Stevebk's NanoCube

[stevebk]

Well, I've got ~2.5 watts per gallon on the 10 actual gallons in the display on this tank. But like I said, with this design the corals all get to be close to the light. To keep these exact species in 30 gallons, I'd go with probably twice that because of the longer depth of the tank. So ~5 watts per gallon times 30 gallons is 150 watts. You may be able to get away with 2 of the 65 watt strips to have 130 watts, or you may add another bulb and have even more lighting. Or you could explore VHO the larger tank, not sure which will give you more bang for the buck. However, I'm not an expert on all this; it's just what I'd do. Hope that helps.

 

[katfish22]

Great tank! Its encouraging to see. I've been battling the lighting issue. Good to see your successes. Would it be too much trouble to list out all that you have in there? Also, has your clown hosted with anything?
Kat

 

[stevebk]

Kat- Glad you like the tank. How's your nanocube going? What light issues have you been having? Have you got pictures? I'd be happy to list all the stuff I've got. Here goes...
~8 lbs. live rock, 1 inch crushed puka sand
Fish: 1 Oscellaris Clown, 1 yellow clown goby, 1 sixline wrasse
Corals: Mushrooms- green, red, purple; Star polyps- 3 varieties (2 green and one blonde); Button polyps- brown, yellow; finger leather; pagoda cup coral; zooanthids- 3 colors (brown w/orange center, white w/peach center, orange w/green and blue center); branching hammer coral; silvertip xenia... hmm, I think that's all.
Feather Caulerpa (I wouldn't add this again though...)
Cleanup: 8 blueleg hermits; 4 redleg hermits (?); 2 astrea snails (and their babies- probably 8?); 6 burrowing snails; 2 bumblebee snails; 2 black snails I can't identify; 1 emerald crab
I think that's everything. Hope your tank is going well!

 

[katfish22]

Great info! My tank is relatively new (2 mos old) the extent of my experience and knowledge! Cycled quickly with lr & ls. I have about 10 lbs lr, waving xenia, 1 zoo (purple), green star polyps, cleaner shrimp and 3 hermit crabs.
Hitchhikers include sea squirt, 4 or 5 tiny brittle starfish, fan worms (2 bigger and lots of small white ones) and a lot of other things.
Do you have problems with jelly combs or finger-like hydroids? Should I get rid of the jelly combs? There are 5 now. How do you get rid of the hydroids? I also found some really strange snails. Wondering if they are predatory or not. Trying to get pics but they are small. They run from the light...is that normal?
I added a minijet 404 and took out the bio balls and ceramic rings too but the lfs said the rings should be put back for the necessary bacteria.
Light issue: whether there is enough light or a bta for a clown. Thinking about getting a toadstool or hairy mushroom instead. Everybody has a different opion.
Heres a pic of my tank from a couple weeks ago...before I got rid of the algae on the back. (disclaimer!)

 

[stevebk]

Great tank! It looks like you got ahold of some great rock with all that coralline and those hitchhikers. My clownfish doesn't host in the hammer coral, but I think that's just because he's tank raised. I have seen clowns in branching hammer and other euphyllia species before, so you may consider that instead of a BTA. I'm skeptical on anemones in tanks at all, but especially in tanks this size. But like you say, we all have our opinion. As far as your pest problems, I'm not too qualified to speculate on that. I imagine that the jelly-combs you mention are actually the medusa from the hydroid colony, but that's about the extent of my knowledge. Personally, I'd get rid of them, but I have no idea how. :nope: I would also leave out the ceramics- the bacteria they grow are present and more abundant on your live rock, and your LFS should know that. 10 lbs of rock is more than enough to sustain that tank. Keep us posted on the tank progress, and best of luck!