30 Gallon Tall Tank (Pics, Info, Questions) (Not in that order)

[Fishfriend1]

So, as you may have heard, I have a 30 Gallon Tall Salt Water FOWLR tank. Here is the info, then questions. Pics will come tomorrow (Sorries, don't have tank or camera with me).

Info:

Stocking:

• 41.5 lbs of Live Rock, plus some old dried up coral skeletons I added because they were better in the tank then taking up space in my bedroom closet. So 42lbs Live Rock.
• Sand substrate, mix of larger and fine sands.
• 1 Kuadern's Cardinalfish
• 1 Ocellaris Clownfish
• 2 Wild Hermits
• 1 Blue Leg Hermit
• 1 Wild White Clam
• 5-8 Molly Fry (food)

Equipment:

• 1 Korilla Nano Powerhead
• 1 old filter pump, now a powerhead
• 1 actual filter, no medium, just filled with sand in the main compartment to give my lone clam a home and direct access to all the food the tank can offer up.
• old lights, not coral worthy (I don't think, anyway)
• Airstone (piece of crap, may replace)

So, that's the current set up. Here are my questions:

1. Can I add more fish, and if so, what kinds?
2. Could I add 2 peppermint shrimp to make sure the ever cursed glass anemone never returns to my tank?
3. Should I get another powerhead?
4. Does anyone have T5 lighting they are willing to sell?
5. Will the 42lbs of Live Rock be a good or bad thing in the long run?
6. Could I get a feather duster? How do I care for a feather duster?
7. Would it be wrong to buy fake corals and plants to give the tank some non-fish color?
8. Can I add any hermits?
9. Is there such a thing as Salt Water Driftwood?
10. Are there any super-low maintenance corals that don't need super lights to survive? As in, could I put them on top of the LR just beneath the surface and have them survive on the light alone?

Okay, those are all my questions, please answer whenever and I'll have pics up by tomorrow afternoon!

~Siv

 

[snupa]

1. Yes you can add more fish. I'd say you could easily add 2 or 3 more small fish that wouldn't make the tank too crowded. These would be blennies, a smaller goby (some get very large so be careful), a royal gramma, six line wrasse - these guys get a little more aggressive so this depends on what type of tank your looking for. blue / green chrmis - add them in odd numbers, firefish.

2. Peppermint shrimp are kind of a hit or miss with aiptasia. There is another thread going around on here that discusses Aiptasia X and peppermint shrimp effectiveness so make sure to check that out. In my experience the peppermint did nothing against the aiptasia, but some people have different experiences.

3. Yes, I own a 450 nano and IMO it's not enough flow. I'd add a 750 Korallia instead of the nano, or you can have them both.

4. Nope I do not have a t5 to sell sorry.

5. 42lbs comes out to 1.4lbs / gallon which is I believe just the right amount of live rock. You wanna be shooting for 1 - 1.5 lbs of live rock per gallon so you're in that range. As long as your LR did not come with any unwanted hitchikers I don't think you'll have problems in the future and it will be great for your tank.

6. Someone will have to jump in on this, but I believe feather dusters need very good water conditions, and direct feeding many times. If you're able to keep up with rigorous water changes, and don't overfeed your tank I'd say you could consider it. As for care, someone else will have to answer that.

7. This is a preference. I really don't like fake corals and anything fake (besides equipment) in my tank. Fish that 'need' corals will often be fine without them. For example, a clown will be fine without an anemone. Again this is a preference and it will neither harm / benefit your fish. Just make sure whatever you're putting into your tank is water safe more importantly aquarium safe.

8. I'd say you can add maybe 1 or 2 more hermits just be careful that they could harass and sometimes kill snails in your tank for their shells. Besides that I think they're good scavengers. Just make sure to stick to the 1 hermit / 10 gallon rule which your already near.

9. I dunnno - someone else will have to jump in and answer this one

10.- for this question you'll have to answer your what 'old lights' mean. I believe for most corals you'll need at least a 2 bulb T5 so you might run into trouble.


Hope this helped and excited to see some pics!!

 

[XanAvaloni]

re: salt water driftwood --wood falls into (or is washed out into) the ocean on a regular basis. and the amount of fresh water held in an already-waterlogged piece does not seem likely to be enough to cause any sort of dilution problem. Start with dry wood and do the waterlogging process in salt water if it concerns you. Of course if you have an ocean beach conveniently nearby you may find one already premade.

 

[Fishfriend1]

10. The lighting is this: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Aqua-Culture-Aquarium-Hood-Incandescent-10-Gallon-Pets/10311306, but with two 14 watt flurecent bulbs in it.

Thanks for answers on the other questions!

 

[Fishfriend1]

Is this light worth the money? http://www.petco.com/product/112418...spx?CoreCat=firstinresult_marinelandjunepress

 

[snupa]

I heard those work well, but check out some other options:
http://www.marinedepot.com/lighting_fluorescent__subindex-ap.html I have the Aquaticlife t5 HO 36" and really like it. Anyways there are some other options to consider.

 

[blue2fyre]

Those LEDs are really dim. I've seen them under freshwater tanks and they just look crappy.

I would get at least a 2 bulb T5Ho light. Then I would think you would be able to grow really easy low light stuff.

 

[Fishfriend1]

Thank you both. Since I'm on a low budget, I was thinking these: http://www.marinedepot.com/AquaticL...xtures-AquaticLife-AK01138-FILTFIT54U-vi.html - I could afford that after 2 paychecks, or 1 good paycheck, so I'll go with it. The worst review just said it was a little difficult to set up, so I think it's a good option for me!

 

[Fishfriend1]

Pics!

I never did upload those, did I? Here they are:


^My DIY wild white sand clam filter/holding container. Using an old Mcdonalds card to slow the water and allow the clam to get needed foods (if it can)

^The Cardinalfish. That electrical wire in the back goes to the underwater filter pump AKA- Makshift Powerhead

^The clownfish. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a pic that doesn't have them blurred? VERY! Named OC for Ocellaris Clownfish (I'm not original on the names)

^Much better pic of my Kuaderns Cardinalfish (Named KC). He sits still for his pic like a good fish

^Full tank shot from when it was cloudier this morning after puttling the last of the LR in. It was very hard to get the LR to stay up like that, but I wanted to create shallow zones for high-light corals (if I ever get corals).

^The tank about 2 minutes ago when I took this picture Much clearer, sand has settled. I love the scape myself, and yes, those are indeed coral sceletons from a Gift Shop that are being used as more LR and to look sort of like a reef would. Also, a single fake plant stem stuck in the LR because I was bored and figured it couldn't do any damage.

So, pics are done. I'm getting better at pics now, getting practice. Less blurry

 

[Fishfriend1]

Oh, this question is a fish based one. Would a lone 2in clownfish decide it wants to pair up with a lone 2in Kuadern's Cardinal? Because the two are inseperable!