Myka's 20 gallon Zoa reef (pics Nov 15)

[Myka]

I have photos ready, but Photobucket isn't working. Grrr.

EDIT: Funny, we both posted at nearly the same time. Hehe.

[Myka]

Ok, photos!

Here it is all set up with the Hagen lights on top (not running):




Here is the overflow in action, just one baffle (1" off bottom). I have since moved the media tray up as high as it can go. I switched out the pump for a MaxiJet600, as well I trimmed the bottom bit off the eggcrate overflow part. Both changes resulted in a 3-4 mm lower water level in the tank. These photos are all taken before I made these changes.





And here it is in all its cloudy glory!! (lol) I have since epoxied some of the branch rocks into more vertical branch-lilke positions. The aquascape is made up of lots of small rocks on top of a bigger rock in hopes to aid in making frags later on. I added a Ricordea and 3 Zoa frags last weekend, but no pics. I'm going home for the weekend again later this morning after a short shift, and I will take some more pics. The rocks have been cooking for about 15 months, so they are stark white. I have been feeding the rocks mysis weekly though, so there should be some denitrifying bacteria still alive. The few colorful rocks in there are from my sump to seed some coralline and more bacteria. Btw, this photo is taken with a "spotlight" 50/50 bulb, not the T5s.

[mseepman]

Good to see it's on it's way. I think this tank could be a lot of fun with some of the ideas you've suggested you have for it. Have you decided on whether it will have seahorses?

[Myka]

Well, I moved most of my Zoas over and added some sand. I'm not happy with the rockscape...I might try to get my hands on some decent sized pieces of Tonga branch - I just have real small pieces. The shape of the tank is really awkward to work with being kind of L shaped because of the overflow and much bigger at the top than the bottom. I think the finer look of the Tonga branch would accent the shape better. The current rockwork I think looks too bulky and takes away from the elegant shape of the tank. Plus...too much rock in the sand. It will give me headaches with restricted flow.

Well Mark, I've been tossing around some ideas for critters. I have been looking at the tank thinking it really isn't designed with seahorses in mind, but with the new plan to go with Tonga branch rock it will be much more pony friendly. I'm not sure if seahorses mind hitching up to Zoa covered rock though...anyone know?

Here are some options I have been considering...

~ 3-5 Flaming Prawn Gobies aka Griessinger Goby OR Yasha Goby (neither are very good choices for open top tank though)
~ Bullseye or Candy Stripe Pistol shrimp
~ Pair of Seahorses (not sure which specie...something smallish for sure)

OR

~ Blue Assessor (if I manage to catch him out of my reef)
~ Maybe something yellow like a Clown Goby or Watchman?

OR

Dwarf Golden Moray (also not a good choice for open top)

OR ???

[Reef_surfer]

a small tang would look nice....... lol liking the build so far. i have moved my zoas over from my 17g into the pico but im thinking the lights are not enough for them as they are starting to reach for the light.. whats the length of the legs on your hagen light?

[Myka]

Haha, ya I think a Sailfin tang would be a good choice. When it gets too big to turn around I will upgrade to a 30 gallon.

Do you mean how tall is the light or what length does the fixture stretch to? When I bought the fixture in Petland I noticed some 12" T5 bulbs. Not sure if they were HO or NO though. I didn't see a fixture for them, but I didn't ask either. Maybe look into that?

[Reef_surfer]

ya i live two blocks maybe ill swing by and check it out. thanks

[lastlight]

Impressive job you did building that overflow to conform to those odd contours. I'm wondering if you'll have issues with detritus settling on your viewing panels? Not many of us have that worry!

[Myka]

Hey Brett, thanks for your comments! The overflow was a pain in the butt. I wish i would have put another baffle in there. Dangit. Detritus doesn't settle on the front pane because it is flat, but it does settle on the two side panels which are curved. I just use a turkey baster or small scrubber to dust them off. I think better positioning of powerheads will help as well.

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Woohoo, got some bulbs for the Glo fixture! I just picked some up from a friend - a no-name Actinic and an Aquascience 15,000K. Looks pretty blue! The bulbs are actually brand new though so they should burn in in the next week or so.

I moved all but 3 Zoa frags to the nano today, and they are all looking pretty good. A couple are closed up still, but most opened up immediately. I am happy to get rid of the clutter from the bottom of my 90. The 90 had a good clean up today. Next weekend I will work on arranging all my SPS frags in my 90 so I can move the frag rack to the nano since it will double as a SPS quarantine tank since SPS pests can't infect Zoas.

I have Tonga branch rock coming in next week I think. I think it will look much nicer.

I think I already need a bigger tank!! It's pretty crowded already!

Anyway, I'm sure you guys are waiting for some more interesting pics, so here they are. Please feel free to make suggestions. I'm not really all that sure how to do the rocks to make the Zoas easy to frag, and look nice when they grow in. It's my first Zoa tank.







One of my newest additions. No ID yet:

[fishytime]

Lookin good there Mindy!.....the new zoas look to me like PPEs....if they are, nice score!