Avalon_Princess
11/15/2009, 09:12 PM
'Dorm' in inverted commas as I'm Australian and we don't have dorms. However I will be going to university in less than three months and living on campus at a residential college (resi for short). I really don't want to go without a fish tank of some sort, I've never lived without pets of some form and I don't want to give them up now, especially when I'm already moving inland away from beaches and rockpools. The resi I've applied for does allow fishtanks, and doesn't appear to have a limit of size. Though obviously it'll be small. I'm thinking I'll have two setups, I'll leave my current set up pretty much as is at home, and then have a small 27l (7.2g) setup that moves back and forth.
My current set up is a 65l (17.3g) bare bottom tank run by a 100l/ph canister filter, a 100w heater and a 150w Metal Halide with 20K globe. I don't keep any fish, the livestock consists of a hermit crab, two types of zoanthids, various morphs, a favia, a button coral and various hitch hiker anthelia, colt and zoanthids spotted around. The tank is about five months old now and very stable, there's coralline growing on every available surface swarms of pods and many fat bristle worms as well as a multitude of sponges and feather dusters. Oh and 10.5kg (23.1 lbs) of liverock.
So I was thinking for a smaller set up I'd use a 30cm (12") cube with one of the larger 4kg (8.8 lbs) pieces of LR, with a small power head or similar for movement maybe 600 l/ph (160 g/ph) of water movement, a small 25w heater (central heating is used at the uni) and 48w of power compact lighting. Then I'd probably leave the zoanthids, button coral and favia in the current tank and just take the morphs with me. Once again no fish, though I'd probably take the hermit crab, I've become very attached to Dandy.
So then when I come home on holidays I can just stick the morphs in the big tank and leave the LR in a tub with heater and power head and the light on top, rather then needing to totally set the tank back up again. All up there would be eight moves per year unless I find a way I can stay in my room over the holidays.
So would that work? I'm not into the partying scene at all and I don't drink, can't stand the smell, can't stand the taste, so seems reasonable to just avoid it. So there's little chance of bear being poured in etc.
The current tank I have needs less maintenance then my beta's tank does, and I prefer it infinitely, I love watching the corals and the little critters that turn up.
My current set up is a 65l (17.3g) bare bottom tank run by a 100l/ph canister filter, a 100w heater and a 150w Metal Halide with 20K globe. I don't keep any fish, the livestock consists of a hermit crab, two types of zoanthids, various morphs, a favia, a button coral and various hitch hiker anthelia, colt and zoanthids spotted around. The tank is about five months old now and very stable, there's coralline growing on every available surface swarms of pods and many fat bristle worms as well as a multitude of sponges and feather dusters. Oh and 10.5kg (23.1 lbs) of liverock.
So I was thinking for a smaller set up I'd use a 30cm (12") cube with one of the larger 4kg (8.8 lbs) pieces of LR, with a small power head or similar for movement maybe 600 l/ph (160 g/ph) of water movement, a small 25w heater (central heating is used at the uni) and 48w of power compact lighting. Then I'd probably leave the zoanthids, button coral and favia in the current tank and just take the morphs with me. Once again no fish, though I'd probably take the hermit crab, I've become very attached to Dandy.
So then when I come home on holidays I can just stick the morphs in the big tank and leave the LR in a tub with heater and power head and the light on top, rather then needing to totally set the tank back up again. All up there would be eight moves per year unless I find a way I can stay in my room over the holidays.
So would that work? I'm not into the partying scene at all and I don't drink, can't stand the smell, can't stand the taste, so seems reasonable to just avoid it. So there's little chance of bear being poured in etc.
The current tank I have needs less maintenance then my beta's tank does, and I prefer it infinitely, I love watching the corals and the little critters that turn up.