Hi everyone, I was a member here years ago for an Oscar I had, then I switched to breeding Kribensis, and have been keeping freshwater fish since I was about 7. I'm now 17.
I've had an old Eclipse system six sitting in the basement for a while, and I decided to try saltwater for the first time. I'm in a marine biology class at school, so I know all about the fish and taking care of the tank, and all that.
Today I went out and got everything. 6 pounds of Indonesian live rock, I think 20 or 10 pounds of that live sand stuff, (I forget the name, Agra something. It's a sand in a bag with water in the bag and it says there's live bacteria in it and all that. Also, I forget how much it weights, but it covers the bottom of the tank by about half an inch to an inch in places.) new filter cartridges, Instant Ocean salt, a hydrometer, and 5 gallons of purified water.
I now have the tank all setup, the rocks stacked how I want them, the sand settled, the specific gravity to 1.022, and the temperature up to 77-78 degrees.
Now, I don't want any fancy corals and all that, I know I can't grow them with the standard light the Eclipse system comes with anyways. I also know I'm going to need to keep up with water changes because it's such a small tank and there is no protein skimmer. But I'm just wondering what fish you guys think would be good in such a small tank, and how long it will be before I can add the fish?
I know our marine bio room has pygmy clowns, which I'm a big fan of, but I haven't seen at any local fish stores. What I'm thinking is a clownfish or two, the small ones of course, and a goby if possible. One of those mandarin ones with all the different colors. I'm actually not sure if that's a goby but they're cool looking and live on the bottom.
Do you think that would be an ok setup? If not,what would you guys recommend for such a small space? I know it's not ideal for a marine tank, but I've wanted one all my life, and I feel that I can keep up with the maintainence.
I know it's a long post, so I bolded all the important things for you, if you just want to skim it.
I've had an old Eclipse system six sitting in the basement for a while, and I decided to try saltwater for the first time. I'm in a marine biology class at school, so I know all about the fish and taking care of the tank, and all that.
Today I went out and got everything. 6 pounds of Indonesian live rock, I think 20 or 10 pounds of that live sand stuff, (I forget the name, Agra something. It's a sand in a bag with water in the bag and it says there's live bacteria in it and all that. Also, I forget how much it weights, but it covers the bottom of the tank by about half an inch to an inch in places.) new filter cartridges, Instant Ocean salt, a hydrometer, and 5 gallons of purified water.
I now have the tank all setup, the rocks stacked how I want them, the sand settled, the specific gravity to 1.022, and the temperature up to 77-78 degrees.
Now, I don't want any fancy corals and all that, I know I can't grow them with the standard light the Eclipse system comes with anyways. I also know I'm going to need to keep up with water changes because it's such a small tank and there is no protein skimmer. But I'm just wondering what fish you guys think would be good in such a small tank, and how long it will be before I can add the fish?
I know our marine bio room has pygmy clowns, which I'm a big fan of, but I haven't seen at any local fish stores. What I'm thinking is a clownfish or two, the small ones of course, and a goby if possible. One of those mandarin ones with all the different colors. I'm actually not sure if that's a goby but they're cool looking and live on the bottom.
Do you think that would be an ok setup? If not,what would you guys recommend for such a small space? I know it's not ideal for a marine tank, but I've wanted one all my life, and I feel that I can keep up with the maintainence.
I know it's a long post, so I bolded all the important things for you, if you just want to skim it.
