Beggining

[Nauplii]

Ok i have no interest of starting my own marine tank BUT i just need some input on the basics of marines to help me with my work... so when someone asks for a marine and brian or lee my collegues aint about then i might be able to help a little...
can anyone lend a hand or two

 

[blout]

first real question to ask them is what kind of tank do they want to keep, 1, fish only, 2, reef corals only, 3, both.


what other kind of info would you like

 

[leon]

I thought it was
1: fish only (with mechanical filtration) aka - FO
2: fish only with live rock aka - FOWLR
3: Invert tank, basically corals shrimp ect NO fish
4: reef, which is everything, fish, corals and inverts, obv. they all have to get on to some extent!

Most peeps go for a fowlr, with the intention of going to reef, once they understand the concept and difficulties of keeping a marine tank compared to fresh water, then!, when they have the confidence and understanding to take the next step and add corals. Go for softies first,(mushrooms, polyps ect) alot these can be kept under decent lighting, without having to go to the expensive halides, then theres hard corals, which DO need MH, anenomes!, need good lighting, need good everything really, more for the advanced aquariest.
BUT DONT ADVISE TO KEEP DAMSELS!!!! every one regrets it eventually, yes theyre nice, yes theyre very hardy, forgiving fish, but at the end of the day, they are called devil fish for a reason, they will end up costing you/customers more through the fish they terrorise/kill because they are a little bastards of a fish!
leon

 

[Nauplii]

heh thanks.. i knew bout the damsels brain told me bout em.. i like em alot but not for waht they end up like.

 

[amstar15]

arent green chromis good for cycling a tank in the place of damsels?

 

[Navarre]

NO fish is ok to cycle a tank

A tank will cycle just a fast and as easily with a dead prawn from the fridge. This can be achieved without causing any undue stress on the fish that of course have to endure the ammonia increase during this time. even though the fish might survive, the ammonia would burn its gills and cause damage that is totally unecessary.

 

[Ed4567]

Cycling wise, as above using a fish is not nessasary and not beneficial. Just to add that it is possible to cycle a tank completly using liverock only provided you get it in the correct condition.

 

[Nauplii]

heh, yeah i heard that if you want to use fish for it then green chromis are the best ones really.. if you want something that'll stay peaceful... unlike damsels.

anything else i should know? like thigns that go together.. or how many fish or wateva etc..

 

[3fsh]

Here are a few tips:

• 1in of fish per 4 gallons of water

• Anemones are for very experienced marine keepers (even then they aren't really that good of an idea because they are very tempermental)

• Good beginning tank size is at least a 25g

• Live rock is the best/most natural means of filtration

• Lionfish and triggerfish should UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES be kept together

• "Dory" fish are not appropriate for small tanks because
a. they need a lot of room to swim
and
b. they grow very large
They only reason it would be acceptable (IMO) to keep one in a small tank is if it (the fish) is tiny and you have a large aquarium waiting for it.

• Marine fish should be fed at least 2-3 times a day otherwise they become thin and malnurished. (IME and IMO )

• Pufferfish, boxfish, and nudibranchs are big no-no's unless they are in a species only tank. (If you are willing to risk killing the rest of the fish in the tank when they get stressed, then they're fine.)

Hmmmm... can't think of anything else at the moment. I'm sure it'll come to me later, though.

 

[Fishy411]

Here are a few tips:

• 1in of fish per 4 gallons of water

• Anemones are for very experienced marine keepers (even then they aren't really that good of an idea because they are very tempermental)

• Good beginning tank size is at least a 25g

• Live rock is the best/most natural means of filtration

• Lionfish and triggerfish should UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES be kept together

• "Dory" fish are not appropriate for small tanks because
a. they need a lot of room to swim
and
b. they grow very large
They only reason it would be acceptable (IMO) to keep one in a small tank is if it (the fish) is tiny and you have a large aquarium waiting for it.

• Marine fish should be fed at least 2-3 times a day otherwise they become thin and malnurished. (IME and IMO )

• Pufferfish, boxfish, and nudibranchs are big no-no's unless they are in a species only tank. (If you are willing to risk killing the rest of the fish in the tank when they get stressed, then they're fine.)

Hmmmm... can't think of anything else at the moment. I'm sure it'll come to me later, though.

Just want to fix a few things

Lionfish can only be kept with Bluethroat, Pinktail, or Niger triggers. Lionfish can not be kept with puffers. Puffers can be kept in A FO or FOWLR tank because they barely ever puff or release toxins.

Live rock is a good means of filtration but you still need a protien skimmer in anything over a 12 gallon tank.

Most marine fish should be fed 2 times a day if u feed a little and 1 time every day if u feed a lot

 

[Nauplii]

hey thanks ppl... if theres anything else you think of please dont think twice bout postin it. thanks for the help

 

[Navarre]

SKimmers are not essential for any tank no matter its size. More accurately is the type of filtration you will use. If you are using liverock only then yes a skimmer should be used but if you have a mineral mud system then skimmers can be left ot of the equation.

 

[Fishy411]

SKimmers are not essential for any tank no matter its size. More accurately is the type of filtration you will use. If you are using liverock only then yes a skimmer should be used but if you have a mineral mud system then skimmers can be left ot of the equation.

You are probly right but I am of the school of thinking that almost evry tank shud have a skimmer

 

[Nauplii]

wats a skimmer?

 

[Navarre]

Hmmm ok how can i explain this...

If you have ever been at the coast and seen foam forming on the water, this is natures natural skimmer. Waves create micro bubble that forma foam which carries protiens and nutrients out of hte water.


Ok.. so we want to create a similar thing for our home tanks.

Protiens and other nutrients are attracted to air (ever seen a film on the surface of a tank?) soa skimmer creates an environment where milions of tiny micro bubbles. These micro bubbles attrace the nutrients and protiens (the air on the inner surface of the bubble) and rise up a tube which is where the foam forms. This foam is then collected intoa cup where its simply thrown away.

So a skimmer actually removes nutrients and protiens before they can actually enter the nitrogen cycle!

Freshwater tanks dont have skimmers because the protiens in freshwater do not react with air in the same manner thus this piece of equipment is a purely marine piece.