Aqueon 36 gal Bowfront

Hi all.
I'm new to the reef tank hobby, though I've had experience with freshwater. I have recently acquired a 36 gallon Aqueon Bowfront tank, and I had a few questions.
I have live rock, and I don't plan on corals until budget allows for better lighting and the corals themselves.
First, I added the marine salt about a week ago, but the water is still somewhat cloudy and there is a fine layer of sediment coating the entire tank and fixtures. The water is heated and circulating at 750 GPH, so why would this be? And what could I do to take care of it, besides physically going in there with paper towels and wiping the entire surface?
Second, I plan on taking this slow, but what would be some good fish? I've put a bit of thought into it, but as I'm new to this I wanted some more experienced input. I'd like to have:
2 Shrimp gobies (mated pair)
1 pistol shrimp
2 Ocellaris Clowns (mated pair)
1 Royal Gramma
1 firefish (unless they are a schooling species...?)
1 Neon goby (again, unless they are a schooling species, in which case more would be included of the tank can support them, or the species omitted entirely if it couldn't.)
and then of course a cleaning crew.
What do you guys think? would this be asking to much of my tank?
thanks

 

Welcome to 3reef and the salty side.

Going slow is always good, a lot of newer people often don't.

To answer your question about the layer of sediment, I'd increase your flow, you're currently at 21X turnover rate, and IMO should shoot for around 30-50, especially if you wanna keep corals later on. Is the 750gph coming from one pump/powerhead?

Stocking wise, AT MOST, I'd say the mated clowns, mated goby and 1 of the fish you listed, probably the royal gramma. All are very hardy fish. If it were my tank, I'd do just the mated pairs of clowns and gobies, as I'm always for stocking on the lighter side.

Firefish are schooling fish, however this is usually only in the wild and almost always for either feeding or defense (predators). So it usually doesn't happen in our tanks, though sometimes they will swim together. Cleaner gobies are not schooling fish, but again in the wild can sometimes be found in groups setting up cleaning stations.

HTH

 

Welcome to 3reef bwahaha,

Do you have a mag float to clean the glass if not try one. You can also blow the sediment off with a turkey baster. To facilitate clearing the water you can try a sock, floss or sponge to filter out the fine suspended particles. It is not uncommon to have hazy water initially though.

Your fish choices seem very appropriate. Add the clowns last and stock slowly as already mentioned.

First to last
1. Fire Fish
2. Shrimp Gobies
3. Neon Gobie (now remember he will be sharing the shrimp gobies terroritory, so watch for aggression)
5. Clowns last.

 

welcome to 3reef and the hobby! Love your name by the way I think your stocking list sounds good and I would follow Corailline's advice on stocking order.

 

Thanks for the quick response, guys! I'll definitely try the turkey baster. The flow is coming from one Reef Octopus power-head. If possible I'll try to add another small pump. For the stocking: I've consulted people and it seems like it'd be okay to put most if not all of them in, and thanks for the stocking order. Where would the gramma fit in, unless your implication was that it should just be left out entirely? And also, what sort of filter would work well?
thanks
-bwahaha

 

In terms of filter - a good amount of live rock is going to be your primary "filter" but I would suggest a skimmer. It's possible to run a saltwater tank without one but I would recommend that you use one.

 

So I would not need a separate filter such as a canister or HOB filter?

 

Blue Demp's 36 Gallon Bow Front - Members Aquariums - Nano-Reef.com Forums

http://www.3reef.com/forums/show-of...front-first-saltwater-93612.html#.UshMWLR2DIU

Above some examples of other Aqueon 36 with filtration types.

I am not sure you can drill this tank, but that would be optimal.

Forgot about the Royal Gramma, great fish though. Should be added after the Fire Fish.
Honestly 7 fish in 36 gallons is too much. I would forgo the Neon Goby to make room for the Royal Gramma.

 

Thanks for the help. So my final stocking would be this:
1 firefish
1 Royal Gramma
2 Shrimp gobies + 1 pistol shrimp (varieties?)
2 Ocellaris Clowns
and a clean-up crew, how many hermits and snails should I get?
filtration: Eheim Ecco 2234
pump: Reef Octopus, 750 GPH
Live rock: Pukani and Fiji, about 20-25 lbs.
does this look good? I would love any input whatsoever because I want to do this right the first time
thanks
-bwahaha

 

Looks good.

You're going to need some additional flow in the display as well. Look a the Korailla power heads, do not get the nano version it's too small for that tank.

Go small on the CUC initially. Get smaller hermit types and 5 snails, Certh, Turbo or Astraea snails. I would only get 5 small hermits as well.