suggestions for a shallow 50 gallon..

[Anubis1]

We have a 50 gallon.. 48" long X 15" wide X 16" deep... assuming we use a 3 to 4 inch sand bed.. that's going to leave about 12 to 13" of water space.. what kind of critters do you recommend? (not sure what kinds of lighting we will be using.. so don't figure that into it...)

It's currently sitting in the dining room.. completely empty... no water, sand or rock.. so we want to get a few ideas before we do anything with it!

Open to suggestions..


we have two 29's right now.. one has just finished with it's cycling.. the other is currently a holding tank for 60 pounds of live rock.. and an empty 75 gallon which eventually will become the home to a BTA...

thanks!

 

[bleedingthought]

What do you mean by critters? You can keep anything you would keep in a deep tank, really. The biggest factor would be your light. With a deeper tank you need more light for the corals at the bottom. In your case, you won't need much light, per se. And as far as fish, you could keep a huge array of fish in there, just not too big. Are you going to have a canopy/top for it?

 

[Anubis1]

it has a canopy...

by critters.. I mean .. whatever would be appropriate for it's size and depth (corals, fish.. etc).. obviously very tall corals etc would be out.. or am I wrong in thinking that?.. also the width may hurt for things that get big.. like some of the anemones..

basically.. if YOU had that tank to fill.. what would YOU put in it?.. or maybe a better question would be.. what would you avoid putting in it?

 

[SnowManSnow]

most corals arent going to grow TALL like that....

BUT.. since it IS fairly shallow you could opt for some clams, sps, and other high light things. THAT being said most high light animals are not decent animals for a novice reefer to attempt.

Your circulation should also be fairly easy since its kinda narrow and long.

 

[bleedingthought]

I would stuff it with LPS and zoas!

 

[Anubis1]

I would stuff it with LPS and zoas!

sounds like an idea... any fish to go with that?.. or just the LPS and zoas?

(I was just drooling over some zoas on the net too!)

 

[trido]

Definately a softy tank. Mushrooms, Zoas, Rhodactis, Colt, and a few others I cant think of after talking to the mechanic.

 

[bleedingthought]

I would stuff it with LPS and zoas!

sounds like an idea... any fish to go with that?.. or just the LPS and zoas?

(I was just drooling over some zoas on the net too!)

I love blennies and gobies. Some of my favorites are Meiacanthus and Ecsenius sp. blennies. I find most gobies really cool but they're small and some people don't like that (I do!). I also like green chromis (chromis viridis), Flame Hawkfish (Neocirrhitus armatus) <careful with small shrimp or even small docile fish with the flame>, Orchid Dottybacks (Pseudochromis fridmani), Firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica and decora), and most clownfish. Well, I like a lot of other fish too, but those are the ones I can think of right now!

I also love shrimp! You could have a couple in a 50 gallon. I really like cleaner shrimp and fire shrimp (both lysmata sp.).

Hope that gives you some ideas! :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

I made my 40 breeder a clam and goby/blenny tank. One of my best and most commented on.