Whats Holding Me Back? Well This....

[Shovelman]

Hey guys and gals looking for opinions/ thoughts..

For the past 3 years ive been looking, researching, and torturing myself with the thoughts of transforming my 20 gallon tank into a cool easy to keep invert and fish reef tank

one thing is complicating the process is knowing that during holidays we go out of town for anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks at max...while in freshwater its not a big deal its alot of time for things to go wrong in salt water

other than that everything else looks good! Already have an ro/di system so thats taken care of.

But all id like to have is a nice saltwater tank, aquascaped with dry base rock and seeded with live rock, 2 perc clowns, a shrimp and goby pair, and easy lowlight corals like mushrooms, zoas, xenia, and leathers...nothing too fancy in terms of corals but nice colorful ones at least...
Just simple fun salt water tank... daily/weekly maintenance poses no problems to me..

any ideas in term of the vacation problem? I cant have anyone come in....dont ask why it just cant be done

 

[ainsy]

I kept a reef for about 15 years. It grew and grew - started like yours and ended up as a 7 foot, 1300 litre monster! I also didn't have anyone to look in on it when I was away.

This was ok as I had EVERYTHING automated. Did a massive water change the day that I left then had a fresh water auto-top up to cope with the evaporation. Feeding was automatic - flake for the fish and liquid food for corals. Dosing of chemicals such as calcium and potassium was also automated with dosing pumps controlled by a ph computer.

This worked well for 14 of those 15 years until....

The last time I went away there was a thunder storm a couple of days after we left which tripped the power out. I came home 2 weeks later to a tank full of dead coral and fish.

I had lost literally thousands of pounds worth of livestock (not to mention several years of hard work growing many coral from frags!)

I didn't have the money or the heart to set it up again

So my advice would be try and find someone to look in on it for you - even if it is only every 3 or 4 days (I am sure mine would have survived if it had been restarted after this length of time rather than 2 weeks!)

Do you have a neighbour who could do it with a strict instruction list/emergency plan?

Even better would be a local reefer who you could offer to do the same for when they go on holiday.

 

[lljdma06]

Well, that's discouraging. Ouch, ainsy, that's terrible. But you said yourself for 14 years it worked great. So on that "my glass is half full" vein, I say to shovel...

Go for it! Yes, there is always the potential for loss. There is the potential for loss in any type of system you do if you go away, SW or FW.

If you can get somebody to watch your tank, that's an awesome idea. There are also very good lfs out there that'll hold your corals in a holding tank if you're going to be gone awhile. So you take your special corals to them, so you at least safeguard those animals and you reduce your losses should there be an unforeseen act of God.

If you can't, well, you'll have to trust that something horrible won't happen. Barring a funky act of God, you can leave a SW tank under automation for a few weeks. If you can't get someone as ainsy said to watch your tank, I'd have the stocking plan reflect this.

Go cheap and go with things that are commonly available through the trade. A softie tank is very nice, fun, and a lot of the corals can be acquired on the cheap.

Ainsy, I think you should setup again. Go for it. It stinks not having a tank, I would've liked to have seen yours in its day. Go simple for a while.

L

 

[ainsy]

I didn't mean to put you off! I hope you don't think I was being negative!

Yes do go for it but I would concur with Llj - start of simple while you 'cut your teeth'

Marine keeping is very rewarding - do your research and I am sure you will soon be bitten by the bug - be warned it is addictive!

 

[Shovelman]

thanks you two! No discouragement what so ever as i had to research the risks before its just now im tempted to take them since ive kinda grown in the hobby a bit

And yes in terms of automating everything id have an Automatic top off system with the float valves that would make sure nothing overflows. Also id see if i would at least be allowed to set up a plan where i ask my neighbors if the power goes out then they might be allowed to check the tanks as my dad has one too. But for the main idea my parents strictly tell me i can not have anyone come in to check on things...why? ask them i guess its their house and their rules...

For corals there are a bunch of local reefers who sell softy frags (large ones too) for usually 5-10$ so instead of buying the 60$ GSP at the lfs ill stick with a slightly smaller frag for a fraction of the cost....also this wont make things too devastating money wise if there is a tank crash of some sort....5$ frag vs 60$ frag still disheartening wither way but lesser of a blow.

one other thing is keeping the temp down during those hot days... does the frozen water bottle trick work good or would a few fans over the top be even better?

and lastly in terms of stocking.... would 2 clownfish and a goby/shrimp pair be decent but not to heavy to reflect the kind of set up ill need?

 

[lljdma06]

I'm personally not a fan of clownfish. There are so many other way cooler fish, IMO.

I'll get back to you in a bit.

L

 

[nanoMama86]

I live in texas and I battle HTS( Hot Tank Syndrome) every summer, when my a/c struggles to pull my house below 80. The only thing that works for me is to suspend my lights and use a water surface fan. Also, I make tank water ice cubes in case my tanks start to reach critical temperature spikes. I check my tank's temp by stick on, mercury, digital and good ole hand. NEVER trust what your heater says.

We literally go into summer hibernation. I spend 2 days tin-foiling and duck-taping my windows and adding the extra sealer to the doors and windows. We only leave the house before 10 or after 8.

 

[Shovelman]

I live in texas and I battle HTS( Hot Tank Syndrome) every summer, when my a/c struggles to pull my house below 80. The only thing that works for me is to suspend my lights and use a water surface fan. Also, I make tank water ice cubes in case my tanks start to reach critical temperature spikes. I check my tank's temp by stick on, mercury, digital and good ole hand. NEVER trust what your heater says.

We literally go into summer hibernation. I spend 2 days tin-foiling and duck-taping my windows and adding the extra sealer to the doors and windows. We only leave the house before 10 or after 8.

sheeesh! im up in Illinois so its not as much of a problem as it sounds like down there!

 

[ainsy]

I don't know how hot it gets near you but both of those tricks have worked for me in the past - just beware if you are using the fan that there will be extra evaporation so you will need to keep on top of the top-ups.

Here in the UK in the height of summer I really struggled to keep things cool - the halide lights were a big contributor. Eventually the only was to go was a chiller. This was a big tank though - on a smaller tank without halides I am sure you would be ok.

I have even seen people buy a second hand beer chiller from a pub cheap and convert it to keep things cool (you have to remove the copper piping inside and replace it with something reef safe.)

 

[Shovelman]

I don't know how hot it gets near you but both of those tricks have worked for me in the past - just beware if you are using the fan that there will be extra evaporation so you will need to keep on top of the top-ups.

Here in the UK in the height of summer I really struggled to keep things cool - the halide lights were a big contributor. Eventually the only was to go was a chiller. This was a big tank though - on a smaller tank without halides I am sure you would be ok.

I have even seen people buy a second hand beer chiller from a pub cheap and convert it to keep things cool (you have to remove the copper piping inside and replace it with something reef safe.)

Awesome thanks!

So just wondering if we switch gears.... what options might i be looking at fish wise?

 

[ainsy]

In 20 gallons?

You would be fine with a pair of clowns and a shrimp/goby pair.

I love clownfish (sorry LLJ!!) I think they have real personality & very entertaining to watch!

 

[Shovelman]

In 20 gallons?

You would be fine with a pair of clowns and a shrimp/goby pair.

I love clownfish (sorry LLJ!!) I think they have real personality & very entertaining to watch!

yeah thats what i think too...i mean i get my bred and butter easy sw fish and the oddball goby/shrimp pair! plus these are some of the cheaper fish...lol

 

[Shovelman]

how does this look for simple softy coral lighting?
http/www.marineandreef.com/Nova_Extreme_T5_Aquarium_Lighting_Current_USA_p/rcu01124.htm

One 24 Watt TrueLumen 12K and one 24 watt 460nm Actinic Blue T5 HO fluorescent lamp

anyone have any ideas as too a good quality but not terribly expensive refractometer?

 

[lljdma06]

how does this look for simple softy coral lighting?
http/www.marineandreef.com/Nova_Extreme_T5_Aquarium_Lighting_Current_USA_p/rcu01124.htm

One 24 Watt TrueLumen 12K and one 24 watt 460nm Actinic Blue T5 HO fluorescent lamp

anyone have any ideas as too a good quality but not terribly expensive refractometer?

Again, where are you shovel? Nevermind, talked to you in chat.