# My new 20G



## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

I meant to start a thread for my new tank when I got it but am just getting around to it now so I will rewind a bit...
A couple of months ago I was struck by the notion that I wanted to have a SW aquarium. I had been lurking around youtube for videos of tank set-ups and was totally blown away by the weird, bizarre and fantastical variety of living things one could keep. 
I hunted kijiji and found someone willing to trade an established 20G tank, a Eheim HOB powerfilter, 20 pounds of LR and sand (he was keeping the livestock which suited me just fine as I want to pick my own weird stuff) What did he want to trade for? My X-box!!!!! It was a no brainer for me. 
Bye Bye X-box hello SW Aquarium!

I drove out, made the exchange, was given a great mini workshop in what to do and took it home (water and all) and set it up. Here is what it looked like a few weeks ago, a couple of days after adding our first inhabitants:

-Some Payls given to me by GTAA member Teemee (they look way happier now with my new light... BTW) 
-A mated pair of Banded Coral Shrimp
-a blue legged Hermit
-a Halloween hermit
-a Red Hermit.

Red Crab looks out from his platform after molting...


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## Tim (Dec 11, 2011)

looks nice

I think you got the best end of the deal with the trade.

Any difficulty keeping your water parameters consistent with the smaller tank? I had some problems with my smaller 15g QT tank using a HOB filter from my cycled main tank.


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

Tim said:


> looks nice
> 
> Any difficulty keeping your water parameters consistent with the smaller tank? I had some problems with my smaller 15g QT tank using a HOB filter from my cycled main tank.


So far so good!


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

*Added new lights and life!*

I found a deal (here on GTAA) on a used Aquaticlife 2x 24W T5HO fixture that came with a hydor koralia 2 powerhead and some nice corals and a couple of hermit crabs... within 30 seconds of adding the crabs to my tank my Haloween Hermit crab (or "Orange Crab" as we lovingly call it ) raced to the other side of the tank and locked shells with one of the new hermits. The shells were shaking violently for a minute or two, when they separated Orange Crab literally pulled the other out of his shell and stole it....

New Life: 
3 hermits 
3 snails 
Frogspawn 
Green Star Polyps 
A great clove rock that has 3-4 mushrooms on it 
A really cool rock with what looks like pulsing xenia and a small amout of tiny zoas on the top. 
The cool thing about this piece is that it looks like the top of a palys mushroom. I had a perfect "stem" rock for it and built this:









The Banded Coral Shrimp LOVE to hang under it now as their default position!


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

*Shrimpy Shrimp molted!*

We also got to watch our large female Coral Banded Shrimp (we call her Shrimpy Shrimp) molt. Last night she was in the process, this morning I did a double take..... That's only her old costume back there... a ghost of her former self....









This is all so very fascinating!


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## Tim (Dec 11, 2011)

fesso clown said:


> This is all so very fascinating!


Isn't it though 

I haven't had any hermits gooning each other or snails (yet), but a chromis decided to go up close to a hermit to see what it was and the hermit took a swipe at it with it's claw and almost made it run into the wall of the tank lol.

I will take some pics later this evening and update my thread. Not very exciting yet, but hope that will change soon.


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## PACMAN (Mar 4, 2010)

Tim said:


> Isn't it though
> 
> I haven't had any hermits gooning each other or snails (yet), but a chromis decided to go up close to a hermit to see what it was and the hermit took a swipe at it with it's claw and almost made it run into the wall of the tank lol.
> 
> I will take some pics later this evening and update my thread. Not very exciting yet, but hope that will change soon.


lol quite the comedy [email protected]!


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

try to take a good picture of "..what looks like pulsing xenia". It could be aphtasia and better to deal with it now then later

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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

sig said:


> try to take a good picture of "..what looks like pulsing xenia". It could be aphtasia and better to deal with it now then later


I will try to get a picture tomorrow but I am pretty sure they are xenia. That said after googling aptasia we most def. have at least 1 large one that's been making its way around the thank and possibly some other smaller ones(colony) elsewhere....

What to do? Get 1 of these? berghia nudibrunch http://www.reefaquatica.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=59_66&products_id=625
looks cool, fits my weird stuff aesthetic that is the direction I am taking this tank...
more to come on that...hehehe


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

sig said:


> try to take a good picture of "..what looks like pulsing xenia". It could be aphtasia and better to deal with it now then later


here's a shot...









another:









Here's a full tank shot...


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## Tim (Dec 11, 2011)

fesso clown said:


> looks cool, fits my weird stuff aesthetic that is the direction I am taking this tank...
> more to come on that...hehehe


mantis shrimp coming soon?


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

*Meet Martha*



Tim said:


> mantis shrimp coming soon?


Nope. They are indeed way cool looking and maybe one day in a different tank, someone much more docile really.

For now meet 
Martha-The Decorator (crab)










i have done my research -some say reef safe, some say not, i don't care! She's freaking awesome! She harvests coral to wear on her back, i really hope she does, that's why i got her... This is my first tank and i don't expect to be buying tons of expensive exotic coral (maybe one day in a bigger tank) but rather my plan is to be creative, pick up what i can here and there and make it look great....just like Martha!


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

fesso clown said:


> I will try to get a picture tomorrow but I am pretty sure they are xenia. That said after googling aptasia we most def. have at least 1 large one that's been making its way around the thank and possibly some other smaller ones(colony) elsewhere....
> 
> What to do? Get 1 of these? berghia nudibrunch http://www.reefaquatica.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=59_66&products_id=625
> looks cool, fits my weird stuff aesthetic that is the direction I am taking this tank...
> more to come on that...hehehe


If it not a problem take the rock out and born this spot with torch. It works the best and for sure

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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

fesso clown said:


> here's a shot...


DEFINATELY xenia 

Martha is a good name, LOL! Like your crab, so many interior "decorators" have so little practical design sense it's laughable. I could do better with a car wreck and a shelf of cast-offs from Goodwill


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## explor3r (Mar 14, 2010)

You are going to have to bring Martha over to decorate my tank  hope she has good ideas


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

Happy X-mas eve, here's a tankshot from this morning:









I fragged our clump of GSP and glued pieces of it up the slope of "The Matterhorn". The idea is for it to grow a grassy mountain slope (and keep it somewhat segregated from the rest of the rock... I also glued some Palys to the side...









I got some beautiful zoa frags from Alex (Explor3r). My current lights and camera don't give justice to their beauty! (The palys I got from Teemee)


















Alex threw in this little beauty as well, (first one's free eh?) I can't remember what it is...some kind of mushroom- as another bonus there are a couple feather duster type tube worm things on the bottom of the frag too- cool! 









Martha The Decorator Crab has left all the corals alone so far except the GPS which she has picked a bit and stuck to her legs where they live now... I will try to get a picture when she comes out of her cave...
Looking forward to a couple fish and blue LEDs for the New Year!


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

*Supplimental LED lighting question*

How about the Ecoxotic Stunner strips? 
Maybe 1 strip, 
either the Panorama Pro Royal Blue and Magenta 
or
just the royal blue...
http://reefbuilders.com/2011/06/24/panorama-pro-led/

....or splurge a bit and get the RBG Pro...it sure looks looks awesome!
http://www.ecoxotic.com/aquarium-led-lights/panorama-modules/rgb-panorama-pro-led-module.html


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Man, I totally want a decorator crab now. Where did you get yours?


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

altcharacter said:


> Man, I totally want a decorator crab now. Where did you get yours?


Hubert from Reefaquatica, Markham. Super nice guy. He has/had 2 left a couple weeks ago. (cheap!)
http://www.reefaquatica.com/store/
More pics to come with her new dress on!


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

*New Fish!*

Meet The clown, tank bred and seems happy!


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

*update*

Been I while since I updated. My Six line Wrasse and Clown are pretty happy together, they swim beside one another, they appear to be playing. The Clown seems to be hosting the torch coral too. I haven't been able to get a shot of it swiming in it though...
I added a bunch of coral frags over the last 6 weeks, it's looking great! 
I put together a DIY LED kit from aquastyles and added 2 strips to my t5HO. Strip 1 is 5 10000 K white + 6 Royal Blue and strip 2 is dimmable with 6 Royal Blue + 5 Violet. 








Here's some shots of just the LEDs running full.
































Here's a Full tank shot of both the LEDS and t5HO's running


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

the torch will kill everything that it will be able to rich

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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

sig said:


> the torch will kill everything that it will be able to rich


Ya, you maybe can't tell from the angle but it shouldn't be able to reach anything living, there's a good 1.5 inch buffer to the closest coral. That said I have no idea how long the "sweepers" are as I have never witnessed their coming out...are these sweepers much longer than it's tenticles? maybe I'll move it further just in case.


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

fesso clown said:


> Ya, you maybe can't tell from the angle but it shouldn't be able to reach anything living, there's a good 1.5 inch buffer to the closest coral. That said I have no idea how long the "sweepers" are as I have never witnessed their coming out...are these sweepers much longer than it's tentacles? maybe I'll move it further just in case.


The tentacles are the weapon and they will grow this 1.5" in a less thank a months (in my tank it happens fast)

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## explor3r (Mar 14, 2010)

You did a great job with the light and is cool the clown is hosting the torch...keep it up


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## Tim (Dec 11, 2011)

Were you finding the t5's not enough light?


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Tim, having LED's on a setup like that is beneficial for personal color in my opinion. I'll be doing the same thing to mine since I find that 2 lights isn't cutting it for me. Regardless of what I do I won't be able to get the proper color I want with 2 t5's. Having 2 T5HO's for a 20 gallon is totally enough light.


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

altcharacter said:


> Tim, having LED's on a setup like that is beneficial for personal color in my opinion. I'll be doing the same thing to mine since I find that 2 lights isn't cutting it for me. Regardless of what I do I won't be able to get the proper color I want with 2 t5's. Having 2 T5HO's for a 20 gallon is totally enough light.


Exactly! the 2x24 was "enough" but just enough and didn't "pop" my tank. The main reason i went this route was i wanted moonlights. it made sense to double my LED order and supplement the T5's with extra white, blue and purple. if i get into sps i think i'll totally have enough light now.
For now i have both strips of the LEDs come on in the morning, T5's kick in at 10am and turn off at 8pm, the white and blue LED strip turns off at 10pm then the purple/blue off when i go to bed around 12.
i just made that up.... seems like good way to do it. Thoughts?


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Funny you say that because I was thinking about doing the exact same type of schedule for my LED's/T5HO's once I get the LED's in. Although I want to get a dimmer controller for the LED's so they come on at [email protected]% then rise to 70% by noon when the T5's kick in and then reverse for sunset effect around 9pm or so.

I'd like to see your setup once it's finished if possible.


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

*got an AC 110 for a fuge!*

Found an AC 110 on Kijiji, scored it for $40, now we are trying to figure out exactly what to do with it.... primary purpose is for it to be a fuge to house cheato+grow pods... a
i haven't started the mod yet as i have been looking at a bunch of threads on other forums on how to mod it and now i can't decide. i am leaning towards just putting an eggcrate "gate" across the outflow area and leaving the rest unmodded. Using the provided media basket to hold the cheato. different 
people have set their baffles up in different ways and i am unsure of the effectiveness or purpose of some of the designs... 
anyone out there (GTAA) done a diy HOB fuge? how did you do it? do you have media running in it too?

here is the quote from another forum that vexed me into inaction (other then reading waaaayy to much into a simple job!

"I do similar to biblesue. AC70, no mod to original filter basket, use filter floss at the bottom of the basket, add bag of chemipure, then top with chaeto. then add some kind of screen at the top to prevent chaeto from flowing back into the tank. As for amount of flow, just set it to minimum and the filter media will do the rest to slow down the flow of water. I put a small heater in there as well.

The water MUST flow from the intake DOWN to under the filter basket, then UP through the media then out back to the tank. The left side of the filter basket is fitted tightly against the curved piece of plastic where the intake tube meets the impeller. The reason it is curved down and butted against the filter basket wall is to force the water to go down below the filter basket. If the mod moves this wall away, then most of the water will take the path of least resistance which is up and out.

Also, note that the filter basket is "elevated" from the bottom, so putting anything directly on the bottom is flawed, like the one described in link provided by owned162. You will never get the desired filtering effect using that mod. It works differently on a full size fuge, because what it does not have in efficient water flow, is made up by the larger volume and size of the fuge. On a fuge as small as AC filter, you want to maximize the contact time between the water and the filter media to be highly effective."

i may try to replicate this design (but much messier) but i don't know if i am planning to have media, however i like the option...
http://shop.mediabaskets.com/AquaCle...et-AC110MR.htm


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

altcharacter said:


> I'd like to see your setup once it's finished if possible.


anytime! The lights are mostly done.. no timers for the LEDS yet though, all manual...


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