Help me revamp my 40 gallon!

[wpost2]

Hello,

I'm trying to revamp a 40 gallon tank that is in pretty rough shape and want to bring it back to its former glory. I'd like some advice on what lights I need to buy, if I need more flow, and if my filtration is good enough. One problem is I don't have a lot of space, so a sump or anything large is out of the question for filtration. I'm thinking maybe a canister filter of some sort, not sure. I would like to have the following fish/coral, and would like the best advice as to how to get there:

- Dwarf Lionfish
- Clownfish (2)
- Yellow Tang (small one..once it gets too large I'm giving it to my friend who has a 120 gal)
- Lawnmower Goby
- Sea Anemone (2) (for the clownfish)
- Torch coral

Here are the specifics of my tank:
- 40 gallons, 36 x 18 footprint
- Bak-Pak 2 Protein Skimmer (hang-on-back)
- Heater
- 30 pounds of live rock
- 1 inch live sand

This tank has been going for about 5 years, but has been without any light source for about 6 - 8 months (the Light Fixture & Eheim Professional II Canister Filter died within a week of each other at the same time that my $1500 bike was stolen, so I had no money after buying a new bike to get the tank back in order until now). That said, I need advice on specifics:


What lights should I buy? (needs to fit my 36 x 18 footprint)

Do I need more filtration? (keep in mind I have no room for a sump or anything like that, so maybe a canister filter?

Air flow?


Thank you very much!!

[wpost2]

Bueller...? Bueller..?

[ganjero]

If you cannot put a sump in there I would upgrade your skimmer to a better HOB skimmer, now a days there are plenty of better options than the CPR out there.

Honestly, I would scratch the Lionfish and Tang. The Lionfish are cool but they are better kept in a species tank, at some point (specially if hungry) its predator instinct will kick in and start killing everything that might look like food (this might include the lawnmower blenny and clownfish).

Tangs need space to swim and develop no matter what size they are, sure it can be done and it has been done but why put it through that stress. I would plan my stocking for long/indefinitive term with fish that would do better in a 40g breeder, plenty of options out there too.

For the anemone, get one to start with and see how it works for you. Some anemones will split in captivity so you might end up with the two that you want. Not all anemones and clown fish will form a symbiotic relationship, I would research this first and decide what to get from there.

For what you have listed so far I would use a T5 fixture with 4 o 6 bulbs; 4 should be enough but 6 will give you more options to tweak the color and also will allow you to later on add more light demanding organisms. An ATI sunpower or powermodule would be nice, also TEK fixtures.
LEDs should also work for you but there is still a lot of debate out there, so do your own research on this and decide if LEDs will work for you.


I didn't see any circulation pumps listed, you should add one or two designed for your tank size. Plenty of options from very simple and affordable to controllable and expensive; both options and anything in between can let you have a healthy tank. IMO controllable pumps are not a must have. I'm not sure what you budget is, if you list that more suggestions can be given.

[zakstrong]

The only point of a sump is to allow you to place your equipment below. there is no added filtration from a sump. A HOB the skimmer will accomplish the same thing as a sump and in-sump skimmer. like said above get the best skimmer you can afford. make sure you have around 40 pounds of live rock.

For lighting i would personally go with a 250 watt hqi. its clean looking small and you can cover the whole tank with one light. in addition with the light you will be able to keep coral type.

as far as circulation i would get two maxi jet 1200s. the new ones have the propeller mod included. tunze style.

the statement above about the fish, i agree with. a 40 is no place for a tang or lion. they both will outgrow the tank. in addition the lion will limit the types of creatures you can have.

[cerolost]

40g breeder is one of my favorite tanks. If you throw us a budget we can better answer your question. If you wanna go cheap you can do a fishneedit 3ft t5 fixture and some koralia's evo. You wanna do it nice some leds like a ai sol or a rapidled diy is great. Then for the pump its a vortech mp10 or mp20 or a tunze 6025. In my 20g long I use 1 tunze 6025 and its perfect

[wpost2]

Okay so at this point here is what I'm leaning towards (my budget being roughly ~$500):

• Wavepoint T5 (36 in/4 x39 watt) $208
• 1x Tunze Pump 6025, (740gph) $63
• ~15 more lbs live rock

So I feel like I'm good on lighting and flow, but what about filtration? My CPR HOB Protein Skimmer is working great, but shouldn't I get something else to supplement it? A canister filter? Add a second HOB? Thoughts?

As for fish, let me reiterate I am getting a Dwarf Lionfish, not a normal Lionfish, so he should be fine in a 40 gal. Let me also say I had this exact tank setup for about 4 years with the fish I listed and everything was fine. In fact, the meanest fish I had was the lawnmower. It wasn't until my canister filter & lighting started having issues that I started seeing fish become unhappy during the last 6 months of the tank's life.

Thank you everyone for your input, it has been very helpful!!!