Too many fish?

[stringcheese]

My amonia level is at .25. The other levels are fine- so I'm not really sure what might be causing the elevated amonia. I don't think I overfeed- once daily, sometimes twice.
I plan on moving the tang over to a 55 which I am setting up right now, but the amonia is also .25 in that tank, and I'm not sure if I'm on the upside or downside of the cycle. It's been set up for about a week, but I added 20lbs of live sand right from the start (hoping to speed the cycle).
Do I have too much "stuff" in my 29?

 

[ophiura]

Yes. The yellow tang, especially, is a poor choice for the tank. Smaller fish, like the clowns, etc, are not bad (perhaps 3-4 when fully stocked), but a tang gets much larger and is a problem.
Have youhad your water checked at an LFS? Some test kits seem to continuously read at .25 even when there is no ammonia. This is something you may want to check.
How are you cycling the 55?

 

[stringcheese]

"How are you cycling the 55?"
I am hoping it will cycle in time like my 29 did. I didnt have any problems with it. The only difference is that I had the 2 clowns in the 29 for the entire cycle, and in the 55 I am just taking my time to make sure the levels check out before I add anything.

 

[jtroutine]

what are you using to cycle the 55? As far as the tang is concerned a 55 in some peoples opinion is still to small, there is much debate about this on this board. Trying doing a search on yellow tangs and see what you come up with

 

[ophiura]

Well, the clowns effectively cycled the 29g. Without some sort of ammonia production, the tank won't really cycle. Your levels may appear fine, until you add something. So generally, people will add rather uncured LR (the die off of critters produces ammonia), tough fish (though this is losing favor, it is still a tried and true way to produce ammonia) or dead shrimp/other food (decay of food will produce ammonia). This is challenging the tank. With an increase in ammonia, it encourages the increase in the growth rate and colonization of beneficial bacteria. You may wish to consider pushing the tank in some way. Alternatively, you can add fish very very slowly, keeping a eagle eye on the water quality at all times.
People often prefer to push the tank, in that it presents this new tank with a worst case scenario....lots and lots of ammonia. More than it will, hopefully, ever have to get through again. You have some confidence after cycling in this way, that your tank can handle a couple of fish rather soon after (though it is still best to stick with hardy stock).
The tang in the 29 is OK, IMO, for the short term. It is OK, for relative short term in the 55g, assuming no other tangs will be in there. But it is not a terribly good choice, IMO for long term keeping of a yellow tang. However, it is a heck of a lot better than a 29g

 

[stringcheese]

Is the Tang considered hardy stock? Should I put him in the 55 now to produce ammonia? I wont be adding another Tang to this tank, either.
I suppose I could get another clown and add it to the 55 to bump along the cycle also.

 

[ophiura]

I agree here...I have to assume that it is actually a small tang, and can stay for some period of time in the 29g. If it is not, however, it should be traded back in. It definitely can not go in a cycling tank, and should not go into a newly cycled tank either.

 

[mightyoxjuice]

The tang is more likely to be an ich magnet, that small of a tank will stress your tang and it will come down with ich.