Hi all. I've been meaning to get my tank up and running for months now. Well, I'm sick of looking at it and all its emptiness in my livingroom and have committed to getting it operational (ready to start cycling) within the next week or so.
I'm not going for any sort of elaborate set-up. I'm just wanting a simple salt water, fish only tank.
Basic set-up: It's a 150g tank (5X2X2) with a 30g sump containing 9 gallons of bioballs and a couple of divided areas for filter type media (ie sponge/carbon). I have 300 watts of PC lighting that I previously used in a FW planted tank...but switched to regular flourescents when I went with a FW fish only tank as the algae growth was a PITA. I still have the 300 watts of PC lighting though.
With the purpose of the tank in mind...
1) Which lighting should I use? What types of life could I support with the 300W of PC lighting if I went with it? Again...I'm not going for crazy corals or anything...this is for fish only...just not sure if certain species require extra light... or if the extra light will open up a window to keep other interesting species of animals.
2) What kind of substrate? I'm thinking that I don't need a refugium, LR, or DSB or anything like that...just basic routine maintenance that I would do on a FW tank. I was looking at different types of aragonite...though I'm not sure what grain size is best for my intentions...or even if it's necessary. I figured it would be a good move for buffering purposes if nothing else. I used sand in my last FW tank and didn't like it at all because it was impossible to keep clean. Should I seed the aragonite with some live sand? Would it require to be a certain depth? Would it really even be that benifical for a fish only tank? OR...It might be easier and cheaper to just go with a safe regular sand (Southdown or Pool).
3) Decorations: OK...though not PC...I do have a couple nice pieces of dried out natural coral....that are pretty old....but very pretty. I figured they will help in buffering as well. Outside of those...I don't have anything else...maybe a conch shell. I have fake plants from my FW set-ups but don't think they'd go all that well. Any ideas? Any low requirement live plants that would fit the bill? Mostly I'm having problems figuring out what to put in the background as it will have to be pretty tall.
4) Protein Skimmer: From what I've read, they aren't necessarily essential for fish only tanks. I think I'll get one in the future though. Any suggestions?
Well, thanks for sticking with the post if you've gotten this far. Hopefully, I'll be on my way soon.
Thanks, Jamie
I'm not going for any sort of elaborate set-up. I'm just wanting a simple salt water, fish only tank.
Basic set-up: It's a 150g tank (5X2X2) with a 30g sump containing 9 gallons of bioballs and a couple of divided areas for filter type media (ie sponge/carbon). I have 300 watts of PC lighting that I previously used in a FW planted tank...but switched to regular flourescents when I went with a FW fish only tank as the algae growth was a PITA. I still have the 300 watts of PC lighting though.
With the purpose of the tank in mind...
1) Which lighting should I use? What types of life could I support with the 300W of PC lighting if I went with it? Again...I'm not going for crazy corals or anything...this is for fish only...just not sure if certain species require extra light... or if the extra light will open up a window to keep other interesting species of animals.
2) What kind of substrate? I'm thinking that I don't need a refugium, LR, or DSB or anything like that...just basic routine maintenance that I would do on a FW tank. I was looking at different types of aragonite...though I'm not sure what grain size is best for my intentions...or even if it's necessary. I figured it would be a good move for buffering purposes if nothing else. I used sand in my last FW tank and didn't like it at all because it was impossible to keep clean. Should I seed the aragonite with some live sand? Would it require to be a certain depth? Would it really even be that benifical for a fish only tank? OR...It might be easier and cheaper to just go with a safe regular sand (Southdown or Pool).
3) Decorations: OK...though not PC...I do have a couple nice pieces of dried out natural coral....that are pretty old....but very pretty. I figured they will help in buffering as well. Outside of those...I don't have anything else...maybe a conch shell. I have fake plants from my FW set-ups but don't think they'd go all that well. Any ideas? Any low requirement live plants that would fit the bill? Mostly I'm having problems figuring out what to put in the background as it will have to be pretty tall.
4) Protein Skimmer: From what I've read, they aren't necessarily essential for fish only tanks. I think I'll get one in the future though. Any suggestions?
Well, thanks for sticking with the post if you've gotten this far. Hopefully, I'll be on my way soon.
Thanks, Jamie
