What can i keep?

N

nico

AC Members
May 30, 2004
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Australia
Hi all
I'm fresh out of newbie school and was woundering what i could keep with a 3x150w MH and 4 x 3' Actinics.

The tank is a 6x2x21/5 with 3'sump and is going to be converted from FW. I'm just waiting for the LR and LS to arrive so i can start the cycle.

Thanks
Nick
 
You mentioned the dimesions of the tank, but how many gallons is it?

Do you want to keep a reef tank, or a fish only tank?
 
Hi Guys

fish list well...... Powder Blue Surgeon is a must,triggers, angels, butterflys but anything else that is reef safe.

Polyps, inverts, hard and soft corals if possible.
But is that enough light for them (the higher end corals).

Sorry but i forgot to mention that the bulbs are all 10k if that makes any difference.

Thanks alot all

Cheers
Nick
 
Powder Blues are not the easiest fish to start out with- definitely wait until things have been going very well for a while before even attempting one.

Triggers, Angels, and Butterfly's are not reef safe, so you have a choice to make. Reef tanks employ a number of snails, crabs, shrimp etc. as clean up crews and these fish will (depending on species) either dine on them or your corals.
It's a shame we can't have these fish and corals too, but thems the breaks.... sorry.

Your lighting will be fine as long as you keep your more light demanding corals in the upper part of the tank- assuming you decide to skip the fish above.
 
Hi Toni

For the surgeon.....how long until i can get one in there you think?

If their not safe then i will not get them. Its just that i read conflicting stories about them thats all. Maybe down the track i will setup a FO tank.

Yeah thats right, but as you say thems the breaks. oh well.
Yeah i will skip the fish above.

Just one thing buddy.... with my wet & dry thats running now. Is it possible to remove the bio-cubes (a bit at a time) and re-configure the sump so i can put some LS and a bubble trap in there and remove the spray bar thats in the tank and throw in a seaswirl?

Thanks again
Nick
 
For the surgeon.....how long until i can get one in there you think?
Click to expand...
Well.... first I think waiting 3-4 months after the tank is up and running before you add much of anything other than a clean up crew is good advice.

As far as the Powder Blue specifically- I would wait until your tank has reached a good level of stability. You have many phases yet to go through- the algae blooms, getting the topping off/specific gravity thing stable, the calcium/alkalinity balancing act woes of getting your additive schedule figured out, and the "freaking-out-at-some-small-thing-and-overcorrecting-until-things-are-way-screwed-up-phase!!
They are extremely ich prone so you will also need to quarantine it for a good six weeks- once you put one into your display there is next to no catching it and ich cannot be treating in a display tank with inverts.
They are just not an easy fish to get off to a good start, so the more experience you get under your belt the better.

And yes you can remove the biomedia- assuming you have enough live rock.
If you haven't even started it all up yet I would ditch the all bio-cubes right now.
 
Hi Toni
Im going to take your advice and remove the bio-cubes.
Can you please suggest some good newbie reefsafe fish.
Can you suggest any good tips on doing the cycle, i was told to put a dead prawn in there to help it on its way.

Thanks heaps Toni

Cheers
Nick
 
I am not an expert on this stuff- my tank has only been set up since January and I sure wish someone else would weigh in so I don't feel so responsible. :D

All I have done is just read and read and read.

I did find Live Aquaria to be a fairly good resource for getting acquainted with the different types of fish. Not that they are the experts for information- just a broad overview of a fishes size and whether they are considered reef safe or not. Once I got interested in a particular species I went to Google or Aquaria Central or Reef Central etc. to gather more details and opinions.

And it depends to a really huge extent on what you find appealing.
I know what I like- my species list is on both my reef page and on my Tank Specs page. But I really hesitate to recommend any one fish as good for newbies even before you have begun cycling. You are still a long, long way from adding fish. My first fish went in four months after I set up the tank.

And please do not forget to consider quarantine- it is quite essential with marine fish. They are near impossible to catch once in so ruling out any disease before you ad them can only be helpful in the long run.

As for fishless cycling-
This sticky has lots of good information for you.

And don't forget the Reefkeepers FAQ right here on AC- a vastly overlooked resource.

Just keep reading , surfing, and asking questions. After a while it all comes together and your plan will begin to take shape.
 
Heu Nico,
I agree with Toni, ditch the biomedia now. Can you put a little compact fluorescent light over it and make it a refugium?

The dead raw prawn is a reliable method of getting the cycle started. What I did with the tank I just set up was to fill the tank, put down my dead sand bed, add some dead base rock, add some sand from my established tank, and add the dead seafood. Worked like a charm. Now I'm going through a smaller cycle with the live rock.

If you want to start thinking about fish, some excellent possibilities are clowns of any species, dottybacks (but some can be very aggressive), cardinalfish, and gobies. Those guys are all kind of small, but you can add a tang when the tank has settled in and you have more experience.

You have got a decent amount of light, and you should be able to keep a variety of soft and stony corals once the tank is ready. Although there are exceptions, I don't find stonies any more fussy than softies. The main difference is that you will have to dose calcium and carbonate for a tank with a lot of stonies. I always recommend Eric Borneman's Aquarium Corals book if you are seriously thinking about keeping them. It takes a lot of the mystery out of the process.
 
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