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Getting back into aquariums--two questions

G

goosey

Hi all...my first post here.

OK my 4 year old wanted a fish, so we went to the fish store a few months ago. Having had saltwater fish back in the late 80's and early 90's I just couldn't bring myself to buy a goldfish. So I go back home, scramble up into the attic, to see what I kept after several moves. And here's what I ended up with:

1. 15 gallon high glass tank I used to use as a q-tank, a bunch of obsolete bits and pieces, but a heater that works fine, a god-forbid 150 gph bio-wheel hang on filter, and a 150 gph submersible pump.

Hellooo nano-land!

So I start reading up on things (and also found this great forum and started reading all the threads...thanks folks) Now I realize things have changed dramatically, conceptually back in the 80's the idea was to kill everything but the fish with UV, ozone, etc. But now its different. Dead sterile rock became live rock, etc. Now, instead of a clownfish or two swimming around in a tank with stark white dead branch coral, I'm looking down the slippery slope of reefing.

So, a few months ago I set up the tank in my son's room. 2-3" live sand, about 10 lbs of LR to start--I'll add a bit more soon to get to ~15 lbs. I used my HOB bio wheel (and the 150 gph submersible to keep the water flowing)and after cycling up for a month, put some Chemi-pure Elite and a bit of floss in it.

Almost immediately things started popping out of the rocks--my son is very excited and so am I. I have about 6-7 button polyps now, some mini feather dusters, and lots of worm activity--the small 1 inchers, and if I look closely, amphipods running around. I bought some small hermits a few days ago. I don't have a skimmer, but I do 1 gal water changes 1X/week. No fish yet.

Oh and lighting--I managed get the following light--96 watts.

http://www.oceanicsystems.com/products/aqualight-deluxe-series---4-tube-quad.php

I know most of you don't like PC lights vs the alternatives but this fits well on my 20" wide and fan noise is very low-- a concern because its in my son's room

So now here come a couple of questions for you all.

1. What sort of easy to maintain corals should I be considering for this tank based on my lighting and size? I'd rather not have to purchase a skimmer as the noise may be a bit too much in the bedroom.

2. I'm thinking of one/two fish and maybe a cleaner shrimp in addition to the hermits. What do you recommend that won't nibble up the reef or hide all day?

Thanks ahead of time!
 
M

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
Welcome back to the hobby. Nanos can be very very fun and a good stepping stone up to a bigger tank.

1. You can get some zoanthind polyps which are generally considered "starter corals". They don't require a high light output and you can find some absolutely beautiful colors out there. Also, they can be bought in small frags which are not to expensive. Mushrooms are another low light low maintaince coral. They can be very beautiful and also cheaply had.

2. Fish choices can really vary here in the 15 gallon space. You could always go with a pair of clownfish which are active and everyone loves. You could look at fire fish which are pretty but not that active. There are like 10 species of gobies you could go with that are all nice in their own right and last but not least blennies. What is comes down to is personal taste and price range. Websites that sell fish generally have good information when it comes to tank size and hardiness, but you should try to buy from LFS or sponsers. Take a look at aquacon.com as a starting point.
 
G

goosey

Thanks for the advice. I will begin with those corals.

Button polyps=zoanthind? If so I have the brown variety (they have a slightly green center) growing rather well now--they hitchhiked on some LR.

I have noticed that they will consume some flake food and frozen mysis if it falls on them---I did that just to give the hermits something of a treat. Otherwise they have gone for weeks w/out anything. Should I be feeding them periodically or as a read in some places they survive fine photosynthetically?
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

sorry to ask the obvious question but you're sure these so-called button polyps you have are not aiptasia right? or majanos?
 
G

goosey

Hawkeye said:
sorry to ask the obvious question but you're sure these so-called button polyps you have are not aiptasia right? or majanos?
Click to expand...

I don't think they are, based on the pictures on the web I've seen of aiptasia and majanos, they look very much like this:

http://aaparker.net/fish/marine/ButtonBrown1.jpg

The biggest has a 1" long mushroom shaped stalk with a penny sized flat disk on top with maybe 30 little 1/16" fronds all the way around--it folds up into a little ball if something brushes against it. They are a uniform non translucent brown color.

I'll try to take a photo tomorrow when the lights are on and post it up.
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

ok phew - sometimes you never know - I recall one person had a "beautiful polyp" that turned out to be a majano type anemone. :p

Personally I think jawfish are intelligent and fun to watch. That could serve as your "bottom" dwelling fish.

However if you have friends (like me) who everytime they come in ask "where's nemo?" and you don't want to deal with that - then maybe getting a captive-raised nemo is the smart move. ;)
 
V

vangvace

Congratulations on the nano. With that lighting zoas, mushrooms and a hammer or frogspawn can be easily kept. I currently have an 80W fixture over my tall tank.
PC's bulblife is it's biggest knock imo in nano applications. At around 6 months keep an eye out for an algae breakout. Chances are your bulbs need replacing.

Fish Stocking Guide For Nano Reefs is a great thread on fish stocking options.

Water changes will work great for a light to medium stocked tank. A refugium is another option instead of skimming as well. Your biowheel might even be large enough to convert it if need be. I would remove the biowheel if you're using it. Over time it has a tendancy to build up nitrates.


Good luck and enjoy!
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

never saw that link before...something to read and see if we can update our board here with!

the only thing i'm not sure about is the snowflake eel in a 30g...considering they grow to about 30". :) I guess a small one would work.
 
M

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
I'ld skip the snowflake if I were you. About a year ago an unscrupulous LFS sold my fiancee and I a 6" snowflake. He was really cute at the time, he looked like a little spotted pencil, but within 3 months he went from 6" to 12". We couldn't keep anything else in the tank with him, and he required water changes multiple times a week- they are heavy polluters. They are also escape artists.


I've had a lot of luck with easy fish like ocelleris clowns, neon gobies and dottybacks in nano tanks. I also really like cleaner shrimp and feather dusters- I have all of the above in the various nanos in my apartment. I'll leave coral advise to more advanced reefkeepers than myself.
 
G

goosey

Hey thanks for all the great ideas and links. With all the choices, and without some good advice like this beforehand, I know even a small tank can get expensive and frustrating real fast. I saw a guy at the LFS buying about 8 fish at once the other week when I picked up the hermits, and for the fishes' sake I hoped he knew what he was doing, but probably not.

I'm gonna add things real slowly and I will post up some pics once I get the tank looking a bit less...bare.
 
G

goosey

vangvace said:
Water changes will work great for a light to medium stocked tank. A refugium is another option instead of skimming as well. Your biowheel might even be large enough to convert it if need be. I would remove the biowheel if you're using it. Over time it has a tendancy to build up nitrates.
Click to expand...

Remove the biowheel?--do you mean just the wheel part or the whole filter? The filter itself seems to create a nice surface flow that I'm guessing keeps the oxygen exchange up.

If I keep the filter (I have one bag of Chemi-pure Elite in it now) what should I be putting in it if anything?
 
CSoli921

CSoli921

I use pillow stuffing from walmart in my filter as well as chemipure and purigen. The pillow stuffing filters out tons of impurities in the water and its cheap.
 
V

vangvace

Just the wheel. A HOB is a great place to put Chemi-pure and the like. Also you are correct about the surface flow.

Chemipure, carbon, Phos-something (I can't remember the name of the product :p ) all will work inside of filter. You could let the HOB run empty too. Especially since the tank is just getting going.
 
G

goosey

Got it. Plus the HOB lets me know when to top off the tank, it makes an ahh...how should I say it...tinkling sound. :)

I like the polyester stuffing idea---very clever.

We have down pillows, wonder how goose feathers would work? j/k
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

The list that vangvace is a great link. 101 Saltwater Fishes also has some various combinations of fish that isn't to bad.

I know you didn't want to change your lights but my suggestion sort of is that T5 lights will be a lot cooler(temp wise) then CP. That is good for little kids less likely to burn a finger. Also the bulbs don't need replacing as often and are a bit cheaper. Just a thought to file away.

My kids love the inverts like shrimp and crabs.
 
G

goosey

JRWOHLER said:
The list that vangvace is a great link. 101 Saltwater Fishes also has some various combinations of fish that isn't to bad.

I know you didn't want to change your lights but my suggestion sort of is that T5 lights will be a lot cooler(temp wise) then CP. That is good for little kids less likely to burn a finger. Also the bulbs don't need replacing as often and are a bit cheaper. Just a thought to file away.

My kids love the inverts like shrimp and crabs.
Click to expand...

Agreed on the list.

Re the t5 lights I hear ya. I see Current makes a 2x18w t5 and 6x18w t5 in the 18" and 20" size respectively. Would the 2x18 be enough firepower?

And I would love the 6x18w, but that light is ~$250---gulp, I guess assuming over time I could make that up with bulbs, but it would take a few years. Is there another manufacturer I should look at that you recommend?
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...uct_Code=CU-USA01083&Category_Code=Current-T5

During our next group buy you could get that fixture for 204....not cheap but better.

Sunlight makes a cheaper version of 24 inch 4 bulb light
http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...oduct_Code=SL-960295&Category_Code=SunlightT5
You would have to research it to see if it is any good their more expensive Tek lights are very popular.

Membership in NJRC has its rewards group buys being a it will pay for itself reward.
 
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