False Clown in 5.5 AGA?

[Violent-d]

Hello to everyone. I've recently started buying up the parts for my first salt tank, a 5.5 aga.

This weekend I'm hoing to get out and get some live rock and sand for it, and hopefully my rio mini will show up friday so i can start putting it together and get some pictures.

 

Basically my foremost question, I hadn't really planned on the tank having any fish in it, i was planning on some candy cane coral, maybe a few mushrooms and some zoas. Aside from coral, probably a few hermit crabs/snails. I was really curious though I see many of the 5.5s here in the pico forum have a false clown in them.

 

The question, is that ok? Or do these people have larger tanks they will put the clowns into once they are grown? Input is appreciated.

 

Anyways I'll post the specs for the tank here:

- 5.5 AGA 16"x8"

- 3 20w Power Compact Ballasted Incandescents (couldnt get a decent price on a PC fixture) so I've roughly got 10 watts per gallon

- AC20 no fuge mod, just filter floss and chemi-pure

- Jager 50watt heater which is MASSIVE, much larger than I had expected

-Rio Mini submersible pump for water movement (on order)

 

Basically I bought a 20" x2 incancescent hood and I'm going to be putting two of the bubls in the factory socket, and then cutting out a piece of the reflector inside and wiring up a pigtail so i can put all three lights in the one hood.

 

Anyways, input appreciated, and within the next week or so I should have it up and running and I'll get some pics.

[Violent-d]

Thanks for the info

 

anyways, day 2 has arrived water cleared up, PH is bang on, 80 degrees right now for cycling.. subsequently I cannot afford any test kits for a week or so, so hopefully I dont cycle ridiculously fast or something and then have my nitrates go through the roof. Also when light son I've seen some critter activity.. very small critters.. very fast.. no idea what they were but if i can get a pic i will post.

 

 

The my rock is coloring up rather quickly, when i bought it, it looked brown basically and already my left piece is getting very purple and lots of pink on the right rock. I've only got 7w/g so far with the two compact flourescent screw ins... i wanted to and still am planning on putting a third into the hood but so far my hood feels like its going to catch on fire lol so i need to figure out how to keep it cool.

[irishtexan]

Looks nice! I really like the LR. Cool shapes!

 

 

 

texx

ps-I have a 5.5G too!

[Prowland]

Looks like you are off to a good start.

 

You might want to consider making a hood from scratch and adding fans to it. This would allow for more room in the hood and lower the temp. IMO I would just save up for a PC fixture and not have to mess with all the modifications. Look at aquatraders.com they have some decent prices on their lights.

 

As for the heater you might want to look at finnex heaters. I have a 25W on mine and it has external controls. It is also only like 4in long at most. Got it for $13 at premiumaquatics.com

 

Its okay if you dont have your test kits yet. Just dont add any live stock untill you get the tests and everything is 0.

 

The rock most likely had the coraline on it and was just dirty as I dont believe that it will grow that fast.

 

Now on the fast moving critters...

 

look like this??

 

 

 

As for the fish question... In the wild clownfish dont go far from the spot where they host, thus no need for large swimming room. I have been keeping mine in a 5.5gal along with many inverts and a high fin banded goby.

 

They are both eating regularly and have seen no signs of stress. I do weekly water changes and top off every other day.

 

Good Luck!

[Violent-d]

irishtexan: Yeah that live rock is pretty neat, i was hoping to get an arch looking piece but the LFS had all these ugly shaped chunks so the one i got has a neat little spur in the end of it which is cool, the othe rlittle piece i picked up because I was certain the tank would look bare with just the one piece.

 

prowland: Im broke right now, splurged too much on the tank getting it up and running. For now i'll have to stick with the hood but I did scheme up some plans to make a wooden hood for it. As for now I've got a bunch of old, ######ty PC parts laying around and a few fans so i think i may cut out an end of the hood and wire in a small 12v fan to help cool it off.

 

Thats cool about the clown, it would definately be my only higher level orgnism and I've got a 33 fresh I've had for a few years so I'm well attuned to weekly maintenance.

 

The critter.. im home now and i can see him, its about an inch long.. worm like, bristles (hrmm maybe bristle worm) yellowish tail, blueish body and reddish colored head.

 

 

 

I've assumed its a bristle worm and did a search, found this pic via google, this is exactly what it looks like except mine is very tiny.

[Violent-d]

So i got up this morning and gutted some old cpu fans and a 12v adapter and wired them up REAL ghetto style im so embarassed im not even going to post a pic until i can get some legns of actual wire and solder them together. I have like 3 pieces 10 inches each all taped up and running all over the place, its a fire hazard basically

 

i was thinking on making a flow through but instead i just angled both of the fans inward to blow cooler air into the hood from each side that way im hoping it will alleviate the heat by pushing more of it up out of the top.

[sandlot13]

sounds like you have a good start there violent d -

 

as for my experiance, I would suggest against putting a clown in your 5.5. In the wild, they dont go more than a square yard from their host anemone, but a yard is approximatly 3ft X 3ft X 3ft.... thats about 3 times the size of your tank right now. Also, to have a clownfish in that small of an area, tehy have to be hosted into an anemone, and most likely the one you buy wont be. Sorry to put a wrench in your plans but I think its probably a bad idea. I have a clown in my 20L right now, and its fine and dandy, but its also small right now. When it gets bigger, its going to need more room.

 

What i could recommend though, is a goby of some sorts! They are by far my favorite family of fish, and they are usually pretty interactive. Maybe think about getting a clown goby, or something along the lines of a yellow watchman goby (hey, you could even pair the watchman up with a pistol shirmp! that is so cool to watch, trust me!).

 

Anywho, hope that helps, and if anything, just remember to take it SLOW!

 

[Prowland]

Bristle worms are great scavengers IMO and a good addition to a tank unless they are huge.

 

Another note on the false perc... he is going to be going into a 40gal stretch hex w/in a year. I guess I should have mentioned that.

 

Nonetheless he is doing well in my 5.5

[Violent-d]

Ahh ok see thats what I was originally wondering about clown, ok, i may have plans to upgrade my tank size eventually but nothing conrete so i'll steer clear of the clown for now and see about a goby. slow is all i can afford lol. Yeah iv'e heard abouts this shrimp goby combo i'll have to read up on it a bit more, i had been sort of interested in sexy shrimp also but my LFS store doesnt get them on a regular basis and i've heard on and off comments here on the forums about them damaging coral so i'll have to do some more reading.

 

As for the lighting, as far as I can tell today even after running four hours there was an incredible difference in the heat output after adding the fans. the hood went from nearly-burning hot to touch, to slightly warm so cheers to that, i just need to wait until next paycheck to get some more supplies and refine the design a bit.

[Violent-d]

Lord help me if i get any handier with a dremel I'll die.

 

I got my rio mini today which ROCKS so i installed that and moved my iowa class heater into the back corner.. subsequently the glass sliding hood bracket would not fit so i notched it out and it works like a charm.

 

As for activity, that britstleworm I identified, there are at least three in the tank. one tiny, one about an inch and one that is easily two inches so im not sure if thats good or bad.

 

Also I'm starting to get some very small bug-looking things running over my rocks and I've also found a tiny snail which is cool. One last UFO, it almost looks like a brittle start or something its got tiny arms, like a tenth of an inch wide and a fleshy middle where they meet, i can only see three limbs though but they definately look to be coming from the same orginism so i'll have to see if i can scrounge up a picture of it. Tomorrow I'll get a FTS geared up.

[MagElvs]

I'd say a clown would be fine in the 5.5. I'm putting a clown in my "6g." No, it is not ideal---it isn't inhumane either.

[Mr. Fosi]

I have a 5.5g.

 

You should check it out (link in sig).

[Violent-d]

Fosi you're tank is most definately convention defying lol

[SaVeThEeELs]

why just 5? for like maybe 60 bucks you could have gone to wallyworld and got a cheap goldfish 10 gal kit and used 2 20w coralife cpf bulbs that just screw into the socket....keep the ac filter and now you can have your clowns!!!

Hello to everyone. I've recently started buying up the parts for my first salt tank, a 5.5 aga.

This weekend I'm hoing to get out and get some live rock and sand for it, and hopefully my rio mini will show up friday so i can start putting it together and get some pictures.

 

Basically my foremost question, I hadn't really planned on the tank having any fish in it, i was planning on some candy cane coral, maybe a few mushrooms and some zoas. Aside from coral, probably a few hermit crabs/snails. I was really curious though I see many of the 5.5s here in the pico forum have a false clown in them.

 

The question, is that ok? Or do these people have larger tanks they will put the clowns into once they are grown? Input is appreciated.

 

Anyways I'll post the specs for the tank here:

- 5.5 AGA 16"x8"

- 3 20w Power Compact Ballasted Incandescents (couldnt get a decent price on a PC fixture) so I've roughly got 10 watts per gallon

- AC20 no fuge mod, just filter floss and chemi-pure

- Jager 50watt heater which is MASSIVE, much larger than I had expected

-Rio Mini submersible pump for water movement (on order)

 

Basically I bought a 20" x2 incancescent hood and I'm going to be putting two of the bubls in the factory socket, and then cutting out a piece of the reflector inside and wiring up a pigtail so i can put all three lights in the one hood.

 

Anyways, input appreciated, and within the next week or so I should have it up and running and I'll get some pics.

[Mr. Fosi]

It was cheaper.

 

I already had the tank, hood and filtration.

 

Plus, there is less room for stuff, so it helps to curb spending $$ to fill it with things.

[SaVeThEeELs]

ahhhhhh space space space...........find a new space!!!

i wouldnt keep anything other than inverts and coral in a tank less than 10gl....

but thats just me....

this is a pic of the walmart special w/ acxx (for up to 60gal??maybe20-30), one cheapo power head and the 2 20 wtt coralife 50/50

[Violent-d]

Unfortunately for me, I live in Canada and everything is a fortune to buy so budget is killing me as well as space. If I went with a 10, in my current state I'd have no where to put it, and I dont really know because I'm new to reef keeping but 4 watts per gallon sounds a little shy, because I had initally really planned on keeping coral so I wanted to get 10 watts per gallon which is rather expensive to do as I've found.

 

As fate would have it I've got three bulbs which would give me like 6 watts per gallon but live rock around here is lethal expensive. I'd be looking at another $100 for just live rock ontop of what I've already spent to have enough for a 10.

The idea sounds good on paper but I just cant swing it financially. Im in university and Im working too but I've got a car, insurance, cell phones, alcohol, payments for eye surgery, the budget just cant justify dropping the extra cash right now to make a 10. Maybe in the summer of 07 or something If i can get some cash rounded up I'd love to make a larger one.

[SaVeThEeELs]

you know you can always move the important stuff closer to the light right???

i built a little scaffold out of that light gratting that they use on floresents in offices....

[silence]

hey violent d just wondering but ware are you in canada?

[Violent-d]

Sorry for delay in response, Silence, I'm in Nova Scotia.

[Violent-d]

Ugh my cycle is taking forever

 

Its been a month of active running, 79 degrees, perfectly salinity and ph, my tank is being assaulted by diatoms the last few days and all I've got is detectable ammonia! I'm itching to get some snails in to eat these rotten diatoms but i don't dare until its cycled.

 

I've also got a big fat wad of chemi-pure i was saving to put in when i get my first batch of inhabitants but I'm considering putting it in now, not sure however because i'm worried it may bung up my cycle rather than benefit the water quality of the tank.