Fish only.. Getting started

J

Justin2895

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Oct 3, 2005
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I have been skimming through this site for acouple of days now and found alot of useful information, I just want to ask the questions myself.

Im setting up a SW tank 90 gal acryillic, I would like to have fish only as i dont want to get over my head.

What kind of filters do I need?
Skimmer?
anything else I may need?

Im looking for brand name suggestions
I have been looking at getting 2 Marineland Emperor Bio-Wheel 400 Power Filter
would that be a good option?

What about substrate and rocks?
What is safe to use?

What brand of salt?

Once again this will be a fish only tank but I would like big rocks for decoration and hidding spots in there "not live rocks"

This is my tank and stand

I built the stand myself it still needs doors stain and a hood

thank you for your help
any other suggestions would be great
Justin

DSC_0026.JPG
 
i think the two Emperor Filters would work fine

the best skimmers i've heard of are the Remora and the BakPak, but theyre both kind of pricey

you also need a heater, thermometer, hydrometer, hood, lights, and dechlorinator

for substrate, it is generally recommended to use sand. there are several types of sand, (my favorite is the black sand) it might be best to use some type of live sand

the only type of salt that they sell around me is Instant Ocean

i don't see why you don't want live rock. fish only tanks can benefit from it too. and if you got live sand or a couple pieces of live rock, the other rocks you put in there would turn "live" to (although you wouldn't get al the fun hitchhikers)

Hope this helps, and good luck!! :)
 
even though you want a fish only tank i would go with some kind of sand on the bottom probly 3-4 inchs thick and some live rock thats something you can build on steps you can add rock just about when ever you like as long as you cure it first ..

as far as a filters a good protine skimmer and good air pump is a must for marine tanks

as far as salt goes there generaly all the same so pick one that fits in your price range corallife redsea are just a few to look at

you need good quilty clean source of water either ro or other

and probly a cupple of heaters and lighting is a must im assuming you have not looked into lighting yet if you want corals get good ligting right off from the start else if you only want fish only you could probly get away with a 2 4' tubes..

ph nitrate ammonia test kits and a salinity gauge are a must the rest of the stuff you can buy for your needs

hope that gives you some things to reserch your self and decide on
 
The store in my area sells live rock for about 8$ a lb. But there are different grades of rock...some are more pricey than others. It is generally suggested to use 1 to 1 1/2 lbs of LR per gallon. I am contemplating a SW tank myself and would definitely go the FOWLR (FishOnlyWithLiveRock) route should I take the plunge. You don't need any high priced lighting for a FOWLR tank...as long as you don't add inverts or corals.
 
For non live rocks you could use rocks from a very clean, healthy lake.
(ie a non-manmade lake)

I took rocks from a lake in northern michigan (granite+limestone) Though they may not be traditional, they are cool!
I also have rocks that at one point by the side of the highway. I would NOT reccomend doing this because of the risk of leaking motor oil and gasoline in your tank. I got lucky though, because those rocks have green and purplish-pink corraline algae on it now and are limestone, whick buffers the water.

As freddythefish said the hitchhikers are the cool part! They are an added bonus, unless you get aiptaisa anenmones or mantis shrimp or bristleworms on them!

The emperor 400 is a good choice, because of the extra media slots in it. If you use tap water you will get a growth of diatoms and cyanobacteria, depending on what your water company uses in water treatment. you can use the media slots to add phospahte and nitrate adsorbers to reduce this algae growth
 
im just so confused
Live rock or not
live sand or not

at $5 to $10 per lb for live rock and 1 to 1 1/2 lb per gal thats to expensive for me

Can i use just regular sand and some big rocks and have a "good" tank that will function well?

I think i will go with two emperor 400 is this enough water movement shout i have some power heads to for more flow?

as far as proteen skimmers are the rated by the size of your tank and if so how big should i get?
 
itstheantitang said:
For non live rocks you could use rocks from a very clean, healthy lake.
(ie a non-manmade lake)

I took rocks from a lake in northern michigan (granite+limestone) Though they may not be traditional, they are cool!
I also have rocks that at one point by the side of the highway. I would NOT reccomend doing this because of the risk of leaking motor oil and gasoline in your tank. I got lucky though, because those rocks have green and purplish-pink corraline algae on it now and are limestone, whick buffers the water.

As freddythefish said the hitchhikers are the cool part! They are an added bonus, unless you get aiptaisa anenmones or mantis shrimp or bristleworms on them!

The emperor 400 is a good choice, because of the extra media slots in it. If you use tap water you will get a growth of diatoms and cyanobacteria, depending on what your water company uses in water treatment. you can use the media slots to add phospahte and nitrate adsorbers to reduce this algae growth
Click to expand...

You want to be careful when adding anything that is not intended for saltwater use into a saltwater system. Many different things can happen. One thing that can happen is that chemicals can leach into the water causing a very unstable and possibly fatal reaction. If you don't want to spend a lot on live rock at first you can do what I did. I started off with about 10 - 20lbs of live rock and another 30lbs of base rock. Base rock is made for use with saltwater systems and can usually be found for around $2 per pound or so. The live rock will eventually seed on the base rock and turn it into live rock as well.

Bradd
 
Ok but arent you guys using live rock as a form of biological filtration?

Could I have my bio wheels and some live rock say only 20 lb of live and 30 lb of base rock?

it wouldent be the recomended 1 to 1 1/2 lb per gal but i would have some

Basicaly what i want is more space for open water with just a little mound of rock in the middle

If this is fine... Where to buy?? base rock and live rock
 
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