Newbie to saltwater

[Flyboyrav]

I'm about to start my new saltwater 45 gal tank. I'm not to sure how many fishes to have in there. Also what types of coral and live Rock. Some help please

 

[Bectan01]

Have you cycled the tank? What kind of lighting do you have? That will determine what sort of corals you can get. Do you have any fish in mind? Best to post a list of what you like, then we can give a divide on whether thy would suit first salt water tank? Welcome to the club

 

[Riverhawk]

Good job picking a bigger tank size..i didnt but i got lucky to have no big issues(mine r a 5 & 10 gal nanos...) watch..sw is like lays; u cant have just one!! Our house has 6 tanks..5 r marine!!

 

[Schism]

I'm about to start my new saltwater 45 gal tank. I'm not to sure how many fishes to have in there. Also what types of coral and live Rock. Some help please

What you can have is determined by your setup or by what you 'want' in the tank. For a 45g your probably looking at around 6 small fish but that is just a guess. It all depends on what your setup cam handle as well as compatability.

 

[Flyboyrav]

I'm not too sure what lighting to use. The fishes im thinking if are clown fish, fire-fish,Sand sifter gobies,lemon butterfly fish, bleeny, blue / green chromis, cleaner common wrasse,orange strip prawn goby, royal gamma basslet. also I was wondering if a 45 gal is too small for a blue tang. I would also have some shrimp, hermit crabs and s starfish.

 

[Dav3]

I'm not too sure what lighting to use. The fishes im thinking if are clown fish, fire-fish,Sand sifter gobies,lemon butterfly fish, bleeny, blue / green chromis, cleaner common wrasse,orange strip prawn goby, royal gamma basslet. also I was wondering if a 45 gal is too small for a blue tang. I would also have some shrimp, hermit crabs and s starfish.

Too small for any tang, butterflyfish, and most angels.

 

[Flyboyrav]

Also wondering if I world need a sump tank? I have a 40 gal filter, protein skimmer and 2 circulation power heads and a heater

 

[Dav3]

Also wondering if I world need a sump tank? I have a 40 gal filter, protein skimmer and 2 circulation power heads and a heater

A sump is always a good idea. The added water volume helps keep parameters more stable. But this also means more equipment like overflow and return pump. What filter is it and what skimmer?

As for lighting. What corals do you plan on having?

 

[Flyboyrav]

It's a Instant Ocean Seaclone Protein Skimmer - hang on skimmer an a top fin power filter 40gal.

 

[Dav3]

It's a Instant Ocean Seaclone Protein Skimmer - hang on skimmer an a top fin power filter 40gal.

Not familiar with that skimmer but the 100 is at least rated large enough. You won't need the power filter.

 

[Flyboyrav]

Instant Ocean Seaclone Protein Skimmer - 100 so I won't need the other filter, that's good. So to my understanding, it's 1lb to 1 gal of live rock to tank size. Do in my case that's 40lbs of live rock. So does that interfere with the amount of fish I can have???

 

[Dav3]

Instant Ocean Seaclone Protein Skimmer - 100 so I won't need the other filter, that's good. So to my understanding, it's 1lb to 1 gal of live rock to tank size. Do in my case that's 40lbs of live rock. So does that interfere with the amount of fish I can have???

For a reef tank you may want to be closer to 2-3lbs/gal. Obviously the more rock you have the less room for fish. But you want the biological filtration.

 

[Schism]

For a reef tank you may want to be closer to 2-3lbs/gal. Obviously the more rock you have the less room for fish. But you want the biological filtration.

Actually 1lb per gallon is usually more than enough to take care of biofiltration in moderately stocked reef tank. So will prefer more simply for aquascapes. If you maintain 0 ammonia and nitrite then you have all the live rock you need for that bioload.

 

[Dav3]

Actually 1lb per gallon is usually more than enough to take care of biofiltration in moderately stocked reef tank. So will prefer more simply for aquascapes. If you maintain 0 ammonia and nitrite then you have all the live rock you need for that bioload.

Yeah after thinking more on it i was planning on editing my post. 3lbs is excessive. But is 1lb enough for a smaller tank?

 

[Flyboyrav]

Also wondering if 2 Aqueon Circulation Pump - 500 gph be ok or would I only need 1??

 

[Shirtlessbill]

Also wondering if 2 Aqueon Circulation Pump - 500 gph be ok or would I only need 1??

even with two 500 I think it's low if you want corals. That's just my opinion I guess. But the flow you are looking at seems like more of that or a FOWLR system.
I've been told to add up your gph from power heads and then divide it by the # of gallons. For soft corals you want to have your ending number in the thirties. Example: I have a 75 gallon with two 1400 gph power heads. 1400 x 2 =2800; 2800/75= ~37.

 

[Schism]

Also wondering if 2 Aqueon Circulation Pump - 500 gph be ok or would I only need 1??

30-50x turnover rate (flow) is recommended for reef tanks. 45gx30=1350 45gx50= 2250 so you need a total of between 1,350-2,250gph of flow, the higher end is more preferred as more flow actually aids in filtration and everything else vital to a reef. Dead spots have to be eliminated.

 

[Schism]

Yeah after thinking more on it i was planning on editing my post. 3lbs is excessive. But is 1lb enough for a smaller tank?

1lb should be enough for any tank. If you had an excessively large bioload you may need more but you shouldnt have an excessively large bioload to begin with. Also sand helps in biofitration along with the rock. In my 9 years experience, no reason really to ever need more than 1-1.5lb per gallon even less depending on the rock type and how much surface area it has.