Conflicting info...

[Iphantom]

I have been asking MANY questions here and at the fish tank store I go to

and doing ALOT of research and have yet to get a complete valid anser to the following questions...

1. with my 7 gallon aga bowfront what is MAX for live stock?

any suggestions?(I was going to do 1 clown 1 goby 1 cleanershrimp several worms and snails and several corals...not sure about how many and what kind of corals yet)

2.how many powerheads?I have one 301 in it now

and was thinking of puting a 201 on the other side should I?

3.is it ok to not have the strong light on for a couple of weeks(until I get my check)?

I am going to belive you guys over the people who work at the fish tank store none of them probly even own fish tanks

I thank you in advance if you take time to anser these 3 questions

-and the 300 more i'll ask in the future-

-matt

[chvynva916]

As for conflicting info from your LFS, you have to be careful about what your LFS dealer tells you. Pretty much everyone on this board has at least decent experience and knowledge about the hobby, but the same can't be said for all LFS dealers. I spoke to one (at Petco) who had never had a SW tank himself and didn't have the slightest idea about the hobby. Yet he doles out advice to anyone who asks rather than just say he does't know.

 

In addition, LFS dealers have an incentive to inflate the amount of livestock they tell you to keep in your tank.

 

Basically, unless you have a trusted LFS I would go with the advice of the people on a board like this.

 

Depending on what type of clown it is, a clown and a goby I think is pushing it for a 5g. You might be able to get away with it, but I'd go with one or the other. I'd also wait on the corals until you get the strong light. The fish will be alright without it.

 

You'll have to read around to figure out what kind of corals you can keep (depending on light, corals fighting each other, etc).

 

Do you have filtration or an overflow or is the powerhead your only water movement? That'd help people to answer.

 

More generally about the stuff you can keep, there might be someone out there with a 7g bowfront with 4 clownfish and full of different incompatible corals. Just realize that the more stuff you want to cram in there the tougher it will be to maintain good water parameters. Not to mention the pschyological stress on cramped fish or warfare between cramped corals.

[FlyGTI]

Baby steps, young Jedi...

 

I preface my thoughts and opinions by saying that in order to really truly enjoy your reef, you need to take a lot of time to build it. I say this from my own experience, where I started putting things in as soon as I could. LEARN FROM MY (and others')MISTAKES.

 

If you can't provide proper lighting for corals right away, don't buy the corals right away. It wouldn't be ethical to buy something you can't keep properly and make the organism suffer. You can always find coral when you want it. There are so many people on this board willing to trade that it makes me sick that I don't live closer to them! (By the way, any reefers move to Des Moines yet?)

 

In answer to the livestock limits, I've found that it's better to underestimate. You can probably keep the clown, the shrimp and the snails together, but a goby might push it. Gobies can get pretty big. Another hint. Don't get a Catalina goby. Yes, they're gorgeous. No, you can't keep one. You can't get the tank to stay cold enough to properly mimic their habitat (68-70 degrees). I tried one once. Didn't work. The fish died a horrible death and I was to blame for it because I didn't do my homework.

 

As far as powerheads go, and proper current in a tank, your selection of corals you intend to keep may dictate how much flow you want. If you've got both a 201 and a 301 in opposite corners of the tank, you may end up blowing a lot of things around, and making it very difficult for the corals to come out and enjoy life. Imagine that God decided to dump you and your house on top of Mt. Washington for a while. You'd get blown around a lot and as a result, you'd stay inside and watch the tube. That's what your corals will do if you add too much current. Your fish won't like you either.

 

In terms of lighting, figure out what you intend to keep, and then build your lighting appropriately. If you're intending to keep soft corals and mushrooms, you'll probably be able to get away with 4 watts per gallon. I don't know what fits underneath an AGA 7's top, but there are plenty of others here who will respond with helpful hints. Make your lighting an all in one purchase.

 

I'm certainly not the most qualified to dispense advice, but I think I've made great plenty mistakes, and I'd like to think that I've been able to learn from them. If something in my post doesn't strike you as right/logical/whatever, ask about it. One way or another, you can find the information you need from the people who have done things the hard way, like I have.

 

Welcome to the hobby, by the way. Prepare to go broke. Your fish/corals will almost always live more comfortably than you will.

 

Cheers!

[SaltyinNJ]

Just to let you know, I have a 7 gal bow also and use the CSL 32 watt Smartlite that comes with a 50/50 bulb. 10,000 and actinic.

I am keeping soft corals and some LPS's and all are doing well.

The bulb retrofits right into the existing 7 gal bow lightstrip.

 

Many people use this light for their 7 gal bows. Just check this site in the members' reef section. You will find others with this same setup. Good luck.

[jtower1969]

I also have the 7 gallon bow with the 32w CSL. It works fine. I would keep to only one fish.....when you think about it our tanks do not have 7 gallons in them...more like 5 or so with the rock and sand. Wait on the fish until you know what you really want. I too have wasted $$$$$ by not thinking.

[ross76053]

Yup, and the advice I like to follow is one fish per five gallons. I have a 10-gal, but with rock, more like 5 gallons, so I have one fish.

 

Others will disagree with the one-fish-per-five advice, and that's okay.

[mxpro32]

you could have a goby too as long as it was something like a yellow or blue striped neon goby because they stay small. i have a small ocellaris and a yellow neon goby in my 7 gallon bow. for added security i run a skimmer but i had the same setup for about six months with no skimmer and no problems.