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Very nice tank. Great selection and well thought.
Felicia's 40B Mixed-Reef Predator Tank
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FeliciaLynn
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Thank you! I'm glad you like my eclectic mix of inhabitants
aviationreef
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What a compliment! Thank you so much!
I've avoided NPS gorgonians in this system because the lionfish are already a high bioload, without having to feed a ton for NPS corals. Also, I was aiming to make this system more low maintenance than my previous ones, so constant feeding would contradict that. I wanted to have a good balance with this tank with enjoyment vs. stress, haha!
Your tank is just very diverse, and the fishes personalities are great. Do you buy most of the corals large or grow them out?
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FeliciaLynn
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Thank you! A lot of the corals in here have been grown out from small frags. For example, my big Duncan colony has been grown out from a 2 headed frag over the last 4 years or so. The clams has also been grown out from smaller sizes (around 2-3"). The derasa and smaller squamosa have both grown out in my tank, while the big squamosa was in a friends tank until about 10 months ago and it's grown a lot in just the time that I've had it. The gorgonians were purchased already pretty large, but they're showing quite a bit of growth. Also the newer softies that I've gotten in the last month or two are still about the same size as when I purchased them. That includes the Fiji leather, cabbage coral, and colt coral. The older softies I've grown out and have to frag when they get too big. That includes the Tyree toadstool, green nepthea, Xenia, mushrooms, etc. Also, all the zoas and palys have been grown out from only a couple polyps. So to answer your question, it's a mix.
aviationreef
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Awesome, where do you find the Photosynthetic gorgonians? i think they are pretty cool and would want them in my tank but they are really hard to find.
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FeliciaLynn
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I don't order too many corals online, because I have several really good local stores but the gorgonians just aren't that common in stores and can be pretty expensive as a result. However, if anyone is looking for gorgonians, I always highly recommend kpaquatics.com. They are a really great company that collects in the Florida keys. Almost every single on of my gorgonians is from them and I've ordered from them tons of times over the years and have always been happy. Their gorgonians are really inexpensive and always exceed my expectations in terms of health and size when they arrive. You're not going to find a better place to get gorgonians and they sell a bunch of different varieties of easy, photosynthetic ones. They also sell two non photosynthetic ones that are harder to keep - red and yellow tree gorgonians.
aviationreef
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Thanks, ill check them out. LFS is always the best option I agree, nothing like seeing it in person. But ill be sure to check them out, i have a few projects I'm working on now and i put a personal no adding until i get them done. But i have a few items in my cart for when that happens.
Keep up the good reefing, i enjoyed your feeding video!
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FeliciaLynn
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Yeah I always much prefer to see corals and fish in person first, but KPAquatics is the one online retailer that I won't hesitate to order from. If you do decide to order down the line, you won't be disappointed. Good luck with your projects!
Thank you!
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FeliciaLynn
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FeliciaLynn
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The answer depends on whether you mean long term or if there is the ability to upgrade as the eel grows. Live Aquaria recommends a minimum tank size of 50 gallons for a snowflake eel, but most people recommend more like a minimum of 75 gallons for a full grown snowflake. However, a small one can do well in a smaller tank for a while. Mine does very well in my 40 gallon, but I've always planned to upgrade when it gets too big. I'd say that a 30 gallon would be the minimum I'd recommend for a small eel as long as you plan to upgrade when the eel outgrows the tank.
30reef
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here's a FTS of my tank
... I decided to make many overhang and ledges well still keeping the tank open for lions! This is a 30 Long... I really want 3 lions and a snowflake like you, I'd even be happy with 2 lions and a snowflake! I do plan on upgrading my tank in the next 6 months sometime to a 75 gallon. I also plan on getting all the lions small and if I do get a snowflake if get him small too, do you think that'd be fine with 3 lions and a snowflake or 2 lions and a snowflake? And which lions would you suggest?
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FeliciaLynn
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I read over on NR that your tank doesn't have a sump or a skimmer at this point, so I really wouldn't recommend trying to put even two lionfish and a snowflake in there. Its just too much bioload. You need much more filtration for that. On my tank I have a skimmer that is rated for 100 gallons (more than twice my water volume), a biopellet reactor, and a refugium with macro algaes. Also, it looks like you don't have all that much rock, so you probably don't have sufficient biofilter for that kind of bioload. How many pounds of rock do you have in there? I wouldn't do more than 2 lionfish in the 30 gallon as is and just wait until the upgrade to add more. Even with all the filtration that I have, I have to do weekly 25% water changes to keep my nitrates down. My nitrates are basically never below 10-15 and sometimes hit as high as 50 if I slack on a water change.here's a FTS of my tank... I decided to make many overhang and ledges well still keeping the tank open for lions! This is a 30 Long... I really want 3 lions and a snowflake like you, I'd even be happy with 2 lions and a snowflake! I do plan on upgrading my tank in the next 6 months sometime to a 75 gallon. I also plan on getting all the lions small and if I do get a snowflake if get him small too, do you think that'd be fine with 3 lions and a snowflake or 2 lions and a snowflake? And which lions would you suggest?
Thank you so much! Other than the weekly water change since I have a heavy bioload, it really is super low maintenance. I had seahorses in the past, and let me tell you that feeding 3 times a day becomes a chore and is no longer fun! I definitely enjoy only needing to feed every other day or so now. I also tried to plan out this system to make all the maintenance as easy as possible.Really is an amazing tank! Great job. And low maitinence
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FeliciaLynn
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Not a lot of updates over here, but in random fun news, I did my water change last night and discovered that I have limpets breeding in my sump. Fun! Here's a bad picture of one of them hanging out on the drain pipe that I removed to change the filter sock.
IMG_3060 by Felicia Svedlund, on Flickr
IMG_3060 by Felicia Svedlund, on Flickr
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FeliciaLynn
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I wouldn't recommend a mombassa lionfish in a 30 gallon since its a medium bodied lionfish and should really be in like a 55 gallon or larger. Since you're getting a dwarf fuzzy, you can't get a dwarf zebra since they will fight. That basically leaves you with a fu manchu as your other option for a dwarf lionfish. Just make sure you get a healthy one from the store and don't take one home if it looks unhealthy or is refusing to eat. The fu manchu's are notoriously not the best shippers and you always want to make sure they've recovered well and are healthy. They can also supposedly be harder to wean onto frozen food, so you need to make sure you have ghost shrimp on hand and have a source to get more as needed. Don't rely on getting it to eat frozen right off the bat. Another dwarf lionfish option is the Hawaiian lionfish/green lionfish, but those are really uncommon and hard to find.
30reef
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Thanks for helping me out! I very well may get a sump on my 30 or just wait not sure yet! Hope your tank keeps on thriving and doing great, and I look forward to seeing more updates and videos!
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FeliciaLynn
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No problem! Good luck! If you can add a sump, I think it would definitely help so that you can get a good skimmer. The in tank and HOB skimmer don't tend to be all that efficient for a high bioload and I think having a good quality, big skimmer for a lionfish tank is definitely a huge help. If you don't add a good skimmer, I definitely wouldn't recommend more than two dwarf lionfish and you'll have to stay on your water changes.
