Thinking Of Becoming A Salty...

[Charl]

Hi folks.

I have a 3 foot tank (80litres) which I'm thinking of converting into a marine tank. I was thinking of starting with just some fish and live rock. My plan is to buy some base rock which hopefully will convert into live rock (if I understand the process correctly ), and place that on the bottom on top of the substrate. On top of this I will stack some live rock...

Now here comes the questions:

1) Is the tank size appropriate?

2) Can I use playsand as a substrate or should I use crushed coral?

3) The main fish I want to keep is a lion fish, will I be able to do that with this tank?

4) Will I able to turn this tank in to a reef tank or is the tank to small?

5) I am planning to buy water at my LFS as this is cheaper than salt, and our municipal water is terrible... Is this a good idea?

The reason I want to use this tank is my space is limited, so a bigger tank is out of the question. I know it is not an easy process to keep marines, but I have kept fish for the last 2 or 3 years and am very dedicated.

 

[youngfisher]

Hi folks.

I have a 3 foot tank (80litres) which I'm thinking of converting into a marine tank. I was thinking of starting with just some fish and live rock. My plan is to buy some base rock which hopefully will convert into live rock (if I understand the process correctly ), and place that on the bottom on top of the substrate. On top of this I will stack some live rock...

Now here comes the questions:

1) Is the tank size appropriate?

2) Can I use playsand as a substrate or should I use crushed coral

3) The main fish I want to keep is a lion fish, will I be able to do that with this tank?

4) Will I able to turn this tank in to a reef tank or is the tank to small?

The reason I want to use this tank is my space is limited, so a bigger tank is out of the question. I know it is not an easy process to keep marines, but I have kept fish for the last 2 or 3 years and am very dedicated.

The tank size is appropriate, its not the biggest of tanks, but its not the smallest. Im not sure on the sand, as im still learning and I bought an established tank so sand came with it. I believe your tank could be to small for a lion fish - but someone like trod,stephan,bae etc. would be able to tell you about it. And you would be able to turn it into a reef tank IMO, aslong as you have good lights. And marines are not as hard as everyone makes out, research and lots of questions and you will be fine!

YF

 

[jtnova13]

Are you sure it is only 80L? That comes out to a little over 20 gallons. I didn't know they make 3 foot 20 gallon tanks. A volitans will not fit in a 20 gallon tank.

You might be able to get away with a smaller lion like a dwarf fuzzy, but even then i think 20 gallons is small.

Lions eat anything that will fit in their mouth, so a reef this small is probably not a viable option for a lionfish.

 

[Charl]

Then I won't get a lion fish...

What other species would fit into my tank then?

 

[bagu]

a dwarf fuzzy lion fish =/ but then you are limited to fish to work with it.

you will need to get salted water or RO water from your LFS and then turn it into saltwater if you buy RO.

Live sand is a con IMO, all the bits of life will have died (if its bagged on a shelf) so its just an ammonia maker.

I would start with live rock and then base rock, the LR is the filter in the tank and will start the cycle in your tank as the dead organisms etc die off it starts the cycle.

you could try a community tank

 

[jtnova13]

check into gobies, firefish, clowns.

They are good community fish and reef safe.

 

[Musho3210]

a dwarf fuzzy lion fish =/ but then you are limited to fish to work with it.

you will need to get salted water or RO water from your LFS and then turn it into saltwater if you buy RO.

Live sand is a con IMO, all the bits of life will have died (if its bagged on a shelf) so its just an ammonia maker.

I would start with live rock and then base rock, the LR is the filter in the tank and will start the cycle in your tank as the dead organisms etc die off it starts the cycle.

you could try a community tank

Still too small for a dwarf fuzzy.

I would go with a pair of cardinals or a pair of clowns, and another pair of neon gobies for that size tank. All tank bred of course.

 

[bagu]

a dwarf fuzzy lion fish =/ but then you are limited to fish to work with it.

you will need to get salted water or RO water from your LFS and then turn it into saltwater if you buy RO.

Live sand is a con IMO, all the bits of life will have died (if its bagged on a shelf) so its just an ammonia maker.

I would start with live rock and then base rock, the LR is the filter in the tank and will start the cycle in your tank as the dead organisms etc die off it starts the cycle.

you could try a community tank

Still too small for a dwarf fuzzy.

I would go with a pair of cardinals or a pair of clowns, and another pair of neon gobies for that size tank. All tank bred of course.

i thought BAE kept one in a Orca TL450 not to be rude or anything mate

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, I also am curiuos what the other two dimensions are if the tank is 3' long and only holds 80 liters... Sure you didn't mean 180 liters?

 

[KingOfTheSea]

I think 36"x12"x12" is somewhere around 80 litres.

 

[TigerIssey]

85 litres going by forum calculator.

 

[jtnova13]

that's such an odd shape... my 20 gallon is 2' long.

Anyway, there are some good suggestions of community reef fish!

 

[SkiFletch]

Interesting tank size there. You probably could get away with a dwarf fuzzy lionfish in that size.