Mini Reef Tanks

[reptilefan95]

Hey all as many of you may know i am quite the fish enthusiast as well as reptiles, im down sizing my fish collection to 2 tanks and arowana tank and a marine, ive got a two foot tank that i want to use as a nano marine and i would like to know some of the things i would need. Im planning of having a moslty FOWLR but i might get one or two corals. The fish taht i am interested in are Hambug Damsels and Domino Damsles, Maroon Clowns and a few gammas or something like that, for a clean up crew i rekon a few turbo snails and a hermit crab.

My question to you guys is,m would three fish and a clean up crew fit in that tank? Also what sort of filter would i need? and all of the other accesories that i need


Thanks as always

Reptile Fan 95

 

[miss2]

hey there
in my personal opinion a 2 ft tank should be kept to a minimal of a pair of clowns and one clean up fish, goby or something. but thats just my opinion

 

[reptilefan95]

Hey yeah i never intended to get all of them just a few thanks for the reply

 

[e_r_k_2]

What is the actual volume of the tank?

 

[MaRkAS]

If it's a standard 2 ft tank, then it's probably holding around 80ltrs of water give or tank depending on the amount of live rock, not including the sump volume.
2 fish max and probably only the smaller anemone fish.
Take a visit to the MASA website Reefing The Australian Way Forums :: Index you'll find many people with tanks similar to what you want.

Those fish you want will tear each other apart in that tank, like most marine fish, they a very territorial esp the Maroon's

 

[reptilefan95]

Yeah i understand that they are agressive, i was thinking of getting one marroon or maybe a pair and having the only other things as clean ups and live rock thanks for the site ill take a look at it.
I wont be running a sump though it will be a ehiem cannister i know that people dont like them for marines but my mate has one on his so ill try and give it a go. I would also like to see some pics of your tanks!!

 

[PSimmo]

In my experience the clowns (Ocellaris would be best) are probably the best choice, just get then an anemoe and they will be happy.
The Humbugs & Domino's on the other hand will never be happy NASTY little turds they are.
My 5 x 2 x 2 tank is on the MASS site for sale at the moment so I can get some of my life back and buy more snakes

 

[reptilefan95]

Hey thanks simmo yeah i was thinking about getting the percula ocellaris but i do like the maroons colour, would they fit in there? or not i would only buy two... but if not i dont mind the ocellaris but are there any other small fish that are nice and easy to keep... at first i was looking into a smaller lionfish like a dendrochirus brachypterus(fuzzy dwarf lionfish) would that fit in that tank? if i did go the lionfish i wouldnt get an anemone or any other fish

 

[Shonfield]

I would never put two fully grown maroon clowns in a 80ltr tank even one maroon would be pushing it. Two ocellaris would still be cramped i think because as adults they can get to 9cm and need their space. I would have to say that one ocellaris with snails would be about the max in that tank. Then again people always tell me that i could fit more fish in my tank...

Also i would have to say that for a first marine setup for anyone i wouldn't suggest any less than a 4ft tank because saltwater fish are affected a lot more by the water quality and if anything goes wrong in a 2ft tank it won't take long for your fish to be gone.

 

[Southside Morelia]

I used to breed Premnas biaculeatus and have only 1 pair in a 6ft tank, the males are VERY territorial, especially around eggs...lol
IMO a 2 ft tank is way too small UNLESS you do a water change every week, which I used to for little box fish & cow fish tanks. That's a cool fish that would do well in a tank that size. Scape up the back of the tank with live rock and atleast you will have some sort of bio filtration. ou can get 2ft tanks with a basic wet/dry filter mounted at the top, that will do for a couple of bizarre box fish & cow fishes.
The trick is NOT to feed too much as the uneaten food is what spikes the ammonia in the tank, that's the bad stuff....On a lighter note there are heaps of chemicals that raise your nitrates (the good stuff) to incredible levels, but water changes on a small tank is what will keep the fish alive.
I could go on for hours....lol, brings me back!

Do you want some of advice from someone who kept Marines and mini-reef systems for 15 years? I'll give it anyways....don't get one, as you get addicted and once your sucked in, your are ALWAYS putting your hand in your pocket, for supplements, chemicals, stock, corals the list goes on and on!
Reptiles are MUCH cheaper and a better hobby for the hip pocket....again JMO!
Besides that, they are an unreal setup and I love Marine tanks and the animals and corals. I do miss them....I will get a 6ft tank again one day...when I retire I reckon!

 

[Southside Morelia]

Also i would have to say that for a first marine setup for anyone i wouldn't suggest any less than a 4ft tank because saltwater fish are affected a lot more by the water quality and if anything goes wrong in a 2ft tank it won't take long for your fish to be gone.

.Exactly, this is a little fully enclosed ecosystem and we have seen how much reefs are decimated by what we do on land...fertilizers run off etc, imagine what will happen in a 2ft tank, overstocked, no filtration etc. Anyway give it a go it can be done. PM for any advice as I don't want to bore all the reptile lovers as this is our site,,,,,lol

 

[reptilefan95]

Yeah i understand the premis of bigger is better but there are so many nano tanks around that i thought i would give it a try. I might try a smaller lionfish as i stated above by himself with a small clean up crew, and eventually buy a 200 litre tank, though ive talked to someone who has owned a D. Brachypterus and said they rarely get over the 14 cm mark which is pretty small. Thanks for the replies and i would love to see some of your tanks!!

 

[Southside Morelia]

Don't be discouraged, as it can be done, no probs at all.
Give it a go for sure!
Good luck!
Oh if you meant me, re the tank photos, I do have 100's of pics all on disks somewhere, i'll see what I can russle up.
To inspire you, I used to have wave makers breaking upon one side of the tank on the reef which was built up to near the surface of the water. All corals were placed in their correct position for lighting and water movement, it is a science...lol
Automated MH lights that come on in sequence and simulates the sun rising and then goes the opposite way for dusk....then the moon lights kick in after that, just blue LED's but actually mimic the same wavelength of moonlight in nature. This crazily enough had a dimmer that dimmed the led's mimicing the moon's 28 day cycle, what you need to help breeding fish and spawning corals. I got most of my stuff from the USA & Germany and I was a bit of a Pioneer here in Australia when it came to this sort of lengths, in the US it was common place for the Marine buffs.
I had mad many stage wet/dry filtration and in the sump I used to grow mangrove plants and have inverts, live rock etc as another form of filtration in the stages, all under special UV lighting. I even used to cultivate my own phytoplannkton which the CSIRO used to send me as starter cultures from Tasmania, this I used to feed corals as well as feeding my cultivation of zooplankton which is another coral food.
It was quite the laboratory, which freaked all my Family and friends out, who thought I was cultivating drugs or something...lol
Must stop writing now, makes me want to get back into Marines...

Yeah i understand the premis of bigger is better but there are so many nano tanks around that i thought i would give it a try. I might try a smaller lionfish as i stated above by himself with a small clean up crew, and eventually buy a 200 litre tank, though ive talked to someone who has owned a D. Brachypterus and said they rarely get over the 14 cm mark which is pretty small. Thanks for the replies and i would love to see some of your tanks!!

 

[Southside Morelia]

BlueLine Products - Reef Aquarium Lighting & Pumps
For anyone interested, not the guy I got it from, can't find the link as I have had about 3 computers since then...lol but exactly what I had in my main marine aquarium, awesome stuff!

 

[No-two]

Just a note on the clowns reptilefan... A common misconception is that they need an anemone to be happy. Clowns appreciate anemones but they will happily live in anemone look-a-like corals, and even happily live with no corals or anemones whatsoever. I don't recommend anemones for beginners, not many newbies are successful at keeping them alive and happy for very long.

 

[Southside Morelia]

True, Ocellaris clowns will inhabit "flowering" or fleshy corals and as said by No-two, anemone are NOT for beginners as they move around tanks and if they don't like their position will hide behind rocks and shrivel up to nothing if not being looked after by clowns and recieving food whether by you or your clown...a pain in the a r s e!
Do you know that your clown will take prawns or whatever food introduced by you in the tank, to the anemone to feed it...they look after it and it is a symbiotic relationship which is awesome to watch & nurture! It's great to see that relationship and these can be a relationship between a pair of clown and an anenome that last for many many years..I have seen this and it is quite an experience.
NOTE: You also need the right type of anemone to be compatible with your clown.....not any anemone will be compatible with any clown, another factor to consider.

Just a note on the clowns reptilefan... A common misconception is that they need an anemone to be happy. Clowns appreciate anemones but they will happily live in anemone look-a-like corals, and even happily live with no corals or anemones whatsoever. I don't recommend anemones for beginners, not many newbies are successful at keeping them alive and happy for very long.

 

[reptilefan95]

Yeah ive read and read, at the moment im working at a fish shop but we dont stock marines so thats why im asking all of this, i had quite a large marine tank before but it was a FO so completely different to what im getting into i think i might start of with a FOWLR and a small dendrochirus brachypterus or perhaps an equally sized Pterois Antennata, what ever is available, thanks for all the help and like i said feel free to post some pics!!

 

[Shonfield]

even the small lion fish would outgrow a 2ft tank pretty quickly i think. If i was you i would just go for a bigger tank in the first place. Its up to you though.

Heres a pic of my longnose butterfly. Its a bad pic cause i suck at photography, its taken on my phone and fish dont stop moving lol...

 

[da_donkey]

This is my tank

 

[reptilefan95]

Lovely tank donkey what is it like 20 billion litres? just a small sitting room tank ) and shonfield i love the butterfly fish looks sick!! yeah i think i might start out with a smaller tank only because i already have one!