Tony's 20g Coral Reef Tank

I got a clean slate considering coral etc. With a 40 g tank I got set up I was thinking have any members tried a macro algae and soft coral tank?

My livestock in the 40 g includes a pair of common clowns a yellow watchman goby 4 chromis and the clean up crew(mexican turbo snails,nassaurius snail,dwarf blue legged hermit crabs) if any of you guys or girls have tried this how have you managed to make

sure nuisciance alage didn't out compete the macro algae?

 

Ugh... my favorite macroalgae expert hasn't been around much lately, but I'll tag him in case he has time to check in soon. Lorekeeper

That said, individual species will, of course, have their own needs. Some actually calcify to some extent, so need calcium levels maintained very well. Research their lighting and supplement needs, and if you can provide the right environment to fulfill their needs, the macroalgae should outcompete most nuisance algae. Unlike a reef tank, you won't really look to provide ultra-low nutrients, but just the right amount so plants can use it, without so much leftover for algae. I'd certainly suggest starting with known fast growers, so as to get a jumpstart on that growth instead of algae growth.

I love planted marine tanks, and honestly wish I could give you more than just the general information. There are lots of good build threads online, though, unfortunately, not here that I've seen. You should have no trouble finding some good examples to follow though.

If I may, I'd ask that you please do a build thread for this tank here. I'd very much enjoy watching and I'm sure many here would be glad to learn from your experience.

Edit: Oh yeah! I just remembered someone else knows all about macros. Calling KinsKicks

 

I already have a colony of sea lettuce given to me for in exchange for a bundle of chateo I been reaserching the diffrent type of macros for softies I will most likley add zoanthinds gorgonians(not the nps) something nothing overly invasive I made this thread so the sw in here could see since the planted aqaurims are rare

 

Not a lot of lfs have macros (except chateo) so ordering online will be key. Has any one gotten macros from algae barn I'm reluctant to buy from live aquaria beacuse ive only gotten "special extra presents" from them

 

No, I haven't gotten any myself, but I do follow the reef scene online pretty heavily, lol, and Algae Barn has a very good reputation, as does Reef Cleaners. The really great thing about Algae Barn is that they guarantee pest free chaetomorpha... so perhaps this extends to other varieties of macroalgae as well.

Lorekeeper recently had a pretty bad experience with another vendor, and I cannot remember who it was but would advise finding his salty thread so you know who to avoid.

 

Thanks I will need to look into that thread

 

There are so many cool macro-algaes to try! But so many come with challenges... Assorted Calurpa's can grow really fast and put anchors into rock that are incredibly difficult to remove, but you are in CA so Calurpa's are illegal anyway.

Octodes are a pretty purple/blue algae, but they put these anchors into rocks/corals that are nearly impossible to remove. We ended up trying to use a pick to get them out of corals, but didn't succeed! Also, it is very brittle so it breaks off pieces very easily, and the older growth turns brown... the new growth is what is the pretty purple/blue.

My favorite we had was a red bush algae that I could never find the scientific name for. When it grows out, it looks so cool! Red Bush Macro Algae Plug

All macro-algae acquisitions have been volunteers from coral frags we purchased, and we got several not so good ones! Turf algae, unidentified red leaf like algae that stayed short and covered the rocks and when taken out of the water released something that would smell and give me a head ache, grape calurpa, some type of green hair algae, and so on. The worst was that unidentified red one!

With hard algaes like mermaid's fan and halimeda when my husband was on top of dosing, the mermaids fan was growing really well, but as soon as that got off schedule it slowly succumbed. These types seem to be touchy IME.

 

Would you recommend dosing or only water changes ?

 

Any tips on which light I should use I recently got some sea lettuce coming in all that's left is a light should I go with a kessil a160we or would that be an overkill

 

Any tips on which light I should use I recently got some sea lettuce coming in all that's left is a light should I go with a kessil a160we or would that be an overkill

I think it is a little overkill but I’m cheap so if you’re okay with spending the money I’d say go for it!

 

I trust both kessil and the chinese black boxes since I have gotten result with both. Anyone have a recomended light ?

 

I am a fan of black boxes you just lost controllability!

 

For softies how do gsp xenias and zoanthinds sound I might go with only one hamerhead for lps I have sevral rock islands in my tank to use so I'm not worried about real esate for the macros

 

I had a little set back beacuse of personal issues and I haven't been on fishlore ever since but the tank is done cycling and I know way more about macros now my question is what would be for a 20 gallon (I have no good place to put a 40g)

 

The ulva has been coming in nice and corailne has popped up

 

May not be relevant but I wanted to share an update on the 20 gallon planted reef and I wanted to see what anyone would stock the tank with coral and fish wise

 

The only residents in here are only are a couple of snails,hermits and my pair of peppermint shrimp so my nitrates and phosphates are low making me dose fertilizers for planted tanks also here's a photo of one of the shrimps just tought it be nice

 

Anyone know what I should stock this tank with fish and a couple other corals

 

Anyone know what I should stock this tank with fish and a couple other corals

Hi! Check out liveaquaria. Com, they have a nanotank section of fish

With a 20 gallon you could do one, possibly two fish.

Corals, zoa are hardy and colorful, you could build a really cool zoa garden.

 

Like that idea thank you

 

Hey there Tony. I'm sorry I somehow missed a bunch of your more recent posts. Hmmm, I think a rock dwelling fish is in order for this tank, so perhaps you'd like to look at some blennies (maybe a starry blenny) and/or a royal gramma. For an open water fish that will be highly visible for you, you really can't go wrong with a percula clown, or, you may want to look into the yellow coris wrasse.

With the macroalgae focus in your tank, it has me thinking of corals that live in the shallower areas of the ocean near me. So... I'd love to see a few gorgonians in that tank. Zoas and different types of mushrooms are another good choices, particularly the Florida Ricordea, lol, (see, you really do have me thinking of the waters off of SoFlo.) When shopping for zoanthids, you will also find yourself encountering palythoas. It can be quite difficult to tell them apart and to be honest, I'm not sure how different they really are. However, certain types of palys, like green and yellow and even the well known Pandora variety, will grow like wildfire and you'll find yourself having to remove them from encroaching on everything else. Also, certain types of zoas are known to be much more difficult to care for than others... Rastas come to mind. So, it's always a good idea to research individual strains. Lastly, you' may want some flowy movement in the tank, and for that, I always recommend Duncans and Euphyllia corals.

 

Duncans and gorgonians forgot about them love the idea thanks ! Also what's anybody take on sps in a tank like this ? Just thinking about it

 

Duncans and gorgonians forgot about them love the idea thanks ! Also what's anybody take on sps in a tank like this ? Just thinking about it

SPS are fun AND beautiful. My take? First thought is, which light did you go with? Is the light close to the surface? Do you think that you're getting high lighting in at least part of the tank, even if it's just up at the top of your rockscape? If so... dooo iittt!!! Lol

I wouldn't recommend going out and picking up picky, light-demanding Acropora at first, but there are other SPS corals that are hardier and can and should be used to test the tank's ability to grow SPS. Birdsnests, as well as Montipora, come to mind. Montis are another large family, so of course, some will be more demanding than others. Montipora Capricornis is a hardy plating SPS coral, and I'm sorry that I don't know the official name... but encrusting montis, like my own rainbow monti, are also hardy and beautiful.

Here's a good video on the subject.

And by the way, WWC (World Wide Corals) has really good stuff... small, but very healthy and colorful frags... which of course are pricey... but they do massive sales several times a year. About 70% of my own corals came from WWC live sales.

 

I have a current usa led strip at the moment which I'm thinking to upgrade but I need something that fits the likings of the macros and corals alike also I have ordered from WWC and tidal gardens and I have to say I love their products !

 

Found out the light I am using can support the less demanding sps exactly what I had in mind gonna do some research and ill tell you guys the stocking list.

 

Here is what I came up with
Fish:
1 ocellaris clown (common or designer ?)
1 tailspot blenny
Corals:
Duncan
Gorgonian
Frogspawn
MontI cap
Compatible ?

 

Okay got a couple of questions. You think I will be able to keep a molly along with the list above or will the bioload be too much? Second is could I add a more planted specialized led strip and a reef light together or will the lighting be too strong?

 

Just an irrelevant update this little guy is finally outta qt

 

Molly came out of qt macros doing execllent even my reds

 

Congrats! It's always exciting when a fish passes QT.

 

This is very nice, so natural looking. I'm loving the mollie too lol. Tried a mollie on 2 occasions, first time it died due to bad acclimation I think, the next one ended up being eaten by a BTA. I'm fascinated by how they can live in fw and sw.

 

This is very nice, so natural looking. I'm loving the mollie too lol. Tried a mollie on 2 occasions, first time it died due to bad acclimation I think, the next one ended up being eaten by a BTA. I'm fascinated by how they can live in fw and sw.

Thanks for the compilments I love lawnmower blennies but it's space is a problem I have to say they have amazed me before with their algae eating abillites . I am honestly lucky I have not dosed anything other than ferts which I am not doing any more .

 

I feel like my tank is now more mature and stable now so I'm going to add corals this weekend porbably going to add a toadstool and zoa for now next additon will be gorgonian,frogspawn or a hammer and last a montI cap all in the span of 9 -12 months
For now enjoy some pics of my clown and a limpet that randomly popped up.

 

I have a hard choice guys should I get a 40 gallon breeder and use the planted reef as a display fuge or upgrade the set up ?

 

Gee... idk. Have you considered the pros and cons of each? Personally, I like the idea of a display fuge because I'm a coral addict who likes macros... but not enough to share my limited space for corals with those macros. Make sense? Also, there are fish and other critters that might eat macros and you could have them in the display if the macro fuge were separate. 'Course, this is just the inexperienced thinking out loud so... you should really consider the benefits of each then decide which is best for you.

 

Well after thinking so hard about that fumes came outta my head I'm going to keep the tank as it is its a unique enviorment and I'm proud of that.

 

Petco had the 40 breeder for dirt cheep just had to have it will be doing a build on that but still keeping the 20 gallon as a display fuge or regular fuge.