Peacock mantis paradise!

[Sh0velman]

Allright folks! Im determined to get a list of all the necessary materials and costs down for my first salt water tank. More importantly, its going to be what every peacock mantis could ever dream of! LETS GET IT ON!

First the tank size will be a 40 gallon breeder tank with an acrylic sheet at the bottom to prevent mining accidents!
ONTO THE BUILD IDEA!

First off, the base of the scape will be base rock with some LR to seed it up!

The sand that was recommended to me by Stephlionfish was CaribSea Aragonite seaflor special grade found here: http://www.caribsea.com/pages/buy_it/dryaragonite/buy_specialreefsand.html

Next is the heaters. As far as heaters go i need recommendations. What is a good brand for a good price, that is also reliable?

Now with a thermometer that Steph also showed me here: http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=12089&rel=1

Here's the sea salt mix i was also referred too: http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4856

Test kit: http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4452

Refractometer: http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4690+9957&pcatid=9957

now for the two doozies... the RO DI system and the Protein skimmer...

what would be recommended for a good RO DI system and protein skimmer for such a tank? Suggestions are welcome!

so yeah this is the idea so far please feel free to comment and suggest other products and what not!

 

[King Nikon]

Test kit:
Same one I got. Works great but I stopped using it a long time ago because nothing ever changes in my tanks that those measure. But that's because they are mature tanks now.

Sand:
Caribbean Seaflor grade special sand is great, that's what I use in my mantis tank but I mixed it with some fine sand too. In my reef tank it's all seaflor grade, I previous had Fiji Pink but I liked the way this was in my mantis tank so I changed it all to that and seeded with some of my old sand.

Refractometer:
I've got the same refractometer, make sure when you use it to test salinity to always calibrate it under RO or tap water first. I have to adjust mine every time to get an accurate reading.

Thermometer:
As for a thermometer, I actually bought an IR thermometer from Amazon a while ago so I could use it on multiple tanks. But right now it seems like they are $20. I bought mine for like $10.

Salt mix:
If you're gonna go with Instant Ocean, make sure you get the reef crystals. It will mix closer to what you should be shooting for. Personally I use Red Sea Coral Pro salt. Mainly because I use it in my reef tank as well but I like it because it mixes at the perfect dkh / magnesium / calcium / ph and it's not cloudy at all.

Heater:
On both my tanks I have a via aqua heater, I like these because the heater is titanium and not glass so I'm not afraid of it breaking. They also have an extra temperature probe to better control temperature, but what was the best imo is that the control for the temp range is on a little control pod instead of the heater itself. Pretty sure they are discontinued now. They were a great price from Marine Depot.

RODI machine:
Check out http://www.airwaterice.com/ that's where I got mine. You can get one for like $100 that hooks up to your sink. I've had one for 2 years now and my water still comes out at 0 TDS. It takes a little while to make water but just make some ahead of time every few days and you will never run out.

Skimmer:
I don't know much, all I know is the one in my reef tank works great and the one I made for my mantis tank works well for being a simple airstone driven skimmer.

Rocks:
Make sure you REALLY cure your rocks. Since you can't put a cleanup crew in a peacock tank you don't want any phosphates around or you are going to have serious algae problems.

 

[StephLionfish]

Sounds like an exciting build! ^^
BTW, have you seen all the " Search for a Peacock Mantis" threads? lol You might want to creep in those a little.

 

[Sh0velman]

Well, also wondering what kind of lighting id need for this 40 gallon breeder. Ideally id love to put some easy softies in (xenia, GSP, mushrooms, zoas) but at the same time not to harsh of lighting that might cause problems for the mantis? Would a dual t5 hood with one bluer bulb and a red -ish bulb do fine?
:hmm3: