Week 6 notes and questions

Hi all, thanks for the great advice given here.
My comments/notes/questions now that I'm six weeks in and actually have something to look at in the tank!

Comments:

* PLAN AHEAD! I would have saved a lot of $$$ and headache rearranging stuff
* LISTEN to kids! My 7 yo daughter knows more about marine life than I do- she scolded me for not having a QT ("You need a hospital in case one of them gets sick, Daddy!" "That's not a starfish, it's a sand-sifting sea star, from the family Echinoidea!")
* LFS loves to sell you stuff, even if it's not a great idea
* Anenomes are uncooperative. They will not stay where you put them, and find the exact spot you do not want them to rest.

Notes:
* Dumped the included hood/lighting/bio-wheel. Replaced with no cover, PC lights, fluval canister. Losing a lot more water to evap now, but I can live with that.

# 29 Gal (30") Eclipse3 glass rectangle
# 130w PC 50/50
# Fluval 205 can (110gph)
# "micro" powerhead (also 110gph)
# 60lbs LS, 30lbs LR
# 2x yellow tail blue damsels, 1x sebae clown, 1x sebae anenome (with a bud coming off, lucky me!), 6x turbos, 2x tiger cowries, 2x peppermint shrimp, "generic" 1x hermit crab.

Questions:

- The Fluval turns over the tank ~6x/hour. Small powerhead adds a ripple to the top of the water, but it seems very still compared to the old wet/dry. Should I add another (larger) powerhead for O2 transfer/pretty waves?
- The powerhead has a clip-on foam filter and a small "undergravel" filter. The clip on took up a lot of space so I left it off, but the thing sits near the top of the tank. Question is: Why can't they include instructions with these things!?
- My "blue knee" hermit, Elvis (he was the king of the tank) seemed to get pretty weird after I added an actinic bulb. He moved less, migrated to the back of the tank. After a few days, he "disappeared", meaning the shell was still there (and his tank mates didn't seem all that hungry for a few days). Remaining non-blue hermit is a lot happier, tho. Anyone ever heard of lighting affecting a crab like that?
- Feeding: thus far I've been feeding small amounts of flake/granules twice daily, roughly half a teaspoon. I honestly can't tell if I'm feeding enough, too much, the right food, etc. No algae problems, but I'm a little lost.
- I already know I want to go up a size. I'm a second floor apartment dweller, so I can't get much larger than 50Gal. I'm thinking of "cheating" by doing a 55Gal with a 20Gal sump/fuge (so 75G total), but I'm really not clear on how to put it all together. I'm trying to actually plan first this time! Anyone out there have pix/diagrams? Do I use a skimmer in the sump? Do the heaters go in the sump? Does the skimmer have a pump like a canister? I've seen pictures of people placing the in-tank LR on PVC, drilling the PVC and pumping water through it- uh, why? Is that really useful?
- Roommate is pushing for a lionfish; anyone kept one successfully?

Lots of stuff, here, TIA for reading and sorry for the long post!


John

 

do either 40 breeder, 65 or 75. trust me, a 55gal is slim depth wise and rock stacking is a pain.....got mine before realizing how thin it was........

 

Don't know about the second floor apartment thing, maybe move to the ground floor! My 55 is plenty for now, I love it! BUT I do know that when I move into a house I plan on staying in the rest of my life, I'm going with a 100 gal. peninsula. IMO perfect size.
As for feeding, IMO it seems like A LOT! That much food twice daily seems like at least 2X too much. But, don't take my word for the gospel, let's see what everyone else has to say!!
Probably didn't help too much, but I tried to comment on some things IMO!!!

 

I think Lion fish are pretty hardy, and easy to keep. I have one, so that is a testament to it. He is a pain to feed since he only eats live food, can't get him to eat dead stuff yet Would be easier if I could just go to a fish store, but nothing around like that, so I have to go catch him shrimp, little fish etc...

 

lionfish are dirty Creatures! also aggressive, but BEAUTIFUL!