"Small but hot"

[Ardeus]

This is my first salt water tank and it's a nano with 84 litres (25 gallons) volume. I set it up in April 2006.

 

I decided not to have lots of LPS and SPS on my first attempt and to avoid cold colours like green or blue. I'm trying to keep on track with red, orange, yellow, brown, purple and white. I still have lots of algae, though.

 

Its equipment is limited:

 

- 3 powerheads (total 1200Liters/Hour - 360gallons/Hour);

- 50 watts heater;

- 4 x 36 Watts T5 lights.

 

Most of the corals are still small, but I also prefer it that way; I enjoy seeing them grow.

 

The camera is really cheap but here it goes anyway:

 

 

Corals: Anthelias, blue, white and brown xenias, colt, sinularia, zoanthus, 2 varieties of sarcophyton, orange montipora digitata and euphyllia glabrescens.

 

Flora: Halimeda and caulerpa

 

Fish: 1 Black and white ocellaris.

 

Shrimps: 2 lysmata seticaudata and 1 lysmata debelius.

 

Cleaning team: turbos, pagurus, cerites and nassarius.

 

Other: 1 starfish

 

I still haven't decided which fish shall I choose as a mate for the black and white ocellaris. Another one? A normal ocellaris? A bangai cardinal? Any suggestions? I just don't want a fish that hides most of the time. I had a lepadogaster and just returned it today to the sea.

[Prowland]

I think another ocellaris would be good company and also maybe a firefish. I have heard that they stay out most of the time and are very active.

 

HTH

[Ardeus]

Thanks Prowland.

 

It's tempting, but I think the tank can only hold a couple of fish since the filtration is only based on LR and weekly PWC.

 

A normal ocellaris would be great. I have a friend who has lots of young ones and I'm going to ask him for 1

[Deleted User 7]

Don't put a normal occelaris in with the black and white. You will have a couple of dead fish pretty quick!

 

 

P.S. GREAT LOOKIN' TANK!!!!

[mosquared]

Don't put a normal occelaris in with the black and white. You will have a couple of dead fish pretty quick!

P.S. GREAT LOOKIN' TANK!!!!

 

 

Not true at all. But as always, becareful when pairing clowns.

[Ardeus]

Thank you both.

 

I will try a very young ocellaris.

[Nosferatu]

I added my orange clown with my black after she had been in there alone for 6 months. I simply put the new little one in one of those mesh hang-ons for a day and observed the black one's behavior. No aggressive moves were made, they were given close, but not accessible time to get used to each other and have now been living happily together for about 2 months.

[Ardeus]

Thanks. That's a good idea instead of just puting the other fish in the tank.

[Ardeus]

One of these nights I decided just to move one small coral a little to the side. I ended up with this at 3 am.

 

 

I got rid of lots of rock and now I have lots of places to put more corals. Now the tank looks less claustrophobic IMO.

 

And I noticed I have a sarcophyton with the shape of a heart on the right, hehehe.

 

While changing the layout I lost one small sarcophyton and ended up stepping on it several times. I found it nearly 2 hours later on the floor. I returned it to the tank. If it survives I'll have a heart sarcophyton and a fan sarcophyton

[travisurfer]

Don't put a normal occelaris in with the black and white. You will have a couple of dead fish pretty quick!

P.S. GREAT LOOKIN' TANK!!!!

They are the same species. Tank looks so much better now. Just fill the water above the black molding and you're golden.

[Ardeus]

Thanks

 

The water level dropped after I removed lots of rock. I think this is the one of those cases where less is more.

[goingnatural]

love your rock work. awsome looking. What type of rock?

[Ardeus]

Thanks

 

In the back it's Indonesia, on the right it's Brazil and on the front it's dead pourous basaltic rock from here.

 

Here are 3 shots of those rocks when I placed them inside a 50 cms (20 inches) long tank. I upgraded the tank with more than double volume and 70cms (27.5 inches) long.

 

 

 

[wheelspin]

Don't put a normal occelaris in with the black and white. You will have a couple of dead fish pretty quick!

P.S. GREAT LOOKIN' TANK!!!!

 

.

[Ardeus]

Thanks You just confirmed what my imagination told me: they make a great couple

 

Meanwhile here's an update:

 

 

I took almost all the LR out to a completely dark tank to try to get rid of caulerpa racemosa.

[el pez]

nice tank! go for some nuetral colored blenny/goby type fish to keep with the color theme

[Ardeus]

Thanks el pez, but I hope you're not talking about the last photo

[el pez]

hehe nah the first one!