Andy's 24 gallon cube

[Gotem86]

I started my 24 gallon Aquatop AIO about three weeks ago. This is my second mixed reef tank, but it's my first tank in six years. A lot of things have changed in the past six years and I was sad to discover that pukani is pretty much gone.

 

The tank came with a return pump, filter sponge thing, media baskets with bio balls and activate carbon, a cheap little protein skimmer, a 30 watt LED lamp with a power switch for the blue and white lights. Unfortunately it's a single plug, so you cannot automate the blue coming on first. The tank also came with a two piece glass top. I took the sponge out immediately, wish it had a filter sock instead. My biggest surprise was that the protein skimmer actually works alright. 

 

I added an Eheim Jager 150 watt heater, 1500 GPH Innovative Marine wave maker, XP Aqua ATI and finally an Inkbird temperature controller. I had to add this because the Eheim was a whopping 11  degrees off! I plan to add an AI Prime HD+ in the near future and a netting type lid. 

 

I started my tank with a mix of dry and live Fiji rock from my LFS. The LR was definitely on the tame side, with no algae, sponges, coral or even micro brittle stars. The only hitchhiker that I've discovered so far are Astrea stars. For sand, I used the Carrib Sea Bimini Pink live sand. I chose this sand because I thought it resembles real ocean sand the most. The grain size ranges from .5mm to 5mm. Theres some shells in it and even a sand dollar. 

 

The tank went through a pretty quick cycle and am looking to add a pair of black snowflake clownfish soon. Im going through a diatom bloom right now and added two nassarius snails to help and will add two trochus snails at some point. I will add two blue legged hermit crabs after I add my clownfish. I will probably buy a coral frag starter pack soon to get started. Later down the road I will want to add more fish such as a goby and pistol shrimp pair and possibly a sapphire blue damsel. From what I've read, this damsel is less of an A-hole than the others. I like the striking blue color and very small size. 

 

Please feel free to comment and give suggestions, especially with livestock and corals!

[colinadam]

Great size tank, and I'm with you, was out of the hobby for a long time and it's a whole new world. 

I haven't had damsels but that one has a nice color. Maybe with a more mature clown pair it wouldn't be a bully versus smaller clowns? 

[Gotem86]

Update: Added 2 trochus snails, a Halloween hermit crab, and 2 Black Snowflake Clownfish to the tank this week. I got the clownfish today from Live Aquaria and they arrived in great shape. One of the clownfish is a little nippy, but they still swim together. Hopefully the one clownfish calms down a bit and they become a happy couple.

[colinadam]

Great clowns! Did you do the Divers Den or regular Live Aquaria? What did you think of the process? 

[Gotem86]

Thanks! I'm pretty happy with them so far.  I did not use divers den for them. I also got them for fairly cheap at $42 (I think). Added some CUC members to my order to qualify for the free shipping. Everything arrived in good shape and was well packaged. Pretty straight forward ordering process too.

[Gravity]

Looking good. Like your clownfish, especially the one with the orange face. I ordered my clown and snails through LiveAquaria too and I can’t complain. Just make sure to inspect the snails. One of mine had what appeared to be bubble algae on the shell I ended up scraping off. 

 

Your rockscape looks nice too. Lots of hiding places for the fish. 

[Gotem86]

Update: For the past week, everyone has been living mostly peacefully. The larger clownfish has nipped at the smaller clown a little bit. The aggression has really amped up today and I can see some damage to his pectoral fins. I'm beginning to really worry for his life. Regrettably, I don't have another tank to move anyone to. So, I've been thinking about moving the aggressive fish to the small sump in the back of my AIO tank. I could move her for a few days to give the smaller clown a chance to heal and not be harassed. At the same time, I'm not sure if the aggressive clown could even survive for a few days in such a tiny space. Thoughts?

[Gotem86]

I currently have the mean clown in a net while I wait to make a decision of what to do. The sump area in question is 3"x3.5" x  18" deep

[colinadam]

Dont do the sump, you will never get him out. Google aquarium specimen container, get one and drill a couple holes for water flow, that can keep them apart for short periods.

[Gotem86]

53 minutes ago, colinadam said:

Dont do the sump, you will never get him out. Google aquarium specimen container, get one and drill a couple holes for water flow, that can keep them apart for short periods.

Good point, it was hard enough getting her into the net. Do you think it's okay leaving her in the net overnight or longer?

[colinadam]

I wouldn't, would really stress out the fish. Can you McGyver something short term with tupperware? Small container, pop plenty of holes in it, get the air out and place on the sandbed?

[Gotem86]

Update: I was able to get an in-tank net style breeding box the next day via prime. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to net the aggressive clownfish lol. In a turn of events, the male (I assume) clown started fighting back and they now seem to be doing much better. Now I can move onto getting rid of this damned hair algae...

 

 

[tdannhauser30]

You still have the aquatop?? How do you like it?