30 Gal built into entertainment center

Hello,

This is my 30 gal reef to be that is built into an entertainment center. I sketched the design and my father in law constructed this beauty. I had to modify the lid which you can see in the picture but we just love it. It has been fresh water tropical in the past but took the plunge into saltwater recently and have been loving it. Hope to house some anenomes for the clowns in here.

Currently running 2 96w PC one 12k and one 50/50 for a total of 192 watts of light. 6.5 watts per gallon by my calculations. Is that lighting sufficient to house anenomes and soft corals??

Currently running the Aquaticlife mini internal protein skimmer 115 and have been very pleased so far. You can see the skimmate it is producing in one of the pics.

What do you recommend for stock in this tank???

Comments and suggestions appreciated!

Enjoy and Thanks!!!

 

shameless bump

 

Sweet! I saw the title and hoped you didn't exclude the TV from the design. Very well done.

I always liked clowns in nano's, but recently I've been getting really into wrasses. I think a small wrasse and goby would look awesome in your tank.

 

Very nice!! I am impressed with your handy work. I have a royal gramma which I absolutely love. I think one of those would look great in your tank - very bright colors and very active.

 

Thanks for the comments, does anyone think my lighting is sufficient to house soft corals or anenomes??? Would like to one after my tank is completely ready. in 4-6 months.

 

lighting wise , I believe you will be OK with

Zoanthids
Mushrooms
Anthellia
Clove Polyps
Green Star polyps
Toadstool leathers
Mouse eared leathers
Cabbage leather corals
Sinularia leather corals
Palythoas
Yellow polyps

Anenomies - not sure, sorry, but I do know they can be a pain and not really advisable in tanks less than 6 months old and even then the wander lust they sometimes (often) exhibit can undermine an otherwise happy set up

you dont mention flow? your images dont show much in the way of water movement
I cant see any power heads or wave makers , which even for soft corals mentioned, especially the leather species, you do need plenty of water movement to help keep them clear of debris and to assist with the washing away of old skin layer, when they shed

hope that helps
Steve

 

This is a really nice setup. I also have 30g and can contest to the fact that anemone wandering can be stressful especially since in tanks that are our size there isn't much space for them to wander before they come too close to other sessile inverts. Fortunately this usually stops after a few days once they find a spot that they like. If they don't stop moving then there's a problem. Sometimes the spot that they pick may not be to one you hoped for if it ends up in the back or the side of the tank. It's the chance you take so that's why most resources will recommend you place the anemone before you start adding corals.

I don't know if you lights can handle the anemone or not. I think it may "survive", I don't know about thrive. I use 4 x 24w of T5HO and my bubble tip seems to be thriving. I'm sure someone with better lighting experience will chime in soon.

 

Looks very good. Did the tank just fit in? Is any of the entertainment center custom?

 

Interesting setup, and a pretty smart idea if you ask me.

 

Thanks again!! The entertainment center is custom. As i mentioned, I designed it, my father in law built it specifically for a 30 gallon aquarium.

As far as waterflow, I have 2 koralia 1's on order for delivery friday. So waterflow will be taken care of. All ther is now is a Rena Power filter and the skimmer that is moving water. Will the 2 Koralia 1's be too much water movement in a 30 gal?? Will the fish be ok with all that water movement??