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Would this community tank work?

Hex tank nano reef setup advice?

  • I'm hoping to set up a nano reef in my 12 gallon hex tank (not for another year or two, unless something pretty drastic kills off the fish that currently live there - let's hope not). I'm a little nervous since this is my first reef set up, and yes, I know it's not advisable for a beginner to jump right in with a nano set up, but I don't have the means right now to keep a bigger tank. I've seen some pretty successful nano reefs in smaller tanks, so I figured I'd give it a shot, since I'm already pretty meticulous about cleaning and maintaining my tanks. Anyways, getting to the point: I want a reef set up with ocellaris clown fish for sure, with mostly soft or polyp coral if I can get away with it. I saw that there are soft coral packages at petco that are suggested for nano reefs, but I wanted to get a bit of input before investing $50 all at once on one of those. What soft corals do well in nano reefs? I really want frogspawn and button polyps, and I've heard good things about mushroom and leather coral. Since it's a hex tank, I'm a little worried about space, so I know I would have to limit myself in that respect. I was hoping to work mostly vertically, with the central reef structure either in the middle of the aquarium or on the back wall. I was also wondering if there are any anemones that are suggested for nano reefs. I've heard that they are notoriously hard to keep, but I'd also like to see my clownfish's anemone-loving behaviors. Is there a good, hardy anemone, or possibly an anemone substitute that my clownfish will adopt? (Also, goddamn, anemone is a difficult word...) Can I keep a brittle star? Finally, I'm not sure whether I should keep one clownfish or two. I've heard if you get two as juveniles, they will become a mated pair. I don't know if it would be better to keep two (so they wouldn't be shy or lonely) or one (so I wouldn't risk overstocking). For the tank I have an undergravel filter (with an extra powerful power head - I had to get the 95 gph one because they did not have any smaller), a really great heater, and a power filter. I've gotten mixed advice on whether or not a protein skimmer is necessary, and since I can't figure out what the heck one does, I'm a little shy on getting one. After all, my tank is already a little crowded with the filter and the powerhead. Do I really need one? And if so, could I be better served by upgrading my filter to a skilter? And for lighting: do I need a special, high-power light strip, or can I get by with a special bulb in my current fluorescent light strip? Yeah, I know, that was an essay. I like to be prepared. As I said before, right now I'm gathering materials, but I can't get started until my freshwater community dies, which shouldn't be for at least another year, barring random catastrophe. Just looking for a little input beforehand so I can be as knowledgeable as possible before I start :)

  • Answer:

    top of the list. You will need a clamp on 75 watt metal halide aquarium light for that tank since the shape will not allow any other type of light beside somthing fully custom to support a reef. At that point you would have enought light for any coral or anemone you want. The downside is that Anemone can easily get to big for your tank and it would kill your coral as it moves around the tank. This is what something big looks like in a small tank http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/107/cimg15317749426.jpg This is a giant cup mushroom that is about 10" wide in a 12 gallon cube. Clowns will host anything. In the bottom right is a small red trumpet coral and this is what my clown host. If or when the clown decides to rub against the giant mushroom, the clown will become a meal. So never buy something without fully researching unless you want death to happen. The frogspawn is a great starter LPS coral. Leathers are also good corals to have and can both be a nice piece for your clown. This hopeing that your clown does not your powerhead. Speaking of powerhead, 95 gph is low but doable. I have a 425 gph in my 10 gallon quarantine tank. For some great info, most of which you will need, look here... http://www.nano-reef.com/articles/

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protein skimmers are not necessary if you have a good filter but with you ug filter you would need one they remove dissolved nutrients in the water you could fit 2 clowns in their and your maxed out on fish those corals sound great if you get a power filter you dont need a protein skimmer if you do 25% water changes weekly or twice weekly those corals sound good yes you need high powered lighting for a reef tank you should consider dual t5 fixture

Hex tanks are harder to keep for saltwater just because the weird shape does not have too many options with regards to lighting fixtures and they are harder to clean. You would probably have to get a hanging light fixture, as the one you have now, even if you changed the bulb, would probably not be enough for corals just based on the fact that you would need the same watt bulb that you have in there now. I would recommend a t5 or LED fixture, since you want to minimize the amount of evaporation in a small saltwater tank. I have a PAR38 LED lamp over my nano reef and it's amazing! A skimmer is not needed for such a small tank. I would only recommend one clown. Two is way too much bioload for such a small tank. You could do a clown and a bubble tip anemone (anemone once your tank has perfect parameters). If you want both corals and an anemone you'll have to scape the live rock in such a way that they will not be touching though, as they will sting each other. I would personally avoid getting anything saltwater at Petco, but that's just from what I have seen at mine (covered in cyanobacteria and bleached corals and anemones). Go with a local fish store if you have one close to you. Button polyps are great, so are mushrooms. Both are very hardy corals and come in cool colors. Leathers are neat too, but they can grow very large and would need to be cut back if they get too big. Frogspawn is nice, but keep it away from the anemone. But remember, you will still be spending a lot of money even though it's a small tank. I have a 5.5G nano reef and I've spent probably around $400 on it so far and that is mostly all of the live stuff in it, not the hardware.

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