I want a Docile Tank But.......

[kizey420]

I want a Docile tank but I really wnat a Triggerfish, like real bad. Is there any way possible to make that happen? Are there any Triggerfish that are somewhat Docile? I am new to Saltwater, I just converted my Freshwater to Saltwater FOWLR. It is in the cycle phase right now. Any sugestions on list of fish would be great. I have a 55g with 35 pounds of LR and about 40 pounds of live sand. Is that enough LR? Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Thanks again
Chad

 

[cmor1701d]

First of all your tank is too small for a Triggerfish. Well maybe a Undulate Triggerfish, but its still an agresive fish. You need another tank, one aggresive and one community/reef. If your goal is a docile tank then a Triggerfish is not in your future, but you already knew that.

For biological filtration you need 1½ - 2 pounds of LR per gallon of tank capacity. You need to more than double the amount of rock you have unless you plan on running a wet/dry or cannister filter.

What other equipment do you have?
Sump?

What would you like to have in your tank in a year to two?

And.....

 

[kizey420]

Thanks cmor, Well for equipment I have a RENA Smart Filter 55 a protien Skimer that im picking up from my LFS, its a used one that he has in one of his display tanks, its a month old, and I also have a power head. Would that equipment be ok? Well my goal for my tank is to have colorfull docile fish with some sort of personality. Being that Im a beginer I dont want difficult fish that are sensitive. Any Ideas on stocking fish?

Thanks again
Chad

 

[roka64]

Welcome to the site!
I like to point folks here:
Saltwater Fish: Marine Aquarium Fish for Saltwater Aquariums
That way you can look and see what you like then post about your selections. Otherwise you will get bombarded with the many possibilities.

 

[lance]

There really is no gaurantee the safty of other fish. I would get 1 or 2 hardy fish and have plenty of hiding spots for them and add the trigger last. But with such a small tank you will get bored with only one fish , with so much variaty of fish and coral out there. Ill leave a link and look toward the bottom right for compatibilty chart.GL..

 

[kizey420]

Thanks a lot for the advice. Heres a pic of my cycling tank. I'm thinking of adding more LR.... Any Suggestions?

Thanks

 

[lance]

The thing with the trigger is it eats your CUC. Good water movement , skimmer , loose rock placement for better flow and controlled feeding. I would feed more often less amounts. This will limit uneatin food and excess fish waste. Then keep up with water changes and always test. A mixed reef with fish like chalk bass and a wrasse and this site has fish that no LFS will. Have fun with it.

Buy Fish Online: Buy Tropical Fish, WYSIWYG corals, clams and inverts online at the Divers Den

Looking good though.

 

[melosu58]

Some more LR is needed. Usually 1.5 to 2 lbs per gallon.

 

[cmor1701d]

The Rena is ok but not needed if you have enough LR and quality protein skimmer. You can then use the Rena for GAC, etc. when needed.
What make/model PS are you getting from the lfs? Can you post a pic of it.
What power head are you getting?

As for livestock, take Scott's advice and visit the liveaquari site. Look at the fish, check the tank size, temperment and other information and check their compatibility chart. Come up with a list of fish combinations you like and post those here for comment.

 

[kizey420]

Thanks everyone. I checked out LiveAquaria.com it was very helpfull. I some what have an idea of fish I would like to have, I will post a list later on today. As for the Protien Skimmer and Powerhead I will be picking that up this evening along with some more LR. I will post updated pics tonight.

Thanks again

 

[kizey420]

Ok so I went to my LFS and picked up 10 more pounds of LR so far, I now have 45 Pounds of LR. I also picked up a Koralia Powerhead 400 GPH. Is that a big enough size? The Protien Skimmer I will pick up next month when I am ready to start adding fish. I think he had said it was a oceanic Euro something or another Protien Skimmer. As for the list of fish I am thinking of, heres as follows: Auriga Butterflyfish; Blue/Green Chromis; Carpenter Flasher Wrasse; Firefish mated pair; Black & White Butterflyfish; Ocellaris Clownfish. Now I am not going to put all of them in there, it is just an idea of the type I am looking into. Any advice would be great! Thanks agiain for all of your advice. Here is the updated pic of my tank so far with the 10 pounds of LR I put in. Oh yeah and my tank is a 55G.

 

[lance]

You need about 3 K1's or 1200 GPH combined. And 1 LB per gallon of LR. Dont use all LR get some base rock , its cheaper and no worry about curing.The base rock will become live after some time.

 

[cmor1701d]

If you have 45 pounds of LR where is it? You said you put 10 pounds in the tank? It looks like you have all 45 pounds in there so I'll assume that was a typo. You still need to double the amount of rock you have in the tank. You can add another 50 pounds or so of base rock and it will become LR during the cycle.

You want 10x - 20x tank capacity in flow or about 550+ gph flow in the tank. You should add 1 more Koralia 1 and have them face each other from opposite sides of the tank to create a chaotic flow in the tank.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Personally... I'd take back the Koralia 1 (if possible) and get 2x Koralia 2's and put them at opposite ends of the tank.

The flow rating on the Koralia's is deceiving if you're comparing it to other powerheads. Because the flow is more dispersed, the speed of the water (which is what you're really after) is slower with the same gph rating of say a MaxiJet. For example, I'd say a Koralia 2 is equivalent to a Maxijet 900 even though the flow is something like 4x to 6x more.

 

[lance]

A circular motion is what you want. Facing each other just lowers there ability to circulate and reduces chances of low flow areas.

 

[ccCapt]

Personally... I'd take back the Koralia 1 (if possible) and get 2x Koralia 2's and put them at opposite ends of the tank.

I agree 100%. I have 1 Koralia 1 and it is weak. (I'm glad I only paid $10 for it )

A circular motion is what you want. Facing each other just lowers there ability to circulate and reduces chances of low flow areas.

I disagree. You want a random, chaotic flow. Pointing the ph's at each other from opposite sides of the tank will accomplish that.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

A circular motion is what you want. Facing each other just lowers there ability to circulate and reduces chances of low flow areas.

Circular flow is NOT want you want. You're guaranteed stagnant areas, and areas where debris will accumulate. With that said though... even with powerheads pointing at each other, you will still end up with some circular patterns. Only way around that would be to set up a wavemaker or something along that line.

You can have high and low flow areas with opposing powerheads.

 

[cmor1701d]

If you've been diving on a reef or seen one on TV you know that the water is anything but circular. The flow is come from all directions, which is why you see lps (hammer, frogspawn, galaxy ,etc.) waving in the currents.

 

[lance]

First quote and then link.

Describing the ideal flow

For lack of a better value, aquarists describe the amount of water motion in their reef aquariums in terms of turnover rate. If identical powerheads are placed at opposite ends of an aquarium but one powerhead is facing the center of the aquarium and the other powerhead is facing the aquarium glass, the powerhead which is directed towards the center of the aquarium will undoubtedly produce faster flow speeds and more circulation throughout the aquarium. Although the powerheads both have the same turnover rate their orientation to the main water mass has a great effect on the flow speeds they will produce. Since flow speed is the critical measure for determining the rate of gas exchange, turnover does little to convey how fast a coral will respire and photosynthesize


Advanced Aquarist's Online Magazine - Feature Article: Water Flow is More Important for Corals Than Light, Part V

I agree 100%. I have 1 Koralia 1 and it is weak. (I'm glad I only paid $10 for it )

I disagree. You want a random, chaotic flow. Pointing the ph's at each other from opposite sides of the tank will accomplish that.

 

[Christine22780]

There are different types of triggers... rom my experience with a Picaso, he decided to eat other fish, and one by one money and pretty fish gone down the drain.... I had to get rid of him..He was so pretty though.. I have a Niger Trigger now and hes with large fish and great, very shy and nice. They DO eat all your crabs, snails, etc.. I havent had any in yrs. b/c I liked the triggers....Now I am setting up another tank b/c of these LARGE fish and crab eating things I bought yrs ago!!