30 Gallon Stocking

[jt8791]

Hard to say if I will need a protein skimmer, I probably should leave a space for one somewhere just in case. Even if it’s only a small one. May add a small uv sterilizer at some point as well, probably only run it when I add new livestock. Stocking is still up in the air at the moment. Got plenty of time to figure it out though.

[jt8791]

Think my smart bet would be to stick to captive bred fish, no jumpers, hoping to keep it open top. Debating between the ac70 filter and large fuge or just run 2 fuges, aquafuge2 small and medium to use the whole back of the tank and put one light over both. 

 

Would this work and what order should I add them? All captive bred

 

2 Ocellaris clownfish

1 coral beauty angelfish

1 court jester goby - Could skip this one, not really sold on it yet.

[jt8791]

Anyone have the Zombie Ocellaris clownfish from ORA? Thinking of doing a pair of them and coral beauty at the same time, probably wait until summer, cuc in spring. Probably cheaper to order it all off liveaquaria than buying locally, they also have stuff local lfs doesn't carry. Would ghost feed the whole time, although pet quarters has a tank of sw acclimated mollies, grabbing one might be a better long term solution than a empty tank for 4-6 months.

[jt8791]

After a bit of research I think I'll pass on the angel. 

 

Would a pair of ORA Blood Orange Clownfish work in a 30 gallon? Only fish of course

[Snow_Phoenix]

5 hours ago, jt8791 said:

After a bit of research I think I'll pass on the angel. 

 

Would a pair of ORA Blood Orange Clownfish work in a 30 gallon? Only fish of course

Should be fine.

[jt8791]

A bit dusty but some updated pictures. One rock came loose and made rubble out of it. Still tossing around ideas and debating on trying soft corals. Rockwork is just about 2’ wide so an ai prime would work.

 

Probably go for low bioload if I go corals, trying for low tech and low maintenance. Think I will grab 2 ac110s to help pull the dust out and move the wave pumps down.

 

Only coral I really want to try is green star polyps and a pair of clownfish. Can’t find much more captive bred fish that would work for the space that interest me. Not sure if I will go for blood orange, maybe ocellaris or percula if that’s enough of a bioload to sustain soft corals. 

[mcarroll]

Sand beds aren't really very well understood these days....most folks, for good reason, go bare-bottom or with only a "decorative" amount of sand, usually 1" or less, to prevent problems associated with deeper sand beds.  

 

If you want to keep it deep like in your photos, I would suggest reading anything you can still find by Ron Shimek (website, posts, books whatever) about keeping a healthy live sand bed.  Old forum posts from <2000 can be hard to find, but there were more disucussions on the topic back then if you can get there.

 

For what it's worth, your sand bed is potentially as great a filter as your live rock....potentially greater.  It's just a lot easier to take care of a pile of rocks in the "normal" mode of reefing than it is to take care of a thriving sand bed.  Rocks just need what corals need.  A sand bed's needs are a little different.  Even if you isolated the deep sand to your refugium I would suggest putting it in a removable container/tray of some sort, just in case, until you get the hang of it.

 

FYI, I think the tank looks great so far...and you're definitely on the right pace with your progress.  SLOW.  👍  Nothing Good Happens Fast In A Reef Tank😉 

[jt8791]

So just pulled out 2/3 of the sand, got it in a bucket with saltwater in case I need more later. Dropped down to about 1", rubble will mostly end up in the 2 ac110 fuges. Also grabbed an ac30 and running 2 foam inserts to help pull dust out. Unsure of exact number but water volume is now 25-26 gallons. 

 

Edit: In the long run I think I will need the water volume more than the extra sand. Just realized the floor joists run the other way, tank shakes if you walk in front of the entertainment center towards the tank. Started keeping some of my water in the kitchen and may end up moving this big entertainment center down to the bedroom.

 

Looked at a few soft corals and I'm still leaning towards the green star polyps, just a nice and simple underwater lawn. May buy a few frags so it fills in quicker

[jt8791]

Would a 2k gyre pump work better than 2 wave pumps? Power backup is a handy feature, might need the controller to slow it down and maybe their ato as well.

Was considering the small/medium aquafuge2's but not sure if there would be clearance for the gyre magnet or money left in the budget after gyre, controller, ato, battery backup and light, so ac110s might have to do for now. Luckily my budget keeps the build slow, I want to run it at least 3 months before I add the fish and corals anyways.

 

 

 

[jt8791]

A large aquafuge2 and an ac70 may be the simpler route for fuge and filtration. Just have to figure out the best option for flow. Not sure if the icecap gyre 2k would work well on one side of the tank if the aqua fuge doesn’t leave room for the magnet. Their power backup seems much simpler than tunze. The ac30 would work perfect for a 10gal qt if I need it.

 

[jt8791]

Just measured the top rocks, eyeballing it with a tape measure through the glass, only about 3” from the water surface. Looking at a few different toadstool mushroom leather corals, not sure if that would be too much light about 4” from the fluval marine 3.0

[mcarroll]

20 hours ago, jt8791 said:

Their power backup seems much simpler than tunze.

Simpler than just using two wires to directly connect a battery to the screw taps on the safety connector?  It's hard to imagine a connection simpler than that.

 

(Bulk Reef Supply and CoralVue both list the Icecap as discontinued for what that's worth.)

 

On 12/27/2020 at 11:33 PM, jt8791 said:

Would a 2k gyre pump work better than 2 wave pumps?

Same thing only different.  Not better.

 

If you want to have power backup for regular AC pumps, just use a computer UPS....Home Depot has a base-level CyberPower brand UPS listed for $50, just for example.

 

Nothing wrong with running the AC110's....plenty of flow, just keep them empty or mostly empty.   Replace them with powerheads when you're good and ready.

 

21 hours ago, jt8791 said:

A large aquafuge2 and an ac70 may be the simpler route for fuge and filtration

Let your corals be your filtration.  IMO, design with that in mind.

 

 

[farkwar]

On 12/22/2020 at 5:31 AM, Nano_Addict said:

One thing that seems to be missing is a source of filtration other than the sand and the rock

If he's doing a GSP or Xenia only with fish tank

 

He really doesn't need anything else besides good flow

 

I think it will be cool when it grows out

 

I am one of the 1 in 10,000 suckers who can't grow GSP.  I have 3 different types in my tank, and all 3 are barely surviving.  Dunno why

 

GSP and Elegance, my Kryptonite

[jt8791]

Yeah I'm thinking of sticking with gsp, neon green carpeting to be specific. Not sure if it will grow on the top rocks 3" under the surface but I'll let it spread across the back glass and left side glass. Might be a good spot for a tunze wave pump with the rock surround, been trying to find a reason to buy those. Those 2 rocks are pretty small, hard to say what would work well there, don't want to overcomplicate things, hoping to keep this tank as simple as possible.

 

I have it on an APC power backup with 2 koralia nana 425 wave pumps on the power backup, have yet to see how long it will run them for but both are up close to the water surface. I might be overthinking it, if I'm aiming for low tech and simple maintenance, with water changes, I don't need a 4.7gal fuge, think even one ac110 fuge would be enough in regards to pod population and ph/o2 at night. Not like they are very expensive, cheap enough to grab both just for the water volume, should put me around 28-29gal water volume. Keeps the weight reasonable and saves money for other stuff.

 

Only questions at that point would be if the 425s would be enough flow and if the corals care whether or not both wave pumps run at once or intermittently, with a wave controller. Oh and if a pair of percula clownfish would be a large enough bioload for all that growth, could consider a 3rd fish but assume the clowns will eventually claim the tank. Nothing else really catches my eye so far.

 

My evaporation is slow enough an ato wouldn't be worth the effort right now, not a fan of depending on equipment. Picked up a tank background and the glue to put it on, just gotta work up the ambition to do it.

[jt8791]

Going simple route, got the first ac110 modded, letting the silicone set for 2 days. Will get another one next week and run 2 ac110 fuges and the ac30 with just foam inserts rinsed every few days in old tank water. Background is on the tank, not the greatest job but doesn't look terrible, I see why most people paint the back of the tank now. Thinking just 1" of rubble in the fuges and rest for chaeto, not sure I want to risk sand in the impellar.

[jt8791]

One fuge all ready to go, will be water ready tomorrow night. Think I will have room to swap the ac30 for an ac50. Should have gotten an extra impeller for comparison but sanded it down about halfway. 2 fuges lit all night might be overkill, thinking I'll run them intermittently 8 hours a piece and a simple clip on light since its only 10" long. Just sticking with a pair of ocellaris clownfish, corals are new territory for me so want to stick with a low bioload. 

 

Edit: Finnex FugeRay is a perfect fit and only $40 each. Hard to say by pictures but it should be able to hang on the outside of the fuges. I could look for other options but just assume stick with a brand I know.

[mcarroll]

57 minutes ago, jt8791 said:

2 fuges lit all night might be overkill

1 refugium is overkill when you're just starting.  I would be content with just having the flow from them until the tank is well underway and stocking is all done.  IMO.  (You may not end up needing them at all.)

[jt8791]

After a lot of research on corals I'm just gonna stick with macroalgae. Betting I will need more than just a pair of clownfish for a bioload, especially if I want graciliara in the tank and chaeto in both fuges. Two fuges seems overkill but they aren't big enough to be effective on their own, plus I like growing chaeto. At this point they would be more for oxygen and ph at night. Also working on house plants in the apartment to help with air quality, especially to remove carbone dioxide and monoxide. Not sure if I will grow chaeto in the tank again, maybe on the back glass later on.

 

Not sure I want to overstock like my last tank, which was the advice from my lfs for macro tanks, to slightly overstock. That was 4 3" fish in a 20, 2 ocellaris clowns, ywg, 6 line, not sure I want to push 6 fish in this tank. Anyone with macro tank experience know a good number on stocking? I've seen many people put 6 fish in a 30 but it seems overkill when you have to manage the needs of many different species. Trying to stick to captive bred and omnivores, which makes it even harder but easier to provide a varied diet. Haven't seen much besides clownfish for fish that interest me 3" and under.

 

Yeah both fuges will just have a bit of life rock rubble at the bottom for now, wasn't going to add lights and macro until march or april. Trying to go the slow safe route and ghost feed it for 6 weeks at least, but might go till march since it's hard to get livestock and macros in the winter. Will also pick up a 190gph power head, hose and aqua 8w uv sterilizer before I pickup fish, won't leave it on all the time. 

[jt8791]

Got the 1st fuge up and running, no light or macro yet of course. Wow does sanding down the impeller really slow the flow down. Picked up the other ac110 today and its all siliconed and in place, will get water later this week. All the rubble is in the one fuge for now. Definitely gonna upgrade the ac30 to an ac50, probably next weekend since I need to pick up more saltwater anyways. Probably overkill but the actual fuge space in each is only 1.2 gallons and this was cheaper than a hob refugium from cpr and probably spreads the weight out better than one large fuge hanging on the tank.

 

Edit: Gonna add surface skimmers from ocean box designs for all 3 filters to the build.

[mcarroll]

You're on a real tear at this point – which I get.  The theoretical phase is a lot of temptation and fun...and that phase is in the process of ending.  LOL.  Don't go overboard while you're at it.  😁

 

When are the animals coming again???  THAT is when the real learning begins.  Your ideas on all this will start evolving.

[jt8791]

Planning to ghost feed it at least 6 weeks, maybe 3 months. Then I'll add phytoplankton then tisbe pods, followed by cuc then fish, with about a month in between each. Still unsure of what to stock it with, imagine I will need a pretty high bioload for 2 fuges with chaeto and various graciliara in the display. So far the only stocking ideas I have come up were risky long term but running out of nutrients wouldn't be an issue.

 

Yeah it's starting to come together, if only I could figure out what to put in it since I like the macroalgae more than most the fish. Crazy idea but almost considering 6-7 juvenile ocellaris clownfish, heavy feedings and regular water changes to let the macro grow in. Not getting into anemones but maybe they will host in a jungle of graciliara, algae barn has quite a few to choose from. They might be too busy chasing pods to chase each other but seems hit or miss how long it would last. Could throw a biomax insert or two into the ac50 if I had to, to help with the large bioload, more surface area for bacteria anyways.

[jt8791]

1 hour ago, mcarroll said:

You're on a real tear at this point – which I get.  The theoretical phase is a lot of temptation and fun...and that phase is in the process of ending.  LOL.  Don't go overboard while you're at it.  😁

 

When are the animals coming again???  THAT is when the real learning begins.  Your ideas on all this will start evolving.

Yeah I'm mostly springing for the surface skimmers to hide the water inlet tube for the filters, will get those later on. Trying to keep it relatively affordable and simple, worst case I'll end up using macro at the lfs instead of money to buy rodi. Thinking I will go with the finnex fugeray 10" light for the fuges and might just go planted plus on the display tank to keep brands the same. Was gonna go for fluval plant 3.0 but think the finnex would work but I always worried about salt creep with those. 

 

Edit: I think the fluval will be better in the long run, still debating on the fuge lights. Think the fluval nano is too big, could always go with the finnex mini fuge light, but no white light just red and blue. Not sure if macros or phyto need the white light. Waterproof and full spectrum might be more worthwhile in the long run, maybe make do with the fluval plant nano on the fuges.

[jt8791]

Simpler option on the fuge lighting would be to put them side by side, with one 24" fluval plant 3.0 over both. Just slid the ac30 down to the end for now, makes 2 fuges simpler. Maybe overkill on lighting but should grow chaeto no problem, think I'll keep cutting it up into small pieces to keep it moving.

[jt8791]

For battery backup to keep flow going I think I will pick up a power inverter with auto switch and battery charger/battery and run the 3 filters off of that. Should be enough flow but could always run 2 batteries and add the wave pumps on as well. Will worry about that in the summer or fall and just ghost feed thru winter.

[Tired]

You should get a lid. All fish (except seahorses) can jump. 

 

Do you have an Inkbird or similar controller? You plug your heater(s) into the Inkbird, and you put its temperature probe into the tank. Set the Inkbird to shut off at a couple degrees higher than the heaters are set to shut off. That way, if the heaters ever fail on (which can happen with any heater), the Inkbird will catch it and shut them off.