Hi Nowicki-
I've been at this hobby for 10-12 yrs and I've made many mistakes. Success to me is keeping fish alive for 4 or more years. This is possible with certain fish and highly unlikey with others, depending on your experience and set-up. I think when you start out it's important to choose fish that you can successfully keep. Otherwise the hobby can become pretty frustrating.
I currently have a 125 gal and a 29 gal (used to be a quarantine tank- my quarantine tanks always seem to become display tanks at some point).
My 29 gal is close to being what you have going on right now
with your 26 gal bow front. I saw your pics by the way- very nice. My 29 has 30 lbs LR, 3 fish, 4 hermit crabs, and it did house 2 scarlet cleaner shrimp, and one scooter blenny. The cleaner shrimp worked out great but I'll never have another scooter blenny. I've had 4 scooters over the years and they always become emaciated and die. I don't recommend them to newbies..they are not actually a blenny but are a dragonet-just like mandarin fish...and they require a special diet...
It's very sad to see these fish waste away because the aquarium set up can't provide them with the diet they need.
The 3 fish I have currently are a nice group- very healthy, active, compatible and colorful. I started with a pink skunk clown (about 1 1/2 inches), and added a yellow coris wrasse ( about 3 inches and expensive but worth it- approx $20 per inch) and then added a royal gramma (great color and personality). All of these fish get along well and thrive on a diet of Formula One and Formula Two. There are plenty of hiding places with the 30 pounds of LR.
This has been an easy, fun tank to maintain, except for the scooter blenny. The hermit crabs are hilarious to watch. I know I'll have to take them out of the tank when they get too large. I'd like to add two small scarlet cleaner shrimp- they're also fun to watch. But that will be it for livestock in this tank.
It's important not to overstock. I've crossed the line many times by being impatient and too enthusiastic...(ooh... That fish is awesome ... I must have it). I've paid the price later in time, energy, money, and fish lives. It's important to maintain a balance. There has to be enough biofiltration and mechanical filtration to handle the waste (garbage in and garbage out) and your fish have to have enough personal space- lot's of hiding places.
LR provides good natural filtration in my tank. I also have an undergravel filter with about 2 " of CC and an Aquaclear 802 powerhead. I have a small Penguin hang-on filter with bio wheel. I like the Penguin - it's easy to maintain and provides good aeration with the bio wheel. I have a 50 watt Visi-therm heater and an NO lamp. Really not enough light. I don't do water changes as regularly as I should and I'm beginning to get more algae on the glass. This tank has been set up for about 18 months.
I would highly recommend 4 books- I have many but use these 4 most often- "The Conscientious Aquarist" (also see the website
www.wetwebmedia.com), Martin Moe's ( 2 books )"The Marine Aquarium Handbook" and "The Marine Aquarium Reference", and John Tullock's "Reef Aquariums".
So this is my experience with my 29 gallon-
I'm currently planning a 240 gallon FOWLR that may eventually become a Reef.This will be my dream aquarium and the last big aquarium I will ever have. I'ver been gathering lots of ideas and info over the last few months ....That's how I happened on this wonderful web site.
Happy Aquarium Keeping to You
Sally
