confused

[scooterboy]

I have been given a tank setup which is 24x15x18 and was thinking of having a small mini reef in it is this tank suitable or wil i have to go a different way

 

[Great Lakes]

As I have said before, though being new, you won't have heard...

Being given a small tank is not a good criteria to base your decision on starting a reef tank.

The tank is one of the cheapest investments in starting a reef system. By the time you are done in investing in all the other hardware and livestock, the cost of the tank is of little concern.

Of course, a six or eight foot tank is a pretty penny, but I would recommend a 29 gallon at least, and better yet a 55 gallon.

GL

 

[chkltcow]

By my calculations, that's not far off 29 gallons. It's 27.8 gal.... close enough.

 

[daniodude]

the tank may be cheap, but most other thing are not. I started my 20g a couple of weeks back, like 9 or so, I probably have dumped over OVER $350 dollars into it so far, and I don't even have fish yet.........
Make sure you are in for the comittment in money AND time.

DanioDude

 

[scooterboy]

Sorry Guys i'm new to marine aquariums but had until recently kept a large malawi tank succesfully for about 3-4 years managing to have lots of breeding pairs so although inexperienced in the marine enviroment i've got a little knowledge about fish keeping . I cant use the malawi tank as my wife issued the ultimatum and the whole setup went to a friend who managed to boil every one of the 60 odd fish within 2 weeks of getting the tank. I was gutted as most of them had been reared in the tank.
Anyway with careful attention to the temp, salinity and such like i take it there is no reason why this small tank couldnt do the job then.

 

[chkltcow]

No reason at all. You'll have to go easy on the stocking, obviously.... but people have run successful reef tanks in far smaller than that. Personally, I have a 20g and a 5g setup as saltwater.

 

[Fishy411]

people do mini reefs in 1 gallons and above so your tank is more than suitable. !2 gallons are great. I'm not sure of yur actual size bit it is bigger than 10 gallons. iN A 29 u can keep tons of coral and maybe a pair of clownfish.

 

[scooterboy]

Thanks for the help guys once i've got it set up i'll try and post a few piccies of it to see what you think.Oh just one thing though i was going to put a couple of clownfish in the tank but was wondering if they'll need to be a pair cause i've read they can be terratorial and in a small tank i thought that this could this lead to problems

 

[Ed4567]

All the info you could ever want on clownfish: http/www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...threadid=282136

 

[Fishy411]

actually they can be territorial in pairs. Get the smallest and biggeest on and u will have a pair

 

[Opcn]

Clown fish are hermaphrodites along with many other salt water fish, the largest useually become females and any small enought to be considered a subordinate could easily becoem a mate.

 

[scooterboy]

That's me all sorted .
Got my system up and running today and have begun to cycle my tank. So far i've got 10kg of live rock 10kg of live sand about the same of crushed coral, two powerheads 301's an ehiem 2232 filter and a visitherm heater . Ive got sponges and ceramic balls in the filter at the moment but when i've got enough live rock and its matured properly i'm planning to take most of the filter material out and use the filter a bit like a mini sump putting in some activated carbon every so often to help . Does this sound ok? if so how many soft corals could this system sustain and what are the best for a beginner to try and keep . Iwas thinking of a leathery mushroom and maybe one or two more that would act as a host for my clown fish.
One thing more i got a free critter with the living rock hiding in one of the holes.It appears to be a green shrimp of some kind . its too timid to come out properly but its green and looks like a shrimp and its about 1 inch long .Has anyone any ideas. sorry no pictures of it, it wont come out the hole

 

[Ed4567]

Sounds good so far. I dont think that corals really add much to your bioload so you are mostly limited by space and compatability issues. I would look at things like greenstar polyps, mushrooms, leather corals, things like that.

You will also want to check that you shrimp isnt a mantis shrimp as these have a tendancy to eat anything and everything in your tank.
Ed

 

[RamJet]

Your going to want to pick up a good light, power compacts would do it.

 

[scooterboy]

power compacts. is that t5 lights ? cause thats what i was thinking of putting in.A marine daylight an actinic one as well . I was told at my lfs that this would be ok for what i was planning to keep. The lighting issue is the one i've got most trouble getting my head around. BTW just got some hermit crabs and some more LR the living rock has tiny little stalk things on it they look like a brolly with just the spokes on.T hey retract when the lights are off. This rock has a very small blob on it that looks like a blueberry anyone any ideas