got ethical husbandry?

Denzil's 40B with 20L Sump-Fuge

Do some research into buying from that site. Make sure people are happy with their tanks. Awfully cheap. Sometimes you get what you pay for. No first hand knowledge on my part.
 
BOOOOOOO!

Go bigger. Shore up the stand/get another stand!!

Trust us. Tanks are never big enough. If you start with one 'to large' it will take longer for it to get 'too small'.

:)
 
Coral reefer said:
Do some research into buying from that site. Make sure people are happy with their tanks. Awfully cheap. Sometimes you get what you pay for. No first hand knowledge on my part.
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Yeah, definitely will do. Reviews are generally what sell me on a product unless I'm really interested in taking the risk.
aqua-nut said:
BOOOOOOO!

Go bigger. Shore up the stand/get another stand!!

Trust us. Tanks are never big enough. If you start with one 'to large' it will take longer for it to get 'too small'.

:)
Click to expand...
Haha, in due time I will. I want to get comfortable in the hobby first and master my 20L. Once I feel I'm ready, I'll step it up. ;)
 
Personally I am a proponent of letting the tank grow with you. You've probably already considered this, Denzil: if you plan your equipment carefully you could potentially re-use much of it in the next bigger, badder setup. That is assuming you won't keep the current setup and operate multiple tanks, which is really the way to go. :evil:
 
lattehiatus said:
Personally I am a proponent of letting the tank grow with you. You've probably already considered this, Denzil: if you plan your equipment carefully you could potentially re-use much of it in the next bigger, badder setup. That is assuming you won't keep the current setup and operate multiple tanks, which is really the way to go. :evil:
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Yep, you're completely right on the button. I'm definitely planning it out so that I have the option to transfer a lot of equipment over. However, I'll also have the option to keep it on this 20L. :)
 
What do you guys think of an Ocellaris, Helfrichi, and Sixline? Think it'll be too much fish for not enough space? Thinking of 15-20 lbs of LR with 15-20 lbs of sand, roughly but that's pretty much a variable still.
 
Yeah, I figured they would. I'd definitely keep an eye on them and probably introduce them to the tank together. I guess we'll find out once that time comes.
 
Clown gets worse over time. So does the six line. Once they get bigger and mature they can be downright mean. Occelaris is usually not as bad as say a maroon in my experience, but I've seen super mean sixlines
 
Yeah, probably some evicting that may take place. I'm definitely plan on being on top of that.

Jim has me convinced that I should get a couple Vortech MP10s. I want to the wireless versions while I'm at it. I'm going to keep my eyes peeled across the interwebs to see if anyone is taking their tanks with these powerheads. I'm still pretty convinced with getting the glass-holes.com overflow kit with a (possibly) rimless tank. There's some work to be done with the stand as the interior bottom piece appears to be particleboard (unlike the rest of the stand) and is definitely dilapidated. I'll have to disassemble the stand, replace the top sheet and bottom piece, then reassemble it. I'm not entirely sure yet if I'm going to stain the wood and protect it or just paint it completely black and protect it.

Any suggestions on skimmers? Brandie has a Coralife 125g and a CPR Dual Back-Pak 2 that I could use but I don't think either of those could be used with the tight interior stand constraints (34.5 x 13.5 x 19.25"). It looks like the Eshopps S-120 is pretty solid but it's also a pretty penny. The only other skimmers that fit my height criteria and have pretty good reviews are the SeaClone SCPS 100, Tunze Nano 9002, and Precision Marine RL100. Any preference to either of these or others?
 
I just posted this up on RC as this is currently where I'm at with what I had in mind:

I'm planning on the following build below of which I have only purchased a 20L tank (for fuge/sump) and the stand to go with it for $20:

Display Tank: 20L (possibly rimless)
Lighting: 2 x Kessil A150W; if I can do just one A150W, I might do it but I'm worried about complete coverage; night lighting?
Controller: I'm thinking of building my own controller using a Raspberry Pi but that's still very much in the brainstorming stage. Ideally, it should be fully capable like the Aqua Controller Apex system but cheaper; lights, temperature, pH, ORP.
Filtration: ~20-25 lbs base rock to be aquascaped and seeded with ~15-25 live rock to achieve at least a 1.5" sandbed, fuge/sump
Overflow: glass-holes.com 700 gph kit at one back corner of the tank
Return: plumbed through the back of the tank, opposite side of the overflow
Powerheads: 2 x Vortech MP10s or other alternatives/suggestions?
Canopy/cover: Unknown at this point. I may either fabricate a canopy to match the stand or fabricate a polypropylene mesh screen with a feeding/access window (potentially optional). I think this is really dependent upon the heat dissipation of the A150Ws.

Fuge/Sump:
Need to purchase the acrylic to create the baffles and assemble it
4-6" of Live sand
Live rock rubble
Chaeto
Red Bush Algae
Skimmer - SeaClone SCPS 100, Tunze Nano 9002, or Precision Marine RL100. My stand only supports a height of 19.25" within the stand where the fuge/sump will reside. I'm looking for an in-sump system (preferably).
Lighting - looking for suggestions
Pump - to not exceed the overflow kit, so something less than 700 gph including head loss. Suggestions?
Misc. schedule 40 piping, valves, bulkheads, etc.

Livestock:
1 x Helfrichi Firefish
1 x Sixline Wrasse
1 x True Percula Clownfish
Open to other suggestions

CUC:
5 x Nassarius
1 x Dwarf Zebra Hermit Crab
1 x Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit Crab
1 x Blood Red Fire or Peppermint Shrimp
Do you think I'll have enough bio load to support this CUC? I'm open to other additions/subtractions.

Corals (still learning a lot here):
Zoas
Duncan
Open to other additions

Anyway, that's what I'm currently planning right now. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!
 
Denzil,

Kessils seem to be the way to go with a tank your size. I used a Tunze 9002 for many years on a 34 gal Red Sea Max w/excellent results. I know Presicion Marine has been coming out with some new skimmers for nanos as of late. Doesn't Reef Octopus make any skimmers that would fit in your sump ? A Eheim 1260 or a Water Blaster 5000 pump should fit the bill for your return pump. I like the fish selection, just beware of the sixline. You can go with a few more dwarf hermit crabs (say 5 of each), because they are extremely small. If you are getting one shrimp, I would get a fire shrimp. Zoas can take over, so be careful. Maybe some ricordeas ?
 
gimmito said:
Denzil,

Kessils seem to be the way to go with a tank your size. I used a Tunze 9002 for many years on a 34 gal Red Sea Max w/excellent results. I know Presicion Marine has been coming out with some new skimmers for nanos as of late. Doesn't Reef Octopus make any skimmers that would fit in your sump ? A Eheim 1260 or a Water Blaster 5000 pump should fit the bill for your return pump. I like the fish selection, just beware of the sixline. You can go with a few more dwarf hermit crabs (say 5 of each), because they are extremely small. If you are getting one shrimp, I would get a fire shrimp. Zoas can take over, so be careful. Maybe some ricordeas ?
Click to expand...

Do you think one A150W is sufficient or do you think I'll need two? Those pump choices look great to me. I'll probably go with the Eheim since it seems to be more readily available and closer to the GPH capacity on the glass-holes overflow kit. I'm reconsidering the Sixline. I'm now thinking of doing a Helfrichi and either a True Percula or an ORA Premium Picasso. I didn't realize Zoas would take over. They're really pretty. I guess I can put them on a separated portion of rock? Some Ricordeas look nice so I'll definitely consider those. I got a more solid list of corals in my Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/denzil/20l-nano-reef/).
 
A 150 is sufficient, but kind of a spotlight effect. I know hobbyist who use 350's also on that size tank. If you can place zoas on dedicated areas of your tank, that would be ideal.
 
It looks like I am going to go with a Kessil A350. It'll be better coverage than one A150W and cheaper than two A150Ws. Now it's just a matter of finding one for a deal but that looks to be few and far between.

I was looking at heaters and it looks like the Eheim Jager TruTemp 100W fits my bill. On the other end of the spectrum, cooling, I was thinking of utilizing just plain old fans. It doesn't look like any of the fans at some online shops are all that special. Does anyone have any personal experiences with them? To me, I think I'm thinking I could just build my own and I was thinking if I could get away with putting it in my fuge-sump area instead of on the DT. I'd also hook it up to a controller so that it would automatically go on anytime it reached a programmed temperature threshold.

Any thoughts? Has anyone done the aforementioned before? Seems like a pretty common case/plan.
 
Brandie double-checked with our local Petco and it seems they were having the $1/gallon sale today. Well, it looks like build is changing slightly. I ended up leaving Petco with a 40g breeder since it was such a great deal at $40 from a $114.99 regular price... what a steal!!!



So it looks like things are going to change and that includes building my own tank stand (which should be tons of fun). I really want to build something that I'll be happy with because of all the tanks that I've seen that you can buy online and off the counter (at a reasonable price), I haven't been too impressed. If anything, the stand may be more expensive than what I paid for the DT and fuge-sump 20L combined!
 
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