[Tide2Water]

This is what my tank currently consists of

87 pounds of live rock
3 turbo snails
15 or so mushrooms currently most of which are free floating
6 or so medium (3-5" tall) Xenia
uncountable small (the biggest being .5 inches) feather dusters
1 lettuce nudi
1 small zoo colony and a few randoms scattered among the tank
3 damsels
1 lawnmower (algae eating) blenny 2.5-3.5 inches long
1 pink spoted goby (about 4-5 inches long)
1 nassarius snail
5 or so scarlet hermits
10 or so blue leg hermits
10 or so identifiable teal green white legged hermits
3 diff types of macro
a failry good sized amphipod and copeopod population

this is contained in a 55 gallon tank with a 3" sand bed with an Eheim 2026 canister filter a 70 gph pump in the tank to move water and a zoo med pump rated for around 130gph...I think. For lighting I have 220 watts of compact flourescent lighting two 10000K bulbs and two 03 actinic. My question is I want to add some more "stuff to my tank" and plan on placing a big order from reeftopia (if ANYBODY wants to get in on this let me know I already have free shipping) here is what I plan on ordering

24 Blue Leg Hermits
10 Turbos (if you want half or if anybody else does let me know)
12 Nassarius snails
4 Lettuce Nudibranch
1 Double Ricordia
1 Flower Anemone
2 Neon Gobies
3 Royal Grammas
1 Pygmy Angel
1 Harlequin Serpent Star

and from my local LFS I am going to purchase a Mandarin Goby!

Does anybody see any compatability problems? or have any comments or recomendations. I do not run a skimmer but do bi-weekly 10% waterchanges.

 

[DLBerlin]

12 fish in a 55gal???? Way to many. Especially without a skimmer.Even with the two neon gobies which are really small.
A mandarin in a 55gal? No I wouldn't do that either. Do you have a refuge? Without a fuge on a tank that small the mandarin will clean it out. How long has your tank been running?

 

[Newts]

I agree, that is a very high bioload.

 

[E-quality]

1 more small fish would be a nice maximum, skip the angel for sure. I think you have enough crabs already also, they'll starve if you add more.

 

[Tide2Water]

How about now?

A refugium is in the works right now it is planned in the very near future right now I have a pod poulation of about 4-5 per square inch (i'm talking the big ones the ones that are 1/4" long). Okay so what about this revised list.

12 Blue Leg Hermits
10 Turbos (if you want half or if anybody else does let me know)
12 Nassarius snails
4 Lettuce Nudibranch
1 Double Ricordia
1 Flower Anemone
1 Neon Gobies
1 Royal Grammas
1 Harlequin Serpent Star

and from somewhere else
1 flame hawkfish

and later
1 Mandarin Goby (this is the whole reason I got into saltwater so it is a must in the big plan )
2 clownfish (pair) (of some type or another)

i'll wait till I get my 20 gallon fuge set up before I get the mandarin oh and I forgot to mention I was looking at a flame hawkfish too...? If I added a skimmer even with a refugium that contained mangroves (which I currently have....the mangroves not the refugium!) would it make a differance? also note that none of the mushrooms are over 1" in diameter

 

[DLBerlin]

Ummm
thats still 11 fish!
The 20 gallon fuge would definately help with the mandarin but I would wait awhile after setting it up before adding it.
The mandarin will eat mostly the tiny pinhead and smaller copepods rather than the larger isopods I think. Put lots of macro in the fuge and give them some time to breed.
Mandarins are beautiful! after my 120 has run awhile and I get some more rock I will be getting one but not till I'm sure the tank will support it.They arent beautiful when they are starving to death

 

[JCReefer88]

I have about 65 pounds of lr in my 29 gal with a clown, a marine betta, and a Mandarin and he does perfectly fine (had him for about 8 months now) there is also no fuge, sump or protein skimmer on the tank so one Madarin in a 55 would be fine.
Justin

 

[Tide2Water]

I know

tide

 

[DLBerlin]

bigger tank!!!!!

 

[Tide2Water]

Revamped AGAIN!!!!!!

Well I have to make a 55 gallon work for now [sigh] so i guess i need more advice.
here is what is going to change in the near future.

Top off and weekly change water will all be RODI

A 20L refugium, w/ lots of nassarius snails and macro algae and a few pieces of LR (what else should I put in here?) i'm also thinking of putting my algae blenny in here (comments?)

A Skimmer, hopefully a prizm (comments?)

I'm gunna ditch all 3 of my damsels and WILL get a Mandarin Goby and a Flame Hawkfish

This is my new "Birthday List" (don't you just love G'ma's and G'pa's ?)

24 Blue Leg Hermits
5 Turbos
24 Nassarius snails
2 Lettuce Nudibranch
1 Double Ricordia
1 Flower Anemone
2 Neon Gobies
1 Royal Grammas
1 Harlequin Serpent Star

that means my whole system will have:

~100 pounds of live rock
30 Blue Leg Hermits
8 Turbos
25 Nassarius snails
3 Lettuce Nudibranch
1 Double Ricordia
1 Flower Anemone
2 Neon Gobies
1 Royal Grammas
1 Harlequin Serpent Star
1 small zoo colony and a few randoms scattered among the tank
10 small mushrooms
4 medium Xenia
1 pink spoted goby
1 Mandarin Goby
1 Flame Hawkfish
3 diff types of macro (all 6x6x4 inch colonies)
1 awesome Pod population

That's 6 small () fish in about 80 gallons of water (I WANT MORE (can't I PLEASE! ))

tide

 

[DLBerlin]

Thats sounding much better!
Get chaeto for the fuge-doesnt go sexual. Some live sand or Mud would be great in there,I just have live sand in mine. Put your "rubble" rock in there and youll have lots of pods in no time.
I havent heard the greatest things about prizms so I'd research that before you buy one. Even an lfs worker friend of mine admitted they are crap, and he has to sell them. If your going to add all this livestock at 1 time(reeftopia order?) be prepared to do some water changes and watch your parameters. Wait awhile and see how your system handles it before adding anything else.
Debbie

 

[ofblong]

Re: Revamped AGAIN!!!!!!

My answers are in bold.

A 20L refugium, w/ lots of nassarius snails and macro algae and a few pieces of LR (what else should I put in here?) i'm also thinking of putting my algae blenny in here (comments?)

Dont put any snails in the refugium or the algae blenny as you want the macro to grow not get eaten

I'm gunna ditch all 3 of my damsels and WILL get a Mandarin Goby and a Flame Hawkfish
Good idea as those damsels will kill anything you add to that tank with exception of things like dottybacks and triggerfish

This is my new "Birthday List" (don't you just love G'ma's and G'pa's ?)

24 Blue Leg Hermits
you already have enough dont need more
5 Turbos
24 Nassarius snails
This might be a good idea but you may want only a couple turbos as they will eventually die at the hands of the hermits or from lack of food
2 Lettuce Nudibranch
why? if they die you may not have a tank left
1 Double Ricordia
1 Flower Anemone
if this tank hasnt been established at least a year and if you dont have quite a bit of intense lighting I would not attempt this as if it dies you again may lose everything in your tank

2 Neon Gobies
1 Royal Grammas
1 Harlequin Serpent Star

that means my whole system will have:

~100 pounds of live rock
30 Blue Leg Hermitsleave it at 6
8 Turbos leave it at the 3 you have
25 Nassarius snailswhy not mix this with say 10 nassarius, 10 nerite, and 5 bumble bee. This will give you more sand sifters and a better variety of snails to eat different things
3 Lettuce Nudibranch stick with the 1 you already have
1 Double Ricordia
1 Flower Anemonesee comment above
2 Neon Gobies
1 Royal Grammas
1 Harlequin Serpent StarI dont like starfish but thats because of problems I have had with them
1 small zoo colony and a few randoms scattered among the tank
10 small mushrooms
4 medium Xenia
1 pink spoted goby
1 Mandarin Gobyas long as you have that 100lbs of rock you should have more than enough food. the person telling you that you cant keep one in a 55 has either never tried or is going by what everyone else has stated. I kept one alive for over a year(until starfish got it) with 70lbs of lr in a 72 bowfront. it was over 3 and half inches long when it got ate. I will be getting another one but i have other things that are going to come first
1 Flame Hawkfish
3 diff types of macro (all 6x6x4 inch colonies)
1 awesome Pod population

That's 6 small () fish in about 80 gallons of water (I WANT MORE (can't I PLEASE! ))I have 5 fish in a 72 and will add 1 more. it just depends on what kind of fish you have. with what you want to keep I would keep it at 6 and no more. the 1 I will add is kind of a competitor for mandarins but I have such a huge pod population that my corals are having a hay day with food and I now have over 110 lbs of lr in my 72 gallon. My list goes as follows: 1 4" blue hippo tang; 1 oscellarus(sp?) clown; 1 lawnmower blenny; 1 yellowtail damsel; and 1 green chromis. I will be adding a springeri dottyback. to me this will be pushing the limit of my tank. the dotty will only get max 3 or 4" in real life so that is the reason I will add it. Like everyone else said I think 6 is just about pushing the limit of your tank.

 

[DLBerlin]

ofblong-good points
Dont know what lighting you have but my flower anemone is at the very top of the rocks under a 250MH. I see they are only reccomending 75lb live rock for a mandarine now(RC mandarin faq)-used to be 100lb min. I've only kept one in a 180 with about 250lb live rock so yeah I was going by what is recommended on every forum I've ever read. I am however guilty of putting a carpet and a flower anemone in a brand new tank and both are now over 6 years old so....But-as you dont recommend going against the "rules" on anemones, I dont recommend going against the "rules" on mandarines either.
Tide:
Didnt realize the nudi's were poisonous. Why so many anyhow?
Debbie

 

[Tide2Water]

The Once Again Amended List

I was planning on also putting LS in my refugium and I guess I should have told you that. Also while on the subject I currently have like 80 Lbs of LS in my main tank now. I guess I just really like the one nassarius snail I have now he is so cool do bumblebee and nerite snails also burrow in the sand? I was fairly confident that Nassarius snails DIDN'T eat macro algae. my algae blenny can't keep up with the hair algae now. I don't think he'll be able to keep a 20L "well trimmed" by any means. I wasn't so shure on the quanity of turbos to get but i always see like 15 or 20 in the 55 gallon reef packs so I figured can't hurt. I'm gunna ditch all my scarlet hermits they seem way to aggressive and aren't all that neat or interesting. Nudi's ARE AWESOME they are SOOO beautiful but yes I knew that in the back of my head I just didn't want to admit it! I set this tank up before X-mas this previouis year more around thanksgiving. So it's been up 8 months. I have 220 watts of compact flourescent lighting two 10000K bulbs and two 03 actinic. So here is the new once again ammended list of what my tank WILL contain after all purchases are made (slowly).

~100 pounds of live rock
15 Blue Leg Hermits
3 Turbos
20 Nassarius snails
1 Lettuce Nudibranch
1 Double Ricordia
1 Flower Anemone
2 Neon Gobies
1 Royal Grammas
1 Harlequin Serpent Star
1 small zoo colony and a few randoms scattered among the tank
10 small mushrooms
4 medium Xenia
1 pink spoted goby
1 Mandarin Goby
1 Flame Hawkfish
3 diff types of macro (all 6x6x4 inch colonies)
1 awesome Pod population
~100 lbs of Live Sand

So what kind of a skimmer do you recommend?

"Good idea as those damsels will kill anything you add to that tank with exception of things like dottybacks and triggerfish"

they've left my nudi, my blenny and my goby alone.

Tide

 

[DLBerlin]

If your already having lots of hair algea problems then get the absolute best skimmer you can afford. My algea blenny ran out of hair algea within the first 2 weeks in the tank and now eats nori like crazy. Get your refuge set up asap and get some chaeto growing, and get a good skimmer running. Are your nitrates high?
Are you using ro/di right now? Pull out the long algea by hand and maybe the snails and blenny will be able to better keep up.
You really need to fix whatever is going on to cause so much hair before you add more bioload to feed it.
Debbie

 

[Tide2Water]

algae

That would be the plan(other than the most expensive skimmer part don't get me wrong I plan on getting a skimmer). I already have on mangrove growing and am working on 3 more. the patch of hair algae isn't really that big at all it's only on one peice of rock (bought it this way) and it doesn't grow fast at all I have to pull it when it gets over 1/2" and I only do that every month or so. I have never seen my blenny feed on it. He doesn't care for nori i don't know what he's eating but he's been eating it for the last 3 months! What's this Chaeto everybody keeps talking about? not shure abotu the nitrates will do a entire water parameter check end of this week it's a big hassle to get the hach kit from school. I know i need to just go and get my own cheap $100 kit but it's so much easier to just borow my one of our Beaver Island programs $2400 Hach kits I can test anything I need to and do it till my eyes roll back in my head!

Tide

 

[DLBerlin]

Skimmer-get the best you can
Mangroves-tried that-wasnt impressed
Chaetomorpha is a macroalgea that looks alot like a plastic pot scrubber.
no "leaves" just a twisted up mass of thin stems-bright green.
It just grows and grows and never goes sexual and dies. The critters love it and it makes a great place for them to hide. I've got tons of it-too bad you arent closer!
You really should invest in at least a nitrate test, and a ph and alk test.
you can find them online easily for less than 20$ each. Thats all I usually test for unless something is wrong-occasionally calcium,but with your corals thats not too much of an issue, your probly getting enough calcium from water changes.
How often are you doing water changes? Sounds like you got a bad piece of rock there. If its only on that one piece I'd try pulling it out and scrubbing it real well.
Debbie

Theres a pic of chaeto here:
http://www.macro-algae.com/

 

[ofblong]

Re: The Once Again Amended List

"Good idea as those damsels will kill anything you add to that tank with exception of things like dottybacks and triggerfish"

they've left my nudi, my blenny and my goby alone.

Tide [/B]

probably because you either added them together or really close to each other. they wont touch nudi's anyways. the real problem will come when you add the grammas and the hawk. since this tank has been running for 8 months that has given the damsel enough time to create a territory. because of this they will pick on any fish you add that comes into their territory.

 

[Tide2Water]

Agression/Update

Actually I put the damsels in abotu 4 or 5 months before the blenny and gobie went in. I think it's because the blenny is twice their size and because the gobie is triple there size!!! I saw my Pink and Blue Spotted Goby picking on my Algae Blenny! I am afraid when I get my mandarin he'll be a major competitor for food and might be aggressive towards it. My blenny is now feeding voraciously since I hauled that rock out and scrubbed it. I also rearranged my WHOLE tank and like the new setup TONS better!! I'll post pics tonight maybe....if I clean my room you know what screw it i'll just get the snowshovel and put it all under my bed!!!

Tide

Anybody intereted in a 4+ inch Pink and Blue Spotted Goby? (did I mention he is SOOO freaking fat, he has a big ol' belly!)

 

[scleractinian]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Tide2Water

"Good idea as those damsels will kill anything you add to that tank with exception of things like dottybacks and triggerfish"

they've left my nudi, my blenny and my goby alone.

Tide
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Never underestimate the sheer aggressiveness of damsels defending their territory. I've had several different Carribean species attack ME, at least once drawing blood, when I tried to take too close a look at their algal farms. Other than some of the chromises, these guys are all bad news, to anything that moves.