Stocking For a 30g FOWLR

[nuwave59]

Hi!

I'm planning the following stocking for my 30g FOWLR, with a 15g Sump/Refugium. What do you think about it, of course, I'm not going to put in at the same time, it'll be a slow progress of about a year. :

Clean up crew :
15 Trochus Snails, 10 scarlet hermit
2 Pistol Shrimps

Fish : 2 x False Percula Clowns
2 x Randall's Goby

My priority are the clowns (have kids), but would like to see the symbiotic relation of the gobies with the shrimp.

I know you put the least aggressive fish 1st, and the more aggressive 2nd, so I guess I go with the clowns first, wait a few months and add the gobies??

 

[carey]

I'd add the clowns last imo. Also, not sure how 2 pistol shrimps will work out. I have one and he never formed a relationship with my watchman, so it's hit or miss with that. I also think my pistol shrimp is slowly killing off my other shrimp. Havent seen him do it but he's theonly one that I can suspect. lol

You could probably get away with a blenny in there as well, They are awesome fish.

 

[nuwave59]

Thanks again for your quick answer Carey!

 

[nuwave59]

If I got you right, it would be, in this order :
A few Snails and Crabs
1 x Court Jester Bleeny
2 x Pistol Shrimps
2 x Randall's Goby
2 x False Perculla
I boost my cleanup crew if detritus or algae becomes a problem.

 

[carey]

That sounds good to me. If you keep up on your water and don't overfeed you shouldnt have a need for much CUC. It's always nice to have some snails and hermits though lol. make sure you buy some extra empty shells for your hermits or they will kill your snails for theirs.

Are you getting a mated pair of Gobies btw?

When you get your first stock make sure you post those pictures! LOL

 

[nuwave59]

It's a long term project. Everything is more expensive here in Canada. Just got my pumps and my overflow box. I'll get a 15g High at my LFS this weekend for the sump. I'll build a bubble trap and put a refugium in there. I'll buy my skimmer in a week or 2. Have to spare money for the live rock. They sell Tonga for 8$/lb at my LFS. I'm sure it's a lot cheaper in florida! And it'll be a big pleasure to send you pictures! You're my best (and only!) helper.

 

[carey]

You can buy "base" or dead rock mostly and just a few lbs of "live" from your LFS. Say like 30lbs of base rock and then 5 lbs of live. 5 x $8= alot cheaper LOL

The skimmer you can even wait on for a bit as well. With your size tank it's hardly a necessity. Proper weekly water changes can work wonders. i have a 29g cube and it doesnt have a skimmer at all. I did mod the back compartment and put in a fuge and media baskets, but I water change maybe once a week 5g and my water tests yup great. Still ahover around 5ppm of nitrate but thats cause I overfeed like crazy cause i have a scooter dragonet that needs alot of food.

 

[nuwave59]

Oh! Ok! So.....if I want 40 lbs.....I could go with lets say....10 lbs of live and 30 lbs of base rock and it would be fine? I read somewhere that they recommend something like a ratio of 60% live and 40% base. Must be someone who's selling rocks!

 

[carey]

I seeded my cube with about 10 lbs of lr. The rest was base and at the time I had over 40lbs of it in my cube. I've heard of people using a single piece of LR to seed an entire tank. But also keep in mind, even if you use ALL base rock it will still become live over time as the bacteria grows.

How were you planning on cycling your tank? Raw shrimp, pure ammonia?
The only benefit I see in getting more live rock is that you can cycle faster as the die off from the rock produces ammonia as well.

Some others will pop in on thread at some point I'm sure and share.

 

[nuwave59]

I had freshwater tanks for years and I cycled them with fish food, and was planning to cycle with the live rock, but the cheaper the better for me (3 kids). I don't care how long it takes for my tank to cycle. I learned from my freshwater experience and there's no hurry this time! I think I could have an issue to get pure ammonia here in Canada, so I think the raw shrimp idea would be the best. I guess it's the same principle than to cycle with fish food, but you put a raw shrimp instead? And sorry for the syntax, I'm french canadian!

 

[carey]

No worries! lol

And yes, the dead prawn in the tank can generate enough ammonia to get you cycled. Theres a great article and poster on here, Eco, thats the best I've seen as far as a guide to cycling.
Usually pure ammonia can be gotten here at a hardware store, we have ace hardware. It cant have any perfumes or additives.
I personally used the pure ammonia cause you can get a precise ammonia level and keep dosing the tank to 4ppm without any guesswork as with the raw shrimp method its kinda dependant on the decay level of the shrimp. make sure to put the shrimp in a nylon baggie or the foot of a pantyhose (new one) so that when you go to remove it that it doesnt muck up your tank.

 

[nuwave59]

Thanks a lot Carey for the advice!

 

[carey]

No problem. Good luck!