30Gal Aggressive FOWLR stocking

[GayFishie]

I started out in the hobby in freshwater about two years ago, dipped into saltwater about a year and a half ago and have worked in a local aquarium for about six months under very knowledgeable aquarist. I have experiences with fish with special care requirements and difficult situations concerning fish care. I have worked with poisonous fish, fish with bizarre feeding requirements, massive fish that bite, an octopus and peacock mantis shrimp, nano tanks of every shape and size. I've worked with solving issues concerning mysteriously leaking sumps ten minutes before opening time, custom builds, sickness, injury. I'd like to think that not much fazes me anymore, haha. I left the hobby when I got my job at the aquarium, donating my tanks.

With that in mind I recently came into possession of a thirty gallon hexagon that belonged to my boyfriend's grandparents. This is the tank that inspired me to get into fish keeping, I've loved it since I set eyes on it years ago.

Having this dream tank means doing something special with it.

I'd love to have a fu manchu lionfish. maybe a valentini puffer as well. I worked with hairy red hermit crabs in the aquarium, which I loved and would not mind having another provided it did not become dinner to a fish (We kept two with a neon dottyback and coral banded shrimp, we had one with massive tangs and lionfish that survived just fine), I also worked with a variety of starfish and I particularly liked the chocolate chips and brittles (I got the chance to work with a basket seastar for a while, which was such an amazing creature, but I don't suggest it as an aquarium animal though). No coral (hopefully some simple mushrooms and a few low light zoas later on, possibly another kenya tree), I know a cleaning crew would live a short life with a lionfish and puffer. I'd like the fish to be comfortable, but a heavy bioload and weekly water changes do not faze me.

Let me know some suggestions for stocking this tank. Since it is a hexagon and therefore an awkward shape I am going to invest a good chunk of money into high quality liverock with plenty of space and holes to hide and establish territories. I'd like around four fish and a few carefully chosen inverts that would not fall victim to an aggressive fish.

No eels, tangs, rays, sharks, dragonets, ect (I hope this is obvious guys), nothing run of the mill or overly expensive (More than 100$) if it can be helped. Really the only thing I have my heart set on is the fu manchu lionfish (Though I might settle for a fuzzy dwarf if I have to).

It's great to be back in the hobby! Thank you for all your help guys, hope to get some really cool suggestions.

[Tamberav]

I started out in the hobby in freshwater about two years ago, dipped into saltwater about a year and a half ago and have worked in a local aquarium for about six months under very knowledgeable aquarist. I have experiences with fish with special care requirements and difficult situations concerning fish care. I have worked with poisonous fish, fish with bizarre feeding requirements, massive fish that bite, an octopus and peacock mantis shrimp, nano tanks of every shape and size. I've worked with solving issues concerning mysteriously leaking sumps ten minutes before opening time, custom builds, sickness, injury. I'd like to think that not much fazes me anymore, haha. I left the hobby when I got my job at the aquarium, donating my tanks.

With that in mind I recently came into possession of a thirty gallon hexagon that belonged to my boyfriend's grandparents. This is the tank that inspired me to get into fish keeping, I've loved it since I set eyes on it years ago.

Having this dream tank means doing something special with it.

I'd love to have a fu manchu lionfish. maybe a valentini puffer as well. I worked with hairy red hermit crabs in the aquarium, which I loved and would not mind having another provided it did not become dinner to a fish (We kept two with a neon dottyback and coral banded shrimp, we had one with massive tangs and lionfish that survived just fine), I also worked with a variety of starfish and I particularly liked the chocolate chips and brittles (I got the chance to work with a basket seastar for a while, which was such an amazing creature, but I don't suggest it as an aquarium animal though). No coral (hopefully some simple mushrooms and a few low light zoas later on, possibly another kenya tree), I know a cleaning crew would live a short life with a lionfish and puffer. I'd like the fish to be comfortable, but a heavy bioload and weekly water changes do not faze me.

Let me know some suggestions for stocking this tank. Since it is a hexagon and therefore an awkward shape I am going to invest a good chunk of money into high quality liverock with plenty of space and holes to hide and establish territories. I'd like around four fish and a few carefully chosen inverts that would not fall victim to an aggressive fish.

No eels, tangs, rays, sharks, dragonets, ect (I hope this is obvious guys), nothing run of the mill or overly expensive (More than 100$) if it can be helped. Really the only thing I have my heart set on is the fu manchu lionfish (Though I might settle for a fuzzy dwarf if I have to).

It's great to be back in the hobby! Thank you for all your help guys, hope to get some really cool suggestions.

 

 

Check out Felicia's Predator tank. It has been featured numerous times and I am sure it would be helpful to having success with your own tank. She has some inverts in hers (hermits/conchs).

 

My suggestion would be to drill the tank and add a sump if you don't already plan to. This way you can get some good filtration going.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/356653-dr-felicias-predator-paradise-reef-hobbyist-magazine-cover/

[GayFishie]

I was hoping to add a small, custom sump to the cabinet beneath the tank. To do so I would need to build the sump into the cabinet since the awkward hexagon shape makes normal tanks impossible to fit in there (Besides a five gallon, I can do better than that.) I plan to add a very good skimmer, a splurge that I didn't have the luxury of indulging in when I put my first reef together. The problem is my mother, who I live with now till I finish college. I already live in an apartment with four cats and four parrots. All the parrots and the tank are in my small bedroom. I've resorted to making an office in my (Tiny) closet for my schoolwork (I'm in college to become a zookeeper) and only a bed, dresser and small TV for me, everything else is for the pets. Doing a ton of work on the tank means irritating my mom (who has absolutely no interest in fish what so ever) who was there during my first endeavor into keeping fish tanks and still remembers the last second emergencies and extremely high cost before I had my own job.

The sump will be a later project once my mom gets over the tank being there and I've figured out how to pull of the unique custom design, for now I'm hoping to get a small in tank skimmer, good flow, weekly ten gallon water changes and lots of live rock and sand.

My big issue with drilling the tank is breaking it, The tank is glass and old on top of that. What I think I may do is what we did at the aquarium. With such massive tanks one mistake didn't mean another hundred bucks on a new tank, it meant a few thousand dollars and costly repairs and explaining to the donor why their money was wasted (eek). So what we did was attack thick tubes to hooks that we hooked over the top of the tank and attached (Sometimes with duct tape). No need to drill, and I could hide a small pump in the rockwork for the intake.

I will definitely check out the post you suggested, thank you!

[Tamberav]

I was hoping to add a small, custom sump to the cabinet beneath the tank. To do so I would need to build the sump into the cabinet since the awkward hexagon shape makes normal tanks impossible to fit in there (Besides a five gallon, I can do better than that.) I plan to add a very good skimmer, a splurge that I didn't have the luxury of indulging in when I put my first reef together. The problem is my mother, who I live with now till I finish college. I already live in an apartment with four cats and four parrots. All the parrots and the tank are in my small bedroom. I've resorted to making an office in my (Tiny) closet for my schoolwork (I'm in college to become a zookeeper) and only a bed, dresser and small TV for me, everything else is for the pets. Doing a ton of work on the tank means irritating my mom (who has absolutely no interest in fish what so ever) who was there during my first endeavor into keeping fish tanks and still remembers the last second emergencies and extremely high cost before I had my own job.

The sump will be a later project once my mom gets over the tank being there and I've figured out how to pull of the unique custom design, for now I'm hoping to get a small in tank skimmer, good flow, weekly ten gallon water changes and lots of live rock and sand.

My big issue with drilling the tank is breaking it, The tank is glass and old on top of that. What I think I may do is what we did at the aquarium. With such massive tanks one mistake didn't mean another hundred bucks on a new tank, it meant a few thousand dollars and costly repairs and explaining to the donor why their money was wasted (eek). So what we did was attack thick tubes to hooks that we hooked over the top of the tank and attached (Sometimes with duct tape). No need to drill, and I could hide a small pump in the rockwork for the intake.

I will definitely check out the post you suggested, thank you!

 

Drilling is very easy, I did it no problem with no experience several times now, many videos on it. Just only use the weight of the drill (don't push at all) and lots of water and its pretty fool proof. The bigger the tank the easier it is to drill since the glass is thicker. Diamond drill bits are inexpensive. I would also suggest buying or making a pattern out of wood as it helps hold the drill steady.

 

As for a sump, it doesn't need to be a glass tank, you can use rubbermaids, ect. Just be sure it is food grade and not flimsy. This will open up a lot more shapes/sizes. It is fairly common they are used as sumps on larger set ups as they are inexpensive.

 

Since the sump space it limited, I would just plan on a skimmer and reactor + sock. You shouldn't need many dividers, you can even get away with no dividers if you have an ATO to keep the levels constant for the skimmer.

 

A cheap chinese led fixture for lights would keep cost down and allow you to grow corals or even more importantly, macro algae which is both beautiful and a nutrient exporter.

 

I urge you to set the tank up the way you want it the first time. It doesn't have to be expensive.

 

That being said, if I were to set up a tank like this without a sump I would go for macro algae dominated and try for a reliable HOB skimmer. The last thing you want is the skimmer overflowing and putting stinky water on the floor, you're mom would not enjoy that! A HOB AC70 filter with a overflow box would provide chemical filtration and surface skimming.

 

 

Also this may be something to look at, it is a DIY overflow done with PVC on a hex without drilling, he got the floating rock by attaching it to the plumbing.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/336436-allure-what-water-change/

[GayFishie]

I did coral for a very long time, I had a lot of anemones which I loved despite peoples dislike of them for their trouble (I had rock flower, minimaxis, bubbletip), I loved it but it was enormous amounts of money for something that sometimes lived and sometimes died. I felt so depressed looking at a dying coral that I feel that I would love to stick with low light corals, mushrooms and a few low light zoas (I find that the lower quality zoas are actually lower light). Some nice branching dry rock for decor and very nice fake coral to replace the look of stony corals (I'm a fairly good artist, I could probably hand paint some dead coral to look alive again minus the polyps). I went for the high light Chinese light and found that it was far too much. I have light sensitivities and usually only keep my room bright enough that the parrots are comfortable (Usually just opening the windows since natural sun is less irritating). The bright light seriously irritated me and I didn't like spending a lot of time near it, it was awesome for photography though.

I thought of the tupperware route and I will probably go that way for a while, I would love to have a beautiful deep acrylic or glass sump one day that is built into the bottom (I was thinking of cutting the glass to fit perfectly and silicone it all together inside the cabinet (There is a massive opening in the back for a sump where I can do all the building comfortably rather than trying to do it all through the narrow door in the front). It would look very neat and professional and I can keep some cool critters below that I can't keep in the aggressive main tank. That's much later though.

I love macroalgae, always wanted it but I was highly suggested to stay away from it by the aquarist (Who has owned a petstore and worked with aquariums and such for 20+ years) who taught me a lot about practical aquarium keeping. He said it all went wrong and ended up a big mess in the end. I wouldn't mind dragons breath or chaeto or something like that, I could do a sponge too. We had a nice branching orange one. Can someone tell me the pros and cons of keeping macro algae and its care requirements and a few good uncomplicated ones

[Tamberav]

Remember, at one time people thought anything less than 55g was impossible. I find that some people who have been in the hobby a long time get locked into their old beliefs. Many members on this forum are about breaking the boundaries.

 

Many people keep seahorses successfully in macro dominated tanks and those are somewhat sensitive creatures with specific requirements.

 

FYI: even inexpensive chinese led's are all pretty much dimmable now. I was suggesting it in case you were on a budget.

 

These are some beautiful examples of macro tanks:

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/featured/_/2015/yoshii-r100

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/279382-grs-12g-long-macro-reef/

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/362395-stellas-12-long-bob-bobii-and-dotiis-weedy-adventure/

 

This thread is also helpful: http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/234487-the-marine-planted-tank-macro-algae-thread/

 

 

This was my 20g hex macro tank, it housed 3 pairs of spawning dragonetts. The macro was to combat nutrients from heavy feeding and it grew a ton of pods. I used a chinese LED and cheapo powerheads.

 

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I found clams to love this environment since it had so much food in the water column. I graduated and I took the tank down, I found dragonetts too demanding with my new career.

 

 

 

I have never kept predators so I'm not sure if there are specific macors you would want to avoid, I believe the small/baby lionfish eat pods though.

 

 

With a lion, my guess is you need open swimming area so you wouldn't want to cram it full but macro was just an idea since it is pretty and helps with water quality.

[GayFishie]

OMG. Wow. That macro tank is absolutely stunning. You did amazing! I see tanks like that and I can't believe it's even possible to create something so beautiful and alive in a tiny glass box. And congrats on healthy dragonetts, that's an achievement in itself, I love them but I would rather go without a beautiful fish than risk it's life or spent a lot of time I don't have caring for it.

The macro is mindblowing, truly. I've seen a lot of tanks done by professionals that didn't look that good. Would you mind giving me a more in depth description of what kinds you have there and what care requirements they needed. The lighting is going to be very difficult for me due to the depth of the tank (It is a tall hexagon, making any kind of photosynthetic animals or plants an interesting challenge) I'm thinking of a medium power light, nothing super powerful that fits the small plastic panel on my lid for lighting and maybe a few light strips down the back for supplement lighting so that the lighting is even throughout the tank and not bright at the top and dark at the bottom.

I'm starting to think maybe a dwarf lionfish (Fuzzy or fu manchu) a dwarf puffer fish (Probably a valentini, though there are a few interesting dwarf puffers to chose from) and a dwarf angel (Bigger than a cherub, maybe coral beauty size or a bit bigger. I use to own a coral beauty. Nice fish.) And leave it at those three fish as my final stock. As far as inverts my thoughts are large hairy red hermit crabs, urchins, serpent starfish, chocolate chip starfish and tiger eye cowrie. A few of those would eat the macro algae though I suspect.

What are the flow requirements, lighting and water parameters that your macro did best with. Did they grow quickly or would I be better off buying bigger pieces. Where did you get yours. I love my lfs but their selection lacks.

[Tamberav]

OMG. Wow. That macro tank is absolutely stunning. You did amazing! I see tanks like that and I can't believe it's even possible to create something so beautiful and alive in a tiny glass box. And congrats on healthy dragonetts, that's an achievement in itself, I love them but I would rather go without a beautiful fish than risk it's life or spent a lot of time I don't have caring for it.

The macro is mindblowing, truly. I've seen a lot of tanks done by professionals that didn't look that good. Would you mind giving me a more in depth description of what kinds you have there and what care requirements they needed. The lighting is going to be very difficult for me due to the depth of the tank (It is a tall hexagon, making any kind of photosynthetic animals or plants an interesting challenge) I'm thinking of a medium power light, nothing super powerful that fits the small plastic panel on my lid for lighting and maybe a few light strips down the back for supplement lighting so that the lighting is even throughout the tank and not bright at the top and dark at the bottom.

I'm starting to think maybe a dwarf lionfish (Fuzzy or fu manchu) a dwarf puffer fish (Probably a valentini, though there are a few interesting dwarf puffers to chose from) and a dwarf angel (Bigger than a cherub, maybe coral beauty size or a bit bigger. I use to own a coral beauty. Nice fish.) And leave it at those three fish as my final stock. As far as inverts my thoughts are large hairy red hermit crabs, urchins, serpent starfish, chocolate chip starfish and tiger eye cowrie. A few of those would eat the macro algae though I suspect.

What are the flow requirements, lighting and water parameters that your macro did best with. Did they grow quickly or would I be better off buying bigger pieces. Where did you get yours. I love my lfs but their selection lacks.

 

Thank you for the kind words, I miss that tank a lot. Someday I will start another.

 

I got a lot of mine through members here on the Livestock classifieds, I am not sure if any are up now, but if not, more will pop up, they always get bumped once more grows out. LA reefs, live-plants.com, and reef-cleaners also get stock from time to time. Ebay is another source that seems to do just fine. The nice thing about macro is you don't need to ship it overnight, priority is fine so its usually about 6 bucks.

 

I had many manyyyyy kinds but some great easy to find starters would be red grape, flame algae, blue ochtotoes or blue hypnea, red titan, calpelra prolifera, and codium.

 

They really just need moderate light and fish poop (Nitrate/PO4). Moderate flow is the safe bet too. They are not nearly as demanding as corals. Frags sell like hot cakes too once its time to trim. Their growth depends on the type of macro and the nutrients available, most grow much much faster than coral though. You could start with frags and have colonies quickly if the conditions are right.

 

As far as light, some are found in deeper water and can do fine under lower light conditions.

[OgreBC29]

My Fuzzy is a awesome fish. He/she pretty much saved my wife from abandoning the hobby completely... From my research Fuzzy Dwarf's are hardier and easier to accept frozen the Fu's and Zebra's. As far as swimming room he/she is not a open water swimmer unless I approach the tank.. Usually he/she skips across the sandbed or hangs out on the scape.. He/she has a awesome personality and once he/she recognized the " food God" he is always at the surface begging.