Nebthet's 20L led lit pygmy clown reef
 

After Christmas was surprisingly kind to me. Got an unexpected $450 back tax refund in the mail this week plus had some gift cards to use so I decided it is time to get the home for my juvenile clowns ready.

Unfortunately, I am starting with dry rock, which at one point I bleached and then soaked in water before drying to kill everything on it because it stank sooooo bad when the other tank I was trying to start it with decided to crap out on me and I didn't have an alternative to put it.

Therefore this is going to be one of those long hard cycles, which is okay because it allows me to get a few things situated first.


Got my led Par38's hung.
I took two of the cheap gooseneck lights from Walmart, and removed the light insert with cord from the gooseneck as it didn't have enough support to hold the light.

Then I got three garden planter chains and two packs of plant hangers and screwed those into the ceiling where there were studs to be able to do so. Two of them sit over the tank so I hooked them up and will deal with the third one at a later time.

Sand is a mix of the old aragonite I had from the other tank that I had washed out thoroughly over a couple of days before drying it out and putting it in a bag.. which then got tore open by my one cat and I am hoping he didn't pee in it.. but if he did.. well there is my ammonia to start things off. lol. didn't smell like it though.
Then on top of that is some black Fiji moon sand. That stuff really sparkles.

Now for the cycle, I think I am just going to use a small AquaClear power filter to put some carbon in and change it every couple of days.
I am not sure if I am going to use the coralife skimmer I have hanging in there right now. I don't mind the box in there but the darn powerhead is just too damn big.
I could switch out the powerhead with a maxijet 1200 but I am not sure if it would work as well or not.
The other possibility I am looking at, and sort of prefering is a refugium box like the CPR but cheaper. Then I could keep a crap load of cheato in the back.

Lastly, I do plan on getting a little bit more rock, actual cured rock a month in to the cycle. Possibly another 6-7 pounds but that is it. I really want to keep this scape minimalist.

You might also be wondering why I am calling the juvenile clown pygmy.. this is because I think I might have accidentally stunted their growth somewhere along the line. I just hope it is because they are in the tank with two other clown and that after I move them over to this new tank they both start growing to normal clown size, so it will be interesting to see. These clown will be two years old in May and the largest one is a little over 2inches and the smaller one is just over 1.25iches. I do ensure they get plenty to eat on a daily basis... so I know that is not a cause.

So here are some pictures.

http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...0Long/lamp.jpg
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...20Long/diy.jpg
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-02-2011.jpg
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-02-2011.jpg
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-02-2011.jpg

Wet Water to come


Equiptment:
- 20gL = 30lx12.5dx12.7h
- Par38 21w 5led 12k
- Par38 27w 9led 12k
- Koralia x2 (just have to get the second one)
for filtration it will be either of the following'
AC20/70, Coralife skimmer into drain bin over carbon, or a hob refugium

Future Stock List

- 2 Onyx (by ChristosClowns) juveniles

Corals: will be a little bit of everything. I am going to be using this tank as a frag tank.
duncans
mushrooms
gsp
xenia
sps: not sure which type yet


Inverts:

Sebae anemone: Yes I know they get large.. that is why this is gong to be the star of my tank and can have as much room as it wants to grow. Plus the smallest of my pygmy clowns gets hosted by the sebae in my 57g tank at night and seems very comfortable in one, so I don't wanna take that away and will get him another one for the new tank.

Clean Up Crew:
- Nassarius snails x 8
- Hermit Crabs x2
- Turbo snail x1 small


Please let me know what you think.

Here is a front tank shot with the water in.. it is still a little cloudy because I have not added the AC50 for chemical filtration yet. I figure that will allow some time for the ammonia spike and good bacteria to begin populating the tank for the hard cycle.
You can see I need to add some more LR. Two more pieces the size of the large one on the right should do it.
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-05-2011.jpg
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-05-2011.jpg

One of the other things I will be doing is putting on a background. I just haven't decided which one yet.
Would black be good to match the sand or blue?

Just a quick update.
Things have been cycling. My ammonia has been steady around 0.50 after dropping from 8.0 then 1.0. Nitrites rose this week to 0.50 then dropped today to 0.25, and nitrates have been sitting around 5-10.

I added up the third par38 light which has evened out the light in the tank.
I also added some garbage broken frags that were just sitting on the sand bed of my main tank waiting to die, so I threw them in here to see what would happened.
After three days they are not dead yet.

Last night diatom bloom started.. tonight it is heavier. So things are definately on their way.

Also, I got the stuck from JLA in. The AC50, Rio Nano Skimmer (which I must say has given me the fewest issues than any skimmer I have owned) and a new heater. Marineland visitherm.. since I can't find any Aquaclear heaters. :( They were my favourite.

More pix.
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-14-2011.jpg
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-14-2011.jpg
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-14-2011.jpg

Updated shot, showing the cardboard background I put on, and the dark diatom bloom.
http://i382.photobucket.com/albums/o...01-18-2011.jpg

Oh and as of yesterdays readings, ammonia and nitrites were at 0 and nitrate was 5-10.

what degree did you go with?

Very cool. I'm a fan of the black sand as well :biggrin:

Are you going to mix up the sand at all? Once the clowns, and powerheads start going, you might get a cool effect with the two layers mixing.

Lorenzo,
I went with the 60 degree optics on all of the bulbs.

Youngster Dan,
Yes, I am actually slowly missing the sand up a little bit as it matures and once I add some nassarius snails they will do a good deal of the mixing for me. I am glad that I added the aragonite to it though as it had been pointed to me afterwards, that apparently the black moon sand doesn't do a very good job of buffering the PH.

so whats the plan for the cute little tank besides the clowns Sarah?.....whatcha gonna put in that wee box...um....as far as coral goes that is....:wink:...

Im really interested in the par38's, for sure will be keeping an eye on this thread

Very few corals ....

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Actually........

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I plan on breaking all the rules :twised: and putting a sebae anemone as the main piece in this tank allowing for a 20inch expansion and leaving other corals for the outskirts, which will mostly be acans and other things from my main tank.

Oh.. and one bengaii cardinal to go with the clowns.


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That is why I have the skimmer to help with the extra bioload the anemone will create.