carefully planning my 34gal. sea max

Hi!
im really confused on what to put in my new reef tank.
I just bought a 34gal sea max
So far, i figured that i wanna put about 20lbs of live sand and 33lbs of live rock in there.
Im planning to have 2 clown fish, 1 banggai cardinal, and 7 blue reef chromis.
Plus the reef cleaners, 1 maxima clam and some hard and soft corals.
Help! I dont wanna go wrong on this.

 

To start, more sand and rock. For a reef tank, aim for about 1 pound of sand and 1 1/2-2 pounds of rock per gallon.
Your probably gonna have to cut down on the number of chromis too. 10 fish in a 34 gallon is getting a little high.
Equipment wise, your gonna want to get a couple of Koralia 1 powerheads for flow. Also, the lights will have to be upgraded extensively, especially if you want to keep a clam. Does the red sea come with a skimmer?
Most importantly, take it very slowly. Let the tank cycle. It will take at least 8 weeks till you can really start adding anything. And expect to have to wait A LOT longer than that to get the clam.
And most important, if you have any questions, ask! Everyone here is very friendly and knowledgeable, its the best reef forum going ;D

 

What PL said......

....except I might make one of the K-1s a K-2. I kinda like about 35 to 40x turnover minimum in a tank, but I am not familiar with the Sea-Max and how it would work in the setup. What do ya think Pack? Would 40x be too much in a SM?

And he is spot on on the number of fish. Choose carefully, you will not be able to put a lot in there. And if I remember right the cardinals like to be in pairs. And they just sit there. They don't swim about. They just hover. So if that is what you are looking for, great. Just know that is about all they do.

 

thanks!
yes it comes with skimmer.;D

 

No, I dont think 40x would be too much in anything really. I am not sure if the SM are bowfronts? not sure if that changes anything. He's only a few gallons shy of me and I want to add even more flow I think it would really depend on the #'s his filter/skimmer is putting out before we could give an exact figure on powerheads.
And john brings up a good point about the cardinals and fish behavior in general. Has me thinking about the chromis. Are you interested in that many because of schooling? Just for your info, a LOT of chromi's wont school in a tank, no matter how many you get. Just something to keep in mind.
Keep in mind all this talk about buying this and that may seem overwhelming, but its not something that needs to be done right away. You have a while to collect the things that you need, especially while the tank is sitting there idling while establishing the cycle. First things to get would be more sand/rock, then the powerheads, then a skimmer if your set-up didnt come with one. Lights can wait till you want to start adding some of the more light demanding corals

 

Red Sea Max spec:

Total system volume 130 liters (34 gallons)
Aquarium volume 110 liters (29 gallons)
Filter volume 20 liters (5 gallons)
Aquarium length 610 mm (24")
Aquarium width 500 mm (19.7")
Aquarium height 500 mm (19.7")
Total height 612 mm (24.1")
Glass thickness 8 mm (5/16")
5 outlet power center
Course mechanical media
Fine mechanical media
Skimmer volume 3.8 liters (1 gallon)
Skimmer pump 1,200 lph (320 gph)
Collection cup volume 1.5 liters (0.4 gallon)
Circulation pumps 2 x 550 lph (2 x 145 gph)
Ceramic bio-media 2 liters (0.5 gallon)
Activated carbon 200 g (7 oz)
Fan cooled hood
Lighting - 10,000K 55W
Lighting – Actinic 55W
Electronic ballast
LED moonlights
24 hour programmable timer
Thermostat heater 150W

 

Thanks hynz, that helps a lot.
Right now your flow is about 600 gph. You need to aim for about 1360gph. 2 Koralia 1's would give you an extra 800gph, which would put you at 1400, which would be about perfect
Other than the extra sand and rock, you wouldn't need much else. The lights would need to be replaced down the road though for a clam. If that something you really want to keep, look into a metal halide or a T5 lighting system.
If you want to save some $ early on, consider adding base rock instead of live rock. It costs much less, will be live rock by the time your done cycling anyways, and you wont run the risk of adding nuisance hitch-hikers

 

There is the circulation.....It did not make sense to have no circulation in the set up. I couldn't find it. But the fact that they only provide that much kind of irks me. You pay that much money for something, they should pop for what is actually needed. Hmmmmf.

 

Thanks PL.
that's really helpful.
About the chromis, yes im interested with that many because of schooling, but now got me to thinking if 5 should be ok instead of 7.
That will give me a total of 8 fish.
Is that ok?
or Still overcrowded?

 

You can't think so much in terms of number of fish but the total inches of fish in a tank. There is a general rule of thumb of one inch per three gallons. You can base your number on 34 gallons rather than the 29 because it's about oxygen consumption. You would only get into trouble if the power went out and the oxygen in that 5 gallons was not available to the livestock.

So you are looking at about 10 to 11 inches of fish total. Each chromis is capable of growing to 3 inches. There is a myth that a fish will grow to the size of the tank. Not so. They may grow slower, but they will eventually get to their natural size in due time. If you want a mated pair of clowns, you need to choose the clowns that will not get that big. Picking a mated pair of maroon clowns for example will not work. They can get to seven inches full grown.

Your best bet is to look online and pick a pair that is appealing to you that will not grow too big and then figure out how much room you have left. You will be able to fit probably four fish in your aquarium comfortably. Personally, I was aiming for only 20 or so inches in my 75g. There is something to be said for understocking a bit. It makes for a happier fishy.