29 gal reef experience so far

[Elykreefs97]

So far my upgrade from a 10 gal to a 29 gal has been ok I lost my box angel thought my green BTA was going to die and thought I had an ich break out. I love my reef tank and sepend hours on it. I want to use this new thread and keep it for all my updates on my tank right now it's been up for exactly one week my cycle is done and im ready to get some clean up crew members. My setup consistes of 2 filters my old one and a new one. I have a sera marine protien skimmer 130 that is just good enough for now. About 12 lbs of live rock right now and getting more sand soon. I have a small colony of Zoas and some palys. My maroon clown is very protective of his GBTA. One thing I need some info on is my fish selection because my maroon killed my box angel and my orchard dottyback so please some help on that. I can't wait to get deeper into this tank and any info will help!!!

 

[Ausfish]

Introducing new fish will be hard since your clown already established himself as the boss. More than likely he will attack everything that follows now. Give the tank some time, then try introduce the new fish when the lights are off.

Are you sure it is fully cycled? You shouldn't have brown diatoms everywhere. The nem looks nice, just keep an eye it in case you get a mini cycle...


Oh an I think someone mentioned it on your other thread: try and get more live rock. It is the main/most mortar filtration in your tank.


Good luck

 

[Craigj247]

You def need more live rock in tour tank... 1 pound to every gallon is the calculation... And the Marin clown is probably the most aggressive of any clown you could get... Sorry buddy but I think you could ne'er have any other fish with that god father in their

 

[Craigj247]

*Maroon clown.

I think there is something up with your system... Have you been testing the water regularly? What are your ammonia and nitrate levels and how long has the tank been running? What is the media you have in your filters?

How often do you do your water changes and how much of it? Do you make your own solution?

How long are your lights on a day?

 

[Sniperhank]

What kind of lighting do you have on your tank? Your bta is very bleached. To tag onto what craigj was heading to, knowing the current parameters of your tank will be helpful with helping us figure out what is going on in your system.

In terms of your maroon clown, they are more aggressive than other clowns. Welcome to the damsel family. Besides clowns, I always try to steer people away from damsels. They might be hardy and colorful, but a pain in the rear if they aren't added last...and even then I'm not a fan. I would think that if you research semi-aggressive fish that will fit into your tank on liveaquaria.com you will find something that will work for you.

 

[Elykreefs97]

I know I am getting more live rock like 20 mor lbs tomarrow I already have 12 lbs I think and yes I had tons of diotoms now it has cleared up the one pic shows them. And my lights are the zoomed aquasun t5 lights with a 10000 k daylight and an actinic. 30 watts each.

 

[Elykreefs97]

Everything is fine now expert my nem is still recovering. My 10 gal was up for 6 months and all the water sand rock and my old filter cycled the tank fast. My params are fine now my skimmer finally kicked in and it's working some what it still needs some more breaking in. And the corals I have so far are doing ok. In my filter I have a sponge and some rubble rock and the other I have a amonia remover type thing and some carbon filter cartridges. The rock with come tomarrow and more live sand. My clean up crew next week somtime then later I'll add fish. My clown only picked on the fish when they came near the nem no time else but now with a bigger tank and more rock I should be ok.

 

[Elykreefs97]

And isn't a nox angel semi aggressive bc he got picked on near the anenome the down I think is very protective of the nem that's probly why.

 

[Elykreefs97]

And isn't a nox angel semi aggressive bc he got picked on near the anenome the down I think is very protective of the nem that's probly why.

I think my next fish will be a six line wrasse bc I have lots of bristle worms I need to get rid of

 

[Craigj247]

Be careful with angels and corals. Also the sic line wrasse is an amazing fish... I have one myself but you can also try a coral banded shrimp that worked more for me where Bristol worms were considered but the vest thing you can do is just pull them out with a pair of tweezers.

Glad to hear that the tank is doing good and everything is settling down.

 

[Elykreefs97]

Yea with the bristle worms there's to many but this rock is awsome I got a small torch coral on it I think and there's like 30 bristle stars. But yea my angel is dead so I'm just going to get a six line and a goby with a shrimp don't know what two to pair yet. But then maybe a small fish 5 fish Mac right unles they are small which they are except for my clown will get on the bigger side. What should I have in my cleanup crew bc I have a gift card to petco I'm going to get them from there. I was thinking 3 blue leg hermits. 2 snails and a the shrimp paired with the goby then later on as I gain more algea get some more.

 

[Elykreefs97]

Also I Usualy do water changes 2 25% water changes a week but I just cut it down to 1 a week bc I have my skimmer. I use tap water but I use conditioner and I let it sit in my basement covered for about a week at a time so my water is fine I'm may be getting RO system for my birthday.

 

[Craigj247]

Angels are hard to keep unless your tank has been running for sometime. I think about 10 hermits and about 20 turbos would be great cause if you're thinking of adding more sand then the turbos will help keep it clean...

You can also try the banded boxing shrimp and a cleaner or fire shrimp. We I like the orange spot, blue spot or yellow watchman gobi... They look great and really do the job they ate supposed to.... Any type of pistol shrimp would pair up with these gobi.... But be cautious with shrimp and maroon clowns. Good luck!

 

[Elykreefs97]

Ok thanks. I got 2 10 lb bags of crushed coral should I take it back and get like sand?

 

[Elykreefs97]

And my angel was doing ok but a rock fell on him so I just flushed him.

 

[Craigj247]

Ha ha happens to all of us... I lost a gobi to rock slides yeah give the crushed coral back!!! Live sand all the way... Crushed coral is good to look at but cause lots of issues in the long run... How's the clown doing... Has the bubble tip opened up fully?

 

[Elykreefs97]

Well the anenome is shriveled but he's attached on half of his foot the other half is off and I can seek the hole through him I think hes trying to heel

 

[Craigj247]

Hmmm how did the guy get damaged... Probably isn't eating anything either right...?

 

[Elykreefs97]

He was trying to split in my old tank and then he went in tank and now he steps and he's been doing that like once a week. No he can't eat that's why I have my new lights now

 

[Elykreefs97]

Now hes open?