Newbie - A Few Questions

[JohnB]

Hi

I’m a fairly experienced planted tank chap and am now looking at Marine, I understand the basic and will post more later for kit advice etc.

So I have possible tank

Rena Aqualife 120 x 50
Dimensions: 121x51x71cm (LxDxH)
Volume in litres: 350
Tank Volume in imperial gallons: 85

Its not huge but should do the job ( I hope), from what I have read I can go for fish only, live rock and fish or reef

I think for this size I’m going to go for Live Rock and Fish

I understand stocking guide lines are different between Tropical and Marine but thoughts appreciated and possibilities.

I would like fish, and of course some sort of cleanup crew – that’s seems simple ?

Can I have any Corals and Anemones as well or am I just asking to much ?, I do at the end of the day want a tank full of life and interest

Regards

John B

 

[rocknurworld2006]

Hi

I’m a fairly experienced planted tank chap and am now looking at Marine, I understand the basic and will post more later for kit advice etc.

So I have possible tank

Rena Aqualife 120 x 50
Dimensions: 121x51x71cm (LxDxH)
Volume in litres: 350
Tank Volume in imperial gallons: 85

Its not huge but should do the job ( I hope), from what I have read I can go for fish only, live rock and fish or reef

I think for this size I’m going to go for Live Rock and Fish

I understand stocking guide lines are different between Tropical and Marine but thoughts appreciated and possibilities.

I would like fish, and of course some sort of cleanup crew – that’s seems simple ?

Can I have any Corals and Anemones as well or am I just asking to much ?, I do at the end of the day want a tank full of life and interest

Regards

John B

what lighting have u got?

u will need t5 or metal halide

 

[Crazy fishes]

Welcome to the salty side,

85 imperial gallons ( 102 US gallons) is suitable for any of the types of setup that you mention. Anemones can be kept but I think try to keep some corals first and then you will acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to meet the needs of the anemone. I have a 24g and keep a whole load different coral species so no worries on the coral front. The secret is to know what the organisms you wish to keep require in order for them to live and thrive in your aquarium. For example there are two sets of corals; soft and stony corals. The stony corals are split into two types LPS and SPS (LPS: large polyped stony corals. SPSmall polyped stony corals) They all have remarkably different requirements, for incidence SPS will require lots of light and lots of flow whereas the LPS require moderate flow and moderate light. The soft corals are generally accepted to be the least demanding to keep.
The selection of fish is related to whether you keep corals and a clean up crew. Certain fish are 'reef safe' whereas others will pick continuously at your precious corals until they die. Certain fish will eat the clean up crew members. I suggest you decide on the type of setup you want and work from there. Once you have decided on that then a quick run through the equipment needed (with the kind of livestock you wish to keep in mind) and then you make decisions about the livestock.

So the first question what type of setup do you want?

Regards

 

[JohnB]

Welcome to the salty side,

85 imperial gallons ( 102 US gallons) is suitable for any of the types of setup that you mention. Anemones can be kept but I think try to keep some corals first and then you will acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to meet the needs of the anemone. I have a 24g and keep a whole load different coral species so no worries on the coral front. The secret is to know what the organisms you wish to keep require in order for them to live and thrive in your aquarium. For example there are two sets of corals; soft and stony corals. The stony corals are split into two types LPS and SPS (LPS: large polyped stony corals. SPSmall polyped stony corals) They all have remarkably different requirements, for incidence SPS will require lots of light and lots of flow whereas the LPS require moderate flow and moderate light. The soft corals are generally accepted to be the least demanding to keep.
The selection of fish is related to whether you keep corals and a clean up crew. Certain fish are 'reef safe' whereas others will pick continuously at your precious corals until they die. Certain fish will eat the clean up crew members. I suggest you decide on the type of setup you want and work from there. Once you have decided on that then a quick run through the equipment needed (with the kind of livestock you wish to keep in mind) and then you make decisions about the livestock.

So the first question what type of setup do you want?

Regards

Thanks, Im thinking of LPS (I like the look of them and that will do for me)

So
Live Rock
LPS (qty and type to be determined)
Clean Up Crew (qty and type to be determined)
Fish (qty and type to be determined)
later maybe anemone

Id like to work on stocking and then kit ( I have a modest budget so am not to concerned about kit)

Are there any tables that show what can go with what

John B

 

[ben1987]

http/www.liveaquaria.com/general/compatibility_chart.cfm

 

[JohnB]

[URL="http/www.liveaquaria.com/general/compatibility_chart.cfm"]http/www.liveaquaria.com/general/compatibility_chart.cfm[/URL]

Thanks.

Yes more questions. what order dpo we add in ?

Live rock followed by

Corals, Cleanup Crew, Fish ?

Regards

John B

 

[Crazy fishes]

Yes more questions. what order dpo we add in ?

First setup the tank and fill with salt water (most use RO water and one of the many salt brands available). I placed the RO in the tank and got it to up to 26C then mixed salt in tank. DON'T MIX SALT IN THE AQUARIUM WITH LIVESTOCK IN THERE. Look for a specific gravity of 1.024-1.026 and leave that over night circulating. The next day add live rock, 1.5lbs per gallon is a good start. Place substrate around rock (note that the rock has gone on to bare glass and this is thought to improve the stability of the rockwork). Leave to cycle for as long as it need......... Once ammonia and nitrite have reached 0ppm and nitrate has skyrocketed a large water change and then add fish. Choose the fish carefully since the tanks water chemistry is unstable. Are you thinking sump with refugium for filtration? Helps to stabilise chemistry somewhat... just a tip. Fish are added first to 'feed' the nitrobacter and nitrosomonas on the rocks; they are the wonderful bacteria biologically filtering your water. At this point snails and hermits can be added. After several months once the chemistry has stabilised and things are heading in the right direction less demanding corals can be added. This is things like Zoa and mushrooms. LPS are added later; for me I think my first LPS was 3-4 months after the tank had cycled but it can be different in different systems.

I hope this helps

Regards

 

[JohnB]

Yes more questions. what order dpo we add in ?

First setup the tank and fill with salt water (most use RO water and one of the many salt brands available). I placed the RO in the tank and got it to up to 26C then mixed salt in tank. DON'T MIX SALT IN THE AQUARIUM WITH LIVESTOCK IN THERE. Look for a specific gravity of 1.024-1.026 and leave that over night circulating. The next day add live rock, 1.5lbs per gallon is a good start. Place substrate around rock (note that the rock has gone on to bare glass and this is thought to improve the stability of the rockwork). Leave to cycle for as long as it need......... Once ammonia and nitrite have reached 0ppm and nitrate has skyrocketed a large water change and then add fish. Choose the fish carefully since the tanks water chemistry is unstable. Are you thinking sump with refugium for filtration? Helps to stabilise chemistry somewhat... just a tip. Fish are added first to 'feed' the nitrobacter and nitrosomonas on the rocks; they are the wonderful bacteria biologically filtering your water. At this point snails and hermits can be added. After several months once the chemistry has stabilised and things are heading in the right direction less demanding corals can be added. This is things like Zoa and mushrooms. LPS are added later; for me I think my first LPS was 3-4 months after the tank had cycled but it can be different in different systems.

I hope this helps

Regards

Thanks, think im making progress, whilst I appreciate this lot do not go in together I want to create the stocking list so I knwo what Im going to end up with

So Live Rock (1.5lbs per gallon) so 120lbs

Ive picked my clean up crew

Clean Up Crew

Blue Leg Hermit Crabs (how many can I have)
Cleaner Shrimps (how many can I have)
Serpent Starfish (how many can I have)
Turbo Snails (how many can I have)

after sufficent time has passed I hope to add some Zoa and mushrooms etc.

So bearing my list in mind and the fact that I have an 85 Gal (imperial tank) i guess this will restrict which fish I can have which is fine.
Im unsure of skocking levels in Marine so am looking for help as to what and how many

Ive not mentioned kit at all yet, I will do that in part two once ive decided what to stock with, there will be little or no restriction on kit, so stocking has no kit restrictions (hope that makes sense)

Regards

John B