New 40G SW

Question
QUESTION: Hello, I'm planning setting up a 40 gallon SW tank in the future. I'm pretty sure that all of my fish ( that I plan on adding)wouldn't have any aggression problems with each other, I just want to make sure that the bioload wouldn't be too much. I plan on having a protein skimmer, uv sterilizer ( which may be for 30 gallon aquariums# and 2 fliters which should have a total gph of around 295. The fish I plan to add are
1 common clownfish
1 pajama cardinal

1 yellow watchman goby
1 firefish
3 green chromis
Either 1 chalk basslett or 1 royal gramma
3 peppermint shrimp

I want to have as many different fish # including inverts) in the tank as possible without creating a large bioload so if I can add anything else please tell me. Also please recommend any fish that you would think do better in this tank than the ones currently listed. THank you for answering my questions


40 Gallon Coral Breede   ANSWER: Hi Nick,

It's a pleasure to meet you and welcome to the awesome world of saltwater fish and coral keeping.

You are starting off in the hobby the right way, by researching the various types of fish that you'd like to keep first.

Regarding the amount of fish you wish to keep, and the description of the aquarium and filtration you described, it sounds like it should definitely accommodate the set-up you want. Your bioload should be fine, especially since you are going to run a protein skimmer. This along with doing your regular aquarium maintenance chores which includes water changes will yield great aquarium keeping results.

Some other fish and inverts you may think about for a forty gallon nano aquarium may include the following below. Keep in mind some of these fish may out grow your aquarium within a couple of years, but by then you may be ready to go bigger.

Basslet
Anthias
Dwarf Angels (use caution some can nip at corals)
smaller Batfish
Blennies
Dartfish
Dragonets (expert level)
Saltwater Betta (Grouper Family)
Jawfish
Dottybacks
smaller Yellow Tang
Wrasses
Scarlet Skunk Shrimp
Blue legged hermit crabs
Turbo snails
Astrea snails
Red legged hermit crabs
BTA also known as a Bubble Tip Anemone (this may make for a nice display with a clownfish)

If you are thinking about corals, we offer some nice aqua-cultured corals. What's good about purchasing Aqua-Cultured fish and corals is the fact that they are typically disease and parasite free, and hardier due to the animals already being well adjusted to life in captivity. Also purchasing Aqua-Cultured animals helps to take the demand off of wild-caught specimens, which in turn helps to preserve our worlds natural coral reefs for generations to come.

http://www.ocreef.com/live_corals

Best Regards,
Dave

All Experts - Editor

Orange County Reef Aquatics - Director











---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the great answers. Now I'm considering adding a coral beauty anglefish to the tank as well. My only concerns with that is if it would possibly eat the peppermint shrimp. Also I want to make sure there wouldn't be any aggression problems with any fish in the tank the basslets in particular. I will have a bit of live rock in the tank ( probally around 10 pounds) and other rock that I have leftover from my FW tank. So now the setup will look like this

1 common clownfish

1 yellow watchman goby
1 firefish
1 pajama cardinal
2 green chromis
1 chalk or royal gramma basslet
1 coral beauty angle
3 peppermint shrimp

Again a huge concern of mine would be the bioload. My filters will most likly only have sponges, creamic rings, and other stuff like that in them since I don't have room for a quaratine tank. I just don't want water quality to be a huge factor as I will be able to check and manage salinity daily but have to frequently deal with ammonia and the other levels would take up a lot of my free time. I am open to adding a third filter as one of my FW actually has 3 filters on it. Once again please tell me what you think of the whole bioload situation and fish compatibility. Thanks a ton for all of the help that you have given, it has really made this a whole lot easier.

Answer

Coral Beauty AngelFish   Hi Nick,

Your bio-load should be fine, however I would run carbon or some other nitrate adsorbing media in one of your filters. Another great filter media other than carbon would be chemi-pure. See the following link below:

http://www.ocreef.com/chemi-pure_10_oz_by_boyd_enterprises?category_id=54

After your water has fully matured, which can typically take up to three weeks or more, (unless you have used a starter culture of beneficial bacteria to help speed up this process)... you will be ready to add your first couple of fish. After monitoring them to make sure they are doing well, you may then proceed to add the remainder of your fish. For an example of beneficial starter bacteria, see the link below:

http://www.ocreef.com/starter_cycle_bacteria

Regarding a coral beauty angelfish, your peppermint shrimp should be fine provided you feed your coral beauty sufficiently with a variety of foods, including quality meaty foods. Below is some information on them.

Scientific Name: (Centropyge bispinosa)

Common Name:  Coral Beauty Angelfish

Very common on the Great Barrier Reef, the Coral Beauty Angelfish is also known as the Twospined or Dusky Angelfish. The body and head are a deep royal blue, highlighted with an iridescent orange to yellow. The Coral Beauty Angelfish is one of the easiest angels to care for.
It requires a 30 gallon or larger tank with lots of hiding places and live rock for grazing. Not a good reef dweller, the Coral Beauty Angelfish is prone to nip at stony and soft corals (sessile invertebrates).

The diet of the Coral Beauty Angelfish should consist of Spirulina, marine algae, high-quality angelfish preparations, mysis or frozen shrimp, and other quality meaty foods.

Take Care.

Regards,
David

All Experts - Editor

OCReef.com - Director