Newbie 40 gal - Skimmer/Filter Question

[Reefscape]

Back!

Ouch my poor wallet :'(

Bought:

40 gal tank
Floating thermometer
Hydrometer
60 lbs of sand
Dual tube light/hood http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/236412/product.web
Big ol bucket of Oceanic salt (what the LFS had, no instant ocean)
One http://www.aquariumguys.com/hydor-koralia-3-pump.html
and one http://www.aquariumguys.com/hydor-koralia-2-pump.html

Now just need to wait for the protein skimmer and RO filter to come and I'll be ready to start cycling!

ToeJam - for flow I've got the two koralia pumps above, 40 gal tank with no sump

As far as stock, I'm not sure yet, probably start out with a damsel as the first fish, then maybe go with two clown fish, and determine the rest from there. For clean up crew, I'm thinking a couple peppermint shrimps and some snails? If you have any recommendations for that, I'd love to hear since I'm not really sure about that part.

dingraha, did you use added ammonia to cycle your tank? I didn't see that step in the link you mentioned, but I had seen something about it in other guides, was wondering if it was necessary.

Oceanic is a good salt, by all accounts..no problems there...

To be honest, i would not start off with the damsel. Damsels and clowns are related and will cause issues of aggression and damsels are also very territorial. Personaly, i would make the pair of clowns your first fish...

Clean up crew, personaly, i prefer the standard cleaner shrimp ( lysmata ), rather than peppermint shrimp, along with a selection of snails to graze off rock and sandbed, and maybe a couple of hermits to graze and scavenge off the rock work..

 

[woohoo7676]

Gotcha, the only reason I thought of the damsel was that they seem to be pretty cheap and hardy for the first fish in the tank. Didn't realize that they were related to the clowns though - would it be better to buy them as a pair, or one at a time?

Bout how many shrimps/snails/crabs would you recommend for a 40 gallon to start off?

Thanks =)

 

[dingraha]

I used an uncooked shrimp and uncured live rock to cycle my tank. I put the uncured live rock in my tank for about a week, then removed it and kind of scrubbed off all the dead stuff. I did a 25% water change and added an uncooked shrimp inside some pantyhose for about 3 days. I tested my ammonia every day and witnessed the spike/ decline in ammonia. It really only took about 2 weeks for my test kit to show no ammonia. I waited about 2 months after my cycle had completed to add my fish... I wanted to make sure my tank was ready... I guess it worked, I have had 0 casualties and my tank has been very stable. I don't know if it's the "right" way to do it but it seemed to work for me!

Good luck!