RutgersReef Progress Log!

Looking good!! Great that you have pods growing! Congrats on the clean up crew. I'm excited for you! Occellaris and perculas are pretty peaceful but Marshall is right in that they should be added as among the last in a smaller tank. I don't think they're boring, I think their coloration is beautiful! Have you ever looked at mocha clowns? I know they tend to be a little expensive but they are so cool looking. You may also want to see if you could pick up a pair of clowns and an anemone (if you plan on having one) with the anemone already hosting, then you can be more assured they will staying hosting in your tank....I'd do that instead of buying clowns first and then adding an anemone which is what I did but I kind of had to because my water wasn't high enough quality for an anemone.

 

Thanks for the input.. however, if I am not to add the clowns first, should I go with corals/other inverts? The only other fish I want is a green mandarin, and maybe some sort of dwarf angel. As far as motile inverts, I want a skunk cleaner shrimp, a peppermint shrimp and maybe an emerald crab because I heard they are such good cleaners. Any input on when to add these fellows and in what order?? Thanks!

 

Here is my list:

FISH
Pair of clowns (Percula or Ocellaris)
Green Mandarin Dragonet
Dwarf angel (unsure of variety as of yet)
Yellow tang (yes, I know 30g is too small for a tang in the long run but I want to buy a 1" specimen, and YES i plan on upgrading in the future!!)

INVERTS
Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
Peppermint Shrimp
Emerald Crab
Nassarius snails
Astrea snails
Dwarf Cerith snails
Nerite snails

CORALS
no idea yet, zoas look cool though.

 

Answers in RED above. I would definitely still do a bottom dweller, just not the Mandarin. You could do a Watchman Goby and Pistol Shrimp (maybe the Pistol instead of the Peppermint). A Possum Wrasse would do well in that size tank, as would Firefish, smaller Blennies, Cardinals, etc. Just rethink your list over again is all I ask.

 

About the mandarin, are you sure it's not feasible, even if i were to buy an aqua-cultured ORA fish so it wouldn't be relying on pods for food?

Spotted Mandarin | Synchiropus picturatus | ORA | Oceans, Reefs & Aquariums

 

From what I have seen, even ORA Mandarins still use pods as their primary food source. Do some research on them to see people's success with them in smaller tanks. More of a word of caution than anything as some are unaware of their dietary needs.

 

Okay, sounds good thanks.

Now, I have another question. Can someone give me a crash course on macroalgae? My questions are pretty simple. I'm leaning towards including chaetomorpha in the refuge of my sump, and possibly mixing in some ulva because I read that it is a good herbivore snack. I would also like to add a mangrove or two if possible. Basically, I am only really concerned about the space requirements. The refuge of my sump is about 7x9 inches with a water depth of around 6 inches. The bottom is covered with 2 inches of live sand and some live rubble rock. Can i just add macroalgae to this, or would it be beneficial to plumb another section into my sump? I would do this by placing a smaller container on top of my sump, have it fed with a small pump powerhead from the sump and allow the water to return to the first section of my sump via gravity.

Any thoughts on this? I'm all ears.

PS I am going to take a quick video and post it so you all can get a good idea of how my setup is progressing.

 

Here's my update

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ9o_DzWfnE&feature=youtu.be

 

Starting to get anxious here... waiting on delivery of grow light for refuge, titanium heater, reefbreeder LEDs AND my AquaC Skimmer.. GAH!

 

skimmer, reefbreeders, filter socks and grow light for refuge have shipped