infinityex

hmm the black makes it look quite dramatic! Nice tank you have there!

Good to hear that!

Yup I am putting it in a balcony, the sunlight happens during sunrise. Is there anything I should take note of?

Thanks for the reply Evolutionz. What's a DC pump? For the tank height I am still undecided whether to go shallow or just 2ft tall haha. Tall tanks are more troublesome but the added volume and height might let me keep more stuff I dunno...

Hi guys and girls, Let me introduce myself a little first. I've been lurking this website on and off for a very long time, and have been keeping a humble small-time 2ft tank for quite a long while. Mostly zoas and RBTAs, simple stuff that doesn't die so easily. I've never done SPS. My setup has always been very simple with a DIY sump tank, some filter wool, t5s, a Hailea HC150a 1/10hp chiller, a Prizm skimmer and lots and lots of chaetomorpha hosting a lot of amphipods and copepods. I had a mini 5 inch DSB in my sump tank made of a little glass tank full of fine volcanic sand that was never disturbed. Not sure if it worked. Water params - No idea! In the early days of reefing I was very eager to test for nitrates etc but after a while I stopped bothering. The chaeto has been growing quite happily though so I suppose it did something. Top-offs I used to buy bottled distilled water and then I got a DI unit and then I just started dumping tap water in when I was really too busy to bother. Fish: My rbta has hosted a tomato clown, maroon clown and clark's clown over the years as they lived out their lives but recently no fish since my clark's clown died a few months back. Whether it worked or not I have no idea, but the anemones, mushrooms and zoas have been surviving forever. Due to Life commitments, I have left my tank to grow algae for weeks and the stuff survived quite well although it was an eyesore. http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/826/j65o.jpg/ Here's a little shot of my rbta when my tank was new and clean and not infested with algae as it is now Daren't post it. Now, with more time on my hands, I'm planning for a new tank. Saw a lot of beautiful tanks in this thread and I hope to create one that is really pleasing and eyecatching. I have always felt that a reef tank is very pleasing on the eyes and soothing on the soul. Am hoping that all you gurus could give your comments on my plans because I haven't been keeping up with updates in the technology. I've been reading up the forums and here's my ideas for the tank: Main Concepts: The tank is to be a display in my balcony. I am aiming for a bare-bottom tank with an open spacious look. It is to be powered by LED to save electricity. I would like to venture into SPS actually and keep a selection of small reef-safe fish. Will definitely want clowns and dwarf angels. The tank I would like to make as automated as possible. Consistency and stability is very important in my book as this is a life-support system. Plus, I would like to be able to take holidays without worrying about the tank. I am a very lazy person, and the initial enthusiasm of doing maintenance chores for a tank can wane with time. To be custom-made Dimensions: Length 2.5ft, Width 2ft, Height maybe 16 inches? Thinking of going for a shallow reef for ease of maintenance. The width and length are dictated my the space I have available for the tank, can't really change those much. Crystal glass for viewing surfaces probably. Sump: I was thinking of trying to incorporate a small little refugium for small corals and anemones like in LemonLemon's thread but am not sure if my limited tank length will allow for the space. I would definitely need somewhere to grow chaeto in though, I think it's a really fantastic and cheap nutrient export, plus a wonderful pod breeding ground. For filter socks, would I be able to put filter socks occasionally and just not use a filter sock if I don't want anything that can clog up? Chiller: Reusing my Hailea 1/10HP HC150. It's rated for up to 400l so I don't think I'll be anywhere close to overshooting the limit. Skimmer: Really no clue on in-sump skimmers. Probably a Skimz or something? Lighting: As mentioned, LEDs maybe a MaxSpect Razor 160w? Or would I be able to get away with a 120w. The tank would get about 2-3h of natural sunlight in the morning which should give the corals a nice photosynthetic boost. Rockwork: I was thinking of using dead rock but am not sure where to find them. Or getting live rock to bleach which might be a bit of a waste. Don't want to worry about nuisance pests at all as I would like full control over what goes into the tank. I intend to take some of my existing coralline rock and crush it to seed the rock in the tank, as well as seeding with various pods from my old tank.. Return pump: one of the Eheims? Not very sure. Wavemaker: Have read good reviews about the Jebao WP25, maybe will look into those things. Auto-Topoff: Was thinking of the JBJ or gemsurf auto topoffs. Automatic Pellet Feeder: Well this will depend on the fish. Reactors: I don't intend to go all out SPS for now but I'm also not keen on the idea of having to dose my tank like medicine. I am thinking of either going for a calcium reactor or a gemsurf dosing pump sort of thing. Not exactly very sure about how can I keep the equipment minimal. Do I really need fluidized reactors? Magnet Cleaner: My old aquarium glass has been scratched over the years using magnet cleaners, but then again it was cheap glass. Wondering what's a good magnet on the market now that won't scratch crystal glass. Well that's all I can think of for now. Please, do give me any suggestions or comments you have. I would be honored to benefit from your shared experience. Cheers!

Hi, my 2ft tank is old and run down and I am thinking of temporarily storing my livestock (some btas and mushrooms) in a small space at an LFS for a couple of months while I clean everything up and do some mini renovation. Has anyone tried this and any suggestions where to go and about how much it costs? Thanks!

Hi everyone, I'm currently looking out for: Juvenile tomato clowns Juvenile chromis viridis Healthy firefish Pygmy angels, small sizes in general Young banggai cardinals If anyone has seen any of these around I'd appreciate a shout out Thanks!

bump

Looking for 2nd-hand in-sump skimmer, considering products similar to the Reef Octopus NW 110 in size. Do PM me with your offers and dimensions of skimmer. Looking for needle wheel type. Thanks.

bump for you!

To veer back onto the topic, while diving I have seen brown / red acropora, BTAs with clownfish and clams growing at a depth of 2m at around 28 - 29 degrees Celsius, bubble coral growing happily at a depth of 3-5m at around 28 degrees celsius, a very wide range of zoas, SPS and LPS around 27 - 28 degrees Celsius between 5 - 20m and big seafans, sea whips and carpets at about 30m down at about 26 degrees Celsius. Any colder and I would know it coz my teeth chatter I think for a pico or low-cost nano the easiest way to keep temperatures down is to avoid using internal powerheads and pumps and opt for HOB filters and HOB skimmers with a surface water return. The lighting should be also propped up on stands a distance from the water surface. I have successfully maintained a tank temperature without a fan of about 28 degrees for a 2fter using a RedSea Prizm and an Eheim HOB filter to maintain zoas, green star polyps and RBTAs although admittedly flow rate is not that great. The RBTAs were happy enough to split though

Leave it alone unless it falls off, begins to disintegrate or starts to smell bad. Sometimes they go through cycles of expanding and deflating. You shouldn't try to pry it off for nothing.

Clownfish False Percula (Amphiprion ocellaris) ~ $1 Black Ocellaris Pair ~ $75 to $80 True Percula (Amphiprion percula) ~ Small $12 - $25, Better Grade $90, Pair $150 Tomato (Amphiprion frenatus) ~ $4 Tomato / Red Saddleback (Amphiprion ephippium) ~ $4 Saddleback (Amphiprion polymnus) ~ $5 Yellow Stripe Maroon Clown (Premnas biaculeatus) ~ $6 - $10 Tangs Pacific Blue (Paracanthurus hepatus) ~ $15, size dependent Powder Blue (Acanthurus leucosternon)~ Smaller $15, Small - $30, Big - $35 Yellow (Zebrasoma flavescens) ~ Small $23 Purple (Zebrasoma xanthurum) ~ $50 Brown/Scopas (Zebrasoma scopas) ~ $8 Sohal (Acanthurus sohal) ~ $60 Chevron (Ctenochaetus hawaiiensis) ~ $120 Clown (Acanthurus lineatus)~ $8 Convict (Acanthurus triostegus) ~ $8 Alantic Blue (Acanthurus coeruleus) ~ $80 Achilles (Acanthurus achilles) ~ $160 Black (Zebrasoma rostratum) ~ $350 Gem (Zebrasoma gemmatum) ~ $2800 Dwarf Angelfish Bicolor (Centropyge bicolor) ~ $8 - 12 Coral Beauty (Centropyge bispinosus) ~ $8 Potter's (Centropyge potteri)~ $35 Flame (Centropyge loricula) ~ $38 - $50 Argi (Centropyge argi) ~ $50 Golden (Centropyge aurantius) ~ $60 - $80 Lemon Peel (Centropyge flavissima) ~ $35 - $45 Herald (Centropyge heraldi) ~ $8 Rusty (Centropyge ferrugata) ~ $6 Shepard's (Centropyge shepardi) Joculator / Yellowhead (Centropyge joculator) ~ $380 - $550 Multibarred (Paracentropyge multifasciata) ~ $28 - $35 Angelfish King (Holocanthus passer) ~ $200 Queen (Holacanthus ciliaris) ~ $120 - $400 Blue Face (Pomacanthus [Euxiphipops] xanthometopon) ~ $45 - $60 Gold Face - $240 - $450 Bandit (Holacanthus arculatus))~ $600 - $800 Emperor (Pomacanthus imperator)~ $40 - $60 Regal (Pygoplites diacanthus) - $60 French (Pomacanthus paru)~ $80 - $200 Clarion (Holocanthus clarionensis) ~ $4000 to $5000 Scribbled (Chaetodontoplus duboulayi) ~ $80 - $250 Rock Beauty (Holocanthus tricolor) ~ $40 - $100 Personifer (Chaetodontoplus meridithi) ~ $120 - $200 True Personifer ~ $800 Africanus ~ $180 - $400 Grey ~ $80 - $200 Blue Line ~ $80 Blue Angel ~ $120 - $400 Ear Spot ~ $90 - $250 Flagfin ~ $15 - $28 Orange Peel ~ $38 - $60 White Bar Maculosus ~ $90 to $110 Wrasses Radiance wrasse $50 Golden wrasse - $170 - 280 Flame wrasse male - $120-$150, Female - $90 8 line wrasse ?? Laboutei - $80 - 180 Splendid Leopard Wrasse $38 Potter Wrasse - $28 6 line wrasse - $8 Solar wrasse $10-$12 Scott wrasse $70-$150 Lineatus wrasse $150 - $250 Common leopard wrasse $7 - $10 Mystery wrasse $120 Blennies Tail Spot Blenny $8 - $17 Midas Blenny $18 - $60 Canary Blenny $28 Anthias Barlett's anthias ~ $30 - $40 Lyretail anthias ~ $10 - $12 Sunburst anthias ~ $28 Dispar anthias ~ $8 - $12 Bimaculatus anthias ~ $10-$12 Basslets Royal Gramma ~ $20-$40 (depends on size n locality usually Caribbean) Blackcap Gramma ~ $65 Blue assessor ~ $35 to $45 Yellow assessor ~ $80 - $100 Gobies [*]Blue / Yellow Neon Goby ~ $20 - $40 [*]Half Moon Goby ~ $20 [*]Helfrichi Goby ~ $120 - $140 [*]Purple Firefish ~ $12 - $28 [*]Red Firefish ~ $5 - $12 Butterfly Fish [*]Golden ~ $80 [*]Threadfin ~ $8 - $15 [*]Raccoon ~ $8 - $15 [*]Long Nose ~ $8 - $15 [*]Copperband ~ $5 - $15 Others [*]Mandarin ~ $6 - $12, $30 or more for those weaned onto frozen foods [*]Red Mandarin ~ $20 [*]Moorish Idol (Zanclus cornutus)~ $10 - $20 Soft Corals [*]Leather Coral (Sarcophyton sp., Sinularia sp.) ~ $5 - $120 (Ultra-green morphs) [*]Yellow Leather (Fiji) ~ $40 [*]Zoanthids: $5-10 for low-end variants, very high for rare color forms. [*]Xenia (Xenia elongata) ~ $8 -$25. [*]White Xenia (Fiji) ~ $40 [*]Common Mushrooms ~ $5 - $10 for low-end variants, $30 for rarer forms. [*]Yumas (Ricordea yuma): $10 for lower grades, $50 - $200 for rarer forms [*]Rics (Ricordea florida) ~ Green $25 - $30, Blue and Orange $35 - 40, Multicolor $35 - $120 [*]Carnation / Cauliflower (Scleronepthya sp.) Large-Polyped Stony Corals [*]Japanese Sun ~ $80 - $280 [*]Black Sun Coral (Tubastraea micrantha) ~ [*]Super Sun ~ $60/colony or S$10/head [*]Normal Sun ~ $15 - 40 [*]Green Bubble ~ $30 [*]Frogspawn / Torch / Anchor Coral(Euphyllia sp.) ~ Assorted Invertebrates [*]Skunk Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis) $6 Small, $12 for Large, $12 for Sri Lankan Cleaner [*]Coral Banded Shrimp (Stenopus hispidus) ~ $3-12 [*]Blue-Legged Coral Banded Shrimp (Stenopus tenuirostris) ~ $3 - $15 [*]Yellow Coral Banded Shrimp (Stenopus scutellatus) ~ $3 - $15 [*]Blood / Fire Shrimp (Lysmata debelius) ~ $12-35 [*]Peppermint Shrimp (Lysmata wurdemanni) ~ $15 [*]Unspecified Starfish ~ $3 - $25 [*]Unspecified Seahorse ~ [*]Halloween / Electric-Leg Hermit Crab (Calcinus elegans) ~ $5 [*]Dwarf Zebra Hermit Crab ~ $4 [*]Dwarf Scarlet Hermit Crab ~ $10 [*]Nassarius Snail (Nassaurius vibex) ~ $5 [*]Turbo Snail (Trochus sp. / Astraea sp.) ~ $2 [*]Sand Dollar ~ $10 [*]Coco Worm (Protula bispiralis) ~ $8 - $25 [*]Common Tubeworm (Sabellastarte magnifica) ~ $1 - $5 [*]White/Gold Tubeworms (Sabellastarte sp.) ~ $3 - $5

I am interested in the clam, how old is it?

http://www.fishermenscuba.com/ I dived with this company before, they're not bad