Looking into buying a Saltwater Tank. Need Help

[ecto1]

I found that after 6 weeks with a 20 gallon marine tank, I was more interested with the live rock than I was with my two clown fish. Getting a pair of clowns, a few other smaller fish (help me out people, give the guy some suggestions), and eventually some easy-to-keep corals will make for an interesting and beautiful tank.

You'll want a "clean up crew" to remove wastes and left-over food and such - this is usually snails and hermit crabs. They're also a very interesting part of a reef system.

As for other interesting fish that will fit in a 55-75 gallon tank: Kaudern's Cardinal, firefish, clown gobies, neon gobies, six-line wrasse, blue-green chromis... the list goes on, those are just some of my favorites.

If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask... someone else on this board. I'm still a "beginner" myself, the only difference is that I'm starting out with a 210 gallon tank.

 

[billa_bong]

Well I have been talking with GoldDatnoidesRoc and he has opened my eyes to live rock, shrimp, crabs and all these things.

so i think i might do a tank with like some clown fish, firefish, and gobies. and do some live rock and crab, snails, cleaner shrimp, cleaner clams and such.

i was thinking of getting a corner tank cuz i have the room for it and it would look cool (always wanted to set one up)

i was thinking in the 50-70 gallon area, cuz corner tanks dont come in every size like regular straight tanks, i wud settle for anything in that region.

would that be a good tank set up?

also thanks for the help, and if anybody has any other suggestions of fish that would fit fell with that tank set up, i am always open to suggestions

 

[Chac]

Hiya BB

IMO Cormer tanks are really nice, I have some links that show some from design to completion I will pm you

As for the fish, really as long as you stay away from any of the larger, free swimming species you should be fine(Triggers, Tangs, Large Angels)

You must decided on whether you want to go for a reef or a FOWLR setup as this will dictate the types of fish you should have

1st in the tanks is usually the 'must have' Clowns most peeps start with these for loads of reasons , Colourful, lively & hardy.

The general recommendation (UK anyway) for LiveRock is 0.5kg per gallon, so IMO you will need roughtly 25kg of Live Rock for a 50(UK) gallons (60US gallons)
The list of fish as ecto said is alomost endless but if you cdo go fopr a reef setup make sure that all fish are reef compatable.

Stocking density is also affected by the size of skimmer you add to the system (larger skimmer will allow you a slightly larger stocking density than a tank without one)

Clean up crews as said above are Turbos, ceriths, Dove, Snails, Hermits, Stars, Shrimps, also you mention Clams, remember that these need quite intense lighting levels to flourish.

Del

Keep us informed as to your progress

 

[parker313]

The corner tanks are very nice, but there is a potential drawback... I know that a lot of them are relatively tall for their gallon size. That means that you'll need stronger (read: more expensive) lighting to be able to penetrate to the bottom of your tank. Knowing and planning for that ahead of time is fine, I just wanted to make sure and point it out!

 

[billa_bong]

Thanks guy's, how much does lighting be for the guy's to florish, and which ones need the special lighting???/ Clam only, or all the cleaning crew.

Also I am very uneasy about doing a reef tank, When I make it out to the fish store ( the bigger one in valley) I will have to look at fish tanks and such to see what exactly I want and what is in my price range.

What is the mantience difference between a reef tank and FOWLR set up??? I know it costs more, GoldDatnoidesRoc was telling me u need like 300 dollar lighting and such.



Thanks for your help, and Parker thanks for the info on the corner tank. I will take that into consideration.

Thx Del again.

 

[Chac]

IMO a Soft Coral Reef Tank is no more work than a FOWLR setup and softies are so easy to look after most of them needing no real intense lighting at all, the clam does need a intense lighting but that is all that does (on you list) the rest of the clean up crew couldnt care less, so it may be a idea to leave the clam of the list at the mo

I would have a look at Live Aquaria at the list of Soft Corals, Muchies & Polyps all of which are real nice in any tank (IMO) and dont as I say most only require the most basic of attention.

 

[billa_bong]

IMO a Soft Coral Reef Tank is no more work than a FOWLR setup and softies are so easy to look after most of them needing no real intense lighting at all, the clam does need a intense lighting but that is all that does (on you list) the rest of the clean up crew couldnt care less, so it may be a idea to leave the clam of the list at the mo

I would have a look at Live Aquaria at the list of Soft Corals, Muchies & Polyps all of which are real nice in any tank (IMO) and dont as I say most only require the most basic of attention.

I see, but would soft corals mix in with live rock and the live fish I said well?

The clowns, gobies, cleaner shrimp, firefishes, and snals/crabs?

 

[Chac]

Yeah No probs at all

Any corals you buy from the LFS will come milliputted on to a piece of Liverock and most (not all) fish are fine in a softie tank, when choosing fish just remember to look for them to be reef compatable.

 

[billa_bong]

Yeah No probs at all

Any corals you buy from the LFS will come milliputted on to a piece of Liverock and most (not all) fish are fine in a softie tank, when choosing fish just remember to look for them to be reef compatable.

Cool thanks

 

[parker313]

Yup. If you ditch the clam and stick with softies, you *may* have some trouble with the ones at the bottom, but you may not.

I am definitely not a lighting expert, so I'll leave those recommendations up to someone more knowledgeable

 

[billa_bong]

what exactly kind of rock/algea and stuff is in this tank:

http/photos.tobinhosting.com/album/album38/aad.jpg

i really think it looks good

 

[Chac]

Hi BB

That to me looks like either Fijian or Indonsiane Live Rock well covered with Purple Corelline Algea, this is type of rock I am using in my system and is the type I would recommend, just remember that the rock you buy from your LFS may not have such a good covering of Corelline but this will come

Del

That's a nice pic

 

[Ed4567]

Th large coral in the front looks like branching frogspawn (although it could be a different euphillia).
Behind to the left are yellow star polyps.
There is a mushroom to the right.
At the top is a trumpet coral or similar.
At the top to the left looks like a plating monti (could well be wrong)

 

[Chac]

Hi BB

Do you have the original post that the above pic comes from

If you do can you either post or pm me

Thanks
Del

 

[billa_bong]

Hi BB

Do you have the original post that the above pic comes from

If you do can you either post or pm me

Thanks
Del

I googled fish tanks and that came up. But would I have to do a full reef set up to achieve that look?