Pong's 20L College Reef

[Jacob042426]

I thought about that, but Rehype said that he really didn't like his. But thats along the lines of what I'd like. Either something very active and colorful, or a mass/shoal of fish to just add another dimension to the tank.

exactly, I think you need something swimming out in the open. what about blue chromis?

[awpong]

I feel like more than one chromis in a small tank always = death. A school of red spot cardinals would be cool, if they weren't so damn hard to keep alive.

[Jacob042426]

I feel like more than one chromis in a small tank always = death. A school of red spot cardinals would be cool, if they weren't so damn hard to keep alive.

that's very true. pj cards are nice if you like the look of them. i think you should just stick with trying some blue-eyes.

[awpong]

I'm not a fan of pajamas. I kinda wish bangaiis would shoal in aquariums instead of aggressively pairing off. That would be the ideal option. I'll do some more research into the blue eyes to see what people think.

[awpong]

What do people think about me adding a shoal of 3-4 Orange Lined Cardinals to this tank? Information on them is kinda week, but they're similar sized to the blue eyes with a little more color.

[Jacob042426]

What do people think about me adding a shoal of 3-4 Orange Lined Cardinals to this tank? Information on them is kinda week, but they're similar sized to the blue eyes with a little more color.

i think it would be great, might be a little pricy though.

[awpong]

Liveaquaria only has them posted for $17, so I'm expecting my LFS to have something similar. $51-68 for 3-4 fish really isn't that bad. I'm just curious how aggressive they'll be towards eachother. I haven't found any examples of situations where they have, but I also haven't found many people who have more than 2.

[1.0reef]

What fish do you currently have?

[awpong]

I've got:

 

2x Ocellaris clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)

Orchid Dottyback (Pseudochromis fridmani)

 

*All of the equipment and livestock (with the exception of my coral) are listed on the first post.*

[altolamprologus]

Liveaquaria only has them posted for $17, so I'm expecting my LFS to have something similar. $51-68 for 3-4 fish really isn't that bad. I'm just curious how aggressive they'll be towards eachother. I haven't found any examples of situations where they have, but I also haven't found many people who have more than 2.

Go for it. I looked into them a while back and even though there's not much info as you have found, I never found even a single source that said they can't be kept in groups. Plus it would be a good opportunity to add to the information pool about them (and it would look damn good).

[cital]

What are the 2 mounts you are using to hang your lights from?

[awpong]

Go for it. I looked into them a while back and even though there's not much info as you have found, I never found even a single source that said they can't be kept in groups. Plus it would be a good opportunity to add to the information pool about them (and it would look damn good).

 

Alright, I think I'll try them then. I just need to find these little guys now. I'll probably have to try and get them custom ordered.

 

What are the 2 mounts you are using to hang your lights from?

 

AquaticLife Stand Light Fixture Hanger

[Jruberti]

Your new 20 looks awesome I'm jealous, I wish I could get that much growth!!

[awpong]

Your new 20 looks awesome I'm jealous, I wish I could get that much growth!!

 

Thanks

 

Im hoping to get more growth and better color by sticking to a dosing regiem. I deviate from it far too often.

[awpong]

I'm afraid I might have to reconsider the Orange Lined Cardinals. I've spent the past hour scouring the internet for any information on these guys, and it seems like they do have a tendency to pair off. The few personal accounts I've been able to find on them suggest that their disposition is similar to that of Bangaii's.

 

I'm contemplating returning to the idea of the blue eyes. Although they're not as colorful, I will at least be able to keep them in a trio or group of four.

 

I just need to decide what would look cooler, a pair of Orange Lined Cardinals or a trio/group of Blue Eye Cardinals.

[awpong]

I've got a few updates for the tank:

 

 

1. I've decided to wait on adding any new fish till next semester (late January). I didn't want to have to deal with the trouble of managing a larger bioload when I will be traveling a lot this semester - I'll be traveling across teh country for med school interviews.

 

2. I decided I'd try to play with my lighting a little bit by removing the cheap Odyssea actinics and replacing them with ATI T5s. Since a lot of my SPS are blue or purple, I wanted some supplemental lights that would really make them pop!

 

I wasn't sure which bulb combo would look best, and after 2 hours of research, I went ahead and purchased 2x ATI Blue + and an ATI Purple +. I want to try the purple in the front and blue in the back first, to bring out the color of my orange, red, and pink coral that are all situated in the front half of my tank. However, I bought the second ATI blue + incase the purple seems to overpowering, or in case the uneven distribution of light temperature looks awkward (too purple in the front and too blue in the back).

 

I ordered the lights this afternoon and just got confirmation that they shipped. I'll install them probably Friday and let y'all know how they look.

 

3. I moved some of my SPS colonies around optimize their lighting requirements and flow. My BOP was getting too much direct flow from the MP10, so I had to rearrange a couple of colonies. It's not the symmetric triangular structure it was before, but I still think it looks nice. I might play around with it some more later.

 

[awpong]

After a lot of delay, I finally got around to changing the t5 bulbs on the tank. I swapped out the cheap odyssea actinics for an ATI Blue+ and Puprle+. Unfortunately, when the MH is lit, the tank doesn't look too different. There is a slight change in the color of some of the zoanthids, but you wouldn't have noticed a change unless you were looking for it.

 

[NanoTopia]

Congratulations on TOTM

[Spirofucci]

Yessss Sir! Congrats! Well deserved!

[awpong]

Congratulations on TOTM

 

 

Yessss Sir! Congrats! Well deserved!

 

Thank you!

[awpong]

These are all of the pics and stuff from the TOTM page, I just thought I should add them to my thread too.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/featured/?tank=66

 

 

[InvaderJim]

Amazing tank. This is one of those tanks that looks a lot larger than it actually is. Mostly due to the large colonies you have. Well deserved TOTM.

[awpong]

Well I haven't updated this take in a while, so here's a short recap of what's happened.

 

I was out of town on winter break for a month and a half, so I took the fish to a LFS. I just got them back yesterday, but my GSP kinda got out of control. The GSP finally started to encroach up my SPS colonies, so I had to do some aggressive pruning. I ended up fragging my scripps coral into 4 different pieces ranging from a heavily branched 2" frag, to a heavily branched 5" frag. I'll probably end up selling them since I don't know where to put them back in the tank without having the GSP take over.

 

Other than that, this tank handled my month and a half absence like a champ. There were no algae issues or anything else. I'm surprised the SPS were able to grow without my adding any Ca, Mg, or Alk - granted, they don't look as vibrant as they used to. I usually have to dose 15mL of Alk, 20 mL of Ca and 20 mL of Mg a day to keep up with their demands.

 

I also ended up fragging a few other of my SPS that grew while i was away. Anyways, here are a few pictures:

 

 

 

[ChouDawg]

Awesome tank, inspiration for my future "long" upgrade, excited to continue seeing updates on this tank.

[Bella's Reef]

Very nice tank, inspiring for my upcoming return to the hobby and a 20 long build.