Questions About My New 125g Setup

[saltwater_n00b]

Hello all -

I just purchased a 125g saltwater setup and have recently gotten everything setup at my house. I was able to transfer about 70 gal of the existing water in the tank, then mix the rest. All of the water has tested good and my tank is now up and running. Included with the tank was also a 12" Miniatus Grouper (beautiful fish). My main concern is that I do not want to do a reef tank and would rather stick to a basic tank layout consisiting of either live sand or crushed coral bottom and some nice hiding places out of various tank decor. I also have a 25g sump tank with bioballs and bioballs in the drop also.

My questions are this:

Do I still need LR if I am not planning on doing a full reef tank? If so should I just keep some in the sump tank or the aquarium (and or both)? If I just want to promote good bacteria growth on the LR for filtration and not have the reef what type of rock should I be looking for?

Does anyone have any pictures of any saltwater setups that are not reef tanks? I'm really looking for some nice decor ideas. Any suggestions on tankmates for the grouper as well?

Also keep in mind my tank size of 48"w x 30"t and 18"d - A lot taller than most 125's i believe.

Thanks a lot....I know there are a lot of questions there and I've been doing my research, just looking for opinions now

 

[STUandJO]

When i started my tank i was told that live rock was the ONLY way to do it. This is an opinion of my 2 fishy friends who got me hooked on marine.

They both had reef tanks so they are talking about their own expereince. But it was good advice my tank is doing realy well.

I was also planing on FO but other critters and corals have started to crep in.

Im new to all this so take my expeirence with a pinch of salt.

Hope this helps

Stu

 

[Ahoy89]

You don't need LR at all with fish only but I'm sure most people will encourage you to get it as it's one of the best methods of filteration and helps stablise your water, the colours that can form on it look great and of course, it's most natural.

Some of the marine tanks in a lfs have no live rock in and run the set up with an under gravel filter with no problems at all. As long as you keep a check on your parameters, you'll be fine whether you add the rock or not.

As for decration ideas you can always get fake coral to spice it up although I'm sure a lot of people would consider the idea tacky! Some nice ocean rock would be great if you don't want to get live rock itself.

 

[saltwater_n00b]

Ok, thanks guys. Is my grouper considered a "reef safe" fish? I keep hearing conflicting stories. I would really like to get into doing a reef down the road.

 

[kj23502]

The grouper will eat shrimps, crabs n stuff like that.

Live Rock also enables you to keep fish that would otherwise be difficult to keep. It's also most natural for them. Remember a HUGE percentage of fish that end up in our tanks were wild caught at some point. Anything we can do to make the transition easier is better for them and I believe it reduces mortality rates(my read up opinion). Your fish is already established, but a bit of rock will help any new inhabitants.

http/www.wetwebmedia.com/c_miniata.htm

 

[saltwater_n00b]

The grouper will eat shrimps, crabs n stuff like that.

Live Rock also enables you to keep fish that would otherwise be difficult to keep. It's also most natural for them. Remember a HUGE percentage of fish that end up in our tanks were wild caught at some point. Anything we can do to make the transition easier is better for them and I believe it reduces mortality rates(my read up opinion). Your fish is already established, but a bit of rock will help any new inhabitants.

[URL="http/www.wetwebmedia.com/c_miniata.htm"]http/www.wetwebmedia.com/c_miniata.htm[/URL]

Great article....thank you!

 

[kj23502]

You're welcome. For a non-forum group, I love wetwebmedia.com, for a forum I love it here and RC....here more b/c there's more individualized attention.

 

[SkiFletch]

LR is a great filtration media but you by no means need to fill the tank with it or use it as a sole means for filtration. With a really big fish like a Miniatus, I'd suggest going with a BIG skimmer, using mostly base rock, adding just a little live rock, a canister filter, and really low powered lights. Would be your best shot at doing a big FO tank with a large predator like a Miniatus. Btw, those groupers can get REALLY big, and really would do better in a 6' long tank. JMO

 

[saltwater_n00b]

LR is a great filtration media but you by no means need to fill the tank with it or use it as a sole means for filtration. With a really big fish like a Miniatus, I'd suggest going with a BIG skimmer, using mostly base rock, adding just a little live rock, a canister filter, and really low powered lights. Would be your best shot at doing a big FO tank with a large predator like a Miniatus. Btw, those groupers can get REALLY big, and really would do better in a 6' long tank. JMO

Yeah, I'm kinda torn on what I want to do with the inside of the tank. I'm really thinking of trading in the Miniatus at my LFS for credit or trying to list him online for sale. He's such a beautiful fish but I want to do several smaller fish and have more room to decorate. I have plenty of room in my 125g but it would be more suitable for several smaller fish than 2 or 3 fish that gets as large as he does. Thanks man.

 

[mutantbigman2000]

Live rock isn't the only consideration you will have to make if you are planning on going down the reef route eventually.

Lighting is a big factor in reef tanks. So is water quality.

 

[saltwater_n00b]

Live rock isn't the only consideration you will have to make if you are planning on going down the reef route eventually.

Lighting is a big factor in reef tanks. So is water quality.

Yeah, I think it will be a long time before deciding to do reef. I am just going to play with some LR for now and see what grows