Need some idea's

kawasakizx636

kawasakizx636

Member
hello, if this is posted in the wrong place, please move it, thanks.
I've had my tank going since June 24 2006, the specs are:
47gallon bowfront
Penguin biowheel 350
Maxi-jet 900
Lightning rod 11000K ultra daylight 30 watt 36" t6 lamp
Lightning rod blue actinic 03 30 watt 36" t6 lamp
water changes every 2 weeks
it currently has 3 blue knuckle hermit crabs, 2 other hermit crabs "one is black and the other is blue, they don't seem to grow", a sally lightfoot, a lionfish, christmas wrasse, Sail fin, a clown fish. As for coral, i have a green torch "which doesn't seem to wanna duplicate or grow, it's been a three head ever since i bought it, and two of them doesn't even produce any green torch", polyps, mushrooms, lots of frogspawn, it also has some other stuff that i'm unsure what it's called.
here's some pics of what the tank looks like, i'd like to know if anyone can help me set things up a better way, i've seen pics of other peoples tanks and i like the way they look, i just don't wanna do something that i shouldn't do. I've had this tank for awhile now, but i'm still a newb to the hobby since i haven't had much time to really do much research. money isn't an issue, so please give me some ideas of what i should do/get. Some people tell me that you want to have the least amount of rock touching the sand, is this true? cause that's why i have my rocks placed the way i do, but i kinda like how others have them all together in one island. I also have way too much frogspawn, so i'm gonna bring some back to the local saltwater shop and trade it in for something else. i'm just not sure what to get. I understand that i can't get anymore fish since my tank is only a 47gallon, but i'd like to get some more coral. Can someone please help me with my setup, maybe my lights need to be changed, or add a pump, move the pump. Also, should i buy a skimmer, i red some threads that say to get one, and others say not to. what u guys think i should do? I want a colorfull reef tank with lots of living things, if you think some of these fish need to go, let me know. i want a very bright and colorfull tank. Thanks









 
rigdon87

rigdon87

Member
You need to ditch the sailfin and lion.A 46g is just way to small for them.sorry for the bad news but i gurentee everyone else would agree
 
kawasakizx636

kawasakizx636

Member
i'm gonna be upgrading my tank in the next couple years, and once i do that, this tank will just be a reef tank, with a couple clowns and some other lil fish. but for now, i'd like to have this tank looking good. i'm just not liking the way it is, but i also don't just want to buy anything, incase it ain't suitable for my tank.
hope to get some input on things to get/move,
Thanks
 
kawasakizx636

kawasakizx636

Member
are the lights i'm using any good? i'm gonna be bringing back some frogspawn since i have too much, and i'm gonna be picking up some new stuff, i have no idea which ones "i'm open to idea's ;) ", but i'm wondering if my lights are any good.....
-Lightning rod 11000K ultra daylight 30 watt 36" t6 lamp
-Lightning rod blue actinic 03 30 watt 36" t6 lamp
Thanks
 
B

billgray22

Guest
the rocks can touch the gravel, not an issue at all and looks more natural. I've had my set up for 15 years, no problems.
If you have been successful since 2006, you are doing it all right. Your corals would have died long ago.
A protein skimmer is always a good idea. Some say it removes calcium, but with the right salt mix, I use only marinemix, I never have to add calcium. But it looks like you are doing just fine without one.
If money is no object, get a bigger tank! Mine big tank is 180g.
Bigger tanks have more tolerance for error, though one can do salt water in a 5 gallon tank.
 
kawasakizx636

kawasakizx636

Member
i don't have much room in this apartment for a bigger tank, but i will be getting a larger one in a few years once i buy my house. ya everything seems to be living ok, i just thought maybe my lights could be better, i bought this setup as a kit, so i figured they gave me some cheap stuff. i'm gonna be bringing back some frogspawn, and i'd like to trade it in for some other coral "not sure what kind". i've tried other coral like an umbrella, anthellia ect, but the coral beauty that i used to have ate everything, exept the frogspawn and torch.
 
ryancw01

ryancw01

Member
I can't quite put my finger on it, but there is something "off-putting" about the rock set-up. I would maybe try the island rock look like you were talking about. Put all the rocks close together in the middle of the tank and against the back wall. This will give your tank more of a reef feel to it because the fish will swim out and then swim back into the rocks. You can scrape the back wall also with a KENT scraper for glass once you move the rocks. I see that you have a nice blue background and if you scrape a bit might make it look a little bigger.
Your sand bed is kind of chaotic also. I would move all those rock chunks to the back of the aquarium out of site and put a little bit more white fine sand down. You might need some more flow also...might want to get a Koralia for one of the corners.
 
kawasakizx636

kawasakizx636

Member
lol, nah that isn't a blue background, it was a beach towel that i had hanging behind it, i'm trying to fill the back with coraline, but it doesn't seem to be working. I should have glued some pieces of plexi glass on the back, but ah well. I'm gonna get a Koralia powerhead, and some how figure out a good island pattern with these rocks. I have quite a bit of "zenia" on a lot of my rocks, so trying to keep that in front while stacking the rocks might make this hard, do you think that even if the "zenia" is in between the rocks or inside the island, that the "zenia" will keep growing towards the light, and eventually get to the surface of the island???
I'm also gonna get some more sand when i get a chance, how much do ya think i need roughly?
Thanks
 
ryancw01

ryancw01

Member
I would say you want your sand to be at least an inch and a half high from the bottom. Make sure you take care of the rocks first before adding any sand though. You do not want any shifts in the rocks so you want to set the rocks directly on the bottom glass if you can.
Another note, when you add sand make sure you do not add any of the prepackaged "Live" sand that they sell because your tank is already established and adding that sand would start another cycle from die-off. Get dry sand and make sure you rinse well with RO/DI water before adding to the tank.
 
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