47 gallon SW tank

[jjj5311]

Just bought a 47 Gallon bow-front tank with hood, stand, and a light from a guy on craigslist. Paid 65 bucks for it and it is in really good shape.
It needs a good cleaning

IMG_2166(1).jpg

I plan to get a Bak-Pak 2 and was wondering with FOWLR, do i want the skimmer with the bio-bale material or do i want the one w/o the material in it?
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/P ... catid=4409

I was planning on getting one 1050gph pump. Will this be enough flow? too much? Should i have multiple smaller pumps?
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/P ... atid=21971

Then i was planning on getting a saltwater test kit just so i have a complete test kit for the tank.

Then there is an add on craigslist of someone breaking down their aquarium 200+ gallons and wants to sell his LR. I was hoping to get about 60 lbs or so of live rock. The fish for the tank will be my GSP who is about 2.5" at the moment, can i try a tomato clown with the GSP or leave him in the tank alone?

This will be my first SW tank so please feel free to tell me your experiences things i should be ready for... anything else i need to know?

Thanks!

[jjj5311]

Also,
I would love to have a sand substrate, what have you guys used with success?

And do i need to add support to the bottom of the tank where the rock will be sitting on the glass? if so what should i use

[J-P]

you can use eggcrate under the rock if you wish.

[chuckfriedrice]

The rock directly on the glass won't hurt anything as long as it is stable . Sand works good in saltwater tanks . You might wanna arogonite or crushed coral for a PH buffer.

[jjj5311]

Alright i will probably just put it right on the glass.
I was just worried with the weight and didnt know if that would break the glass or not.

And for substrate right now in my brackish tank that the gsp is in has crushed coral, but it is so big (the crushed pieces are the size of nerds or bigger) is there a way to make it more fine to look more like sand or should i just leave it how it is?

[sevenyearnight]

One slight wrong shift, one grain of sand under a rock could crack the bottom and flood your living room. +1 to egg crate on the bottom, aka light diffuser panel.

Get the skimmer model without those blue noodle things, they collect crud, gross to clean, you won't need them anyway.

+1 to aragonite sand. Be prepared for a chore rinsing that sand! GSP's like to sift through the sand, and I have heard mixed things about crushed coral, so I don't personally feel comfortable suggesting something that other people have had problems with. Lay a shallow bed of sand down initially, this gives it a chance to seed with pods and bugs etc. without stagnant/unstirred areas becoming a problem.

Good luck, and remember to post pics of your progress!

[sevenyearnight]

Oh, with the tomato clown, I'd say yes if you had a place to remove him to in case they don't get along, and if you have a larger tank to move them into later, they may outgrow this one.

But I'd say no other than that. It's a very fine tank for one GSP, but with live rock and such, it might not be enough floor space for them both to feel they have their territories.

[jjj5311]

Oh, with the tomato clown, I'd say yes if you had a place to remove him to in case they don't get along, and if you have a larger tank ...

Thanks sevenyearnight,
I really want a clown fish, but we will see how it looks once it is full of rock and what not,

As for the substrate i will get some aragonite sand. Does anyone have a link to some stuff that they would recommend? I looked at the tahitian black sand and that would be really cool, would the puffer care or should i just get regular colored lol.

And for under the rocks I think i will use some egg crate stuff cause i know i have some sitting around somewhere.

[jjj5311]

Another question, what will I need for lighting. Well the hood light fixture be enough or do I need somethingelse

[sevenyearnight]

I'd recommend a light colored sand because GSP's tend to change color to blend into their surroundings. I think they look better when they have their brights on as opposed to their parking lights. Personal viewpoint though, if you want black sand, that's your choice.

As far as lighting goes, eventually you may want to get some T5's with some marine white/blue marine appropriate lighting. What do you have for that hood now? Is it a single T8? For the time being, you can get a 10000K T8.
Technically, if you don't have corals or macro algae, you don't need any specific lighting. I have found that if you have low light though, it's not enough to support the coraline algae and the hair algae takes over. I strongly prefer coraline algae to hair algae!

[xrayjeeper83]

From what ive read, and what im going to do, id suggest the argonite also.

As for the pump, it may be to much. But the only way to find out is to get it and try it out. You dont want a whirlpool in your tank lol

[jjj5311]

...
As for the pump, it may be to much. But the only way to find out is to get it and try it out. You dont want a whirlpool in your tank lol

Yeah i know what you mean lol hopefully the lfs will have some of these pumps in there tanks and i can take a look at the type of flow i could expect lol

[Pufferpunk]

I keep many SW tanks. I have never used egg crate on the bottom. Place the rock directly on the glass & then add the sand--NOT crushed coral. 1" will do.

Several small pumps (I prefer the Koralias) are better than 1 large one.

The lights that come with that tank is fine for FOWLR.

Toss the blue plastic that comes with the Backpac.

[jjj5311]

Got to test the tank today and no leaks!

It looks a lot better now that I Cleaned it with some hot water and a sponge (my arms are a bit tired now lol)

[Pufferpunk]

Looks exactly like my 46g bowfront.