# need your opinion



## Apott05 (Jul 19, 2005)

How many of you would totally dicourage me from buying a clown trigger? I realize they need a minimum of 140 gallons. My tank is 60x20x something tall. Not sure how tall sorry. I realize they are really aggressive and all and have done alot of reading. I dont plan on having many other fish in its tank. Any info would be greatly appreciated since i am leaving the piranha hobby to begin something new. All i have done is read about SW already and im already addicted. A fellow member here is helping me out alot and selling me a very nice set of light and a good skimmer. I plan on setting up 3 tanks within the next 6 monthes. My 100 or so gallon which is a really nice sea clear acrylic tank with a built in wet/dry. My 45 long and a 29 gallon. The 29 gallon i plan on stocking with a few true peuclas clowns for the gf.as she would like to call them NEMOs. Again thanks for your time. Any info is good info.


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## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

you'll need more than 140 gallons if you plan on keeping the clown trigger for life. they get to be almost 2 feet and need a lot of swimming space. a little guy would last in your tank for a long time, just keep in mind that they get really big and with the size comes attitude. one of the fish stores i visited had a little 5" clown trigger and he would literally jump out of his cube to try and bite your finger. they had to keep in his own cube with no other fish next to him because he managed to jump into the cubes next to him and kill the others.

also, are you sure your 100g seaclear comes with a wet/dry and not a built in overflow?


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## Apott05 (Jul 19, 2005)

yea i guess your right. Iv heard alot about them from all the reading iv been doing. I think they are amazing looking. No hypen it actually has a whole wet/dry built right in. HEre is a link to the tank. Its a very nice tank and i keep my geryi in it right now.

http://www.bestpetsupply.com/graphics/SeaClear/2085.asp

Thanks for your info hypen. I appreciate any help i can get

i wanted a clow till it got to big but after some of the reading people cant get rid of them because they are so personable and people compare them to dogs.


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## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

ah, thats a very nice tank. if you have no problem upgrading to a bigger tank in the future, i say go ahead and get one. you can always get a bigger tank for a few hundred dollars online. and that 100g would make a nice reef setup.


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## Apott05 (Jul 19, 2005)

if it really gets up to almost 2 feet i would need something crazy like something 30+ inches in depth. Do they make little 5 foot tanks that width? I dont have any more room for a longer tank or else i would have a nice 6 footer.

some other triggers i am interested in are the niger, bursa, and picaso. How would them work in a 100? I hear the picaso is one of the lesser aggressive species and with him i would be able to add some other fish like a puffer and a lion fish which is also something iv always wanted


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## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

picassos are very cool. they're pretty tame compared to the clown or undulated. they're also very slow growers and would do well in a 100g for a long time, if not for life. the bursa is also pretty tame. i believe a lot of people have been able to keep them in reef tanks as well, but don't quote me on that.

i think a 6ft tank is kinda necessary as the bare minimum for the clown trig. also, with the others you listed you at least can keep more than a few other tank mates (including a puffer and lion).


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## Apott05 (Jul 19, 2005)

at this point that is sounding pretty good. Do you suppose i would be able to both a picaso and a bersa together or is that just asking for trouble?


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## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

they might be able to live together. i have seen tanks with multiple triggers.


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## Apott05 (Jul 19, 2005)

anyone have a link on how to turn my AC110 into a mini refuge?


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## welsher7 (Jul 29, 2005)

here is a link to DIY AC fuge
http://www.fishboard.net/index.php?showtop...amp;#entry60408 
its very easy to do.


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## Apott05 (Jul 19, 2005)

thanks man. Still trying to understand the baffle part.


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## Apott05 (Jul 19, 2005)

i think i get it. The baffle runs vertically beside the pump. Then u add the grate on top. The water comes in and enters the refuge over top of the baffle into wear the live sand and rock are. thus allowing it to then flow out and back into the tank


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## welsher7 (Jul 29, 2005)

you got it


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## Apott05 (Jul 19, 2005)

i would imagine thats there to keep the sand and anything else from backing into the impeller housing

can this be used as my main filter?


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## welsher7 (Jul 29, 2005)

your main filter will be your LR


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## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

yes, the baffle is there to keep everything in place and allow the water to flow in from the top. your main filter is going to be the liverock. the minifuge will just help in removing nutrients. also, be sure that you have some sort of light above it.


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## Apott05 (Jul 19, 2005)

is mechanical filtration still nessicary?


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## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

realistically, no. but almost everyone runs a skimmer as their mechanical filtration to get the proteins out. however, there are a lot of people who don't bother with one. if you mean a HOB or canister type filter, those are no no for reefs. a lot of nitrates from that sort of mechanical filtration.


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## Apott05 (Jul 19, 2005)

man im learning something new everyday.

I have a CPR bak pak2r+ on the way to my door. SHould be here friday.

so with all the live rock, sand, minifuge, and skimmer i should be alright filtration wise?


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## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

yeah, that's plenty. is this for the 29g? because the bakpak won't do big tanks.


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

one thing i have heard about clown triggers, they are one of the triggers known to snap and kill everything else in the tank.. of course there is no way of knowing for sure but it always a possibility

as far as filtration on a tank of that size a large skimmer is pretty much a necessity not an option snakker tanks you can get away with out one because you can do frequent water changes to export excess nutruents but its not econmical or wise to attempt it on a tank larger then a nano


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## Apott05 (Jul 19, 2005)

i was also thinking about purchasing one of these as well

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod...p;N=2004+113040

well right now im only setting up my 45 long with small fish like clowns and damsels. I wanna do a small tank before i take a big leap into a larger tank. I wanna make sure i like this before i get to far into debt

the only reason i was so interested in the clown is my lfs has one and its just amazing looking.


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## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

cool, varied flow through the tank is definitely good.

the dillema with saltwater is, bigger tanks are easier than smaller :/


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## Apott05 (Jul 19, 2005)

well no kidding. At this time i dont htink i could afford all the live sand and rock i would need. Plus i would need to upgrade a skimmer and im not sure how to rig up a skimmer for my sea clear. I cant hang one anywhere. Maybe in the near future.


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## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

well, the rock you could always either make or buy lace rock and seed it. a big skimmer you'd have to put inside of a sump. but yeah, it sucks :/ very rewarding though.


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## Apott05 (Jul 19, 2005)

well i know the wet dry is pretty small back there. I have trouble getting the 802 return pump down in its spot. I am a big guy tho and maybe my amrs make it seem smaller haha. Would a skimmer be somewhat small and compact?

I was just doing some research and sea clear makes a skimmer that is meant for the tank. Here it is. It would have to be sufficeint wouldnt it since they make it for the 100 gallon?
http://www.bestpetsupply.com/graphics/SeaClear/3549.asp

There isnt a pic or anything. Is a venturie skimmer anything good? 
They also have an air driven one like this one here

http://www.bestpetsupply.com/graphics/SeaClear/465.asp


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## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

yeah, if you cant fit an 802 pump back there, you definitely wont be able to fit any sort of skimmer. a decent skimmer (not hob) is going to be pretty big. you'd probably be better off plumbing the wet/dry down into another external sump...or you could use the seaclear skimmer.

also, venturi is how the water is drawn through the shaft. basically, a narrowing area where the water is pushed out, when it rises the pressure drops and air is drawn in). the venturi concept goes more into detail, but im not sure on the exact science of it. look up benoulli or bernoulli, that's who it was named after.

and there are 3 types of skimmers: venturi, counter current and turbo. the difference between the three is how the water is brought up. i can find you a site i used to research these when i get on my comp.


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