New and in need of advice.

[anewfishguy]

First of all hello to everyone nice to be apart of the community i am looking forward to talking with all of you. I have always loved aquatic life and have had my 3 freshwater tanks running a while now. I am now ready to setup and cycle my first saltwater tank and would love some stocking advice for when it is done. The tank is a 40 gallon breeder I know it is recommended to start with something around 120+ for water stability, but for the time I need to keep it small do to space. I do like the Gold Sleeper Head Goby however the tank might be to small for a gobies my knowledge of saltwater species is not as good as freshwater so like I mentioned advice is welcome.

[hann1bal]

Welcome to reefing. I have a gold-headed sleeper Goby and they ROCK! I have a 75 gallon tank with a sump but a 40 breeder will be fine. Just make sure to add a semi-fine grain sandbed and rocks for him to burrow under. They sift the sand in their gills and have great personalities.

[Sk8r]

Good start, asking about size appropriateness for a desired species. Bravo.
The red-arrow sticky will give you a lot of info, too, on set-up.

[GimpyFin]

The gold head sleepers are cool. I have a banded sleeper in my small cube tank and he's great. They do like to sift sand regularly like hann1bal mentioned, so they may make a bit of a mess depending how you like your sand to look. Even though they eat normal foods, IMO, they're good to add after the tank/sandbed has been established for a while.

[spartacus1337]

Do you plan on using a sump/skimmer/fuge? Is the tank fish only with live rock or a mixed reef? There are many great beginner fish that have a lot of personality and color. Here are a few I've owned that I really love:

1. Any clownfish sans maroon (They are aggressive) I prefer ocelllaris clownfish and I've always bought a small pair because they tend to bond.
2. Flame Hawkfish: Beautiful coloration and hardy but can be a little pricey.
3. Royal Gramma: Another beautiful fish that has a tendency to hide. Best kept with active fish that may coax it out of hiding.
4. Firefish: Unique look and coloration. Very very good jumpers.
5. Starry Blenny: One of my favorite personalities in any fish I owned. I nicknamed mine "king grumpy cat" because he perched himself at the very top middle and would look down at all the other fish. He also looked like grumpy cat. Coloration is brown and white but man do they have a beautiful pattern.
6. Wrasses: There are many different wrasses to choose from. Some will grow too big for your aquarium, some are aggressive, some are extremely expensive, and some aren't reef safe. I've never seen one that didn't have personality, color, and activity however.

Fish that are easy but I would shy away from:
1. Cardinalfish: Hardy, small, and unique coloration but they just don't do anything but sit there. Had them and never really liked them.
2. Dottybacks: They can be really aggressive although they are beautiful and readily available I would shy away.
3. Anything that is not recommended for your tank size. (Tangs, rabbits, angels, triggers).
4. Damsels: Kill each other and fin nippers. I hate that there sold as peaceful aquarium fish at pet stores.
5. Chromis: Tend to see them in groups but in my experience you usually end up with a lot of dead chromis and one or two that are left.


I find temperament and prey drive to be a bigger issue in saltwater than when I kept freshwater. A lot of saltwater fish have little quirks (Jumpers, snail/CUC eaters, aggressive towards similar or different fish, fin nippers)If its your first aquarium I would stick to fish that are known to be peaceful to both other fish and corals or you will find that your stuck with a very specific setup.

[anewfishguy]

Thank you for the advice everyone it helps.

@spartacus1337 Yes I will have a sump, skimmer, and fuge, I also forgot to mention that for the tank I plan to add semi-fine sand.

@hann1bal Since it seems a Sleeper Goby will work I am almost certainly getting one.

I forgot to mention that I do want to add coral and maybe a fan worm or two in time but I do not want to rush considering this will be my first salt tank.

[Sk8r]

The big thing with coral is getting your lighting and water chemistry right: buy lights that are rated for corals! Water chemistry is easy if you have 3 or so test kits and corresponding additives: calcium addition beyond what the salt mix provides is necessary for stony coral, not hard to do. My sig line has the testing numbers that will grow stony hammer coral quite well. 'Softies' require you just to track the 'alkalinity' number and keep it in line. Luckily, adopting 'stony coral' numbers as the ideal of your tank will also keep your fish healthy and happy, too. Most salt mixes come in at these numbers: weekly 10% water changes supply what the fish and soft corals use up. Weekly tests keep everything in line.

[spartacus1337]

Great! Make sure you get a skimmer rated for more than your aquarium. For example, my 75 gallon uses a reef octopus 150 rated for twice my tank size.

If you think you will do corals try to stick to "Reef Safe" fish. If your interested in perching fish like the gold head look into both blennies (I adore the starry blenny) and flame hawks.

[Cliving1]

[QUOTE=spartacus1337;24653314]Great! Make sure you get a skimmer rated for more than your aquarium. For example, my 75 gallon uses a reef octopus 150 rated for twice my tank size.

+1 good advice. Always get your skimmer rated higher than your tank.

[CindyK]

[QUOTE=Cliving1;24653704]

Originally Posted by spartacus1337

Great! Make sure you get a skimmer rated for more than your aquarium. For example, my 75 gallon uses a reef octopus 150 rated for twice my tank size.

+1 good advice. Always get your skimmer rated higher than your tank.

How much higher?

[anewfishguy]

Originally Posted by spartacus1337

Great! Make sure you get a skimmer rated for more than your aquarium. For example, my 75 gallon uses a reef octopus 150 rated for twice my tank size.

If you think you will do corals try to stick to "Reef Safe" fish. If your interested in perching fish like the gold head look into both blennies (I adore the starry blenny) and flame hawks.

Alright ill do that tanks for the info

Also is there a recommended size of fuge for a 40 gal setup?

[spartacus1337]

Originally Posted by anewfishguy

Alright ill do that tanks for the info

Also is there a recommended size of fuge for a 40 gal setup?

Common thought is 30 % of your display. So for you probably at least 10 gallons. However if you have the room the bigger the better with a fuge. If you don't have room a fuge isn't necassary for non - pod eating fish(mandarins)

[DePinchGonze]

The biggest sump you can fit. That's the best size.

[anewfishguy]

Alright I have a 20 gal that should be able to fit under the tank stand. Since it is half the size of my display that should be good enough. For media I have a lot of options lava rock, fine sand, etc, (not a fan of the pricey bio balls and such but if it would keep the fish healthy I would be willing to make the investment) I use lava rock in my two largest freshwater tanks it works very well. Is there something that would work better for a salt tank though?

also @spartacus1337 I would love to keep a mandarin they are awesome fish but from what I hear they are for the advanced. Since I am just starting out I think I will hold of on one of them for a while.

[hann1bal]

Whatever substrate you decide on just make sure its grain size is no more than 4-5 mm (preferably under 4 even). Most sites and packaging will list the grain size.

[anewfishguy]

One thing to add is a question about what type/brand RO filter would be recommended?

[NAClFiSHy]

check out spectra pure and look for a refurb RODI.

[reef thief]

Welcome to reefing. You'll never leave. You can't. You think you do then you come back like you never left.

[anewfishguy]

I am sad to say that due to some recent events I will need to put my tank plans on hold for at least a few months. Thank you for the advice everyone, on the bright side I can use the time to study up and further my knowledge.

[ColoReefer970]

Originally Posted by CindyK

How much higher?

Double? ish

[CarrieB]

Slow is always better in reef tanks anyway.

For when you come back- lava rock is not recommended for reef tanks, because it can contain metals that leach into the water. Copper is deadly to invertebrates.


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[anewfishguy]

Thank you I will keep that in mind and research further as I currently use lava rock in my three freshwater tanks and have had no problems.

[Dkuhlmann]

Welcome to Reef Central!

In addition to all of the great advice you've been given, here is the link to Live Aquaria's saltwater fish. Pretty much anything you will want as far as fish goes will be here. It gives you a lot of information of each species as well as compatibility with other fish. It's not perfect but it's pretty close on suggested tank size for each as well as their full grown size along with water and feeding requirements.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/a...plies.cfm?c=15

Welcome again and do use the red arrow sticky for a guide in setting up your reef tank.