Next step?

So I'm very new here started a "hi thread" posted some pics and now I'm kinda wondering where to go with this.. I know I need more rock,

I have 20lbs in a 29gal tank, it has a 20gal aqua clear (maybe?) filter and a 50gal frugal filter, a 150w heater and a 20gal powerhead oh and a coral life light...

Had two hitchhikers on the bigger purple rock, a lawnmower blenny and a crab, also added a frag of xenia and kinda stuffed the other xenia in a crevis... Everything is doing well, had my LFS(local fish store?) test my water and said all was well but I had a hint of nitrate? It's been cycling for about two weeks now, fish and rock for little over a week..

I just don't know what else to do, do I add more rock and wait it out or can I buy fish and add more rock as life goes on? I kinda want a diamond back watchman goby( I think that's the name) I find it neat that they do the whole rock moving thing.. But I'd also like more anemones than fish I think..

I would just like advice on what the next salty step would be..

 

Hi,

I would invest in a decent test kit and do your own testing.
Hint of nitrate is too subjective, some LFS employees hate testing water parameter and will tell you just about anything to move on and get to the next customer so I would not put a lot value in the results they provide.

I saw your other thread, my advice would be to add more flow to the tank.

In that size having gobies and anemones would probably not end well eventually, they share the same level in the tank or close to it. In a larger tank yes but a Nano no IMO.

I would definitely add more cured rock as soon as you can. And give the tank another 2 weeks before adding any more fish, simple easy soft corals fine but fish no.



Hope that helps a little.

 

+1 on what Corailline said & I would also invest in a good skimmer. If you don't have a sump I would get at least an AquaC Remora with maxijet 1200 pump. They're decent little hob skimmers for smaller tanks.

IMO you could toss any other filters once you get the skimmer & a bit more rock in there to get your bio filtration up. All you would need to run the tank would be a good amount of rock, good flow, skimmer, & a good clean-up-crew (and the other basics like heater, etc).

Also agree that anemones aren't suited for tanks that small, they are demanding of light and will grow ginormous fairly quickly & threaten any corals you wanted to keep in there. I would stick with some nice multi-colored mushrooms, xenia, zoas, leathers, they would do fine with less light and will color up your tank nicely.

 

I appreciate the quick response and the people at the shop are friends of mine through my snake addiction so I trust her word, thank you for killing the gobie dream ;-) jk and I know the gobie will out grow the tank eventually I would just like anemones to host a pair of black clowns... And what are soft corals? Like the Xenia? My local shop sells live rock that they let sit and soak in a cycling tank, can I take that rock and just splash it into this tank now? Or is there prep I have to do? And what's a good amount of rock for a 29gal? I heard about a pound for every gallon, true?

 

Hate to say it but you lost me at skimmer... :-/

 

As far as rock goes, ask for cured rock, you do not want rock with the potential for die off, it will only cause another mini-cycle. I would add at least another 10-15 lbs. The bigger your biological filter the more stable the tank will be. If the rock is really cured you should be able to just directly add it to the tank if it has not been left out to dry.

Yeah get used to people shooting down livestock dreams, it just goes with the territory when you have nano. Trust me I know this first hand. I would love to have another anemone but my sps and goby tell me this would not be a good thing.

Skimmers, oh gee. MoJoe will hopefully jump back in. But basically its a piece of equipment that removes waste from your tank. It produces micro bubbles of air, proteins adhere to the surface of these bubbles, the bubble collect and deposited in a container that you remove and clean. Look up " Foam Fractionation"

 

I have a JBJ 28 with a Rose bubble tip and a Green bubble tip, they are doing great, I have 2 clowns and a blenny, he is the coolest. I picked up a Tunze Skimmer and it worked out great, fits right into the center media slot, carbon and other media can go into the extra compartments. It was tricky for me to get the flow I wanted, I have the stock pumps and added 2 Hydor 450's, still did not seem like quite enough, added a 700 and BAM, now Have some flow!