Begginer`s questions...

[M.Minogue]

Hi to all!I`m new in marine aquariums so i have a few questions:I have a 40 gal tank with 3242gal/h powerhead,protein skimmer,156w t5 lights,17 kg of live rock and live sand.I`m wondering wich corals can go in this aquarium?Thank you!

[labnjab]

With that much light you can have any softie, any lps and several, but not all SPS. How long has the tank been running and what do you have as far as fish and inverts? I have the same lighting in my 29 gallon and I have a purple birdsnest thriving under it as well as a bubble tip anemone (along with various other sps, lps and softies)

[M.Minogue]

It has been runing for a month now.I dont have any animals exept the ones that came with live rock.Which lps can i keep in it and wich wish and inverts would you put in?I did a much thinking about that but i just can`t decide!

[labnjab]

For lps I would start with candy cane, trumpet, duncan, acans, favia or an open brain (needs to be on the sand). All are hardy and easy to care for. You could try a frogspawn or torch too, but keep in mind they have long sweeper tentacles and should be kept 6-8 inches from other coral. With any coral your going to want to keep your calcium above 400.

For fish I would try a pair of clowns, and maybe a firefish goby. Hawkfish make nice additions as well, but should be added last because they can be agressive. In a 40 gallon I wouldn't have more then 4 or 5 fish

[M.Minogue]

What would you put as a clean up crew?I like your fish selection but since i cant get the hawkfish would angelfish(little species) be good?

[labnjab]

I would start with 10 Blue legged hermits, 5 astrea snails, and a few turbo snails. You can add more as needed

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Ok, first of all, the lighting is fine for the corals mentioned, but the powerhead is not. That is far too powerful for all the LPS that have been recommended. Their tender polyps would be easily torn.

The very first thing you should do is get more live rock in there. Personally, I would add another 5kg of Live Rock. After that, you may want to look into a slightly less powerful powerhead. That powerhead is too much for that size tank. I wouldn't even put that on my 125 unless I was keeping SPS. My tank is dominated by LPS corals and with a pair of Koralia 3's in there, it is all I need, and it is all they can handle. I even had to move a few of them around to get them out of the flow. Most LPS corals are not high flow corals. They are not native to reef surge zones, rather they are native to lagoons where the flow is very low.

[M.Minogue]

I was going to ask if powerhead is too powerful.What would you recomend for this tank?Is 1351gal/h enough?Would 3242 gal/h be good for fish and some sps because i don`t think i can return it?

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Well, GPH doesn't tell you the whole story. Here's a post I made a few months back that may be helpful for you.
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[M.Minogue]

This is mine,SUN SUN JVP-202.Wich type is it?
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[labnjab]

Wow, I didn't notice how much flow you had. That looks similar to the koralias but I think 3642gph in a 40 gallon is way to much for just about anything, including fish only.

I'm running 2 Koralia 2's (1200 gph between the 2) and my return pump in my 29 gallon and it seems to be a little on the high side, but not too much but whith the positioning of my rock the LPS aren't getting blown around and the sps are getting plenty of flow.

If its a 40 gallon breeder I would recomended 2 Koralia 2's to start and that would give you room to add another if needed and still not have way too much flow. If you shop around you can get 2 for under $70 including shipping

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Again, Koralia 2's are going to be too much in that tank for the corals that have been recommended. Personally I would go with Koralia 1s or Koralia Nanos if you are planning to keep mostly LPS in the tank. I have 2 Koralia 3s in my 125 and I have a number of LPS. I had a Candy Cane in the middle of the tank that I had to move because the polyps were being damaged by the flow. That Candy Cane was just over 3 feet from both of those powerheads.

[coachfraley]

Sorry, but I think ILMGB and labnjab are right. When I first read your thread, I thought the 3642gph was a typo.

I researched your pump and I found one for sale. The guy had a 100g tank, and he was selling the pump because it was too strong.

Even if you did a bare bottom SPS tank, it might still be too much.

[M.Minogue]

WEich fish would you recomend for FOWLR?

[coachfraley]

My suggestion would be to stock the tank as if it were going to be a reef tank. Your lighting is good enough to keep coral, so I am sure that you will want to add some down the road. It would be a shame to stock the tank with FOWLR fish (that are not reef safe), then have those fish limit what you can do with the tank.

I would just look through the pictures of one of the online retailers like [Only Registered Users Can See Links.] Since this is your first SW tank, I would take at the SW beginners section. Just make sure the keep an eye on the suggested tank size for the fish and the level of aggressiveness.

Once you have some ideas, you could repost a stocking plan, and we could help you out with it.

You should also look and see what you can get a hold of locally. You can come up with any stocking plan you want, but if you can't find the fish, then it doesn't do you much good.

Good luck!

[M.Minogue]

I now i want a fuzzy dwarf lionfish.Wich fish would go with that fish?

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

I now i want a fuzzy dwarf lionfish.Wich fish would go with that fish?

With a 40gal tank, not much can be stocked with a Fuzzy Dwarf Lion. Lionfish are very messy eaters and are a high bioload fish. With just a 40gal tank you will have your hands full keeping the levels stable with that fish alone.