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Nebthet's 20L led lit pygmy clown reef
After Christmas was surprisingly kind to me. Got an unexpected $450 back tax refund in the mail this week plus had some gift cards to use so I decided it is time to get the home for my juvenile clowns ready.
Unfortunately, I am starting with dry rock, which at one point I bleached and then soaked in water before drying to kill everything on it because it stank sooooo bad when the other tank I was trying to start it with decided to crap out on me and I didn't have an alternative to put it. Therefore this is going to be one of those long hard cycles, which is okay because it allows me to get a few things situated first. Got my led Par38's hung. I took two of the cheap gooseneck lights from Walmart, and removed the light insert with cord from the gooseneck as it didn't have enough support to hold the light. Then I got three garden planter chains and two packs of plant hangers and screwed those into the ceiling where there were studs to be able to do so. Two of them sit over the tank so I hooked them up and will deal with the third one at a later time. Sand is a mix of the old aragonite I had from the other tank that I had washed out thoroughly over a couple of days before drying it out and putting it in a bag.. which then got tore open by my one cat and I am hoping he didn't pee in it.. but if he did.. well there is my ammonia to start things off. lol. didn't smell like it though. Then on top of that is some black Fiji moon sand. That stuff really sparkles. Now for the cycle, I think I am just going to use a small AquaClear power filter to put some carbon in and change it every couple of days. I am not sure if I am going to use the coralife skimmer I have hanging in there right now. I don't mind the box in there but the darn powerhead is just too damn big. I could switch out the powerhead with a maxijet 1200 but I am not sure if it would work as well or not. The other possibility I am looking at, and sort of prefering is a refugium box like the CPR but cheaper. Then I could keep a crap load of cheato in the back. Lastly, I do plan on getting a little bit more rock, actual cured rock a month in to the cycle. Possibly another 6-7 pounds but that is it. I really want to keep this scape minimalist. You might also be wondering why I am calling the juvenile clown pygmy.. this is because I think I might have accidentally stunted their growth somewhere along the line. I just hope it is because they are in the tank with two other clown and that after I move them over to this new tank they both start growing to normal clown size, so it will be interesting to see. These clown will be two years old in May and the largest one is a little over 2inches and the smaller one is just over 1.25iches. I do ensure they get plenty to eat on a daily basis... so I know that is not a cause. So here are some pictures. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...0Long/lamp.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...20Long/diy.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-02-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-02-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-02-2011.jpg Wet Water to come Equiptment: - 20gL = 30lx12.5dx12.7h - Par38 21w 5led 12k - Par38 27w 9led 12k - Koralia x2 (just have to get the second one) for filtration it will be either of the following' AC20/70, Coralife skimmer into drain bin over carbon, or a hob refugium Future Stock List - 2 Onyx (by ChristosClowns) juveniles Corals: will be a little bit of everything. I am going to be using this tank as a frag tank. duncans mushrooms gsp xenia sps: not sure which type yet Inverts: Sebae anemone: Yes I know they get large.. that is why this is gong to be the star of my tank and can have as much room as it wants to grow. Plus the smallest of my pygmy clowns gets hosted by the sebae in my 57g tank at night and seems very comfortable in one, so I don't wanna take that away and will get him another one for the new tank. Clean Up Crew: - Nassarius snails x 8 - Hermit Crabs x2 - Turbo snail x1 small Please let me know what you think. |
Here is a front tank shot with the water in.. it is still a little cloudy because I have not added the AC50 for chemical filtration yet. I figure that will allow some time for the ammonia spike and good bacteria to begin populating the tank for the hard cycle.
You can see I need to add some more LR. Two more pieces the size of the large one on the right should do it. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-05-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-05-2011.jpg One of the other things I will be doing is putting on a background. I just haven't decided which one yet. Would black be good to match the sand or blue? |
Just a quick update.
Things have been cycling. My ammonia has been steady around 0.50 after dropping from 8.0 then 1.0. Nitrites rose this week to 0.50 then dropped today to 0.25, and nitrates have been sitting around 5-10. I added up the third par38 light which has evened out the light in the tank. I also added some garbage broken frags that were just sitting on the sand bed of my main tank waiting to die, so I threw them in here to see what would happened. After three days they are not dead yet. Last night diatom bloom started.. tonight it is heavier. So things are definately on their way. Also, I got the stuck from JLA in. The AC50, Rio Nano Skimmer (which I must say has given me the fewest issues than any skimmer I have owned) and a new heater. Marineland visitherm.. since I can't find any Aquaclear heaters. :( They were my favourite. More pix. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-14-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-14-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-14-2011.jpg |
Updated shot, showing the cardboard background I put on, and the dark diatom bloom.
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-18-2011.jpg Oh and as of yesterdays readings, ammonia and nitrites were at 0 and nitrate was 5-10. |
what degree did you go with?
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Very cool. I'm a fan of the black sand as well :biggrin:
Are you going to mix up the sand at all? Once the clowns, and powerheads start going, you might get a cool effect with the two layers mixing. |
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Lorenzo, I went with the 60 degree optics on all of the bulbs. Youngster Dan, Yes, I am actually slowly missing the sand up a little bit as it matures and once I add some nassarius snails they will do a good deal of the mixing for me. I am glad that I added the aragonite to it though as it had been pointed to me afterwards, that apparently the black moon sand doesn't do a very good job of buffering the PH. |
so whats the plan for the cute little tank besides the clowns Sarah?.....whatcha gonna put in that wee box...um....as far as coral goes that is....:wink:...
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Im really interested in the par38's, for sure will be keeping an eye on this thread
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... ... Actually........ ... ... ... ... ... ... I plan on breaking all the rules :twised: and putting a sebae anemone as the main piece in this tank allowing for a 20inch expansion and leaving other corals for the outskirts, which will mostly be acans and other things from my main tank. Oh.. and one bengaii cardinal to go with the clowns. ... That is why I have the skimmer to help with the extra bioload the anemone will create. |
Got more rock today... was given about 15lbs or so I think. LOL... I was given one huge piece of fiji LR that is about 9.5 inches wide, by 9 or so inches Long by 6.5 or so inches high... It has to be about 8lbs or more on it's own. LOL. Then the piece with the shell on it is cool. I think that one is around 1.5-2lbs.
I was also given a large piece, I would say around 4-5lbs of eco-reefer rock, but there was no way it was going to fit in this tank with how simple I wanted to keep the aquascape. It was so dense I couldn't even hammer it into size. I would have to take it outside and try to smash it against stuff numerous times, and frankly I'm just too lazy to do that. So here are some updated pix. The new scape. I left a wide area in the middle about 12inches or so open for preparation for the sebae anemone. The rock on the left can be home to some high light sps or something maybe, and the right can be an acan garden. Sorry for the microbubble filled tank.. letting the skimmer break in. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-22-2011.jpg Then a pic of a cerith and black banded trochus snails doing their job and working at the diatoms. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-22-2011.jpg |
Now for some pic updates for what I have in this tank currently.
I broke some red digi frags and tricolor acro frag off accidentally when I was trying to catch the little clowns.. so I threw them in here to see if I could salvage them at all. I also put in a frag of gsp from my main system as well because I like the color. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-30-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-30-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-30-2011.jpg The xenia isn't dead!! I think that is a good sign. I use the stuff like a tank barometer. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-30-2011.jpg Spaghetti worm http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-30-2011.jpg The purple ochtodes frag I put in here to help with nitrates is growing rather nicely. And to my surprise had two small keds reds zoa frags on it. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-30-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-30-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-30-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-30-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-30-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-30-2011.jpg The green acan seems happy in here as well. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-30-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-30-2011.jpg Then I tried taking a pic of the bulbs to see if I could. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...Long/bulb2.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...Long/bulb1.jpg With the cycling complete and all the rock I want put in there, it is just a matter of time before I finally get the two little clown in there new home.. If worse comes to worse, it might be the two larger clowns going in if they prove to be the easier to catch. If so, then I want to put the nem in there first. The pods I seeded the tank with have done their thing also and now I have about 20 or so visible pods I see from time to walking on the sand or rocks. I also seeded in there spaghetti worms to help with the cleaning process. Right end of the tank looking through to the other side. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-30-2011.jpg |
You take a pretty dang sweet pic there Sarah.....I dont know if youve said it elsewhere but, whatcha shootin with?
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I use the canon T1i and swap between the stock 18-55mm lense and the 100mm f2.8 usm macro lense, for which I like the later lense better but still have lots to learn on taking good pics.
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I added in more xenia, the one on the right. The original one is on the left. I want to see the growth difference in the two of them.
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...02-15-2011.jpg While not as purpley as before, due to the lighting change, this tricolor frag still appears to be happy in this tank. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...02-15-2011.jpg Alienz!!! omgomgomg LOL.. I have sooo many of these in the tank. They are out night and day... only because they have no predators yet. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...02-15-2011.jpg Another little frag I added from my 57g tank. Green Monti Cap and Zoas. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...02-15-2011.jpg Monthly front tank shot: 02-15-2011 http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...02-15-2011.jpg |
Some more pix now that I have Omen in this tank.
Remember, when looking at these pictures.. Omen will be 2 years old in May..... Close up shot of Omen in his, soon to be her, new environment. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...02-22-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...02-22-2011.jpg View from my Bed: Yes, that is my pillow in the way at the bottom left. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...02-22-2011.jpg Better FTS without flash. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...02-22-2011.jpg A Cerith, Pod and a Chiton walked into a bar...... http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...02-22-2011.jpg Moved this acro into this tank to see if it would do better here. I had it in my 57 display on the side of the tank and it didn't like it there. I had moved it down to the sand bed there and it was doing great and beginning to color back up, but the duncans were getting very happy in there areas and beginning to touch this guy and I was running outta room down there. So, I decided to move it over to this tank, seeing how the digis and the other tricolor acro are happy and showing signs of great growth in the month or so they have been in the tank. Keep your fingers crossed. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...02-22-2011.jpg Omen is seeming happy in his new home. He is adapting just fine. It is taking him a little while to realize that he can take his time eating as there are no bigger, or other clowns in this tank with him. He still will only eat the food on the water surface, but not so much when it starts sinking, so I am hoping I can start training that part out of him. I will be trying to feed him a little extra for the first little bit though to ensure he keeps his strength up during the transition. |
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Great pic.'s I love the look of the black sand in this tank :thumb: |
One: Love that you are using par bulbs, excited to see how everything does under this alien LED technology
Two: Very nice little tank, should be excellent once all the corals take off! Three: Glad im not the only one who spelled nemo backwards to refer to their clown as Omen - Double kudos there! |
side track
had to have a little chuckle i have an identicle piece of live rock with the half clam shell on it i wounder if they are a pair lol
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Beginning of the month update for March.
Added a Tangora goby to this tank. It's pretty cool looking actually and only reaches a max size of 2.1 inches, so it makes my little clown in here seem big. They are not a very active fish, just kinda sits there most of the time, but scoots where ever it wants. Here are two pics.. almost the same, but one with his dorsal fin up and the other down. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-05-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-05-2011.jpg The next series of pix are just a quick update on the growth of the frags I have in there. Look to previous pics will confirm how much they have grown. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-05-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-05-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-05-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-05-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-05-2011.jpg I ordered in two Par30 bulbs from Boostled. They are the All Royal Blue with 60 degree optics to use like you would for an actinic lighting source. This means I will be removing one of the current bulbs from my configuration and adding an extra one. I haven't figured out which bulb to remove yet, but am suspecting it might be the IceCooLed 10k bulb, which will be kept as a spare in case anything happens.. I am hoping the bulb will be in within the next week and a bit. |
Super cool goby!
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+1 .....love the little goby.........I see one issue though.....the frag in the third pic looks a touch droopy, needs some viagra methinks:razz:
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Close up pics of Runt first.. one of each side.
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-10-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-10-2011.jpg You think Omen is small for being almost 2 years old... check this out. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-10-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-10-2011.jpg I also made a frag of my green bottlebrush for this tank. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-10-2011.jpg Video of Runt and Omen establishing a new pecking order http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Uj0bomATbI |
My Boostled All Royal Blues came in the mail today.. yes... so I decided to check them out just to see what they would look like. I have to go to walmart and get a couple lamps that I can take apart and some more chain to I can put them up on Monday.
Front tank shot. All RB only http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-11-2011.jpg 2 All Royal Blue and the Nanocustoms 12000k in the centre http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o.../20L2rb1nc.jpg This is my GSP All RB only http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-11-2011.jpg 2 All Royal Blue and the Nanocustoms 12000k in the centre http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-11-2011.jpg Green Bottlebrush Frag - Looks more like an ORA Verde now All RB only http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-11-2011.jpg 2 All Royal Blue and the Nanocustoms 12000k in the centre http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-11-2011.jpg I couldn't get a decent shot of my red digitata frags. The red really really glowed under these lights, but I haven't figured out the setting on my camera enough to compensate for the lighting and exposure. I am going to have to get some tips on that. My mind friggin blew when I saw my green bottlebrush under the all royal blues though. Seriously, it looks like it dropped acid at a hippy show. So on Monday, when I get the other parts (which depends on my tax refund being deposited into my account), I am thinking of using the two Nanocustoms 12k bulbs in the centre and the two Par30 RB's on the ends to give a decent mix of lighting where I need it most. Considering the anemone I want to keep will be going in the middle of the tank. On another note.. I removed the MJ1200 from the end of the tank, and added a new Knano265 or whatever it is. I put the K1 in the rear position because it is larger, so I can have more room towards the front. Additionally, my two smaller clowns are no longer fighting with each other and have paired up and follow each other all over the place. LOL. :D |
I finally got my Boostled all royal blues set up now. I also had the chance to go to my not so local fish supplier and get a few small corals for this tank since it is going to be a bit yet before I can have an anemone in here.
All five lights on at the same time.. it actually makes for a very nice looking tank and not too bright. The all royal blues get rid of the yellowish color from the Ice CooLed bubs... unfortunately, until I can verify the par value of the Royal Blues. I don't want to burn my corals. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-14-2011.jpg New Acans http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-14-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-14-2011.jpg My dirty dirty rated xxx Torch http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-14-2011.jpg 2 head branching Hammer http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-14-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-14-2011.jpg Updated pics of my sps http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-14-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-14-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-14-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-14-2011.jpg Snail http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...03-14-2011.jpg |
I love how freaky Brandon Lee looks in the first shot.
But tanks looking good :D |
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It has been about a month since I last updated this thread with pics of the tank etc. I have added a few more coral frags and what not.
The juvi clowns are still in the hospital tank and are recovering nicely. Here are some pics of them on 04-04-2011. Runt has a big belly after being a huge piggy and eating most of the flake food. Their appetites have tripled since being in treatment and I feed them as much as I can without affecting water quality too much. Omen has darkened a little bit which is interesting. He isn't as dark as these pics suggest, but it depends on the lighting he is under whether he seems darker or lighter. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-08-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-08-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-08-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-08-2011.jpg I have decided to forgo putting an anemone in this tank and instead have decided to stick with different euphyllia species as they seem to really love the led lighting. Hammers, frogspawn, torches etc. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-18-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-10-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-18-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-18-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-10-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-18-2011.jpg I have also decided to add a mandarin after it was suggested I should try one because of the abundant pod population in my tank. There was hundreds of them visible while lights were on, and more so when lights were off. So here she is. She is a little shy right now, but is going around and eating and sticking to one side of the tank right now. I am going to get tiger pods to repopulate, and I do have my larger tank if I am finding I cannot keep the population up in this tank, so I can move her over to that one. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-18-2011.jpg I added in some zoas to see how they do under leds and for the extra color pop, especially the reds. http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-18-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-18-2011.jpg The other corals I have had in there are doing great. I moved the Purple tipped digi and affixed it to a rock where it can continue to grow. The red digis continue to grow slowly as well. Xenia is happy, as are the acans. I moved the gsp to the top of the tank on a rock with lots of branching in it to see how it would grow. It looks interesting up there now. And the Green Monti has really grown since being in this tank, though day time colors are not as vibrant as the mother colony in the larger tank. Oh and the green bottlebrush has really encrusted onto the plug. Who says corals can't grow under leds? http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-18-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-18-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-18-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-18-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-18-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-18-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-18-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-18-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-18-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-18-2011.jpg http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-04-2011.jpg Current Front Tank Shot 04-18-2011 http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...04-18-2011.jpg I also have about 15 mangrove pods starting to grow in this tank as well that you might be able to see the bottom of the pods in the front tank shot.. Once the red roots start they will add a nice contrast to the black. I will be amazed if they all grow out, and if they do, thank god they are slow growers. LOL. |
Here is a short video of this tank..
Let me know what you think. 20L par38 led lit euphyllia garden with mandarin goby |
http://www.youtube.com/v/NYTVCuMFIqY?hl=en&fs=1
I like the video.. try to find in the mess of code wasnt easy.. or not.. now its there... tricky... Tank looks great! |
Video and tank look good Sarah.......lots of movement out of all those polyps..... whatcha got for flow atm in that wee tank of yours
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I am using a Koralia1, AC50 and ACmini which are on constantly. The K1 points from back left to front right of the tank.
Then there is also a Koralia nano 260 which is positioned in the front left pointing almost straight across to the right, but slightly positioned so the flow hits the front glass a little. It comes on only during lights on and is off at night. The positioning of all of these has created a really nice intermittened flow, the euphyllia really like. |
thought maybe you forgot about us over here, its been so long since you updated:razz:......the clowns look a whole lot better than in the last set of pics......and I like your cans.....acans that is:biggrin:
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Nope.. didn't forget aboutcha's here.. just been busy with some other stuff this month and I wanted to wait a bit to see how the little clowns were going to do after putting them back in the tank.
Now I am hoping beyong hope they start growing a bit more..even a little would be nice. |
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