First Marine Tank

[Ice_queen]

hi, first time poster and a first time marine tank owner. Its alittle scary buy i have done alot of reading and i think i have most base's covered. I have my sand, skimmer, Ro unit, test kits salt, hydrometer or refractometer (unsure which i have, the one that looks like a microscope)

The question that i have is about water movement? Can i have too much? I have a 35~40 gallon tank (about 180~200L) and i have read that i need 20x cuirculation so what would be the best way to go?

1. 2 small powerheads at opp sides of the tank

2. 1 larger powerhead on one end

Also what type and size do i get, i dont really understand it. do i need a powerhead that has a turn over of 900gallons? that sounds way to high any help would be nice on this... even if you guys could give me a few product examples? That would be exellent Thank you for reading

 

[SkiFletch]

to the salty side of life.

You want 2 smaller powerheads at either end pointed at each other and/or the front glass. Look into Seio and Tunze pumps for the needed flowrate capacity. Its ok to use one 600gph and one 300gph if you need to do it that way

 

[Ice_queen]

wow thats alot of water movement so it is 20 times the volume per hour Thank you very much for the fast reply. Once everything is up and running i will take some photos and show you all how i am doing hopefuly good.

 

[Ranger]

Don't forget your live rock!

 

[SkiFletch]

Don't forget your live rock!

Agreed. Yeah its a lot of water flow, cause thats what its like in nature. If you ever dive on a reef you'll realize how much you get pushed about by underwater currents.

 

[Ice_queen]

live rock is the last thing i will add

I also have another question... what kind of fish can i have in this tank. I am unsure if i want to go into corals, with the lighting i have, i know i can keep beginner corals that require not so high intense light like Polyps or Mushroom corals but i think i may just keep fish with liverock. I love puffers but i know with the size of tank i have thats not happening but my ears are open to suggestions?

 

[Ranger]

Why are you adding your LR last? Are you just going to put ur sand in and then dump the water in? I advise against that asur water will be VERY cloudy. As for fish, I think you have alot to work with, compared to me anyways (i have a 25 gal). There are some puffers that will fit in your tank I believe, I can't recall the name though. Valentini puffer comes to mind... I'll advise against damsels, as they seem to cause nothing but problems in community tanks. Clowns, wrasses, gobys are fun. I recommend to browse your LFS and get the names (preferebly scientific names) of some fish you like, and let us know.

 

[Ice_queen]

Sorry i mean that liverock will be my last thing to buy, i already have my tank set up with skimmer and sand ect... just need to buy my liverock. I have some time before adding fish/inverts so i thought i would give it some thought now. Community tank sounds nice. Heres a list of fish that i have seen in my fish shop.

Clown fish
Mandarin
Scooter Blenny
Goby
Six Line Wrasse
Blue Tang and yellow tang
porcipine puffer
lion fish

I know the last 3 are out of my leauge due to size/aggression but if i could have any combo of the first 5 that would be nice i dont know about numbers/sex's or if any are comaptible but if you have any combos of them with others let me know

Thank you all

 

[SkiFletch]

Mandarins and scooter blennies are also not suitable in most cases since they almoast solely feed on pod life. They tend to starve in tanks under 75g that dont have overhead refugiums.

Other fish to consider, basslets, hogfish, more wrasses, pygmy angelfish, and pretty much anything listed as a "nano" fish.

 

[Ranger]

Sorry i mean that liverock will be my last thing to buy, i already have my tank set up with skimmer and sand ect... just need to buy my liverock. I have some time before adding fish/inverts so i thought i would give it some thought now. Community tank sounds nice. Heres a list of fish that i have seen in my fish shop.

Clown fish
Mandarin
Scooter Blenny
Goby
Six Line Wrasse
Blue Tang and yellow tang
porcipine puffer
lion fish

I know the last 3 are out of my leauge due to size/aggression but if i could have any combo of the first 5 that would be nice i dont know about numbers/sex's or if any are comaptible but if you have any combos of them with others let me know

Thank you all

I'd go with a couple of clowns, a six line wrasse, and some kind of goby for starters. They are very common beginner fish.

 

[Ice_queen]

Thanks, i will keep that in mind when i come to buy fish.

Whats the best liverock to buy? I am going to order offline from UDA and i have the choice of Madagascan Liverock or Premium Cured Fiji Liverock... Whats the difference?

 

[SkiFletch]

Price and how long its spent in their curing tanks, thats about it.

 

[Ice_queen]

I think i will go with the Fiji Liverock, it looks nicer than the other one...