39 gallon aquarium

[trigger929]

I am setting up a 39 gallon fish only aquarium i would like to ask some opinions on equitment i right now have a tronic heater and a marine land 400 i would like to add a rio power head and 40 lbs of natures ocean live sand also either a sea clone skimmer or a red sea prism skimmer. which one of these is A quieter and B more efficent. 1 valentine puffer will be housed in there along with 1 spotted puffer 1 false eye puffer and probaly a common clown fish and a percular clown. will this work what other equitment will help them live easier with out live rock. I will put just regular decorations in there i like the look better. Thanks for any advice

 

[shadow678]

Only one type of clownfish in a tank that small, there will not be enough room for the submissive clown to really hide form the dominant. Also, you will want to put at least some rock for your fish to hide and sleep in. What type of puffer are you looking into? There are several spotted species, some of which get much larger than others and therefor would not be suitable for a 39 gallon tank.

 

[robchuck]

You also need to consider that you can only house about 1 inch of fish (at its ADULT length, not its current lenght) for every five gallons of water, and that your substrate, LR, and decorations are going to displace water; bringing your tank's volume down from 39 gallons. Also consider the eating habits of puffers, and how that will effect the bioload of your tank.

 

[trigger929]

hmmm sounds right i forgot all about the clowns lol i guess i will forget about the clown fish but i would like to get those 3 puffers i heard live sand the instant ocean is great that is why im getting that instead of crushed coral and the emperor 400 does excellent the water quality is usualygood but i need to know what is a good protien skimmer and also is a power head neccesary to keep the sand moving. the valentin spotted and false eye are all pretty small and housed together at the pet store in a 20 with some crabs and starfish with in the next 8months also i will be putchasing a 500 gallon tank. Any replys on the power head and also the protien skimmer is greatly apreciated

 

[shadow678]

The valenti and the false-eye would be ok, they don't get very big. The powerhead isn't for moving the sand as much as it is for moving the water. You don't want many dead spots in the water, and the more current the better, at least until you start blowing things off your rock. lol As for skimmer, I wouldn't suggest going with something too cheap, as they are pretty cost-relative to performance. You can go with either a SeaClone or a Prizm, they are both decent skimmers for smaller tanks. You could go high-end and get a Berlin or other high-price skimmer, but it may be unnecessary for a tank that small. As for the clownfish, you can have one species of clown, as long as you don't mix them, and only one of that species unless it is a mated pair.

 

[trigger929]

Thanks i think i will just stick with the 2 puffers but do u think with the mentiond things i said it will make the water good. Is the live sand going to help any at all or is that just wat the fish store is just trieng to make some cash also is there any thing else that i would be able to keep in this small of a tank with these 2 puffers i decided not to get the clownfish after all are there any intresting fish or inverts that would go good in this mix. Last question which of those 2 skimmers is probaly the least noisyest i heard the prizm has a noisy propeler or motor i cant rember.thanks

 

[trigger929]

hmm i was thinking how bout either a bi color angel fish or a snowflake eel. just an i dea am not sure any replly will be apreciated

 

[trigger929]

Sorry just pretty excited at the moment looking at some suplies i was wondering 1 last question will a tetra tec filter help also make the water level good also i was wondering should i buy that or should i buy this uv sterilizer im looking at does this help me. thanks

 

[shadow678]

TetraTec filters are outstanding, I use one on my 100-gal reef and have been more than satisfied with it. A UV sterilizer is not the same as a filter. It simply kills any free-floating organisms in the water, such as parasites and algae. CustomSeaLife has an excellent UV serilizer called the Double-Helix. This is THE sterilizer I recommend when anyone asks about one, because they are SO much more efficient and effective than other brands. They also require NO maintenance other than bulb replacement, and even that is much less than other sterilizers, as the water never touches the light and there is no quartz sleeve to deal with. The water stays inside a sealed polymer tubing that prevents adhesion of algae and other particulate inside the reaction chamber. A 9-watt system, approximately $76, handles up to 200-gal aquariums. Available up to 36-watt 500-gal systems. Off the subject of sterilizers... lol The bi-color angel will get a bit too large for a 39, it will require a 55. The snowflake eel should have no problem in a 39, and are less of a threat to fish tankmates than other morays. It would be a good addition. HTH

 

[trigger929]

Thanks shadow u have been a big help so this is how i think the tank will look when done i will have a emperor 400 in there along with the tetra tec 40lbs of live sand a rio power head a sea clone or red sea prism skimmer 4 medium sized fake corals and those 2 puffers and 1 snowflake sound good.thanks for all the help

 

[trigger929]

Hi hmmm just wanted some advidce if this guy is correct i went to the fish store today and told him my idea see wat else he could provide and he told me instead of the skimmer and the power head and all that i should just get a filstar xp2 canister filter he says this provides the biological filteration. He also say i should not buy the carinean reef sand in the packages i should just get crushed coral because it is easier and they do the same thing is this true and also wat else should i get to filter my aquarium so far im getting the filstar xp2 the marineland emporor 400 and that is it in a 40 is there anything else i can put that will help filter how bout adding the tetra tec also. thanks

 

[michaeltx]

the tetra tec,s are good filters but you have to watch them if anything gets stuck in the outtake holes the water will build up and over flow onto everything (floors, back of tank) there is no overflow area built into the design of them. I had this happen one time lost about 25% of my water onto the floor. other than that they are good filters. I use a tetra tec , emporor 400 and a marineland filter with a 804 powerhead.
for what I have read on snowflake eels no body can say the same size twice I have seen everything from 12" to 4 ' so I dont know if that would be a very good choice for a 39 maybe someone else can say more about it. I just got a yellowhead morray today that is 1 1/2 or more long.snowflake eel here is a site that has some info about them though.
good luck
Mike

 

[shadow678]

You can do either the Emperor or the FilStar, but you shouldn't need both on a 39gal tank. The CC vs. the dsb(deep sand bed) is a debate that has been going for a very long time with no end in sight. I would say go with whatever you think looks better, as they both have their advantages and disadvantages. Snowflake morays get about 30" long, and can be housed in 30 gallon or larger aquariums, so if you want one, that would be fine.

 

[michaeltx]

shadow I see you are from west texas and own a LFS where at if I may ask?
Mike

 

[trigger929]

I think this tanks water is gonna be great im getting the filstar and i just wanted to ask the last question wat can i keep with a sea horse i decide this will be a better set up but am no sure wat can go with it also if i dont use the caribean reef sand i use just regular sand how do i get the ph the right temp. Last should i get that vortex filter or a tetra tec as another form of fileration for the tank i am aware the vortex is only used hours a week. thanks again everyone you have been a big help

 

[bdubbya]

I have a sea clone skimmer and it does a good job of skimming for the price IMO. As far as filters go I can't tell you what to do, cause I don't run one. I just rely on my dsb, 30 some pounds of live rock, and my skimmer. I personally think that going with a deep sand bed is a better idea than the cc. When you have a dsb there is no maintnence to be done to it. With the cc you have to be sure to vacuum it very well to get as much fish waste and left over food out as possible. And since your going with an aggressive setup (messy eaters) there could be some extra maintnence involved with cc. HTH.