Lance M.
Aquarium Advice Addict
I have a 20 gallon reef tank that has been running for about 3 weeks now.
1. Is it ok/better to leave the glass hood off? I have been looking around and some people say they leave the tops open because it helps with O2 exchange. And they say that even though some fish are labeled as jumpers it is very unlikely they will jump out of the tank.
2. How much water movement should I have? I don't know how to tell what is too much or not enough. I have an emperor 280 filter that has 280 gph flow and a Aquaclear powerhead that has ~120 gph flow with a quickfilter on it so nothing gets sucked in. It has a little flow director and should I direct it downwards to the sand? I just have it flowing straight out right now. I had a penguin 660 (170 gph) on it but one of my little 1.5cm clownfish got sucked up on it and died... Now I just use it for mixing water in a 5 gallon bucket. Is it too much or should I add a sponge to it so nothing gets sucked in? And this maybe a stupid question but where do I get a sponge to put on it or just any sponge?
3. What kind of things can I get to sift the sand? Like a starfish or something?
The tank is cycled- 0 NO2, NO3, and NH4/NH3 and pH 8.2. I have about 30lbs of cured lr and 24 lbs of lace rock. There is one ocellaris clownfish, one sixline wrasse, one barnacle blenny, one yellow watchman goby, two peppermint shrimp, and then some hermits and snails. I also have some mushroom coral.
I just realized I posted in the wrong forum..lol
1. Is it ok/better to leave the glass hood off? I have been looking around and some people say they leave the tops open because it helps with O2 exchange. And they say that even though some fish are labeled as jumpers it is very unlikely they will jump out of the tank.
2. How much water movement should I have? I don't know how to tell what is too much or not enough. I have an emperor 280 filter that has 280 gph flow and a Aquaclear powerhead that has ~120 gph flow with a quickfilter on it so nothing gets sucked in. It has a little flow director and should I direct it downwards to the sand? I just have it flowing straight out right now. I had a penguin 660 (170 gph) on it but one of my little 1.5cm clownfish got sucked up on it and died... Now I just use it for mixing water in a 5 gallon bucket. Is it too much or should I add a sponge to it so nothing gets sucked in? And this maybe a stupid question but where do I get a sponge to put on it or just any sponge?
3. What kind of things can I get to sift the sand? Like a starfish or something?
The tank is cycled- 0 NO2, NO3, and NH4/NH3 and pH 8.2. I have about 30lbs of cured lr and 24 lbs of lace rock. There is one ocellaris clownfish, one sixline wrasse, one barnacle blenny, one yellow watchman goby, two peppermint shrimp, and then some hermits and snails. I also have some mushroom coral.
I just realized I posted in the wrong forum..lol