Questions on a temporary LTA/clownfish tank

[Dave_1972]

So, it's been awhile since I have posted on the site. Life has thrown me a few curve balls - a broken water pipe in my Shop/Guest Quarters that went missed over a 4 day Christmas holiday last year and earlier this spring a disaster with moisture content in the crawlspace under my house. And I do mean disaster - I started the year cutting all sheet rock in the Guest Quarters to one foot from the floor (thank god that is ceramic tile over concrete floor) and I ended the year completely rebuilding the wrap around porch on my house (part of the crawlspace damage). Mixed in with ripping out all the house crawlspace insulation (that was soaking wet) and working on my twin boys 1982 K5 Blazer project. So after listing all that hopefully you guys can understand why I still don't have a tank up and running. And I can't dive in with both feet yet as I still have some subfloor and floor repair to do in the house and haven't finished the Guest Quarters repairs yet either.
But I would really like to get something going. I have been working on a new plan involving turning that Guest Quarters into a home office with a ridiculously complicated large display tank in mind involving two displays (macroalgae waterfall directly into main display). More on that idea when I am ready to present it to everyone. With all the work I have to do (I do most of this stuff myself) planned for this year... I just can't get much going on the large tank ideas. But, I know that I will want a fish quarantine and a coral quarantine. Which has given me an idea for something small scale and fun to do this year that can be repurposed when the main idea takes shape somewhere down the road.

By now you are probably wondering why I am in the anemone forum so here is the idea:

In the "Someday Main Display" I have two things I'd really like to do besides coral and fish. I want a Purple Tang and I want an LTA/clown pairing. So I'm thinking of building the tank that will someday become my coral quarantine and setting it up in the house for now and (once it is established) trying to get an LTA and a clown who will someday move to the display together. It will probably be a couple of years before I can launch the full display project.

A few things to keep in mind - the Guest Quarters/Home office is on the second floor (directly above the bathroom) and yes I will be reinforcing that floor with posts from beneath. But, getting a large display tank up those stairs and turning the sharp corner at the top will be very, very interesting. Hence... I plan to build my own tanks onsite. And I am probably going to go glass with low iron front panels. I am thinking brace the crap out of it (bottom and top bracing) for a measure of security since I am a bit tired of repairing water damage. I need to learn these skills so I will be building my quarantine tanks in the same fashion. I don't want a 5-6 foot large display tank to be my first tank build. Put all of that together and I'll likely be building the most expensive quarantine tanks ever.

A second thing to keep in mind is I want this to be a quarantine tank that sits on a countertop downstairs after the display is up and running. So I don't want to do an external sump - or at least not one that sits beneath the tank.

On to the plan...
1.) Build a 20-25 gallon tank.
2.) Build a "no-frills" wooden stand for it.
3.) Follow the BRS coral quarantine tank list for equipment?
--a.) 5-20 gal tank.
--b.) small power filter.
--c.) heater
--d.) lighting
--e.) small powerhead (i'll need a screen for the anemone)
--f.) frag rack
--g.) clean saltwater
4.) Setup the tank
5.) Buy or make a screen lid for the tank.
6.) Make my own "anemone cozy" for the LTA to try to house it in and fill it with sand.
5.) Get Live rock and monitor it to remove any problem hitchhikers.
6.) Cleanup crew.
7.) Wait for parameters to stabilize (prob 3 months minimum)
8.) Get the LTA/clown.
9.) Settle in with regular water changes.
10.) Complain about LTA running amok on forums and how mean the clownfish is.

On to questions...

1.) Is a 20-25 gallon tank big enough to house an LTA/clown pair for a couple of years?
2.) Any suggestion on what equipment I should go for in this situation.
3.) Should I treat this more like an AIO and try to get a skimmer or even small 5 gal sump for it?
4.) Could I do macroalgae in this as well?

I probably have way more questions I just can't think of at the moment.

I do think I would add a couple of corals so I can get some valuable experience with corals here as well.

And maybe a couple of fish that provide some utility.

opinions?

 

[Seancj]

1. Yes, a 20/25 gallon tank will be fine for a single LTA and clownfish pair for quite a while, depending on the size LTA you start with. Most are around 5 to 6 inches diameter when collected but can grow to over 18" over time.
You will have to show discipline and keep it other livestock to a minimum.
2. I would encourage keeping equipment simple and basic. A small DC power head (with mesh or sponge cover to protect the nem) for water movement inside the tank, a DC return pump capable of moving 3 to 4 times water volume if using a sump, a controllable heater, a skimmer, and a good light.
3. Yes, sumps are really a great addition to any tank. Its nice to keep the equipment out of the tank or from hanging on the sides of the tank.
4. Yes, macro algae can look really nice in a nem tank!