What fish and cleaners recommended??

[cattlegrid_79]

Hi

1st post here, so be gentle!

After a while with a couple of freshwater tanks, i'm converting to marine.

The plan is to set up a 4ft tank (47g uk, 56g us), with live rock and a live sand/coral sand mix substrate, also with a protein skimmer (i've heard this should be adequate filtration), using one or maybe two powerheads for circulation / oxygenation.

Firstly, does this set-up seem OK? And secondly, what fish / cleaners (and compatability between the two!) would people recommend?

Thanks in advance for your help

[OrionGirl]

Sounds like a good plan. What lighting will you have?


For fish--depends on what you like. I would avoid tangs and triggers, as both will outgrow your tank. The dwarf lions should be okay, if you're interested in them. Clowns will work, but go with a pair or a single fish, as they can be quite territorial and will fight with each other. They do not need an anenome host, contrary to some impressions. I'd avoid damsels, since they are even fiestier than clowns and tend to claim the entire tank instead of just one area. Basslets are a good choice, gobies are nice, wrasse and hawk fish are pretty, but some wrasse will outgrow your setup. Dwarf angels are great additions, though should go in after the tank has stabilized.

I would aim for about 4 fish. A pair of firefish (if the tank is well covered), a marron clown, and a bicolor angel would be a decent list.

For inverts--depends! Snails and hermit crabs are good cleaners. Lots of stuff will come in on good LR as well.

[cattlegrid_79]

I'm still trying to suss out lighting. I've heard so many different and contradictory opinions.

I'd quite like to get something that exceeds the current requirements because i'd like to have some easy corals in there eventually and don't want to waste money on upgrading.

Do you have any suggestions?

p.s. I'm not rich, so it has to be something reasonably sensible!!!

[caz]

go with a compact floursent fixture. i got mine for 130 bucks. bulbs last around two years, and make a big difference in your lighting, and you should be able to grow corals with them as well, as long as they are not too close to the bottom.

[Makaiveli]

I'm all about 50/50 retrofit lights. 50 full spec / 50 actinic blue.

The colors in the tank will come out nicely, and the actinic blue is good for coralline algae IME. The price for a 39 gallon show tank was $47 at wholesale.

[Ray Pollett]

Makaiveli

I see you are from Seattle. Do you belong to the Puget Sound Aquarium Society (PSAS)?

Have you visited their site www.thepsas.org ?

Ray