40 gal stocking question

[dbrown9]

Here is a quick rundown of the situation. I have a 40 Gal saltwater tank that i have had running for approx 3 yrs. 40-50 pds of LR and 40 pds of LS. I am pretty much starting over and i have a couple of ideas. I have right now a Aqua clear 55 hang on filter, a prism skimmer, 2 aquaclear 600 powerheads. lighting is a must for an upgrade.
My thoughts are I would like to start some corals, maybe some LPS and Mushrooms. I was also thinking i want a Dwarf Lionfish, a Foxface Rabbit fish, and a blue spotted puffer. What ya think, one of the other or can i do both? also thinking about Sunlight Tek retro lights. and do i need to drain all water or just do a 50% change to restart?

 

[btldreef]

Tank definitely isn't big enough for a Foxface.
Puffers and Lions can make bad tank mates. Puffers have been known to harass lion fish and nip at their fins. Then there is the issue of food competition. Lions aren't quick swimmers and usually loose out when trying to get food.

 

[dbrown9]

So what are good tank mates for the lionfish then, i'm leaning toward getting that?
Also what order should i introduce things to the tank

 

[wartooth1]

Hi,
From what I've heard... a lionfish (dwarf or otherwise) will see any other fish that is smaller than it as possible food, so no matter what fish you have, you just need to make sure that they are bigger than your lionfish when you add them. Since you are running a 40 gallon tank, that might limit you to the lionfish and maybe 4 other fish max.
As for the lighting for the corals, I also have a 40 gallon tank. For lighting, I'm using 2 12 inch LED Panorama combo strips (white white blue) by Ecoexotic. I currently have a Frogspawn, Green Star Polyps, 3 kinds of Button Polyps, a big Fuzzy Bullseye Mushroom, and a Duncan Coral. Under these lights, they are all doing great. They fully open within minutes of the lights turning on and their colors have that glow that just looks awesome. I'm thinking of getting a pair of blue/magenta combo Stunner strips to make the colors pop out even more. They're not even all that expensive ($99 per Panoramic strip and $49 per Stunner strip).
Although I haven't bought one yet, the owner of the LFS who sold me these lights is so confident in them that he told me that even a clam would thrive under these lights in my tank, and said if I got a clam he would offer me a full refund for the clam if it didn't do well under my lights.
Funny thing too... a few weeks ago I got a Tuxuito Urchin that came with some brown polyps on his "head." Now that the Urchin has been living in the tank for a few weeks, the polyps he was carrying are beginning to get some blues and greens in their coloring instead of brown, so whatever lighting the Urchin's coral's were living in at the LFS, my lighting must be a big improvement for them.
eh.. I'm rambling... long story short, check these lights out, I think you will like them