20L, 10g fuge -- what else?

[Hyshnari]

Well, I think I've finally decided to build my own overflow for my 20L tank, since I've found a fairly reliable-looking example and some suggestions for preventing a break in the syphon. (http://www.tnreefer.com/overflow.shtml)

 

However, I'm entirely lost when it comes to lighting. I'm still debating whether I'm actually up to this whole coral thing or not, or if I'm just going to stick with the FOWLR setups.

 

Here's the inhabitants that are currently living in a 10g tank, which will soon be moved to the 20g long tank:

 

2 black ocellaris clowns

couple nasty blueleg hermits who keep eating my snails

 

Potentially, I'm hoping to add more fish, as my pair are fairly docile even when paired, and are not aggressive at all to the other fish in the tank -- even if the other fish is sidling up right next to their host -- a clay pot.

 

I'm aware that anemone's require pristine water and heavy lighting, but perhaps the clowns would host to a large hairy mushroom or something... After all, they ARE hosting to a clay pot. In that case, what kind of lighting should I be looking for?

 

I've also got a standard dual incandescent hood to fit the 10g refugium/sump, totalling 22 watts of fluorescent light thanks to the Coralife Mini 50/50 bulbs. Is that sufficient for a bunch of caulerpa/chaeto?

 

Anyways, any suggestions on stocking tankmates for the docile clown pair, refugium, lighting, etc would be greatly appreciated!

[uglybuckling]

Any firefish and/or most gobies will be ok with your clowns. Don't get a royal gramma or a damsel...it'll beat up the clowns. You could also get some cool inverts....some kind of shrimp (coral banded, peppermint, sexy, whatever). If you're willing to get rid of the hermits (which might be a good idea) you'll be able to put together a better cleaning crew for a reef tank, which is very important. Maybe some nassarius, cerith, margarita, and/or astrea snails.

 

With regard to lighting for a hairy mushroom, you don't need much. I'd recommend a single 55W or 65W powe compact fixture, if all you want to keep is shrooms. If you want more light-hungry corals, you could get a fixture that has two 55 or 65W power compact bulbs in it, like the 30" aqualight fixture from coralife [highly recommended]. Your sump lights are more than sufficient for chaeto. I don't know about caulerpa.

 

--Bucky

[irishbing]

why dont you just get the tank drilled?

[Hyshnari]

I think I posted about drilling in another thread...

 

Anyway, I can't seem to find anyone who I can trust (and the guy at my LFS blew me off when I asked him if he had any suggestions/heard good experiences from other people regarding glass shops), and I'm quite a klutz myself so I don't want to drill it on my own.

 

I'm just too worried that something will go wrong in the drilling process and I'll end up with a whole bunch of leaky cracked tanks.

[Hyshnari]

Originally posted by uglybuckling

Any firefish and/or most gobies will be ok with your clowns.  Don't get a royal gramma or a damsel...it'll beat up the clowns.  You could also get some cool inverts....some kind of shrimp (coral banded, peppermint, sexy, whatever).  If you're willing to get rid of the hermits (which might be a good idea) you'll be able to put together a better cleaning crew for a reef tank, which is very important.  Maybe some nassarius, cerith, margarita, and/or astrea snails.  

 

--Bucky

 

I love firefish... And I do have a few peppermints in yet another different tank... I was just worried that the clowns might think of them as lunch. Maybe not -- they're not the aggressive type... And the peppermint babies will be an extra snack for them I guess.

 

Yeah, I've been really irk'ed by these stupid hermits. I know for a fact that there are only two hermits in there (I move all my troublemaker hermits to the clown tank), so they'd be easy to pull out. Hopefully the LFS won't mind taking them off my hands if I try and get some snails. I used to have about 15 snails and 5 hermits in a 10g tank.... The hermits proceeded to kill every single snail but one lucky nassarius who likes to stay up on the glass. And I have empty shells scattered all over the substrate for the little jerks too.

 

My boyfriend stuck a bunch of ceriths in his recently cycled 55g tank, but he's going to end up putting aggressives in there (including a puffer) so maybe he'll let me save the ceriths from the puffer once he starts stocking fish.

 

-Jennifer

[Tigahboy]

I, too, hate hermits...and all its brethren crab for that matter...nothing but a bunch of opportunists...waiting and plotting to eventually strike against unsuspecting tankmates, corals, or even each other....*shudders*