Invert wastes and other gen questions

[discus4everGrl]

I am in the RESEARCH phase of a saltwater tank. One thing I haven't come across in reading my books (yes I bought saltwater aquariums for Dummies) is stocking rules when there are anemones or corals in the tank. These are living organisms so they have to put off waste right? I have read that in the beginning of a sw tank there should be one fish for every 4 gallons, is this correct? How do I account for invertabrates and how much space they need so I don't overload the bio-filter? I keep Discus now, so I understand the importance of not overloading the tank. I plan to use a 30 gallon that I have sitting around for my first saltwater experience. -

How many pounds of live rock is good for a 30?
I want to add inverts later after the fish because they are harder to take care of and I want to get my fish settled in, is it ok to add anenomes after the fact?

Thanks in advance

 

[1979camaro]

generally corals and anemones do not contribute much to the bioload...on the other hand, because of the water quality they demand generally you want to stock more lightly in a tank which will have these things.

the fish/gallon rule is really not a good way to go about stocking a tank..behavior and feeding habits also play a significant role and should not be overlooked.

a thirty is fairly small, if you plan to make it a reef i think you are going to be limited to 4 smallish fish in order to maintain water quality. as far as live rock you will want at least 20 pounds probably...beyond that it is an aesthetic decision

yes, you can add corals and anenmones later however i would really reccomend you stay away from anemones in such a small tank, especially until you get a lot more experience. they are very difficult to maintain on a long term basis

 

[discus4everGrl]

Ok - tell me what you think of these fish for a 30, now keep in mind - my plan is to let my tank cycle for 4 weeks with live rock (or should I use two starter fish, and which ones-damsels first?), and add two fish every two or so weeks. Also, how much space must be allotted for say - a peppermint/candy cane shrimp? I haven't begun this process yet, but I have been reading marine books for the past three months, I have the aquarium which is running with water in it and plants which will be added to the discus tank.

I WANT to take this process nice and slow. I remember 12 years ago when I got my first freshwater tank - can we say a little over excited? I got a little of everything! I learned my lesson from that and now have a 55 with Discus, a 30 community and a 10 with tetras as a nightlight, doh! Here's my possible list for a 30 -any help narrowing it down for size or compatibility is good. Trust me I will save the tangs for a much larger tank when I have more experience.

2 common clowns
2 pajama cardinals
1 Midas Bleny/or manderinfish
2 domino damsel/or yellow-tailed damsels
2 some type shrimp
1 or 2 Malu Anemone or whatever you guys recommend as hardy
When water is perfect so polyp corals, tubeworms, or soft coral
Anemone crab? - I read about it but haven't ever heard of it

 

[wayne]

Forget the damsels. Dominos are hideously rough, plus 7 fish is lots to many

Neither common clowns or (jimjam) cardinals are my favourites either (zero character fish)

 

[discus4everGrl]

Ok....any recommendations then?

 

[dbacksrat]

wayne has a great sticky on starting a small (29 or 30 gallon) tank at the top of this forum--if you search through the sw section, you might find my thread on starting a 29 gallon too

i'm still in the stocking phase after six months--I have an ocellaris/percula/"whatever you want to call it" clown and a sixline wrasse....I have planned some sort of goby (no luck w/ two so far) and a coral beauty angelfish to finish it up--just four small fish in my 29

 

[aresgod]

I would say half as many fish, no to the mandarin, clowns would be fine, but you could get tomatoe or maroon clowns, there cool, or a clarkii. the midas blenny would be fine. maybe a goby too? but i would say that would be it for your tank.

 

[DustinKeating]

as far as clowns go, if you're trying to be diverse i'd say go with a clarki. But i personally have 2 false percs and i really like them, but i do like a cliche tank sometimes so...just goes to show it's personal. What isn't personal, is no mandarin and 7 is too many.

 

[wayne]

MAroons get big and mean. I have clarkiis and they may well limit what goes in as well, so I would go with Tomatoes personally. Get a pair that are very small.

 

[discus4everGrl]

I also really like the cardinals, is that a no no

 

[wayne]

Cardinals, or more likely a cardinal are good bets for small tanks as they do so little. While pyjama cards are complete softies bangais can be very mean to each other if they're not a mated pair.
They will not compete well with dotties, gramma, larger clowns , wrasse damsels and so on

 

[aresgod]

I kinda like kaudern's cardinals as well. just another option