24g JBJ 8 months old...lots of mods! Need everyone's Feedback!

[shark_bait]

Here is my 8 month old tank....would love some feedback! I have numerous corals; mushrooms, zoos, brain (both open and maze), a couple of leathers, frogspawn, hammer, etc. Fish; mandrin (yes it is doing great..eats mysid shrimp food), maroon clown, purple firefish, and blue tang (i will be trading him in for a smaller one, respecting that they need more room as they grow).
Lighting Mods: 36 watt actinic light added to the hood (see nanocustoms.com for information..they also have mods for 12G and 6G either DIY or they will do it for you) This is a great mod, my corals are growing like crazy. Not only that, I have the moon lights on one channel, actinic lights on another channel, and the main lights on another. I run my actinics from 8:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m. and my main lights from 9:15 a.m.-7:15 p.m. and then my moon lights from 8:00 p.m.-8:30 a.m. All is on timers. By the way, believe it or not, the tank runs much cooler then before...no heat issues. The fans are now directly wired allowing them to run more effeciently.
Other Mods: I have a surface skimmer (an absolute must for any JBJ Nano and only a few dollars), a small UV Sterizlizer, and a mini protein skimmer (both the skimmer and UV Sterilizer can be found on nano customs.)
Let me know what you guys think. Now that I'm running 108 watts of light, what are your opinions about attempting acropora or mantipora corals? What about a crocea, derasa, or maxima clam?

 

[clown123]

u have a hippo in there :scared: i feel bad for that poor thing why would u put a hippo in a 24g tank?

 

[backpurge]

Tank looks good.

 

[bs21]

tank looks good but definately trade in hippo

 

[shark_bait]

The blue tang was about 1" when i bought him. He's now about 2 1/2". Several articles I've read have said that when small, it is okay to house him. However, trade them in at about 2-2 1/2" for another tiny one. I've seen people do the same with yellow tangs. The key is to keep trading them in once they outgrow the tank.

 

[indaword]

Your tank looks great! I have a JBJ 12g - what have you got in the back for filtration? Since I don't see the skimmer I am assuming it's in the overflow in the back? Any problems with water circulation? I just purchased a power head for mine. And funny how you talk about the heat...mine is too cool...I just got a heater as well. I have had the tank for 2 months. Hope mine looks as good as yours at 8 months!

 

[shark_bait]

I did upgrade my powerhead also...the original powerhead is somewhat weak. I'm storing the heater, UV Sterilizer, and Protein Skimmer all in the back overflow boxes. If you are doing a reef tank, make sure to take out the bio balls and ceramic rings! I know this is a somewhat controversial subject, but most people would agree to get rid of them. I would also suggest upgrading your lighting. Nanocustoms.com has some nice options for the 12gallon tank.

 

[imaburch]

Question for everyone.
I have the 2006 24g DX and I want to have some leather, star polyps and anenomes in my tank with some fish ( do not know what kind yet). Should I take out the bioballs and ceramic rings? Really? I have read soooooo many different takes on this. What are the reasons behind doing this?

 

[konrade]

Does your mandarin eat what you feed it?

 

[alyssia]

I love the brain.

 

[gregzbobo]

Originally Posted by imaburch
Question for everyone.
I have the 2006 24g DX and I want to have some leather, star polyps and anenomes in my tank with some fish ( do not know what kind yet). Should I take out the bioballs and ceramic rings? Really? I have read soooooo many different takes on this. What are the reasons behind doing this?
The main reasons for removing "bioballs" and "ceramic rings" is to keep the bio-filtration more natural aka within the live rock. plastic and ceramic bio-media tend to turn into "nitrate factories", they work very well in fish only tanks, but are not well suited toward reef-style tanks.

 

[lagger]

You might be able to keep SPS high up on your tank, but they won't get that color to them like they would under MH. Also you wouldn't be able to keep a maxima, but all others should be fine.

 

[feixjai]

your tank looks very nice. i understand the whole tang thing and i use to have a baby yellow tang in my 24 until i traded it for store credit. and i see pics of your maroon. i want one so badly

 

[shark_bait]

My mandrin eats like a champ! I've had him for about 4 months now, and he attacks the mysid shrimp I feed everytime I feed the tank. If you are interested in a mandrin, I would ask the store to show him eating mysid shrimp or brine shrimp first. If the mandrin eats at the store, then you know he'll accept food. If he doesn't, stay away, especially in a nano environment. There is probably not enough pods for the fish to eat in a small tank if he won't accept mysid. or brine shrimp.