46 reef setup ideas?

[waterboy_007]

I've posted a few times on questions i had for my future 46 bow reef. i had an idea in my head of what i wanted in there, but i was wonder what you guys had to say on the overall tank. If you think its too small, just say so. But i was really looking for what you guys thought would make a good display in one that small. I'll be using about 190 w power compacts. what kind of fish could i get (its 36 by 18 by 12, 46 gallons)? is it too small for a dwarf angel? would a coral banded shrimp be a bad idea? any thought, even if they don't pertain to what i asked, would be appreciated. thanks.

 

[stacyt]

A dwarf angel would be o.k. in that size tank, but you are going for a reef setup. It's kind of hit and miss whether they would nip at your corals or not. I personally would go with something a tad bit bigger if you can afford it. They always say get the biggest tank that you can afford. I started with a 37, then a 50, then a 70, and then an 80. Next I'll be going for a 300. There are several fish that would be good for that size tank. Clowns, royal gramma, bengaii cardinal, gobies, and some wrasses. You have a pretty wide selection of fish that you can choose from. Also how much LR and LS are you going to add? Probably a minimum of 50lbs. of LR, and try for a 4" DSB. I've never had the coral banded shrimp so I can't give you any advice there. With that lighting you should have a good selection of corals to choose from as well.

 

[waterboy_007]

well, the reason i was going to do the 46 is because i'd convert my freshwater community tank over to salt. i also plan on just doing saltwater for a while before adding the lights so i can have experience with fish only. for fish, i was considering (i'd never cram all of them in there) a fire angel, maybe 1 or 2 clowns (haven't decided yet. my favorites: skunk clown, tank raised percula, fire clown, and the clarki's). i'll definetly go with some kind of anenome so they will pair up. i heard the coral banded shrimp is real mean. anyone know? at my lfs, they're always floating in a cage (in jail as i like to call it). thanks

 

[stacyt]

You really don't need an anemone for the clownfish. I don't have any for mine, and they do just fine. Anemone's can be difficult to keep. I know that most here do not like the idea of keeping them especially in a reef. They can damage corals as well.

 

[memnoch]

Waterboy, i have a 42gal hex that houses both a coral banded shrimp and a starfish. The shrimp has never bothered the starfish that i've witnessed. It scavenges the LR like all the other shrimp. I've had him for about 7 months now, the starfish has been in the tank for about 4 months and no problems. The coral banded shrimp stays hidden during the daylight hours and starts to creep around the LR at night. Never known it to be vicious.

 

[fishfreek]

I think a 45g tank is fine to start out with. To give you an idea on stocking fish i keep: a small pair of false percs, royal gramma, small coral beauty(so far so good) and a very small six line wrasse. I concider my tank to be very heavily stocked for a reef, but this tank has been set up for over two years and i have no real water quality problems to speak of. My coral stock list consists of: a few colonies of pink xenias, variuos types and colors of mushrooms, toadstool, kenya tree corals, button polyps, red open brain, colt, and a goniapora. (i don't reccomend a goni for anyone, mine was given to me by a fellow reefer about a year ago who learned of its difficulty)
As stated above the coral beauty as well as the flame angel are hit or miss. I've have good luck with mine but you will hear of others that have not. As for the CBS, i've kept one and had the same results as some had above. They tend to eat small fish and other shrimp at night when they get a little larger. I suggest not getting one, but thats based on my own personal experiences. HTH

 

[sistrmary]

I've never had a problem with my CBS. I think a clown goby is about as small as you can get, and it coexsists fine with one, as well as firefish. I often wonder where people get this vicious CBS thing from, but I guess that I've just been lucky with both of mine. Until I see it killing something, I'm not going to worry.

 

[shadow678]

"Shut your mouth"? My goodness, are we a bit bitter about something? This forum is for helping people and answering questions, not being rude to others. Let's all play nice, deal?

 

[get reel]

Shadow, I believe daveatstupid was refering to the theme song to "Shaft". "Shaft is one bad mother...shut yo mouth". Or maybe he's just pissed at his CBS. LOL

 

[waterboy_007]

well, thanks for replying you guys. i wanted an anenome because i really like the relationship it has with the clown, not because i thought the clown needed it. would it be a good idea to get the anenome before any corals so it can get a footing where it likes, so it doesn't latch on do another coral? i'm still very hesitant on the CBS and the dwarf angels. i heard the dwarf angels most likely won't pick on corals, but there's still a possibility. as for the CBS, will he pick at the foot of any anenome or clams i'd have? and one more question, can you over stock corals like you can fish? remember this is all in planning (haven't even bought the skimmer or lights yet), so feel free to tell me i should or shouldn't do anything. thanks.

 

[memnoch]

As far as your question regarding "overstocking with corals" i'm sure it can be done; however, corals do not produce the same type of waste that your fish do. If i'm not mistaken corals only real pollutant is when they start fighting "chemical warfare" amongst each other. I have seen reefs that flow from one piece of coral to the next many of which overlap. I think if you're careful about what types of corals you place next to one another and respect the ones that require space the pollution they create is minimal. Taking this into consideration along with the application of a protein skimmer i think it would be really difficult to "overstock" with corals. Good luck with whatever you decide to go with, just do your research the cheap inexpensive way, READ

 

[john f]

If you want an anemone you need more light.
I would ditch the PCs and get a single 400 watt Radium bulb on a PFO HQI ballast.
This will give you enough light for the anemone and anything else you want to keep.
I run a 400 watt over my 46 bowfront. Mine is just a coral Q-tank though, not a full blown reef.
John

 

[jonthefb]

wow, just read through the article and was hoping someone was gonna suggest more light to keep and anemone! thanks jonh f. top put this in perspecitive, i have about 130 watts of pc lightign on my 20 gallon tank. this is mare than half the size of your tank, and i still have lighting issues that im concerned about. if you want to keep an anemone or any corals for that matter, you will need more light. anemone's and corals are photosynthetic as well as carniverous animals. they have tiny littel algae called zooxanthellae living inside of them that utilize sulnlight by turning it into energy. however, they also like to capture prey, whether it be zooplankton, or a piece of krill, they need to be fed. so lightng is a major part of them beign able to survive in a captive environment. definately up your lighting before making any oral/anemone purchse. once you do have sufficient lighting to sustain life, i would try a bubble tip anemone, if you truly have your heart set on one of these creatures, as thay are probably one of the esaiest to keep and least demanding, in terms of lighting.
as for the coral banded shrimp, they do not eat starfish. i think that mnreefman is thnking about a harlequin shrimp, as these little guys are predators of starfish, and thsi is all they will eat. i have successfully kep cbs and starfish and small fish together for three years now in a 135. he has vener harmed a soul, exept for a cleaner shrimp. if he is going to be the only shrimp in the tank, then its ok, but if you plan on having more than one species, i would leave him out.
hth
good luck
jon

 

[waterboy_007]

ok, i get the point about having more lighting. if i went to mh, how many watts, and should i still keep a heater in my tank just to keep the temp stable at night? i do have a glass cover over my tank, so i'm assuming the heat from the mh won't penetrate. also, do i still need some blue actinics for more light spectrum, or will MHs solve all my lighting problems? last question. what was that website that had those blue lights (supposedely simulating moonlight) that strapped on the side of your tank for night time lighting? i thought that idea was great, but will it give unwanted algea problems?

 

[john f]

I would not use the glass cover at all.
You will need the evaporation for cooling.
You must not have liked my suggestion on wattage and type of lamp as I was very specific.
The 400 watt Sunburst I am using works very well on my 46 but if I were to do it again I would use the Radium.
John