Hi everyone. I've been out of the hobby for a couple of years after a tank went south while I was on vacation. It's time to get back in.
I'm thinking of getting this 20 gal (18.5 gal display) peninsula tank to place on a counter dividing the kitchen and dining room. At the tank's mature stage, I'd like it to feature 2 small clowns, an anemone (bubble tip?), a small goby and pistol shrimp combo, a pencil urchin, and 10-15 snails and hermit crabs. Besides the anemone, I'm not planning on any other corals. I'm inexperienced with corals, but would be interested if you have a couple beginner softies. Upkeep: planning on a 4.5 gal water change every 2 weeks.
I've had 2 other saltwater builds and still consider myself a beginning reefer. I had a 40 gal breeder and a Red Sea nano with a couple of failed attempts at some softies. For this tank, I'm really hoping to learn more about building a tank right from the ground-up. I'm going for a nano tank - because it fits within my space and budget at the moment. The clown fish / host anemone mix is something my 5-yr old son and I have eyed for a while, and thought we'd give it a go.
Enough talk - here's the main parts of the new build. Any advice is welcome! For the whole, system, I'm looking to spend less than $1K (I already have a light).
Can anyone refer me to a successful nano tank with anemone / clown fish / soft corals? Simple and relatively easy is best - since I'm not that experienced yet! I'd rather emulate someone else's path to success than make my own from scratch!
I'm hoping to use this tank to build my confidence in my hobby, have a good showpiece in high-trafficked space in the house, and have a good father-son science project with my 5 year old. If this tank goes well, I look forward to bigger and better builds. I hope the advice I can find here will get us off to a solid start!
Happy reefing everyone!
- Mike
I'm thinking of getting this 20 gal (18.5 gal display) peninsula tank to place on a counter dividing the kitchen and dining room. At the tank's mature stage, I'd like it to feature 2 small clowns, an anemone (bubble tip?), a small goby and pistol shrimp combo, a pencil urchin, and 10-15 snails and hermit crabs. Besides the anemone, I'm not planning on any other corals. I'm inexperienced with corals, but would be interested if you have a couple beginner softies. Upkeep: planning on a 4.5 gal water change every 2 weeks.
I've had 2 other saltwater builds and still consider myself a beginning reefer. I had a 40 gal breeder and a Red Sea nano with a couple of failed attempts at some softies. For this tank, I'm really hoping to learn more about building a tank right from the ground-up. I'm going for a nano tank - because it fits within my space and budget at the moment. The clown fish / host anemone mix is something my 5-yr old son and I have eyed for a while, and thought we'd give it a go.
Enough talk - here's the main parts of the new build. Any advice is welcome! For the whole, system, I'm looking to spend less than $1K (I already have a light).
- Tank: 20 gal fiji peninsula | https://www.fijicube.com/products/18-5-gallon-rimless-aio-glass-nano-tank-fiji-cube
- I plan to build my own mesh top
- Heater: BRS titanium 100 watt | https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/titanium-aquarium-heater-system-bulk-reef-supply.html
- Protein Skimmer: Tunze Comline 9004 | https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/tunze-comline-doc-skimmer-9004.html
- Or - should I get the Tunze with DC controller? | https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/comline-doc-skimmer-9004-dc-tunze.html
- Light: Coral Box Moon LED Plus (I own this light from my last build). Is it good enough for an anemone? | https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/nano-light-plus/
- Flow: Maxspect 2350 | https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/gyre-xf330-pump-only-2350-gph-maxspect.html
- Filtration: replace filter socks with a slide-in tray to hold mechanical and chemical filtration. Looking for advice here . . . . I've never dealt with filtration socks and I'm not sure I want to start.
- Live Rock: ~15 lbs. I'd like to get ~5 lbs of nice purple algae rock from a club member and add in ~10 lbs of dry rock.
- Sand: 10 lb live sand: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/special-grade-arag-alive-live-reef-sand-caribsea.html
- Salt: Instant Ocean Reef https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/instant-ocean-reef-crystals-salt-mix.html
Can anyone refer me to a successful nano tank with anemone / clown fish / soft corals? Simple and relatively easy is best - since I'm not that experienced yet! I'd rather emulate someone else's path to success than make my own from scratch!
I'm hoping to use this tank to build my confidence in my hobby, have a good showpiece in high-trafficked space in the house, and have a good father-son science project with my 5 year old. If this tank goes well, I look forward to bigger and better builds. I hope the advice I can find here will get us off to a solid start!
Happy reefing everyone!
- Mike