Need advice on future setup

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

crono_vivi

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Oct 1, 2004
Messages
54
Location
FDL Wisconsin
Here's what I all plan on getting:

38gallon
1 SeaClone 100 Protein Skimmer
Whisper Power Filter 40
Appropriate heating device w/thermostat
Don't know what powerhead to get for a 38
Appopriate Salts
Hydrometer
Test Kits
Not sure on what light to get

Anything I'm missing? Or worth changing? It'll be a Fish Only tank. I heard the SeaClone skimmers suck, but don't know what would be a better substitute.

Here's the fish I plan on having:
2 Percula Clowns
Royal Gramma
Orange-Spotted Goby
3 Green Chromis
 
Check each of your fish choices for adult size - minus the tail. You might be a little overstocked if you get all of those. Use the fish calculator at this site for a rule of thumb estimate on your planned population. Plan on doing live rock at all? What kind of bottom/substrate?

Done any good books lately? Robert Fenner.
 
haven't heard many huge fans of the seaclone skimmer... lots of recommendations for the bakpak or remora, however.

you should get 2 ph's and 2 heaters. if one fails, you still have some circ/heat.

I found a refractometer for $50 instead of the hydrometer.

Do you want to do a sump?

Live rock? sand?

filter is probably not ideal, but it can work

Get the book... really.
 
whisper filters suck, they break all the time and arent worth the money IME. i would personally choose either a marineland biowheel or an aqua clear. the biowheel filter is nice because it has additional surface for beneficial bacteria to grow on.

def. look into getting LR, its a great filter system in itself, as is LS. even for a FO tank, it creates a really nice natural looking environment, not to mention a plethora of surfaces for that benificial bacteria!

the fish you picked out sound goood, although you may need to edit your list accounting for size like austinsdad mentioned.

i too would reccommend bakpak or remora instead of seaclone. check out the buyer reviews section on this site, im pretty sure there are some reviews on all three.

HTH good luck!
 
I'm going to use sand for my Goby to scoop through. I'm thinking about getting a 2-3 big pieces of Live Rock (they are from bottom to top and about 5inches wide on a 38) for the Angel. Here's the fish I'm thinking about:

2 Clowns(not sure what kind)
Orange-Spotted Goby(or maybe a Bicolor Blenny. Do they ever come out? There's one at work that never does, but maybe that's because of the traffic?)
Royal Gramma
Coral Beauty Dwarf Angel, or maybe a Domino Damsel if possible, not sure if he'd get too agressive when he matures.


As for filters, one of my co-workers uses the Penguin 330 and she suggests it strongly. Any opinons? I can get it for 20$. And, would I need 2 powerheads if even if I got one that does 295GPH?

Thanks.
 
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.

Whisper Power Filter 40

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.

:)
 
IMHO, do not attempt a DSB with sand sifting fish. A shallow live sand bed should be fine, since when the goby eats all the critters in it, it won't stagnate at the bottom.

DSB is a sump would be OK Though (as is my eventual plan)
 
For PH's I personally like the Aquaclears... very strong and reversable. Also has prefilters available which is a requirement because you will lose fish to an open ph imo. I have a seaclone and it is not the best... heck if you want it for $100 you can have it (it is the 150 and was somewhere in the area of $150 new a month ago).
 
Back
Top Bottom