what next??

[jaydm93teg]

well, I have a 29 gallon set up for 7 months now.

Fish: 2 clowns
1 ebili angel
1 mandorin goby
1 bar goby
1 green chromis

lighting: 150 watt sunpod MH

filter: Hang on back filter made for 60 gallon tank

skimmer: hang on back CPR

Powerheads: 2 Maxi-jet 400 on opposite sides of the tank

corals: um....frags from peter (phscales) frogspawn, potato chip something, big red plate forgot the name of it and 1 other plate looking one i forgot the name of, and some birdsnest i think haha sorry i suck at coral names they are mostly hard corals.

Misc: 1 BTA, 1 emerald crab, plenty of hermits and little snails, and then 6 large red foot snails.


Where do i go from here??? just let it sit or is there more to do?

 

[jefft]

Fish wise I wouldn't add any more till you add a sump. Bio load for a 29 is close to max. Let it cook for awhile and stabilize.

 

[ericmcj31]

agreed-let it sit-and get your sump set up-let it sit (again) for about 4 weeks

 

[jaydm93teg]

now when we start talkin sumps is another thing i have no clue about. for a 29 gallon what size sump should i get?

correct me if im wrong but the sump is the tank that is behind the scenes that just sits with LR in it to help filter the water even more?

with a sump i can then get rid of my HOB filter correct?

also do i have to have a drilled tank with overflows and all that stuff?

not really sure how to set up a sump or to use one.

Thanks for everyones help you guys have made this so much easier than it ever wouldve been

 

[jefft]

I used a 20g tall with my 29. I used HOB overflow. This is some shots of mine.
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[jaydm93teg]

looking good im sure i will have some questions for you when i start to set up a sump.

THanks again.

 

[ericmcj31]

oh-and I'd get something for that goby to eat-some kind of fuge for pods and stuff-or is he eating prepared (frozen) foods?

 

[jaydm93teg]

um....he is eating frozen brine shrimp right now. Thats what all my fish are eating

 

[xyzpdq0121]

jaydm93teg;126020 wrote: um....he is eating frozen brine shrimp right now. Thats what all my fish are eating

That is not enough to feed a mandrin. Brine shrimp are like the rice cakes of the food world for fish, they will fill you up but not give you any nutrition long term. Mandrins get 99% of the nutrition from LIVE food. Without a very well established tank and a larger one with a refugium (I would not put a Mandrin in anything less then a 55 Gal that has been established for over 6 months) the fish WILL starve to death. Not only that, the angel will likely compete with the goby for any live food you have so it is not the best tank mate for a mandrin.

So sure they look great and sure they are fairly cheap, but they are not the best fish for someone who is new to the hobby.

 

[jaydm93teg]

what do you suggest i get to feed him so that he doesnt starve to death?

 

[xyzpdq0121]

jaydm93teg;126038 wrote: what do you suggest i get to feed him so that he doesnt starve to death?

A working sump with a refugium... Aside from that, you can find some PE Mysis shrimp in some LFS frozen food department. it is one of the best frozen foods you can get, if you can get the mandrin to take it. The problem is that mandrins have such small mouths and can not fit alot of different food in there. They are known as "specialized feeders" for this reason. They eat pods and stuff about that size, and that is it! You can also make a "protected" area our of some incamat and come rubble rock as a place for pods to breed and hide, then seed it with some pods and other zooplankton and hope they take to it. Again, not to be mean, it is just not a very good starter fish for a new tank that does not have the micro life to support it.

 

[jaydm93teg]

no thats fine i like to have feedback even if it is hey man you messed up getting that fish. I just didnt realize it had special needs you know.

Well i just bought my 2 power heads and skimmer. So say i need to wait 2 weeks before i want to dump money into making a sump. You said i should make a cave type of thing with a few of the rocks and put the pods in there and hope they bread and take to it so the goby will have something to eat. So for now im gonna go get some of that frozen shrimp and try to build a thing for pods to breed. Now can i actually go to the store and buy some pods to put in there or is that something that kinda grows and lives on its own like algae?

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Ya, I do not have time to find the like for the "pod cages" but maybe someone has it saved or I can look later tonight. They are simple to make.

As for pods, us members can give you some, there is no need to spend $15 to buy 200 of them that might not be alive. We can give you some chaeto loaded with them. From there, they will grow in any area that they are sife (hence a refugium).

 

[linda lee]

jaydm93teg;125759 wrote: now when we start talkin sumps is another thing i have no clue about. for a 29 gallon what size sump should i get?

As far as size, there's no limit. Your sump can even be quite a bit larger than your display, thus increasing your water volume and adding more support for your bioload.

 

[jaydm93teg]

so basically I should measure what size will fit where my sump will be going and get as big as I can which isn't going to be very large a 20 gallon at best. And once I ha e the tank for the sump then I can worry about hob over flows and pumps and piping correct or is there a place to buy this stuff as a package deal that is worth it? I'm not real good at building stuff like this

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Building it is pretty darn simple and will save ya about $100, so it is up to you how much your time and energy is worth. I am sure there are plenty of people who will help you and teach you how to do it. This is one of those moments in this hobby that learning this skill will help you learn others down the road and save you so much time and money.

 

[jaydm93teg]

um....ok does someone want to teach me how to build a sump!!!!!!???!!!??!

 

[gwhiz]

If you'll determine what size sump you can fit under or near your tank (think standard aquarium sizes and we'll build on that), I'll help you build and plumb it. You'll need a HOB overflow and return pump (anyone out there have something that will work for this application?). I'm far from an expert, but since we're so far away from each other:up: I'm well positioned to help out.

 

[krb]

jaydm93teg;126494 wrote: um....ok does someone want to teach me how to build a sump!!!!!!???!!!??!

I might have a 20 gallon sump for sale next week. If you are interested I will let you know. I should know by Wednesday. It shouldn't be too much cash either

 

[tim8111]

Linda Lee;126121 wrote: As far as size, there's no limit. Your sump can even be quite a bit larger than your display, thus increasing your water volume and adding more support for your bioload.

The solution to pollution is dilution