starting off

[gordy]

hi, im new to marine fish but kept freshwater species for a while. my questions are i,ve got a 30gal tank ( i know its small) but i want this to start on if you know what i mean, with a aquamedic protein skimmer hang-on, eheim pro 11 2028 external, t5 lighting which are all not set up yet.its how much live rock can i put in? and its a fish only set-up is 1 flame angel (which i would put in last),1orangetail blue damsel (c.cyanea),1 bangaii cardinal plus 2-3 cleaning crew be capable in this size of tank?

 

[Great Lakes]

Hi and welcome Gordy.

IF you use 25-40 ponds of live rock it will handle all your biological filtering needs.

I would avoid the Damsel if at all possible. They can be territorial and mean spirited. In a 30 gallon tank it is just not worth it IMO.

Consider a dottyback or wrasse of some kind instead.

GL

 

[Navarre]

Sound advice from Great Lakes

I would like to add that you will need good circulation in the tank. 30 gallons needs 300 gallons per hour turn over or more. The higher the circulation in the tank the better the fish and corals will feel etc. This can be achieved with a couple of well positioned powerheads to create a good amount of turbulance.

You will need alot more than 2 or 3 cleanup crew for a tank this size ) 30 gallons will probably need 30 snail or hermits (or a miz of both) Cleanup crew at the rate of 1 per gallon is usually required to keep the tank clean. This doesnt need to be purchsed all at once of corse and i suggest you get in the habit of purchasing a cleanup crew each time you visit your lfs for any reason. If you get a fish then add a snail or hermit to the bill, same appplys if you purchase some food ect.

Hope this helps

 

[Great Lakes]

i suggest you get in the habit of purchasing a cleanup crew each time you visit your lfs for any reason. If you get a fish then add a snail or hermit to the bill, same appplys if you purchase some food ect.

Absolutely. I consider my cleanup crew to be perishible. Never get attached to a crab or snail....

GL

 

[Adrinal]

IF you use 25-40 ponds of live rock

I my self would use about 25-40 pounds. GL likes everything BIG SIZE!!!


Try to get a few big rocks rather than lots of little ones.

 

[chkltcow]

Absolutely. I consider my cleanup crew to be perishible. Never get attached to a crab or snail....

GL

And if you do get attached to your cleanup crew, be prepared to call the hermit crabs many rude names. I came back from vacation a few weeks ago and my mother-in-law had been taking care of my tank. I wanted to spend about 15 minutes checking everything out once I got back, and one of the first things I noticed were two "snails" up on rocks they had never been on before. "Wow, I've never seen my snails up there! ....... huh....... wow... I've never seen my snails... have... legs? SON OF A!!!!!!!!!!"

My hermit crabs have a bad habit of killing my snails and taking there shells even though there are a dozen or so shells available in the tank. I'm down to 2 snails now, from the 10 I started with.

And something else I've learned..... buy one of those magnetic algae scrapers. Even if you don't scrape the sides down, scrape the front EVERY DAY. Coraline algae likes to grow on the glass, and you don't want it there. I'd consider a Mag-Float or other similar algae scraper to be mandatory equipment for any SW tank.

 

[gordy]

hi folks, thanks very much for all the advice. I will be getting onto adding some more powerheads for the water-movement and the extra liverock.The fish i myself was a bit weiry about the damsel but i was using it for cycling the tank purpose the other fish sound great and the cleaning crew will be added on aswell thanks again to everybody gordy