Second Aquarium

[Tiberian Moon]

background info, read if you care
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I have never had a marine aquarium before. The only aquatic animals i have had were a betta (which started me to like fish) and a spanish ribbed newt. Both animals lived a long life (Newt lasted 5 years which is a pretty long time) and the betta lasted 2 years (i kept in a marine land explorer, the 2gal one)

So after wanting a marine aquarium for a few years and finally moving out of my parents and living on my own (in a small room, im a college student) i have finally decided to get one.
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So after dong my homework ive came up with a system that i believe would work. i really would like feedback as to whether i would be doing bio-overload or what not.

Filtration and lighting - Marineland eclipse system 3 w/ Blue flourescent lighting
Water circulation - penguin powerhead, 300 gph
tank size - 29 prefered,or 37
heating - visitherm 100 (for 29) 150 (if i go with 37)

the inhabitants i would get would all be very hard fish, with the first batch introduced one month after the tank is set up, and the second inhabitants, two weeks later, third inhabitant, another two weeks later

first batch - three blue green chromis, 3 cleaner shrimp
second batch - one firefish
third batch - one ocellaris clownfish

Decorations - i personally do not like the look of live rock, so i would not get any. instead i would use live sand (25lbs) , and put black pourus rock in place of the live rock. additionally i would add macro algea (maidens hair) and plants (shaving brush).

I WILL NOT ADD ANY CORAL OR ANENOME. i think it is a waste of money, and life, i would instead use both artificial coral, and one artificial anenome (would that hurt the clown fish, would it fool it into the symbiotic relationship)

I would be greatful for honest feedback and opinions if that would be considered bio overload. i would prefer to have a 29gal tank (it fits my room better) but the 37 would be fine aswell

 

[Reefscape]

Welcome to the forums Tib..

Had a read through your essay..

First off..What stone exactly are you thinking of using in the tank? Why do you not want to have live rock in there? It provides a great way of filtration, the diversity on live rock is tremedous if you get it right..

2 Cleaner Shrimp would be more than adequate in a tank that size really..This is just personal preference really, but i always think that a Pair of clowns look so much better. Firefish are jumpers and are not that great at carpet surfing so make sure there are no little holes for it to do the great esacpe..

My stocking list would be 1) a pair of tank bred clowns 2) a watchman goby and pistol 3) maybe a lawnmower blenny

Macro algae is fine, fish may feed on it..I know people have brought a fake anenome and the clown has taken to it, how long the sybiotic relationship lasts for i cant really say..But, have to say that i know more who have tryied using them and the clowns have not taken a single bit of notice ( me included )..

Your equipment looks fine besides the eclipse system..i dont know of it so cant comment...


Hope that helps a little

Niko

 

[fsn77]

Live rock is the filtration for a saltwater tank. If you choose to have none, you'll spend more money on other filtration methods to keep water parameters in an acceptable range. Since you plan on having no corals, that might not sound important, but if you plan to keep any invertebrates (like cleaner shrimp), it is essential.

This black porous rock you mention -- what exactly is it? Not all rock is saltwater compatible. Depending on what it is, it could leach unwanted (and even harmful) chemicals into your tank (more of a problem for invertebrates). I'm guessing that you want this to become live rock, since you'll be using live sand? Live sand bought in a bag on the shelf, btw, is not all it's cracked up to be. You'd be much better off buying dry, dead aragonite sand and then seeding it with a cup of sand from multiple established tanks. Regardless, it's likely to take more than a month for your tank to cycle and be ready for any fish if you're counting on live sand to seed your black porous rock and make it "live."

Your stocking list is too much for a tank of either size. IMO, forget the chromis all together, get 2 clowns, 1 cleaner shrimp, and a small goby of some type (or a single firefish is ok). With this list (or even the one you suggested) there are no algae eating critters. You'll have to rely on manual removal during water changes to combat any algae outbreak you have (even with macro algae in your tank -- maiden's hair and shaving brush are not the best at removing nutrients from the water compared to chaeto or caulurpa). You could add a lawnmower blenny (as suggested above), but it could be pushing the limits on a 29g.

Fake corals / anemones will be very hard to keep looking nice long term. Whether you like it or not, you will most likely end up with coralline algae (it'll probably tag along with your live sand). The coralline will grow on whatever it wants, including your fake corals / anemone.

There is no mention of a protien skimmer. Without one and without having any live rock, the outlook isn't too good. Yes, there are tanks out there run without a skimmer, but they are typically stocked very lightly, include live rock, and rely heavily on a water change schedule.

Buying an anemone is indeed a waste of the anemone in many cases, as many of them can out live us, yet many die in someone's tank within 12 - 18 months due to poor conditions. Corals, on the other hand, are propogated so heavily in captivity now that it is incredibly easy to buy captively propogated corals without damaging the natural reefs. Sure, corals can be expensive, but if you find other people keeping corals in their tanks, they will generally sell a frag of the more common corals to you for next to nothing or even just give it to you for free -- many people with tanks that have been established long term are obligated to frag their corals to keep them from outgrowing the space they have. Regardless, I wouldn't suggest having any coral unless you have an adequate amount of live rock.

 

[Magpen]

As someone who has used the 29 gallon eclipse system 3 I can tell you that you will have a hard time keeping your water parameters in line especially if you do not have live rock in the tank. When I started out my fish only system I started with the exact setup that you are proposing to use. I ended up buying a canister filter to try to help keep the water parameters in line. It was still a struggle. Then I bought about 50 lbs of cured live rock and added it to my system. After about 2 months everything finally evened out and the tank was beautiful and easy to take care of. Just regular water changes and the canister filter was then just used for additional flow. Now the 29 gal is used as my QT for my bigger tank.

Seriously consider using live rock. It is not just for look it serves an important biological function in a SW setup. Plus you are going to want to look into getting some snails to help handle the inevitable algae that all new tanks have to deal with(and some established tanks).

Don't forget to get testing equipment. This is extremely important.