38 Gallon Reef

Take note op! You started with a 38G Can reef. Now you are in a 50G with a sump and refugium and LED lighting. Next thing you will have a room dedicated to tanks lol.

Id do what mightynano recommended. Get that all in 1 rimless - Innovative Marine's 50 gallon or something similar. Easy set up plug and play.

 

Okay thanks that helps a lot. And I think I am doing a 55 gallon now.

Can you please tell me some info at all on the refugium? Like how do I set it up? What should I put in it? What extra equipment is needed? Just baisically anything

Also, what protein skimmer would you reccomend?

 

Well you set a refugium in a partition in the sump, add a deep sand bed 4-6 inches or a shallow 1 inch as you like. Many people don't like deep as it is perceived to harbor detritus whereas others prefer it for supporting helpful anaerobic bacteria colonies which shallow may not have. The 1-4 inch is the danger area, giving you the worst of both deep and shallow. So mind it. You could use live sand if you like. On top of sand, keep live rocks, large or rubble, which is substantially cheaper, you could add some dead rock too, the live ones will eventually liven them. Add some chaetomorpha macroalgae to the side. It will grow up quickly eating nutrients and cleaning your tank. Get some good lighting for chaetos to speed up the process. That's your refugium.

 

Okay sounds gooddo you know of any good pre made ones that I could buy, that are not too expensive?

What skimmer would be good too? And what return pump?

 

Sorry I can't help you much on the pre-manufactured tank and equipment brands as I don't have an idea about the prices and brands available at your end, also I like to customize and DIY everything that can be customized. I could build my skimmer under 40 bucks. I'd prefer Eheim for the pump, and Aquamaxx, Reef Octopus are some of the brands I've heard are good for skimmers provided they fit your budget.

 

Do you guys think a UV Sterilizer would not be needed?

 

Not needed

 

Oh really? Would it be helpful? Or really not do too much extra.

Also I found this refugium kit called CaribSea A.R.K. kit. Do you know anything about it? It sounds pretty good, but I don't know too much.

Alsp what lights are reccomended that are not tok expensive. Is the LED Chinese Black Box going to be able to light the whole tank? Or will the ends be shaded.

I also found a Coralife Aqualight Dual T5 Lamp High Output Fixture. Is this a good light that will grow the corals good?....... And I found the Current USA Orbit Marine LED Aquarium Light. Is this light good, and will it grow the corals good?

Sorry about all the questions and changesI just want to make sure I have the best(within price range)equipment. And that I have good equipment that will lead to a succesful setup.

 

A.R.K. Kit seems good to me, but I'd say you can also do without some of the constituents, it is meant more for the display tank than the sump, and also you're not keeping delicate fishes such as mandarin.

I myself don't believe in bacteria, algae additives until I've read enough independent positive reviews or scientific studies have been conducted proving the particular brand beneficial. Google out for reviews regarding this product. Sometimes the additives may prove to be waste of money.

Just properly cycle the tank for a month or so with fish food, the live rock will help. It'll also liven up dead rock and sand. Keep some in sump and display tank both.

The entire kit may cost you more unnecessarily. My suggestion is to use your money to buy something you'll use completely or you could get individual components from the kit as per your need. Just check the price difference you'll get as individual items usually cost more than the bundle.

No idea about the lighting.

 

Okay thanks.

 

Hello everyone,
I am setting up a saltwater tank. It is going to be 38 gallons, and will be a reef tank. I have stock for corals, and fish, and was hoping everyone could look it over and tell me if everything is compatible, peaceful, good amounts/stock numbers, and just good overall. I also listed the equipment I will be using, and would appreciate if everyone could tell me if it was good, and adequete. Thanks.

The equipment I will have is:
- 38 gallon tank
- Fluval 206 canister filter
- Coralife Turbo-Twist 3x UV sterilizer
- Coralife 6,700k daylight light
- Live Sand
- Live or Dry rock
- Heater
Is that everything I would need? Also is that good equipement and everything? What about a protien skimmer, is it necessary?

The fish I was thinking are:
- 2 Ocellaris Clownfish
- 3 Blue Green Chromis
- 1 BanggaI Cardinal
- 1 Firefish
- 1 Bi-Color Blenny
- 1 "Centerpiece" fish
- Clean up crew
Does that all sounds good? Will all the fish get along, and be peaceful together? What centerpiece fish is good? Also is that an appropriate stocking for my equipment and tank size?

The clean up crew I was thinking is:
- 9 Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit Crabs
- 6 Dwarf Yellow Tip Hermit Crabs
- 2 Scarlet Reef Hermit Crabs
- 3 Mexican Turbo Snails
- 3 Margarita Snails
- 1 Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
Does this sound good? Too big? Too small?

The Coral I was thinking are:
- WWC Firefly Pavona
- WWC Cactus Pavona
- LA Lakers Scroll
- WWC Honeycomb Leptastrea
- Green Star Polyp
- War Coral
- Pink Polyp Montipora Cap
- Duncanopsammia
- Cat Eye Zoanthids
- Candy Cane Coral
- Indonesian Zoanthids
- Pom-Pom Xenia
- Zoanthid Frag(s)
- Acropora Frag

All the coral would be ordered from World Wide Corals. Do they all sound pretty good?

Please everyone tell me your thoughts on everything such as the stocking for everything, and the equipment. Will all the fish be peaceful?

I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks.

- Jack

I'd say you are slightly overstocked. Also a great cleanup crew member is the lawn mower blenny

 

The equipment I have is:
- 38 gallon tank
- Aqueon quietflow 30 LED PRO
- Coralife LED seascape light
- Live Sand
- Live and Dry rock
- 150 watt submersible heater
- 2 Aquatop MaxFlow MCP-1 circulation pump (660 gph each)
- undersink RO system
Is that everything I would need? Also is that good equipement and everything? What about a protien skimmer, is it necessary?

The fish I was thinking are:
- Ocellaris Clownfish how many could i have with all the others? 4?
- 3 Blue Chromis
- 3 BanggaI Cardinal
- 1 Orchid Dottyback
- 1 Yellow Watchman Goby
- 1 Blenny (have not picked which one yet)
- 1 Anemone maybe 2 if i can have more then 2 clownfish
- Clean up crew
Does that all sounds good? Will all the fish get along, and be peaceful together? What centerpiece fish is good? Also is that an appropriate stocking for my equipment and tank size? plan on starting with 2 clown fish what order after that?

The clean up crew I was thinking is:
- 1 Serpent Star
- 5 Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit Crabs
- 5 Scarlet Reef Hermit Crabs
- 1 pincushion or tuxedo urchin
- 3 banded trochus snails
- 1 Shrimp not sure which one yet
Does this sound good? Too big? Too small?

The Coral I was thinking are:
- Ricordea
- Hammer Coral
- Pavona Coral
- Duncan Coral
- Zoanthids (on an island)
- Pulsing Xenid (on an island)
-maybe others still doing research
- recommendations on what to put in first would be good

I have the tank set up with rocks and saltwater I added some live rock and instant ocean bio-spira in preparation for adding fish (hopefully in the next few days) my live rock came with tiny blue hermit crab and chocolate chip sea star. i plan on returning sea star tomorrow.

this will be my first saltwater tank any advice would be welcome

 

Starfish in general are too big for that tank. So Serpent Star would be out. 'Nems of any kind can work but generally require very bright light and well established tanks to do well, so you would need more along the lines of a solid coral grow light for one (Corallife has decent T5HO fixtures but their LED lights aren't good for much beyond Fish Only). If you are on a budget a Viparspectra aka Black Box LED would be a good choice: https://www.amazon.com/VIPARSPECTRA...rspectra+165+watt+light&qid=1618964592&sr=8-5

Stocking. WAY TOO HEAVY for a saltwater tank. You can't pack fish in the way you do with Freshwater. For HOB you would be looking at about 5 fish max for that tank if you don't want a maintenance nightmare. I would personally skip the Chromis. Many come with Uronema disease these days and they tend to pick each other off in captivity. For Blennies I would go with a Tailspot. Others might have issues with the Yellow Watchman Goby since they offer the same space.

 

ok more research

 

Once again the Chromis will likely pick each other off and many ship with disease. The folks who have the best luck with any Chromis long term generally have 6 foot long or longer tanks and have schools of 10-15 of them. Think of Chromis kind of like keeping large scale Tetras. Skip them for your tank. Orchid Dottybacks are the best behaved of the Dottybacks but can still be hit and miss. It's also really easy for suppliers to get them mixed up with Purple Dottybacks (with disasterous results). I would look at a Royal Gramma Basslet or Black Cap Basslet if you want a similar look but a better community fish in general.

The rest of the list looks good but I would definitely upgrade your light if you are going to do a 'nem and corals. The Clownfish should be fine mixing different Ocellaris varieties, just introduce them at the same time for the best odds of success.

 

did more reasurch would this work
- 2 Ocellaris Clownfish
- 1 Sharknose Goby
- 1 Royal Gramma Basslet
- 1 Yellow Watchman Goby
- 1 shrimp goby and srimp
- 1 Anemone
can i have that many gobys in a 38?

 

Possibly, but you still have too many fish for that tank. That is a super heavy bioload for a tank with an HOB Filter that is on the smaller side for that tank. Skip the Shrimp Goby and the Sharknose (there might be territorial issues with multiple bottom dwelling gobies) and go with the Yellow Watchman Goby and pair it with a pistol shrimp.

 

so:
- 2 Ocellaris Clownfish
- 1 Royal Gramma Basslet
- 1 Yellow Watchman Goby
- 1 pistol shrimp
- 1 Anemone

The clean up crew I was thinking is:
- 5 Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit Crabs
- 2 Scarlet Reef Hermit Crabs
- 1 pincushion or tuxedo urchin
- 3 banded trochus snails
- 1 pistol shrimp
is this too much, will i want more or will that be good? i heard that hermit crabs and snails need to be replaced periodically how do you know if you need to get more?

The Coral I was thinking are:
- Ricordea
- Hammer Coral
- Pavona Coral
- Duncan Coral
- Zoanthids (on an island)
- Pulsing Xenid (on an island)
-maybe others still doing research
- recommendations on what to put in first would be good?
I was thinking waiting a few months with FOWLR and add the Anemone (bubble tip?) let it find a spot then start adding coral. is that a good plan or should i add coral first?

 

what size filter would you recommend?

 

I would go with a 50 gallon or larger rated HOB (ie Fluval/Aquaclear 50 or Seachem Tidal 55). I think your plan to wait and add a 'nem first is a good one. It will give it a chance to settle first. Be aware though they go where they want, when they want and there is no guarantee they will stay put even after they pick out a place for a while.

As for the clean up crew, you want to get as close as possible to 1 per gallon of tank (or at least 1 per 2 gallons of tank). You will definitely need to replace them every so often. Hermits will periodically pick off snails even if you leave extra shells in the tank so just plan for it. Your list looks pretty good for corals but be aware that there are 2 types major types of Hammer Corals (Wall and Branching), you definitely want to avoid Wall Hammers as they are a lot more finnicky and not newbie friendly at all. Branching Hammers are pretty hardy if you keep your water a bit dirty (ie Nitrates in the 10-20ppm range). Also be aware that Hammer Corals will sting their neighbors, so give them some space.

 

so i ordered a Seachem Tidal 55 filter
and upgraded my lights to Current USA Orbit Marine IC LED Reef Aquarium Light | 24 Hour IR Lighting & Wave Pump Control | Adjustable Color Spectrum

- 2 Ocellaris Clownfish
- 1 Royal Gramma Basslet
- 1 Sharknose Goby (maybe)
- 1 Blenny (maybe, have not picked which one yet)
- 1 Yellow Watchman Goby
- 1 Anemone

The clean up crew I was thinking is:
- 6 Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit Crabs
- 2 Scarlet Reef Hermit Crabs
- 1 pincushion or tuxedo urchin
- 5 turbo snails
- 1 pistol shrimp

The Coral I was thinking are:
- Ricordea
- Pavona Coral
- Duncan Coral
- Zoanthids (on an island)
- Pulsing Xenid (on an island)
maybe others still doing research not doing hammers anymore 1 stinging thing is enough for now

 

Not a fan of Current USA lights for reef tanks, but the IC Pro should do okay for the corals that you want (although you may not like the look of the tank as they tend to have a weak washed out look). Definitely won't be doing SPS Corals with that light though and Coral Growth will be modest at best on Softies and LPS. Not sure how it will do with the 'Nem. This guy would be a much better choice for a coral grow light on that tank as it would have full coverage for a 3 foot long tank: https://www.amazon.com/VIPARSPECTRA...s=Viparspectra+300+watt&qid=1619524318&sr=8-6


Be aware that any coral in that tank will have to be well glued down as urchins are known to bulldoze them and Tuxedos are prone to running off with Zoanthid Corals. Remember that 'Nems go where they want and not where you want, so be aware of that. Also wait until the tank is well established before adding one.

You will need more snails and hermit crabs to keep up with your tank than what your list has. Needs to be at least 1 per 2 gallons of tank and ideally as close as possible to 1 per gallon of tank. Trochus Snails are wonderful all around cleaners and unlike the Turbos they can flip themselves over.