Advice Wanted :)

[jrm88]

Ok so I have all my equipment now and will be filling my tank soon So I just want some opinions on my planned stocking list and whether they are compatible with the other fish and the tank I have

Tank Size: 40 gal (36'"x18"x16")
Protein Skimmer: Octopus BH-100f
Powerheads: 2 x 1200Litres per Hr powerheads
Live Rock: (Want to get about 12-14kgs

Wanted fish:
2 x Clownfish (percula)
1 x Longnose Hawkfish
1 x Royal Gramma
1 x Midas Blenny

Maybeeeeeee 1 x Mandarin if I can find one eating prepared/frozen foods
Thankyou

 

[SkiFletch]

Great tank there Jrm. The 40 breeder has to be the best 3' tank out there and is a great starter size, nice choice . For LR, I'd err on the side of 14kgs, if not a little more. That tank has a great footprint for aquascaping so have fun there .

I would however add some more flowrate, perhaps a 3rd powerhead of that size, or go for a higher rated Tunze or Seio powerhead. Natural reefs are very turbulent environments and any therefore any tank benefits from re-creating that high flow environment.

As for livestock, be careful with the hawkfish, gramma, and blenny as each has some compatibility issues. Hawkfish can nip at corals and go after some snails/crabs as they get older. Grammas can also be very aggressive in smaller and moderate sized tanks. If you do add a gramma, make sure it is the LAST fish you add. And as for the blenny, they sometimes nip at decorative Tridacnid clam mantles. Dunno if you're planning on keeping a Tridacnid clam, but if you are, blennies might not be for you.

Hope that hleps

 

[jrm88]

I will probably put more than 14kgs in, but I think most of it will be base rock, does that matter? I live in Australia and havent seen those brands of powerheads so I'm stuck with some other brands, but I'll probably get another powerhead if you think it would help

I'm definately going to get the longnose hawkfish, my heart is absoloutely set on him I dont mind if he nips at corals/snails/crabs simply because I am more interested in the fish rather than the coral Also not planning on the clams, but I've heard the midas blenny can become aggressive? I might have to rethink the gramma, I thought they were all friendly n peaceful..anyone other suggestions as a replacement for the royal gramma? By the way, thanks for the advice

 

[sianeds]

The fish choices are mainly down to your personal taste.

A banggai cardinal is a very striking and peaceful fish although the long fins may be tempting for the hawkfish

 

[SkiFletch]

Being so close to their collection spots (GBR/Coral Sea), look into fairy wrasses, gorgeous fish

 

[jrm88]

Hmm maybe I will look into the fairy wrasses, will 40gallons be enough space for them?

 

[matt295]

i really like the lineatus fairy wrasse and the labouts fairy wrasse. the lineatus on liveaquaria.com says it should be kept in min. 50 gallons but labouts only 30 gallon. you can look at them on liveaquaria.com. just go to the salt section then go to reef-safe wrasses and all the way at the bottom. the labouts has lots of purple and those kinds of colors

 

[jrm88]

I think I will get a species of flasher wrasse, they look absoloutely gorgeous I was also looking at them and mum saw a picture and said she liked it alot so it helps to have fish that mum likes so she doesnt complain about how much my tank will cost in electricity Thanks for your help