Hello, I'm the new guy =]

[ChrisOaty]

Hello all, I've been frequenting this forum for a couple of months now, trying to gather a bit of information here and there. You are all very informative so far. At the start of this past semester I decided to get into reefing. My friend had an old 20gal long tank, some power heads and an airpump he let me have. As it stands, three months later, I have about 20lbs of live rock, a diy protein skimmer, u powerheads that push a total of about 600 gal/h plus a hob filter that does another 300, 98 wats of T5HO lights, about an inch of sand, one clown, one cleaner shrimp, and three turbos. I just tested my water last night and read no detectable ammonia/nitrate/nitrites. pH is at 8.2, alkalinity is good and my calcium is at 400. I guess my question is what are my next steps and what am I ready for? My tank's got a great flora of coraline and the last of the cyano and hair algae are pretty much gone.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

to ReefSanctuary, a real Sanctuary of reef forums, with lots of very nice members

Post us some pics

 

[Saltwaterking]

Hello all, I've been frequenting this forum for a couple of months now, trying to gather a bit of information here and there. You are all very informative so far. At the start of this past semester I decided to get into reefing. My friend had an old 20gal long tank, some power heads and an airpump he let me have. As it stands, three months later, I have about 20lbs of live rock, a diy protein skimmer, u powerheads that push a total of about 600 gal/h plus a hob filter that does another 300, 98 wats of T5HO lights, about an inch of sand, one clown, one cleaner shrimp, and three turbos. I just tested my water last night and read no detectable ammonia/nitrate/nitrites. pH is at 8.2, alkalinity is good and my calcium is at 400. I guess my question is what are my next steps and what am I ready for? My tank's got a great flora of coraline and the last of the cyano and hair algae are pretty much gone.

Sounds like a great setup. Any pics you can share?

What would you like to do with your tank next? Any particular corals you wanted to keep?

 

[ChrisOaty]

Thanks for the welcome! Sorry I can't get picture up for a couple of weeks as i dont have my camera and i'll be out of town and my brother's going to look after my baby *nanoreef* for me. As far as what I'd like in there...all of the reef tanks I've seen that impress me the most have a variety of vibrant colors...I was looking online at some simple corals and found some watermellon zooanthids that look pretty neat. At my lfs I saw a blue and purple and black clam that looked amazing! I eventually want an anemone or two for a couple clowns but I'm scared to make the plunge i guess.

 

[tnwillia]

Welcome to RS!

 

[Dweezil]

Welcome to RS new guy! haha Zoa's are great start for coral IMO. They come in some really nice colors.

 

[Saltwaterking]

I agree with Dweezil, Zoa's are the perfect starter coral. They offer great color and are generally easy to care for. Some other great corals to consider are mushroom corals and candy canes. I'm also a big fan of cabbage leathers as they are very hardy and look great opened up.

I do not recommend Anemones in that small of a tank though especially since you want to keep corals. The Aneomone will be in close contact with your corals and will sting them. The consensus is that 30 gal. is the minimum tank size to keep an Anemone.

As far as clams go, most need high intensity lighting like metal halides other than the Derasa. Your lighting is perfect for this species however they grow very large and should really be in a tank 30 gal. or larger IMO. The calms you saw at your LFS were probably Maxima's which maybe successful in your tank if you keep your bulbs changed and maintain pristine water quality.

My best advice is to read about what you're interested in and ask a lot of questions here on the boards. I'm new like you but the members here seem pretty nice and can provide you with great information.

I hope this information helps.

-Matt

 

[Saltwaterking]

Check out ultimatefrags.com. They have a lot of bright color corals you'll probably enjoy. Here's the link.

Ultimate Frags​

 

[Cloudburst2000]

I agree. I wouldn't an anemone in a tank that small. I do have a mini carpet anemone in my 25 gallon that came with the tank. They stay fairly small and are pretty hardy. They are really the only anemone that I would think of putting in that tank, but they don't look like regular anemones like BTA, etc. They look more like mushrooms. They also can reproduce pretty quickly and can become a bit of a pain. I've given several to local reefers.

Zoas are definitely a good started coral and come in a variety of colors. I also like the colors available in mushrooms and they are also easy to keep.

 

[Mcvivor]

I agree withe the others. I would go with mushrooms or the Kenya Tree. I have a Kenya Tree in my tank and I swear every morning I have more!

 

[Saltwaterking]

The Kenya Tree is an awesome coral, I've always wanted one myself. You just need to be mindful of placement as this coral is somewhat aggressive towards other corals.

 

[reefarchitect54]

This is a great question.. I just set up a 14G BioCube myself and am starting my reserch... Thanks for the comments above!!