DefDad's 46 Bowfront

How does your Diamond Goby get along with the Yellow Watchman and Pistol Shrimp? I currently have a Diamond and want to get a Yellow/Pistol Pair but am unsure if a fight would ensue. I have a 120 g 5 foot tank.

Also, what brand of overflow are you using? It is a hang on the back correct? Have you had any issues with it yet?

 

Yeah, I guess it's about due for an update. No new pics right now because I am at work. I am going through an algae/cyano bloom right now. I think I am on the downhill side of it. I finally got some sand and chaeto in my tiny fuge. I also got a false lemon peel angel. Still waiting to see if he is going to bother corals. So far there are not a lot for it to bother. The algae bloom took care of my frags and some of the hairy mushrooms. I had a guy give me a bunch of green star polyps and so far they are going ok. I also have a tiny carpet anemone that seems ok so far. I will be watching that one closely. I'll try and get some new pics this week.

 

The gobies seemed to get along at first but one day when I had the top off to do some work on the acrylic part, the diamond decided to jump out of the tank. I got him back in the tank pretty quick and watched him closely. As soon as I put him back in he would not stop moving and trying to jump out and everyone in the tank started picking on him so I ended up taking the diamond back.

The overflow I believe is an eshopps(?) or somehing like that. I bought it used locally. I think it is about 600-800 gph. I cut that way down because my pump is a 300gph. I tried a 600gph but it was way too much for a small sump. Once I got the proper flow, the overflow has been very quiet and has not lost it's syphon and so far no bubbles in the u-tube. My only issue with it is that it is pretty big for the tank size but I might see if I can put some chaeto in there as like a natural pre-filter or algae scrubber.

 

How big was your diamond goby when he jumped? What about the watchman? Was it because you were in the tank doing maintenance that he jumped? Mine usually hangs on the bottom of the tank and goes no where near the top of the tank, or even the middle of the tank for that matter.

 

i just got a 46 gallon bow at a garage sale for 50 dollars and that is with a stand included. Are the two power heads necessary? I will be putting two Penguin 200 HOB filters on either side of the aquarium and a Protein Skimmer in the middle is this enough for water movement? Or are power heads necessary?

 

The diamond was about 4 inches and the watchman about 2-3 inches. Is was not in the tank when he jumped. I have a 2 piece cover. I had the back strip off and I was in the garage making a cut-out in it when he jump. My wife saw him jump and came out to get me. I'm not saying it won't work having both, but it may be a problem. Before the jump I had never seen either one off the bottom.

 

Good deal on the tank/stand. I am no expert on flow but I'll share my thoughts. If you are only going to have fish and no corals then you may not need the extra flow but it may help to have more to eliminate dead spots that like to grow nasty stuff like cyano. And a caution on the skimmer. I only have experience with mine, bit I can tell you that the micro-bubbles it released into the tank drove me nuts and prompted me to put a sump behind my tank to put the skimmer in. My stand had no place for a sump but I have my tank in a corner and there was just enough room for a small sump. If you plan on using live rock, then you will want extra flow so the water will flow properly through the rock and filter the water.

 

I guess the angel will not be bothering any corals since it is MIA since yesterday.

 

Any news on the Angel?

And as for the flow question, I'll chime in on that. As defdad said, if it is going to be a fish only system (no corals) then you can get away with very little flow. But extra flow has it's advantages, even with fish. Along with what defdad said about deadspots, as cheesy as it sounds flow can help your fish be healthy by exercising them more. You do not want fat unhealthy fish. It's like having them on a treadmill verses having them stand in a room. If a fish wants out of the flow, he'll go to a more calm area of the tank, or he'll go close to the rock work. Also, flow can be used to add turbulence to the surface of the water, which helps with gas exchange and prevents that gross slimy film from forming on the surface.

 

Thanks Jwin for the added flow info. No sign of the angel at all and the watchman is acting strange. Still fighting the cyano. Added some more macro to the fuge and am trying Chem-Clean.