ricenoodle
Active Member
Been working on this tank for a bit, figured i'd share my Davinci Clownfish harem with you guys.
Quick Specs:
IM Fusion 30L
20 Davincis from the same clutch
40+ variations of Rose Bubble Tips
Ecotech WR30 Gen 4 Pro
Tunze Doc 9001 Skimmer
20 Mangroves in the back chamber
Sicce 1.5
MP10WD
After breaking down my frag tank i decided i needed something in the office and although the thought of having another full blown reef tank is tempting i already have one with my Reefer 170
I've always loved clowns since i started in the hobby 15 years ago and after following the BRS clown harem for 4 years i decided that would be the tank i wanted to replicate but on a smaller scale. I went with the Innovative Marine Fusion 30L for the space that i had available and i knew the dims of 36x15x13 would provide a good lateral swimming area.
Equipment wise i'm running a Ecotech WR30 Gen 4 Pro with diffusers to maximize the spread and cut down on the discoball effect. Sicce 1.5 for the returns and a single MP10WQD for flow. Since there won't be corals in the tank and flow would be calm and random this works out well. Adding a second MP10 would block out my main view from the other side where i work so this will work out. Fritz RPM have always worked out in the past so after a 24 hour leak test, it's time to commence mixing. In the back i have 2 InTank media racks which is filled with MarinePure balls and Chemipure Blue. I cycled with Dr. Tim's in the past 3 tanks and it's a no brainer. 7 days later we are ready for fish.
I knew i didn't want to go with standard Oscellaris and black/whites would blend in the background too much. I contacted Chad Vossen at BRS since he breeds Davincis and handpicked all 20 of the little guys. 24 hours later they arrived at my door.
I knew i wanted to minimize any chance of pest or disease in this tank since this will be the only time i add any fish. Hence going with captive bred fish that have never seen the wild or went through the retail chains would cut down on risk. Went with a large piece of cured shelf rock from AquaSD and after dipping it in a bucket with CoralRx just to be sure it it will be the only liverock in the tank for filtration on top of the bioballs for surface area. All 20 made it safe and sound and after a 30 float test to equalize the temp, they're in!
Since the back is black i knew i wanted black sand for the focal point to be on the center of the tank upon viewing so i went with Caribsea black sand. For RBTA's i wanted a mix of bright color to contrast against the clowns and black. Standard rose nems with a good mix of high quality rainbows, sunburst, and black widows is the end goal.
Took about 4 days for the clowns to acclimate to their new surroundings and then they found the nems! Once one went in the rest followed suit within 2 hours.
They all took to their own and it's a big game of share the nem for 30 min until we switch with these guys.
Overall there is no aggression since there were 3 things that i wanted to pay attention to during setup. Space, food availability, and quality real estate in the form of anemones. They get fed twice a day with a mix of BRS hatchery feed during the day and in the evening gets a mix of LRS Nano, LRS fish eggs, PE Mysis/Calanus Mix. Selcon and garlic is added on top and it makes for really bright coloration. So far i've added 40+ nems of various size and coloraration for the normal squabble for that prime place to sleep in is really non existant.
Gotta have some inverts in the mix too to help out with the maintenance. 6 Astreas and 3 mini turbos helps out with the glass and rockwork cleanup. I didn't want to go with hermits since they eventually will eat snails if hungry enough and i've never been a fan, so cleaner shrimps will work out well. Nice to look at, fast and mobile to get into the tight crevaces and also added a fire shrimp to add to the workforce. 4 Tiger Conchs keeps the sandbed pristene. Gotta have a anemone crab to add to the biodiversity also.
This is probably one of the easiest tank to setup and upkeep with 50 percent water change weekly due to the high bioload and change out the filter floss every few days. Chemipure is changed monthly and that's it. No dosing needed. I find myself looking at this tank way more due to the movement, colorations and interactions among the clowns. I know eventually they'll get too big and it'll be time to upgrade but I give it at least 2 years or sooner if they grow too fast. As always i'm always looking for quality nems to add to the mix and hopefully this build gives you guys some ideas for your future projects.
-Chris
Quick Specs:
IM Fusion 30L
20 Davincis from the same clutch
40+ variations of Rose Bubble Tips
Ecotech WR30 Gen 4 Pro
Tunze Doc 9001 Skimmer
20 Mangroves in the back chamber
Sicce 1.5
MP10WD
After breaking down my frag tank i decided i needed something in the office and although the thought of having another full blown reef tank is tempting i already have one with my Reefer 170
I've always loved clowns since i started in the hobby 15 years ago and after following the BRS clown harem for 4 years i decided that would be the tank i wanted to replicate but on a smaller scale. I went with the Innovative Marine Fusion 30L for the space that i had available and i knew the dims of 36x15x13 would provide a good lateral swimming area.
Equipment wise i'm running a Ecotech WR30 Gen 4 Pro with diffusers to maximize the spread and cut down on the discoball effect. Sicce 1.5 for the returns and a single MP10WQD for flow. Since there won't be corals in the tank and flow would be calm and random this works out well. Adding a second MP10 would block out my main view from the other side where i work so this will work out. Fritz RPM have always worked out in the past so after a 24 hour leak test, it's time to commence mixing. In the back i have 2 InTank media racks which is filled with MarinePure balls and Chemipure Blue. I cycled with Dr. Tim's in the past 3 tanks and it's a no brainer. 7 days later we are ready for fish.
I knew i didn't want to go with standard Oscellaris and black/whites would blend in the background too much. I contacted Chad Vossen at BRS since he breeds Davincis and handpicked all 20 of the little guys. 24 hours later they arrived at my door.
I knew i wanted to minimize any chance of pest or disease in this tank since this will be the only time i add any fish. Hence going with captive bred fish that have never seen the wild or went through the retail chains would cut down on risk. Went with a large piece of cured shelf rock from AquaSD and after dipping it in a bucket with CoralRx just to be sure it it will be the only liverock in the tank for filtration on top of the bioballs for surface area. All 20 made it safe and sound and after a 30 float test to equalize the temp, they're in!
Since the back is black i knew i wanted black sand for the focal point to be on the center of the tank upon viewing so i went with Caribsea black sand. For RBTA's i wanted a mix of bright color to contrast against the clowns and black. Standard rose nems with a good mix of high quality rainbows, sunburst, and black widows is the end goal.
Took about 4 days for the clowns to acclimate to their new surroundings and then they found the nems! Once one went in the rest followed suit within 2 hours.
They all took to their own and it's a big game of share the nem for 30 min until we switch with these guys.
Overall there is no aggression since there were 3 things that i wanted to pay attention to during setup. Space, food availability, and quality real estate in the form of anemones. They get fed twice a day with a mix of BRS hatchery feed during the day and in the evening gets a mix of LRS Nano, LRS fish eggs, PE Mysis/Calanus Mix. Selcon and garlic is added on top and it makes for really bright coloration. So far i've added 40+ nems of various size and coloraration for the normal squabble for that prime place to sleep in is really non existant.
Gotta have some inverts in the mix too to help out with the maintenance. 6 Astreas and 3 mini turbos helps out with the glass and rockwork cleanup. I didn't want to go with hermits since they eventually will eat snails if hungry enough and i've never been a fan, so cleaner shrimps will work out well. Nice to look at, fast and mobile to get into the tight crevaces and also added a fire shrimp to add to the workforce. 4 Tiger Conchs keeps the sandbed pristene. Gotta have a anemone crab to add to the biodiversity also.
This is probably one of the easiest tank to setup and upkeep with 50 percent water change weekly due to the high bioload and change out the filter floss every few days. Chemipure is changed monthly and that's it. No dosing needed. I find myself looking at this tank way more due to the movement, colorations and interactions among the clowns. I know eventually they'll get too big and it'll be time to upgrade but I give it at least 2 years or sooner if they grow too fast. As always i'm always looking for quality nems to add to the mix and hopefully this build gives you guys some ideas for your future projects.
-Chris
