Thinking about making a suncoral tank...

[Western_reefer]

Like the title says, I'm thinking about turning my 8 gallon biocube into a sun coral tank with different colored sun corals, a few dendros, tube anemones, and maybe a few VERY, VERY easy to keep sea fans/gorgonian. So, the tank is going to be pretty much FULL of sun corals. What do you all think?

[dendro982]

Hi! At last somebody else here with sun corals collection in nano :D

Mine 6g (+7g sump for large skimmer, was 2g):
http://thumb1.webshots.net/t/71/71/2/15/37/2864215370081040121nVUdOU_th.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2864215370081040121nVUdOU)

IMHO, all depends on how are you planning feeding and filtration.

I see 3 1/2 potential problems :D :
1. Filtration.
Amount of food, given for several full sized colonies - not few heads frags - will be at least equivalent of 4 mysis cubes daily.
Unless make full water change after each feeding (by aged water from another tank, and this will be a lot of work), filtration should be able to clean water after that, and reasonably fast, before ammonia spike. Particulates could be removed by fine micron sock, removed after very few hours, but dissolved organics (including oils and lipids) still will be present. Efficient skimmer is the only way I could think of, or skimmer + ozone + a lot of frequently changed carbon. I don't know, if you are planning to take this route.

2. Food and feeding.
For a large amount of sun corals feeding by tweezers is difficult, requiring more time than ordinary human can have. Especially difficult, if there is no room for a hand, holding tweezers.
Squirting food onto polyps will lead to the loss of some food, better remove it, especially between polyps (consider it dental hygiene for corals ;) ).
- I had read about experiment with leaving it to the bristle worms, but have no information how it ended. Doesn't work for me, though.
- This leaves either manual removing (quite a hassle in a long run), or high flow, lifting all of this and moving it to filtration. Rock structure should be open enough to prevent accumulation of the uneaten food under the rock.

Food:
- The easiest way is whole food: mysis, plankton.
Assuming that skimmer works efficiently, this will leave phosphates, that rise fast with such amount of feeding. Options, that I know, are: large amounts of GFO in reactor, liquid phosphate remover and organic carbon dosing. Marcoalgae was covered in no time by oily film and became itself the source of pollution, IMHE.
Downside: expensive in a long run.
- Cheaper, but more polluting, is homemade coral food recipe (chopped raw seafood). Same problems, plus readjustment of skimmer, which will overflow right after feeding.

3. Aiptasia.
I don't know, how you were successful in fighting it (I wasn't), but usual solution - large aiptasia eating fish - is not possible in nano. I tried aiptasia eating aeolid nidibranchs, they disappeared in the tank, and what hatched from their eggs - too. In several tanks.

1/2:
Bristle worms. As long as they are good guys for you, it's OK, but after that...

Some of the encrusting sponges should be removed, and dealing with babies of the coral, that couldn't be neutered, and nobody wants to buy them, and giving them away for a mass of different people will make your home as open to a public, as any animal shelter is - not every family will approve such lack of privacy.
But these are the minor problems, comparing to filtration and feeding.

Post your information, please.
May be I will be able to pick up a good idea for improving my tank. So far I'm planning to take a route of leaving a couple of frags of every kind, return main mass to LFS, and do feeding by tweezers.

[slcw]

u can have a look at mine (pretty much what u have in mind)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?p=2316009&page=5

[dendro982]

Tube anemone in the same tank:
Could be a problem.

1. Finding a very small colorful tube anemone. What you can see open in LFS, could become 2-3x larger same day in your tank. At least mine did. I had to re-do half of aquascaping in 90g tank to accommodate it.
All small tube anemones, I've ever seen in LFS, were too big.

2. It has own ideas about own environment and may try travel in search of suitable space. May not.
Mine was very particular about pattern of flow (uplifting, slightly moving tentacles) and water qualty - much, much higher than in sun corals tank after feeding. It will survive, but extension is much better and it is open for longer time, than in tank with lesser water quality.

Eventually moved it to own 12g Nano Cube with Subcurrent internal filter/ surface skimmer with dual LockLine outflows for creating appropriate flow.
Mine looked 5" size (in diameter), same day in my tank it became 11", and year later in better environment is ~17", too big already for 12g cube, even with back chambers removed. I have seen once purple with green center tube anemone of the same size, in LFS.

And nobody wants to take a large tube anemone in exchange for much smaller :p

http://thumb1.webshots.net/t/63/563/4/49/67/2342449670081040121LkfdEU_th.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2342449670081040121LkfdEU) http://thumb1.webshots.net/t/72/172/9/91/12/2241991120081040121gFAmOv_th.jpg (http://pets.webshots.com/photo/2241991120081040121gFAmOv)

But keeping it is a dream, comparing to all non-photosynthetic corals - feed like LPS, less light. It's all. Love it!
Have to say, that one large moving animal in the tank makes visual impact, when walking into the room. Most bang for your buck

BTW, it doesn't use Tahitian Moon black sand for building tube, finest sea sand only (mine was CaribSea Ocean Direct). This particular tube anemone prefers space between rocks and glass with sand.;)

[Western_reefer]

Ok, thanks for the info dendro982!! Will a Red Sea Classic Berlin Skimmer w/ pump (Odyssea WP-500) work? I can get one from a local for $40. Will that skimmer be enough for the 8 gall? Here is a link to one.
http://www.dtpetsupplies.com/catalog/product_info.php?language=en&currency=USD&products_id=2747

[Western_reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14061668#post14061668 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by slcw
u can have a look at mine (pretty much what u have in mind)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?p=2316009&page=5
WOW!! AMAZING tank!! I'm going to start reading it right now.

[dendro982]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14062679#post14062679 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Western_reefer
Will a Red Sea Classic Berlin Skimmer w/ pump (Odyssea WP-500) work? I can get one from a local for $40. Will that skimmer be enough for the 8 gall?
Sorry, can't help, skimmers don't work efficiently for me.
When I was at my wits end, I placed 250g rated skimmer on 6g tank:

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g78/dendro982/Some%20of%20the%20tanks/6g%20suns%20tank/Nov15_08ASMG3on6gsuns.jpg
good or bad, it must work for such volume. It made not much difference.

Other small sun corals tanks:
vaporize (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=11073248#post11073248), Qckwzrd (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=11985889), evilervin (http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?t=189966&page=3).

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Western_reefer]

Ok. Hey dendro982, you said you want to lower your collection? Give them to me!:D They will be in good hands and if you ever need a frag, you can get em from me.:D

[dendro982]

Glad to :D , IF: you provide all required permissions, certification, mailing supplies, including heat packets, and postage :lol:

[Western_reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14068285#post14068285 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dendro982
Glad to :D , IF: you provide all required permissions, certification, mailing supplies, including heat packets, and postage :lol:
How much will it cost to ship to 95605?(California, USA)

[dendro982]

Sorry, I thought it was a joke. :worried2:
If seriously, I have no time to be involved in shipping (and ordering supplies, nor space for their storage).

Especially papers for the crossing border. If memory serves, LPS are included in Appendix II CITES, that will require special permission, certificate of health, issued by some Ministry, and something else for anything of the animal or plant origin, crossing the border.

Believe the fellow reefer on a budget, locally is much cheaper. Especially with such rich offers for online ordering, as in US.
If this is acceptable for you, you may place "Wanted free frags" in classifieds here, in craiglist or anywhere locally, and browse local offers.

Sorry :o

[Western_reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14072348#post14072348 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dendro982
Sorry, I thought it was a joke. :worried2:
If seriously, I have no time to be involved in shipping (and ordering supplies, nor space for their storage).

Especially papers for the crossing border. If memory serves, LPS are included in Appendix II CITES, that will require special permission, certificate of health, issued by some Ministry, and something else for anything of the animal or plant origin, crossing the border.

Believe the fellow reefer on a budget, locally is much cheaper. Especially with such rich offers for online ordering, as in US.
If this is acceptable for you, you may place "Wanted free frags" in classifieds here, in craiglist or anywhere locally, and browse local offers.

Sorry :o
lol I had no idea that you'd have to do all that to ship a animal across the border. I'll get sun corals locally then. Its alright. lol