Newish tank

tjg2007

tjg2007

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Sep 20, 2007
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I recently got a 37 gallon tank with a Fluval 303 canister filter. I am wanting to set it up as a salt water tank, beginning as FO and eventually moving to FOWLR as I can afford to get the LR. I have been told by some local resources (other hobbyists) that I can go with this set up as long as I use alot of care when doing the additions of the LR. I was looking at substrates and came across a few that looked interesting;

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+10741+16764&pcatid=16764
and
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+10741+7321&pcatid=7321
are the two I have looked at the most.

I plan on keeping a few Damsels and maybe Gobies but my stocking list is not really set yet. Though once everything is stable and I am more confident and comfortable with the saltwater set up I am hoping to add in an anemone and maybe a pair of Clownfish depending on how the other fish are acting when everything is done.

The lighting I have is only 20 watts with a 50/50 bulb. I plan to upgrade this as well but it will be about 2 months before I do.

I have also been told that it is best to not have the tank covered in a marine set up. Is this true? would a partial cover to protect the light be ok?

I will also be getting a protein skimmer and power heads as I continue to upgrade the tank and do away with the canister and adding a HOB for when carbon is needed.

Is there any heater that everyone recommends?

I was thinking about getting one of these kits for the mixing bucket;
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4685+14675&pcatid=14675

Does that look like a good set up for mixing?

Does my plan sound viable? Any advice on what should be done differently is greatly appreciated. This will be something that I am going to be working on over a lengthy time period. I am planning on getting the substrate and water into the tank in about 3 weeks (after more research) and doing a fishless cycle using the prawn method outlined in the sticky here before adding any fish.
 
Last edited:
tjg2007 said:
I recently got a 37 gallon tank with a Fluval 303 canister filter. I am wanting to set it up as a salt water tank, beginning as FO and eventually moving to FOWLR as I can afford to get the LR. I have been told by some local resources (other hobbyists) that I can go with this set up as long as I use alot of care when doing the additions of the LR.
<<Thats true, ensure you get a fully cured as possible>>
I was looking at substrates and came across a few that looked interesting;

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+10741+16764&pcatid=16764
and
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+10741+7321&pcatid=7321
are the two I have looked at the most.
<<I would go with the second link, the aragonite sugar grade sand, personly i think the live sand is a waste of money, as the ammount of "life" you actually get in there is minimal IMO>>

I plan on keeping a few Damsels and maybe Gobies but my stocking list is not really set yet. Though once everything is stable and I am more confident and comfortable with the saltwater set up I am hoping to add in an anemone and maybe a pair of Clownfish depending on how the other fish are acting when everything is done.

<<Damsels and Goby's are fine, You want to wait at least 9 months or more before adding a anemone as these really do require a mature environment. Also, lighting is an issue, you would need an upgrade to T5 or even Metal Halide lighting as nem's do best under good lighting>>

The lighting I have is only 20 watts with a 50/50 bulb. I plan to upgrade this as well but it will be about 2 months before I do. I will also be getting a protein skimmer and power heads as I continue to upgrade the tank and do away with the canister and adding a HOB for when carbon is needed.
<<As your starting off as a FO system, you dont need that much flow, just enough to keep waste particles, detrius etc in the water column to be removed by filtration>>

Is there any heater that everyone recommends?
<<The Visi-Therm Stealth are a great heater to buy>>

I was thinking about getting one of these kits for the mixing bucket;
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4685+14675&pcatid=14675

Does that look like a good set up for mixing?
<<Looks like a nice mixing kit, and for the price, it makes it pretty good, concidering they supply a refractomter, instead of a hydrometer>>

Does my plan sound viable? Any advice on what should be done differently is greatly appreciated. This will be something that I am going to be working on over a lengthy time period. I am planning on getting the substrate and water into the tank in about 3 weeks (after more research) and doing a fishless cycle using the prawn method outlined in the sticky here before adding any fish.
<<Sounds very viable to me, just carry out plenty of research, learn and understand each fish's needs to ensure you can cater for them and provide the correct environment...>>
Click to expand...


Hi there Tjg..Added some comments above in red, hope it helps..

Niko
 
What are the dimensions of the tank, and how much sand are you looking for? Going with a deep sand bed, or just for aesthetics?
 
The only issue I see is that when you add the liverock, you're going to want to move the sand so the liverock sits directly on the bottom glass. That way if your fish or inverts do any tunneling, your rock piles are not falling all over the tank. This could make a mess if you're adding the liverock after the fact, but its not a deal breaker and can be managed if you're careful.
 
i have a 37g (the eclipse tank) and have 40# of fiji pink aragonite sand. gives a nice bed, but i wouldn't go with less than that. as far as stocking the tank you should know that damsels are pretty aggressive so they will limit what fish you can have with them. also you need to remember that sw is different than fw as far as stocking goes (# of fish) so you're looking at about 5 or so fish total...
 
dimensions are 30" long X 12" deep X 24". same foot print as a 29 gal just taller.

I was only planing on having 5 or 6 fish in the tank and have not yet really settled on anything in particular. Anyone have recommendations for stocking?
 
look at the nano fish at liveaquaria.com, and other fish that will stay small... i LOVE my stocklist so check those guys out... i also like the fish in my 29g tho i do not have the 6-line wrasse any longer (went MIA)... if you post some ideas we can help you with if they will get along or not. honestly damsels are pretty hard to stock with because they get pretty aggressive as time goes on.
 
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