New To Keeping Fish

[jodi]

I have decided as a feature to my living room I want a large fish tank.

I have been looking at the following;

• Rena Aqualife Classic 150 cm x 51 cm x 70.5 cm (543 lts)
• Rena XP3 external filter
• 200W and a 300W heater
• two twin 30W lighting

I will custom build a stand myself.

But what else do I need I want marine with live rock and coral.

As for fish what can you recommend, i rather a few large evil looking ones than loads of little ones.

Thanks in advance

Jodi.

 

[catxx]

wait, do you want a marine tank or a freshwater tank?
wait no, being a dufus, re-read your post.

are you completely new to keeping fish? i think you'd be best off posting in the marine section if your going down the marine route, it's an expensive (very expensive) route to go down, so good luck!

 

[jodi]

Yeah complete new to keeping fish,

I just thought marine would be more eye catching with coral and things and therefore more of a feature.

 

[diademhill]

Yeah complete new to keeping fish,

I just thought marine would be more eye catching with coral and things and therefore more of a feature.

How much time do you have?
Seriously, unless you are newly retired and need a full time hobby I wouldn't recommend you start with marines without some experience of tropical fish first.

How about Malawis? You could get a reef like effect with fish that are much easier & cheaper to maintain and more critically are more tolerant of user error

HTH
Sue

 

[nmonks]

If you are completely new to fishkeeping, get a book. Keeping a marine "coral reef" aquarium is going to cost hundreds of pounds, if not thousands, so spending ten or twenty on a really good book is money well spent.

A marine aquarium is stunning, no question, but so is a really good planted aquarium, or a big cichlid tank. In a large aquarium, thickly planted with big Amazon swords and suchlike, a school of a hundred cardinal tetras and a few hatchetfish and discus can make an amazing display. Coldwater marines are fabulous, too, if you are near enough the sea to do some collecting. I like brackish water fish best, and if you are into oddballs, brackish is perhaps be way to go. I find visiting public aquaria very inspiring, so if you haven't done that, make a trip to see one and see some of the options.

I'm sure others will be tell you about how much hard work a reef tank is. I helped look after my dad's when I was a teen, and it was a lot of work, not to mention expensive. One thing I have learned that makes a difference in marine fishkeeping is finding a reputable retailer. Good marine aquarium shops are amazing resources, and the staff can be a wonderful source of information. There seem to be no short-cuts to successful reef keeping... it's all about dedication, experience, equipment, and maintenance.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[mark.w.jones]

If you are new to fish keeping id say not to go for marine in a million years. Dont want to dampen your enthusiasm but they are horrendously difficult to get set up and running smoothly and if things go wrong you lose a £30 - 100 fish not a £1 - 10 fish like you do with tropicals.

If you really want to give it a go check out this guys journal about how he went about setting up his reef tank.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=21084&hl=reef

ALSO

check out all the pinned topics in the marine and nano reef section. Its not impossible for a beginner but takes serious dedication.