My First SaltWater Tank 40 Gallon

[MySpace Mike]

So I got a free 40 gallon aquarium from a customer of mine, its a 40g long tank. I thought it would be perfect for a mini saltwater tank.

Substrate - crushed coral
Filter - Eheim 2213 Classic
2 - Marineland 30 Powerheads
Heater - Marineland Stealth 200w

Water Parameters are
nitrate - 5ppm
nitrate - 0
hardness - 300
alkalinity - 200
ph - 8.3

im getting a hydrometer this week to check the salt content, and adding more rocks to the tank.

Please let me know if im on track here.


Here are some pics, yes i know in the pics i have a hob filter, but i switch to my canister.


http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/6122/salttank001sd5.jpg
http://img374.imageshack.us/img374/1847/salttank002pk8.jpg
http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/171/salttank003ta3.jpg
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/6626/salttank004xf4.jpg

[MySpace Mike]

Nitrate - 5ppm sorry

[CoraLife]

I reccomend a refractometer instead of a hydrometer as the hydrometer are rather inaccurate

[MySpace Mike]

ill check into one thanks. the fish i plan on keeping are as follows

2-4 Clown Fish

4 - Yellow Tail Damsels

1 - Chocolate Starfish

1 - Cleaner shrimp (dont know the species name)

4-5 - Blue Hermit Crabs (1/2" in size)

[Catpicklesdog]

Personally before you go any further I'd change the substrate from crushed coral to Aragonite sand as crushed coral can cause problems with nitrAtes. Here's a link (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84113) about it.

I'd also rethink the damsels. They can be very aggressive and could cause you stocking issues.

A 40gal tank is too small for a chocolate chip seastar. I'd also not recommend any type of sea star until the tank is at least 6 months old.

I'd also stick to only 2 clownfish and look at getting a blenny or similar.

JMO:grinyes:

[Reefscape]

ill check into one thanks. the fish i plan on keeping are as follows

2-4 Clown Fish

<<I would stick with a pair in this size of tank....

4 - Yellow Tail Damsels

<<Would not have these in a tank with clowns, members of the same family and will be aggressive>>

1 - Chocolate Starfish

<<Would seriously not have one in there..not even in an established 40 odd gallon tank>>

1 - Cleaner shrimp (dont know the species name)

<< Lysmata amboinensis.....sounds cool >>

4-5 - Blue Hermit Crabs (1/2" in size)

<<Sounds cool..>>



Added some comments above in red, agree on removing the crushed coral sand...start off on the right foot...

[MySpace Mike]

thanks for the heads up, i was thinking of using LR but im not sure if i want to. ill check into the Aragonite because we sell both LR and the Aragonite where i work.

Since it sounds like i cant have Clowns w/ Damsels whats another smaller fish like Damsels that i can have in the tank?

[Catpicklesdog]

Dpends what you want. Do you want something that swims up top, swims in the middle, scoots along the sand or sits on rock:grinyes:

[MySpace Mike]

Ok so tomorrow im getting some Aragonite sand for the substrate, some more rocks to finish up the rock work on the tank.

Right now my water parameters are

ph - 8.4
alkalinity - 240
hardness - 300
niitrite - 0
nitrate - 5
ammonia - .5


So this weekend I'm adding the sand, and getting a refractometer to check the salt content of the water. I'll be adding a marine background to the tank for added looks. Next weekend I'll be adding 3 Damsels to help cycle the tank, my friend who owns Fish Den a LFS here in Denver, is helping with everything to get me started off right, he said he'll take the Damsels back once the tank is cycled, and that he'll give me store credit towards anything i want.

My Stocking List is now as follows

2 - Common Clown Fish
1 - Bubble Anemone
1 - Lysmata Amboinensis (cleaner shimp)
5 - Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit Crabs (Clibanarius tricolor)


But I'm looking for 4-5 small fish, mainly middle swimming, that have bright vibrant coloration. Help me with some species, so i can do my homework on them ;)

[HaKs310]

1. If you acquire LR you won't need damsels to help cycle the tank. Get uncured LR, about 40lbs+ worth.
2. What kind of lights are you planning on running. Anemones are high light inverts and also require an established tank.
3. what filter media are you running in the canister?

[MySpace Mike]

Lighting will be a 48" Coralife Lightstrip w/ two 10,000k bulbs (65w) and two actinic bulbs (65w).

Canister thus far is running with activated carbon, polyester fiber, and little biomax things for the bacteria.

[HaKs310]

Sounds good. Try to purchase an aquacultered Bubble Tip Anemone, they don't require as much light. Remove the biomax rings, they'll be harm than good in the long run and make sure you replace the filter floss weekly. Like I said earlier, get some uncured LR, 40lbs+ and you'll be good

[7faces]

for your other fish, look into maybe 5 blue/green reef chromis...they would make a nice little school for your tank..

[MySpace Mike]

WOW i absolutely love the Blue-Green Chromis

What are those small fish that are yellow/purple and only get like 2"-3"? How would they do in the tank? They be a species of Damsels though.

[7faces]

chromis are a damsel as well, but a peacefull kind...i dont think they will be any problem... maybe someone else has more knowledge of them?

[MySpace Mike]

I found the fish I was talking about, it's a Royal Gramma (Gramma loreto).

They get about 3" and tend to stay in one certain area of the tank. How would like 1 of them do with a pair of Clown Fish, and 3-4 of the Blue-Green Chromis?


Also, do I need a UV Sterilizer for the tank?

[Reefscape]

Agree with the chromis being peacefull....a nice fish...However, i firmly believe that Chromis should only be kept in groups of at least 6 or 7 for them to be the active schooling fish they should be...When in low numbers, they do tend to be shy and withdrawn...

No problems witht the royal gram....

UV sterilisers are a very debatable subject...personal i dont run one, and wont ever run one....dont see ANY need for them unless your dealing with Ich in the swimming stage or an algae bloom...

[MySpace Mike]

Ok cool, then I'm not going to invest in a uv sterilizer, if i dont really need one.

I'm going tomorrow to get more rock work, and im thinking of a bit of live rock, however im for sure getting the aragonite sand tomorrow and change out the crushed coral.

thanks for your help thus far.

[Catpicklesdog]

I also wouldn't recommend an anemone until your tank is at least six months old, preferably older.

[MySpace Mike]

Yeah im not going to add an anemone for quite some time, my friend can get them wholesale and told me when im ready for one, he'll come over to my house and check to make sure my tank is ready to house one.

[MySpace Mike]

Ok im draining the tank right now, putting the water into several rubbermaid containers. then changing from the crushed coral to aragonite sand, i picked up some live rock today as well. My friend at the LFS checked my water and said everything looks awesome so far, that i can do the substrate change and next week get some Damsels to help cycle the tank.

He said he'll save me the biggest Bubble Anemone he has which is about 6"-8" only $40
and that he'll keep it in the store show tank for me until my tank is ready to house it.

[MySpace Mike]

Some newer Pics from tonight after I changed to Aragonite sand earlier.

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/7082/salttank2001og6.jpg
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/1623/salttank2002pr1.jpg
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/784/salttank2003gl7.jpg
http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/5262/salttank2004fs9.jpg

[MySpace Mike]

UPDATE

Just checked the water parameters, and here's what i got

Nitrite - 0.25
Nitrate - 5
Ammonia - .5
Hardness - 250
Alkalinity - 180
PH - 8.2

Salt - 1.025

Now I added 3.5 Lbs of Live Rock to the tank, and I'll be adding more next weekend. Turns out a Co-Worker of mine used to work the PREMIERE LFS "Sherman Tank Company" before the company closed. They were the best Salt Water LFS in the State of Colorado in many peoples opinions. Well he told me just like my other friend from Fish Den, that I'm on the right track for my first SW Tank. He's going to help me get Live Coral, Live SW Plants, Fish Stock, everything as time progress' on.

This is something I'm willing to take as much time as needed to get it right. Also I'll be Switching over my 30g and 55g to SW later in the year, I can truely say I wish I would've gone SW years ago lol.