Help with my population

rtlimpus

rtlimpus

Member
Hi all.
I am hoping I can get some help with which fish i should put in my tank. I have a 29 Biocube, and will be starting my refugium this week (based on Nissans thread). I am fighting the cursed hair algae, but wouldn't mind a little help from a lawnmower blenny if that is appropriate. My goals are to add sps, and I don't want a ton of fish, but I am looking to make a list based on practicality.
Currently I have a small CUC:
3 snails
4 hermits
2 peppermint shrimp (they did take care of my aipstatia!)
I am working on finding a turbo snail or two, and maybe a few blue legged hermits.
1 BTA
2 ocellaris clowns
Lighting is CF, have plenty of flow. 20 LBS live rock, 20 lbs live sand.
Tank is only 4 months old (yes I know I shouldn't have gotten the nem, but I did it before I knew) Everything is looking good and consistant, so I am hoping to get help figuring where to go from here. SPS? Fish? I am a little nervous to get a jumper, though. I don't want to rush, but I do want to add something.......
Any help would be greatly appreciated, y'all.
*******Ignore the pics of the back of my tank******



 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Well since in your very first post you mention you have compact Fluorescent lights, I don;t think the sps will work until you get better lighting
also your bta needs better light too, and they don't tolerate anything but near perfect water conditions....with all your algae, you probably have high nitrates or phosphates....have you tested for these??
 
rtlimpus

rtlimpus

Member
Last pic is chamber 3. It has 2 pumps that send the flow out the front. Make sense?
I have CF (I think) that say pl36W 10000. There is a set of blue and a set of white.
I have been checking all the tests I have. Nitrates are between 0.0 and 5.0, Nitrites fine, ammonia fine but not perfect .25, and PH is 9.0. No tests for Phosphates.
I think I was feeding too much, so I have read that every other day is OK. My skimmer has been very busy, so that theory makes some sense to me.
What kind of lighting could I upgrade too? I was told by LFS (of course) that lights would be fine for some corals.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
When you say a set....how many bulbs total are there? Is this the lights that came with the tank?
IDK about the brand tank, but others do, so they may know better what type of lights they are....
 
luvmyreef

luvmyreef

Active Member
oops, didnt read that. Meowzer has a point. Upgrade your lights for sps.
But you can keep other low light corals for now.
 
rtlimpus

rtlimpus

Member
They are double tubes about 12 inches long. one "set" of double tubes for the white, one set of blue. And yes, they are the originals.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
Your P.H. is 9????? Have you added anything to make it go up? What are you testing with? Can you take a sample to a lfs tomorrow and get another test done
You can keep Low light corals....and that's probably it with those lights....maybe some mushrooms, zoas....
Not too sure how the nem will do...odds are usually against them with cf lighting.
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
Sorry to say, but your PH is way high! Nitrites are fine=does that mean 0? Also, ammonia needs to be 0. Also, your nem looks bleached, I would look into high output T5 lighting. Shouldn't be too expensive for your tank size.
Lawnmower blenny probably won't eat your hair algae. You can try Margarita Snails, but you really need to find the source. I would invest in a phosphate test kit. Also, what is your water source? Light schedule? Water change routine? How much do you feed per feeding? I personally don't care for every other day feeding, maybe you could just cut back on the amount of food!
 
rtlimpus

rtlimpus

Member
Originally Posted by nissan577
http:///forum/post/3249390
yea get the Metal Halide 150w sunpod

and i still dont get it
Do those bulbs fit in my hood? I just checked them, they seem to be about $50 Bucks. That seem right?
OK. Sooooo..... the chamber is about the size of chamber #1 that houses the skimmer currently. It is about 2.5 inches square and goes down the length of the tank. It has 2 holes, one on top of the other, for which I attached a pump to each hole. On the inside of the tank, where I attached the pumps, there is a little leg that blows water. I am pretty sure the Biocube has the same thing, only is has just one blower. (I just checked out a pic of Biocube but the blower was on the left chamber, not the right)
I dunno.... thats the best description I can come up with.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
You can not replace the bulbs in your hood.....you will have to get a new light set up to upgrade
LOL...let me rephrase.....you can't replace them with metal halides or T5HO
 
rtlimpus

rtlimpus

Member
Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3249395
Your P.H. is 9????? Have you added anything to make it go up? What are you testing with? Can you take a sample to a lfs tomorrow and get another test done
You can keep Low light corals....and that's probably it with those lights....maybe some mushrooms, zoas....
Not too sure how the nem will do...odds are usually against them with cf lighting.
I meant PH was 8.0. Sorry.
And I know about the Nem, he was bleached when I got him (he seemed so "pretty" in my lack of knowledge). I am sad to here about the lighting, but I have no prob upgrading lights. So, is it T5 or metal halide.
I will pick up the phosphate test too.
I have been changing the water once a week, with tap (i know). I will go back to LFS water if that is the prob. I was feeding my 2 fishys 1 cube a day of mysis or brine shrimp, and pellets at night. Also was feeding my nem every other day a chunk of silverside. Lights are on about 9 hours a day, but I have been cutting down on that.
**sigh**
Such a learning process
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
Did you have the hair algae problem when you were using lfs water? You can get a tds meter to test your tap.
That's alot of food for 2 fish. I would do half a cube or less, once daily. Maybe alternate, and do pellets, occassionally.
For the lighting, metal halide is best, but puts out alot of heat, high output T5's are good. You will have to decide what you like more and what fits your budget!
Whew, 8.0 is much better. lol
 
rtlimpus

rtlimpus

Member
Originally Posted by Shrimpy Brains
http:///forum/post/3249415
Did you have the hair algae problem when you were using lfs water? You can get a tds meter to test your tap.
That's alot of food for 2 fish. I would do half a cube or less, once daily. Maybe alternate, and do pellets, occassionally.
For the lighting, metal halide is best, but puts out alot of heat, high output T5's are good. You will have to decide what you like more and what fits your budget!
Whew, 8.0 is much better. lol
Ha. 8.0 is WAY better =)
But my question is, I can't replace the lights in my tank hood with better ones? I ran out and bought this tank when I found my fresh water tank lights were so awful after I bought the nem. He has been thru a tank change already, and I bought this self contained one to help him out.
And yes, algae hit when I started making my salt water, which is fine. I prefer to buy the water and keep it here anyway.
 
meowzer

meowzer

Moderator
LOL...Yeah...you had me worried when you said p.h. was 9
I also agree that is a lot of food for 2 fish.....1/2 a cube 1x a day would be plenty, and pellets are for treats...lol...so MAYBE 1-2x a week in the evening
For your size tank you should be able to get T5HO...just make sure you get individual reflectors
You may also want to look into an ro/di water maker.....so much easier than having to go out and get water
I don;t think you can cure a bleached nem with the lighting you have, and unless the water is perfect sorry that's just my opinion though
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
No, sorry! Neither halides or T5's will fit in your sockets. It may be possible to retrofit or modify your hood to fit the T5's, but I don't know! Of course, you could modify your hood for LED's, but that would be very expensive an take a lot of technical know-how. There is a good thread on LED's on this site, or you can google the info.
 
rtlimpus

rtlimpus

Member
Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3249420
LOL...Yeah...you had me worried when you said p.h. was 9
I also agree that is a lot of food for 2 fish.....1/2 a cube 1x a day would be plenty, and pellets are for treats...lol...so MAYBE 1-2x a week in the evening
For your size tank you should be able to get T5HO...just make sure you get individual reflectors
You may also want to look into an ro/di water maker.....so much easier than having to go out and get water
I don;t think you can cure a bleached nem with the lighting you have, and unless the water is perfect sorry that's just my opinion though
Don't apologize for your opinion- thats what I am looking for!!! I feel so bad for my nem, but he is attached and I don't know what to do with him. And I will eventually do the ro/di- its on the list!
So- to recap. I need to either get new lights, which involves a new hood or retrofit, or find a new home for my nem (anyone want him?). I need to test phosphates, and stop using my tap water. If I don't change my lights, I should be able to maintain zoas and mushrooms, but what about fish?
Thanks all for your help- truely I appreciate ya'lls time and experience.i HAD NO IDEA WHAT i WAS GETTING INTO! :)
 
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