Just a few basic ?'s

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kotton

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Nov 29, 2002
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Hello everyone,

I have been into freshwater for about a year or more in which case I have been very successful (had a 75 gallon for over a year with a variety of American Cichlids with just 1 death) and I am entertaining the idea of switching to Salt water though with a bigger newer tank (new 150 gallon). It will be a fish only tank with some coral. Now I have a few questions as I have done some research but hope I can get a few quick answers here.

First of all, I wanted a Lionfish, Picasso Trigger, Snowflake Eel, and maybe a large Emperor Angel. Now I have no clue of the compatability of this selection and if I can't mix all these fish what's the closest I can come to that. Maybe you can help me there first.

Also I was wondering if a Wet/Dry sump or any filter for that matter is necessary for a 150 gallon fish only tank. I plan to have a top of the line Protein Skimmer, and atleast a 100 pounds of Live sand. Now if the tank is a necessity I will go the extra mile but I'm just wondering. Now I hear that 4 inches of a sand layer is good is that true? Should I mix it with Crushed Coral and other marine substrate?

What kind of lighting design will I need? Wottage, Type, $$$

What specific salt should I use and how much?

Do you still test for PH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate like in freshwater? Is there a marine test kit? What about dechlorinator?

How long will I have to wait for it to cycle with the live sand involved?

Now I have enough links to last me a lifetime and I will continue to research but I was hoping for some of these questions to be answered as soon as possible if thats not too much trouble.

Thanks!
 

Boogiechillin

It's ok, I confuse my students too.
Oct 26, 2000
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Akron, OH, USA
www.trocadero.com
Hi Kotton, welcome to the boards! I'll try to respond to your questions in the order that they were asked.

Your proposed fish load is a little problematic. Due to the sizes and territorial needs of the fish, I wouldn't keep these four in anything outside of 180g, which is a little bigger than you had initially planned. Regarding intercompatibility, the trigger could potentially rough up the lion - I usually don't recommend mixing those two. One final thing to note is that either the trigger or the angel will eliminate your ability to keep corals - both are avid grazers of sessile organisms.

Your DSB (deep sand bed) is a good way to go as this will help with anaerobic filtration. A skimmer is also highly recommended. As for the wet/dry, it depends on whether or not you opt to include live rock in the tank. With sufficient LR, the w/d filter will be redundant. Without the rock, a w/d is your next-best option.

Special lighting is only necessary for keeping photosynthetic organisms, which won't be possible with the fish that you've chose thus far. (See above). Without corals, you can just use a regular fluorescent strip light.

No particular brand of marine salt is better than the others IMO. Shop around for the best deal and buy in bulk. You can typically buy buckets of salt that mix to 150-200g of saltwater.

You definitely need to invest in marine test kits. Freshwater kits typically will NOT work in saltwater, so buy new. You will at least need kits for pH, ammonia, nitrite, & nitrate. I would strongly suggest purchasing an alkalinity kit as well. You will also need to buy a hydrometer, a fairly cheap device for measuring salinity via specific gravity. Dechlorination is still required, although regular dechlorinator is fine in SW. (Just avoid dechlorinators with other "stuff" mixed in - no Stress Coat or any crap like that!)

Cycling typically takes a solid 3-4 weeks. During this period, read as much as you can get your hands on!

Post back with any add'l questions that come to mind!
 
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