HaylonxHavok
New member
I'm thinking about setting up a new 29g tank. My centerpiece animal I think will be an O. Scyllarus mantis shrimp. I also want to have some corals and maybe cheap fish depending on my shrimps personality but I'm a little stuck deciding for sure.
my current tank is a biocube 29 with a few fish and tons of crabs. I've taken care of it pretty well and haven't had any large scale issues so far so I feel like I'm ready to get a 2nd tank.
My concerns are:
1) Personality - if its hyper aggressive and reclusive whats the point in having it?
2) Tank maintenance - how difficult will it be to clean the tank if it won't let me have a CUC
3) Aesthetics - I want the tank to be nice looking, with some corals, maybe some macro algae and some cheaper fish (damsels).
4) Cost - if I want corals I need decent lights, and I have no idea where to start. I prefer LED's but they can be expensive and figuring out which ones I need is a bit daunting.
5) Actual setup - I want the tank to look nice and plan to build a stand for it myself with room inside for a 10g sump/refugium. Can I get the base tank cycling and such and add the sump on later? Or would that mess up the cycle?
I am also thinking about getting G. Smithii instead since I figure if it's smaller it would be easier to give it large roommates. I personally like the idea of it being a bit bigger though. Both species are supposed to be very interactive and from the videos I've seen they tend to be almost friendly with their owners. I could also have a very large CUC and replace as necessary. I've seen a lot of O. Scyllarus tanks and G. Smithii tanks with coral and other fish in them that appear to be fine together but I'm unsure.
Also, nmotz, I have watched all your videos and found them to be super informative as well. They are actually the whole reason I joined this forum.
my current tank is a biocube 29 with a few fish and tons of crabs. I've taken care of it pretty well and haven't had any large scale issues so far so I feel like I'm ready to get a 2nd tank.
My concerns are:
1) Personality - if its hyper aggressive and reclusive whats the point in having it?
2) Tank maintenance - how difficult will it be to clean the tank if it won't let me have a CUC
3) Aesthetics - I want the tank to be nice looking, with some corals, maybe some macro algae and some cheaper fish (damsels).
4) Cost - if I want corals I need decent lights, and I have no idea where to start. I prefer LED's but they can be expensive and figuring out which ones I need is a bit daunting.
5) Actual setup - I want the tank to look nice and plan to build a stand for it myself with room inside for a 10g sump/refugium. Can I get the base tank cycling and such and add the sump on later? Or would that mess up the cycle?
I am also thinking about getting G. Smithii instead since I figure if it's smaller it would be easier to give it large roommates. I personally like the idea of it being a bit bigger though. Both species are supposed to be very interactive and from the videos I've seen they tend to be almost friendly with their owners. I could also have a very large CUC and replace as necessary. I've seen a lot of O. Scyllarus tanks and G. Smithii tanks with coral and other fish in them that appear to be fine together but I'm unsure.
Also, nmotz, I have watched all your videos and found them to be super informative as well. They are actually the whole reason I joined this forum.