amboinensis
01/01/2014, 04:12 PM
I've had a bunch of FW tanks for years but recently decided to try to build a nano reef tank. I've learned a lot over the past couple months, and wanted to share my build here to see what people think + any advice for a newbie.
The pictures don't do it justice: it's shimmering and full of colors and wavy things. Everyone who comes over spends a good bit of time just watching the creatures scurry and swim. If I can stop spending all my money on tank supplies perhaps I'll get something better than a phone camera for this.
I know I'm moving kind of fast with stocking but my water params appear to be good & stable and things look healthy, to me anways.
Photos & details are here: http://imgur.com/a/7sI2V#0
Specific questions:
1) What other corals would be good in this tank? Obviously SPS is out of the question but I'm looking at some Xenia or Caulastrea as my next purchase in a couple weeks.
2) How big do hermits get? The ones I have are roughly double in size since I got them, and I don't know if I have shells that they'd like. I might have to fish them out and give them away if they keep growing.
3) Would adding a firefish be overstocking? Would it get along fine with the current clownfish & goby? I do plan on upgrading to a 50+ gal in the summer but I don't want to completely overstock just in case.
4) I'd like to get a pistol shrimp for the goby. Would a pistol shrimp completely destroy things in a tank that size? Would it cause problems with the sexy shrimp?
5) The new light was just put in yesterday and made a massive improvement in colors, size, and open rate almost immediately. Is this kind of lighting good for the tank or can I improve it even more?
The pictures don't do it justice: it's shimmering and full of colors and wavy things. Everyone who comes over spends a good bit of time just watching the creatures scurry and swim. If I can stop spending all my money on tank supplies perhaps I'll get something better than a phone camera for this.
I know I'm moving kind of fast with stocking but my water params appear to be good & stable and things look healthy, to me anways.
Photos & details are here: http://imgur.com/a/7sI2V#0
Specific questions:
1) What other corals would be good in this tank? Obviously SPS is out of the question but I'm looking at some Xenia or Caulastrea as my next purchase in a couple weeks.
2) How big do hermits get? The ones I have are roughly double in size since I got them, and I don't know if I have shells that they'd like. I might have to fish them out and give them away if they keep growing.
3) Would adding a firefish be overstocking? Would it get along fine with the current clownfish & goby? I do plan on upgrading to a 50+ gal in the summer but I don't want to completely overstock just in case.
4) I'd like to get a pistol shrimp for the goby. Would a pistol shrimp completely destroy things in a tank that size? Would it cause problems with the sexy shrimp?
5) The new light was just put in yesterday and made a massive improvement in colors, size, and open rate almost immediately. Is this kind of lighting good for the tank or can I improve it even more?