New 46 Gal Tank!

[mattdean]

After many, many years of Freshwater Tanks I am ready to take the plunge (pun intended) into a saltwater aquarium. Since day one, like most enthusiasts, this has been my true desire.

So, I have a 46 gal Bowed Front Tank, EHEIM Professional II canister filter, Turbofloater Multi Skimmer rated for 150 to 200 Gallons, a Sea Fan for circulation, 3 flourescents, 40 punds of sand and 50 pounds of live rock ( I was able to find some beautiful live rock with natural caves and lots of crevices and one piece already has some coraline and feather duster worms on it! ) giving me a net volume of 41.8 Gallons.

Now, I am a rather impatient person, fortunately, I am abroad for 3 weeks and was able to get the tank setup with the live rock before I left, hence, giving it time to cycle while I'm away. So the torture of waiting will be less, although I find myself wondering what is emerging from the rock

Before I left, I tested the water and everything was on the money.

I have read countless articles online, "Saltwater Aquariums for Dummies" cover to cover and spoken with a few people at the LFS.

So, you see I am not completely without some level of knowledge. However, my wife REALLY wants some coral for the beauty but I am not interested in doing a full fledged reef tank, I am all about the fish. Mind you, I have always aquascaped my tanks for the greatest visual effect. My plan is to stock my tank slowly, of course, with some inverts, etc. then fish. Which brings me to my questions :


My intention is to have as many inverts (crabs, love the shrimp - would like as many as is safe, and HOPEFULLY in time an urchin) then 6 small fish ( 2 clowns for sure) and 3 slightly larger show fish. I would very much like to have an anemone for the clowns. I am looking for suggestions on interesting - and fairly hardy - inverts, fish and corals that I can get the most out of my modest setup.

I will be extremely patient in my adding to the tank. No mistakes this time. Thanks for the input. Happy to be part of the community.

MATT

BTW, here is a pic of the tank when I left it

 

[Zer0]

Awesome tank. Your so lucky to have such a nice one. You set it up extremely nice as well. Cant wait until its stocked. Its going to look ten times better with livestock in there. If you dont mind me asking.. about how much did that all cost you?

 

[HN1]

Welcome to AA Matt!

The main thing that I should point out is that if you want an anemone and corals you will want to research their lighting needs. Most will need T5HO at the least and possibly Metal Halides. Lighting is often one of the most costly parts of a reef setup so be sure to look into your options. You're obviously doing your homework in other areas so I think it'll be a piece of cake for you.

 

[mattdean]

Hey HN1, thanks for the reply. Yes, I figured I might have to upgrade the lighting, but wanted to wait until I made a firm decidion on which corals I may go with. I only want 3 or 4 and mostly mushrooms and other easy soft corals. The anemone is going to be the biggest concern if, or when I try one.

Linksyz, thanks for the kudos. I already had the tank and EHIEM and lighting, but rplaced my glass cover and all the rest is new. It's already cost me around $1200, so if I add in what I already had, I'm probably looking at $1800 with at least another $500 to go! OUCH!

I can't wait to get it stocked. Over the next several months, I'll post some pics as things progress.

Cheers

 

[Zer0]

That is quite a bit of money.. but like you said.. if you stock it over the months then you wont notice it as much hahaha. Still, when i move out and get my own place i plan to have a 72gallon+ tank but its definitely got to be a bowfront. IMO, bowfronts look the nicest. I just like their design. Regardless, i love your tank and the way its setup. KUDOS!! lolol

 

[mdaniel2882]

How about a torch coral or a frogspawn to host the clowns. They don't move and sort of give the same look

 

[thominil]

mdaniel2882-It is not gaunteed that a clown will host the torch or frogspawn, or any other coral/anemone for that matter.

mattdean-Trust me, later on you will want to go full reef and well, lets just say you've got a "bit" more than $500 to go.

 

[mattdean]

Haha, thominil, that's what I'm afraid of!!

My biggest reason for not wanting to go reef is the reduction in the number of fish I can have. As I said, I am all about the fish! If I had a much bigger tank, then I would do it.

Linksyz, I was very tempted to get a 72 Gal Bowfront, but just couldn't justify the extra $1500 it would cost (Once I got the lighting, extra filters, etc). Besides, I really love the way the live rock looks in this tank. It just fit and laid out so nicely. I can already see how beautiful it's going to be when it's done.

 

[Zer0]

Oh no doubt, i love it the way it is right now as well, so i cant wait to see it when its all stocked up and lookin spiffy. Just make sure you take some pictures because i would want to see it when its done. But then again.. how can you define "done" in a SW tank

 

[mattdean]

I heard that! I was always tweaking my fresh water setups. However, I plan on leaving things the way they are once I get it settled. I don't want to mess with it too much.

I will definitely be taking pics as I go. I want to document the progress and changes.

Cheers