30ish Gallon Cube advice...

[WinnipegDragon]

Hello everyone.

I'm in the process (and have been since last fall) of setting up a 120g SPS reef, but I've decided to make the display a three-tank affair, with a pair of 22" L x 18" D x 20" H semi-cubes flanking the main DT. These will share a common sump/skimmer arrangement.

My wife has already claimed one cube for seahorses and I've been given free run to go FOWLR on the other. I just have to decide what to stock with.

I'd dearly love to have an eel, but I know the 22" length is really pushing it for most species. I'd also considered a lionfish but again, I'm not sure there is enough swimming space.

Would you consider, say, a FuManchu Lionfish and a Golden Dwarf Moray acceptable for this size tank?

 

[cloob]

I have a baby dwarf lion in my BC29 and love it!

 

[Grouperhead]

I think that'd be ok for those two. A golden dwarf and a flame hawk would look very nice also. Let us know what you end up going with.

 

[WinnipegDragon]

Yeah the hawkfish were on my list too. I love the longnose and flames.

Given the additional water volume (looking at about 230g including the sump), would I be able to do eel, hawk and lion?

Now that I think about it, these two new cubes are going to make my skimmer undersized, I'm using a EuroReef RS-180

 

[WinnipegDragon]

After some more reading the Seahorses are out of the other tank (temperature difference is too great), so I now have two 30ish gallon tanks to go FOWLR with

How about these combinations?

Tank One:
Coral Beauty
Flame Hawk
Golden Dwarf Moray (or other tiny eel)

Tank Two:
Longnose Hawk
Flame Angel
FuManchu or Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish

If I had to drop one in each, I think I would likely drop the Coral Beauty and the Longnose Hawk.

 

[LisaD]

If you want something most of your non-fish-geek friends probably have never seen, I'd put a pair of leaf fish in one tank, along with some compatible tankmates. fu manchu would be okay here, but not the fuzzy dwarf (it would outcompete leaf fish). longnose hawk would be okay, I think.

there is a good chance fu manchu and leaf fish may need live food permanently.

if your wife wants seahorses, she can have a stand alone smaller tank. however, I disagree with the folks that claim a seahorse tank must be 74 or 72 degrees for tropical, shallower water species. A tank with PC lighting, where you can keep the temperature under 80 degrees is fine. (BTW, I am a moderator on one of the popular seahorse sites and have kept them since 2003).

 

[WinnipegDragon]

Yeah, I was considering something like a Biocube 29g for the seahorses. They seem to be pretty decent setups for horses: fairly tall, lowish flow, decent but not high lighting, reasonable size and decent filtration with the skimmer options.

 

[LisaD]

I haven't tried one, or evaluated it for seahorses, but from your description, sounds like a good system for seahorses.

The most important thing, IMO:

1) buy healthy, captive bred stock trained to eat frozen mysis
2) provide a proper diet with at least daily feedings
3) appropriate tankmates
4) enough room, good water conditions, low flow
5) avoid extreme temperature fluctuations, keep below 80

If all these conditions are met, I've found seahorses to be quite hardy and pretty long lived.

 

[WinnipegDragon]

Yeah the horses will be a while off. I need to get this reef up and running first.

I technically started last summer and I still have no stand to give you an idea of my 'progress'

 

[Grouperhead]

I think the cb/flame/golden dwarf will be sweet. You'll have an array of colors in that tank that will leave people speachless. Just make sure your tank is properly established before adding the cb. Good luck.

 

[WinnipegDragon]

Oh for sure. I refuse to rush this tank.

 

[Grouperhead]

Let us know how it goes. We're going to want pics too.

 

[WinnipegDragon]

Yeah, sometime in 2009 at this rate

My little red house will take you to my build log so far. It's the stand that's holding everything up oddly enough...