skimmer shud i get 1?

[bigrf33]

had a nano dd 24g 4 a month now got 2 perc clowns 2", 1 purple fire fish, and 1 yellow tail blue damsel, 4 soft corals. weekly water changes with nutra sea water, everything is ok wanting 1 or 2 more small fish in couple of wks, lfs say nano skimmer will allow this no probs, just wanted 2 no if skimmer allows more fish stock? thanks.

[omard]

To 3Reef!!!

Salutations! Glad to see you found way here!


You would really be pushing limit to add more fish, esp given tank age.

If you really want to, wait a while and add some more live rock.

A skimmer would help, but not nearly as important as frequent good sized water changes based on water params, which you are going to have to keep VERY CLOSE eye on.

Fish can become extremely stressed when too many in too small a space, leading to all kinds of other problems.

Certainly understand urge. Been there.

I would suggest being patient for a good while with what you already have.

Good Luck.




"Om"

"Reef on"

The Tao of Marine Aquaria
Tips for Our Hobby and Life

© 1997 Adam H. Whitlock
Edited By Elizabeth M. Lukan 11/25/00

[lunatik_69]

Omard is right and too biggy back on what he said. Fish produce the most bio load than anything else. I would wait before getting any fish so your bac levels can adjust to the extra bio load added already. Adding more LR is a great suggestion and the skimmer too, esp if your planning on getting more fish. Remember to be patient!!! Dont rush

[bigrf33]

thanks, tank was bought with cured lr, water from tank thats bin running 4 years at lfs,and cured live sand, tank has dun it cycle brown algae an all.... cuc doing gud job. just thinkin of adding a dwarf red angle and no more fish after that just soft corals. wot u think? water change every wk, all water test r fine do them every 10 days. thanks

[lunatik_69]

The general rule of thumb is 1" of fish per 2-3 gals of water. So do the math.

[bigrf33]

can u add as many soft corals and inverts as u like? al stick 2 the fish i have 4 now, is running tank wid comb skimmer already wid tank ok 4 now? thanks 4 advice.

[coral reefer]

As mentioned above by some of our reef gurus(hehehe), skimmer is ideal, but that is just part of the equation! Live sand and live rock plus the addition of filter feeders like sponge, tunicates and fanworms will help to keep adequate water parameter levels.
The collaboration of chemical, biological and mechanical filtration can definitely give you the advantage in establishing and maintaining a thriving and healthy marine biotope!

Water changes are essential as a weekly water change, which I am a firm believer in, is crucial t the overall success provided for your livestock and your long term enjoyment...

As for the number of fish, with a nano tank, I would shy away from adding too many fish(bioload). The number of options available for you to counteract the negative situations brought on my having a nano tank are far less than if you had a larger tank, such as increased water volume, skimmer size, and surface area!

[bigrf33]

does that mean i can add as many corals an inverts as i can afford? because they dont produce as much bio load? had trops 4 yrs new 2 marine thanks.

[coral reefer]

NO!

When you think of a reef, I know it seems so tranquil, there is alot of chemical warfare going on between various corals fighting for dominance and places to reproduce while killing or injuring neighboring corals. Nematocysts, mucus, toxic substances released in the water, sweeper tentacles, or even overtaking a neighboring coral such is the case with Fire coral(Millepora) and Star polyps(Pachyclavularia).

Coral placement, coral type and number of corals are crucial and important decisions you will need to make regarding number of corals kept in a tank, not to mention the lighting, water parameters, waterflow, filtration and coral growth rates!

[reef_guru]

fish need breathing room. if you want more fish, get a bigger tank.