My New Marine

[AJ Tudor]

So I've managed to convince my girlfriend that what we really need in our flat isn't some curtains so people can't see into the bedroom, but a nice shiny new marine tank! The stipulation is it can only be 12 gallon (UK), now beggars can't be choosers so I started planning my nano last night. First things first I have my tank, it's 24x12x12 inches, along with a hood and a decent stand. First question, will 2 T5's be enough for just a couple of anemone fish sized fish (Maybe clown goby), with having such a small volume I wonder whether anything more powerful (Metal halide etc) would heat the water up too much. Next question, I can't decide which form of filtration to use, I've weighed up external filter and Berlin methods and can't decide which would be best. I don't want anything internat because it'll take up too much space. Would a sump of say a 12x12x12 be feasable in this set up? If so that may be the way for me, I like the idea of the increased volume a sump offers. Final question, anyone fancy suggesting some animals for this set up? I've got a list of possibilities like anemone fish, neon gobies etc but would like a few suggestions. Cheers guys

AJ

 

[ben1987]

I would go down the live rock route, if you have an external though then maybe you could run phosphate remover in it.

If your just having fish in there...then yeah two t5's is plenty. Lighting becomes a factor when considering corals.

Sump would be a nice idea. hides the equipment etc...always a plus with the missus. extra volume aswel. could run some cheato on reverse lighting cycle aswel.

if your having clowns, then stick to occelaris clowns, they stay smallest. The tank is boarder line as to weather its big enough. Some would some wouldnt. That will be all the fish you can have...clowns are terratorial lil so and so's.
If it were me id be tempted by going for a soft coral reef and then stocking with little gobies, maybe a blenny.

Have you looked into orca tl 450/550 nanos?

 

[AJ Tudor]

The main selling point on the external for me is the ability to include a phosphate remover. Lighting may be a small problem for me 'cos I want some mushroom anemones, a few pin point LED's could maybe work? Along with the T5's obviously. My first stocking choices were gobies, I find them fascinating. I've had a quick look at the Orca range but the 450 isn't much bigger than 12 gal and the 550 unfortunately is a bit bulky, I prefer a rectangular shape anyway. I take your point on the fact it is borderline too small and I wouldn't consider it if I didn't have an extensive amount of time on my hands. Aside from hermits or turbos can you suggest any nice inverts (Not corals) that would be good for this size?

 

[rabbut]

I love my Peppermint Shrimp. Bold colours and fairly outgoing. Will munch Aptasia Anenomies also, which is a pluss

In such a shallow tank, I would have though that most softies would be OK under twin T5's I'd await confirmation on that though.

I have a 24lX12hX15w tank, and I don't run Phosphate removers or exturnal filters. No issues with water quality thus far, but it is empty after a battle with Whitespot. (bar corals and CUC) Lesson learnt, when adding new stock, always try to Quarrenteen them Just go with about 10Kg Live Rock and plenty of flow, mine goes at about 70X an hour (6100lph in a 70l display) and I skim with a DIY skimmer on top. Works fine for me

My 150W halide would be no issue if I'd applied my brain before building the cabinet. It was origionally going to have T5's over it, so I left 8" head room. You need halides to be about 12" above the surface to work This said, in winter and/or with the cabinet flap open, I don't have any heat issues from it realy

All the best
Rabbut

 

[ben1987]

id agree that you will be ok with softie under two t5's i mean that you could light a fish only tank with less as you dont really have tot hink about lighting til corals come into it

my toadstool sometimes re-open after the lights have gone out if the room is well lit.

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, twin T5's would be OK for softies sure. If you could shoehorn 3 or 4 lamps in there you could keep just about anything under the sun. LED supplimentation actually would work great too now that I think about it would give you the nice shimmer effect too.

Clownfish and gobies would be your best bets. A tank with those dimensions is a nice starter tank so enjoy

 

[AJ Tudor]

I love my Peppermint Shrimp. Bold colours and fairly outgoing. Will munch Aptasia Anenomies also, which is a pluss

Peppermints were one of thoughts, though I must admit I'm not too fussed by aptasia.

id agree that you will be ok with softie under two t5's i mean that you could light a fish only tank with less as you dont really have tot hink about lighting til corals come into it

my toadstool sometimes re-open after the lights have gone out if the room is well lit.

That's good 'cos I pretty much only want mushrooms, maybe shell out a bit more on advanced lighting after a while, or try and convince my girlfriend that it's perfectly acceptable to sit on the floor so we don't waste money on a sofa and instead get a bigger aquarium......

Well, twin T5's would be OK for softies sure. If you could shoehorn 3 or 4 lamps in there you could keep just about anything under the sun. LED supplimentation actually would work great too now that I think about it would give you the nice shimmer effect too.

Clownfish and gobies would be your best bets. A tank with those dimensions is a nice starter tank so enjoy

Well I already have some point LED's that work great so I'll pick up some more I think, unfortunately just physically can't fit more than two T5's in the hood. Would reflectors do much? And if so is it just a case of glueing tin foil to the hood? I think I've pretty much settled on a goby and pistol shrimp with a clean up crew and some softies.

Cheers for the help guys!

AJ

 

[ben1987]

reflectors do help, individual ones are best. Dont know how effective just foil would be

 

[AJ Tudor]

Okay first off I just want to say thanks to you all for your help, it'll be worth it when I get another tank, but (sorry if you feel I've wasted your time) I've decided to keep it as it is. I've currently got it set up as a native marine tank and lost a bit of confidence with it when I lost a couple of hermits, but I'm coming back strong with it and looking round for new chillers now. Although I now have many more questions so I think I'll start a new thread and try and get a few answers there. Once again cheers a lot guys

AJ

 

[SkiFletch]

Tin foil is actually a pretty bad reflection medium. Reflective Mylar makes great reflectors, but you can actually buy them which is way easier. Most reflectors sold for bulbs are polished aluminum which is a great reflection medium.

Sure the hermits died and didn't just molt? . It's very common for hermits to molt when placed into a new tank