okay you might know me from my other fourms and think i already have a salt but so far thats just my bf. im wanting my own and im thinking about ordering a 150 to 200 from one of my warehouses.maybe 200 is to big haven't realy decided yet.now i do know some facts about saltwater cause i read about stuff for my bfs tank but nothing about how to set it up or about what i want in it. what i want is a tank with fish some coral maybe and live rock. now for the coral part i guess i can't have because i also want a star fish but i heard all types of star fish are bad for corals. im hopeing someone here might think otherwise. some other fish i want is a puffer and a shark hence why im starting big. a bamboo shark to be presice, heard they can go in a 125 or bigger. so a list of sights or helpful advice would be greatly appreciated. so far i can't think of anythink else to ask.
starting my own salt water aquarium
- Thread starter akki
- Start date
Yes there is reef safe starfish and my favourite ones are linckia guildingi, linckia laevigata and linckia multiflora. Bamboo sharks are not reef safe, they will eat shrimps and may destroy some of your corals. also because of their size, i wouldn't recommend a beginner to keep one, becuase of nutreints that the fish export. Also puffers are not reef safe, so at the moment, you need to reconstruct you fish list.
some fish that a reef safe are
tangs/surgeons
dottybacks/grammas
cardinial fishes
tilefishes
Also a risk with dwarf angelfish (centorpyge)
larger angelfish seem to be better among corals
hawkfish (with no shrimps)
clownfish/damsels
REEF safe wrase
dragonets/mandarinfish
blennies
gobies
firefish
rabbitfish
SOME triggers
200 gallons would be a better tank size, reason for that, is because eventually everyone wants a bigger tank. and parameters are easier to keep at stable lvl.
with reef tanks and the depth your tank will be, MH is recommended, for high light corals. 250 watt MH DE will most likely be needed, and every 3 ft there should be 1 MH. Actinic supplements are also good to have, and they will be needed aswell.
For reef tanks i recommend anywhere from 30 x turnover rate per hour, up to 60 x. Of course, research your corals and for lower current corals put in a sheltered place in the aquarium. with such a large aquarium, a sump is recommended, and an in sump skimmer, Probably an ASM would do well. Refugium, good for putting algae, and other things like pods, and if any fish gets injured or is harassing other fish, they can be easily put in there.
Things you may want/need :
RO/Di or DI water filteration unit or access to rain water
Testkits
skimmer
Sump
Refugium
ozone reactor
UV filter/steralizer
powerheads
heater/chiller
hydrometer/refractometer
calcium reactor
autotop off
Do google searches and obtain info, and keep reading posts.
some fish that a reef safe are
tangs/surgeons
dottybacks/grammas
cardinial fishes
tilefishes
Also a risk with dwarf angelfish (centorpyge)
larger angelfish seem to be better among corals
hawkfish (with no shrimps)
clownfish/damsels
REEF safe wrase
dragonets/mandarinfish
blennies
gobies
firefish
rabbitfish
SOME triggers
200 gallons would be a better tank size, reason for that, is because eventually everyone wants a bigger tank. and parameters are easier to keep at stable lvl.
with reef tanks and the depth your tank will be, MH is recommended, for high light corals. 250 watt MH DE will most likely be needed, and every 3 ft there should be 1 MH. Actinic supplements are also good to have, and they will be needed aswell.
For reef tanks i recommend anywhere from 30 x turnover rate per hour, up to 60 x. Of course, research your corals and for lower current corals put in a sheltered place in the aquarium. with such a large aquarium, a sump is recommended, and an in sump skimmer, Probably an ASM would do well. Refugium, good for putting algae, and other things like pods, and if any fish gets injured or is harassing other fish, they can be easily put in there.
Things you may want/need :
RO/Di or DI water filteration unit or access to rain water
Testkits
skimmer
Sump
Refugium
ozone reactor
UV filter/steralizer
powerheads
heater/chiller
hydrometer/refractometer
calcium reactor
autotop off
Do google searches and obtain info, and keep reading posts.
well if i cant get a puffer or a shark i wont have a coral tank maybe later because what im wanting mostly a salt water tank is for a shark. as well as other fish like lion.and im defanitaly getting a ro\di water filter because the water around where i live is way too high in chlorine and as for rain water ive don't think i trust that these days
I have a blue linkia starfish, a black brittle and a red brittle and all have been fine with my reef.
The problem with linckia starfish are they are VERY fragile and if you see them in a dealer's tank odds are they are already on the path of death.
I have seen many healthy ones in dealers tanks, and personaly i don't think their needs are hard to satisfy in a reef aquarium. Although it is probably best for a new person to stay away for for atleast 3 months of practice, and even then, the shark may hurt it.
mysis said:
I agree. I've seen healthy linkia's and I've seen rotting linkia's. Granted, blue linkia's do have a high death rate.. actually I was scared to get one because I didn't want to kill it. But I've had mine now for about 9 months and it couldn't look healthier! Just be experienced and into a well established routine, with a well established tank before you start taking on the critters that are more sensitive.