Hey all
Just joined this forum having got myself a D+D 24G. I had a 240 litre set up for a couple of years but downsizd due to and increasing family.
Set up the 24G a couple of weeks ago with 10kgs of live rock with 2-3Kgs of live rock rubble in chamber 1 and crbon in chamber 2. Tank is currently housing just 1 clown (its mate has just passed to the big reef in the sky) and half a dozen crabs. Everything else is standard equipment at the moment, but I am looking to increase flow with a Koralia 1 or one of those internal UV sterilizer things......
Plans for stock are a couple of pipe fish and maybe a mandarin, plus a nice selection of corals
I will post a couple of pictures shortly, but in the meantime have a couple of questions-
- what protein skimmer should i use? I like the idea of an all enclosed system so dont want to go doctoring the hood and hanging one on the back, but im not sure if i can get one in any of the chambers. Any suggestions????
- Ayone got any experience of these internal UV sterilisers?
- Will the standard lighting support corals such as hammerheads, brains, etc?

Thanks for your help
Andy

Hi Andy and welcome to the forum.

I was also in the same boat with a young family and down sized to the DD 24G which has now been running over a year. I cant answer all your questions, but i will have ago.
I have turned chamber 2 into a fuge, with Cheato . After cutting away the tank backing, I rigged an eternal light onto the back of the tank , which is illuminated on a reverse light cycle. My nitrate level has always been less than 0.5. and I regularly dispose of a good handful of cheato. I also perform regular water changes of 14 liters. Which goes along way to not having a skimmer. I did fit a TMC nano skimmer into chamber 3 with the aid of a shoe horn. but have since removed it. I still have the original filter sponges in chamber 1 as I like to have some mechanical filtration. These get regularly cleaned. I also have a Koralia 1 + eternal canaster (500lt) & upgraded the return pump to a MJ1200.

I think a lot of members would not recommend a Mandarin in a 24G tank and certainly not in the first 6 - 12 months. The copepod population in a 24G tank will not support a Mandarin and it will slowly starve. If you are determined to keep one then look at reefworks.co.uk as they can supply copepod feeder packs.

Also have a hammer under the 24G lighting. It seems ok, but I think it could be better. (my leather could be effecting it).

No experience on a internal UZ sterilizer

Pictures always helps.

I have the reef bug again and will be upgrading to a custom 160 liter tank with Aquaray LED lighting and of course a fuge.

Thanks for the advice. Could have made a big mistake there with the Mandarin.....
After posting, i did an 8 litre water change and noticed the amount of dirt on the surface so i have added a small piece of filter wool to chamber 1, just on the intake that i am going to change every 3-4 days. Seems to be helping already. The other thing might have been that i didnt put a cuc in till the end of last week, and they seem to be doing a good job now. Gonna give them a couple of days to work their magic and will try getting some photos on the weekend. Hopefully will have the pipe fish by then.........
Can you give me some more info on the fuge - its not really something i have any experience of. I take it that the Cheato is some kind of algae? How does the lighting curcuit work / what equipment? I think that something like that would be more benificial than just having a bag of carbon in chamber 2. Could move that to chamber 3 with no bother.
I think that the Koralia 1 and an upgrade to the return pump is also on the cards, but will have to hold on till my birthday i think - Wifes orders, what with the credit crunch and all that - she doesnt understand that investment in the "boring" stuff is needed, not just the "pretty fish" that she can name...

Hi Andy

Yes chaetomorpha is an algae, which I use in my Re fuge as an algae filter, its rather like course fishing line and resembles a birds nests, there are other types of algae to use including Caulerpa, & mangrove pods. All of which have a good characteristic of absorbing nitrate, and allegedly helps to stabilize PH fluctuations as it is illuminated on a reverse like cycle. Caulerpa however needs to be illuminated 24x 7. (sorry I cant remember the exact reason why ) You can purchase some from fleebay for a few quid + postage. As for a light I use a Power comapact fluorescent (one suitable for plant growth in freshwater) in a light tight box which i made and then velcroed to the back off the tank over the second chamber, I get loads of growth and have to through large amounts away every 2 - 4 weeks. (perhaps I should go into production and sell it on flebay to combat the credit crunch) I simply use a cheap timer to switch the Algae light on 30 mins before the main lights go off at night. I switch the algae light off 30 mins after the main lights come back on. simple. I have tried to upload a photo of the light box I made, without success.

I found the following link usefull when I setup http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=84931 by steelheair is not a 5 min read!!! page 17 may interest you

Thanks Geoff. Have done a bit more research on the fuge and think its gotta be the way to go. That link was good reading and tank looks amazing - really is something to aspire to and just how i picture my Nano to be (fingers crossed). Was interested to see that he is using a sort of desktop lamp. Looks rally simple and very effective. will have to look on evilbay to see whats available.
Tested the water last night and the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate were excellent, which i found a bit strange cos i was expecting a spike after loosing that clown and was never able to find the body. Was having a look at the rear chambers and took the return pump out to give it a clean and was shocked to find that the elusive clown was actually happily swimming around in chamber 3 - how the hell she got in there i will never know, but after a careful bit of fishing sha has been safely returned to the main tank, where they both look happy to be re-united. What a result!!!!
Took a trip today to the people behind liverock.co.uk as they are within 30 minutes drive of me and got myself a cleaner shrimp and a pair of feather dusters, that have really settled in well. Will definately get the camera out this weekend and post some photos

Hi Andy

Glad to help, and that you enjoyed the read! I will PM you a picture of my light box I made for my tank. I am having trouble uploading pictures at the moment. Another tip I would try fitting your Fuge to chamber 1, as the Chaeto some times cloggs the impeller of the return pump. i have had to top chamber 2 with a filter sponge to prevent this.

I look forward to seeing some pictures.