Combination reef and deep sea theme. Need help

[dakotajoe1]

So I have a fluval 8g main display and a 10g planning on using as the sump/refuge. And I decided to make the 10g a deep sea theme. But I can think of a good way to pull that off. I plan on using lower lighting for a deeper effect but I don't know what to do with aquascaping or livestock. I wanna raise a baby mandarin goby so I need to be able to have pods in the bottom. And suggestions or tips will be greatly appreciated.

 

[obscurereef]

Sumps are for filtration. Having a skimmer (if you're getting one), chaeto, rock rubble, etc. isn't going to look that pleasant. Chaeto needs around 5000-6500 K which is a yellowish tint so it's not going to look a deep blue like you might be hoping for. In such a small tank, the mandarin should be eating prepared foods b/c the copepod population wouldn't last long. It's possible to train them, but it requires lots of time/effort and isn't proven to work for all. It's better if you buy it already eating frozen foods.

 

[mr_X]

Even so, they can, and do in many cases, revert back to eating nothing but live and starve to death. I would not put a mandarin in an 8 gallon tank.
As for deep sea, all of the fish you see at the LFS are shallow water fish. Corals don't grow in deeper water than maybe 30 feet (well, attractive ones anyway). I don't see how you could pull this off at all, keeping true to the theme.

 

[dakotajoe1]

Well my plan was to start with a baby mandarin and move him to a larger tank later. From my experiece mandarins don't typically need a lot of space. The tend to have one or two dens they mainly hang around. But I think you guys are right about it being hard to stick with a true deep sea theme. I may just keep in a normal fuge. Atleast with 18 gallons total it will be a little easier to maintain parimeters. (Hopefully)

 

[mr_X]

That's not true at all. They don't hang in dens. Every one I've kept was all over the tank and never wound up on any one place.

 

[Badgers reef]

Im sorry dude but hes right they dont hang in spots at all they are all over the place looking for food as they are poor feeders small tank is easier for parameters but not good for stocking any sort of fish baby maybe but as said above your pod population wouldnt accommodate for a fish and a baby that feeds well would want more space very quickly.. however a small frag build up reef would look cool with a fuge with sump

 

[dakotajoe1]

I see what you guys are saying. I decided to go with a 10g display on a 10g sump. All the plumbing is up and running. Now I jus need the pukani and sand/crush coral mix. what do you guys think about a baby domino clown or something besides nemo for the fish and a peppermint shrimp with softies. I plan of running 2 kessel leds but not sure yet on specific k ratings.

 

[mr_X]

That sounds ok. I wouldn't use any crushed coral unless it was very fine, and do you think you need 2 Kessil pendants over a 10 gallon? Sounds like a lot of wasted money and wattage for softies.

 

[dakotajoe1]

Well one kessel will prolly be a 10k and the other a actinic. I love the blue effect on coral. That's why I don't wanna go with a combination kessel.

 

[mr_X]

Which units are you considering? The A350s?

 

[dakotajoe1]

I haven't decided yet. What would you roccomend? And what could I keep in a 10g with them

 

[mr_X]

I wouldn't recommend any of those for a 10 gallon as they are way overkill and are quite expensive. You would need to keep them pretty high above the tank and light would splash over all over the room. You could keep anything you wanted (coral-wise) in a 10 gallon.