FOWLR->reef qustions (1 Viewer)

[Kabuto]

Bought lamha's FOWLR tank. And every thing is doing fine. All reading look good. Only 5ppm Nitrate. Alk did read High (light blue) with the Red Sea test kit but pH was normal at 8.2. Is that fine being high since it is a buffer for pH?

29g 30"x12"x18"
32w PC lighting
Prizm skimmer
Whisper 60
106gph PH
1 maroon clown
1 sunrise dottyback
1 cleaner shrimp
1 sand sifting sea star
1 green brittle star

I want to add another fish. I want one that doesn't hide like the sunrise. I was thinking another maroon or a yellowtail damsel. This ok?

Only can find about three snails. 2 real small. How many should I get?

Also getting something that looks like small spiderwebs algea on the LR. Would a crab be good for this. The dottyback and marron supposedly killed the last blue leg.

I also want to upgrade the lights to start some reef life. My wife keeps talking about an anenome for the clown(s). I would probably need MH lights. I've seen some 24" MH hoods. Anyone got a 24" over a 30" without hanging it from the ceiling? If I don't get the anenome would a 2x65W PC be fine for the easier coral and what would be some good suggestions for coral?

Anyone want a 10" long green brittle star? My dottyback bunks with him and doesn't have any problems but I don't trust him if he gets much bigger. What's good to feed a brittle star?

Whew. Thanks for any help.
Rob

 

[Guest]

My advice, wait on the anenome, go with VHO lighting if you don't want to spend the money for MH.

You'd probably have to build a custom canopy for that tank to put MH in.

I'd stay away from the yellow tail damsel, if you get another maroon clown, get one smaller than your current clown.
You could get a green chromis or two, or a bangai cardinal.
Could probably get a flame hawk.

Not sure about the "spiderweb" algae, I can't picture it.
Couldn't hurt to have a few turbo or astrea snails in there. If you're going to put any crabs in, I'd say scarlett reef hermits or maybe an emerald crab.
Keep an eye on the dottyback though, if it likes to eat hermit crabs, you'll have to decide which you want more

 

[cparka23]

VHOs on a 30"? I'm not really a VHO person, so I'd say go with the 2x65W PCs. Those should do fine for "easier" corals. I can safely guess that you'd be able to support anything except for SPS with that lighting. That's a conservative estimate, mind you, but maybe there are SPS keepers who have been successful with PCs who can provide some insight for both of us.

FireMarshallBill is right about the maroon and damsel. Stay away from the Fiji or devil damsels with that size tank, especially. They're very aggressive to small fish and conspecifics in my 120 gallon. It's a shame, b'c they're the best looking damsels in my opinion. I think a small yellow tail might be fine if you don't put any similar sized or smaller fish in later. But with a 29 gallon, I'm not sure how much more fish you can add if you also plan to keep an anemone. As for the maroons, you'd have to get a male or juvenile. The latter will probably have white stripes on it regardless of whether it is a gold-striped or white striped maroon clown. Your LFS should know which it will become if you happen to see one. I've never had any luck at any LFS in terms of seeing a male or juvenile maroon. Only females, which are large and kept separately from each other (that's one way to tell). Maybe you can talk with one of the shop owners and see if you can order one.

If you plan on getting an anemone, your best bet for maroons is to get a bubble tip anemone (or bulb tip anemone or BTA for short). They commonly come in two color morphs, rose and green. Either one will be fine. Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[incysor]

A BTA would do fine under 2x65w. Especially in that small a tank. I kept a rose and green under 2x55w, for 5 months, and then upgraded the lights to 2x65w for another 10 months before we moved. The move sucked and my rose actually ended up without light for over a week, and is back out and looking no worse for wear, the green one unfortunately decided to wander into an intake, and didn't make it.

B