Opinions on my planned setup - long

[rmanecke]

OK, I have now digested three books and have been lurking on this websight for about one month. Planning.... planning.... planning... This is a ressurection of the hobby since I gave it up in the early 90s.

My initial goal is to keep two small clowns, two or three small wrasses (canarys maybe?) and a cleanup crew, LR and maybe some feather dusters.

If all goes well, in one year, I want to slowly add clams and corals that will like the bright light. I want all H.O.T. equipment (space concerns).

36 or 46 gallon bowfront acrylic tank (sea clear) - will the 36 be tight?

Hamilton MH / actinics full hood with 3-400 watts total (eventually), ideally to sit directly on the tank - will the fans in the hood be adequate to prevent overheating? Any experience with these?

Seaclone 100 skimmer
Magnum H.O.T. cannister with activated carbon
Oscillating powerhead to boost circulation

concern: Will the magnum be trapping too much solid detritus? I will change the filters weekly, but, it seems like the cannister might be "stealing the thunder" of the skimmer. Thus, detritus has to sit in the cannister until I take it out at the end of the week, rather, than being immediately exported by the skimmer.

Am I on the right track with my basic filtration / tank / and light scheme?

Thanks! Great websight.

 

[incysor]

Actually 1 400w MH would be plenty for what you're describing. I've heard that 250w MH are more efficient by far, so perhaps 2 250w would be better. I seriously doubt that you'll be able to hang 3 400w over the tank and keep it cool enough with fans in an enclosed hood.

I'd go with the 46g over the 36g.

Seaclones are garbage, and generally need constant tweaking to get them to pull skimmate. Look at aqua c instead.

Magnums are fine in my experience. And yep, you'll have to clean them out weekly. No it won't be enough to 'steal the thunder' from a decent skimmer.

When are you planning on starting the tank? We like pictures. ;-)

B

 

[rmanecke]

Thanks! Clarification, I meant 400 w total

Tank started by November. If interested keep reading...

I am ordering the furniture upon which the tank will sit this month. I need to have this in my kitchen and spec this furniture piece out to make sure it will hold the tank I want... Then, I hope to have water in the tank by Thanksgiveing ("tanksgiving".... sorry).

If you are interested... the "stand" is at this address (just the bar, not the hutch).

http://ww2.potterybarn.com/cat/pip.cfm? ... =&flash=on

I will probably put a polyurethaned butchers block slab on top of this to protect the "bar", then choose the tank size.

You can see why I need all hang on the back equipment.

Right now, my LFS is sending me a quote for a 50 gallon bowfront with a 12 inch hood.

Cheers. Pics will flow eventually.

Ryan.