Thinkin about a mantis!

[God.]

I have a 55 gal freshwater tank in my dinning room and a 8 gal biocube in my room. after falling in love with SW i would like to convert my 55 gal to a mantis tank! I'm thinking of getting a peacock. i have a few questions.

1. is my light sufficient?
a. 2 1-light fixtures with 15w 18000K Power-GLO (says on the box "high intensity bulb, strong in the blue region of the spectrum, beneficial for the proper photosynthesis of corals,inverts and other lower species.")

2. Is my filtration sufficient?
b. 2 HOB penguin 350 biowheel. will probably run purigen and chemipure. maybe remove the stock filters in 1 and turn into a minifuge? would i need a skimmer? if so what would be sufficient for a 55gal (typical dimensions) i dont know much about skimmers due to the fact i didnt put on on my nano reef.

I've researched as much as i can without asking questions so here i am. planning 2-4" DSB across with PVC Y-shaped and U-shaped burrows. wide enough for him to turn around in. any idea on a great substrate? just plane jane sand or something a little chunky like crushed coral?

Thanks for all the feedback and assistance!!

[justinl]

For the most part, that will be sufficient imo.

-lighting: the less the better. your current system is fine. The only limit for peacocks is *too much* light. they're fairly deepwater species and are not used to lots of full spectrum light. and they are not photosynthetic.

- Your HOB filtration is fine BUT it is full of freshwater bacteria. Upon saltwater exposure, these bacteria will die and your filters will be functionally useless until saltwater bacteria colonize it and replace the old freshwater ones. Just keep that in mind and cycle the system thoroughly before you introduce any marine livestock (ie. the mantis). no need for a skimmer if you don't want to; they help, but with a 55g and a single mantis, it will be fine without. Consider one if you plan on adding more livestock though.

-sand and pvc is good. make sure you provide both live rock and live rock rubble though they will use the smaller pieces of rock to construct a burrow. The live rock will help as filtration and provide more shelter. the more complex the rockwork, the more likely you'll see the mantis exploring and crawling around inside of it.

[God.]

awesome man thanks alot for the feed back. is there any process that i can do to convert my freshwater filter? replace biowheel and filters, maybe soak it in some really hot/ really cold water over night? maybe vinegar? lol idk where these ideas come from. hell i could pour some purell in that...j/k.

[justinl]

lol, no need for any of that. just fill the tank with saltwater and let the thing cycle itself. Cycling is best done by throwing a couple table shrimp in a mesh sock and letting the tank sit empty (but running) for a few weeks. check parameters once in a while... well you know the whole cycle thing right? It's not much different from freshwater tank cycling.

[God.]

yeah i have a nano with 2 teardrop clowns and a green clown goby. its been up for about 5 months, so i dig the cycle. Wasnt sure how different freshwater bacteria were from saltwater and was curious how they would interact. also i hear its really hard to find a small O. scyllarus, like less than 4", know where i could find a supplier? LFS might be able to order one for me but idk.

[EvilMel]

Your LFS should be able to order you one. Mine can nearly always get them in either large (5-6") or small size (3-4").