# Clown Fish Set up Help



## Chillwill007

*c/p*Ok this weekend i am goping to the petco $1 a gallon sale. I think i want to go with a couple of clown fish in this tank but i dont know which tank would be better. A 40 gallon breeder or a 55 gallon tall. i know they say get the biggest you can and at $40 or $55 i can do either. but the sales man said the 40 breeder would be better cause more surface area. fish wont go in for a while cause i will have to get filters and all that seprate pretty much just buying tankcause its on sale. what other things would i need so i can have healthy clown fish? do i plant this tank or use live rocks? do i need to make a sump? what other fish can i get with the clown fish? and what about a clean up crew? do i need an anamaine(spelling) and if so how do i take care of them?


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## GetITCdot

Listen if you litteraly want a tank with just a couple clowns or something...I would set it up like this:

Live sand, Live Rock
petco powerhead 
(if your cheap you can get 2 HOB filters) if you dont mind spending a few bucks you can get a canister filter
some decent power compacts.
some snails and crabs

That's just the setup for a clown fish tank.

Obviously people will disagree with me but honestly......it's 2 clown fish in a 40 gallon tank. You don't need much.

If you want an anemone...the entire system will need to change.


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## Chillwill007

ok well i would like to get a couple more fish but just to start i figured 2 clown fish since they say pair them up. but im sure i would want more fish down the road. so HOB means hang on back right? would i be able to use marine land bio wheels for this? and where is a good place to get live rock and sand? and if i want to add more clown fish about how many could i put in the 40 gallon tank? and no anemone. what kinda or how much live rock do i need? and since my other tank is a 5 gallon hex that i will be adding guppies and shrimp what else besides sea salt would i have to add to the 40 galln tank?


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## Chillwill007

ok i found a citron clown gobbie i think would look nice with the clown fish would this work? and if so how many of each do you think i could have?









citron clown gobbie fish










ocellaris clown fish


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## Chillwill007

is this filter good enough or over kill? its rated for 55 gallon - 75 gallons but it has a 2 pump set up and dual bio wheels.

Emperor Power Aquarium Filters - Sale - Fish - PetSmart


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## GetITCdot

the only real reason i said go with an HOB filter is because you were only going to be doing a couple fish....if you want an actual tank your going too need alot better. Canister filter or SUMP would be your best bet.


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## trouble93

I would say get a piece of paper a pencil and a calculator and do a cost analysis. One thing you don't want to do in this hobby is cut corners. Even for the simplest system you are talking a few hundred dollars. Even at a pound per gal. of live rock and that is on the low side. I like to do more like 1.5 to 2 pounds per gal. at maybe $5.00 lbs. @ a local fish store or you might luck and find it cheaper on line. Then there's sand, heater, power heads, test kits and so on. This way you know what you ear looking at.


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## archer772

Well I agree for the most part about cutting corners but you can use dry sand instead or live and you can always use dry base rock for about 1/3 of your total rock so that can save you a little


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## Chillwill007

ok so I think I might go with 5


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## Chillwill007

Ok so I'm think of going with 40g breeder tank, 50 lbs dry sand, about 60-80 lbs live rock, protine skimmer of some kind(any ideas), 1 high flowing power head or 2 smaller flowing power heads (which is better). As for stock a hairy mushroom, 2 of each fish I have up top, some sort of clean up crew. And I would like maybe 1 more fish. Something that would go with above fish. Any ideas or if you could put some pics of fish that would look nice with above fish.

Would this set up be good? Should I keep it at just 4 fish our could I add the 5th and it not be over kill? Suggestions our changes? Please all comments welcomed good or bad? Like started above really just trying to get everything down so I can start pricing and getting my game plan together. Only getting the tank tomorrow because of the sale. But will be collecting everything else slowly.


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## trouble93

archer772 said:


> Well I agree for the most part about cutting corners but you can use dry sand instead or live and you can always use dry base rock for about 1/3 of your total rock so that can save you a little


Those are some good cost saving points Scott, I guess I've been drinking coke a cola to long cause nothing beat the real thing.


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