Started my 30g "reef"

[Squizzler]

Been out of the hobby/profession for 4 years.

Going cheap/using what I cobbled together.

Oceanic 30gallon - $55 (thanks craiglist)

Aquaclear 70
Stealth 150watt heater
Small submersible pump that moves alot of water
A real classy 13w incandescent bulb that puts off a yellowish brown hue.
(I have alot of old lighting, 400s, a 250w HQI, and some 65w pc's that could to be cobbled together into something...but I'm thinking about just dropping <$100 on a used LED system...not really a concern atm)

25lbs dry #3 CC
30lbs dried/broken/bleached coral chunks

water has been cycling for a week.
i threw in a little brine shrimp and marine pellets and a friend's filter sponge from his tank to get the cycle going.
8.1, 1.021, 77F...

13 blue leg hermits ($13) & 1 ($8) emerald crab for something to occupy the tank. I'm going sumpless, so i'm looking for a intank skimmer, and that's about it.
Fish wise, I'm think about nothing but a pair of spotted mandarins. Just inverts, before I go zoa crazy.

 

[HUNTER01975]

welcome back into the game..

i fairly new and dont know much but I think you way want to get a bigger tank for those little fish. I am pretty sure people say they need large amounts of food to sustain them. And they don't recomend them in small tanks. So you may want to ask around so you don't waste your money.

 

[Squizzler]

Before I throw mandarins in there, I'll be sure to have a thriving pop of ampiphods/copepods, but I'm not overly concerned.

I have gotten dozens of mandarins to eat frozen food in small tanks and quaratines for myself and clients, and honestly if mandarins are the dominant fish in a smaller tank, alot of them are first to the top for whatever frozen food once their established. For the half of them that don't eat frozen food right away, there's a neat little trick called "thawed blood worms" that can sit as a pile in the bottom of the tank for them to find, that weens them onto frozen...seriously, they love slurp it up like spaghetti noodles, and if you mix them in vitamins and other frozen foods it's at least a little nutritious, if they're not getting enough pods. You can make mandarins seriously fat this way in a small tank if you continue feeding like that.

Most people with them in tanks have clowns or wrasses or whatever to harass mandarins when it comes to feeding time, but if mandarins are the largest or only fish in the tank, i swear they're almost honery and will chase other fish away and dominate the top half of the tank when it comes to feeding time. A pair of them in a tank where they're not harassed by anything, and they'll dance all day in open water.

 

[HUNTER01975]

AWESOME well it sounds like you know what your doing and have a good attack plan can't wait to see how your tanks some out..

 

[Squizzler]

My goal is to go forever without bristleworms(HAH!).

Every tank I've started before, I've used established LR or livesand, and bristleworms were inevitable(i know they're not "too bad", i just hate them, because no matter how many you take out...there will always be more). Hopefully I can eventually just add animal + water to this tank, and trully regulate the animals that live in it.

 

[Peppie]

welcome back into the game..

i fairly new and dont know much but I think you way want to get a bigger tank for those little fish. I am pretty sure people say they need large amounts of food to sustain them. And they don't recomend them in small tanks. So you may want to ask around so you don't waste your money.

IMO
Most reefers would be more concerned with the health and well being of their fish, instead of wasting money on the purchase of said fish.

 

[Squizzler]

<img src="http://www.reeffrontiers.com/photos_members/data/500/53013cubeweb.jpg">
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/photos_members/data/500/53013cubeweb.jpg

Here's the new shot/change. 96watt PC.

Going planted, going cheap.
Dragon's Breath & Red Kelp ($6)
Saw Blade Caulerpa ($6)

My idea originally was just to pick up random caulerpa for pods. I stumbled upon Dragon's Breath in Renton, and decided to go this route, as I think they're all attractive. I also got a ton of the mini-brittle stars (like total diameters of <1.5"), which is a huge bonus, as them breeding right after a water change was my favorite part of my old tank.

Arrow Crab ($12)
2 Pink Skunk Clown juvies ($7.50 each from the bad place, but they're the first fish, so...yeah $7.50 a piece)

I'm holding off on snails, just not sure for how long. Buying most snails seems like a waste and their mortality rate doesn't always seem great, but I'll get a few of the Tongan Nassarius and an Abalone when I see them cheap.

 

[BoxerbREEF]

I love the Nassarius snails... Always come out of the sand when I feed!

 

[beemer]

welcome back! Nobody can stay away forever. lol