Thinking of starting 45 gallon... LIGHTS?? OVERFLOW?????

valval1029

valval1029

AC Members
Aug 29, 2004
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Hi guys. I have decided to forego my original plan of the 90 or 125 gallon b/c I will be moving in a year or two and think it's too big of a plan to overtake right now financially (& so difficult to move)... Right now I have nothing, except for my old 30 gallon set-up.

I'm thinking of a 45 so I can use my same stand, glass top, and light? from my 30 gallon. I would need about 45 pounds + of live rock?

In a FOWLR tank, is a twin tube fluorescent light sufficient?

I wanted an overflow tank (AGA "Megaflow") but AGA's smallest is a 55.
In order to use a sump or wet/dry don't I need an overflow system? (I'm used to canisters)... I really didn't want to have the tubing or anything else hanging out of back of tank. What are my options here? I want to think this out. If I'm not mistaken, if the tank isn't pre-drilled doesn't the overflow hang off the back or something? I'd like to straighten this out.

Is my 150 watt heater sufficient for a 45 gallon?

One other thing, what types of fish are good for a 45? Clowns, I'm sure. Tangs, probably not. Pygmy angels, or no? I won't be having what I had in my 30, nor will I be overcrowding!....

As always, thanks for your advice...

Valerie : )
 
I have a 45 gal. reef tank that I've had up for 4 months now, so I think I can help.

The lights you have are sufficient, but you'd probably get less coralline algae that way. The bacteria in the rocks would still work to get rid of ammonia and nitrates.

I have 90 pounds of rock in my tank. 30 pounds live and 60 pounds base rock that has been populated by algae quite nicely. 45 pounds of LR is about as little as you would want to go, you'd probably need to stock lightly. You can buy baserock and in time it will turn live, that can help reduce the total rock price.

I don't have a sump, so I can't help you out there.

150 watt heater is what I have and it works for me. You can also buy a back-up 100 watt heater (something I've been meaning to do,) in case your heater breaks.

Clowns would be fine(do some searches on clowns in this forum, they are territorial.) Tangs need more swimming room than a 45 can offer. You can have a dwarf angel, but only one per tank, they are too territorial. Depending on the type of tank you want there are many options. Cardinalfish, gobies, damsels, basslets, chromis, dartfish, wrasses and more could work in a tank your size. The important part is matching temperaments with fish to make sure they will get along in the tank. You certainly can and should ask on this forum about combinations of fish you'd like to try. For example: don't mix damsels, chromis and clownfish. They're all aggressive towards each other because they are in the same family.
 
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