stealth 100Watt Heater which I will use.

My purchases will be basic and minimual but expensive sooooo have have some patience.

Im going to get

24" a 2X65watt PC fixture (one Daylight one Antic)

20lbs Live Rock (found a great LRS here close to home so I wont have to get it online)

40lbs of agralive sand the almost live stuff (lol)


If I can get that far I will be happy cause I have the rest.

even if it takes a few months to get the setup
then a few more months to start getting the livestock in there
it will be well worth it!


Its frustrating to not get all the fish I want... sooo Im having to pick... I want my tank to be underloaded so that I dont kill it off. soooo Yeah

My wants are (not all but the choices for me are)


1 dwarf Flame Angel (I know they have issuses in reef situations)

OR

1 Royal Gramma AND 1 Cardinal (not the pajama one)

OR

1 Purple Fire fish AND 1 Royal Gramma

OR

1 Purple Fire Fish AND one Orange Fire Fish

OR

1 six line warasse AND 1 Scotts Farry Warasse


or any other combination of two or three of these guys... its just hard to decide.... at least Im not in a rush lol

for Corals.. I would love to do basic mushrooms, some softies, and an open brain coral ... if at all feasable.


I just want a basic simple tank... nothing elaborate.... just enjoyable...

Any tips changes or comments?

Im going to get the Saltwater goin just to figure out the system stuff make sure the stuff I DO have is going to work... fun fun.

Just for input for the Cardinals. I would get a pair instead of just one. They pair up immediatly atleast mine did. There fun to watch when they swim together. If it were me I would do:

-Firefish
-6 Line Wrasse
-2 Bangaii Cardinals

That should bring you up to the tip for your stocking.

Sounds like your doing fine. Pre planning is always great! Aragalive im not familiar with, but many on this board will tell you, and im the same, just buy aragonite sand, the dead stuff, LOL. Dont buy live sand. If you buy decent LR, the sand bed will eventually seed itself, this will save you buckets of money!

Awesome.. then regular argonite it is...

I love working for Petsmart... the discount... and they were the ones who introduced me to fish.... a hobby that I will NEVER know enough about.... which Is why I like it!

I like that combonation of fish.... what about this combo.. Just a thought

Yellowtail damselYellow watchman Goy
and regular firefish? yes no?

Nalaundi said:

Awesome.. then regular argonite it is...

I love working for Petsmart... the discount... and they were the ones who introduced me to fish.... a hobby that I will NEVER know enough about.... which Is why I like it!

I like that combonation of fish.... what about this combo.. Just a thought

Yellowtail damselYellow watchman Goy
and regular firefish? yes no?

Click to expand...

Most people will argue about this but in my experience Damsels have never been anything but trouble. As for the YWG and the Firefish they will be fine. Why not add a clownfish There the best ever, also that is my own opinion. Also about your job at petsmart, you wouldn't mind sending me some of those discounted products

Why not add a clownfish There the best ever, also that is my own opinion. Also about your job at petsmart, you wouldn't mind sending me some of those discounted products

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I think clownfish are beautiful I just have a hard time having them in my tank as I have soooo many people at work asking me if we have the "nemo fish" especialy since I have 15 nieces and nephews and most all of them know who "Nemo" is..... I was hoping to keep clear of the "Finding Nemo Tank" though there is nothing wrong with them....

I may break down and ad one... I just wish one of the other clowns (not the "nemo") would work so it wasnt so blaringly a Clown.

I am setting up a small freshwater tank out in the livingroom (it is only my parents and I who live at home) for when all the kids come over and they can enjoy that without having to come feed and see and poke at "Nemo" everytime....

My sw Tank will be in my room where it will be safe from small hands and will be off limits unless I am there with them... which wont be often.. Adults can come and enjoy it but I want it to be free of kid conotations....

(the reasoning only cause Im 24 and people think Im 12 or 13 by my looks... so less kid stuff about me the better) I like being An adult and try not to give people more reason to think Im 12.

if you check out my picture on myspace ID nalaundi1382 you will see why.... that picure was taken this year.

soooo. yeah...

I like Clowns just I dont know if I could go that route with my tank


oh and about the discount... lol.. I wish it were more of a discount.... lol but it certainly is a bonus... jusst wish they sold Live Rock HEHEHHE

Perhaps skunk clowns? They look quite different than regular ocellaris/perculas.

SkiFletch said:

Perhaps skunk clowns? They look quite different than regular ocellaris/perculas.

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Maybe... but arent they pretty agressive?

dunno

here is pic... of my new setup... I had to change from the Millenium 300 to a biowheel 30 for my insert container... took off biowheel just gunna put purgin and rubble in the compartment... upgrade later
20L
biowheel 30, Rio600 Penguin 1140 Rena 150 heater Gunna Have 130Watt Total PC Lighting
20LB Live Rock 2added lbs rubble for filter Purgin Reef Crystals for saltMix two temp Gages one digital other glass one. I fitted the Versitop so there are no escape holes for fishies to findout they are sea beings and not land beings lol

K I just Checked out the Skunk Clown out on LiveAquaria.... just cause.... they get up to 5" isnt that to big if I want to keep the other two with it... The FireFish and the Yellow Watchman Goby. IM hoping for 3 fish...in this tank as it has beens sooo hard to pick which ones I want.... soo Im guessing they gotta be microscopic lol what bout the tomato clown... liveaquaria says they rarely get past 3 1/2" in the Aquarium though they really can get up to 5". I dunno.. havin a tough tim figuring out how much (not quantity but total bioload) my tank will be able to handle as I dont want to max it out... wanna stay pretty light.

I've seen 5" long tomatoes in captivity before and I've seen big skunks, but never a 5" long one . I'd say you could do those 3 in a 24 long aquarium though, skunk, firefish, watchman

K
I hope money wise (not draining my bank account since I am out car buying) that I didnt make a mistake.


I knew that the big money spendeature would be the LR which I can get in stages.. and take it slowly before I get any live stock and cure it in a seperate tank...... and the Lighting

I just Found a JEBO (sp?) PC 2x65watt 2fans 2moonlight LED with legs on Ebay.. new in box for about 70 bucks.... I had been looking around on the net and seen these and similar for about 130 - 160 bucks... so I thought this would be a good deal....... cross fingers... but now that I have lighting I can breath and get it going slowly..... thankgoodness for tip money !!!!


K....
so

Skunk, Purple Fire, and watchman goby in my 20 Long.. weekly 10 -15% waterchanges... RO Water

yeah? any other cool combos? IM really hoping to get the most color differences and body shape differences.

cause I want the diversity not all gobies... or all long narrow fish. the black and white ones and the like I like but Im hoping for color since I can get silvery black and white and the like in my freshwater stuff.... though I am keen on the Cardinal...

any thoughts?

If you like color, pajama cardinals are more colorful than their bangaii counterparts.

Just an FYI, while a Jebo light fixture is OK for a shallow tank like the 20long, I would NOT recomend their PC fixtures for anything 29g and up. Their lights struggle punching through deep water and its tough to find straight pin 96watt bulbs (of which the Jebo fixtures are all straight pin) here in the states. The straight pin 65s are easy to come by, but not the 96s. Also, dont waste your money on skimmers, powerheads, heaters and other hardware by Jebo, its pretty much junk. Their halides and shorter PC fixtures are decent but the rest of their products are not

SkiFletch said:

If you like color, pajama cardinals are more colorful than their bangaii counterparts.

Just an FYI, while a Jebo light fixture is OK for a shallow tank like the 20long, I would NOT recomend their PC fixtures for anything 29g and up. Their lights struggle punching through deep water Also, dont waste your money on skimmers, powerheads, heaters and other hardware by Jebo, its pretty much junk.

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Hey,

Sounds good on the Lighting ... ty for the advice... there are so many brands Im not familiar with cause Petsmart dosnt carry 90% of the equipmnt.... for SW. so if ever upgrading.... non JEBO it is .... LOL

as for Pajama Cardinals... they just dont have the same appeal as the bangaii cardinals... I know I know Im way to picky so yeah/// ite off too work

to scavange the invintory!


TY

Lol, nice. If you're good at DIY you can also checkout hellolights.com for bulbs, ballasts, and retrofit kits to build any lighting you can imagine. They've got quality products and good prices, they just don't come with fixtures. I just bought some mini PC lighting for an upcoming project and they're good quality

SkiFletch said:

I just bought some mini PC lighting for an upcoming project and they're good quality

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aR those mini lights for the infamous nano you are being so secritive about.