20Gal long setup pictures

[bottlecapp09]

heres a bigger picture
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there is about 6 of these guys about the size of a dime.

 

[Rosseau]

I think you've got an aiptasia anemone.

Don't be too excited though!

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/aiptasia/aiptasia.htm

 

[bottlecapp09]

alright yeh i am starting to think you are right after reading that. I am not to worried because they said some red footed hermits or peppermints will eat them also. Alil upset about this if they are anemones but o well i will have it taken care of.

 

[littlefish72]

they are easy to get rid of..........peppermints will eat small ones and joe's juice will take care of the big ones...........just be glad it's not majano.........I hate those freaking things

 

[bottlecapp09]

they arnt to big. some i cant find anymore, so i dont know where they went

 

[bottlecapp09]

they are glass anemones, they moved from the LR to my substrate nothing a peppermint shrimp can snack on. I dont see anymore in my tank but i was able to remove them by lifting up the piece or cushed coral they were on.

 

[bottlecapp09]

Heres some updated pictures, I added an auto fill so when evaporation occurs I wont need to add any water in until the bottle runs out.

I am also cleaning out the refugium and replacing it with LR.

 

[Rosseau]

Can you show us how your auto fill works?

 

[bottlecapp09]

yep

 

[bottlecapp09]

Alright, sometimes I am not home for acouple days and my tank evaps really quickly.
As the water level drops below the tube the bottle will release enough water to where the end of the tube is submerged. Gavity prevents the botttle from completely emptying. Its a cheap way to create a costum autofill.

 

[jvdb]

What will work from home depot are power compact (spiral bulbs). Though, the spectral ouput of these also varies, be sure to read up on them before purchasing.

Melev has a great PC bulb comparo, it's better to get the flood light versions (basically the same spiral PC bulb, but with the reflector built in) you just have to get the right color spectrum:

http://www.melevsreef.com/fuge_bulb.html

 

[bottlecapp09]

Yeh I was looking into them, but I decided I am going to go with T5 fixtures from homedepot

 

[RumLad]

Be careful of the spectrum of light that the HD T5 's put out. I have only seen lights that run up to 6500k( aka daylight bulbs). That will make them very good for growing cheato, or hair algea, but not much else. You can look for replacement bulbs at reekgeek.com. Check out the geismann (sp?) replacements. Will you be building a canopy for them? If so, look at the retrofit kits on reefggek as well. It may be better in the long run.

 

[bottlecapp09]

Hey guys, so my tank has been setup for 22days which is 3weeks and 1 day. I was wondering what you guys think if a good combination of fish. I want to do one clown fish and lets say 3 green chromis. Dose anyone have any objections to this or suggestions to what i should do. Also I am switching out the Algea to pack my refugium with LR.
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My lights are a 65watt Coral Compact 50/50 and a single 14watt fluorescent light strip. So the grand total is 5.266watts per gallon. Soon to replace the fluorescent light with two T5 lights.

 

[Alaska_Phil]

I think 1 clown and 3 chromis would be a pretty heavy load on a 20 gal. Especially if you want corals too. Plus, the chromis are fast active swimmers and would be pretty cramped in there. I have 1 occillarious clown, 1 rainfords goby, 1 antenna goby and a peppermint shrimp.

You're current lighting is almost identical to mine, I've got the same 65W Coralife and an AGA 20W NO strip. I'm using a 10,000k in the 65W and an Actinic in the NO strip. I'm planning to upgrade to an AH Supply 2x55W set-up soon. Although my encrusting monti is growing fast, and I've recently found an volunteer SPS of some sort that's doubled in size in the past month...so how much better can it get?

Phil

 

[bottlecapp09]

hey phil thaks for the suggestions i appreciate that. I like the light setup i have it will be sufficient for the time being until I step it up. That 2x55watt bulbs will be very nice.

 

[bottlecapp09]

Also what type of lighting do clams require? I am just a little curious about them.

 

[zma21]

Clams require lots of light, and lots of calcium.

 

[bottlecapp09]

thought so, thanks zma21.

 

[InsaneClownFish]

That's right, clams need pretty intense lighting. They use calcium to build their shells. They also make use of trace amounts of magnesium and even iodine(although you probably should NEVER does iodine unless you really know what you are doing..and it's not a requirement of keeping clams).

Clams over 3 inches are considered significantly hardier than clams under 3 inches. Clams over 3 inches derive all of their "food" from light(radiation). Clams under 3 inches are alot more sensitive as they require supplemental feedings of phytoplankton, along with the intense light, to sustain and grow.

Clams are natural water filterers, but they shouldn't be used for this purpose. It's been surmised they actually like a small amount of nitrate in the water. However, they do thrive in a "clean" tank.

There are also very specific "keeping" requirements for each type of clam. Check out the Tricand and Mollusks forum for all the answers.