Fickle's Lowrider (30g Breeder)

[ficklefins]

I don't normally do this but I decided it was a good way to get suggestions from other members. My previous tank setup had some issues with it and my corals were all going down hill fast! I ended up removing all my corals and placing them in a temporary 20g while I redid this setup. Now I am 98% done with the setup and I'm just working on stocking it with corals and fish. Enough of the background nonsense, join me as I log my tank progress. Feel free to chime in with suggestions or comments.

[size=+2]Fickle's Lowrider[/size]

[size=+1]Tank:[/size]
30g Breeder 36long x 12tall x 16wide.

[size=+1]Inhabitants:[/size]
Flameback Angel aka "The Boss"

2x Blue-Streak Cardinal and Chalk Bass (who thinks he is a cardinal)

Plus a cleaner shrimp and some snails....

[size=+1]Equipment:[/size]

- Flow/Current
2x Tunze 6025 nanostreams (both with shroud mod, 1 with neck mod)

- Lights
Aquactinics 5x39w T5 fixture with
2 Aquablues
2 Blue plus
1 Super Actinic

In the following order
Aquablue
Blueplus
Super Actinic
Blueplus
Aquablue

- Protein Skimmer and Surface Cleaner
Tunze Nano Reefpack 200
Surface cleaner has filter floss and phosphate remover in it.

- Canister Filter
Phosban Reactor with Carbon and a MJ 900.

- Heater
One is a jebo the other is a AGA or Aqueon.

- Return Pump
Mag3 (Thanks Gastone) that was being used for a Remora Pro. I just got a Mag2 in the mail today that will replace the Mag3 which is way overpowered for a return.

- Sump
This was my first real sump setup so I learned a lot from working on it. 20g Long with three baffles in it and all the equipment above (not the lights of course) plus a few pieces of live rock, an emerald crab and "Sumpy" my Talbot's Damsel (Sumpy pics and story coming soon).

[size=+1]Tank Pics:[/size]
- I finished redoing my aquascaping a few days ago so I haven't gotten a chance to place my corals where I want them. If you look closely you will notice that some of my SPS look dead or dying. I lost a lot of corals while I was having some tank issues and I am still working on getting them back to life. The corals that are currently in the tank do still have some life in them, but I'm just waiting for everything to come back.

Left Side:

Center:

Right Side:

 

[ficklefins]

RBTA:

My Favorite Angle:

Ricordeas:

Next update:
Future coral purchases
Future fish purchases
Tank Progress
More about Sumpy the Talbot's Damsel

BTW, what do you guys think of the Club-Zoa tank Decal? It doesn't have the bosses approval yet, he wants a clear backing

 

[Kigs!]

Very nice Luciano! Love the open aquascape. That sandbed should look real nice once the frag plugs are cleared. Do you have any shots of the overflow? Self drilled? I just set up a 30brdr myself so I'll be tagging along...

 

[143gadgets]

Looks awesome!!! I LOVE the gold chain on the fish. You should give him some diamonds though.

 

[ficklefins]

Very nice Luciano! Love the open aquascape. That sandbed should look real nice once the frag plugs are cleared. Do you have any shots of the overflow? Self drilled? I just set up a 30brdr myself so I'll be tagging along...

Good question. I drilled the tank my self for a 1inch bulkhead. I cut two pieces of black acrylic and glued them together at a right angle. I then glued some black eggcrate on top to create the overflow part.

I am working on getting rid of the frags on the sand bed. Who knows, perhaps I will setup a frag grow out in my sump. Sorry about the sloppy PVC primer work. I figured that the normal user wouldn't see it and it was my first time using that stuff.

 

[KEEPERZ]

I always wanted a flame back angel, but afraid of him polyp picking and not being able to get him out-maybe in the frag tank, hmm....-sweet fish!!

 

[JGoslee]

Sweet looking tank Luciano!

 

[ficklefins]

I always wanted a flame back angel, but afraid of him polyp picking and not being able to get him out-maybe in the frag tank, hmm....-sweet fish!!

He is a taster and not a destroyer. He roams the tank and picks at things left and right but never does damage to any coral, only mouths them for a taste. That flame back angel was the only fish that did not come down with ich when I introduced my last wrasse. If he ever found a coral that he enjoyed eating I would let him have a nice dinner and cross that coral off my list of things to keep.

Keep in mind this is my experience so I don't want people to go out blindly buying flame back angels.

 

[revhtree]

LOL! Awesome tank thread and likewise on the tank! I love the open look bro! Now we need some frag closeups!

 

[edwing206]

Great looking tank! The aquascape is awesome. I was gonna get a flameback angel but I got they cherub instead. I love them both though.

 

[ficklefins]

I had a cherup angel in the past. A great fish but he got really aggressive against my clowns. He was close to my female clown , and she was close to him, but once they realized that things would work out he really took it personally and would chase her around her anemone all day!!!!!!!

Here is a before shot....

 

[Azurel]

Great looking tank Luciano.....It needs more ricordea though...

 

[ficklefins]

Sumpy the Talbot's Damsel.

A local reefer was selling a bunch of Talbots Damsels and they were advertised as a friendly and schooling. Being cautious because of the Damsel name I decided to do some research and all the sites that came up said that they were the friendliest damsel you can get.

So I thought this was a good sign and I picked up 4 of them and placed them into my tank. Things went well for the first week as "The Boss" chased them around and let them know that his was his tank. After that first week they setup territories and there were not enough areas for everybody. So I woke up one day to find Sumpy hovering in the corner of the tank with most of his fins bit off. I scooped him out and put him in my sump, hence the name Sumpy.

I eventually drained my display and caught the three remaining damsels. They made their way to a LFS, but I did keep sumpy. His sump tank mate is an emerald crab who I think will go back to the main display tomorrow.

I really like Sumpy so I considering setting up a nano for him.

Some Pics of the other fish:
Chalk Bass:

The Trio:

My list of things to get.
Tail Spot Blenny

Eventually a clown pair... any suggestions?

 

[JGoslee]

That tailspot blenny is awesome! I love blennies. They have the coolest personalities.

 

[ficklefins]

No tailspot blenny yet, but I am working on it. I do have a question for anybody who can help. I have something coming off almost all the items in my tank in a spore or tiny circular shape. It is brown in color and seems to release off the surface of things in my tank in steady layers. when I turn my powerheads back on they join together and float away and look similar to when you wipe cobwebs off the corner of the wall. Here is a pic showing the spores/algae in action. Check the sides of the eggcrate.

 

[Azurel]

Have you noticed if the move at all on there own, like micropods? No sure what it could be without a macro shot....

 

[ficklefins]

No it doesn't move it just releases off the surface of things in my tank. It is almost like flowers release pollen into the air, but over the entire tank. It isn't really noticeable until I turn the powerheads off because the flow keeps it from floating above the surface.

When I say surface I am talking about Live Rocks, Powerheads, Eggcrate, Frag mounts but nothing alive like corals.

 

[Leishman]

Good stuff.

 

[ficklefins]

No blenny just yet, but I am still on the wait list for one. I did however take some pics of some of my zoas/palys. I will have more coming in the next few days. Please excuse the non Nikon/Canon photo skills . Keep in mind these are not exact names, just close likenesses.

Variable Star

Rainbows

Reds

Blues

Purple Deaths.... which look brown deaths from the side, put deep purple if you look down on them.

 

[rocko918]

Nice man, you will have to save my a polyp of the rainbows when they grow out!