46 gallon reef tank -> max population

[Capslock]

Ok, title may be a bit vague. But the idea is, I ideally want a 70 gallon, but my apartment may prove to not flow well if i get a tank that large (unless i can find a glass tank that is 15inch in depth and a short stand)

So I am looking at a 46 gallon though it may not matter since a lot of the aquariums I look at have similar depth anyways...

..anyways, lets say I had a 46 gallon tank. The question I have is how much can I put in this tank? I am not looking so much at fish population, I am focusing primarily on a reef tank filled with coral, anemonies, and a hermit crab or two to control algae if it proves to be a problem.

So, do you have a 46 gal tank, or something around there? I have read that to have a tanks inhabitants act as if they were in their natural environment I would want at least 45 gal. Has anyone else heard / read this? Is this statement true?

Am I going to be able to have 10+ anemonies / coral and not worry about everything dying because the filters cant keep up with the polution, ammonia, and nitrite?

I do intend on starting out extremely small; I do not intend on going out and buying a million critters at once. Quite the contrary, I am however looking at the long term.

 

[ChrisRD]

Generally speaking most corals/inverts don't impact the bioload much. Fish are what really produce the ammonia. You can keep a nice variety of stuff and few small colorful fish in a tank that size. IMO it's a good size to start with.

If by anemones, you're referring to clown hosting anemones, one is all you would have room for, and a smaller species at that. A captive propagated BTA would be your best bet. That said, anemones aren't all that well sutied to beginners and it would be best to hold off on something like that until you've got some experience. There are surrogate host animals that are much hardier that would be more appropriate for a starter system (for example hairy mushrooms).

 

[cindre2000]

45-46 is a common bowfront size. 50 breeder or the oceanic 50 show are very nice tanks (36'x18"x18") and probably what you should go with. The most important thing is width; the wider the tank, the better your coral and rock placement is.

As long as you keep the system stable and you don't buy fish that are going to outgrow the tank (Tangs, etc.), you should be fine. One of the most important things is to understand how your system works. There are lots and lots of easy corals and fish out there, you just need to know how to keep your system running.

If you are looking at the long run, I suggest a sump since the equipment is more reusable than hang on stuff. However, if you are planning to stay small and simple, I would suggest hang on.

And like Chris said, corals can actually help 'clean' the water. You could easily keep 20 different corals in that tank depending on the types and the sizes (however, anemones and corals don't mix too well; especially when the anemone decides to go on a walk!).

 

[IslandCrow]

I have a 46 gallon that I would consider pretty close to maxed out as far as non-coral population. Here's a rundown of what I have:

1 Maroon Clownfish (Premnas Biaculeatus)
1 Smiths Fanged Blenny (Meiacanthus Smithii)
1 Mystery Wrasse (similar to a six-line, but a little bigger)
1 Green Bubble Tip Anemone
About 10 each blue and red legged hermit crabs
About a dozen total astraea and trochus snails
About 1/2 dozen Cerith snails
3 Nassarius snails
1 Brittle Starfish
2 Emerald Crabs
2 Sand sifting sea cucumbers (small)

With this fish/invert load, I can pretty easily keep my nitrates and phosphates down at undetectable levels and I have no algae problems.