Another Tank Getting Converted Over To Salt!

[pscl227]

Hey,
Well i am going to have a 90 Litre cube surplus to requirement, so i am going to make my first ventures into salt water. I have a basic understanding of what is required but me and my girlfriend are having trouble deciding on what to do with it, here is what we have thought so far:

-Reef, pair of clowns, watchman goby / shrimp combo, with all the usual corals and critters
-Cold water native British waters setup (are you allowed to keep in a fish tank what you catch out of rock pools etc?)
-Seahorses, try and recreate a extremely accurate biotope for the species decided upon

anyone have any pros and cons about my options?

I also have a 30 Litre tank that could easily be setup as a nursery tank for the baby seahorses that would no doubt appear, I love the prospect of breeding and selling a salt water species, but i believe sehorses prove very hard to get past a few weeks old.

Cheers

 

[ben1987]

i would probably go for the clowns and a few softies.

Then once you get the hang of it, then maybe try sea horses

 

[pscl227]

what about the native species tank mentioned?

would clown fish breeding be suitable for a newb?

 

[youngfisher]

If you research about clown breeding, you wont be a newb so dont worry about that one.
I like the idea of a native british water, but think it would be to much hassle.
Seahorses are extermly hard, if you do enough research however you could manage it.
I would say go for the reef, just as you can change it more than you can change it with seahorses etc.
And you have more options on what to do.

YF

 

[ben1987]

i dont know much about the native tanks as i find them quite unattractive compared to teh tropical ones.


To breed clown fish you need a lot of time. If you go buy a pair of clowns from a shop, then these are often juvies and a couple of years away from breeding size.

Then the need a constant supply of phyto fed rotifers for their first stage. So you need a shed load of live food for them.

 

[pscl227]

As far as filtration is concerned, you can obviously use live rock in the tank, but can i use my external canister filter?

or maybe even modify it using live rock rubble?

 

[Buddyboy67]

As long as you stick with rockpool specimens, cold water tanks can be stunning..deeper water species will require large chiller units to maintain a constant low temp. Rock pool species are used to large fluctuations in both specific gravity and temperature and most prove to be extremely hardy in a tank. My son kept a 4 gallon pico running for over a year with great success using snakelock and beadlet anemones, shrimp, hermits and a young native goby and blenny, replacing the latter occasionally for new small specimens....
With a chiller running your options open , having dahlia anemones and various soft coral species thriving off our coastline as high as only a couple of meters depth in many cases , allowing for very easy collection.

 

[pscl227]

Would it be possible to collect specimens with just a snorkel, mask and wetsuit as i don't own my own diving gear?

Is their any online shops that you can buy native species off of, defiantly a viable option to hook up a chiller unit.

 

[Buddyboy67]

Any of those mentioned could be collected free diving, no scuba required, however these deeper waters anemones deffo require precise chilling...Rock pooling is the easiest option, and I must admit ..Fun!!!!!
If you take the urge , simply return your critters and collect somemore...
Few years back pfk featured c/w marine suppliers but honestly would prefer to catch my own, also salt water can be collected while there for water changes ,etc.....
Actually just put me back in the mood to set up another here myself, only being 20 mins from coast here it's a simple task and as said rock pool species are relatively hardy and allow you the chance to make a few mistakes and aren't so fussy about water quality !!!

 

[Musho3210]

If you research about clown breeding, you wont be a newb so dont worry about that one.
I like the idea of a native british water, but think it would be to much hassle.
Seahorses are extermly hard, if you do enough research however you could manage it.
I would say go for the reef, just as you can change it more than you can change it with seahorses etc.
And you have more options on what to do.

YF

I would not go to the extremity of saying sea-horses are extremely hard without specifying species. Some can be much easier than others, while I would agree none of the care requirements for any sea-horse species would dabble in the easy section. With proper dedication and research, as well as picking out the right species that has been captive bred, keeping sea horses thriving may be easier than raising a hundred little fry and trying to find homes for them. Seahorse require a much different type of care and possibly tank than fish, which is the reason why I think they have the reputation of being "extremely" hard.

Here is a good read, it tells you what type of tank they need as opposed to what the most common reef or FOWLR tanks are.
[URL="http/reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-11/hcs3/index.php"]http/reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-11/hcs3/index.php[/URL]

Breeding is another question, both with clownfish and seahorses. If you want to breed marine animals, start with an easier fish like the Bangaii Cardinal, breeding clownfish may be one of the most profitable and common thing to do, but that my no means makes it the easiest to do. Cardinals are mouth-brooders and by the time the fry leave their parent they will be big enough to eat baby brine shrimp, therefore not requiring the first few days of rotifers like clownfish and seahorses require. Plus Bangaii Cardinals are endangered so breeding them would be great. Just dont expect to get rich off of it.

 

[pscl227]

Thanks for that online magazine link, excellent read!

Also just bought the "nano-reef handbook" and the "super simple guide to corals"!!

Thanks!

 

[seffieuk]

There is an interesting piece in the june/july issue of Marine world about beadlet anemonies and another interesting bit about uk cold water tanks in the June/July issue of ultra marines by Mike Lemmon. You should be able to get theses magazines still Try also googling Mike Lemmon, might come up with something. By the way, Mike's tank looks amazing, so if you are close to the coast would be a great way of keeping marines and we would love to watch your journey

Seffie x

 

[pscl227]

Hello again!

Few more questions, firstly is it possible for corals and anemone to live under LED powered lighting in a small tank or would they require supplement with T5's or similar?

Secondly, I have read a few reports that Banggai Cardinalfish can be hard get off of live foods?

Third, are there any websites or shops that specialize in entirely tank bred marine fish, and properly fragged corals?

Fourth, is there any alternative to live rock? I have seen people using wet dry trickle filters without any live rock element with success, is there any reason these are not more popular in marine setups?

Sorry for the bombardment of questions!

Thanks for your time!

Paul

 

[seffieuk]

Hello again!

Few more questions, firstly is it possible for corals and anemone to live under LED powered lighting in a small tank or would they require supplement with T5's or similar?

All according what led lighting

Secondly, I have read a few reports that Banggai Cardinalfish can be hard get off of live foods?

sorry I have never kept them

Third, are there any websites or shops that specialize in entirely tank bred marine fish, and properly fragged corals?

I don't think so, well not in the UK as far as I am aware

Fourth, is there any alternative to live rock? I have seen people using wet dry trickle filters without any live rock element with success, is there any reason these are not more popular in marine setups?

That's how people used to keep marines years ago - most on here use live rock as filtration, can't think of anyone who doesn't

Sorry for the bombardment of questions!

Don't be sorry, questions are good?

Thanks for your time!

Paul

Seffie x



ps did you research the cold water marine uk habitat?

 

[pscl227]

Seffie x



ps did you research the cold water marine uk habitat?

lol done some hands on research today was down at the rock pools watching all the little gobies going around their business. Also found some rather interesting shrimp, bright green, very attractive, as well as your usual mix of crabs and shell fish. But as far as putting in place a practical implementation, no, lol.