Tank planning for O. scyallarus

[biomekanic]

As I mentioned in another post, my wife wants an O. scyallarus of her own (we previously had one, and when the tank cracked (part of the AC500 broke and and hit the tank) we had to give him away.

Right now, we're considering three options:
24g Nanocube deluxe
20L
or a 40g breeder.
While I know the 40g would be best, space is an issue.

Would the nanocube provide enough room for the stomatopod to roam around, or would the 20L be better for that?

 

[nubreefer]

I would go with the 20L. The shape is cooler and you can put exactly what you want on it instead of paying out the wazoo for substandard lighting and included filtration. Now you can spend the money that you saved buying a 20L(supposing it's glass) on good lighting and whatever else your heart desires.

Now I know they don't require good lighting, but it looks pretty and you can put some coral in there if you stick it on real good and your OS doesn't decide to re-deccorate(sp?). Also, it seems to me I can't really remember whether 20 glass or 40 glass is thick enough to withstand the attack of an adult OS. Something to look into.

A 40g would be best if you're not terribly dilligent about your water quality, but it looks to me like you know what you're doing. On the other hand I too know the woes of spacial issues, but if you have enough room for the footprint or a little extra wall space after rearranging the furniture I think you'd be happier with a 40g breeder and it'd be super easy to go to menards or home depot and buy a workbench/countertop/use your imagination to support said tank. This will allow for a less crowded tank and a deeper sandbed. Since you don't have to support much bioload you'll only need about 20-25lbs of LR, just don't go putting a ton of fish in there too.

If you'll excuse me, it's time I catch up on my Red vs. Blue episodes. "See ya Donut."

 

[biomekanic]

Hmmm... that's what I thought.
My wife wants xenia too, now to see how little light I can get away with for xenia...
I know some local woodworkers, and Envision Acrlyics has members in my reef club so we get a nice deal. A 45g breeder sounds good.
I was going to use the "Everyone, stop fighting! Stop fighting!" speech for my sig, but alas, it's too big.
But I have lived as few men have dared to dream.

 

[nubreefer]

I think the key with xenia is ph, they stop pulsing at 8.3. Though they do appreciate lighting I've seen them survive in nothing special. As long as a dark burrow is provided for your mantis it will be healthy under fairly intense lighting.

Also, since you know folks in acrylics it'd be fine to get a 20L with thicker panes.

 

[Uriel]

I have my O. Scyllarus in a 12 g eclipse for now. He seems very content (I switched out the crappy light for a 13 watt 50/50) with the space, digging himself a little burrow under a long,flat pice of LR (held up by two other pieces, 'lean-to' style.
I am going to move him into the mantis hotel, along with my tern and Platy in a month or so, freeing up
2 12 G eclipse and a 6 (for Lo pan N wenn, I think... ). I will then have 2 quarantine tanks for my future reef tank.

The O Scyllarus will have aprox 20 gallons, the tern 20, and the platy 15 in the new set-up.


-Ron