Need some newbie advice

jonnyd91

Registered Member
Jan 5, 2005
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Well first I will show you what I am working with here

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I have a 50 gallon tank. The dimensions ate 30 inches wide, 20 inches tall, and 18 inches back. It is kinda a weird shape.

I have a Ehiem pro 2227 Wet/Dry filter, using efhisubstrate pro as media. Other equipment I have is: Aqua clear 50 power head and a 200wt. heater.

i am current in the process of curing 45 pounds of Figi live rock. Im about 2 week in and it is coming along well.

My first question is about protein skimmers. I bought a seaclone 100 and didnt really realize how big it was until i received it through the mail. I had to pull my fish tank away from the wall in order to get it to fit. I hooked it up and it seems very loud, I also couldnt really figure out how to adjust it. My tank isnt very wide, and when the water came back into the tank it was an eye sore with the many micro-bubbles coming in the tank. I am thinking of returning the seaclone and ordering the red sea prizm deluxe skimmer instead, I think this will fit better in the space I need it for. I really cant spend too much more than the 100 bucks it cost for the prizim. I hope its a little quieter than the sea clone. However do I necessarly need a skimmer?

I plan on having a friendly comunity of fish, no more than 6 or 7 possibly less, (Clown, yellow tang, blennie) nothing too big. some cleaner shrimp and possibly some corals.

My next question is on lighting. Considering the dimensions of my tank. Also my tank is in my bedroom so heat is the #1 factor in the summer. so metal halides are out.

considering the depth of water between the top of the rocks and the light surface will be about 10-12 inches in a 30in wide tank the light fixture I was looking at is http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...tId=11418&prodId=21894&catId=1017296&siteid=6
The 30in dual. At that depth what king of corals could do well in the tank. Also do you think this fixture would produce alot of heat compared to say a personal computer as a reference.

I could also use some advice on aquascaping the rocks arent set yet and the sand in not in yet either. Does anyone rest the rocks on the back wall of the tank or is that a no no?

I thank you in advance for any helpful advice

John
 
I've never used sea clones, but I've seen many people complain about them. Check in the DIY/Products forum--there are several threads on different skimmers. Of course, you can run a tank without one, but they do help clean the water and are a good thing to have.

For fish--please, please, do not put a tang in--they need large tanks with lots of swimming room, and are prone to ailments in smaller tanks.

For lighting, those PC will put you at the very low level--I'd go with the 96W duals instead (I have this for my 40 gallon FW tank). This will bring you up to about 180W, and you'd be able to keep most mid-lighting corals, though no clams or anenomes. Mine has built in fans, and I've never noticed much heat build up.

I prefer not to put rocks in contact with the glass, simply because it makes it a pain to clean the glass.
 
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