I’m hoping to set up a nano reef in my 12 gallon hex tank (not for another year or two, unless something pretty drastic kills off the fish that currently live there – let’s hope not). I’m a little nervous since this is my first reef set up, and yes, I know it’s not advisable for a beginner to jump right in with a nano set up, but I don’t have the means right now to keep a bigger tank. I’ve seen some pretty successful nano reefs in smaller tanks, so I figured I’d give it a shot, since I’m already pretty meticulous about cleaning and maintaining my tanks.
Anyways, getting to the point: I want a reef set up with ocellaris clown fish for sure, with mostly soft or polyp coral if I can get away with it. I saw that there are soft coral packages at petco that are suggested for nano reefs, but I wanted to get a bit of input before investing $50 all at once on one of those. What soft corals do well in nano reefs? I really want frogspawn and button polyps, and I’ve heard good things about mushroom and leather coral. Since it’s a hex tank, I’m a little worried about space, so I know I would have to limit myself in that respect. I was hoping to work mostly vertically, with the central reef structure either in the middle of the aquarium or on the back wall.
I was also wondering if there are any anemones that are suggested for nano reefs. I’ve heard that they are notoriously hard to keep, but I’d also like to see my clownfish’s anemone-loving behaviors. Is there a good, hardy anemone, or possibly an anemone substitute that my clownfish will adopt? (Also, goddamn, anemone is a difficult word…) Can I keep a brittle star?
Finally, I’m not sure whether I should keep one clownfish or two. I’ve heard if you get two as juveniles, they will become a mated pair. I don’t know if it would be better to keep two (so they wouldn’t be shy or lonely) or one (so I wouldn’t risk overstocking).
For the tank I have an undergravel filter (with an extra powerful power head – I had to get the 95 gph one because they did not have any smaller), a really great heater, and a power filter. I’ve gotten mixed advice on whether or not a protein skimmer is necessary, and since I can’t figure out what the heck one does, I’m a little shy on getting one. After all, my tank is already a little crowded with the filter and the powerhead. Do I really need one? And if so, could I be better served by upgrading my filter to a skilter? And for lighting: do I need a special, high-power light strip, or can I get by with a special bulb in my current fluorescent light strip?
Yeah, I know, that was an essay. I like to be prepared. As I said before, right now I’m gathering materials, but I can’t get started until my freshwater community dies, which shouldn’t be for at least another year, barring random catastrophe. Just looking for a little input beforehand so I can be as knowledgeable as possible before I start