Disco-Soma
New Member
Hi everyone,
since this is my first post (other than introductions), just tell me if anything goes against the usual conventions or manners
I have everything together now after some pretty intensive research, but need some help with the actual reef design and appropriate stocking.
First, about the tank itself:
(I have listed here also less relevant, simply that maybe someone points out to me if I have forgotten something or something does not make sense; also, this may later newcomers can see what is so obstructed, this has helped me in other threads also always; but you can also like to skip, or if I should take it out you can of course also tell me)
- Tank: UNS Cube 40C, 40x40x40cm, approx. 60L
- Cabinet: self-made, free-standing (the tank can and should be seen from all sides)
- Lamp: Maxspect RSX 50W (used)
- Pump: Jebao MLW-10 (also a Jebao SOW-4 which I might also add, used)
- Heater: Aquael ULTRA HEATER 50W, is controlled together with cooling (DIY solution from PC cooler) via Inkbird ITC 308
- Skimmer: Eheim skim350 + 3D printed finer shrimp mesh insert
- Automatic refill: Aqualuri Nano Refill (cheap Gravity ATO system)
- Dead rock: Real Reef Rocks Fancy Branch
- Sand: CaribSea Ocean Direct OOLITE
- Salt: Fauna Marin Professional
- Nutrient supply: Sangokai (system from Jörg Kolkott, who is pretty much the saltwater pope in Germany)
- Dip: Tropic Marin Coral Clean
- Tests and measurements:
- Salifert Profi Test (Ca, KH, NO2, NO3, ph).
- Red Sea Marine Test Kit Phosphate
- Arka hydrometer
- Hanna Checktemp 4 Thermometer
- Dosing pumps: Grotech TEC 1 NG 1-channel
- Osmosis system: ARKA myAQUA 380
- Storage of osmosis water: 5G barrel
- Cleaning: Tunze Care Magnet Nano, gloves, brushes for hoses
Still missing:
- Resin filter for RO Water
- Extractor (probably Dennerle Nano Gravel Cleaner, possibly DIY solution)
- Conductivity meter to control the osmosis system and mixed bed resin filter?
- Food (of course very dependent on the stock, but it will be so minimal that no live or frozen food should be necessary)
- Automatic feeder (I like the Rondomatic 400 because it can't accidentally overfeed, but it also takes up an absurd amount of space; alternatively Eheim 3581 with minor modifications)
- Stronger neodymium magnets for a small DIY Flying Reef (I really wanted one at the beginning, but since I don't have the tank on the wall now, it probably looks a bit weird, so it would probably be useful as a nicer frag rack at most)
- Animals(actually only corals, shrimps / crabs and snails; fishwise either none or only a small goby or similar, with the size of my tank I don't have much room, and to me the corals and shrimps / crabs are more important anyway)
- ...?
Now to the design itself:
I took a few photos so that you can get an idea of my current design. I have tried to build it nice and loose, so that it can flow well. That's what I heard from Jörg Kolkott and others, and that seems to make sense to me. I've also tried somewhat to follow common modern placement conventions, such as those shown in this playlist: Queen of Reef Design Guidelines (don't know if it works, or if it just links to a video).
I like the idea of making this as aesthetically pleasing as possible, since it can't really look natural anyway at that size and with the low stocking. Please don't misunderstand, I think the tanks are ingenious that recreate, for example, a reef column or canyon, as they also occur in nature, but I lack the possibilities for that, so I don't even try to copy that too much. Accordingly, the approach is leaning more towards aesthetics.
I simply broke branches of Real Reef Rock with a hammer and reassembled them as I saw fit, first with Microbe-Lift AQUA-FIX Poly Glue and then as reinforcement with sand and super glue.
Here are a few photos from different directions, and one where my current stocking plan is already in it (of course, it depends on the availability at the dealer, and whether you think the plan is useful at all; you can also see the names of the stones again, to reduce the confusion).
Stone A is basically a U which lies on its side.
Stone B is pretty much a sloping platform.
Both have several paper rings that I cut out of catalogs. I wanted to use these to mark a bit of the different areas available for corals. I figured it might make it easier when talking about stocking, because they would always be equally clear in the photos from the different views. I'm not good at imagining objects spatially, and I'm not good at explaining things. So I came up with this as a little tool that solves both problems for me.
Stone C is an oblong surface. It is on a blue piece of paper.
Stone C is most likely a hemisphere. It lies on the white piece of paper.
On the last picture you can see a little bit the corals I have currently planned, although I can open an extra thread for this if you want, then this won't be even more confusing than it already is
Now I ask myself above all: Is the design reasonable?
Stone A, the horizontal U, is my alternative to the Flying Reef, there is just something on the bottom that hardly needs light and does not grow high. Stone B is simply slanted and wide, was originally a strongly branching branch, which I have compacted somewhat so that it offers more settlement area for corals.
Stones C and D are intended for corals that grow more prolifically, in the hope that they will not take away space from the other corals.
Overall, I'm a little afraid that it's too crowded, but it's also hard for me to part with anything. I had in previously put even more rocks in it, but then with a heavy heart I had to get rid of some, because the corals also need space to grow. I think I still have decent space upwards, the highest point is 8.5 inches. But to the sides is in the narrowest places only 2.3 inches. I have read very different views about the minimum distance to be able to clean the glass without problems. If I leave 4 inches between the glass and the corals everywhere, the whole thing is pushed completely into the middle. The distances between the stones are also not large, but I also do not want to put corals in which attack each other, so I hope that this will fit.
My osmosis system is on the way, when it arrives I can have a look at it in the water. I have read that it looks very different than without water.
In each case, the numbers correspond to the numbers in the image.
A2:
- Cyphastrea SPP Meteor Shower, moderate current and little light, shallow growing, I love the one in blue with yellow dots.
- Alternatively Acanthastrea Echinata (nowadays properly called Micromussa Lordhowensis), medium current, light also, rather less, so best medium light zone to near the bottom, even shade area is feasible, grows slow
- Alternatively Turbinaria?
C1:
- Pachyclavularia violacea, Green Star Polyps, (GSP grows over sand), fast growing, medium current needed; was previously misidentified as Clavularia Viridis.
D1:
- Rhodactis Superman or similar, disc anemone, moderate lighting and weak current (swap with CU depending on flow pump space).
- Alternatively Discosoma, or another disk anemone, nettles, can theoretically grow over sand.
- Alternatively Clavularia Tricolor, can proliferate, so must always be on extra rock.
B2:
- Ricordea Florida, false Florida coral, medium lighting and current, brilliant colors.
B3:
- Alcyonium verseveldti, blue soft coral / Blue Sympodium, can go anywhere, probably doesn't care much about placement
B4:
- Sinularia Brassica, ear leather coral, dangerous because it can easily cover everything, grows very big
- Alternatively Caulastrea furcata, flute coral, finger coral, much or little light possible, but only medium / indirect current
A4:
- Trachyphyllia bead coral, can have more or less light and medium current
The whole thing is of course depending on the availability at my local dealer (don't know what he has yet, will have a look next week). If he has enough choice, I would like to buy from him and thus avoid transport routes, because something can always go wrong with shipping. In addition, it is a pity if the small dealers go under.
And it still depends on the placement of the flow pump. I also don't know yet if the flow pattern will actually work as I imagine. Depending on that, the flow pump may need to be placed differently, or the stocking. I think that is usually not as extreme with LPS and soft corals as with SPS, but of course it still needs to make sense generally.
Also, here's a link to the album of my pictures, if the attachements don't work (though I think I got them to work now, but better safe than sorry, I don't think this post will make much sense without them):
since this is my first post (other than introductions), just tell me if anything goes against the usual conventions or manners
I have everything together now after some pretty intensive research, but need some help with the actual reef design and appropriate stocking.
First, about the tank itself:
(I have listed here also less relevant, simply that maybe someone points out to me if I have forgotten something or something does not make sense; also, this may later newcomers can see what is so obstructed, this has helped me in other threads also always; but you can also like to skip, or if I should take it out you can of course also tell me
)- Tank: UNS Cube 40C, 40x40x40cm, approx. 60L
- Cabinet: self-made, free-standing (the tank can and should be seen from all sides)
- Lamp: Maxspect RSX 50W (used)
- Pump: Jebao MLW-10 (also a Jebao SOW-4 which I might also add, used)
- Heater: Aquael ULTRA HEATER 50W, is controlled together with cooling (DIY solution from PC cooler) via Inkbird ITC 308
- Skimmer: Eheim skim350 + 3D printed finer shrimp mesh insert
- Automatic refill: Aqualuri Nano Refill (cheap Gravity ATO system)
- Dead rock: Real Reef Rocks Fancy Branch
- Sand: CaribSea Ocean Direct OOLITE
- Salt: Fauna Marin Professional
- Nutrient supply: Sangokai (system from Jörg Kolkott, who is pretty much the saltwater pope in Germany)
- Dip: Tropic Marin Coral Clean
- Tests and measurements:
- Salifert Profi Test (Ca, KH, NO2, NO3, ph).
- Red Sea Marine Test Kit Phosphate
- Arka hydrometer
- Hanna Checktemp 4 Thermometer
- Dosing pumps: Grotech TEC 1 NG 1-channel
- Osmosis system: ARKA myAQUA 380
- Storage of osmosis water: 5G barrel
- Cleaning: Tunze Care Magnet Nano, gloves, brushes for hoses
Still missing:
- Resin filter for RO Water
- Extractor (probably Dennerle Nano Gravel Cleaner, possibly DIY solution)
- Conductivity meter to control the osmosis system and mixed bed resin filter?
- Food (of course very dependent on the stock, but it will be so minimal that no live or frozen food should be necessary)
- Automatic feeder (I like the Rondomatic 400 because it can't accidentally overfeed, but it also takes up an absurd amount of space; alternatively Eheim 3581 with minor modifications)
- Stronger neodymium magnets for a small DIY Flying Reef (I really wanted one at the beginning, but since I don't have the tank on the wall now, it probably looks a bit weird, so it would probably be useful as a nicer frag rack at most)
- Animals(actually only corals, shrimps / crabs and snails; fishwise either none or only a small goby or similar, with the size of my tank I don't have much room, and to me the corals and shrimps / crabs are more important anyway)
- ...?
Now to the design itself:
I took a few photos so that you can get an idea of my current design. I have tried to build it nice and loose, so that it can flow well. That's what I heard from Jörg Kolkott and others, and that seems to make sense to me. I've also tried somewhat to follow common modern placement conventions, such as those shown in this playlist: Queen of Reef Design Guidelines (don't know if it works, or if it just links to a video).
I like the idea of making this as aesthetically pleasing as possible, since it can't really look natural anyway at that size and with the low stocking. Please don't misunderstand, I think the tanks are ingenious that recreate, for example, a reef column or canyon, as they also occur in nature, but I lack the possibilities for that, so I don't even try to copy that too much. Accordingly, the approach is leaning more towards aesthetics.
I simply broke branches of Real Reef Rock with a hammer and reassembled them as I saw fit, first with Microbe-Lift AQUA-FIX Poly Glue and then as reinforcement with sand and super glue.
Here are a few photos from different directions, and one where my current stocking plan is already in it (of course, it depends on the availability at the dealer, and whether you think the plan is useful at all; you can also see the names of the stones again, to reduce the confusion).
Stone A is basically a U which lies on its side.
Stone B is pretty much a sloping platform.
Both have several paper rings that I cut out of catalogs. I wanted to use these to mark a bit of the different areas available for corals. I figured it might make it easier when talking about stocking, because they would always be equally clear in the photos from the different views. I'm not good at imagining objects spatially, and I'm not good at explaining things. So I came up with this as a little tool that solves both problems for me.
Stone C is an oblong surface. It is on a blue piece of paper.
Stone C is most likely a hemisphere. It lies on the white piece of paper.
On the last picture you can see a little bit the corals I have currently planned, although I can open an extra thread for this if you want, then this won't be even more confusing than it already is
Now I ask myself above all: Is the design reasonable?
Stone A, the horizontal U, is my alternative to the Flying Reef, there is just something on the bottom that hardly needs light and does not grow high. Stone B is simply slanted and wide, was originally a strongly branching branch, which I have compacted somewhat so that it offers more settlement area for corals.
Stones C and D are intended for corals that grow more prolifically, in the hope that they will not take away space from the other corals.
Overall, I'm a little afraid that it's too crowded, but it's also hard for me to part with anything. I had in previously put even more rocks in it, but then with a heavy heart I had to get rid of some, because the corals also need space to grow. I think I still have decent space upwards, the highest point is 8.5 inches. But to the sides is in the narrowest places only 2.3 inches. I have read very different views about the minimum distance to be able to clean the glass without problems. If I leave 4 inches between the glass and the corals everywhere, the whole thing is pushed completely into the middle. The distances between the stones are also not large, but I also do not want to put corals in which attack each other, so I hope that this will fit.
My osmosis system is on the way, when it arrives I can have a look at it in the water. I have read that it looks very different than without water.
In each case, the numbers correspond to the numbers in the image.
A2:
- Cyphastrea SPP Meteor Shower, moderate current and little light, shallow growing, I love the one in blue with yellow dots.
- Alternatively Acanthastrea Echinata (nowadays properly called Micromussa Lordhowensis), medium current, light also, rather less, so best medium light zone to near the bottom, even shade area is feasible, grows slow
- Alternatively Turbinaria?
C1:
- Pachyclavularia violacea, Green Star Polyps, (GSP grows over sand), fast growing, medium current needed; was previously misidentified as Clavularia Viridis.
D1:
- Rhodactis Superman or similar, disc anemone, moderate lighting and weak current (swap with CU depending on flow pump space).
- Alternatively Discosoma, or another disk anemone, nettles, can theoretically grow over sand.
- Alternatively Clavularia Tricolor, can proliferate, so must always be on extra rock.
B2:
- Ricordea Florida, false Florida coral, medium lighting and current, brilliant colors.
B3:
- Alcyonium verseveldti, blue soft coral / Blue Sympodium, can go anywhere, probably doesn't care much about placement
B4:
- Sinularia Brassica, ear leather coral, dangerous because it can easily cover everything, grows very big
- Alternatively Caulastrea furcata, flute coral, finger coral, much or little light possible, but only medium / indirect current
A4:
- Trachyphyllia bead coral, can have more or less light and medium current
The whole thing is of course depending on the availability at my local dealer (don't know what he has yet, will have a look next week). If he has enough choice, I would like to buy from him and thus avoid transport routes, because something can always go wrong with shipping. In addition, it is a pity if the small dealers go under.
And it still depends on the placement of the flow pump. I also don't know yet if the flow pattern will actually work as I imagine. Depending on that, the flow pump may need to be placed differently, or the stocking. I think that is usually not as extreme with LPS and soft corals as with SPS, but of course it still needs to make sense generally.
Also, here's a link to the album of my pictures, if the attachements don't work (though I think I got them to work now, but better safe than sorry, I don't think this post will make much sense without them):
