Hi everyone,
I've been in the fish world for about 12 years, with most of those doing both a reef tank and discus. Now it looks like I'm going to be getting a fishroom! I'm thinking of about half dozen freshwater tanks, half a dozen salt and a 120 gallon reef. The problem with my reef is that I really like gobies. They're my absolute favorites and stocking the 120 with gobies is hard, because an aggressive dwarf angel can definitely fit, I get it and then I never see my gobies again. And the tank is so large, that tiny gobies (green banded gobies) would probably just get lost. So my plan is to have a series of small tanks to keep the gobies and other peaceful the other peaceful mini-fish that are so cool.
For the freshwater tanks, I'm planning on using mattenfilters, because I can use a single large airpump to filter the freshwater tanks. I should have lots of extra airline left over from the freshwater tanks. The trick is the saltwater tanks. I want 3-6 fish-only (OK I probably must have a shrimp in a few of them) saltwater tanks . The will NOT be reef tanks (I already have one of those and I love it, but it will have the big fish). The size would be less than 40 gallons, maybe even 20s. The bigger they are, the more likely a beautiful must have dwarf angel will be a tempting addition to the firefish tank. Small is easier to avoid the temptation. I am trying to figure out how I could filter the fish only tanks with air. My biggest concern is having to get several dozen powerheads and find places to plug them all in. I've thought about sponge filters or undergravel filters. Definitely combined with live rock, but if no one else has ever tried and failed, I may try a mattenfilter on one of the tanks. Since I'll have a number of small tanks I'll stock them lightly because I will have "extra" tanks if I must have a new goby (so I keep telling myself).
I thought about getting an air-driven protein skimmer (i.e. one which doesn't have any need for a power filter), but I'm seeing many of those smaller sizes. I thought about trying a sponge filter with live rock. The other option would be simply to get a smaller number of tanks and use power filters to drive the skimmers. Again, I'm primarily worried about reducing the need for outlets. Lighting will probably be DIY led systems, just enough light to see the fish.
Any ideas are appreciated.
nterry
I've been in the fish world for about 12 years, with most of those doing both a reef tank and discus. Now it looks like I'm going to be getting a fishroom! I'm thinking of about half dozen freshwater tanks, half a dozen salt and a 120 gallon reef. The problem with my reef is that I really like gobies. They're my absolute favorites and stocking the 120 with gobies is hard, because an aggressive dwarf angel can definitely fit, I get it and then I never see my gobies again. And the tank is so large, that tiny gobies (green banded gobies) would probably just get lost. So my plan is to have a series of small tanks to keep the gobies and other peaceful the other peaceful mini-fish that are so cool.
For the freshwater tanks, I'm planning on using mattenfilters, because I can use a single large airpump to filter the freshwater tanks. I should have lots of extra airline left over from the freshwater tanks. The trick is the saltwater tanks. I want 3-6 fish-only (OK I probably must have a shrimp in a few of them) saltwater tanks . The will NOT be reef tanks (I already have one of those and I love it, but it will have the big fish). The size would be less than 40 gallons, maybe even 20s. The bigger they are, the more likely a beautiful must have dwarf angel will be a tempting addition to the firefish tank. Small is easier to avoid the temptation. I am trying to figure out how I could filter the fish only tanks with air. My biggest concern is having to get several dozen powerheads and find places to plug them all in. I've thought about sponge filters or undergravel filters. Definitely combined with live rock, but if no one else has ever tried and failed, I may try a mattenfilter on one of the tanks. Since I'll have a number of small tanks I'll stock them lightly because I will have "extra" tanks if I must have a new goby (so I keep telling myself).
I thought about getting an air-driven protein skimmer (i.e. one which doesn't have any need for a power filter), but I'm seeing many of those smaller sizes. I thought about trying a sponge filter with live rock. The other option would be simply to get a smaller number of tanks and use power filters to drive the skimmers. Again, I'm primarily worried about reducing the need for outlets. Lighting will probably be DIY led systems, just enough light to see the fish.
Any ideas are appreciated.
nterry
