Reef under Siege - Waterbox AIO 50.3

[Gumbies R Us]

Great looking tank! What are your plans for the tank?

 

[Besieged]

Great looking tank! What are your plans for the tank?

Thank you! If I'd been more patient, I probably could have scored a much bigger one, but the lights I was given for Christmas I'd originally specced for a 20 gallon just fit this tank, and the deal I got from another ARC member, while not free, was pretty decent, especially given what this tank and stand cost new... and a bigger tank would take me much longer to save the money to light adequately.

Eventually, I'd like a few SPS up top: the lights I have purport to support low-light SPS, but I think I will need supplementation. Primarily however, it's to be LPS and inverts. I do intend for a handful of smaller fish (I'll post my livestock plan next), but whether its freshwater or salt, I've always gotten the most enjoyment from shrimp, snails, crabs and the like. Aside from a Mandarin, my two biggest goals for the tank are a Tridacna clam of some sort, and Electric Scallops.

I'd love garden eels, but the recent article on them has convinced me it's not only unlikely to be doable in a mixed reef in a tank this small (despite my notion of emulating another local reef club member who built an "eel pot" in a somewhat larger tank, seemingly with some success), but between quarantine, feeding, and their nervousness, it's probably just not a good idea.

 

[clowndaddy420]

sweet setup and good luck with it dude! keep in mind building a stand and actually assembling a glass aquarium with silicon and templates is a great point of pride for many contributors here. Again I appreciate your enthusiasm and good luck!

 

[Besieged]

sweet setup and good luck with it dude! keep in mind building a stand and actually assembling a glass aquarium with silicon and templates is a great point of pride for many contributors here. Again I appreciate your enthusiasm and good luck!

OOOH, I think I need to correct the description, as perhaps it gave you the impression I actually built this tank and stand: I did not. It's a Waterbox 50.3 AIO on one of their older model stands (not the new aluminum ones).

I don't think I'm up for the challenge of actually building my own tank, at least not any time soon. And with the incoming price increases on aluminum, what was already not cheap is about to be rather expensive (re: using 80/20, anyway).

Should have known - anything I ever want to do, when I decide to do it, is always 2x - 3x more expensive than it was before I committed. Cars, houses, computers... fish tanks.

Notably, I have a 14 gallon tank already drilled for a remote refugium I'm to pick up soon, but I'll have to custom-build a stand. I was going to use 2020 to do it, but the price is about to skyrocket thanks to the new tariffs. Oh, and since steel is getting more expensive, I guess so goes my fence I was going to build this spring...

Watch, the prices on German Shepherds are going to skyrocket in the next few months, what do you want to bet?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Thank you! If I'd been more patient, I probably could have scored a much bigger one, but the lights I was given for Christmas I'd originally specced for a 20 gallon just fit this tank, and the deal I got from another ARC member, while not free, was pretty decent, especially given what this tank and stand cost new... and a bigger tank would take me much longer to save the money to light adequately.

Eventually, I'd like a few SPS up top: the lights I have purport to support low-light SPS, but I think I will need supplementation. Primarily however, it's to be LPS and inverts. I do intend for a handful of smaller fish (I'll post my livestock plan next), but whether its freshwater or salt, I've always gotten the most enjoyment from shrimp, snails, crabs and the like. Aside from a Mandarin, my two biggest goals for the tank are a Tridacna clam of some sort, and Electric Scallops.

I'd love garden eels, but the recent article on them has convinced me it's not only unlikely to be doable in a mixed reef in a tank this small (despite my notion of emulating another local reef club member who built an "eel pot" in a somewhat larger tank, seemingly with some success), but between quarantine, feeding, and their nervousness, it's probably just not a good idea.

If you want more information on eels @littlefoxx and @Slocke, are good members to talk to! My wife and I love looking at the inverts that are in our pico tank. We got a live rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater, and it was full of all sorts of hitchhikers. From a cup coral, all the way to a bristle star.

 

[littlefoxx]

Eels are my favorite fish! I have 4, ask away

 

[Besieged]

Eels are my favorite fish! I have 4, ask away

Oooh, wow! Hi, and thanks! I've been fascinated by them ever since I discovered they could (in theory) be kept in a saltwater tank.

One of my other local reef club members (@Enderg60, who has a MUCH larger tank than I do) posted a thread where he built an "eel pot" to create enough depth to keep a few, and I was immediately enchanted by the idea. So much so, I was planning on building one about 4" - 5" high (above my 2" sand bed) and 4" - 6" in diameter with the hopes of hosting some when the tank is mature.

However, from the article I just read here, it seems like I might be getting WAY too big for my britches, even a year or two from now. I'm afraid my 50 AIO is probably too small for even just a few of them, I don't know if I'll ever remotely be ready for the QT process (between the anesthetics required, and the massive amount of sand that would have to be thrown out with copper treatment, and high mortality rate) to the feeding requirements. And then there's how shy and nervous they seem to be, with steps needing to be taken to prevent them from seeing anything outside the tank lest they freak out and vibrate themselves to death.

I LOVE the idea, they're such a cool addition to a reef. BUT, one of my goals is a system that is as low-maintenance as possible - the less time I spend futzing with it (and with my hands in the tank), the more time I get to spend actually looking at it while not simultaneously dreading whatever the next burdensome task may be.

So, was the article I read here... perhaps a bit overzealous in describing the difficulties faced? Can they be QT'd and acclimated to something like a 50g, invert-focused mixed reef with reef- and invert-safe fish (mainly gobies/blennies, etc.) without herculean effort, including having to put a one-way mirror or something over the sides of the tank?

 

[littlefoxx]

Oooh, wow! Hi, and thanks! I've been fascinated by them ever since I discovered they could (in theory) be kept in a saltwater tank.

One of my other local reef club members (@Enderg60, who has a MUCH larger tank than I do) posted a thread where he built an "eel pot" to create enough depth to keep a few, and I was immediately enchanted by the idea. So much so, I was planning on building one about 4" - 5" high (above my 2" sand bed) and 4" - 6" in diameter with the hopes of hosting some when the tank is mature.

However, from the article I just read here, it seems like I might be getting WAY too big for my britches, even a year or two from now. I'm afraid my 50 AIO is probably too small for even just a few of them, I don't know if I'll ever remotely be ready for the QT process (between the anesthetics required, and the massive amount of sand that would have to be thrown out with copper treatment, and high mortality rate) to the feeding requirements. And then there's how shy and nervous they seem to be, with steps needing to be taken to prevent them from seeing anything outside the tank lest they freak out and vibrate themselves to death.

I LOVE the idea, they're such a cool addition to a reef. BUT, one of my goals is a system that is as low-maintenance as possible - the less time I spend futzing with it (and with my hands in the tank), the more time I get to spend actually looking at it while not simultaneously dreading whatever the next burdensome task may be.

So, was the article I read here... perhaps a bit overzealous in describing the difficulties faced? Can they be QT'd and acclimated to something like a 50g, invert-focused mixed reef with reef- and invert-safe fish (mainly gobies/blennies, etc.) without herculean effort, including having to put a one-way mirror or something over the sides of the tank?

Garden eels right?? From the research Ive done on them you can keep them in a deep sand bed with more mellow fish (clowns, blennies, seahorses, pipefish) in a reef. They seem to get used to their tank and surroundings. Best thing is to have them in a group. Theres someone on here who has 6 of them with seahorses. They are nothing like morays (I keep morays) as far as needs and aggression. Feeding seems to be the most difficult since they need to be spot fed. I have a tank saved for a species tank of them when I have more time to devote (and money). Morays are way easier to care for in case you get a bigger DT to care for one. Especially snowflakes. But you cant have inverts with morays

 

[Besieged]

Ooops, mis-post, wrong thread!

 

[Besieged]

Great looking tank! What are your plans for the tank?

Livestock plans now posted to my build thread

 

[Besieged]

Garden eels right?? From the research Ive done on them you can keep them in a deep sand bed with more mellow fish (clowns, blennies, seahorses, pipefish) in a reef. They seem to get used to their tank and surroundings. Best thing is to have them in a group. Theres someone on here who has 6 of them with seahorses. They are nothing like morays (I keep morays) as far as needs and aggression. Feeding seems to be the most difficult since they need to be spot fed. I have a tank saved for a species tank of them when I have more time to devote (and money). Morays are way easier to care for in case you get a bigger DT to care for one. Especially snowflakes. But you cant have inverts with morays

Yep, Garden Eels. There's at least two people in my local reef club who have 4 or so of them that made me think it was doable, but I'm still not sure I have enough volume, and that recent article here on them really made me second guess if I have what it takes to keep them.