GobyKing Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 I am setting up a 15 gallon, hexagon shaped tank. I have 15 lbs of Fiji live rock, and am using a very fine sand for the substrate. I am using a powerhead 301 for water movement as well as a Penguin Bio Wheel 125 for filtration. We plan on making this a goby only tank, with no more than 10 small fish in it and maybe one clownfish. I currently have two blue-green chromis Damsels in the tank and they are doing great. (Tank has been up and running now for 6 weeks, fish in it for 2 weeks) The live rock has done great, and the water has tested well within the recommended ranges. I was wondering what I should add for a cleaner type of package. Should I add the cleaner animals before adding any gobies??? The clown fish will be the last fish we add and we plan on keeping the damsels. I was thinking of adding some snails, one crab, and a small starfish. but aside from that I dont know what will work best. I am changing out 25% of the water weekly as well. Any ideas would be great. My next question is in regards to corals, I know my tank isn't that big, but I would like to add one or two corals later on, any suggestions on what I should use, or would I be better off without them. Thanks Jon and Michelle. Link to comment
nalbar Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 cleaner crew would be a combo of hermits and snails. for that i would say about 5-6 hermits and about 10 snail of various types. and added to that perhaps two nasaria (sp.) snails to clean the sand. you can add the whole crew with at least a couple fish if your system is truely cycled. i am not sure you should keep the bio-wheel, its might cause you trouble later with nitrate build up. the idea is it gradually collects scum and crap on it that cannot be removed, and releases nitrate into the tank at a later date. if you are going to have 10 fish, make sure at least some of them are the smaller gobies. caution on which ones you pick. many of the signal/sand shifters will die if they are not in pairs, and also require an established sand bed to feed off of. there are many species of the spectacular 'two spot' signals on the market now, but they die with out a pair/sand bed. the damsels may be a problem for you also, 10 gobies with 2 damsels and a clown. seems like to many to me. corals are fine. nalbar Link to comment
GobyKing Posted September 9, 2004 Author Share Posted September 9, 2004 The LFS recommended that I use the Bio wheel and just to do more frequent water changes. What would you recommend to use instead of the bio wheel?? I was originally gonna use a small cannister filter, but was told that in a tank this size it was unnecessary. Thanks for the info on the cleaner crew, I wasnt too sure how many hermits and snails to use, the LFS said that I didnt really need a cleaner crew in this size tank either. We havent decided on the gobies yet, we are still doing on our research on which ones we will purchase, more than likely we will be only adding maybe 5 or 6 gobies, with the clown. As for the corals, does anyone have any recommendations as to what would be good for this tank and the fish?? Thanks again Jon and Michelle Link to comment
nalbar Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 you need to decide what corals YOU like. then do research and see if you can keep them with your present set up. its YOUR tank, you cant let others tell you what you will be happy with. plus you dont list your lighting, which usually means a person has no where near enough. by telling you to use a bio-wheel, plus the advice that you dont need a clean up crew on your size tank, your lfs is 0 for 2 on advice. dont listen to them again. the 'no crew' is particularly damaging advice, because you have nothing in your tank to eat algae, yet you have fish, which help cause algae. this gives algae a chance to get a head start on you, and head starts are BAD. inside your mind put your lfs 'out of the loop'. be friendly, buy from them, but when they suggest anything just smile and nod. then research it. being married i am sure both of you have practice with the 'smile and nod' system. nalbar Link to comment
GobyKing Posted September 9, 2004 Author Share Posted September 9, 2004 Thanks for the advice nalbar, I am in the process of researching which corals would be of interest to us. The LFS has been very iffy at times, and usually end up doing my own research. As for my lighting I am using the stock hood(perfecto hood) with a 18,000k Power Glo 8 w 12" light. My other question is I am afraid that this might not be enoungh light.(the tank is pretty tall ) Would you recommend the cannister filter as a better solution to the bio wheel?? Thanks again Jon Link to comment
nalbar Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 8w of light? if you typed that correctly you cannot keep any corals except deep water stuff. usually hard to find. i dont use canister filters for anything except curing rock in bins. in fact, i dont use what you consider 'filters' on either of my tanks. i use a fuge on my nano and a sump on my 80. my live rock is my filter. nalbar Link to comment
GobyKing Posted September 10, 2004 Author Share Posted September 10, 2004 Thanks again!!! I did some double checking and I was indeed right when I typed the wattage of the power glow, it is only 8W and I had a feeling that it would not be enough. Now i am going to see what I need to do to increase that, as well as add some different lighting, I really would like to be able to create a dawn/dusk/moonlight set up, since I am really looking to make this tank as close to a natural enviroment as I can. Thanks again, looks like i have my work in research cut out, but thats half the fun of setting up my marine tank. Jon and Michelle Link to comment
GobyKing Posted September 10, 2004 Author Share Posted September 10, 2004 I am going to purchase an Aquaclear 300 to set up as a fuge, after some research, I think this will be more benenficial to the tank and be more natural too. Now in terms of lighting, I am a little stumped. I am currently using the stock hood set up, the ballast says it will work up to 22 watts. Is there a retro fit kit that would work with the stock light unit. I want to try and keep the tank covered, due to living in an apartment right now. Link to comment
nalbar Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 i use open tops with MH lighting on my tanks. do a search in the lighting forum using your tank. or just scan the forum looking for retros that will fit. hellolights (a sponsor) is an excellent source for all your lighting needs, and they certainly have what you decide you want. best to get to much light. at least try to decide what corals you like and think you will want in the future. then research those corals to see what their lighting needs are. nalbar Link to comment
GobyKing Posted September 11, 2004 Author Share Posted September 11, 2004 Thanks again! I checked out the site and went looking for some info on some corals, so I should be able to make a decision in the next few days. I decided to scrap the retrofit idea, and have picked up some clear acrylic sheets, and with some info I got here am going to make a new top for the tank. I am also ditching the bio wheel for the fuge in an aquaclear 300. I am glad I found this site!!!! Jon Link to comment
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