Hello - New to the site

[kbsig106]

Hello - I'm new to the site and just want to introduce my tank:

30G
PC Orbit Hood (65w x2) - Love this hood!!!
550 Power head (UGF)
(2) 170 Bio-wheels
25 Lbs of Fiji Live rock (feather dusters/coralline +++)
2 Common Clowns
1 Mandarin
3 Camel Shrimp
1 Peppermint Shrimp
7 Turbo Snails
2 Limpets
5 Blue Leg Hermits
1 Atlantic Anomie

The tank has been running for 18 months and I just added the Orbit PC last month. Believe it or not, I was quiet successful with a single 50/50 40w bulb for 17 months w/ no major kills or chemical problems. I'm thinking of adding some corals, but I've read I need to be mindful of the camel shrimp. So far everyone is very happy in the tank with no territory problems. The peppermint shrimp is "Papa" he's the oldest and has been in the tank for 17 months.

I hope to chat with everyone in the future. Any comments about my set-up would be great!!!

Thanks in advance...

kbsig106

[Samper]

Welcome to the site, I"m pretty new here too but learning quick. The discussions here are the best I've seen on the topics without having to read something like Martin Moes handbook. See ya around

[kevinpo]

Welcome to Reefland

One comment about your mandarin unless you have been able to get it to eat prepared foods you are going to have trouble keeping it from starving as a 30 gal tank will be almost impossible to generate enough food over the long term.

With your new lighting you will have a wide variety of corals to choose from but plan carefully as some can expand tremedously and sting their neighbors.

Regards,
Kevin

[kbsig106]

Welcome to Reefland

One comment about your mandarin unless you have been able to get it to eat prepared foods you are going to have trouble keeping it from starving as a 30 gal tank will be almost impossible to generate enough food over the long term.

With your new lighting you will have a wide variety of corals to choose from but plan carefully as some can expand tremedously and sting their neighbors.

Regards,
Kevin

The Mandarin has been in the tank for 6 months (even during the 40w days) and he's been eating live and frozen brine shrimp - took some time with the frozen. I put a teaspoon of live brine in the tank once a week w/ the bio wheels off so the shrimp can hide w/in the live rock. The Mandarin will hunt them down over that weekly period and he also eats the cooppods(sp?) that are in the crushed coral (3") deep. Usually he'll dig around at the base of the live rock for food.

So far it's been a smooth balance. I've also lived by the policy of "haste makes waste" when cycling the tank and adding new residents. The camel shrimp are a major concern for me in terms of coral and other anomies. I don't want to have to remove the camel shrimp if I can help it - the three have formed a colony sort of group (2 males/1 female) and they get along with the rest of the tank. I've read that they will eat soft corals - which would be a waste of $.

Thanks for the comments. I'll post some pictures tonight.

[kevinpo]

Excellent! the mandarin will be fine as long as you don't add other predetory fish like hawks, dottybacks, etc.
40W lights are fine for reef animals except photosynthetic corals as they don't have enough intensity for most of them. Some low light corals can even do well under them however.

Regards,
Kevin

[Ninong]

Hi kbsig106, welcome to Reefland!


Yes, you will have to remove your camel shrimp if you intend to keep corals. They eat corals for a living in the wild, especially zoanthids, mushrooms, leathers, etc.

P.S. -- Have your clownfish accepted your Condylactis gigantea (Atlantic anemone) as a host? Just curious.

[kbsig106]

Hi kbsig106, welcome to Reefland!


Yes, you will have to remove your camel shrimp if you intend to keep corals. They eat corals for a living in the wild, especially zoanthids, mushrooms, leathers, etc.

P.S. -- Have your clownfish accepted your Condylactis gigantea (Atlantic anemone) as a host? Just curious.

No the clownfish have not accpeted the anemone yet. Then again the anemone is quite small so it might take some time. He's eating well I do know that - I've been adding Zooplex along with the frozen brine which the feather dusters love also. The peppermint shrimp "Papa" died yesterday after 17 long months in the tank.

I'll need to catch the camels - any tips on how to round them up? I've read something about a 20 oz coke bottle with bait inside. Hate to catch more than the shrimp though.

Beyond that the Orbit hood is causing the algae to bloom quite rapid- the turbo's are doing a fine job though. Guess the tank is adjusting to the additional light I added vis the single 50/50 40w I had.

[jiggly75]

hi welcome to the site. i love it here, ive learned alot from reading some of the old forems, havent made it through all of them yet, but ive been taking notes lol. well enjoy youself here.