what else can i get?

[EELectric]

Thanks guys for the help earlier but what else would be good with a lionfish and snowflake eel in a 55gallon tank. Also is the excalibur skimmer a good skimmer? Thank you! Its the hang on 1.

 

[flatzboy]

I have a cpr bak-pak 2r with pre-filter and a bubble trap and it is great in my reef tank. I have never heard of an excalibur but I would go with something more known like an aquac remora ar the cpr bak-pak. The bak-pak skimmer sells for $130 and the remora I believe sells for $160-170. You can find these at www.liveaquaria.com or www.petsolutions.com. I would also look on ebay that is where I bought mine and it was brand new in the box with the pre-filter and bulbe trap for only $80. As for the fish my friend has the same setup you do a 55 gallon tank and he has a lionfish and a snowflake eel he also has a clown trigger my favorite, blueline grouper, some kind of puffer and his tank is full. I would get a clown trigger but they are very stupid fish, we went to feed him and we put some frozen food in and it kept running around trying to find it but it couldnt but overal I think it is a very cool fish.

 

[EELectric]

I really like this idea but how big is your friends trigger,eel,and lionfish. If you know can a clown go with this set up? i really like clowns. Thanks for your help!

 

[Hara]

imo, a 55 gallon tank is more than full with a snowflake and a lionfish alone....

 

[flatzboy]

eelectric, if you mean a clownfish I would not recomend it because lionfish, triggers, and even puffers are aqqressive eaters and there is a good chance the clown won't get enough food. Plus the clown needs to have some herbivour food like formula 2 flakes. His lionfish is about 5 in., clown trigger is 4 in, snowflkae eel is about 12 in., and his puffer is also about 4 in. With those fish his tank is overly full.

 

[EELectric]

What kind of puffer?

 

[Guest]

As for the fish my friend has the same setup you do a 55 gallon tank and he has a lionfish and a snowflake eel he also has a clown trigger my favorite, blueline grouper, some kind of puffer and his tank is full.

Full? More like overstocked. Tell your friend to do some reading, he is going to have some serious problems when those fish mature. If they even make it that far, and I know the water paramaters can't be to great either. I think an eel and a lion is plenty for a 55. I Wouldn't even add more unless you have a large sump for extra water / bio load.

 

[flatzboy]

Eelectric I am not sure what kind of puffer. Also six-line your absolutely wright I have told him that he needs to get rid of at least 2-3 fish but he insists that it is fine. What even makes it worse is that he is running a penguin bio-wheel for his filtration. Don't get me wrong beacause a penguin bio-wheel is a good little filter but I wouldn't use one on anything over 30 gallons without a protein skimmer.

 

[loganj]

Depending on what type of lionfish, you may eventually be overstocked with just the eel and the lion. If it's one of the dwarf lions, you could probably get by with it. If it's a Volitans, you'll likely need a larger tank in time.

 

[Guest]

Ok well its good to see at least you tried to help him. Sometimes the only way we learn is when things start dieing.. Oh well

 

[Overstocker]

The excaliber skimmer is used at my LFS on there small tanks. It definitely skims some crud out of their tanks.

 

[flatzboy]

To make my friend's situation worse his lion is a volitan!

 

[Hara]

My Volitans is 12 inches long, the snowflake eel is over 2 1/2 feet...the bioload they produce is tremendous. puffers and triggers are also quite messy in their habits. I cannot imagine how the load can possibly be kept at manageable levels as the fish grow older and larger.

 

[flatzboy]

Yes I am working on trying to get him to get a protein skimmer.