Thinking of starting a hex SW tank...

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Lycanthropic

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Jun 29, 2009
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Alberta
I got an offer for a 40 gallon hex and I think I will take it. I was thinking of doing a cool SW hex tank. I know alot of people are against canister filters with SW, but do you think I could get away with it? I was thinking of filling it with live rock anyways.... If not I can try to figure out a sump... I know I need some sort of skimmer... I allready have the sand. I have a refractometer and can learn how to use it. as for coral thats a no no... im not THAT dedicated lol. I know its a but early to think about stocking... but I was thinking a clean up crew, some gobies/ blennys and maybe some perc clowns or ocellaris clowns....
Am I missing anything? BTW I have a koralia 3 allready and would probably only need a nano or 1-2 if that.
 

Lycanthropic

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Jun 29, 2009
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Alberta
Not a single person?
 

Conski

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May 8, 2009
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you dont need a sump but they help. and YOU dont always habve to listen to us haha, theres several cases where people use cannisters and get away with it, theres always exceptions to the rule.

all you really need is a decent skimmer, a nice set of lights, live rocks and RO/DI for a tank. its just a well known fact the more money you put it into a SW tank the better it will be by far.

in 40 gallons you could have something more unique then just clowns and belnnys but if its your first tank id go with what ya said..

what are your lighting options?! even if you dont want corals you still want a light that will make the colors of SW pop! and most ligths that do that you can even get easy corals like shrooms or polyps!

i dk why i dont feel comfortable giving advise, i still would say im not the one you should listen to but i have a general idea of what im talking about, so hopefully someone will elaborate for you more what i stated. hope it helps
 

cam191919

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Apr 8, 2008
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Tallahassee FL
im setting up a 40 hex as a tank for a single eel. with your first SW tho you usually like a lot of variety, i know i did. iv had a canister on a SW and it didnt seem like it was doing much for the tank.
 

dorkfish

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Jul 25, 2005
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Windsor,Ontario,Canada
The canister is fine for flow and chemical (phosphate absorber and/or carbon), maybe mechanical filtration, it just needs to be kept clean, meaning not letting it fill up with detritus, espescially if you run mechanical filtration. Look into drilling the tank for a sump now, before you've had the tank up and running for a while and decide you want one; sumps are obviously a lot more, versatile as far as filtration goes vs. hang on the back stuff, plus your skimmer will function more efficiently if the water comes from a surface skimmer. An HOB overflow is a viable alternative, but if the tank is not full of water and livestock, drilling is more reliable and quite possibly cheaper, much better IMO.

+1 on the corals...honestly I've found the soft corals that I've attempted to be more hardy than fish, and they don't NEED much in the way of dosing, just water changes and alright lighting (I light my 75 with two florescent shop lights...).
 

meera

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Oct 30, 2009
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dorkfish - Might I inquire to what types of corals you have underneath your florescent lights? I have a 75 with a 505/50 and actinic bulb with green star polyps and blue mushrooms that seem to be thriving. I know any thing else would require a much more intense lighting set-up, but I'm curious to know what others have with standard lighting.
 
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