General water change question

Sorry, I forgot to say that the two tangs do fight... Maybe I will put one for sale on the "trading forum". Good Idea, thanks!

 

The "general rule" that I've heard most often is 1 inch per 3-5 gallons for a reef tank.

1 inch per 10 gallons is on the light side, IMO. I would venture to say a 55gallon tank can handle more than two clowns (at 3 inches each).

But I'd say you're overstocked with those fish. Particularly the Tangs as mentioned.




Water changes are person to person - but that's because everyones story is different. Your story includes a very heavily stocked tank. I would not do less than weekly water changes with that bioload.

Quality skimmer is going to be very important in keeping that bioload as well as a bigger clean up crew (I would recommend a lot more snails than you have).

I have close to 200 snails in my 55 gallon and I'm lighter stocked than you are.

Also, as talked about earlier, you'll need a lot of LR. I have about 100lbs in my 55.

 

Maybe that's why I have so many bristle worms? Because of the the bioload I have?

 

How much do you feed?

 

I feed twice a day but small amounts because I know overfeeding can contribute to more bristle worms. Maybe I am still feeding too much?

 

i feed a tiny bit once every 2-3 days.

 

Well, for instance I feed every other day. I feed pellets with spirulina (sp?) algae in them because I have found the tangs fatten up better on those. That's another thing to consider when you have tangs. They are VORACIOUS eaters!

Do you feed flakes or pellets or frozen or what? Do the fish eat everything up or does a little/some/a lot end up on the sand?

 

Sorry but i am going to have to dissagree here. Feeding that little will kill off those tangs. Tangs need to be fed frequently.

 

Since you dont have much live rock and if you have no algae problems then I would keep doing weekly water changes or you will have problems

 

There is nothing to disagree with. It is exactly how often I feed. It wasn't a recommendation but an example so OP would have an idea of what people do. I do not have Tangs (see sig).