here's the plan...

reptileguy2727

reptileguy2727

Not enough tanks, space, or time
Jan 15, 2006
1,799
0
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Northern Virginia
let me know any suggestions or further questions.
55 gallons
fluval 404
fluval 405
seaclone 150
radiata lion
snowflake moray
goldentail moray
fishless cycle
crushed coral or dolomite substrate on egg crate
rockwork, probably 2-3 piles evenly spread through the tank so everyone
gets their own area
feed new life spectrum if they will take it, otherwise mainly fresh fish products
no live food once they are off it (hopefully before i buy them)
 
Well, concerning the crushed coral... http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84360

I personally belive that feeding flakes or pellets to wild cuaght fish is unethical, howver, that's just me. One thing is certain though, feeding only one food item to any fish will eventually present probems with defeciences in the diet.

The seaclone skimmer has an innefecient design; a coralife super skimmer should do a much better job for about the same price range.

Running filter media can sometimes present problems and usually live rock + a skimmer + powerheads = a better filtration "system", however I'm not sure if mechanicall filtration would be nessisary or not due to the carnivorous fish you plan on keeping.

Also, it's a better idea to place your rocks on the egg crate, then add the substrate, rather than egg crate, substrate, then rocks.
 
how is a proven balanced diet to wild caught (most sw fish) unethical?
so you recommend dolomite? any opinions from others on the subject?
you dont think big waste producers may need mechanical filtration?
i know about how to setup the rockwork on the egg crate. im not trying to spend the kind of money i would need to to get live rock.
 
because Wild fish are used to eating what they normally would in the wild and may not take to any foods and starve. you should look into getting foods naturally found where the fish come from. you will avoid deaths and starvation or deficencies in it's said "diet"
 
Well, http://www.aquariacentral.com/articles/feedmar.shtml.

Also, as said above, feeding only one food item is eventually going to lead to defeciences, no matter how good the food is, it's still not targeted towards individual fish species and even if it is, there's no way to tell for sure wether or not the food is complete.

As for the live rock, you don't have to have all your rock live, maybe five - ten pounds of live with 40-50 pounds of "dead" will still give you great benifits.

For the substrate, I recomend sand. I'm not sure exactly what dolomite is (becuase I've never had much of a reason to care until yesterday), but if it's sand, then you can use it.

And, to qoute myself...

dorkfish said:
however I'm not sure if mechanicall filtration would be nessisary or not due to the carnivorous fish you plan on keeping.
Click to expand...
 
never said i was only feeding one type of food, and if you research NLS foods you may be pleasantly surprised. there was an ad in (at least) august's TFH magazine about a 2,000 gallon sw tank setup by the developer of NLS foods that for 7 years now has had a wide variety of fish from different regions thriving. the tank is only, and has only for 7 years, fed NLS foods, NOTHING else, not even supplements to the water. an article i found online from a previous TFH magazine article form '02 i believe talked about how this food is keeping mooriish idols FAT for over a year now. http://www.nlpublish.com/fishfood/promotions/tfh.cfm. and although i used to argue against NLS, i (and no one else really) can argue with the undeniable results this food has proven to have. so if there is a food that can be fed as the sole item in the diet, its NLS foods, they have proven it with results. in fact they are intended to be the only thing in the diet and the best results with it are achieved when nothing else is fed. dolomite is limestone. just because they dont drop into the tank begging for pellets doesnt mean they wont eat it and thrive. and i never said i would starve them if they dont eat prepared foods. you can read back and see where i specifically said no live food ONCE THEY ARE OFF IT. the cold hard truth is you cant replicate the exact diets found in nature, period. you may be able to get a decent handful of actual organisms a particular species would prey on in the wild, but you cant duplicate nature. and them not having seen a particular food item before just means you cant expect them to gorge on it the second they see it, thats all. thats why it takes a period of time to acclimate them to captivity, not just the foods but everything.
 
I would never say feeding flake/pellet food is unethical. It is an option BUT it will not yield the color, attractiveness of the marines that are fed frozen (from aquarium store) and fresh foods (from the grocery store). Now as to your original stock plan. Are you planning on upgrading? IF NOT, then drop the Radiata. They will grow far too large for a 55. Especially with the fish you are planning on keeping, I would plan on a LOT more live rock. All the fish mentioned love lots of it. You should make the live rock the primary form of filtration (that's how mother nature does it) rather than the Fluval's. Anyway hope this helps and good luck. Below is a picture of my Fu Manchu Lion that is strictly fed fresh foods (shrimp, crab, scallop, etc) from the grocery store. You won't find this kind of color on the same fish only fed silversides or whatever. Hope this helps.

113_1334b.jpg
 
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i dont plan on feeding just silversides or anything like that. i hope they will all take new life spectrum foods given the repeated and proven results with that food. every review i see for this food says colors far beyond those with ANY other diet. i already have the fluvals sitting around and live rock cant get the mechanical, chemical, or protein filtration i plan on getting with the fluvals and protein skimmer. live rock is a bit expensive for my budget, at least for that size tank. that is one of the reasons i went with this type of setup and not a community setup. the radiata is staying in there and the books and people ive consulted show this to be fine. there will be rockwork for the eels and considering their activity level the radiata will have enough room.
 
I guess my suggestion is to not ask for other's opinions if you are going to completely and emphatically disregard them, but I suppose you'll just disagree with this post as well. :huh:
 
I agree, if you ask for peoples advice then respect it and consider it. If you are not going to change then post this is the set up, don't ask for suggestions. Radiata's WILL NOT do well in the long term in a 55g. You know they get to 9-10" right? Standard 55g tank is only 12" wide. It will barely be able to turn around. You know that Radiatas are generally nocturnal so you won't really see their activity level? I know my little Fu Manchu is just 3 inches and is residing in a 55g at the moment and given his activity level it is way too small for him (am setting up a 209g for the Lions in December).
Looking at the New Spectrum Foods, it looks to be all flake/pellet right? You will not get any of the fish you have to eat flake or pellet, all the fish mentioned go by smell and flakes/pellets smell absolutly NOTHING like fresh shrimp or scallops or anything. Radiata's aren't always easy to even get onto frozen grocery foods so good luck. Anyway take from this what you will.
 
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