Going to buy a 55 gallon

[shelly25]

FINALLY! MY DREAM! Found an affordable 55 gallon kit, and have scraped enough $$ together to finally purchase. 55 gal will be the biggest i've done so far and I don't know where to start. I feel like a kid in a candy store when I look at all the fish I can put in it. I am in love with the yellow tangs and would like to put one in the tank. My question...what would all you advanced saltwater/reef tank people suggest for beginners? What needs to go in the tank and what should I decorate the tank with? Should I use sand or gravel? For the tangs - do I need to do live plants/corals? What other fish are compatible with the tang? Any advice for a beginner is welcome! I'd like to know exactly what I need to buy so I can work out my budget. Thanks!!!

 

[hyrookin]

hey shelly,I dont want to bum you out but personally,I would
not recommend any tang to a beginer,they are a very delicate fish and
require very good water conditions. also, a 55 gal. is probably the
smallest tank to successfully keep a tang, so if you do get one, you will
not be able to have more than one.
as for what to decorate with,I would get some info on the benefits of
live rock(depending on your budget-- it can be expensive so look into
seeding with base rock).
hope this helps.

 

[Fuzzy]

for substrate i would go with hte ground up shell sand or live sand
for fish: theres always the traditional clownfish which would be good. also the candy cardinal
damsels
gobys can be good like the firefish goby or the neon goby
longnose hawkfish is good to, has a bold tempur tho but is a very smart fish

 

[shelly25]

Thanks for the advice - I did plan on getting only one tang since i'm only getting a 55, and then adding a few other species. I read recently that since the tangs are territorial with their own kind that you should only get one or get at least a school of 6...

 

[hyrookin]

yeah,as with most marine fish,more than one of same species will be
trouble,and I wanted to add that tangs are very well known for
getting ich,so you may want to get as much info on tangs as you can..
good luck!

 

[impur]

Please read this before you start anything

So you want to start a marine tank

 

[ostrow]

In a 55G I think what was meant was, if you get a yellow tang, that is probably it for fish, period. I'd start with the clowns/damsels, and before doing anythign I'd read all of the pinned articles here and at a marine site, like reefcentral.com or reefs.org.