Acro Experiment Tank

[dvarner32]

I've been scoffed at by some of my friends for my next tank. I'm moving cross country and am giving up the tank that I've just started putting acro frags in. My fun in this hobby comes from growing corals from frags. It started with my Montipora Capri under 96w pc's. I'm going to take a 30 breeder with a 20L sump and put 2 150w MH's 15,000K. I'm going to put live sand only in the tank and put all the LR in the sump. The skimmer is another thing they laugh at...an ASM g-3. The only tankmates will be a clean up crew. There's other things I'm going to do to it (aptasia raceway) but eveyone tells me that the lighting will be too much. I have a hard time understanding that because the acro I have now is 10" away from my lights and is growing rapidly in my 55. What difference is it going to make when I put the same distance between the 2 in a 30B? Would it be possible, even if I raise the lights. Any thoughts on what I can expect to encounter would be appreciated.

[Amphiprion]

I don't really understand their ridicule. However, you may want to keep some rock in your main tank. If you set the Acropora sp. on the sand, you will find that the sand will often move around in your efforts to get enough flow around the corals. Do you have the same lighting on your current tank (i.e. 2 150w halides)? One more thing--I have often found that most corals do better when they have some fish tankmates (though there are exceptions), since they will benefit from some of their wastes (certainly not an overabundance). Also, why an Aiptasia sp raceway--nutrient absorption?

[dvarner32]

I see your point with affixing the corals to something. I'll figure something out with that. I have noticed how one monti that I have grew 3 times as fast as one that kept getting knocked over every other day. Yes I have the same lighting on the 55 and things seem to be doing fine. My current spectrum is 10k and no actinics. The growth is enough to make me happy but the colors definitley changed from when I bought them. Pink pocillopora with green polyps has turned from a mostly green, to hot pink with somewhat translucent polyps. Is healthy though and encrusting well onto the cookie. I was planning on having a lawnmower blenny in the tank, and may research breeding cardinals. The aip raceway would be for nutrient absorption. I feed 4-5 small meals a day. The store I work at was going to throw away some sick anthias. I took them home and eventhough they are in a small tank, they put on weight and are no longer sick. Surprisingly there is very little agression between them. Anyways, due to my feeding habits I would like to see what an aip raceway would do if anything. I have very little algae problems now eventhough I don't have the greatest skimmer (Remora, and modified seaclone.) However, this expiriment tank is going to get my by until I can afford a 180. That is a whole post in and of itself, but some of the things I learn from and expiriment with in the 30b will be applied to the 180.

[dvarner32]

Check this out, just thought of it.
3" PVC tubes glued to the bottom of the aquarium. Glued to that will be 6 threaded 20oz coke bottle tops.
Put sand up to the threaded parts, then with every cookie, glue a coke lid to the cookie and then thread that onto the male threads in the aquarium. I think that will work great.

[willjeff]

sounds like a good idea, let us know how it works.