My First Salt Tank

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piler

AC Members
Dec 12, 2006
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Hey guys! I'm finally taking the plunge into a salt tank after many years in the freshwater hobby, so I thought I'd make a thread with my setup and see where it goes.

I plan to start out as a FOWLR and maybe down the road move on to a reef tank.

The setup is a standard 55 gallon (4ft) tank.

Equipment:

Skimmer: Reef Octopus 100F HOB skimmer (I went with the HOB since I really have nowhere to put a sump at the moment)
Circulation: 2 Maxi-Jet 1200's (should I get a 3rd?)
Substrate: 40 lb's live sand
Live Rock: About 60lbs
Lighting: Standard Fluorescent's that came with the tank (obviously I will upgrade before going reef), these should be fine until then though right?

Thinking about getting a UV Sterilizer when I start adding fish, any recommendations?

Once it's cycled I plan to stock it with:
2 Maroon Clowns
1 Flame Angel
1 Blue Mandarin Goby
1 6 Line Wrasse
1 Royal Gramma

Does that seem like a decent stock list?
 

strangewaters

AC Members
Aug 23, 2011
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Real Name
Alex
one suggestion you should get a nice cylinder filter they make smaller ones for your purpose and later on an led light fixture is really nice it wont change the temp of your water at all and they really intense i run a nano reef tank with a very small protein skimmer as well
 

Aquatic Cliff

Registered Member
Mar 22, 2011
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Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
Real Name
Cliff
Welcome to the salty side of the hobby

I would read up a little on the marrons. They can be very very mean fish and you should be aware of the risks before getting them.

ALso, I would not get the mandarin, at least for year after your tank is set up. Most of them never really make the switch to frozen food and the need a very large supply of pods to eat. Growing that size of a food supply will take some time

I love the flame angles and 6 line wrasses, got them in my 90 gallon and they are great fish

I've never been a fan of using a UV. I'll leave that for others to comment on
 

piler

AC Members
Dec 12, 2006
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Ah I didn't realize the maroons were more aggressive than some of the other clowns, I just liked the looks of them - maybe I'll stick to the ocellaris. Is a "cylinder filter" the same thing as a sponge filter? I actually have a few of those laying around if that's what you're talking about, i used them in my freshwater fry tanks.
 

Khemul

Sea Bunny
Oct 14, 2010
1,617
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South Florida
The other thing to consider is that Maroons can be a bit of a pain to pair. It isn't always like other clowns where you simply put two young ones together. Not saying don't do it, just be prepared that one may kill the other.


You probably won't be able to support a Mandarin. You need quite a bit more rock if you don't have a safe place for the pods to live. Even if you get one that eats frozen, that is a supplement. You really can't get around their pod-diet. Their metabolism just isn't adapted well to eating anything else. Plus the wrasse may be competiion for food.



Otherwise looks like a good start.
 
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