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I'm upgrading my 20G mixed reef to a 60G. I've decided to start a journal a bit ahead of time - the tank has already been paid for, and is currently being built by my LFS. Specifications: 2'ft x 2'ft x 2'ft cube tank = ~60G 10mm Crystal White Glass Rimless 20" x 18" x 15" sump = ~23.37G Total system volume = ~83G+ Equipment: 3000l/Hr Return Pump Jebao OW-25 Wavemaker 1x AI Prime HD (55W) 1x InLed R60 (85W) *Skimmerless Livestock Plans: Mixed reef with minor SPS and LPS. More focused on Softies and Shrooms. Will have zoas as well as nems. Fish: 1x Starry Blenny (Thanos) - 12/08/2018 1x GCG (Goblin) - 30/09/2018 1x Female B/W Occy Clownfish (Nero) - 07/12/2018 1x Male Reg. Occy Clownfish (Sushi) - 09/06/2019 1x Yellow Coris Wrasse (Helios) - 06/08/2019 1x Zebra Dartfish (Tic) - 13/06/2019 1x Tangaroa Goby (Casper) - 07/05/2019 2x Steinitz Goby (Odin & Freida) - 06/11/2019 1x Lubbocks Fairy Wrasse (Bo) - 27/11/2019 1x Leopard Wrasse (Leopold) - 08/12/2019 1x Male Spotted Mandarin Dragonet (Poseidon) - 31/01/2020 1x Male Scooter Dragonet (Illaron) - 21/02/2020 1x Female Scooter Dragonet (Bella) - 01/06/2020 (*Been in LFS since 01/2020) 1x Male Ruby Dragonet (Orion) - 05/09/2020 1x Male Blue Mandarin Dragonet (Qin) - 30/12/2020 (*Temporarily moved to the 10G nanoreef for recovery) 1x Christmas Wrasse (Bullet) - 21/11/2020 1x Bicolor Blenny (Dusky) - 17/01/2020 Inverts: 1x Saron Shrimp (Saron) - 15/07/2018 1x Fire Shrimp - 23/11/2019 3x Nassarius Snails 1x Tuxedo Urchin (Tux) - 22/04/2018 1x Purple Rock Urchin (Mr. Prickles) - 10/12/2018 1x Halloween Urchin (Monty) - 05/11/2020 1x Spider Decorator Crab (Spyder) - 06/06/2020 (*Been in LFS for ~8 months) 2x Bubbletip Brittle Starfish (Marco & Polo) - 12/07/2019 1x Sandsifting Starfish (Patrick) - 20/02/2021 6x Turban Snails Corals: Red Pavona Chili Pepper Montipora Red Montipora Green Pagoda/Cup Emerald Mummy Eye Chalice Orange/Green Cynarina Pearl Bubble Coral Yellow Yuma Orange Yuma Green Yuma Pink Yuma Green/Orange Yuma Purple/Green Yuma Green/White Yuma Multi-colored Yuma (*Rainbow) Green/Yellow Rhodactis Mushroom Green/Red Rhodactis Mushroom Dark Red Rhodactis Mushroom Green Rhodactis Mushroom Violet Rhodactis Mushroom Green/Yellow Rhodactis Mushroom Green Rhodactis Mushroom Brown Rhodactis Mushroom Orange/Beige Rhodactis Mushroom Orange/Blue Rhodactis Mushroom Superman Discosoma Mushroom Yellow/Red Spotted Discosoma Mushroom Green Spotted Discosoma Mushroom Green/White-Striped Discosoma Mushroom Ironman Mushroom Watermelon Teal-Striped Discosoma Mushroom Blue Discosoma Mushroom Lava Lamp Mushroom Red Devil Mushroom Blue Hairy Mushroom Green Hairy Mushroom Macroalgae: Fern Caulerpa Grape Caulerpa Blade Caulerpa Galaxaura Red Bubble Algae Dragon's Breath Red Cotton Candy Chaeto *TBA: Fish & Inverts: x4 Snails x1 Cleaner Shrimp x1 Female Ruby Dragonet *Stocking plans might change as I move along, but I don't plan on doing any tangs, triggers, rabbitfish etc. I might look into dwarf angels though like a flameback, coral beauty or flame. I'll also be adding various types of macro to the fuge in the sump, as well as slowly stock up on corals as I go. Otherwise, this will mostly be a TT from a 20G to a 60G. I currently have ~10kg of LR in my 20G. I'll be adding an extra 20kg LR to the 60G (split between DT & sump) - I've already been cycling some dry rock for nearly 2 months in a storage bin in preparation of the upgrade. All the equipment except the return pump is now with me - that will come when they deliver the tank to my house. Here's a basic sketch design of how the DT & sump looks like: This is a pic of how the cabinet will be (as texted by my LFS manager to me this afternoon): The color of the cabinet will be black matte: And this was the two of us discussing and adjusting the sump design repeatedly over the past few days: I left the sump design up to my LFS manager to decide. I'm not confident in designing my own sump, tbh, and he's more experienced than I am, so he'll be getting to it. The salt used will be Fritz RPM. I'll be mixing the salt a day ahead of the tank's arrival so that we can quickly scape the system and get it filled up and running as soon as possible. This whole setup did cost me a lot of time, effort, planning and money, but I think it's worth it. The main reason behind this upgrade is because my 20G is cracking, and the crack is angling towards the bottom panel of the glass - it's just a matter of time before the tank collapses. The secondary reason is because my Starry Blenny is too large and I think he'll appreciate a larger tank. The whole system will be set up in my bedroom, and no fans or chillers will be used since my room is quite cool enough, especially when I turn both the fan and A/C on at night. Will update when the tank arrives. Stay tuned! 🙂

Well, it's time for a Reefcleaners order and I've been eyeing the microdecorators and the fire fern macro they carry, that said mithrax and true decorators are SERIOUS no-go's for clam-keepers from what I've read. However the only similar florida-native species to what they've got in stock, at least that I've been able to dig up, are the cryptic teardrop crab and the banded-clinger crab. The former *may* be okay simply because of its' small size and potential to be a near-exclusive algae-eater and omnivore as a last-ditch survival adaptation, the latter would probably (eventually) result in aggression and removal at some point. Species identification can be near-impossible so I guess my question is does anyone have experience or additional photography of these little guys, or are there any invert guru's out there who may be able to take a shot-in-the-dark in terms of compatibility? Otherwise I suppose I'm probably better-off going without to be safe... (Nobody wants to lead the pack on animal "compatibility" lol, obvious reasons) https://reefguide.org/carib/peliamutica.html https://www.reeflex.net/tiere/11859_Pelia_tumida.htm https://reefguide.org/carib/bandedclingingcrab.html