Looking for help with selecting a tank

[Ordie23]

What are your setup suggestions for a space that is 45"×36"?

 

[TX_REEF]

What's your budget and inhabitant desires? Without more info, I'd recommend a 40 gallon breeder tank. Great, simple dimensions and lots of surface area, very affordable as well.

 

[Ordie23]

What's your budget and inhabitant desires? Without more info, I'd recommend a 40 gallon breeder tank. Great, simple dimensions and lots of surface area, very affordable as well.

2000-3000 is my budget. Not buying asap just want to get my list of what I need so I can properly save and start. I don't want any whammies when I get going. I would like to have coral and of course some beautiful reef safe fish to go inside.

 

[TX_REEF]

Type of fish is an important consideration for tank size, that's why I ask.

 

[Ordie23]

Type of fish is an important consideration for tank size, that's why I ask.

I have read that. Don't know if waiting to decide on fish till after I get a tank of pick fish type I like then get tank. I am completely new to this. I just love the look of reef tanks and fish so decided why not have my own.

 

[TX_REEF]

I'd definitely recommend you decide which fish are "must haves" for you before you decide which tank size to go with. Putting a fish that grows too big in a tank that's too small is a guaranteed recipe for disaster sooner or later. I'd start with making your "must have" fish list and go from there!

 

[Ordie23]

I'd definitely recommend you decide which fish are "must haves" for you before you decide which tank size to go with. Putting a fish that grows too big in a tank that's too small is a guaranteed recipe for disaster sooner or later. I'd start with making your "must have" fish list and go from there!

Thank you I will get started on that with my wife. She is the boss and has final say lol

 

[TX_REEF]

Good deal - I don't mean to give you such an evasive answer, I've just seen too many cases for folks who buy a small tank 10-20 gallons then think they can stuff it with a pair of clowns, tang, etc... better to decide first so you don't make forced bad decisions with fish later.

 

[vabben]

Think of the inhabitants you want to keep and build off your budget. Don't forget the necessities of running a reef tank, RODI, mixing station, test kits, QT (if you plan to QT). Do you have a LFS in your area? Checking out their tanks and chatting with them can help.

The budget can get blown out real quick even on small tanks.

 

[Ordie23]

Good deal - I don't mean to give you such an evasive answer, I've just seen too many cases for folks who buy a small tank 10-20 gallons then think they can stuff it with a pair of clowns, tang, etc... better to decide first so you don't make forced bad decisions with fish later.

No worries understandable. During my dive down the rabbit hole of learning I did read that 1" of fish to 10 gal of water. Not sure if that is correct or not but that is what I know currently. Now what I don't know is if that also applies to the coral and to the clean up crew as well.

 

[TX_REEF]

No worries understandable. During my dive down the rabbit hole of learning I did read that 1" of fish to 10 gal of water. Not sure if that is correct or not but that is what I know currently. Now what I don't know is if that also applies to the coral and to the clean up crew as well.

I really don't subscribe to the inches of fish per gallon rule, I find that unrealistically restrictive. It's more about knowing what the fish needs space wise based not only on how large it will grow, but also its mannerisms. For example, an occelaris clownfish may grow to 4-5 inches eventually, but you certainly can have more than a single clownfish in a 40-50 gallon tank, especially because clowns tend to pick a spot they like and hang there. On the flip side, a yellow tang or tomini tang may only grow to 6 inches, but will certainly require every bit of a 60+ gallon tank as they are active swimmers. Even in the second case, a 60 gallon tank would not (in my opinion and experience) be considered "full of fish" with only a single tomini or yellow tang, because you can fill it out with other types of less active and smaller fish.

With corals and cleanup crew ("CUC"), there is no limit on how much you can have in x size tank. For corals, the limitation is how able you are to keep the water parameters stable and ideal. In this case, a larger tank is "easier" because changes in water chemistry due to mistakes or consumption by coral growth will happen more slowly. Catastrophic problems for corals can happen very quickly in a small tank if you aren't on top of things.

For CUC, it's more about only having what you need. Too many snails, crabs or shrimp will die due to lack of food, you only need so many cleaners.

 

[Ordie23]

Think of the inhabitants you want to keep and build off your budget. Don't forget the necessities of running a reef tank, RODI, mixing station, test kits, QT (if you plan to QT). Do you have a LFS in your area? Checking out their tanks and chatting with them can help.

The budget can get blown out real quick even on small tanks.

@TFX_Reef has already got me on that path and I am no stranger to hobbies that can blow the budgets. Paintball heck of a drug lol

 

[Ordie23]

I really don't subscribe to the inches of fish per gallon rule, I find that unrealistically restrictive. It's more about knowing what the fish needs space wise based not only on how large it will grow, but also its mannerisms. For example, an occelaris clownfish may grow to 4-5 inches eventually, but you certainly can have more than a single clownfish in a 40-50 gallon tank, especially because clowns tend to pick a spot they like and hang there. On the flip side, a yellow tang or tomini tang may only grow to 6 inches, but will certainly require every bit of a 60+ gallon tank as they are active swimmers. Even in the second case, a 60 gallon tank would not (in my opinion and experience) be considered "full of fish" with only a single tomini or yellow tang, because you can fill it out with other types of less active and smaller fish.

With corals and cleanup crew ("CUC"), there is no limit on how much you can have in x size tank. For corals, the limitation is how able you are to keep the water parameters stable and ideal. In this case, a larger tank is "easier" because changes in water chemistry due to mistakes or consumption by coral growth will happen more slowly. Catastrophic problems for corals can happen very quickly in a small tank if you aren't on top of things.

For CUC, it's more about only having what you need. Too many snails, crabs or shrimp will die due to lack of food, you only need so many cleaners.

See that is my biggest problem with picking fish and amount of them. It is the actual amount I can get in a tank. I'm not saying I want to pack it full but not wanting a big ol tank with two little fish swimming around in there. So should I take the 1" to 10 gallons as a swim room rather that actual space per say?

 

[IceNein]

I agree that the inches per gallons thing is not a great. Just think logically. If you had a tank where you could have "100 inches" of fish, that could be 50 tailspot blennies or one nurse shark. I think we can agree that the bioload difference between one nurse shark and many tailspots is not comparable.

If you're more interested in the fish than the corals, I would figure out what one fish that you really liked was, and then see what the minimum tank size for that fish would be, and then you can add other fish that are smaller or need less room to fill out the population.

 

[Ordie23]

I really don't subscribe to the inches of fish per gallon rule, I find that unrealistically restrictive. It's more about knowing what the fish needs space wise based not only on how large it will grow, but also its mannerisms. For example, an occelaris clownfish may grow to 4-5 inches eventually, but you certainly can have more than a single clownfish in a 40-50 gallon tank, especially because clowns tend to pick a spot they like and hang there. On the flip side, a yellow tang or tomini tang may only grow to 6 inches, but will certainly require every bit of a 60+ gallon tank as they are active swimmers. Even in the second case, a 60 gallon tank would not (in my opinion and experience) be considered "full of fish" with only a single tomini or yellow tang, because you can fill it out with other types of less active and smaller fish.

With corals and cleanup crew ("CUC"), there is no limit on how much you can have in x size tank. For corals, the limitation is how able you are to keep the water parameters stable and ideal. In this case, a larger tank is "easier" because changes in water chemistry due to mistakes or consumption by coral growth will happen more slowly. Catastrophic problems for corals can happen very quickly in a small tank if you aren't on top of things.

For CUC, it's more about only having what you need. Too many snails, crabs or shrimp will die due to lack of food, you only need so many cleaners.

So made a list of fish we would like to have in our setup. It is as follows: pair clown fish, blue hippo tang, yurple tang, Majestic Angle and pair of Azul damsels

 

[Ordie23]

So made a list of fish we would like to have in our setup. It is as follows: pair clown fish, blue hippo tang, yurple tang, Majestic Angle and pair of Azul damsels

Nevermind the yurple tang saw the price and it's a nope.

 

[TX_REEF]

So made a list of fish we would like to have in our setup. It is as follows: pair clown fish, blue hippo tang, yurple tang, Majestic Angle and pair of Azul damsels

This is gonna burst your bubble, but the majestic angel and blue hippo tang are gonna be a nope in that size footprint. Both of those fish can reach 12 inches in length and realistically need ~6 feet of swimming area in one direction with sufficient room to turn around, so effectively, the minimum tank size for those long-term is around 120 gallons. A majestic angel may also eat some corals.

Purple tang, if you can find the budget for it, could probably work in the footprint you mentioned, but youd definitely want the tank to fill the prescribed footprint to maximize swimming space - they max out at 9 inches.. Azul damsels, no problem. You could keep a few of those in a tank as small as 20 gallons.

Some alternatives you should consider if a larger tank is not an option:

dwarf angels (flame, coral beauty)
Bristletooth tangs (kole, tomini)
Scopas tang, yellow tang
clownfish
blennies (starry blennies are one of my favorite fish)
gobies (diamond are cool)

 

[Ordie23]

This is gonna burst your bubble, but the majestic angel and blue hippo tang are gonna be a nope in that size footprint. Both of those fish can reach 12 inches in length and realistically need ~6 feet of swimming area in one direction with sufficient room to turn around, so effectively, the minimum tank size for those long-term is around 120 gallons. A majestic angel may also eat some corals.

Purple tang, if you can find the budget for it, could probably work in the footprint you mentioned, but youd definitely want the tank to fill the prescribed footprint to maximize swimming space - they max out at 9 inches.. Azul damsels, no problem. You could keep a few of those in a tank as small as 20 gallons.

Some alternatives you should consider if a larger tank is not an option:

dwarf angels (flame, coral beauty)
Bristletooth tangs (kole, tomini)
Scopas tang, yellow tang
clownfish
blennies (starry blennies are one of my favorite fish)
gobies (midas are cool)

Yeah i saw the yurple tang on a site that didn't have price or picture and looked it up on the Google and saw a picture and added it before seeing price. I did add a mandarin dragonete Toby to my list they are beautiful. I will definitely look at the ones you suggested though and rethink the fish. Thank you for the help and advice. This newbie really appreciates it.

 

[TX_REEF]

no worries! Mandarins are awesome fish, but 2 points to consider with them are that the wild caught versions, while cheaper, will generally slowly starve and die unless they have plenty of live copepods to eat. This means you need a mature system with an established population of pods, or you need to feed live pods or baby brine shrimp regularly, which can get expensive. That being said, my second point: if you want a mandarin, I heartily recommend you purchase a captive-bred mandarin from @Biota_Marine . While the initial price tag is higher, the benefit is that they will eat dry pellets (which means you're saving money in the long run), and you are also avoiding removing fish from the natural reefs.

 

[Ordie23]

no worries! Mandarins are awesome fish, but 2 points to consider with them are that the wild caught versions, while cheaper, will generally slowly starve and die unless they have plenty of live copepods to eat. This means you need a mature system with an established population of pods, or you need to feed live pods or baby brine shrimp regularly, which can get expensive. That being said, my second point: if you want a mandarin, I heartily recommend you purchase a captive-bred mandarin from @Biota_Marine . While the initial price tag is higher, the benefit is that they will eat dry pellets (which means you're saving money in the long run), and you are also avoiding removing fish from the natural reefs.

I am definitely trying purchase captive bred fish if possible. I am also planning to get the fish slowly and not just all at once. Most likely go cheapest to more expensive. Also the coral beauty is a beautiful fish we decided to replace one of the others with it.