In your opinion?

[jmdlax20]

In my 50 hex i hav LR, LS, powerhead, heater, and protein skimmer. I am gettin my light this or next week.
my question is
1. do i ned to run a wet dry filter or any filter in my for my slowly growing reef tank?
2. how long does the curing process take? and when curing should i hav my light i had on my freshwater tank on?
3. At my LFS the guy who helped me with my protein skimmer said that i could only use a few fish in my tank with the skimmer i purcessed. I bought a prism skimmer and the box says its for aquariums up to 100 gallons and i hav a 50 hex. Was the guy at my LFS right or rong? can i hav a bunch of fish (8-10 fish) in myt tank n hav no problems with my skimmer?

 

[thirty6]

i guess to answer your questions it would depend on how much lr/ls you have or plan to have, and what type of fish you had in mind. the hex doesnt provide the most room so you may be limited in selection. what type of fish were you thinking, and what type of light are you going to purchase?

 

[jmdlax20]

i hav about 3-4 inches of LS and getting more LR and prolly hav about 20 pounds in it now. I was thinking some clowns and possilbly if i could get sum small or medium size tangs. plus the corals ill get later down the road.
the light i do not know the name off the top of my head but no a little bit of info about it....
it has 2 fluorescent lights i believe n between the 2 fluorescent theres moonlight type of bulb for the night.

 

[celacanthr]

Originally Posted by jmdlax20
In my 50 hex i hav LR, LS, powerhead, heater, and protein skimmer. I am gettin my light this or next week.
my question is
1. do i ned to run a wet dry filter or any filter in my for my slowly growing reef tank?
2. how long does the curing process take? and when curing should i hav my light i had on my freshwater tank on?
3. At my LFS the guy who helped me with my protein skimmer said that i could only use a few fish in my tank with the skimmer i purcessed. I bought a prism skimmer and the box says its for aquariums up to 100 gallons and i hav a 50 hex. Was the guy at my LFS right or rong? can i hav a bunch of fish (8-10 fish) in myt tank n hav no problems with my skimmer?
1. Is your tank drilled? if so I would get a refugium, but I would not go with a wet/dry, or any other kind of filter.
2.Are you testing your water? If you are, then what are your readings for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? Yes, leave your lights on.
3.What kind of fish are we talking about? The amount of fish completely depends on the specific type. I would suggest making a list of all of the fish you want, and post it in this thread, and then I or others can critique it. Oh, and no tangs, they need a longer tank.

 

[lion_crazz]

You do not need a filter as long as you have enough live rock and water movement. If you do not have 60 to 70 lbs. of live rock, I would definitely say you need a filter. A hang on the back or cannister would work fine.
The curing process takes 4 to 6 weeks, but as stated, keep testing your levels. That is the best way to know. You can leave your lights on or off. Your choice.
As for your fish, you will have to be more specific on the fish you are looking at. If you are looking at gobies and blennies and clowns, then 8 might be okay. You definitely cannot have any tangs in a 50 gallon hex tank, so scratch that idea. The tank is way too small for even baby tangs.
The LFS guy was right though, that is a cheaper skimmer, in my opinion. Plus, you do not have nearly enough filtration right now for that many fish. Like I said, you need to triple the amount of live rock you currently have. I would do that and cure all your rock before you purchase any fish. The more time, effort, and money you put into your tank at the beginning, the less fish you will lose and the happier your fish will be.

 

[jmdlax20]

1. for the live rock i will triple it and can i go to my LFS and purcess already cured live rock and put it it my tank w/ my live rock that is in the process of cuing? Good idea or bad idea?
2. some of the fish im lookin at are:
1. 2 percula clowns
2. 1 porcupine puffer (2-3 inches)
3. 1 black back butterfly (2-3 inches)
4. 1 eclipse butterfly (2-3 inches)
5. 1 threadfin buterfly (2-3 inches)
6. 1 royal gramma (2 inches)
7. 1 3 strip damsel (1-2 inches)
3. so if i triple my LR amount then i should b ok without a filter by just having a powerhead and skimmer?

 

[alyssia]

Originally Posted by jmdlax20
1. for the live rock i will triple it and can i go to my LFS and purcess already cured live rock and put it it my tank w/ my live rock that is in the process of cuing? Good idea or bad idea?
2. some of the fish im lookin at are:
1. 2 percula clowns
2. 1 porcupine puffer (2-3 inches)
3. 1 black back butterfly (2-3 inches)
4. 1 eclipse butterfly (2-3 inches)
5. 1 threadfin buterfly (2-3 inches)
6. 1 royal gramma (2 inches)
7. 1 3 strip damsel (1-2 inches)
3. so if i triple my LR amount then i should b ok without a filter by just having a powerhead and skimmer?

#3 yes, you will be fine with a skimmer and PH with the proper amount of LR

 

[celacanthr]

Originally Posted by jmdlax20
1. for the live rock i will triple it and can i go to my LFS and purcess already cured live rock and put it it my tank w/ my live rock that is in the process of cuing? Good idea or bad idea?
2. some of the fish im lookin at are:
1. 2 percula clowns yes
2. 1 porcupine puffer (2-3 inches)
3. 1 black back butterfly (2-3 inches)
4. 1 eclipse butterfly (2-3 inches)
5. 1 threadfin buterfly (2-3 inches)
6. 1 royal gramma (2 inches)yes
7. 1 3 strip damsel (1-2 inches)yes
3. so if i triple my LR amount then i should b ok without a filter by just having a powerhead and skimmer?
1. You can do either one, cured, or non-cured, but the cured will be more expensive, but the non-cured may start the cycle back over again, in fact cured may start the cycle back over again.
2. see above; the ones that I didn't answer I am not sure about, but I am pretty sure that they are a bad idea in that reef tank setting, adn the size of the tank. I would wait for other people.
3. Yep, Powerhead(s) and skimmer should be fine.
HTH

 

[lion_crazz]

Well getting more live rock would definitely be a good thing. It doesn't really matter whether it is cured or uncured at this point since you have no fish or livestock.
Your tank will be overstocked however with that fish load though. You will not be able to keep a porcupine puffer in that size tank either. He will outgrow it much too quickly. I would look toward getting a dwarf puffer.
I am not all that knowledgable with butterflies, so I am not going to comment in that area.

 

[jmdlax20]

BTW this does help alot thank you guys...
1. You guys think that with that much live rock Butterflies would not be good? if u guys were in my position wut would u put in a 50 hex with 60-70 lbs or LR?
2. And when i hav my tank up and goin is it ok if i turn off my skimm when i go to bed (my tank is in my room) so i dont hav to hear that annoying buzzing or should i run it 24-7?

 

[lion_crazz]

I personally would run it 24/7. It will do wear and tear to the skimmer and pump to turn it off every night.
You might be able to get away with the butterflies if you do not overcrowd the tank. By getting 8 fish, I would not do the butterflies.

 

[jmdlax20]

If im goin to triple the amount of LR should i...
wait for my LR in my tank to cure and then buy already cured LR?
or
or should i buy non-cured LR and put it in my tank?
(my current LR has been curing for about a week now, maybe week and a half.)

 

[lion_crazz]

Whichever is easy and cheaper for you. If you buy non-cured, you would put it in now, whereas if you buy cured, you would have to wait. The only thing that I do not like about "cured" live rock is that sometimes it is not always cured, and creates a small spike in your levels.

 

[jmdlax20]

Originally Posted by lion_crazz
I personally would run it 24/7. It will do wear and tear to the skimmer and pump to turn it off every night.
You might be able to get away with the butterflies if you do not overcrowd the tank. By getting 8 fish, I would not do the butterflies.

how bout i go for the clowns, damsel, gramma, and like 1 or 2 butterflies....do you think i could pull that off???
so ill try to avoid the spiking in my levels and just go for non-cured...good idea or bad?

 

[lion_crazz]

Well non-cured will spike your levels. Cured will not, as long as it is fully cured.
That stocklist is a lot better sounding. Why don't you nix the idea of a damsel and get something like a goby though? It will be a lot more peaceful than a damsel and will not stress the butterflies.

 

[lion_crazz]

Also, how many powerheads do you have and what gph flow are they giving you?

 

[jmdlax20]

im glad u told me about the damsel thanks alot and maybe ill go for a golby
i hav a Rio 600 pushin out about 200 gph and it sitting at the top of my tank...n i hav just one should i get another and should i put on lower in my tank??

 

[celacanthr]

I personally would put some seahorses in it, but since you are going reef, seahorses are a bad idea.
How about this:
2 mated clowns (I personally like pink skunks)
2 mated cardinalfish (pajama, or bangaii, both are awesome)
1 shrimp goby (I would also get a pistol shrimp to go with it, they make an awesome duo! check out the IOTM in the articles section)
1 royal gramma
1 midas blenny
yep, that would be my list!
HTH

 

[jmdlax20]

Originally Posted by CELACANTHr
I personally would put some seahorses in it, but since you are going reef, seahorses are a bad idea.
HTH

why would sea horses be a bad idea??

 

[lion_crazz]

And yeah, you will definitely need another, perhaps even a third smaller one since you are not running a filter. I would probably do an AquaClear 70 in order to give you another 350 gph of flow.