Mantis Cube

[Jared]

so ive begun a mantis tank 10X10X10 cube roughly 4.5 gallons.

im running it off of an XP1 canister attached to 3/4 bulkheads on the bottom of the starfire tank

i have a 50 watt heater built into the canister and the rest of the space is full of live rock.

 

i just finished gluing together the live rock and set up the tank, so its a little foggy

im not sure what im going to do for lighting, just ignore that ugly long strip i have sitting on top. any ideas on what i can use as lighting, probably only going to grow soft corals.

 

this is the messy start, i can wait until i get some nice growth and a manis in there, and of course some better lighting

 

 

 

 

 

 

so im working on lighting, do those 20 watt 50/50 coralife screw in pc bulbs work for soft corals? i was thinking about putting them in a dek lamp and using that.

 

the fourth picture shows my aquascaping setup, once the epoxy gorws over it should look alot better and with some corals on it.

 

thoughts on the aquascaping?

[justinl]

niiiice. i really like the aquascaping. yes 20W PC bulbs will support softy corals just fine.

[Maco]

Nice tank i love cube aquariums they always come out amazing. One thing have you seen Ninja fish's (fomaly Fish) cubed tank? He had a mantic in it to. Hope it turns out nice.

[Diskusting]

Yeah this tank looks so much like Ninjafish's. Both small cubes with the canister filter. What did you put in the Canister filter? LR rubble? I love these tanks because all the equipment is hidden.

 

I used 3-20w Coralife 50/50 screw ins on my 10g if you want to check it out. You would most likely only need two. Possibly 1 Pending on the corals.

[Reefaholic730]

Normally ikea furniture makes a horrible stand however with a small tank like this it should be fine.

[Jared]

yeah ikea tends to make weak stuff, but like you said the tank is so small so it should be fine, this probably isnt its final resting place, id like to put it somewhere so i can see it all around.

yeah fish's cube was super awsome, i hope mine turns out half as nice as his

[Jared]

okay so i got a lamp and put in a 20 watt 5050 pc bulb, not sure if i like the look its not clean enough, but the water has cleared up and the tank looks good, i'll try and get some pics up

 

any other suggestions for lighting?

[Jared]

so here it is all clear, and with the light, i need a differnt fixture to cover up the whole bulb

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

so this weekend is coral shopping time, need to add some color

[Diskusting]

LOVE the tank. If it were me I wouldnt buy a whole new fixture. I would get some thick Aluminum from Home depot. Wrap it around the end of this one creating a cylinder. Glue It and sandpaper it so it attaches 'sleekly' then Paint the outside black and you have a nice spotlight.

Just a suggestion.

[Jared]

good idea, i'll go over there today and see what i can find

 

but by the looks of it one of those 20 watt bulbs is really lighting up the tank, i just gota hope is can grow stuff

[Diskusting]

You will. Ive seen people get away with 40w on a 10g. As long as you choose the right corals you should be fine.

[Jared]

if i put live rock in my caniser with no lighting will it cause die off and an ammonia spike?

[Diskusting]

I doubt it.

[travisurfer]

looks great. the lighting does as well. there are also commericially available clamp-on pc lights.

[Jared]

is there a web site for these clamp on lgihts, ive never seen them, but im up in canada

[irishtexan]

Sweet tank!

 

Did you end up buying any coral?

[Jared]

Yeah i have some corals, i'll post pics up tonight

[Jared]

okay well ive got some corals in there now i just need a mantis but i cant find one anywhere in my city!!!!

i also need a better camera

 

so other then a mantis shrimp im almost set, id like to get a small peice of pulsing zenia, maybe one more group of zoos, and id really like a branch of that gorgian (sp) and i need those zoos up top to cover that ugly frag plug, but the zoos are so nice its worth it

 

oh and theres a three stripe damsel hiding somewhere in there as well, he'll ither be my mantis buddy or dinner!

and i'll have a handfull of zebra hermits ready.

 

and does anyone know the name of the flowerish looking coral in the middle??

 

looking for critisizm or comments please

 

 

 

ill try and get some better pics

[Diskusting]

Wow looks great. A+

[robbie]

Wow looks great. A+

 

i agree. i personally wouldnt turn it to a mantis tank, but to eachs own

[Jared]

well with a tank this size there isnt alot you can put in it,

i was thinking of some pom pom crabs, or maybe a harlequin shimp, but mantis shrimp are strange and have cool personalities, but i am open to suggestions as to what other species tank i could make it

[Diskusting]

I think a goby / pistol shrimp pair would be cool.

[justinl]

you mean the thing in between the zoos and the frogspawn? looks like a flowerpot coral. which is not so good since most die within months of captivity.

 

why not do a mantis? i say go ahead with it! I have a G. smithii in my 8gal reef and i love it. finding one can be a bit of a fiasco. what part of canada you in? Im in BC. Id suggest joining a local aquarium forum and asking around there. also go to all your lfs and ask them if they can order in a mantis for you. just be careful about picking a mantis because only a few will actually suit your tank. some can break glass, some need 6 inches of sand or more... etc. if you can get a pic of any prospective mantids, an ID may be able to be made for you.

 

btw the tank is looking AWESOME! i love these cube tanks. just so clean looking.

[Jared]

really flowerpots always die? any reason why?

yeah ive been talking to my lfs about getting a mantis in and on canreef, a local forum and ive had no luck getting a g smithii

[epicfish]

General notes: The Goniopora or Flowerpot Coral has always been a controversial coral in the hobby. Once thought to be impossible to keep, it can now be kept by experienced hobbyists but is still high maintenance. The Goniopora is a coral that can be maintained in captivity with special attention to it's care. A lagoonal species found in soft and muddy substrate, this coral will do very well in a refugium setting providing it is very well lit. Care is very similar to the feeding needs of Dendronepthea Soft Corals, requiring several feedings of phytoplankton, copepods, juvenile mysis, rotifers, polychaete larva and other similar (tiny) sized foods every day. Baby brine shrimp are too large to feed this specimen. Attempts to do so will cause the polyps to retract and feeding will stop. Failure to feed, Provide high lighting AND perfect water parameters will cause this coral to die within 3 to 6 months. The Goniopora coral can be very aggressive as it can grow very large sweeper tentacles and shoudl not be placed within reach of another coral.

 

From: http://www.marinedepotlive.com/flower-pot-...olyp-stony.html