Is this set-up okay? asking "the experts"...

[amandab]

I would just like anybody's (or everybody's!) opinion on this setup before I actually do anything.
The tank will be: 70 gallons- 50"x18"x18". Filter: Magnum 350 canister filter, Skimmer: Bak-Pac 2. Powerheads:not sure, maybe Maxi- Jets. Heater: Ebo Jager Temp. Sensor Heater- 200 watts. Lighting: 4 bulb VHO ballast with 48" tubes of different spectrums for a total of 360-410 watts for the tank with 4" cooling fan. Livestock: Button polyps, Hairy mushroom coral, Toadstool mushroom leather coral, scarlet reef hermits, turbo snails, astrea conehead snails, fancy red serpent sea star, blood red fire shrimp, scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp, 2 ocellaris clowns OR 1 ocellaris clown and 1 cinnamon clown (added at the same time), 2 fridmani pseudochromis, 2 neon blue gobies, 2 golden neon gobies, 6 blue green reef chromis.
Would this system be okay? Properly under-crowded or too much bio-load? How many powerheads should I use?, because I know I need alot of water movement.
How many hermits and snails should I have in a 70 gal.?, I can't seem to find info on that... Thank you everybody....

 

[toodles]

The first thing is your heater, I would go with a 250 watt. The usual suggestions are between 3 to 5 watts per gallon. You can go with the lower end as your powerheads will add heat to the system too.....and as for that, with your canister filter and skimmer, 2 to 3 powerheads would be good. The amount will depend on what kind of flow rate the particular brand has. You will want a TOTAL turnover in your tank of between 8 to 10 times your water volumne an hour. (Total includes your canister filter and skimmer.) Lighting sounds good and so does your choice of corals.
As far as the shrimp, well, sometimes and that's onlysometimes , they have been known to fight, but again...for the most part I have read that in a tank your size, they should get along.
Your choice of fish is nice, but overstocked if you put them all in the tank. Limit yourself to being on the lower side of stocking instead, and you will have a much better chance of success that way. Perhaps the pair of ocellaris clowns (they can be hilarious to watch), the pair of fridmani (orchid dottybacks), and one pair of the gobies.
Make sure if you decide to get the dottybacks, that you add them LAST to the tank. Even after any shrimp, as there is a chance that if you add the shrimp after them, they will see them as a nice snack. There is still the chance that the orchids might eat the shrimp, but it will be lessened if they are added last. Even though the orchids are the most docile of the dottys, you will need to watch that they are not harassing the other fish. Make sure that the ones you buy are actual orchids and not the easily to confuse with magentas which are a total terror. The orchid will have a black stripe that starts on the snout and extend all the way through the eye.
Personally I like the blue legged hermits (much less likely to kill snails for their shells, but this is just my opinion), maybe go with 8 to 10 of them (I also am a believer in not overdoing the hermits), snails, well turbos do a great job, but man are they clumsy, maybe add 10 of them and around 20 of the astreas. I would also recommend 2 fighting conchs or queen conchs for your sandbed. I have 2 of the queen conchs in my tank, and although I realise that eventually they will outgrow my tank, that is years down the road as they don't grow that quickly.
Be real careful acclimating any starfish as they are extremely sensitive to changes in salinity and will "fall apart" if acclimated improperly. Best way to do this is to use the drip method......place the star in a bucket with the store water, then use a airline tube to run water from your tank down to the bucket. You can either tie a knot in the tube or use clips to slow down the flow so that only one drop comes out every couple of seconds or so. Practice with this first before you get the star so you know what you're doing
. This kind of acclimation usually takes a couple of hours so be prepared!
Can't think of anything else! Good luck and above all, HAVE FUN!!!

 

[amandab]

toodles, thank you, you have been a great help to me. I was going to go with the 250 watt heater at first, but I thought with the lighting it might get too warm...If I were to get 2 maxi-jet 1200's and 1 maxi-jet 900, that would give me a rated turnover (not including the filter and skimmer) of 820 gph, would that be good or just adequate? Because I'd rather have good... Should I add extra empty shells to the tank for the hermits? ( I was going to anyway, but I wondered if I should) Is the canister filter going to take out too many of the desired copepods, and isopods and such? Darn on the chromis, I'm very attracted to them. I've heard of the SLOW drip method and it seemed the most logical way to slowly acclimate a creature, buckets are no problem- cheap at home depot. Thanks for the info and double thanks for the info on the inverts.

 

[dgodwin]

Have you considered adding any live rock or sand in there for biological filtration. They do a better job than any power or canister filter. I would also consider a better protein skimmer. I have the bak pak II on a 40 gallon. Most people consider it good for up to around 60 gallons. If you need a hang on, I would consider a remora pro by aquaC. They are excellent skimmers, and I think would do on the 70 gallon tank. Also, instead of buying buckets at home depot for $4.00. Check out your LFS. I know my store sells old salt buckets (5-6 gallons) for $1.00 a piece. They are excellent to have around to do water changes, mixing saltwater, and doing the drip acclimation process. Good luck!

 

[toodles]

820gph is good, add on the canister and skimmer and your water flow will be excellent!
If you are set on the chromis, then just substitute them with something else.....the only real concern here is that you don't overstock your tank....what you keep is up to you!
I used to worry about copepods too....would the filters and powerheads chew them up? Well, all I can say is that it really doesn't seem to affect their population that much, so I wouldn't worry about it.
By all means, add some empty shells for the hermits. I was assuming (you know what that can do!) that you were going to add live rock and sand to this tank......if not, then Dgodwin is right, those things are a must for any reef tank.....
*PEACE!*

 

[amandab]

I have live sand and live rock on my written list, but forget to add it to my list here. But yeah, don't worry, I'm getting lots of both. I was at home depot earlier pricing plywood for my tanks, and I figure I can get two large tanks out of three sheets 4'x8'. I have an iguana as well and since he needs a new home and I need his plexiglass, why not build him one too. The LR/LS is going to be the most expensive thing to buy all at once for my setup, it's pretty expesive, and the wood is cheaper than I thought it would be. I was thinking about getting 3 maxi-jet 1200's and 1 maxi-jet 600, would that be better or should I go with option 1? Too much flow? Thanks again all.