[Fishhead Junkie]

i think i might have hit the limit on livestock in my 29gallon cube. got a pygmy angel and a long nosed hawkfish on sunday. everything seemed ok monday, woke up for work yesterday and the pygmy is gone(probably devoured by the other fish and the brittle star) and my flame angel which was so pretty and never seemed ill at all was dead on a rock. the hawkfish is still alive and fine as can be but that was a harsh trade off. i would rather have not added those 2 fish and kept my flame angel. damn the man i say!!! maybe i should of given the angel mouth to mouth...CLEAR!!!!!!!!

i guess i am done adding fish unless i lose another one.

steve

[Lowej82]

How many fish do you have? sizes?

[Fishhead Junkie]

too many, i belive i have about 10 fish probably all around the 1 inch mark..fairly small. thats not counting things like brittle stars, serpent stars, flame scallops, etc. i try and do my 5 gallon water changes once a week. i clean the filter pad and try not to over feed. i should probably just let the tank chill for a couple months and see what happens. its just so hard when you are looking at the store. i am gonna add another hydor 1 pump to create some flow in the live rock, get things stirred up and do a water change..A LIL FLOW MAKES THINGS GO!!!!

steve

list of fish
2 hawkfish
1 maroon clown
3 blennys
2 chromis
1 basslet

i think thats it, plus alot of coral

[Fishhead Junkie]

scratch that last list of fish in my tank...ok

1 maroon clown
2 pajama cardinals
1 firefish
2 hawkfish
2 grammas
1 blenny
1 goby

i am missing a bicolored blenny and a yellow clown goby.

what the heck is happening to my tank. it was running so smooth.

steve

[Lowej82]

sounds like you might have a nasty little hitch hiker

[Fishhead Junkie]

you know, thats what people have said in the past but i cant believe i wouldnt have found it in a small 29gallon tank. maybe the long nosed hawkfish is a killer. my green chromis and my bumble bee chromis have some attitude along with the clown but they never get that aggressive. i couldnt believe it when i saw my flame angel dead on his back on a piece of live rock with his eyes missing. he was doing so well too, makes me wanna cry..i need a hug(girls only please)!!!!!!!

steve

[cappy290]

Just a question are u planning on getting a bigger tank? I have 5 fish in my 29gal bc an they all were about 1 inch when bought but now they are growing to fast i have to up grade into a bigger tank. Do u have any problems with nitrates? I seem to have a problem with mine never can get them down all the way, I have been doing water changes once a week an cut back on the feeding an still having problems I was just wondering if u experience any of this with your tank?

[Fishhead Junkie]

i just recently bought a reef master test kit. i know, i am a horrible tank owner. i just dont like doing water checks. i have a digital ph tester that i like..i wish they sold a cheap tester that would give you a read out on calcium, alkalinity, nitrates, ammonia, iodine, etc etc.

i wish i had a bigger tank already but unless i just used the stock i have in my current tank..i dont think i could afford it. my cousin had a 100 gallon, eventually got rid of it, we were talking about my tank..he took me out to a LFS by him...the following week i hear he is gonna get a 50gallon and start all over. i swear this hobby is like crack and meth put together....YOU JUST CANT STOP!!!!!

steve

[Lowej82]

I am probally over the limit in my tank also, 5 fish, 2 shrimp, several blue leg & red scarlet crabs, emerald crab.

How much LR & LS you have?

You running a protien skimmer?

I havent had any problems yet, other than my algae foods I only feed what is eaten........ I dont starve them just when they start not eating I dont add any more food.

[Fishhead Junkie]

geezz...let me think...i probably have about 35-40lbs of LR. i dont have a protein skimmer...i saw that nano skimmer but everyone says it sucks...what do you use? are they really necessary for a 29gallon cube? i think i need better lighting, just not sure how to go about it. i visited nanotuners.com but it seems so expensive. i wish i could just change out the bulbs. i wonder if they make anything you could like place into the tank to provide light????

steve

ps..got any new pics?

[Lowej82]

Na no new pics yet, I will have some soon, My protien skimmer should be here today cost me $39.00 shipped to door. ( won an ebay auction) they sale for about that much usauly, I will have it in today andI will let you know what think of it this weekend its a cheaper unit, knock off of a good 1. For now I would invest in a skimmer, yes lighting is key also,but if you cant keep your paremeters down even with a light coral and what not will still sufer do to poor water. The Company that makes the skimmer I got makes some lights also and they run a little bit cheaper everyone who has bought 1 says there happy!! with it, you can get a 36" 192w dual bulbs 10k actinic 03 and so on. If you want the addy for the guy where I got my skimmer from let me know and I will pm you with it.

Do you have a good clean up crew? I have a pretty good crew of cleaners which help me alot. Only time I had probs is when I left my mom to feed my fish for a weekend.

Gl with your tank John

[Tonz of fun]

It appears to me that you have a very heavy bio load. This could be your problem but if it was you would see a spike in your test levels. If you want to keep this many fish I highly recomend a skimmer.

[Lowej82]

ok got my protien skimmer today, After playing with it for a while I think (hope) that I have it set correct, Im getting a good thick foam not dirty yet its beengetting this way now for about 30 min. Ill post again in morning and after its been running for a few hours I will post a pic or 2 of it

its a jebo/odyssea ps 75 with ph

[Tonz of fun]

Depending on the situation it may take a few days for it to start skimming crap. Did you rinse it in warm water first. This helps speed up the process because that helps get rid of all the oils from the manufaturing process. As long as its producing bubles it will work eventually...

[Lowej82]

think i got it now, its producing thick dirty white foam, which is turning greenish brown

[jgo1973]

Hey Steven,

I have a 150 gallon tank and I can't even keep two angels of a different species together. So my guess is that your two angels together was the beginning of the end.
Sorry for your loss,
Jessi