30 gal tank

[boomper]

I have a 30 gal tank that has just finished cycling. Unfortunately, because this is my first time, I'm learning things now that I wish I had known at the beginning....oh well. Anyways, I have crushed coral instead of sand, which people seem to not like. Is it worth putting in sand, and if i do, will it disrupt the cycling process since it has almost completed? Also, I have 7 damsels in the tank right now, none of them died (somehow) during the nitrogen cycle. Ideally, I'd like to have a flame angel and 2 clowns in there. What is a good amount of fish to keep in a 30 gal? I have a descent amount of live rock, do I need a clean up crew as well. I posted on the newbie site, but it seems everyone has a bigger tank than me and much more complicated set ups, im just looking for a basic FOWLR right now. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, especially about the sand.

 

[cprdnick]

If you aren't going to have any agressive fish then I would say get a clean up crew, they'll help out with your parameters and keep things a little bit more stable. I think that when first starting out, meaning until the tank has been up for a few months that the rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish per 5 gallons. There are different opinions on the amount of fish that can go in a tank. I believe it depends on your biological filtration. With LR and LS you can have a good amount of fish, with LR and LS and a skimmer you can have a little more, with those and a wet dry I think you can have more, and with those and a UV sterilizer your fish will be more healthy I think.
I would go ahead and switch to sand now and save yourself the heartache in the long run, especially before you buy the angel and clowns. If it was an established tank then changing substrate would cause a mini cycle from what I understand, I'm not sure what it would do if you change it in mid cycle though. How far into your cycle are yoU? Damsels are some pretty hardy fish, in my tanks they have survived several disasters when I was starting out, but they were a pain in the but to catch so I could sell them back to the LFS.

 

[karajay]

Originally posted by Boomper
I have crushed coral instead of sand, which people seem to not like.
CC will be fine provided you keep it vacuumed on a regular basis. Alot of us prefer sand just to avoid having to clean it, because it can also provide additional bio-filtration, and just for looks. It really is a personnal decision. I agree that if you decide to change it out, do it earlier rather than later. If you change to sand, IMO, you'll need a clean-up crew. If not, it is up to you since YOU will be the clean-up crew.
Your tank stocking ideas sound fine to me. Just don't add the angel until your tank is more mature (at least a few months).

 

[fireo1o]

i have cc as well..if i want to add some sand without dirupting the tank can i just poor it on top of the cc?

 

[cprdnick]

Good question. I've been wondering what the outcome would be if I did that too. Does anyone have an answer to this one?

 

[karajay]

Yeah...don't do it!
A) You will give yourself a substrate that's nearly impossible to clean.
B) In time, all the sand will settle down and the CC will be left back on top.

 

[cprdnick]

AHH. A simple problem of physics. Cure. More sand than CC?