New peacock build!

sigmapiguy1061

sigmapiguy1061

New member
Well I finally decided to set up a mantis tank. All it took was a good deal off Craigslist.

gymapebu.jpg


40B with stand for $50. It's easy to find the tanks but the stands aren't easy to find on a deal.

Still deciding how I'm going to build it. I wish I had room next to my reef so i can use it's sump, but there's just no room :(

usabu5u8.jpg


So please, I'm open ears for all of you experienced mantis owners!


"No rain, no rainbow"


"No rain, no rainbow"
 
Those lights look ridiculously bright for a peacock. If you intend on keeping a peacock mantis you'll need to cut back the lights a lot or consider a different kind of mantis. Without more details on the setup that's prob about the only feedback you'll get on this forum.
 
Ah ok, I thought that was a before/after pic, nevermind then!

But in that case, if you're still setting up i'd suggest at least a 4" sand bed, PVC in a U shape for a home, and lots of rubble for it to build with.
 
I kinda changed my mind about the sump. My reef is drilled and I'm not trying to worry about 2 sumps.

- Titanium heater
- Aquaclear 70 with a poly pad, ChemiPure elite, and filter floss
- Scheduled water changes
- Spare Koralias for flow

How does that sound?


"No rain, no rainbow"
 
Get a canister filter. I have a 60 EHEIM and it's really great. Water stays nice and clean all the time. I have a 5" Peacock, a couple fish, and lots of hermits and snails to clean up any leftovers. Depending on where you live the heater may or may not be necessary. I haven't ever used one one in South Carolina or here in Las Vegas. Instead of sand you could use very finely crushed coral. It's holds it's shape better and the Peacock can dig in it easier and move it around without clouding up the tank. I used a 3" black PVC pipe elbow with a 2" reducer on each end for the openings and buried it. The mantis will do the rest by building the burrow entrances out of rubble. Mine stacked rocks so well that you can't see the pipe anymore unless you get up close to the tank. It also moved a lot of substrate in and out of the pipe. The 40 B will be perfect. Also get a powerhead and point it towards the surface and glass.
 
I live in Indiana, and I need a heater on my reef, so I'll likely need one in the mantis tank.

I know canister filters are a fish tank staple, but I've never used one. I'll check into one, thanks.


"No rain, no rainbow"
 
Yea, Indy gets cold. You don't want the tank getting below 72*. My EHEIM is an ecco. It has two bio filter media trays along with a prefilter and fine filter. I didn't use the carbon pad because my tank was already established. It's very easy to open up and clean with little mess. I have about 4" of substrate in the middle of the tank and less on the sides. The mantis stacked it up like that on top of the burrow. I also have about 10lbs of live rock. I marked the burrow entrances here. She closes them up at night. I was transitioning the HOP filter in this pic. The green is the canister.
 

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Two questions Gary-in that pic posted above, did you put that larger rock on top or was the mantis strong enough to do that..i have about 4 that size some a little bigger in my tank. question two..can I put a submergable heater in the tank or will the matis crack it.
 
No I put the rock up there to cover the top of the pvc pipe. However, she is strong enough to move rocks about as large as she is. I have seen her do that. If you get a impact resistant plastic heater or metal it should be fine. Don't get glass. And when you put it in there make sure the on and off light is facing the the wall so the mantis can't see it. They seem to want to destroy red lights. Mine chases the laser pointer.
 
Im pretty sure Ive seen her move big rocks and follow the laser pointer on one of the forums. Alright, one last question..filtration. Other than live rock and sand, what filtration do you recommend..i just have a cheap 40g filter hanging on the back. I realize mantis' break up a bunch of food and it can get messy, so do you think that filter will be enough or are there better/preferred options? thanks.
 
You don't need a sump. Just make sure that your filtration is double or more of what the tank volume is. For my 30 gal I have a 60 filter. Sumps are good though. They add water volume but are not necessary for a species only tank with one critter. The water will stay clean even though they are mess eaters. I test mine once per week and do a ten% water change at the same time. Always clean water. Use instant ocean, it dissolves the best from my experience.
 
Dude running a sump is a personal choose in this case. You can absolutely run the tank with hang ons or a canister (look at Kharn’s tanksssssssss). The reason I like sumps is cus it lets you hide everything and if you get carried away with filtration (my favorite) then you’re not over loading the display with wires and boxes and thing and stuff………..

Don’t forget that with most stands you can add a sump latter on down the road if you’d like to. I would not let this be the thing to hold up your build.
 
Ditto. I would just get it up and running with a canister filter since you can hide those easier. I had an HOB for a long time and it's much nicer to not see that big thing hanging off the tank. Either will work just fine though. Like Tundra said, just add a sump later. It takes time to figure out what design you want the sump to be and fine tune the filtration to your liking. Pretty soon you will be buying critters for the sump too haha.
 
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