General Advice Needed

[JJ56]

Hello! I haven't been on this forum for ages now, and could do with a spot of advice.

My tank is 36" x 12" x 15" , so 106L in my terms. Must have about 12 /13 kg of Liverock. V2 Skimmer, T5 lighting, Running rowaphos in a large filter, maxi jet 1000 powerheads. I'll try and get a pic up for you

*There is the possibility of me getting a bigger tank in the new year, which might be any use for stocking options?*

Current Stock: Pair of clowns, around 7 Blue leg hermits, various snails.

My tank has just reached its one year birthday! And I've decided I'm going to splash out on getting it looking nicer. My hopes are to get a new fish (maybe two, not sure if I'll have space) and some soft corals. Can anyone reccomend me a new fish that would be suitable? I'm looking for something attractive, and nothing too shy, a confident swimmer ideally.

Also, I've had a Aiptasia outbreak! They've grown in size pretty rapidly, most are around an inch in height. My Uncle is coming over with some Aiptasia X soon to try and deal with the bigger ones, but I'm keen to get some biological control. My LFS has just got a green filefish in, labeled Aptasia eating filefish; it's still small and I've heard they can be hit and miss with eating Aips. Any thoughts?

Peppermint shrimp are an option, but again, I hear hit and miss stories, and some of these aips are a bit big!

Thanks in advance, any comments / advice welcome; be brutal!

Jonathan.

 

[owlbassboy]

i think that filefish can nip at corals but im sure someone will correct if im wrong on that one. what wattage are your t5s would need to know this to see what corals you could keep but you will probably be fine with euphyllias and a few other lps. and most of the softies

 

[Buddyboy67]

Zap the largest with aip x and i highly recomend fishman's frags on ine for true peppermints for the rest...
Always say a new fish is your own personal choice but how about one of the dwarf angels...
filefish you mention have a reputation for munching on various corals as well ..

 

[JJ56]

Thanks, I had a feeling if it would eat Aptasia, it would also have a go at Zoa's etc.

My light is a aqua one Overhead luminare, 3 x 39w bulbs, two marine white, one actinic. I'm only really looking to keep a few softies; I have a fair few hitchhiker Zoa's in already, which are doing fine. Oh, a local FS had a lovely Toadstool leather frag in, would this do okay?

Thanks once again, any advice welcomed

Jonathan

 

[ben1987]

toadstool should do fine under those lights!

 

[seffieuk]

toadstool should do fine under those lights!

back Jonathan

Flow is more important for a toadstool than light

Seffie x

 

[TigerIssey]

Just ensure the toadstool is NOT a Yellow Fiji Leather, much more difficult to keep.

 

[JJ56]

Will do! Toadstool is on the menu

Back to fish; I like the look of some of the Dwarf angels, however am concerned about the difficult to keep reputation they have.

Any other ideas for a eye catching fish? I understand I'm limited with my tank size, but you guys seem to know your stuff on the matter

Thanks,

Jonathan

 

[seffieuk]

Ah many dwarf angles are a bit, hit and miss regarding reef safety - but as I am not an angel owner nor likely to be I will leave this one for someone who knows what they are talking about

Seffie x

worth a try though, flame back angel

 

[Buddyboy67]

Yep seffie..flame backs or cherubs are reliable little reef critters, not growing big and always on the go...as you say however when it comes to some of the others it can be hit and miss...
Best bet is to pop around a few lfs and buy one that is kept in a tank containing corals..even better , leave a deposit on it and pop back in to check if the corals have been picked at..
Ps..check the marine fish index at the top of the main menu page on here ..quite a few species there with good write ups

 

[JJ56]

Cheers for the advice chaps! Plan of action for the next few days:

Attack what aptasia I can with AptaisiaX, (should I do a small waterchange after this?)
Test my water, check it's all good before I buy a Toadstool Frag. (Fingers crossed, was fine last week )
Visit all of the local fish shops to check out some Dwarf angels, and any other attractive reef safe fish they may have; I may pick up some peppermints to keep any returning Aips at bay.

Also, I'm considering ditching the maxi jet 1000 powerheads for something a little less "jet" like, Hydor Koralia? considering I have a 100l tank, what pair would you reccomend? Are a pair of Koralia 1's up to it? Thanks

Jonathan

 

[Buddyboy67]

Aim for a flow rate of at least 20x turnover, so a total turn over of 2000l/hr is your target...off the top of my head I can't remember what each pushes out but the korallias are a great power head for their money, producing a nice dispersed flow....

 

[JJ56]

Yup, currently I have that 2000l/h turnover with the maxi jets, but the flow is pretty directional and, in my opinion, a touch unnatural.

Koralia 1's push 1500l/h, so I'm assuming two of them would be too much? Although, I've heard that they disperse the flow very well, so the effect isn't as dramatic. Anyone who has used them got any thoughts? The Koralia Nano pushes 1000lp/h , but I get the impression two of these would be underpowered?

Thanks, Jonathan

 

[Buddyboy67]

Would be tempted to opt for the 2x no 1 mate..will allow for them to run down a little with time and still give you the required flow...their dispersed flow will not also seem so strong as the direct flow of your maxi's....
I use a combinations of korallias from no 4 to a couple of no1 here and actually took out my tunzes in favor of these ..

 

[JJ56]

Great! Exactly what I wanted to hear. Also, should clock a nice saving on electricity, the maxi jets use about 11w compared to koralias 4w.

So tomorrow I believe a small spending spree is in order

Jonathan