Coryd55

This is the official thread of my 20 gallon long reef. This is my first reef and first saltwater tank.

Fish:
1 Wrasse - not sure what species yet - probably four or six-line
1 Randall's Goby

Invert:
1 Pom Pom Crab
1 Porcelain Crab
3 Scarlet Reef Hermit Crabs
1 Randall's Pistol Shrimp (Alpheus randalli AKA Candy Stripe Pistol)
1 Crocea Clam
2 Nassarius Snails
3 Nerite Snails
3 Cerith Snails
3 Astraea Snails

Equipment:

AGA 20 Long - removed rim
DIY Stand
Koralia 2 - ordered
aquac remora Nano skimmer - ordered
AC110 Fuge - ordered
24" 250w MH + 2x T5 combo w/ hanging kit - ordered
CaribSea Arag-Alive Fiji Pink sand
20 lbs. live rock
Thermometer
refractometer

Pics when stuff gets here.

Slug

Sounds good. I assume by the lighting you want corals eventually?

Looking forward to this project. Sometimes i wish i could start mine over, just to make it look nice and clean again lol.

nemo addict

the clams need good lighting

and its a reef tank

Coryd55

Matt, I plan on keeping a large variety of zoo's and shrooms - thats mainly it for softies. I want a very diverse stonie stock.

and then eventually I would like a T. maxima or T. crocea.

Nemo, it is a reef tank.

nemo addict

i was actually being sarcastic

Coryd55

Wasn't sure so I didn't want to be rude =)

Cost list:

Koralia 2 - $20
AquaC Remora Nano Skimmer - $90
AC110 Fuge - $50
24" 250w MH + 2x T5 combo w/ hanging kit - $250
Shipping - $30

Total - $440

Coryd55

1. Tank
2. Free salt til I get some
3. Tank with LR - not the best quality

Possibly getting some rock from a local getting out of the hobby. Hopefully I do.

All equipment should be here by Friday. setup til then. Flourescent lights with 2 PHs.

Attached Images

	DSC04753.jpg (392.4 KB, 47 views)
	DSC04754.jpg (144.7 KB, 35 views)
	DSC04761.jpg (292.0 KB, 53 views)

Slug

Hey the setup works thats all that counts! That rock you have actually looks quite good. I love long tanks, they usually turn out really nice. More so then tall tanks IMO.

Coryd55

Thanks haha.

I was stressing so bad about this not working. Seems to be ok so far.

Looking forward to picking up sand and better live rock tomorrow. Then getting powerheads, real lights, skimmer, and HOB fuge by Friday. So I should be all set then.

Just got order salt and a hydrometer - getting refractometer when I get the money.

Slug

I keep telling myself i'll get a refractometer, but 2 years later here i am without one LOL.

Coryd55

Haha. Once I get some cash I will find one on Nano-Reef forums or somewhere like that.

For now I will use the Instant Ocean Hydrometer - actualy have an EXTREMELY cheap one now. Floating glass thermometer/hydrometer haha.

Coryd55

Video of lights setup. You can see the skimmer and rockwork as well.

Slug

Looks great already, pretty ballin haha. Makes me want to start over with a nice fresh clean new tank.

What type of Bulb is it? Looks to be at least 14k?

Coryd55

Its an old 20k. I'm trying to find a new or close to new 14k DE 250W. This one is getting towards the end of its days.

I don't run the T5's yet since one of the plastic shields broke in shipping.

Angela_96

I will tell you after getting my nano SW reef going I am so glad I did. My live rock is getting so much stuff growing on it now, and its so much fun to set and just look for the different stuff growing. I am finally getting good coraline algae growth in the tank, I had a hitch-hiker clam on my rock and its been thriving well w/ my lighting system, I am going to add more cleanup crew this weekend. Anna from Missouri sent me a rock w/ some zoah. on it, they are beautiful, they opened up over the weekend (my first corals) then there are some mushroom frags on there (I think) w/ some starfish hitchhikers.
I honestly just want to do an ivert/reef only tank I am enjoying that.

I can't wait to see yours going!

Coryd55

Mine is getting almost to the point where I can add my CUC.

Slug

Are you planning to add sand or are you keeping it BB?

Coryd55

Sand pretty soon.

Wyoming_Bound

How long till fishies go in?

Coryd55

Around Christmas for fish. Some corals then. But most will go in February.

Coryd55

New pics and new coral.

Got new endcaps for my MH today. Should have them in later today.

Coral:
Duncan
Zooanthids
Finger leathers
Ricordea
Blue Xenia

Algae:
Flame Algae
chaeto











Enjoy

Slug

Awesome! Duncans can cost a good bit sometimes. Thats a nice colony you have.

The zoas look great! 2 color forms? Looks like Eagle Eyes/Watermelon and Armor of Gods, very nice.

Coryd55

Thanks! These were shipped at no charge from friends on another forum.

There are 3 or 4 color forms. Two aren't pictured. Not sure of what they are.

Coryd55

I didn't like the way I had it scaped so I rescaped it. I like it a lot better now. Corals are all ****ed off though since it just happened.

FTS Before:


FTS After:

Slug

Nice i definitely like the new scape better.

How do you like that skimmer so far? Can you tell if its pulling a lot of stuff out yet? Or is it still to early to say yay or nay on it?

Matt

Magnificent tank.

Hope Your Salty Experience Is A good One

From Matt
A fellow Salty Guy

Coryd55

Matt:Thanks. The skimmer is doing really well. It pulls a lot of gunk out. When I first got it, it was loud and pulled about 1/4-1/2 cup a day. It has since quieted down and pulls about 1/2-3/4 cup a week. So it definitley is doing its job.

Other Matt: Thanks, Matt, for the kind words.

Matt

Lol. No Probs. Awesome corals you got there

From Matt

Coryd55

MAJOR UPDATE.

Koralia 2 broke so I had to downsize for lack of a strong powerhead. I am using my 10 rimless. It actually looks better than before. Bad pics. Its clear today and everything is opened up.

ALSO:
My Remora broke =(. The pump kept popping off and caused a large water fountain effect that empty about a galon onto my floor which was fun. I tried it 3 times before I gave up. Then I took it out and part of the intake pipe popped off. Any suggestions on how to fix it? I'm a little uneasy running without a skimmer.

But I did get the AC110 up.

Added sand.

Also ID on the green algae? Its gone now but just for future reference.

Sand


Algae


20 long BEFORE


10 rimless AFTER

KimInLC

Is the part that broke off the skimmer just plastic? If so I'd just super glue it. We had to do it to one of the pumps on my 150 saltwater tank when we set it up. Let me know if you make another trip to Dino's and I can send you home with some frags. I have a little bit of everything at this point