20L SPS Reef Thread

[kevin4052002]

I've added two 4" fans from Target. With the PCs on still (haven't had time to mount MH), the tank is sitting at 81. I was thinking I might get a thermoelectric chiller instead of a compressor type, which would save me a lot of money. And if I find room, purchase another one of these fans. I'll know everything I need once I get the halides mounted.

 

[kevin4052002]

Today the bus didn't come, so I went to Lowe's and got some PVC and a bunch of screws, and came up with this...

So far so good, thermometer says 82 degrees.

 

[kevin4052002]

Yay! No need for a chiller! Thank God for cooling fans! *SUPERSMIL

 

[Mushroomman]

Good to hear.

 

[kevin4052002]

I picked up my fish from work last night, a male Lyretail Anthias, and a ORA Tank-Bred Occellaris Clown. The anthias was eating frozen in the store, which made me happy. Once I got him home he hid, but the clown stayed right out in the open. Today was better, I actually watched him eat, and have set my feeder up to feed three times daily. The two fish get along very nicely, and I think enjoy the current. The clown doesn't even stay close to the rock, just swims right out in the open constantly.

I should have some detailed pictures once I get my vacuum. Maybe this weekend I'll grab some snails.

 

[wayne]

I thought this was going to be an SPS tank? In all honesty I would get my corals in, settled and growing before I even thought of chucking in some fish. It means you need to go thro' all the usual pains of the first 6 months before you can really start to think about getting some of the more problematic (and colorful) sps as it'll likely take a while (months) before water quality is stabilised enough not to cause browning out/colour loss.

 

[kevin4052002]

That kinda stinks, the wait, but I don't think it is an inconvenience. For a little while atleast, I want to make sure that my fish are doing well, and then check all of my other problems that may appear.

Right now I only have one blue-leg hermit, and I will need to pick up some more inverts for a cleaner crew. Not only that, I don't have my vacuum yet, and there is a spot that is building up a little. With that I want to get a nice schedule for water changes, and to get a good routine for that. Once I make sure that things like my green algae (not much) has disappeared, and my calcium. I want to find a good place to look over SPS and clams, as my LFS doesn't have that great of a selection. I might be looking online (AquariumSupply or LiveAquaria).

On top of all that, I need money. So time is the last thing on my list, luckily.

 

[wayne]

Well at least SPS are pretty cheap for basic frags, and for a 20 long and assuming a decent lengh of time, you might need only need 5 to 10 different frags, and let them grow a couple years.
SPS is not for people wanting 'instant gratification'.

 

[kevin4052002]

Update: The anthias is still going strong, thankfully. My bleached rock anemone has made a huge turnaround, and is turning brown again (I wasn't even able to kill it when I tried!). Everything seems to be going great so far. Here's some pics:


FTS as of today...

Fish were unusually hard to shoot today...

 

[YahooFishKeeper]

looking good as all your pics and tanks seem to be.

 

[aresgod]

is that hair algae on your live rock, or is it just tinted a funny green?

 

[wayne]

It's the beginning of full blown hair. The point about NOT having fish in at this point is so you can avoid all this sort of problem with the fish waste messing up the tank, and get the sps into a pretty clean enviroment. Once they're settled and growin, then you add the fish as the coral growth will help control nutrient issues. As it stands now, you pretty much have to go thro' the usual rigours of algae control before any sps can go in.