!!!20G Mixed Reef!!!

[NepTuNe-UsD]

Anyone have any opinions on the lights?

 

Is "mixed reef" just a title that you chose or do you really plan on keeping both SPS and LPS corals? If you plan on keeping SPS those flourescents are gonna have to go. Halides are what you will need.

[Babycakes]

if you're going with PCs i'v had very good experience with current usa orbit fixtures

be careful with putting the sump/refugium on a mantle shelf. each gallon is like 10lbs.

[TheCoralReef731]

New Red Banded Boxing Shrimp

 

 

These Two Shots may show some of the life that I found on the rock. Also, I got 10 blue legged hermit crabs, and one more turbo snail to replace the one that commited suicide. Now my other snail is almost dead. I have no clue why, maybe sadness????

 

 

bogart - This is what I have heard from many people. That their lights from Odyssea turn out really bad and either burn out, start a fire, or dim really quickely. Other people think that their lights are very good for the price and have never had problems with them. The question is if whether I am willing to risk it.

 

neptune-usd - Yes, that is exactly what I meant. The mixed isn't gonna come for a while. I am just a student, and getting a first job is pretty hard. Once I get enough money, I will buy some lights sufficient for some SPS, most LPS, and all softies.

 

babycakes - Hello babycakes. I really like your tanks, but as I mentioned above, I would like to have some SPS as well. I have scraped the shelf idea, because I now have a very capable drainage system on the outside. I will either put a 10 gallon or a 20 gallon fish tank in the stand (to use as a sump) and use a mag pump or something else to pump it back up. Maybe later, I will add a very small refugium above the tank, but nothing too big.

 

Sorry about those last two pics. They aren't very good at all.

[TheCoralReef731]

Anyone know if it will hurt my water chemistry to leave a snail that might be dead in the water?

[TheCoralReef731]

I got LIGHTS!!! It is a 175watt MH pendant. Really lights up the tank. My clownfish got scared at first, cause there was so much light. Photos to come soon.

[TheCoralReef731]

After much difficulty with the digital camera, I finally managed to get semi-descent pictures from the tank. Now, this is a pendant, so my whole room is now blue. It really lights up the tank, and I'm hoping that for x-mas, I'll get a bunch of corals (or more money for them anyways). So now, onto the pictures...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also rearranged the aquascaping more, so that there is more of a solid base on top of the 3 rock pillars. Now, the corals should be able to fit more into the top (that is, once I get them)

 

 

 

Here is a pick of my electrical center and the ballast for the pendant. Not too much stuff plugged in yet, so hopefully it's not too much of a fire hazard.

 

 

 

I have also been pretty busy building a very nice, but not necessarily nice looking sump. I used the glass panes from a 10 gallon. I tried to cut them, but it is safety glass, and shatters instead of a clean cut.

 

 

 

 

But...to make room for the sump, I have to clean up a lot of my fish stuff. It just gets everywhere. My room, attic, family room, basement. Geez, this hobby is crazy.

 

 

[TheCoralReef731]

Here's a closer look at my sump. The arrows represent the water flow.

[TheCoralReef731]

Any thoughts on my sump design?

[nUgZ]

You can put the live rock in the refugium portion, and use that space for carbon or something similar.

[TheCoralReef731]

I was thinking about that, but with this setup, the water is forced through the live rock, while in the refugium, it would just flow over it. As you can probably tell, I believe that Live Rock is the best filtration. Hehehe.

[scarf_ace1981]

like the sump design. first time i see the baffles set up that way. great job so far.

[DarkXerox]

Are you going to run a skimmer? I'm going to use a Coralife 65G skimmer on mine and I think you can run that HOB or get a smaller Remora to run.

[TheCoralReef731]

Yep...Here ya go:

 

I went to the LFS today and got MY FIRST CORAL. It has a few types of corals in it, but the main thing is zoos, two types. Here are a few pics, but they aren't very good. I need some type of underwater case or something. Any ideas?

 

 

 

Got a picture of the inside of my MH (guess I was a little bored)

 

 

I also cleaned up a little while making a mess of the PVC parts, and I put this rack on my cabinet door.

 

 

Also, here is the plumbing job with the bad pump. It overheated too much, so now I took it out, and am getting a Mag7.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, guess what else I got...

 

 

 

 

Dag sold it to me. He's a really nice guy, with a great setup. It hasn't moved much, but did wedge into a rock crevice, so hopefully it is happy with it's spot.