The Reef Tank banner

40 gallon reef...newbie setup

9K views 147 replies 9 participants last post by  hyperepicguy 
#1 · (Edited)
I am thinking about making a reef tank! I have been researching for almost a year, and want a reef tank. I know its hard, but with the right lighting, right nutrients, right bacteria, right filter, right tank, right skimmer, right sump, and the right flow and the right..... (etc. etc.) I can maintain a successful tank. I have made a list of easy fish fish, corals, and inverts that I like, and I need you to thin them out from your personal experiences. first, the invert list,
Hawaiian feather duster CAME FROM LR
Venus anemone shrimp
peppermint shrimp ADDED
brittle/serpent sea star ADDED
arrow crab ADDED
red legged hermit crab ADDED
banded trocheus snail ADDED

Now the fish list,
yellow clown goby ADDED
tailspot blenny
Coral beauty angelfish ADDED
Ocellaris clown pair ADDED
royal gramma basslet
yellow clown goby ADDED
Blue/green reef chromis
neon goby
panda goby


The coral list,
green stripe mushroom
cabbage leather ADDED
toadstool mushroom leather ADDED
fire and ice zoo/polyp ADDED
candy cane
Duncan
ricordea
doughnut
trumpet
green star polyps ADDED
Pom Pom Xenia ADDED
finger leather
button coral cynarina
maybe yellow polyps
so which ones do you like? which ones are complete and utter rubbish, a horrible idea for an aquarium?
 
See less See more
#86 ·
I have been watching my tests, and forgit to test for a few says. what i missed was the dropping of my ammonia from 2.0 ppm to 0.02 ppm. same with my nitrites, I went to the aquarium store to Use one of their MUCH more reliable and accurate, and for ammonia, the vial was totally clear! it read 0. my nitrite read 0, so that day, after dinner, I brought home 2 occelaris clownfish. My clownfish are happy, and look very healthy so far!
 
#92 ·
Hey! You haven't updated in a while :) glad your skimmer finally broke itself in. I just disassembled mine several times a few days ago because it was overflowing. Whew! Glad the forums are here. Finally figured it out after some investigation...

Yay! Additions are always fun. I hope you have the tools available to do a proper quarantine or if not maybe your LFS. If I remember right you have a 40 tall not long? If you decide on a dwarf angel, it should be one of the smallest ones and added last after your tank is mature. My Eibli is only 3-4" and she hangs out in the liverock all the time vs. my bicolor who swims more than my tangs... A cherub is pretty tiny. Invic has one in his 30, but it's the only fish in the tank. Having an angel kinda throws out having corals, though.
 
#97 ·
View attachment 114245 Heres a pic of my New Zoa! Plz ID (I think there r 2 types on this frag) The Aiptasia does look surprisingly similar to a Zoa...
The red and blue are fire and ice, I can't see the greens ones well enough. That colony looks GREAT! :)

Why do you feel like your bacteria are underfed? No NO3, is something some hobbyists are constantly after.
 
#98 ·
:) I was joking... nvrm. I got the colony for 40 bucks at my lfs. Was it worth it? Also, here's a better pic. maybe u can id the green. my lfs sticker said "pumpkin zoas" or something along those lines.
Marine invertebrates Organism Underwater Terrestrial plant Marine biology
 
#100 ·
So red & blue is normal fire and ice and the green Is a color morph? is that something rare and cool like a new species? or is it just temporary/will change back?
 
#104 ·
My bad, I was looking at the picture in the morning with my glasses off. I thought the green on the plug was another polyp of some sort. As for the green mouths on the polyps, Phane's right; they can color morph under different lights. I was under the impression that this happens because the different types of zooxanthella shift in amounts under certain lights. Phane would be the one to clarify though if this is true (I'm probably just crazy!), he understands a lot about LEDs and lighting.

As for the BTA, I wouldn't risk one until a setup was a year old at least. You'd also need to keep an eye on your angel and be prepared to catch it if it nips and your clowns don't host. My LFS went through 3 nems in their 300g system (they have a blue masked butterfly and passer's angel) by the fourth one, their maroon decided to move in. I've had extremely good luck with my clown-less LTA vs. my two dwarf angels and CCS. Go figure.
 
#106 ·
Just checked it out. As a warning, sinularia (cabbage leather) can negatively effect Euphylliids because they release chemicals (soft coral defense system instead of sweepers). At best, I would maybe get a GFO if possible, and if not, make sure you place the two specimens as far away from each other as possible so the LPS won't be bothered. I don't run a GFO on my tank, but I don't have a sump. So far my corals are separated but I've seen no amazing growth from my frogspawn :(

As for your stocking list, I would maybe stay away from the coral banded shrimp. They're good for bigger systems and maybe even predator reefs, but in small tanks they can be evil, to fish and shrimp alike. Phane can attest to that. I've kept myself from buying one even though I really like them. I have enough evil animals in my tank.

The Venus anemone shrimp might get attacked or kicked out of a BTA by the clowns if they decide they want to live in it. It would be really cool if you could get it to live in some euphyllia, but I would be really careful in trying to stock these two together. I've read somewhere that different symbionts will fight over a nem in captivity...
 
#110 ·
The sponges can become pesky (grow in your powerheads) but your angel will like them and should keep the population in check.

Elegance is a hard coral to keep and they can be aggressive. Helen lost a clam to one. Finding a specimen that's in good shape and getting it to stay happy is going to be the hurtle. If you want to search thread archives, there's a member on here (Elegance Coral) who knows everything elegance coral related and I'm sure there are plenty of posts you could find by him. I've read a few and they're worth it. I may be able to find the thread on Helen's Elegance Coral...

EDIT: Helen's Elegance Coral
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top