46 g tank powerhead help

lilalancarey

Ok so i started putting fish in my tank about 2 months ago now im ready to start putting corals and anenomes and other things in. i have 1 megaflow wet/dry filter (need a new overflow box, mine cracked, so im using a small hang on canister filter for the time being =/ ) two 150 watt heaters and a 150 gph maxi jet powerhead and i know that wont be enough, what powerheads should i get to be able to have the most diversity in the tank and where should i put them? its a 46 g bow front, 36" long. i have a white/blue light not sure how many watts but i know its real strong.

I have a formosa wrasse Porcupine Puffer (i know i shouldnt have him with corals ubt i have a plan.) lol 2 percula clowns, firefish flame angel and soon getting a mandarin once i have a huge copepod population (any help on creating a good p[opulation of copepods too will be appreciated, since everytime i put them in i wake up there all gone i see my fish eat them all even if i turn the lights off, idk where else to put them to allow them to reproduce....) all help is much appreciated and im still pretty new at this saltwater aquarium stuff but im learning fast and getting good at it ;)

onefish2fish

a few things that came to mind.
anemones as in ploural IMO wont work. they are actually an invert not a coral. when you add them they will crawl to a spot of their liking, not where you put them. this raises issue because different kind of nems can and will sting eachother which leads to the chance of them dying or crawling into a powerhead getting shredding into pieces = dying. when one dies it will "nuke" your tank, esp one of this size which will kill everything.
it also seems like you have power compact lights, which would be alright to keep mushrooms, zoanthid sp., palythoas and kenya tree. i wouldnt keep much more then that. an anemone needs strong lighting, pref. metal halides.
now, if your going with the corals i just mentioned two hydor K2s would be fantastic for these. angels arnt reef safe but the flame is generally alright, the puffer is going to be of issue. whats your "plan?" i highly do not suggest a mandarin in a tank smaller then 75 gallons and even better 125 gallons. you may see pods now, but this fish will whipe them out in no time then slowly starve to death.

the wet/dry filter im going to assume is with bio balls? if this is the case this is doing more harm then good as it will trap debris and detritus causing unwanted nutrient buildup, same concept with using a canister filter, HOB filter and even the improper sand depth. which leads to my next question, what kind of substrate and how deep?
you also failed to mention anything about a protein skimmer. do you have one? if so what brand/model?
do you know your ca, alk and mag levels? if not you need to test for these as well as have the suppliments to dose for them.
if you have any questions feel free to ask. btw, the 46 is a nice tank, i had one for awhile, and welcome to the forum.

lilalancarey

yes i have bio balls but reading up on the forums i think im going to slowly be taking them out soon and i put live rock and sand in my sump but its onlny a few centimeters deep how deep should i make it? my live sand bed in my tank is about 2 inches and my protein skimmer is a instant ocean (aquarium systems brand) but im not sure what model it is, its about a foot and half long maybe a few inches less its big, its definitely enough for my tank. i will eb testing all of those levels soon when the time comes and before i plan to get corals.

onefish2fish

the sand should either be less then 1'' or greater then 4'' or no sand at all. anything depth in between will trap things as well as substrate of a larger size, like crushed coral. the live rock in the sump may build up debris too, just like the bio balls did. i would just add all of the rock to the display and put chaeto algae and a 6500K full spectrum light over your sump.

lilalancarey

i now have a 10,000k 16" light over my sump and T5 blue and white lights onmy display. and trying to get my hands on some chaeoto from a LFS but cnt seem to fnid any.

Pasfur

I support everything said above. You need to find solutions to some of these issues before you progress. Also, given the fish load and filter type you have been using, I suspect your nitrate and alkalinity levels will need some work prior to adding any coral.

I have to reinforce how necessary it is to test for alkalinity and calcium. You really can't maintain a system without these readings.