help?!? too many questions!

S

skiey

Always Confused.
i'm just starting to the marine hobby, and i have so many questions.

i have a 45 gallon tank, the heater, the hood with light, and a brand new Emperor 400. do i need a powerhead?

i plan on getting about 40 lbs. of LR.

for fish, i plan to have these after the tank has been well-established. i don't want to F this up, because i have found out this is a delicate hobby.
they are:
Dwarf Lionfish
yellow tang
flame angelfish
maybe a clown

and whatever tickles my fancy.

i realize i haven't typed many questions, but is this equipment setup somewhat satisfactory, considered i'm only 16 years old? any help is appreciated. i feel like the saltwater aquarium gods are saying, 'you are condemned to freshwater only.'
 
yess welcom. finaly someone my age im 17. yes a powerhead is a good idea. do u have a skimmer. a tang in a 45 gallon tank. thats a little small for a tang.
 
oh yea, ask way, someone around hear is bound to know and anwser for what ever question i love this forum
 
Kyle,you're a smart young man.

Like Kyle said,a couple good powerheads and a skimmer is something I would add to the list.Or as least get the powerheads now and consider a skimmer in the future.Although not totally necessary but very beneficial,add another 15lbs of live rock.Aim for at least 1-2lbs per gallon.Skip the yellow tang,they grow way too large for that size tank.One other thing,the biowheels on the Emperor can become nitrate/phosphate factory.If you go with over one pound of live rock then ditch the wheels.

Any other questions or suggestion,feel free to ask.....and welcome!
 
Freak is right on. A yellow tang cannot/should not be kept in a 45 gallon tank. Hell, even a 75 gallon tank is pushing the limits with those fish.

You definitely should get two powerheads, one in each corner. Saltwater tanks need a lot of flow.

If you want to get corals down the road, you will need to upgrade lights, as a standard fluorescent hood will not be sufficient to keep corals, anemones or clams alive.

I also agree to get 1 to 2 lbs per gallon of rock. That will serve as your main source of biological filtration.

Oh, and welcome!
 
Welcome to the reef.
Everybody else has your pretty well covered.Just take your time with it and you'll have an awesome tank before you know it.
 
i will be purchasing a powerhead relatively soon. i don't plan on having corals, it seems like too many things can go wrong.

okay, i won't get the yellow tang--any fish that would be an equivalent?

also, i take it the Emperor can handle the bioload without live rock? based on what i've been told here? i was thinking more filtration=more fish available to stock.
 
You will have to do very frequent water changes to avoid algae problems with a lion fish and little or no live rock, or a deep sand bed. You will also not be able to keep snails, hermit crabs and shrimp with the high nitrate levels you will have without live rock or a DSB. I would suggest you use at least some live rock and or a deep sand bed. You will definitely have a problem with excess nutrients for a short while after every time you clean your bio wheel as its functioning will decrease for a while after every cleaning. And that is if you just give it frequent light cleanings in salt water mix. If you clean it throughly or clean it in fresh water (both unadvised) you will go a week or more with nearly no biological filtration from the bio wheel. I have also seen Dwarf Lion Fish swallow fish as big as a clown fish before. With any Lion Fish it is best to get tank comanions bigger than their body size.
 
Last edited:
fatman said:
You will have to do very frequent water changes to avoid algae problems with a lion fish and little or no live rock, or a deep sand bed. You will also not be able to keep snails, hermit crabs and shrimp with the high nitrate levels you will have without live rock or a DSB. I would suggest you use at least some live rock and or a deep sand bed. You will definitely have a problem with excess nutrients for a short while after every time you clean your bio wheel as its functioning will decrease for a while after every cleaning. And that is if you just give it frequent light cleanings in salt water mix. If you clean it throughly or clean it in fresh water (both unadvised) you will go a week or more with nearly no biological filtration from the bio wheel. I have also seen Dwarf Lion Fish swallow fish as big as a clown fish before. With any Lion Fish it is best to get tank comanions bigger than their body size.
Click to expand...

yes! answers!
i was planning on weekly or even changing water twice a week. so live rock and live sand is definite; i guess no clown, because i would be seeing agression(living vicariously through fish is some great idea!). i have been told numerous times to never clean the bio-wheel, even after water changes, to keep the established bacteria actually there.
 
if i were you i would look in to dead rock it a hell of alot cheaper, but maybe a little more time comsuming. i actully bought some today
 
Skiey,

Just my two cents here. I started my tank with a biowheel system. I ran through (2) filters in less than two months. The saltwater ate the motor alive! I have been running an Eheim Ecco for a few months now with no problems at all.

Good luck..
 
messiah023 said:
Skiey,

Just my two cents here. I started my tank with a biowheel system. I ran through (2) filters in less than two months. The saltwater ate the motor alive! I have been running an Eheim Ecco for a few months now with no problems at all.

Good luck..
Click to expand...

was it the emperor 400? if so, maybe bad luck on your part. i've been told that the filter system that i have is the best one for the money. then again, i only have $100 or so sunk into the hobby so far b/c i was given the tank, heater and hood as an easter present.
 
The Emperor is not the best filter system you can get. Maybe for freshwater, but not for saltwater. The best type of filtration you can have in saltwater is a protein skimmer and 1 to 2 lbs of live rock per gallon of your tank. A protein skimmer would be much better than the Emperor, which has the potential to lead to water quality problems eventually because it will cause a build up of nitrates. If you haven't opened up the filter yet, you'd be better off returning it and getting a protein skimmer instead.
 
Yes Skiey, I agree with Biff.

I had about 30-40ppm (terrible) nitrates with the wheel system.
It came with my tank so I figured I would try it, but it really is more geared towards freshwater systems.

The biowheels tend to keep all the bad protein and waste along with the biological properties within the wheel. This is pushed right back into the tank as water passes through it.

I switched to the canister and now brought nitrates down to 10-20ppm (still not great). I will be adding a skimmer in the future, but for now, I am doing 20-25% water changes weekly to keep things in check.

The motors of the pump in the wheel system were exposed slightly to the water as well. This caused the shaft to freeze up when the salt crept into the motorwell. Like I said, I went through two of these things before I went with the canister. You could pick up an ecco online for cheap (100-200) range.

If you have the means, I would definitely go with the skimmer asap.

Good luck to you.
 
Take biffs advice, the best would be to get ur tank drilled and have a sump, but don't get a canister unless ur going to clean it once a week. I run carbon and a protein skimmer and I have 0 nitrates.
 
okay, i have taken heed of advice. the emperor is going back to the store, and i now have a new problem--which skimmer to buy? currently there is the sea clone skimmer, and the red sea prizm skimmer. they're both the same price, and i can only use store credit. i know, they're not the best, but for being cost effective--which one?
 
dont get the prizm i bought one and it sucked i would think the sea clone is a better design (if its the smae one im thinking of)
 
I've never used the prizm skimmer,but I do have a seaclone running on my 30.A lot of people will tell you that a seaclone is trash,but they will work.How ever,I think that the seaclone will be to small for your tank.
See if your LFS will order you a Corallife super skimmer 65 instead.
 

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