New to saltwater...

[mikemensch2007]

I have just bought all the stuff to set up my saltwater tank( my first), i got the salt in and its dissolving and mixing right now... i have a 30 gallon tank, so i can just fit about 4 fish in there... i have the sand with live bacteria (which i cant put in until tomorow night because the salt gotta cycle first) and than tuesday im going to get some rocks and put in there for some decor, and wednesday i will start out with 2 cheap fish to see how i did on setting it up... But before that i would like to get a protein skimmer just to be on the safe side....

I would like to know what kind of fish i could fit in there... I was wondering if anyone can put together a good couple of saltwater fish that i could put/that would fit in there and be able to be free moving .... I would like to get an anemone(just one) and a clown fish (if the tanks big enough, i do not know).....

Thanks
Mike

 

[steelhealr]

Hey MikeM..welcome aboard. First off, if you are already thinking about adding an anemone to a 30 gallon thank that is only a week old, I think you should hit the books first before you end up crashing your tank or emptying your wallet. Anemones need expert care, high lighting conditons, near perfect water conditions and larger tanks and, IMO, don't belong in a brand new tank.

Why don't you type out your plan here for all the marine aquarists to see so we can all pitch in for you. EG:

--what kind of live rock are you buying and and how much
--what equipment do you have
--what is your plan re: corals, etc.

SH

 

[mikemensch2007]

Well i had no plans on buying live rock, my boss told me that you dont need it and most of the people he knows who uses it get ich, He doesnt use live rock in all of his aquariums he has at the store.

My equipment... I have a Magnum 350 pro filter system , and am planning on getting a protein skimmer soon... I didnt plan on getting corals, i just want a tank with fish, i guess just a basic tank. Does saltwater have any plants or anything like that? If so where do you get them? I would like to have some plants if there are any for saltwater... I guess maybe i should do more research, i will have to do that today.... I got sand that has live bacteria in it, didnt put that in yet because the freshwater will probably kill the bacteria in it, i will probably do that tonight...

Thanks
Mike

 

[Chac]

Well i had no plans on buying live rock, my boss told me that you dont need it and most of the people he knows who uses it get ich, He doesnt use live rock in all of his aquariums he has at the store.

How can he come up with that assumption -

How on earth can using Live rock as your main Biological Filtration cause ICH

IMO I would defo hit the books & read as much as poss., before I bought any LIVESTOCK - I researched for at least 9 months and IMO you really need to get the general gist of marine before buying any livestock.

IMO the best bet at the moment is

DONT LISTEN TO YOUR BOSS _ the best, easiest (IMO) way of running a marine tank is using Live rock as your MAIN & ONLY BIOLOGICAL FILTRATION, appropriate FLOW for the size of tank & a decent PROTIEN SKIMMER.

 

[mikemensch2007]

why shouldnt i listen to my boss, he owns a fish store for one thing and he has beautifal setups there also....

Mike

 

[steelhealr]

UH OH.........Chac.....help....

Whew..Mike....don't know where to start here. First off...if all of us here had a nickel (or a shilling), for every piece of bad advice given by 'expert' lfs people, well......

Mike..first off....let's look at your post:

1) If your lfs guy thinks LR causes ICH, well, he is dead wrong. If he told you that you don't need live rock, well, then, you are going to start your tank off without the one thing that revolutionized the maintenance of a home marine aquarium. AND...shows you need to do a LOT of research.

2) Fish stores have GARGANTUAN filtration systems with protein skimmers over 6 feet high.....YOU..uh..WE DON'T. You might not be able to compare his tanks to yours

3) Plants, in general, ie, macroalgae, if chosen incorrectly, can take over your tank

Please.....hold back....read a little more....you'll really thank all the marine aquarists here later. Just really trying to help you get off on the right foot. SH

 

[mikemensch2007]

my boss uses the same filter as me, it isnt that big at all, hes just got regular setups there, there isnt anything big about them... I did some reading about live rock and live sand... The live sand also acts as the main biological filtration, i have live sand, so i will not need the live rock.

Thanks
Mike

 

[Slangl6238]

I do not mean to be rude, but I do not understand why Mike even posted a question on this forum. He posts a question and is advised that he needs live rock but then he tells you no he does not because his friend, a lfs owner, says he does not. If his friend knows so much, why did he just not ask him the original question? Anyway, I did what a lfs owner told me and one of my fish died. So then I turned to this forum and followed what these people said and everything is going ok. Mike will add fish and no live rock then fish will die. Even my 3 lfs told me that live sand would not support enough filtration for fish. They told me that I would need at least between 1 to 1.5 lbs per gallon. I am afraid he is going to learn it the hardway, I just do not understand people who ask questions, then when told something they do not want to hear, they just do what they want. Why ask questions if all they want to hear is what they want to do?

Just an observation

Steve

 

[mikemensch2007]

i have at least 1lb per gallon of live sand plus i have a filter already on it with biological filtration. but i didnt ask about live rock, i asked what type of fish would be nice to put in there and what i can fit... but there is one thing i would like to know is that how all my bosses fish are living fine and his coral and all that, but if he gives me some information and i use it none of my fish will live??? i dont understand that part

Mike

 

[Ed4567]

It is possible to set up a tank the way you are describing, it was common in the days before live rock was readily available however has a number of problems.

You are cycling the tank with fish, which since they are cheap will probably be damsels. These may or may not survive the cycle, unfortunatly if they do they will probably have decided they own the tank and will be very aggressive to anything you add.

You talk about using 'live' sand from a bag as a source of bacteria. The problem is that the population of nitrifying bacteria is proportional to the amount of ammonia available for them to 'feed on', in a bag there is very little ammonia so consequently there will be very few bacteria. In addition the bag may have been subjected to big variations in temperature, and have little oxygen available, therefore there will be even fewer bacteria left.

edit:
I agree with all of the above live rock and a skimmer are a far better way of filtering the tank- just look at the development of the hobby if the years since it was introduced.

Re: your bosses tank, maybe a few more details on how it is set up might help.

 

[mikemensch2007]

well my bosses tank is setup nice. It has a skimmer and a filter and in it he has some rocks, just for decor it is not live, he has his corals in there and a few fish... Basicly what he has in there is what i will have in my tank except for the coral because i am just a beginner and i dont got a big enough tank. I will probably buy my skimmer today and the rocks, and than tomorrow my cheap fish. ... I do hope i can get it setup right. The sand does have live bacteria in it, it is not dry sand it has water in it, i guess to keep the bacteria alive.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Ed4567]

The sand does have live bacteria in it, it is not dry sand it has water in it, i guess to keep the bacteria alive.

If the bacteria have no ammonia to feed on and have been subjected to extreme conditions then in my opinion there won't be enough to cope with the waste from the fish.

At the very least, even if you arn't going to follow the advice given on here, try to get some filter media from your bosses tank and preferably some rock and sand from it as well.

 

[Tiggs]

"I will probably buy my skimmer today and the rocks, and than tomorrow my cheap fish. "

lol....easy peasy!

 

[steelhealr]

Mike...I think you are in for a rude awakening and I hope your wallet can take it. Relying on sand for your filtration along with a filter.....I don't think you'll have a healthy tank over the long run...or will have a busy maintenance schedule. I can't beat you with a wet noodle, tho'. Sometimes you have to slip and fall before you pick yourself up and brush yourself off. Good luck with the tank setup you've decided on and feel free to post your progress. SH

 

[bunjiweb]

If your boss is such a f***ing ace then get your advice from him! People are trying to give you THE BEST advice for your tank possible. Your Boss doesnt seem to know what he is going on about to be perfectly honest. The assumption that he does just because he owns a fish shop is absurd. Most fish shop owners, in america especially are in it for the money and don't know jack about the fish. They leave this down to possibly one expert then the rest in the store tend to be part-timers etc.

Ben