andrews 20 g reef transition build

[carey]

For a small tank I like these

Hydor Koralia Nano/Slim-Skim Internal Protein Skimmer

 

[aquandrew]

does it need an air pump plugged into it?

 

[carey]

nope, those are garbage in my opinion. But these two work juts like a full size skimmer, no airstones.

 

[aquandrew]

the mods are cracking down!! hahaha thank you its really starting to come together. tuesday i am ordering the hydor slim skim for up to 65 gallons and going to get some more frags. I'm having a hard time deciding between a yellow watchman goby or a starry blenny. what do you think? here is a FTS from today

don't mind the water being an inch low, i didn't have enough salt to do a water change lol. i finished off the instant ocean and will be switching to reef crystals on my next water change. i have 670 gph of flow in there with two powerheads, should i add more?

 

[carey]

I;d work with the flow you have and see how it goes. You may be just fine with the 670gph you have. You just want no dead spots is all.

 

[Mebbid]

I would go with a starry blenny. They are an absolutely awesome fish.

 

[aquandrew]

i have the 500 gph powerhead pointing up and diagonal across the tank, so the whole front has no dead spots. i also have the 170 pointed in the back of the tank, towards the bottom. i don't have any dead spots, so we will see how the coral likes the flow. if its not enough i will swap the 500 for a 750. Mebbid do you have a lid on your tank? i know watchmans need a lid but not sure about the starry blenny

 

[aquandrew]

got a steal on a nephthea tree! its already starting to open up which is great because i know they are more sensitive than kenya trees and take longer to acclimate to their new surroundings.

 

[aquandrew]

does anyone have any experience with instant ocean seaclone skimmers? there is a sale on pet mountain for the seaclone 100 for 77 dollars. would a skimmer rated for 100 gallons be too overkill?

 

[Greenstreet.1]

does anyone have any experience with instant ocean seaclone skimmers? there is a sale on pet mountain for the seaclone 100 for 77 dollars. would a skimmer rated for 100 gallons be too overkill?

When I first started in 07 I had one was one off the worst buy I ever made did not skim good at all so I would say no way on it but it maybe good to someone else so let's see what the others say.

 

[aquandrew]

When I first started in 07 I had one was one off the worst buy I ever made did not skim good at all so I would say no way on it but it maybe good to someone else so let's see what the others say.[/QUOTE

hmmm. yeah the reviews are pretty mixed of either really good or it doesn't skim well and creates micro bubbles. do you have any experience with buying a used skimmer? i found the one carey suggested, the hydor slim skim, on craigslist in my area for 50 bucks but don't really know what to look for on a used skimmer. if not i might just have to wait til next week to order one because they are 140 dollars and i don't have enough til payday

 

[Greenstreet.1]

I run the RO SSS 1000 on my 75g on my 20 I don't run a skimmer. But I will say this when looking for a good skimmer the pump is the main thing make sure it has a good pump and make sure it's rated for more than your setup.

 

[carey]

Have you checked out that used slim skim for $50? If it turns on and doesnt make a huge racket then it works. lol Just be sure it looks clean and well maintained. As long as the pump is working you should be fine.

 

[aquandrew]

Have you checked out that used slim skim for $50? If it turns on and doesnt make a huge racket then it works. lol Just be sure it looks clean and well maintained. As long as the pump is working you should be fine.

i have not yet but i emailed them and asked if they could do it on monday, so hopefully they will still have it. dang working 12 hour days i love scream town but i already want it to be over lol. if that falls through then on payday i will just order it new. man i have diatoms so bad!!!

 

[carey]

You might check around too, I know marinedepot had the slim skim for $80 recently and so did drs foster and smith. If I didnt have so much going on tank wise i would have picked one up then. lol

 

[aquandrew]

has anyone here kept a florida keys bioluminescent brittle star? i found a site that has them for 24.99 and I'm really digging that they glow all night if you touch them. sorry i haven't had any updates, I've been really stressed about my grandpa passing away last week. :/

 

[Niccobacci11]

I have not kept one of these bioluminescent brittle stars but have heard good things about them. Firstly they are reef safe which is a biggy for you and an awesome thing is that you can hand feed them which is cool I don't know if they actually generate their own light or they are florecent and lit up by uv light. By their name it sounds like they make their own light
They do look pretty awsome though.

 

[aquandrew]

I have not kept one of these bioluminescent brittle stars but have heard good things about them. Firstly they are reef safe which is a biggy for you and an awesome thing is that you can hand feed them which is cool I don't know if they actually generate their own light or they are florecent and lit up by uv light. By their name it sounds like they make their own light They do look pretty awsome though.

they are bioluminescent which means they do make their own light, but you have to touch them once for them to start lighting up because its a defense mechanism. i already have one banded brittle star that came on the 8 lbs of "premium live rock" that i bought and miraculously survives me dosing to 4ppm ammonia for about 4 weeks. i even rinsed and scrubbed the rocks a little bit in tank water before i transferred it to the 29 and it still found its way it was grey when i found it but now it has distinct stripes

 

[Niccobacci11]

Thats awesome how they make their own light.
that is crazy how it survived what you do.

 

[Niccobacci11]

cant wait for further updates.