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anything im forgetting for initial set up of my 40 B

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Salt, a heater, and some form of filtration. The rest depends on what you're going to do with the tank. Some kind of rock, a skimmer, and sump could all be used.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

What are your plans in terms of stocking for this aquarium once it's up and running? Only your proposed stocking will have considerable influence on the equipment required.

For example, if you intend to keep a Mandarin Fish as part of your stock, you should NEVER put one of those fishes in an aquarium without access to a regular supply of live marine amphipods as food. Which means you'll need a refugium coupled to the main aquarium for the cultivation of the amphipods.

If you intend to keep a Dwarf Angelfish - one of the Centropyge species - you'll need to cultivate filamentous algae in the aquarium itself for the fish to graze upon. And to ensure that you have a decent supply of algae, again a refugium would be a good idea. And a macroalga refugium would be a good idea to consider for ANY aquarium in which an Angelfish of any species - be it a dwarf Centropyge or a whopping great Pomacanthus arcuatus - because Angelfishes are susceptible to disease if exposed to elevated levels of nitrate. Some means of reducing nitrates in your aquarium is ALWAYS a good idea with ANY marine fishes, but is particularly important if you're planning on keeping Angelfishes or Butterfly Fishes. Most Butterfly Fishes are too big and active for your setup, and in any case I warn beginners STRONGLY against tackling these fishes because they're demanding, and some species cause headaches even for experienced aquarists, but they're not the only marine fishes that don't like elevated nitrates. Some small fishes that are otherwise suitable for your setup need you to think about this before you buy them - some of the more exotic small wrasses don't fare well if nitrates climb too high, for example.

Are you planning on setting up the aquarium permanently as a fish-only or FOWLR setup, or do you intend in the future to migrate to a full reef? Because the moment you start thinking about invertebrates, other issues start to loom large too. Such as the need for a separate hospital aquarium to treat the fishes because you can NOT medicate a reef aquarium with the copper-based medications used to treat a range of marine fish diseases, as the medications will kill your prized and expensive invertebrates!

Likewise, if you're planning on cultivating corals in there at some stage, you'll need to budget for top quality lighting systems (T5s and metal halides) which are expensive to buy AND expensive to run. Remember that even a small reef system could end up with something like two kilowatts of lighting, and that lighting setup grows with the size of the aquarium. That decision will also have a BIG impact upon the fishes you can keep in there (ruling out a Centropyge Dwarf Angel because they are unpredictable in a reef setup - one might live happily without destroying everything in sight, on the other hand it may thank you very kindly for a VERY expensive lunch, devouring $1,000 worth of corals in a few hours).

Are you plnning to use protein skimming or not? And what is the basis of your decision? Some aquarists won't live without a protein skimmer on a marine setup, while others use alternative filtration technologies. Learn what each of these technologies does, and why you might (or might not) want such a system on your aquarium.

If at some point you do decide to convert a FOWLR setup to a full reef, and begin cultivating corals, another issue to consider is phosphate management. Again, a macroalga refugium will be of use here, or you could run with the RowaPhos route if you're wealthy. According to one successful reef keeper, namely David Saxby (he of the monster 2,000 gallon setup fame) phosphates are even more important to control than nitrates in a reef setup in order to eliminate nuisance algae. After all, not everyone has the benefits of a 2,500 gallon sump like he has, or enough space to keep no less than eighteen Yellow Tangs to graze upon any algae that DOES appear!

This little collection of factoids goes some way toward illustrating why I keep banging on relentlessly about the need to plan in advance long before a penny is spent on the project when contemplating a marine aquarium. Because every hour spent planning beforehand, and ever hour spent balancing the various options one against the other, every hour spent building a workable and flexible plan (flexible because you may find your species choices are unavailable, too expensive, or conflict with later long term aims - such as keeping a Centropyge Dwarf Angel in an aquarium intended to be a reef at a later stage) contributes significantly toward enhanced success once you DO start spending money on the project.

Having said that, don't be afraid to change your mind part way through the project. Just be aware of the impact, in terms of species compatibility, and likely hit to your wallet, that changing your mind will have before you arrive at the point where you say "oh, I want to change this bit, and that bit". Blowing $500 on a Centropyge interruptus Angel is a bad idea if you even remotely contemplate migrating to a reef afterwards, unless of course you have that kind of money to spend, and know in advance that there's someone out there who'll pay you even more for the aquarium cultivated individual once you decide to part with it. Which of course begs the question - DO you know anyone who will spend that kind of money on your unwanted stock if you've made an expensive mistake and need to find a new hone quickly for a troublesome occupant?

Having waffled on above in this vein, however, let me congratulate you for taking the time out and DOING what I've said above, thinking about what you need before rushing out and becoming hypnotised by all the pretty fishes. You'd be surprised how many DON'T do that (or then again, maybe not!), so if you're holding back on the fish gazing and spending time poring over plans, good for you! However, with the world of marine fishkeeping, there are VASTLY many more issues to consider when it comes to the harmonious integration of coral reef animals in an aquarium compared to the number of such issues in a freshwater setup. Complete with a considerably steeper learning curve. A BIG contributor to success in marine fishkeeping is being aware of the land mines and tank traps waiting in your path before you start, then devising means of ensuring that they won't be an issue in your setup - prevention is INFINITELY better than cure in marine fishkeeping because the heartache in terms of losses (and of course the big artillery shell hole in the wallet) is that much larger if things DO go wrong.

Settle the questions NOW as to what the form the system is going to take over the next 12 months, whether or not you intend to implement major changes later (e.g., converting from a fish-only to a full reef 2 years down the line when you've acquired some experience), and that will dictate suitable choices this early in the game.

I would contemplate long and hard the virtues of a macroalga refugium for your proposed setup, by the way, as this is one fitment that will increase your later options tremendously. It'll allow you to culitvate amphipods for specialised feeders such as Mandarin Fishes, play a part in managing nitrate levels, and if you run it successfully, will also give you the option of keeping something in the refugium itself that might not be compatible with future plans in the main aquarium - so, for example, if you WANT a Dwarf Angel badly, but also want to be able to keep a reef later on, the macroalga refugium will make a nice second home into which the Angel can be placed, where it can dine on algae to its heart's content without you worrying about the possible destruction of corals.

One principle I would exhort you to remember at all times in addition is this: chances are, if there is a problem to be solved, there's a natural solution waiting out there. Nitrates and phosphates require controlling because you're growing corals? Big Caulerpa refugium - let the algae soak them up. Aiptasia suddenly appeared on your live rock? Break out the Berghia nudibranchs to eat the pests. Basically, if there is something in your aquarium that you deem tobe a problem, and you need some means of controlling it, then the BEST control by far is something in the natural world that regards your pest or problem as lunch. Few motivations toward efficiency are as great in the natural world as hunger.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002