How shallow is too shallow?

[Kid03]

Ok, was thinking about building 30x16x10 reef tank.

Now that there would be 1" of sand and water .5" from top, leaving 8.5" of water.

Would this be too shallow for 2 clowns and maybe a gobbie or two?

 

Livestock Lps, soaz, macro, fish, inverts.

[psidriven]

Ok, was thinking about building 30x16x10 reef tank.

Now that there would be 1" of sand and water .5" from top, leaving 8.5" of water.

Would this be too shallow for 2 clowns and maybe a gobbie or two?

 

Livestock Lps, soaz, macro, fish, inverts.

 

1 thing to consider, will you have a bta fo rthe clowns to host in? the bta/rock would add about 4 inches or so, so your clowns would be in the top 4 inches of your tank most of the time. I'd get a cover of some type just in case of jumpers.

[Islandoftiki]

Ok, was thinking about building 30x16x10 reef tank.

Now that there would be 1" of sand and water .5" from top, leaving 8.5" of water.

Would this be too shallow for 2 clowns and maybe a gobbie or two?

 

Livestock Lps, soaz, macro, fish, inverts.

 

My 10 gallon tank is 24x10x10... so I would say that's just about perfect. Don't get too bright of a light or you'll bleach many corals at that depth.

 

I have a sixline wrasse and a yellow watchman goby/tiger pistol and a couple of cleaner shrimp.

 

And as psidriven said, some sort of top to prevent jumpers.

 

For what it's worth, I've seen a number of 8" deep tanks.

[Kid03]

Thanks guys thats sweet. Yes id like to have rbta for clowns and would like at most 6 fish, will have either 10-20gal sump with skimmer,refuge. I dont think id like to have a lid, takes away.from the look. but if needed maybe a mesh of somekind with arcylic frame magnets to keep it in place at the back. kind of like a screen door. mabye that would not be so bad. Keeping open water space not alot of rockwork. Main goal is saftey of livestock, but have lots of movment in.the tank. The sand is 40" tall so its pretty tall for a stand lol

 

Any other advise before I start getting prices and building this crazy glass jug?

What about GPH rate? how much is needed? Already got 300gal per hour return pump.

Need powerheads and other waterflow options.

[Kid03]

Will 1/4" glass be thick enough?

[Salty_Snack]

Why not just buy a tank? I know DIY is fun but I would rather trust the professionals with a glass box full of 20 gallons of saltwater and this tank size doesn't sound unique enough to justify the hassle.

[Kid03]

Why not just buy a tank? I know DIY is fun but I would rather trust the professionals with a glass box full of 20 gallons of saltwater and this tank size doesn't sound unique enough to justify the hassle.

 

 

Do you know where to buy a tank with simillar dim?

Ive bult tanks before without issues, but your right!

Im asking a fella who makes tanks for a living to build it for me.

[jedimasterben]

Six fish is a bit of a stretch for a ~20g tank. A pair of clowns will be about it, plus maybe a small goby or two. With anemones, you need stellar water quality at all times, and a high bioload in a small tank is not going to make it easy on you as far as maintenance goes.

[Kid03]

Six fish is a bit of a stretch for a ~20g tank. A pair of clowns will be about it, plus maybe a small goby or two. With anemones, you need stellar water quality at all times, and a high bioload in a small tank is not going to make it easy on you as far as maintenance goes.

 

Would it be better with 20gal sump half full with skimmer+refuge?

I dont really care about other fish than the clowns, talkin nemo here not tomotae clowns or clarki.

 

Or second thought here, Tiny gobbies and with shrimp gobi pair.

 

Hard to decided on AIO 30x16x10 or sump it. Can you maybe offer a different size tank that would work well?

[jedimasterben]

Would it be better with 20gal sump half full with skimmer+refuge?

I dont really care about other fish than the clowns, talkin nemo here not tomotae clowns or clarki.

 

Or second thought here, Tiny gobbies and with shrimp gobi pair.

 

Hard to decided on AIO 30x16x10 or sump it. Can you maybe offer a different size tank that would work well?

Either way you look at it, you have 20 gallons of space. A clownfish pair, even occelaris or percula, will usually dominate it, especially if you give them a home to defend.

[Kid03]

Either way you look at it, you have 20 gallons of space. A clownfish pair, even occelaris or percula, will usually dominate it, especially if you give them a home to defend.

 

Aggreed. So 20gal = occelaris or percula pair period.

if there is zero clowns, what are other options for fish/shrimp/inverts for 20gal shallow?

 

Love little crabs and movement in generial.

[jedimasterben]

Aggreed. So 20gal = occelaris or percula pair period.

if there is zero clowns, what are other options for fish/shrimp/inverts for 20gal shallow?

 

Love little crabs and movement in generial.

You can keep a couple of gobies or so with a pair, but don't expect them to play nicely all the time, as most don't. Having a bunch of fish in the same part of the tank as them will piss them off, and usually when you stick your hand in the tank to do maintenance they'll come after you too

 

You'll still need to stick with 'nano' fish, gobies, blennies, firefish, jawfish, etc. For inverts, you have many more possibilities, serpent stars, cleaner shrimp, sexy shrimp, pom pom crabs, just to name a few.

[Kid03]

You can keep a couple of gobies or so with a pair, but don't expect them to play nicely all the time, as most don't. Having a bunch of fish in the same part of the tank as them will piss them off, and usually when you stick your hand in the tank to do maintenance they'll come after you too

 

You'll still need to stick with 'nano' fish, gobies, blennies, firefish, jawfish, etc. For inverts, you have many more possibilities, serpent stars, cleaner shrimp, sexy shrimp, pom pom crabs, just to name a few.

 

 

I like the idea of mini livestock, means everything else looks bigger.

Do your mollys breed in your tank? Never seen ppl keep them in SW before, kind neat.

[jedimasterben]

Mollies are not particularly freshwater fish, they are found in full salt in the Gulf of Mexico (alongside guppies, no less!) or in brackish waters, but also inhabit freshwater streams in places, but from what I see, they tend to fare and breed much better in saltwater. They typically grow larger, some reaching 6" long.

 

But most will still stay small, 3-4" long. You'll need to keep them in groups, one male and several females, otherwise the male will harass a single female to death. They breed readily, my large female is getting ready to pop, though I don't know if the babies will survive the high-flow environment. We'll see shortly!

[Kid03]

Thats very cool Jedi! had no idea that was possable Maybe I should do pico guppys lol

That would look funny to me. guppys are small, enless IM thinking of something else.

 

Are you going to take photos of the babys if possable?

[jedimasterben]

Thats very cool Jedi! had no idea that was possable Maybe I should do pico guppys lol

That would look funny to me. guppys are small, enless IM thinking of something else.

 

Are you going to take photos of the babys if possable?

Of course, baby mollies are ADORABLE!

 

 

And there is a problem with some guppies and marine systems, though, and that's that they are bred to have as large and flash of a tail as possible, but it's so large on some of them that they cannot swim properly with any respectable amount of flow, so if someone were to pick guppies, the best for scenario would be the ones with a smaller tail, which can be equally as pretty.

[Kid03]

Makes sense about the tails Wonder why nobody ive seen or read about has done a guppy pico?

The LfS here may have some SW mollys, have to check.

 

As for the tank in question. Believe Ill be going with aio on the right side of tank, leaving me with 25x16x10 display tank and 5x16x10 sump area. Would 300 gph pump split into two returns be enough flow for lps ,softys, soaz, pallys?

[eddiecorrea]

My tank dimensions are similar. I just built a 25x12x10. No sump or anything.

[Kid03]

My tank dimensions are similar. I just built a 25x12x10. No sump or anything.

 

 

Got a link to your build thread?

[JayPagi]

As for the tank in question. Believe Ill be going with aio on the right side of tank, leaving me with 25x16x10 display tank and 5x16x10 sump area. Would 300 gph pump split into two returns be enough flow for lps ,softys, soaz, pallys?

I like the tank dimensions and the thought of an AIO shallow.

[Kid03]

I like the tank dimensions and the thought of an AIO shallow.

 

Tanks, me too Simple overflow idea with one large pump for flow and have fun building.

Will have to be a flat scape tho, unless I have them sticking out of the water.

[Kid03]

This is the pump I have to use for the AIO tank.

ECOPLUS 396 GPH SUBMERSIBLE PUMP

Split into two ways for return. does anyone think this will be enough flow?

 

the output hole is 3/4" in size so ill need some pvc fittings or lockline.

 

Good place to buy lockline? 

[Red_Blenny]

I have an AIO 24"L X 16"W X 10"H and the only thing I dislike about it is that I wish it was 2" taller. It'll make the aquacaping a little bit easier. However, the main reason why I like shallow tanks is because it's easier to move frags around and I don't have to worry about lighting (I'm using 4X T5s)... My next tank is going to be either 36"L X 18"W X 12" or 14" tall.

 

This is the pump I have to use for the AIO tank.

ECOPLUS 396 GPH SUBMERSIBLE PUMP

Split into two ways for return. does anyone think this will be enough flow?

 

the output hole is 3/4" in size so ill need some pvc fittings or lockline.

 

Good place to buy lockline? 

 

I think you'll need more than a return pump to add more flow into the tank. If your display side is 26x16, you'll need to add a wavemaker at the opposite side of the tank...

[Kid03]

I have an AIO 24"L X 16"W X 10"H and the only thing I dislike about it is that I wish it was 2" taller. It'll make the aquacaping a little bit easier. However, the main reason why I like shallow tanks is because it's easier to move frags around and I don't have to worry about lighting (I'm using 4X T5s)... My next tank is going to be either 36"L X 18"W X 12" or 14" tall.

 

 

 

I think you'll need more than a return pump to add more flow into the tank. If your display side is 26x16, you'll need to add a wavemaker at the opposite side of the tank...

 

I got a K1 that I can add to the other side Untill its upgraded to mp10 B-)

[Red_Blenny]

Nice. A mp10 will take care of the flow problem. It'll make the tank look cleaner due to the small footprint.