new recruit for the fish-world =)

[BettaBoyz]

well, really an old one. my dad got me into the fishie business, he always had his fifty gallon set up with tons of Tetras, Danios, White Clouds, Shrimp, you name a small schooler and he probably kept a few. he tucked the tank away a while ago, almost four years now, but he wants to set it up again.

as a reef!

^^ he's going to find a proper place for it and buy all necassary equipment. here's where he needs help; he's got a big, ancient canister filter and pretty much everything you need for a TROPICAL tank, could he use it for a marine tank? if not, what do you suggest for the filter/aeration/heater/lights etc etc?

the tank will have a sand substrate, nice chunks of live rock and a few marine fishies we're not sure which yet, but no coral-munchers. of course, i'll be getting a nice purple Nudibranch and my dad's getting Clams, just because we like them =) so anyone have ideas for fish that get along with coral, Slugs and Shells?

 

[Equalizer]

Hi,

I think if the canister filter still works to par that it will be good for mechanical filtration. Its kinda a rule of thumb to have one pound of live rock per gallon of water.One other form of filtration that is a must IMO for a reef tank is a skimmer.

For your aeration power heads will be enough. You wont need any kind of air pump.

Heaters, What you have is probably fine.

As far as lights go if you are going to keep a clam Metal halide is required.
I think one 400 watt lamp would work. That is a ballast,moguel socket,reflector,and bulb.Around $300.00 for the light set-up .

Fish,
I love black percula clowns, but realy their is alot of fish that would do fine with corals.

Im sure other people will chime in with other ideas for what you have planned.

Good luck

 

[ste2k3]

first of all, can i just say, DON'T buy a nidibranch. they are specific feeders and normally just die of starvation in captivity.

as for equipment. it depends on what size tank you are going to have. if i is over 4', then you will need twin halides and you can either go for 150's 250's or 400's.
if you don't want halides, 4-6 T5 lamps would be ok. you would still be ok to grow corals and clams under these.

suggeres that you either get an aquamedic or deltec skimmer.

if the heaters are old, then it may be worth replacing them, afterall, when you have about £800 of live stock in there, if a heater goes of boiles them, it would be a daft for the sake of buying a new heater.

if the old external works well, then you will be able to use it, but if it is on its last legs, then again, is it worth it?

I would aim for halide lighting, one large external to fill with biological media and one small to put carbon and phosphate remover in. one or two heaters, and as much live rock as you can afford. also, you will need 2-4+ powerheads to give you some good water movement.

a lot of people say that you need flow in a reef tank, this is incorrect, what you eed is turbulance. it is best to put the powerheads on the back glass ansd angle them towards the front of the tank so that they both hit the front glass at the same spot etc etc etc.

good luck.

 

[Landlocked]

If you're going to try to raise a nudibranch, be sure to find out what it eats first! Some of them will merely die once placed in a tank, and they will take any other creatures in the tank with them, from the ammonia surge.

Be sure to get a book, and read up on any fish or invertebrates before buying them.

Some good reef fish are firefish and anemonefish or clownfish. Both of these are good with reefs.

A protein skimmer is a must. It filters tons of gunk out of the water. Also, be sure to test run everything and cycle it before adding any fish or invertebrates. You have a good test kit, right?

Try to ask at least two people before getting a new fish. It depends on the size of the tank. Do not just listen to your lfs. I have gotten bad information from them before.

lots of luck!