40 Gallon Breeder Tank

[aceer15]

Hey All,

First saltwater aquarium for me.

I decided to start out with a 40 Gallon Breeder. I have a Eshopps Sump set up to it, 40 lbs of live sand, CoraLife HO Lunar Aqua Light, CoraLife Super Skimmer 65, as well as an off-brand power head and heater.

Here's the COraLife Light

Sump with Skimmer

Daylights on the tank

Moonlight on in the tank

I'm planning on starting up by growing a few corals, and possibly having a few fish in there with them. Anyone have any suggestions about good fish and coral combos for beginners?

Any and all suggestions more than welcome!

 

[DSP]

Most soft corals are great for beginners,Xenia,green star polyps,zoanthids,mushrooms would all be a good choice for starting out.As far as fish imo clownfish are the best beginner fish and of course there awesome to

 

[Duffam3434]

As far as Coral/Fish Combos... In our Tank we have Thousands of $ worth of Coral mixed with a Pair of Extreme Snowflake Clowns.. Any Clowns will do as long as you dont mind them hosting some of your corals. But we also have a Diamond Goby for keeping the Sand clean. A Royal Gramma and a Spotted Mandarin.. With Hermits and a Cleaner Shrimp.. They get along perfectly with corals. Good Luck and Hope to See New Updates Soon!!!

 

[Kylecva]

Awesome tank i have a 25 gallon right now and I'm fixing to upgrade to a 40 breeder or 56 column. But I'm definitely following can't wait to see what you do!

 

[Mrfresh]

Nice I love the 40 breeder tank
I would say you should look at fish that will serve a purpose
Like a 6 line wrasse (small fish) will eat flat worms, (sometimes not all the time)


Just do a lot of research and see what kind of tank you like and what it takes to get ur tank there.


Mushrooms are great starter corals btw...

 

[jeffblly]

Nice tank. I have a zoanthids, lps and sps in my 40 breeder. For fish I have two clowns, midas blenny, two pajama cardinal fish, purple fire fish and yellow neon goby. All are model citizens. Look into getting a screen top for fish that are known jumpers.

 

[aceer15]

Thanks all for following!

I'll probably start out with a clown fish and maybe one other eye-catching fish I can pick out of my LFS.

Jeffblly-I currently have a glass top for future jumpers, as well as to keep my dog's hair out of the tank! He shed's like crazy.

As far as liverock setup goes, I'm thinking of have a cave, bridge, and deep reep to the tank; any thoughts or experienced tank designers here?
Want to have a wide array of living arrangements for all guests but keep it very appealing to the eye as well.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Welcome to R2R and great start!!

 

[Duffam3434]

Nice tank. I have a zoanthids, lps and sps in my 40 breeder. For fish I have two clowns, midas blenny, two pajama cardinal fish, purple fire fish and yellow neon goby. All are model citizens. Look into getting a screen top for fish that are known jumpers.

Yes a top is Important with some fish! I didn't have one until one night I heard a Slap sound behind the tank.. I got down with a flashlight, and there was our Diamond Goby on the cardboard behind the tank starring at me! He lived and we've had him for 4 Years since! But if I wasn't awake.. Wouldn't of ended to well for the little guy.

 

[aceer15]

Anyone have much experience with dog hair around tanks? Any ideas or things I should know aside from having a glass top for it?

 

[aceer15]

Put about about 20lbs of live rock in the tank today as well as 3 snails to keep everything clean.

Does anyone know of a heater that will fit in my sump and be able to heat my entire tank?
The heater I purchased is too tall even for my main tank, would really like something small that can sit in the sump.

Here's a shot of the 3 snails and new live rock setup for now, hoping to add more rock later

Another angle of the new scape

 

[aceer15]

Different version on the rock, thoughts?

 

[mykidsclownfish]

have you looking into an inline heater. it plumbs into your return line. mine is a hydor and i like it.

 

[aceer15]

I just picked up 2 50watt aqueon heaters that have a small profile. They seem to be holding the temperature right where I need it.

Also, I have a Coralife High Output T5 with moonlights on it. Trying to decide on a schedule for the 3 diff lights. Any suggestions?

 

[aceer15]

Where are y'all getting 3 prong timers for lights with 14 schedules a week? I'm having trouble finding these anywhere local. Any suggestions of cheap good working timers?

 

[aceer15]

Eventful day, put 3 damsel's in the aquarium to get the cycle started. Also, put a really cheap coral in there that'll be my first coral to grow on a coral rack I picked up for really cheap at my LFS.

Here's the layout of the tank at the moment.

Anyone know what kind of coral this is?

Frag rack and damsel

This little guy terrified for his life, hasn't left the safety of his rock.

How long should I wait before I place nicer coral and fish in the tank do y'all think?
-All the best

 

[Mrfresh]

Very nice I love the minimal look

 

[aceer15]

Thanks Mrfresh! I'm a big fan of minimalistic design and wanted to integrate it into the tank

 

[aceer15]

New Update on the tank. Added a little bit of live rock and re-worked the aquascape, re-positioned the coral (still unsure of the kind), took out the damsels and replaced them with chromis's and added 3 hermit crabs. Found a few hitchhiker's on the live rock; a small yellow sponge and a tiny starfish.

The new aquascape with added live rock

3 New Chromis-already 100% better than the damsel's

New Coral Position (anyone know what type of coral this is?)

Yellow Sponge Hitchhiker

And the Tiny Starfish hitchhiker (anyone know what kind it is?)

Comments and suggestions welcomed!
-All the best

 

[aceer15]

Haven't posted in a while. Tank has taken off lately and I've been meaning to add lots of pics. I'll get around to it soon enough.
Thought a pic of my 10 gallon at my work desk might tide over for a few more days. It's got 5 neon tetras, a betta, and a dragon goby.