What to do next?

[smdoty]

Making plans for my BC29. I am planning on picking up a powerhead or two. Any advice on placement?

I'm moving over the summer and I'll be getting rid of the crushed coral substrate. There is also 30lbs of sand already in the tank, is that plenty or should I add more sand after I ditch the crushed coral?

I have already modded the back chambers to hold the inTank filter basket and fuge basket. I cut out that plastic tab and knocked out the false bottom in chamber 1 for my heater. Is a better pump necessary? The stock pump sucks from what I understand, but it moves water enough to keep the xenias happy.

Any other ideas for it?



45ish lbs of live rock
30lbs live sand/ 25lbs crushed coral (the crushed coral will be gone when I move this summer)

Corals:
silver and brown xenia (the brown started as 1 stalk and has become 3 in just over a month)
zoas
<?frogspawn, currently mia. it was a tiny frag and I think something ate it.>

Macros:
halimeda
chaeto (in the fuge)

Inverts:
2 peppermint shrimp (they really do eat aiptasia, at least mine do!)
2 blue leg hermits
1 mystery hermit that has red legs w/ green dots
2 stomatella snails
25 or so various other snails
1 brittle sea star, the brown and tan one
1 feather duster

Fish:
1 orange ocellaris clown
1 black ocellaris clown
2 blue/green chromis
1 six line wrasse

 

[kbuser92]

Ditch the coral, yes, and the sand should still be 2-4" deep. Its a personal preference there, but at least 4" if you have nass snails or sand-sifting stars or gobies.

 

[kilo]

Ditch the crushed coral for sure, traps detritus and crud you don't want.
As for the power head it's real up to you but many go from a top corner, angled to the bottom. At glass or at a rock.
I've heard a few people upgraded their pumps, check out ilyad's 29 cube. I've seen his in person and I loved it but he said it was a pain because he had to upgrade the pumps, the pumps ended up creating so much heat he had to buy a chiller! :/

I would try some smaller rock, to create more open room for fish to swim and corals to grow

Your at your limit in fish btw!

 

[little_fish]

+1 on the fish. That is really pushing it for a 29 gal

You dont need for 4in to keep nass snails, they dont even stir the top inch. Also you should have a sand shifting star unless you have one of those gigantic tanks with a huge sand bed, otherwise they starve to death. And gobies dont need a deep sand bed, they can do fine with 2in. The only fish that need a deeper sand bed are some of the wrasses which need 3ish inches.

Personally, i would keep it under 2 inch unless you need it deeper. The deeper the sand bed, the more gunk and stuff it will trap.

 

[kbuser92]

Mine is about 3" and my nass buries himself. I only see him at feeding time, but maybe thats just mine.

 

[little_fish]

i promise you, he isnt going 3'' down

 

[kilo]

+1 L_F
just because he's burried doesn't mean he's all the way down

 

[Slimkasey]

Nass have an incredibly long stretchy nose/mouth tin can reach over the length of their body length. They're not going that deep but the can get that deep.