smithii new stocking questions

[beelzebob]

so...

i have just set up a 18 gallon tall. currently it houses;

20lbs black sand

20lbs live rock

old antique (id say relic of the early 90's) HOB skimmer rated for 40gal (got it used for 25 bucks!)

magnum HOB cannister (mainly for flow, no media, although i am running a micron filter on and off)

96w 10.000k & 50/50 coralife compact

2 scarlet hermits

4 turbo snails.



i set the tank up for a small mantis shrimp.(G. Smithii)


(dr roy if you see this, can i get some reaffirmation that this is an adiquate home for my new lil homie?)

i also would like to add some inverts like mushrooms, star polyps and zoa's.

there inlies my question. being that my lighting is only 96w and 10,000k i know my selection will be limited.

i wanted to know if after a couple more months if i could add something like a tulip or small carpet anenomie.

also as far as zoos and mushrooms go, whats good (and cool) for a newb? in a tank w/ a mantis?

 

[mickey85]

a 96 watt bulb on an 18 gallon tank is about 5 wpg, which should be more than enough for any softy.

 

[Gonodactylus]

I don't see why a G. smithii would not do well in this system provided it is well run in and stable. Being a tall tank, the equation for lighting will be a bit different, but that won't affect the stomatopod. Be careful which anemones you put in the system. Some of the more nasty species can kill stomatopods.

Roy

 

[Fuegofish777]

watts per gallon is not a very good way to calculate light IMO, but you should be fine with some polyps and shrooms. for example, you could have a 1 gal tank with 20w of light...thats 20watts per gallon, doesnt mean you'll be able to keep any corals alive. you could always go with some button polyps, or GSP. you would probably be ok with some LPS if you keep them near the top.

 

[beelzebob]

G'DARN excited ill tell ya what!

 

[Fuegofish777]

Hey how do you like that black sand?

 

[beelzebob]

the black sand is "gangsta" homie.

i frekin hate white. plus every one i know just got the whitest stuff they could.

lemmings:smokin:

 

[Gonodactylus]

The only problem with black sand can be its origin and how sharp it is. Some black sands are volcanic in origin and can be very sharp. If several months after a molt you notice the setae of the uropods and the antennal scales starting to wear or be missing (especially the posterior edge), the sand may be too abrasive and I would consider going to a more worn, rounder product.

Roy

 

[beelzebob]

very very fine round pellets. stuffs pretty cool.

and i got it mixed about 70/30 with lil black rocks,

so that my lil G. Smithii has better burrowing capabilities, i.e. more support?!?

a good assumption i hope

 

[ZC]

any pics?

 

[beelzebob]

G. Smithii goes in on fri. (Supposed to be today but its snowed a foot in the past 5 hrs)

then i gotta borrow my boys DC, and then ill be posting pics fo so!

 

[Fuegofish777]

ya, i've really been thinking about trying the black sand for my future tank. glad to hear you like it. have you noticed any difference in buffering ability? what brand did you use?

 

[beelzebob]

my lfs has a big bin of it.


i never used anything other than black sand (including my current 3 tanks) so i really couldn't offer a comparrison.


all the brand name stuff is lke silica or other weird ****. it took me a long while to find it, and nowmy lfs keeps about 50lbs on hand "por la Bob"

and its actual sand, not just lil pieces of 1 type of rock

 

[Fuegofish777]

wish mine had that....