Suggestions on my new tank

R

ryanj

ryanj
Sep 25, 2004
6
0
0
Orem, UT
Hey everyone,

I just started a new tank over a month ago. I have never had fish before and my wife and i are loving it. I just have a few questions to get some of the expert reefkeepers advice. I try to talk to my dealer buy he is always so busy helping others. my wife and i bought a tank on impulse at petco, but i have read alot (maybe all the books at borders) and everyone seems to say something different. Maybe all this reading has only left me more confused than ever. Anyways we have really gotten into it, and now i have a few questions.

1. I want to know if what i have is enough to do corals and anemmes in the next five six months.

2. What are some good fish that you guys have had and loved before.

3. Will PC.s do hard corals? Has anyone ever had good success with PCs?

Here is what i have:

Equipment-
46 gal bow front
Seaclone 100 protein skimmer
250 watt Visi-therm heater
Penguin 330 bio-wheel power filter (do I even need to run this?)
Penguin 1140 powerhead
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Test Kit (pH, Am, Ni, Na)
NO hood

Livestock-
ocellaris clown
blue damsel (the two damsels will probably go back)
yellow-tail damsel (all 3 since the begining)
blue hippo tang (4 days)
cleaner shrimp (4 days)
10 snails
10 hermit crabs (mixture of a few species)
brittle star
emerald crab
2 in crushed coral
58-60 lbs live rock (Fiji and Tonga-been in the tank almost 4 weeks)

What i plan to get in the next few weeks:
Some sort of PC retro fit kit ( I plan on building my canopy) (I want a kind that the bulbs come seperate with their own reflector so eventually i can put some type of metal halide inbetween the two... any ideas?)
10-20 lbs live sand
10-20 lbs live rock
a few more fish (how many can i have in there)
more snails and crabs
another powerhead

That's alot but I will greatly apperciate who ever takes the time to write me back. My fish and future pets will be grateful too.

Ryan
 
Please do a lot more research before purchasing an anenome. They typically fare poorly in an aquarium, and ther clowns will be just as happy without them, especially if these are tank raised/bred fish.

You might want to decide now if you want to upgrade tanks--regals should get up to about 9-10 inches, fairly quickly, and will quickly outgrow your current tnak.

For corals--depends on the kind, but in general, PC lights will be enough to many softies and some stonies. I have a PC light on a nano tank, and I have a number of polyps doing very well, along with a few cup corals. Being patient and waiting for the tank to stabilize will be a good thing--and give the corals you buy a better shot at thriving.

Until you get rid of the damsels and the tang, I'd be hesitant to add any more fish. Both are very aggressive, so any additions would need to be pretty tough fish, and the tang will outgrow the setup. The clowns may cause problems as well, since they are also territorial and aggressive. If the damsels and tang are removed, I'd say you could add a dwarf angel of some kind, and maybe some gobies or basslets, or a pair of cardinals and some of the smaller, more peaceful dottybacks.
 
Yeah the damsels will probably go back this weekend. Everyone says they can be mean. The tang is only 2in max. Like I said it was an impulse buy, we didnt get a bigger tank because we didnt know it had to be so big, but now i am planning on getting a 120gal in the next year. Do you really thing the regal tang could be aggressive or do you mean it is active therefore other fish feel bullied? My LFS said this tang is great in any tank?
ps thanks for getting back so quick
 
OrionGirl,

I see you on here a ton. Can I get a quick bio of your sw experience? Really just how long youve been in the hobby.
 
Tangs in general can be very aggressive. Regals tend to be on the milder side, but they will still defend their territory, and are armed with little blades (you should be able to see them now, on either side of the caudal peduncle, where the body narrows down in front of the tail). These sharp little blades are used to slice up another fish. Once the fish has picked it's turf, it will defend it against other fish that are a similar shape, size, color, or having similar food needs--in short, just about anything else you might introduce.

Always, always, double check what the LFs says. Some are great, some have great employees, but some will say anything for a sale. I have honestly heard one employee tell someone that their 55 tank would be great for a shark that gets 3 feet in length!
 
get some peacefull fish like... chromis or a midas blenny or... any type of blenny, things that will become part of the reef that you want to set up not a fish that will be half the size of your tank or one that fights other fish for spots by a coral.
 
If you ultimately want to have a combination of metal halides and fluorescents (VHO, PC, T5), it may be a little tricky working with a relatively narrow tank. I just don't think you can fit separate reflectors for two PCs or T5s plus one for the halide.

You might be able to use two VHOs that have the reflectors integrated into the bulbs.

Maybe the simplest thing to do would be to go with a 20000 K, 175 watt metal halide, which will give you the blue without the actinics.
 
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