Is there a way to tell?

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ferretttt

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Jan 19, 2006
Messages
123
Location
Shenandoah Valley VA
I was wondering if there is a way to be sure that I have enough Pods in my tank, or if I can somehow introduce them into the tank?

I have lots of LR and 2 inches of LS which must have had some when I got it at the LFS and I have a Mandarin Goby, who looks like he is feeding (I hope so anyway) but I want to be sure he has a good meal! he doesnt really go fo rthe frozen brine too much and he is my wife's favorite, so I have to keep him alive :!:

Any suggestions?
 
OK, I purchased some pods online from one of the sources that Tecwzrd gave me.

Is it possible that I simply ran out of pods like that? I mean I had started with some im sure, since I have LS and LR and I know the Mandarin WAS doing OK. He seems kinda lifeless now, sort of skinny and I have tried to encourage him with some frozen Spirulina brine, but I dont think he wants it.

I hope the pods will get here in time, and I suppose I will have to look at buying/building a fuge soon too. Hard to hang one on a hex tank though.
 
what size tank and how old is the system. IMO a mandarin needs a mature tank 9+ months old with lots of LR, Im going to say 100 lbs is a good starting point.
A fuge is a must on a small tank. Tanks under 75 gallons may have trouble keeping one healthy with out a fuge. No scientific proof just knowledge gathered from friends and readings on the net. My first mandarin cleaned out my 125 with 125lbs of LR in about 8 months the tank was not mature (LFS said it was ok), he died. I then hooked up a fuge and wanted about 6 months before getting a new one.
if you have a small tank you may want to rethink a mandarin.
 
44 corner hex that has about 50 lbs lr and is three months old.

I am seriously looking at getting a fuge anyway, since everyone seem sto do better with them.
 
Is it 5 sided like the one below? If so you should have enough room for an overflow/fuge since it's 22x22x24.
103pentagon44gal6xm.jpg
 
That would only give you 2.5 gal which is kind of small considering the room you have. Best bet is probably DIY with a 10 gal (20 x 11 x 13) tank or plastic container.
 
I dont have the room for a DIY tank, thats why I looked at a HOB design. I still dont understand how the water flows. Do you need to add a power head, or could I just attach my skimmer to it?
 
ferretttt said:
I still dont understand how the water flows. Do you need to add a power head, or could I just attach my skimmer to it?

The skimmer output dumping into one side of the hob and then into the tank has worked for some people. Depends on how your hob skimmer is setup and how high you have to raise it. I would try that method first and if it doesn’t work use a separate pump going into the refugium which should cost less than $30 anyways.
 
ferretttt said:
Chaeto seems to be the weed of choice?
At long as you don’t try to smoke it :p Sorry, couldn’t resist :roll:
It does propagate pretty quickly and keeps nuisance algae down :D
 
Awesome. Any thought on substrate? Mud or ls? What about bioballs or whatever. As I said, filtration isnt too much of an issue right now, but I suppose very little bit helps. I would like to start to get some corals in a few months, so I want it to be as close to perfect as I can. The anemones are doing well, as is the one mushroom rock I just got, but I want some soft corals eventually.
 
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