FishProfiles.com Message Forums

yeah, best thing to do will be wait, and get it right when i have the chance to, after my 150gal is set up, i do have my eye on a nice 75gal (350 ish with everything).

That was great Calilasseia. Everyone should read this, even if they aren't thinking of saltwater. Lots of it also applies to Freshwater tanks too.

Right! So what is a good start up for a marine start up? What size tank and do the filters, air pumps and lights - are they all different considering the size of tank that you keep or ?? I am not too sure - you see so much stuff around and different sizes of pumps etc, that i am not too sure which you need and speaking to salesmen is so hard cause all they want is your money most of the time. I would like to set up an octagonal tank - say about 95 litres, but not too sure what pumps etc to get for it? Please let me know. By the way I love the start of this conversation Calilasseia- very awe inspiring - i am raring to go now! i am excited!!!!

Misha, the golden rule is this: buy the biggest tank and most efficient filtration setup your wallet can stand, and stock it very lightly

If you have in mind what you're going to keep from the onset, tot up how many inches of fish you'll be looking at when they're fully grown. The usual rule quoted in the textbooks is one inch of fish needs about 6 gallons (UK) of water, but for safety I'd understock and go for 1 inch of fish per 10 gallons - you can NEVER have enough spare capacity in a marine aquarium!

So if you're looking at a dozen Humbug Damsels, for example, which reach about 3 inches, that's 12x3=36 inches. For safety, you're looking at 360 gallons to keep them happy

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Thanks, but what type of filtration do I need? What size?? I am going to start buying things soon and would like sizes per size tank/litres. Like if it was a 95 litre tank then I would need this size pump etc. How big do clown fish grow and is ther a site which tells you about marine fish and pictures of them which is easy to understand?

I think 1" to 10 gallons is going a little overboard.

Great article. I am preparing to set up a 58 gallon reef right now and I could use all the help I can get. I don't know about the water chemistry of SW yet, but I haven't set up the tank either. Where can I find that info? I also need recommendations about what equipment I will need. Thus far I have a sump. I know I need a heater, water pump, and lighting. What other equipment should I get for this size reef? Thank you for your help.

Raider_fish

The thing I don't understand about the live rock only filtration is where is the mechanical filtration in that? What keeps the water looking sparkling clean?

I, too, think that 1 inch per 10 gallons is a bit too much. However, for a new person, at early levels of stocking, I guess it's not bad.

The irony is that some of the biggest failures are experienced by FW aquarists crossing over to marines, who aren't prepared for the considerable extra workload. After all, FW aquaria can be relatively low maintenance affairs because most of the popular FW fish are pertty robust, but the same does NOT apply to marines ... Marines are NOT low maintenance by ANY stretch of the imagination!

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

that was great thanks for all the great info Im trying to open up my own aquarium down here in Puerto Vallarta mexico Im an active fishermen and snorkling and have seen so many great species down here and there is no aquarium and I think that is a sin I check out www,puertovallartafish.com for on this subject everytime i go snorkling I see something new
again thanks for all the info

ive kept fw's for 8 yearsnow, so science i was 6. i dont know much about sw fish, bu ive heared somewhere that its not how big the fish is, rather how much swimming space it uses

amazing article/:'

Nah, you got that wrong mobius. It is about how big the fish is AND how much swimming room it needs.

---

Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

ok, my bad

Got to consider the fact that most sw fish are shoalers and either demand huge amounts of its own to keep aggression to a minimum.... or huge amounts of space in which to avoid each other.

Got to consider the fact that most sw fish are shoalers and either demand huge amounts of its own to keep aggression to a minimum.... or huge amounts of space in which to avoid each other.

This is not true. In the wild there are many that do school together. But in the aquarium setting, there are very few species that will tolerate their own kind. And many that will only tolerate the opposite sex.

As well, those that do not tolerate their own kind, in many cases will not even tolerate other fish that have similar appearances.

_____________________________________________________________

There is always a bigger fish...

Thanks for the article/guide, as a newbie it has been very useful.