Preparations for a 25g "Nemo" reef tank.

JimMelAddie

JimMelAddie

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Jan 20, 2005
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My daughter keeps tellin' me "I want a Nemo fishie" and to be quite honest I have been salivating over starting a nano reef for a while now :p . I got some suggestion's for a 3g a while back but decided I'd better start out a bit bigger. I went & grabbed my 25g acryllic that I had left in storage at my old apartment (luckily 'twas still there). I think it will make for a GREAT reef setup. The only drawback is that it is only clear on the front & top. Actually, it is type of tank they use at Petsmart: blue acryllic for the bottom, sides & back w/ 2 holes in the back each about 2" from the top & 4" from the sides. This particular one slopes on the front. What I mean by that is that the bottom measures, I'd say, about 18" across & the top measures about 12" across. I got the thing off ebay a couple years back & have yet to put it to use. THE DAY HAS COME!

Anyhoo, I'm wanting to start my list of what I have, need, plan to get, cost, etc. & leave it open for suggestions. I also hope to cronicle to entire process granted I can get ahold of a decent Digi Cam but that may eat up some of my funds for the tank. I'll just play it by ear *thumbsups .

LIST:

Have
  • 25g Acryllic Aquarium
  • 2 Powerheads (1 pending pick up)
  • Instant Ocean
  • Hydrometer
Need
  • 15-20 lbs Live Rock - Planning on getting on ebay: $2.24/lb
    & $20 shippng = $55 - $65
  • 20 lbs Sand (Probably grab a big bag @ Home Depot) = (??? cost)
  • 20g of distilled water = (??? cost)
  • Lighting (not a necessity for a couple of weeks) = (??? cost)

Am I forgetting anything?

I will add more tomorrow on how I'd like it stocked / what my stocking options are but for now, I'm out of time...
 

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cinlnk

cinlnk

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Sep 10, 2005
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Who said anything about living? I merely EXIST!!!
#3
Instead of using distilled water , think about RO water..... At wally World it is .33 cents a gallon..... that is what I use. I have a 15 g rubbermaid tote that I pour the water and salt into. I have a power head and an air pump going in it.... That way the water is aged for about a week before I put it into my 15 g Nano..... Makes water changes 1000 times easier for me.
 

ram man

ram man

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Apr 16, 2005
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If i had a tank that big i would put a peacock mantis in it, do they still sell the tanks at petsmart? this sound like a great idea to teach your daughter about keeping a tank. are you going to keep corals?
 

JimMelAddie

JimMelAddie

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Mushroomman said:
Have you thought about aragonite for the substrate instead of sand.

Are you going reef? What are your plans for lighting?
Click to expand...
Aragonite could be a possibility. Is it sand-like? That's the look I think I want. I think it'd be neat to see snails & other critters come busting out at feeding time.

Yes, I'm going reef. I'm gonna go w/ DIY lighting. I'm not exactly sure my approach yet but I've got time to figure that out.

As far as stocking, I'd definately like suggestions. Like I said, I'm going with a Nemo theme. Percula is a given (Nemo). I'd like advice on the other "cast" members that I could add to the tank. Is a blue tang a possibility for a 25g or do they get too big? If not, what could be my other options? I'm pretty sure a yellow tang would be okay, right? What other "cast" mebers? I think Bruce would be pretty neat! Actually, he'd probably eat all the others, huh? LOL :p
 

CAPSLOCK

CAPSLOCK

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Jul 19, 2004
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No, no tangs in a 25g. They get too big, and they are active so they need lots of swimming space. The royal gramma would be okay in there (I think there's a royal gramma in the dentist's tank?).
 

JimMelAddie

JimMelAddie

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ram man said:
...do they still sell the tanks at petsmart? this sound like a great idea to teach your daughter about keeping a tank. are you going to keep corals?
Click to expand...
I don't know if they sell the tanks or not. Like I said, I got it off ebay a couple years back. I kinda wondered where it came from utill I finally went into a Petsmart. At least, I'm assuming that's where it came from.

LOL, my daughter's only 3 but I guess it's never too early to begin such a fulfilling hobby!

I'll look into the peacock mantis. Maybe he could be "Jaque."
 

CAPSLOCK

CAPSLOCK

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Jul 19, 2004
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Ooh, forgot about Jaque. A cleaner shrimp would be fine, a mantis would probably eat Nemo... as well as any neat little critters like hermit crabs.
 

JimMelAddie

JimMelAddie

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Jan 20, 2005
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cinlnk said:
what was the starfish's name.....the one that always had himself plastered on the side of the tank?
Click to expand...
"Peach" :D

fish outa wata said:
are we trying to put the whole cast in the 25g (except the tang)?
Click to expand...
LOL Not the whole cast, just trying to figure out whom we could!
Ah screw it! Maybe I'll just build a 500g custom so I can! Yeah, THAT'LL happen in my 2 beroom apartment. *BOUNCINGS
 

JimMelAddie

JimMelAddie

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PuNanny said:
What type of fish Is the one that thinks she has a sister "flow" ????
Click to expand...
I believe that would be "Deb."

Okay! So the list of "Ruled-out" characters is a follows:
  • Dorey (Blue Tang)
  • Bubbles (Yellow Tang):( -even though I've seen 'em in nano's before...
  • Gill (Moorish Idol) - I'm using an educated guess that he'd get too big
  • Nigel (Pelican) DUH! :D
  • Crush & Squirt (Sea Turtle) DDDUUUUUUUUDE!!!
  • Bruce, Chum, & Anchor (Shark)*laughingc LOL

The "Do-able" characters are:
  • Nemo & Marlin. Maybe even Coral (Percula)
  • Gurgle (Bicolor Blenny???)
  • Deb (Four Stripe Damselfish???)
  • Peach (Starfish)
  • Bloat (Puffer)
  • Jaques (Cleaner Shrimp)

Would "Mr. Ray" be a possibility? Are there rays that stay rather small? Oh, & how 'bout a Sea Horse? What the heck would the little pink thing be (ya know "Aw, you guys made me ink!")?
 

A

aresgod

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Jan 14, 2004
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that is an octopus...a no, the sea horse would be a no they need a species only tank, and really I would say no to the puffer in a 25 gallon, it is going to be crowded as....the puffer gets too big and is too mesy. also no to the Ray as well. oh and where did you see a yellow tang in a nano? that is a big no no.
 

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JimMelAddie

JimMelAddie

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Jan 20, 2005
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aresgod said:
where did you see a yellow tang in a nano? that is a big no no.
Click to expand...
I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure it was on nano-reef.com a week or two ago. I remember seeing the pic & I'm pretty sure 'twas in a 24 nano cube.

I think I'm losing the big picture here! It doesn't have to be a "Finding Nemo" tank. I will HAVE TO HAVE a "nemo" fish. I need to focus on setting up & maintaing a healthy, aesthetically pleasing reef setup with lots of happy little critters.
 

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ram man

ram man

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Apr 16, 2005
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there are some mantis keepers on reefcentral that have mantis shrimp and clown together, but i my self wouldnt risk it. cant wait to see the tank set up.
 

ram man

ram man

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Apr 16, 2005
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instead of doing the nemo theme maybe mix it up a little. maybe a fire shrimp(safe for fish and reef) and a goby of some sort and some realy bright corals.
 

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