For a Reef....

[swims withthe fishes]

i'm planning to setup a new reef in the next 2 months... i want to do a low light reef with feathers, pollyps, mushrooms and sponge. i'm thinking a 33L or a 40L with a dual sttrip NO. I don't want any fish period, the only inhabitant i'm stuck on putting in the system is a mantis shrimp. other than the fact that he will make playtime of my crustaceans, is there anything i need to consider about them before i place my order for the bugger?

the setup plan is as follows.

33Lor40L
AS SeaClone100
Dualstrip 48" NO lights
2 aquaclear 30's
2 MJ 400's
Fiji LR 25lbs-(33L) 30lbs-(40L)
40lbs LS

 

[nubreefer]

Make sure you glue your corals down with super glue gel or something safe. I'm not sure if that stuff is ok for mantis, but it is for reefs. Mantids tend to redecorate.

 

[swims withthe fishes]

thats a good point, i was reading how they are sensative to little things like waxing the floor, how does gluing your corals down affect them?

 

[nubreefer]

Well I'm not sure that it would, because a lot of people use super glue gel in their aquaria. However it would make it tougher for them to rip the corals from the rocks and burry them to rot in the sandbed.

 

[Ms. K]

I used super glue to secure some frags in my mantis tank, and everything is A-OK..no problems whatsoever! I would highly recommend gluing, especially if your frags will be anywhere near the bottom of the tank. I'd also put some rock rubble in the tank, so that thee mantis will have lots to choose from and may be less inclined to grab your corals.