 Week 6 notes and questions
Hi all, thanks for the great advice given here.
My comments/notes/questions now that I'm six weeks in and actually have something to look at in the tank!
Comments:
* PLAN AHEAD! I would have saved a lot of $$$ and headache rearranging stuff
* LISTEN to kids! My 7 yo daughter knows more about marine life than I do- she scolded me for not having a QT ("You need a hospital in case one of them gets sick, Daddy!" "That's not a starfish, it's a sand-sifting sea star, from the family Echinoidea!")
* LFS loves to sell you stuff, even if it's not a great idea
* Anenomes are uncooperative. They will not stay where you put them, and find the exact spot you do not want them to rest.
Notes:
* Dumped the included hood/lighting/bio-wheel. Replaced with no cover, PC lights, fluval canister. Losing a lot more water to evap now, but I can live with that.
# 29 Gal (30") Eclipse3 glass rectangle
# 130w PC 50/50
# Fluval 205 can (110gph)
# "micro" powerhead (also 110gph)
# 60lbs LS, 30lbs LR
# 2x yellow tail blue damsels, 1x sebae clown, 1x sebae anenome (with a bud coming off, lucky me!), 6x turbos, 2x tiger cowries, 2x peppermint shrimp, "generic" 1x hermit crab.
Questions:
- The Fluval turns over the tank ~6x/hour. Small powerhead adds a ripple to the top of the water, but it seems very still compared to the old wet/dry. Should I add another (larger) powerhead for O2 transfer/pretty waves?
- The powerhead has a clip-on foam filter and a small "undergravel" filter. The clip on took up a lot of space so I left it off, but the thing sits near the top of the tank. Question is: Why can't they include instructions with these things!?
- My "blue knee" hermit, Elvis (he was the king of the tank) seemed to get pretty weird after I added an actinic bulb. He moved less, migrated to the back of the tank. After a few days, he "disappeared", meaning the shell was still there (and his tank mates didn't seem all that hungry for a few days). Remaining non-blue hermit is a lot happier, tho. Anyone ever heard of lighting affecting a crab like that?
- Feeding: thus far I've been feeding small amounts of flake/granules twice daily, roughly half a teaspoon. I honestly can't tell if I'm feeding enough, too much, the right food, etc. No algae problems, but I'm a little lost.
- I already know I want to go up a size. I'm a second floor apartment dweller, so I can't get much larger than 50Gal. I'm thinking of "cheating" by doing a 55Gal with a 20Gal sump/fuge (so 75G total), but I'm really not clear on how to put it all together. I'm trying to actually plan first this time! Anyone out there have pix/diagrams? Do I use a skimmer in the sump? Do the heaters go in the sump? Does the skimmer have a pump like a canister? I've seen pictures of people placing the in-tank LR on PVC, drilling the PVC and pumping water through it- uh, why? Is that really useful?
- Roommate is pushing for a lionfish; anyone kept one successfully?
Lots of stuff, here, TIA for reading and sorry for the long post!
John | 
