[AVIVA]

Hi all,

I am new to saltwater keeping, however, I have been keeping African Cichlids for some time successfully and have now been bitten by the bug to try SW. I have a 42 gallon oceanic hex tank, I know not ideal that I would like to start out with. I have it running with an Emperor 280 filter and a powersweep 240 in the bottom corner. All other supplies and modifications have come from recommendations from this forum, acitinic light, sand bed etc. I have completed the cycling process and I am ready for some fish.

My question is this, I would like to get two percula clowns, a crab and skunk shrimp for cleaning, what would you recommend for other fish, total number etc. This will be a fish only tank.

This tank was running for over a year with africans, the sand bed was well established, however, I did go through a mini cycle. I am in the process of a DIY modification of my Emperor 280, I found an article online that shows you how to modify the media basket by inserting a small air stone and filling it with Kent's Nitrate sponge media. The trick to accomplishing this feat, is aeration of the customizable media trays. Creating a 'reverse action', mini-sized, wet/dry trickle filter!

How?

Instead of the standard wet/dry filter method of water trickling and splashing DOWN over (dry) rock media - air is pumped and bubbled UP inside the media trays through the (wet) rock matrix media of the fully Optimized filter! I will let you know how it goes.

Thanks in advance.

[Poseidon]

First off: WELCOME TO REEFLAND!!!

You did use a fresh sand bed right? I wouldn't want to start a new tank with over a years worth of waste from FRESHWATER... I could be wrong, but it sounds like a bad idea. Also what are your plans for a skimmer? With a hex tank you have a limited amount of surface area, so that limits your livestock options. As far as fish, I would AVOID: Tangs, triggers, Wrasses, and groupers. They are the obvious ones that will outgrow the tank very fast. Things to try are gobies, clowns, damsles (Green Chromis are very nice), firefish, things that tend to NOT be fast swimmers. Maybe a dwarf angel, like a Coral Beauty. Depends on what type of reef you want, some angels are known polyp nippers others are FAIRLY reef safe.

If you put enough live rock and a good skimmer you won't need that emperor filter. For the mod you are describing I think you will end up with a lot of micro bubbles in the tank. Remember PATIENCE is the key here, you can't rush Mother Nature!

[AVIVA]

I emptied the tank and cleaned the sand bed, removed about 1/3 of the sand from the tank, and then mixed it with a new 20lb bag of live sand.

[ClintoninCali]

I would have changed the sand altogether. The freshwater nitrifying bacteria is completely different from saltwater bacteria and will die and slough off of the sand that you had previously to decay. But what's done is done! )


I would definately introduce fish slowly. I usually tell my customers that one smaller-sized fish per ten gallons in a fish-only tank. That's also assuming that they have the recommended 7-10 times the amount of tank volume per hour of filtration. You are almost there with that 280 so I would keep it small. My first saltwater tank was a 30 gallon and I had 3 fish (coral beauty, lion fish, damsel)and an eel in it and that was too much for that little tank. I was also turning the tank over more than 10 times per hour.

Oh, and what Posiedon said too...

[Poseidon]

Originally Posted by ClintoninCali

Oh, and what Posiedon said too...

Is it SAnD? or a fine gravel? It is almost impossible to wash sand without washing it all away.... If you start to have problems (not saying you will) I would change out all the sand with new as my first step.

[AVIVA]

It is aragonite and some fine gravel mix. I checked with a reputable LFS here and they said it should be fine. Should I replace it now?It looks like it is in good shape. As for filtration between the PowerSweep with 190 GPH and the Emperor at 280 I figure I am turning about 11 times per hour.

So if my plan included two percula clowns, an eibli angel, a firefish goby, a scarlet shrimp, a hermit crab, would I be at maximum? Good plan, any changes. thanks for all the help. I will post pictures once I get everything finalized. And I will definitely move slowly.

[ClintoninCali]

Yeah I'd say that's about right on the filtration then... good job. That amount of bio-load sounds good too. For sure post some pics when you can. This forum eats that stuff up.

[AVIVA]

Thanks for the reply. Could I do a red firefish and a purple one? Two clowns and a dwarf angel? Or would you recommend something different.

[ClintoninCali]

Sounds good to me. Watch the firefish together. We stuck two of different species in the same tank at the store and they stressed each other out so much they both died. I haven't heard of that happening before but it did that time. I guess anytime you get a fish watch their behavior as far as getting along with tank-mates. But you had cichlids before so you should be a pro by now.

[AVIVA]

That is why I am in the mood for a peaceful SW tank. My africans are a "vibrant" bunch. Poseidon is the king of the tank, he is an ice blue zebra. Any other suggestions other than the firefish or royal gramma?

[Poseidon]

Make sure to get a good lid or something TALL around the sides of your tank, the Firefish are notorious jumpers...

[ClintoninCali]

Your LFS oughta help you out with some good community tank fish that would be suitable to a smaller setup like yours. A small tang would be good maybe, pseudchromis are small and come in a few paint jobs. They are a feisty little guys but they wouldn't bother a few clowns and a dwarf angel. If you just want the tank to look alive inverts are the way to go. Get some good rock work and then put a small sally lightfoot crab and some smaller shrimp like peppermint shrimp in there. Inverts don't produce much waste so the bio-load won't be AS affected by having a few of them in there.

BTW. I don't mean to sound rude when I call your setup "smaller". I myself have a 3/4 gallon sitting on my desk with a fireshrimp, a brittle starfish and a few soft corals in it. But that is another forum I believe.

[percman]

here are some shots of some hex tanks thought you'd like to see and some pics of fish that i like and would work well in you system

[AVIVA]

Awesome, thanks.