Can I get some advice on how to further stock my 30g reef tank?

duketyang
  • #1
So here's the history on my "new" tank. I purchased an established 20 gallon reef tank and transferred the whole package over to a 30 gallon tank. There is live sand, lots of live rock, a rear hanging sump/refugium; several corals and sea anemones; other inverts include different snails 5-10, hermit crabs (1 red and 1 blue), 1 anemone crab,1 tiger shrimp and 1 peppermint shrimp;
fishes include 1 wheeler's shrimp goby, 1 yellowtailed damsel, and 2 ocellaris clown fish (2" and 3").
So would I be overstocking if I introduced more fish? I would consider adding a neon green chromis (maybe a couple) to start; and do I need to get more of a clean up crew? I would definitely consider a skunk cleaner shrimp and the red fire shrimp as well as more hermit crabs and snails.
lastly, if there's room, I've seen a pairing of blue and yellow gobies that sound cool. Is it OK to have multiple gobies in the reef tank?
I'm new to fish tanks... but I did a lot of reading books and online before making the plunge on this new established reef tank. I do plan on upgrading to a ~100gallon tank in the near future as soon as my living situation is finalized (maybe in 6-12 months), so I can't wait to look into larger fish!
Thanks for any advice in advance,
Duke
 

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ryanr
  • #2
HI Duke, welcome to Fishlore
I would say you are fully stocked for a 30G, if not slightly over-stocked for fish. Keep an eye on the damsel as it grows, it could get aggressive toward the smaller goby and possibly clowns.

You could add more cleanup crew, skunk cleaners are really cool as long as your rock work has plenty of ledges/over-hangs (these guys like to live upside down during the day). You could consider some of the smaller snails, such as ceriths/nassa, they'd be great for sandbed cleaning duties.

Generally speaking, most gobies don't play nice together, and it is best to keep only one individual specimen. In your 100G, you could possibly get away with 2 species. But let's talk about that when you get the 100

Oh, and almost forgot..... photos?
 

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duketyang
  • Thread Starter
  • #3
Thanks for the reply Ryan,
It's funny you mentioned the damsel becoming aggressive in the future, because right now, it's getting severely harassed by the 2 clown fish (especially the larger female). Btw I'm nervous whenever I have to place my hand in the tank because the female is either really defensive or territorial and tries to come at my fingers
The previous owner did mention that she was a tad aggressive...
I'll try to upload some pics as soon as I can...
Btw, I picked up some of that really stinky grey epoxy to glue down corals... Is there anything else that works and looks better?
And one more question... When doing a partial water change, besides checking temp, salinity, pH, do you have to run the whole gambit of tests (I have the saltwater and reef master kits) before adding the new water? I use both tap water that gets conditioned and RO water (not sure about DI) from a local Safeway. Does it matter which I use?
Thanks!
 
ryanr
  • #4
You use coral glue rather epoxy, or coral putty. The glue is basically super glue, I have used it succesfully in my tank.

With water changes, I only match salinity and temp. If you use the same salt mix everytime, the pH, alkalinity, magnesium, calcium levels should be the same for each mix at the salinity you run.

e.g. I run 32ppt salinity, if I mix to 30ppt, my pH is slightly lower (less alk/mg/ca in the mix).

The preference would definitely be to use RO (or RO/DI) all the time. I have never used tap water in my reef due to the potential of introducing things that the water conditioner can't remove.

And the aggressive clown I don't think it'll eat your hand
 
duketyang
  • Thread Starter
  • #5
Can the coral glue be used in the tank or on wet surfaces? That sounds like a much more esthetic option than the putty.
Sorry for the newbie question but what is 32ppt salinity? I usually use the hydrometer to check the salinity and the reading is in the 1.020 format.
I'm also finally able to upload some pics of the tank.

IMG_4403b.jpg
IMG_4404b.jpg
Kara2.jpg
Marlin&Coral&Kara2.jpg
 
ryanr
  • #6
Salinity is a measure of salt content, measured in ppt. 32ppt = 1.025 Specific Gravity (roughly)

The coral glue is easy to use, you apply it to the coral, then straight into the tank onto the rock you want to stick to. (There's bound to be some youtube clips)

The glue sets white.
 
JessiNoel21
  • #7
Alittle goes a long way with the glue too I learned lol.
 

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