My simple 20g build

[Cheebs]

Hey guys,

So I've decided to start up a simple but hopefully interesting tank in the front hall of my house. I've decided to go with a 20 gallon tank and stand I had in storage. What I plan on doing is having a low fish count (perhaps 2-3 fish maximum), a few interesting invertebrates, and a bunch of soft corals, focusing on mushrooms... Yumas, ricordeas and all that jazz.

What I decided to do this time around is start with completely dry rock and build it from scratch. I had a whole bunch of exra live rock that had been in a large bin with a powerhead and heater for months... so I took out a few peaces, let them dry, and started aquascaping. I used some epoxy to get the rock formations I wanted, and I'm quite satisfied with the results. Here is the tank a few weeks ago before water was added. I appologize for the grainy cellphone pic!



I used eggcrate on the bottom for some stability. I then added my aragonite and filled it with water. Cycling took about 3 and half weeks. I then added a Fire Shrimp, Cleaner Shrimp, and soon after I transfered some frags over from my other tanks. The frags have just been added and haven't fully re-opened yet, but I've got 3 varieties of mushrooms, and 3 varieties of yuma/ricordea in there so far. I'll see how they fare before adding more.

Here is some additional tank information:

- 2 koralia powerhead
- Emptied HOB filter containing live rock rubble, carbon, and cheato
- 4 x t5 bulb light fixture

Here are some shots of the tank in it's present state. Updated pics shall come soon!

[Cheebs]

As for livestock, I am considering several options. Aside from the Fire and Cleaner shrimp I already have, here are some ideas I have:

- Porcelain crab
- Emerald crab
- a few Sexy shrimp
- Clown goby
- a wrasse of some sort.

Of course not all these would be feasible at once in the tank, so I'll narrow it down a little and add in some new ideas as I go, but that's the basis of what I want in there

[JetJumper]

Sweet, love the idea!

I always wanted a 100% ricordia / yuma tank.  The colours are amazing!

[az]

nice rockwork.

[Cheebs]

A small update:

I added my first fish, a B/W ocellaris. The tank is for the lady after all, and she picked it. We also grabbed a Pom-pom crab.
I updated the CUC with a few Nassarius and Trochus snails.
There are also a couple new frags in there. Pics shall come soon!

Phil

[Thunda]

Sounds like it is coming along nicely.  Looking forward to more updates as it goes.

[Cheebs]

Everything is coming along nicely.. I've got a couple new residents. Here are a few pics!

[Cheebs]

Here's another shot  took tonight. My girlfriend has decided to name him "Scraggles".

[Cheebs]

Well, more updates! The third and final fish has been added to the tank. The colour on this fishHelfrichi Firefish is just insane. From his yellow/purple head to his tail with purple spots that seem to glow, it just looks fantastic in the tank. Here are a few glamour shots right after adding it to the tank. It seems to love following the camera around, so it wasn't hard to get some good shots, and with some added supplemental LEDS the colours really pop. Next I'll try to get some actinic shots, because his colours are completely different under those!

Edit: I also just noticed my clownfish loves photobombing nearly every shot I take!

[ray]

Nice pics,Phil.The Helfrichi seems to have settled in quickly

[az]

nice addition, make sure your tank has a cover, even 2" gap and fish can jump through it..

[Cheebs]

Thanks guys! Roger that Az, I put eggcrate over the tank as soon as the fish was in there, and I'm in the process of making a different (less light blocking) top.

More good news: I just fed the tank, and the Firefish has started eating. He took some flake and pellet food, and I'll try some mysis tomorrow.

This fish, oddly enough, was the fastest I've ever seen get comortable in a tank. It has explored every nook and cranny already, and seems to love just stayng right out in the open. He follows the camera around when i have it against the tank. Great success! Now all I have to do is update the cleanup crew and inverts in the tank and let things grow

[salvini55]

lookin great! looks bigger than a 20 gallon good scape. The helfrichi is a wicked pick

[kole18]

nice tank & fish as well, i was thinking getting those hilfrichi but i've got this crazy sixline wrasse in my tank he likes to chase my neon goby. im ok with 5 barletts today thanks az.

[Cheebs]

Thanks guys!

Updates!!

So I've slowly been adding frags... I've grabbed a few from various sponsors, any time I see a unique or cool looking Ric/Yuma I snatch it up. I've also added some from my larger tank.

I had the privilege of borrowing an AI Sol LED unit. It is something I'll definitely be purchasing for the tank in the near furute. I discovered that it's true what they say about pictures being unable to really capture the right colours of the corals under LEDs, but I played around a lot with my white balance and got it pretty close to what I am seeing. I played with a whole bunch of different spectrums. This light is awesome!!

This first pic is the only non-ric/yuma frag in the tank for the sand bed. I loved the colour so I had to have it.


Here are some pics of some of my favorite colour morphs in the tank:








And my ultimate favorite so far:


More pics/updates to come soon!

Cheers

[salvini55]

once these guy get a chance to start taking over this is going to be a very nice looking tank. Are you still planning for sexy shrimp? one day I would love to have a tank full

[Hookup]

this is a very nice looking setup... when it's all covered in wicked colors it'll be quite a show-stopper...

I vote TOTM Aug 2012!!!

[Cheebs]

Haha thanks guys! I'll try to get a decent full tank shot, perhaps I'll wait until I get my LED fixture in mid-october. I just hooked up my new AquaC Remora Nano skimmer to help out and add some additional surface stimulation. So far so good! I've also been considering selling my cleaner and blood shrimp and getting a troupe of sexy shrimp. We'll see!

[Cheebs]

Well, it's been a while since I've updated this! All I'll say for now is I've taken this tank in a very different direction than originally intended.

Believe it or not it is taking over as my favorite tank, over the 40 gallon. I'll be posting some pics soon!!

[leemay]

can't wait to see it!
how is the yumas doing? drop any babies?
let me know if they get out of control I'll buy some, ha ha.

thanks