Biotopes

[pochanike]

hey guys i currently have a 20long that i am looking to make a biotope once its done cycling. any help you guys can offer me would be great. i was thinking of focusing on the indopacific area of the ocean. do you guys know of any corals, inverts, fish, etc that are usually found together and would go nicely in my 20 long? i plan to have live rock all on the sides and back with an open water column in the middle front... i havent even started thinking about it, i thought maybe you guys could put this into a better perspective for me. as for the fish, i know there arent any that can remain in that tank their entire lives, but something that will stay small for a while (grows slowly, you know what i'm talking about right?)

any help you can offer would be much appreciated.

thanks.

[MikeP]

When you talk Indo-Pacific that's pretty wide. You have some distinct reef communities from the Great Barrier Reef, Indonesia, the Maldives, etc. I would find a species you really want to keep and then do some research on other things found in their habitat. You may not be able to get the exact species but maybe something close.

John Tullock's book - Natural reef Aquariums is a good book for giving you ideas on different biotopes. Some ideas off the top of my head:


- Gulf Coast Biotope , some sponges, gulf live rock, a few peppermint shrimp, some macro algae and a fish or two.

- Carribean - Lots of gorgonians, a few blue chromis , maybe a flower anemone and a few sexy shrimp, maybe a few chalk bass instead of chromis.

- Deepwater IndoPacific - Sun coral , chili coral, some cryptic sponge rock, a cave like structure for a hawkfish - could skip the hawfish and get a tube anemone.

- Seagrass / Sandzone - some thlassia or syringiodium seagrasses, deep sandbed, a few gobies and some monitporas and a few small pieces of rubble.



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[pochanike]

i'm looking for a particular chromis that i cant find for sale ANYWHERE. its Chromis vanderbiliti or Vanderbilt's Chromis. that is the area i was thinking of with some SPS corals and about 8-12 of these fish in there with live rock on the sides and back with a water column in the middle front... how many watts of light would i need for a 20long? my friend was telling me that the standard three might be too intense because they 20long is very shallow, any ideas guys? i want to get a JBJ power compact light and was thinking about 65watts but i dont really know if this will be enough as i wanted to get a 96watt power compact. my friend said this would be overkill and others have told me i should go with a metal halide but i read that metal halides werent actually the best and i should go with something better that is like power compact or something. help! :)

[matt]

Hi;

Welcome to MAAST. Probably 8-12 fish of any species is too much for a 20 gallon tank. As far as lighting goes, 2 55W (65W) P.C. tubes would probably do well. There's an online company, ahsupply, that specializes in PC lighting and can supply the stuff you need. A MH bulb, I guess you would get a single 175, would light the tank well also, but you'd have to solve the heat issue.

You can't have a fully functioning deep sand bed in this size tank. There's certainly no harm in having a sand bed, but you won't get sufficient diversity in the micro-life to process nitrate.

HTH
Matt

[pochanike]

thanks. i said 8-12 because someone from rc told me 8-12. i'll make sure i dont order that many.