Any Advice For Simplest Cheapest Fish Only Set Up?

[teddyman5]

Currently running 8 freshwater tanks and have 30+ years of experience.Thinking of having my first go at marines and could turn a 2 or 4 footer over to them.Not wanting to go the whole reef route though but what equipment would I need for a few fish and shrimps or something?
Any advice on this and fish selection would be most gratefully received.

 

[zeo]

..damsels. Less then a fiver each, loads of different colours and types to choose from. And they are soo damn easy to look after.
Plus they look really cool if you add some ocean rocks for them to hide in between.

As for the setup..

Forget a skimmer (you dont need one for FO). I'd advise an external filter canister as apart from adding more room to your tank it also works really well in keeping the tank clean. Esp picking up bits of crap etc.

Ocean rocks look cool, pretty cheap too. I think I bought mine from ebay for 20kg for £25.

Heater, maybe a couple of powerheads to add water movement (my fishes seem to like it). Thats about it I think.

Oh and some substrate. Maybe crushed coral gravel/sand.

 

[kkyyllee]

since its fo i think a good skimmer would be needed, dmasles are cheap but they will kill eachother off and most get palm or face sized

 

[teddyman5]

Always the same problem, can't seem to get consistent advice.You think you have got somewhere then someone pops up and contradicts it.Maybe I'll stick with my freshwater.

 

[Betta5]

NOOOOOOOOOO! Do a FO i have a 12 gallon FO and you will always get contradicitive advice, its a forum. Get a nice size tank a good filter and set it up much the same way as FW. You could get clowns, firefish, green chromis etc

 

[Lynden]

A good strategy is to gather information from different sources then take them all into account when deciding what to "believe".

 

[babybell911]

Also personal experience tanks will help in deciding too. If betta5 says her tank is doing well without a skimmer maybe yours will too.

 

[thefirethief]

Always the same problem, can't seem to get consistent advice.You think you have got somewhere then someone pops up and contradicts it.Maybe I'll stick with my freshwater.

Ach, dont throw in the towel so quickly. Have you never experienced conflicting advice when dealing with freshwater fish? I certainly have and still do. Obviously you will get conflicting advice because everyone experiences very different things with each setup.

Have a look at some of the Fish Only setups in the Journals section (top of the Marine and Reef Chit Chat forum) such as this one.
For stock selection I'd buy a book such as 'Marine Fishes' by Scott W. Michael, find ones you like and ask for a few opinions on here.

Mark

 

[Betta5]

LOL everyone thinks im a woman haha! Well my tank runs on no LR and no skimmer. Im thinking of upgrading them a bit as its not the nicest looking tank and buy lots more "reef rock".