20 Gallon Reef Tank

Nanomaniac · #1 06/16/2006, 11:47 AM

Let me first start out by explaining how this tank came into play. Well I have had a 55 gallon FOWLR tank running for about 6-7 months which is great but I really wanted to try my hand at coral but didn't want to spend alot of money on upgrading my lighting so I decided to downgrade to a 20 gallon long. I originally had 4 fish in my 55 which consisted of 1 Firefish, 2 Ocellaris Clownfish, and 1 Sandsifting Goby but obviously I couldn't keep all those fish in a 20g tank so I only kept the Firefish. Don't worry the other fish found good homes with local reefers.

I transferred most of the sand from the 55 which gave me a nice substrate depth of 1.5" to 2" in some areas. I plan to mount 2x65watt PC's into the canopy, which came from the Current USA fixture. I also am using the two Maxijet 1200's that gives me great flow(Approximately 29x turnover) throughout the tank which should work out good since I plan to add coral. I would maybe like to add another small fish sometime in the future, as well as a Cleaner shrimp. I will list specifications but everything is from my 55 gallon tank including the water.

Equipment:

20 gallon long tank (30"Lx12"Wx12"H)
DIY canopy with 2x65watt PC lighting installed
AquaC Remora protein Skimmer
2 Maxjet 1200's
Coralife digital thermometer
11lbs of Fiji live rock
Roughly 30lbs of fine white sand

Inhabitants:

1 Firefish
1 Strawberry Crab
1 Whelk
1 Strombus Snail
2 Cerith Snails
4 Nassarius Snails
4 Astraea Snails

Future Coral Plans:

I will keep softies and LPS in this tank. My rough list of coral that I would like to keep:

Zoos
Mushrooms
Candy Cane
Frogspawn or Torch
Brain
Favia
Xenia

That is it for my introductory post on chronicling the process of my 20 gallon reef tank. I will post pictures of the DIY canopy I'm in the process of building as soon as I can. Comments are always welcomed.

stewie24 · #2 06/16/2006, 01:38 PM

Sounds like you are on the right track.
I'd either add at least 9 more lbs of rock or else i'd junk the fiji (if it looks crappy) and order 20-25 lbs of marshall islands live rock from Premium Aquatics. Its by far the best rock i've seen. They are a really great place to order from. The rock has awesome shapes and colors.
Stewie

mr pink floyd · #3 06/16/2006, 06:38 PM

i think 2 MJ1200 will be too much flow, they will kick corals arses

i would go with one with q hydfor, or two 400, or a 900 in the middle or something

for SPS that might be good, but IMO that will creat spots of flow too strong for anything

the regularPH creat a jet of super high flow, tyhat will tear skin off sps and anything else, a hydor will make less flow, and move it around

JMO though, dont take only my word for this

Nanomaniac · #4 06/17/2006, 09:33 AM

Stewie: I didn't want to add anymore live rock since I hope to house alot of coral in this tank and need the room. I also created many cave and overhangs for the fish and inverts. Btw the Fiji looks great and I've always liked Fiji.

Mr. Pink Floyd: After having both the powerheads running I see that there is way too much flow that is why I will be placing them on timers so only one is running at a time.

Canopy is pretty much finished but I still need to purchase a couple hinges and will probably install a fan. Here are a couple pics of the inside of the canopy.

Nanomaniac · #5 06/17/2006, 05:09 PM

Update: I finished the canopy and placed a piece of acrylic over the tank to prevent splashing water. I took some full tank shots with the canopy I built, and yes I know the right top board lifts up but hey this is my first DIY canopy.

I still need to pick up a black background to hide the wires.

hgbarwick · #6 06/18/2006, 10:19 AM

sweet aquascaping

Nanomaniac · #7 06/25/2006, 08:12 PM

Update: The tank is doing good and I'm getting some good coralline algae growth. I have added a small Green Clown Goby which is doing well and is eating most of the foods I offer. I will be adding a few more snails to my tank and I should be adding my first coral to this tank soon. Here is a full tank shot and a few pictures of my Firefish

Full Tank Shot

Closeup Pics Of My Firefish

hgbarwick · #8 06/25/2006, 08:18 PM

nice! Can't wait to see it when you add corals.

fast94m · #9 06/25/2006, 09:52 PM

whats your temperature hanging at? from what i see your not using any heater right? im def following this along as i have a 20L just laying around begging for attention ha

Nanomaniac · #10 06/25/2006, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by fast94m
[B]whats your temperature hanging at? from what i see your not using any heater right?

Since Summer is here I have not been using my heater but my temp has been staying quite stable. My temperature stays between 77-82F throughout the day.

Nanomaniac · #11 06/27/2006, 12:15 AM

A few pics I took of my snail.

Steven0000 · #12 06/27/2006, 12:28 AM

i agree great aquascaping
nice tank looking awesome
and the pictures are amazing also

Nanomaniac · #13 07/01/2006, 06:46 PM

Update: Here are a few pictures of my Zoa colony and new Cleaner shrimp I add to the tank.

Small Zoa Colony

Cleaner Shrimp

gfk · #14 07/01/2006, 09:15 PM

that cleaner shrimp will be a huge monster in no time, it seemed like only yesterday mine was that big

Brooks_McClary · #15 07/01/2006, 10:16 PM

Anyone know how big those skunk cleaners get or how long they live. I've had mine for 14 mos and it is almost 3x as big as when I purchased it. He's getting huge (for a shrimp). I know. Oxymoron.

Honestly he's over 3" long and his antenae are over 6" across...

When are they eating size btw?!?

noschmo · #16 07/02/2006, 12:51 PM

Unbelieveable, thats all I can say!!! I really like the snail.

hgbarwick · #17 07/02/2006, 12:53 PM

yes nice tank.

Nanomaniac · #18 07/06/2006, 07:53 AM

Thanks for the comments. I should have a update with pics soon.

aumfc · #19 07/06/2006, 11:25 AM

What you have there looks very much like what I would like to do for my first tank. I have been looking at the all-in-one's but I'm wondering if this solution isn't cheaper. What do you think it would cost me to do a set up like this?

Looking at your list:

20 gallon long tank (30"Lx12"Wx12"H)
DIY canopy with 2x65watt PC lighting installed
AquaC Remora protein Skimmer
2 Maxjet 1200's
Coralife digital thermometer

I'm wondering were the filter is? Is that what the AquaC Remora is? Meaning, I'm guessing, it filters and skims? (Sorry, I don't know much)

Also, I guess I would only need the one 1200 or maybe a 900?

Are the 2x65 PCs plenty for the 20 long?

Thanks for any advice and help you can provide.

Jason

Secondgen · #20 07/12/2006, 02:33 AM

How much money did it take to put that canopy together? I have two brand new power compact bulbs sitting around. What kind of ballast setup did you buy, and where did you get it?

Nanomaniac · #21 07/12/2006, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by aumfc

I'm wondering were the filter is? Is that what the AquaC Remora is? Meaning, I'm guessing, it filters and skims? (Sorry, I don't know much)

Also, I guess I would only need the one 1200 or maybe a 900?

Are the 2x65 PCs plenty for the 20 long?

I'm running a Remora which is the protein skimmer and I just added a AquaClear 30 with some carbon. How much flow you need depends on your setup but I have both Maxijet 1200's running and it is just the correct amount of flow for this tank. 130watt PC's is enough for softies and a few LPS which is all I plan to keep in this tank.

Nanomaniac · #22 07/12/2006, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Secondgen
How much money did it take to put that canopy together? I have two brand new power compact bulbs sitting around. What kind of ballast setup did you buy, and where did you get it?

It cost me around $50 to build. I just took the ballast, wiring, bulbs, etc out of a Current USA fixture and mounted it into my canopy.

Nanomaniac · #23 07/12/2006, 12:28 PM

I recently purchased a small Capnella coral. Here are some pics of it:

Chelsey · #24 07/12/2006, 12:35 PM

Looks awesome! Make sure you keep us updated on your progress

madnav87 · #25 07/12/2006, 01:06 PM

how long has it taken for you to get good skimmate out of the remora? I put one on my 24, and after 1.5 months of adjusting, i still dont get anything but a few bubbles and clearish liquid (prob. conditioner)