Down-sizing, do I have too many fish to pull it off?

[worrballer]

Currently I have a 40b that is in disrepair because of a lack of maintenance schedule. I have decided to pack it up for the time being while I am in school to save the inhabitants. Before I do that I would kick myself for not trying to make it work with a simpler tank.
So my plan is to down-size into my old 15g AGA. The maintenance would be simpler and the amount of equipment reduced. But my question is do I have to many fish to sustain a stable environment?
Right now I have:
1x O. Clown
1x Yellow Assessor
1x Chromis
I know the clown and chromis might fight and are heavy poopers but my hope is that the simpler water changes will allow me to hedge that build up. My main concern is room for the fish. The dimensions of the tank are 24x12x12.

 

[nikesb]

i was able to successfully keep 3 fishes in a 10g. 2 clowns and a sixline. would i do it again? probably not but its doable. my nitrates and phosphates were controlled though so i never thought much of it

 

[worrballer]

That's encouraging. It would be, at most, a year with those fish if it works out.
I think my biggest dilemma is deciding whether to man up about maintenance on the 40 or simplify with this plan.

 

[nikesb]

my maintenance was once a week on the 10g. took probably 15 minutes to suck out 3 gallons of water

 

[btldreef]

If you have poor maintenance habits with a 40 gallon tank, I don't think downsizing is going to make things easier/better, but actually do quite the opposite. Smaller tanks actually require more observation and fine tuning than larger tanks. The smaller you go, the more magnified this obstacle becomes. So I say, man up and maintain your 40. 40 breeders are some of the nicest (and easiest if you ask me) reefs to keep, you'll be disappointed with a smaller tank.

 

[worrballer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by BTLDreef http:///forum/thread/385129/down-sizing-do-i-have-too-many-fish-to-pull-it-off#post_3376439
If you have poor maintenance habits with a 40 gallon tank, I don't think downsizing is going to make things easier/better, but actually do quite the opposite. Smaller tanks actually require more observation and fine tuning than larger tanks. The smaller you go, the more magnified this obstacle becomes. So I say, man up and maintain your 40. 40 breeders are some of the nicest (and easiest if you ask me) reefs to keep, you'll be disappointed with a smaller tank.
Very true. I've had 5, 15, and 29 gallon tanks before and the 40 was the easiest, I just got busy and lazy at the same time lol. My reasoning is that it is easier to change 5 gallons (which is a higher percentage in 15g) than 10 gallons therefore I'd be more willing to keep up on maintenance.
You make a good point though, there is no telling that I will actually improve my habits. This would just be an experiment though to see if I would actually get better at maintaining a smaller tank.

 

[1guydude]

just take it easy. Nike says lol "10 min a day can make a great tank", or something like that....If u havent looked at nikes tanks thats a must!!!! When doing a water change just clean up the tank and leave the bucket of fresh SW in the bucket for a day. When ur ready suk up all the crap and water into another bucket, Than replace with the room temp SW thats been sitting. Turkey Baster some stuff every now and again, and clean the glass every couple days...IMO
o and dont forget the CUC
Wat kind of filtration are u running baller? U have to clean that as well!!!! but not all of it because u want some "good" bacteria.
I say clean up the 40 breeder <<<as if that wasnt obvious>>>> doih... they do make great little reefs or fowlr
sry just got carried away i guess...prob telling u stuff u already know!

 

[worrballer]

Quote:
Originally Posted by 1guyDude http:///forum/thread/385129/down-sizing-do-i-have-too-many-fish-to-pull-it-off#post_3376499
just take it easy. Nike says lol "10 min a day can make a great tank", or something like that....If u havent looked at nikes tanks thats a must!!!! When doing a water change just clean up the tank and leave the bucket of fresh SW in the bucket for a day. When ur ready suk up all the crap and water into another bucket, Than replace with the room temp SW thats been sitting. Turkey Baster some stuff every now and again, and clean the glass every couple days...IMO
o and dont forget the CUC
Wat kind of filtration are u running baller? U have to clean that as well!!!! but not all of it because u want some "good" bacteria.
I say clean up the 40 breeder <<<as if that wasnt obvious>>>> doih... they do make great little reefs or fowlr
sry just got carried away i guess...prob telling u stuff u already know!
It is true I do know most of the stuff you suggested but it is appreciated anyway. I think I am making a mountain out of a mole hill. The solution to the problem would be to simplify the process not the whole tank. I'm thinking I want to use a powerhead to make the transfer of water easier. Other than that it is just getting my butt in gear to go get water (no RO/DI), that seems to be the most work out in the process. I just have to become nocturnal in my practice and I can pull it off.
I think I did a good job of getting the right equipment for filtration and that is why my tank hasn't crashed yet (I know, tooting my own horn blah blah blah). I have the Reef Octopus NW-110 skimmer, a 12x12x10 section for a refugium and an AC 70 with chemi-pure (make-shift reactor). And I cleaned my equipment about a month or so ago. My snail population has dwindled but I have nass, astrea, cerith and a conch for CUC. Really low numbers of each.
With your guys' encouragement I'm leaning towards just manning up about maintenance. I gotta stop feeling sorry for myself and bring back that feeling of an accomplished reefer. At least that is my feeling today lol; who knows how I'll feel in the morning. (I flip-flop on reefing if you haven't already noticed

)

 

[btldreef]

How much of a disarray is the tank in?

 

[worrballer]

Not that bad just algae everywhere. Hair algae, I believe. But it looks dusty, either way its gone now.
That's right I took 3 hours out of my day to change 15 gallons and scrub the algae off the back glass and suck up the diatoms on the sand. Looks so much better. Plus I hooked up this 1/15hp chiller my friend let me have (well, long term loan) forever ago.
It was a lot of work but I felt so good about taking that first step towards a clean tank.

 

[1guydude]

ur fish prob feel better too good job...keep it up and eventually there will be days where you dont have to do anything but top it off. Is it me or are those days rare .?!?!?!

lol i just did a water change yesterday as well....not 15 gal though lol only like 5 gal...im not boasting im just sayin lol