crono_vivi wrote:
Here's what I all plan on getting:
38gallon
1 SeaClone 100 Protein Skimmer
Ehh... I guess it is better than no skimmer at all, but not by much. I ran a SeaClone for about 1-2 months before I wised up and bought something else. I could never get it adjusted to that it would produce constant foam. If you can afford it, buy an Aqua C Remora skimmer. These are great skimmers.
Any reason you don't want to use
LR as your main filtration method? You can use a power filter, but you will have nitrate problems for the life of the system.
LR gives you the ability to not only have a "natural" looking system, but to also bring in all kinds of life (bugs, critters,
pods, etc...) that you will never get without
LR. It is truly amazing to see what kind of ecosystem develops in a tank after it has been running 6-12 months with
LR in it. every time you look into the system, you will see something new.
If a powerfilter is the only thing in your budget that you can afford, then that will do. I like the Aquaclear filters myself.
Don't know what powerhead to get for a 38
I like the Maxijets. If you are going to use a powerfilter, than you should need more than two powerheads. One on each end corner of the tank and face their outputs toward a middle point on the front of the tan so their flows intersect.
Appopriate Salts
Hydrometer
Test Kits
Not sure on what light to get
I like Oceanic Salt but only because of the high
Ca content. Instant Ocean will be fine for you. Just about any Hydro is good. I used to use a swing arm before I bought my refractometer. They are cheaper than the floating hydro and easier to read. For test kits, I would recommend nothing less than Salifert, although you could get away with some cheaper brands (Aquarium Pharm, Tetra, etc...) for the testing of Ammonia and nitrite. For nitrate, I would definitely get a Salifert kit.
Here's the fish I plan on having:
2 Percula Clowns
Royal Gramma
Orange-Spotted Goby
3 Green Chromis
Your tank is already over stocked!!
If it were me, I would dump all the Chromis and stick with the rest of the fish. Basically it is exactly what I have except you would have to trade out the goby for a damsel.