Stocking of a 40 gallon breeder

BenOB · Aug 15, 2017

Hello everyone! I am a noobie in the saltwater hobby, and this forum. I picked up a 40 gallon at the petco dollar per gallon sale. I finally convinced my mom to let it be saltwater. I have had 6 freshwater tanks in the past, and am ready for the new adventure. I have done a lot of research, and have familiarized myself with the basics of the hobby. I do need some help with stocking advice though. My tank will be a reef tank with pukani rock from BRS, with a hang on back skimmer and two powerheads. Sadly I can't do a sump because my stand is 4 different compartments, not just 1. I will cycle the tank and make sure it is safe for all livestock before stocking, just like freshwater. Now with the stocking. This is what I have come up with so far.

2 Ocellaris clowns
2 bangai cardinalfish
1 Coral beauty angelfish
1 yellow watchman goby with a pistol shrimp(I love their symbiotic relationship)
Any other fish suggestions are welcome, assuming my stocking is okay and not overstocked so far.

Cleanup crew wise, I was thinking this.
24 dwarf blue leg hermits(I've heard they are tiny)
2 emerald crabs
2 cleaner shrimp
5 astrea snails
5 nassarius snails

I also would like a clam. I was thinking of a squamosa clam. Not sure if Coral beauty's would pick the mantle like flame angels do.

Coral wise, I have no idea. There are a few corals I know I want, but that's it. I really want a frogspawn, some zoa's, green star polyps and possibly a bubble tip anenome.

Thank you everyone! Sorry for the long first post. Just wanted to get most of the details. As always, any and all suggestion and advice is welcome!

Daddy-o · Aug 15, 2017

Welcome Ben,
Your mom sounds pretty cool to let you do saltwater! My 13 year old son wanted a saltwater tank about 5 months ago so we got him a 29g bow front.( we currently have 3 freshwater and 4 salt) and I got hooked myself. Stay away from the Sea-Clown HOB skimmer. We picked up a Reef Octopus that is way better for half the price. What about lighting? And you can do a sump next to you main tank and use an "overflow box"
Cheers! Mark

BenOB · Aug 15, 2017

Thank you for the quick reply! I would need to relocate my stand to a different area of the house to do a sump. Could I do the sump behind the tank? I was going to use the reef octopus. Still 175 but it's worth it. As for lighting, I don't want to live in constant fear of metal halide burning my tank alive, so I was thinking of a quality LED. I really am not familiar with reef lighting, but I love Rose bubble tips, so putting in the extra money for a quality light would be worth it IMO. I am not exactly sure of the purpose of an overflow, or how it works. Will look into it. Thanks!