Thinking Of Going Marine

[ALW]

Hi there, i have been contemplating about getting a Marine tank for sometime now. I dont have a specific tank in mind, but would need to be around 200L/50G. I do however have the livestock that i would like if they would go together. I have made a list of equipment that i will need, i think is this right. Am i right in thinking that if i use enough Live Rock i dont after use a filter.

Tank & Stand
Lighting
Live Rock
Live Sand
Heater
Thermometre
Pump
Protien Skimmer
UV Sterilizer
Salt Mix 7 RO Water
Test Kit
Hydrometre

How much would these parts roughley cost in £ to give me a basic guidline!

The livestock that i am wanting are as follows:

2 Clownfish
1 Humbug Damselfish
1 Yellow Tang
1 Royal Gramma
1 Neon Blue Goby
1 Long-fin Bannerfish
1 Scarlet Clearner Shrimp
1 Dwarf Hermit Crab
3 Turbo Snails

Your help is much appreciated

 

[orange shark]

Hi there, i have been contemplating about getting a Marine tank for sometime now. I dont have a specific tank in mind, but would need to be around 200L/50G. I do however have the livestock that i would like if they would go together. I have made a list of equipment that i will need, i think is this right. Am i right in thinking that if i use enough Live Rock i dont after use a filter.

Tank & Stand - depends where you get it from
Live Rock - you should be looking at 25-30kg so anywhere between £212 - £300
Live Sand - around 1lb a gallon so 25kg should do, ive just bought a bag half the size for £19 so your looking at around £35 - £40
Heater - about £15-£20
Thermometre - £1
Pump - your going to need about 20 times turnover so thats 4000 litres, id reccomend 3 pumps to get a decent flow so 3 koralia ones will do so probably around £75
Protien Skimmer - dont know much about skimmers so i'll leave it to someone else
UV Sterilizer - I dont think they are really needed
Salt Mix 7 RO Water - salt costs around £40 for 20kg, my lfs sells RO water at 50p a gallon or £1 a gallon for salted. It might be more cost effectove to buy a unit which would cost about £90
Test Kit - around £18 for a saltwater and if you intend to keep reef then you will need a reef test kit too at around £20
Hydrometre - do yourself a favour and buy a refractometer, hydrometers are inaccurate because if they get a bubble on the swinger thing (technical i know ) it wil affect the readings, hydrometers cost around £25-£40

How much would these parts roughley cost in £ to give me a basic guidline!

The livestock that i am wanting are as follows:

2 Clownfish
1 Humbug Damselfish
1 Yellow Tang
1 Royal Gramma
1 Neon Blue Goby
1 Long-fin Bannerfish
1 Scarlet Clearner Shrimp
1 Dwarf Hermit Crab
3 Turbo Snails

Your help is much appreciated

A tang wont fit in a 50 gallon, i think they need atleast 100 gallons but ui would check with someone else.

You havent mentioned lights there either

 

[ALW]

Orange Shark, am following your marine adventure closely

 

[Crazy fishes]

Yellow tangs are not happy in a 50g as orange said but require at least 75g. You might just squeeze a banner fish in though. Have you looked at the dwarf angels? They are beautiful yet small. In total for a setup think £1000 maybe a little more. That is a conservative guess; I have a 24g and that has cost about £600 with the live stock. Your clean up crew can be bigger, again I have three hermits in my 24g so maybe 6 can go in a 50g. Same with the snails. Are you thinking reef setup or fish only? How about a sump? Protein skimmer depends on the style, have a look at various models and see what you like.
When you decide on the type of setup then we can add more specific recommendations with regards lighting, filtration etc.

Hope to hear soon

Regards

 

[SkiFletch]

Will there be corals in this tank?

Aside from what was already mentioned about the tangs and bannerfish, my only other thought is to say, screw the live sand. It's a total gimmick, just buy regular aragonite sand.

 

[ALW]

I would like to have some corals in there, but have read that they need a mature tank of at least 6 months. The corals i would like are:

1 Blue Mushroom
1 Red Mushroom
1 Devils Leather Finger
1 Kenya Tree
1 Green Star Polyp

I have been told and have read that i would be able to fit a yellow tang in a 50G. Ok i will get just normal sand then. Am i right in thinking that with enough Live Rock i dont need a filter.

Thanks Again

 

[Crazy fishes]

I would like to have some corals in there, but have read that they need a mature tank of at least 6 months. The corals i would like are:

1 Blue Mushroom
1 Red Mushroom
1 Devils Leather Finger
1 Kenya Tree
1 Green Star Polyp

I have been told and have read that i would be able to fit a yellow tang in a 50G. Ok i will get just normal sand then. Am i right in thinking that with enough Live Rock i dont need a filter.

Thanks Again

While yellow tangs will physically fit in the tank and look like they have plenty of room, this is deceptive. They are extremely active fish and normally would be 'buzzing' around an entire reef picking at the algae. This is certainly true of all tangs and angelfish. If you put a yellow tang in a 50g the size of the aquarium spooks the fish it does not have enough room to 'buzz' around in the same way and becomes shy and reclusive (something that these fish are not). This abnormal behaviour has huge effects on the health of the fish and they frequently die prematurely. So please please do not put one in a 50g.

You are right in thinking that the live rock acts as your filter and certainly 30kg of 'live' rock plus the aragonite sand should be fine. All of the corals you mention are soft corals, were there any LPS corals that you wanted to keep? If it is just the soft corals you want to keep a simple luminaire with 2x marine daylight and 2x actinic T5 tubes would serve you well. I would think 4x 54W if possible should suit you. Oh I did forget to ask what the dimensions were of the tanks?? Really with lighting you have to think about depth of the aquarium and if you are thinking of buying a luminaire new you might be better looking to go down the halide path. To really suggest the best option the dimensions are needed so if you wouldn't mind posting them that would be great.

Regards

 

[ALW]

I dont have a tank yet, thats why i am asking you lot for your expertise! Ok then what size tank would you suggest to have for all the said above.

 

[Crazy fishes]

I dont have a tank yet, thats why i am asking you lot for your expertise! Ok then what size tank would you suggest to have for all the said above.

If that is the case then you want to look bigger.For eaxmple something like the Jewel Rio 300 or 400 which are approximately 79g and 105g respectively (we are talking US gallons) bigger is better. If you have the Jewel Rio 400 you may start looking at the other tangs and angels as they begin to be possibilities. Now the Rio 400 measures 5ft x 1.6ft x 2.4ft so any tank say 5ft x 2ft x 2ft would be suitable and do a lovely job allowing you to enjoy the beauty of yellow tangs 'natural -ish' behaviour. I am just using the Jewel tanks as an example. A tank that large would realistically require a sump/refugium but we can discuss that if you decided to go down that path.

For the fish on the list as a bare minimum your require a 4ft x 2ft x 2ft aquarium and that should keep all concerned happy and healthy. Once again a sump/refugium would be beneficial considering the bioload and you also wanting corals. Lighting for that sized aquarium I would personally go the halide route and look for a dual 150-250W halide unit +/- T5 actinics. Live rock, you would probably looking at 50kg and again just the plain aragonite sand.

This is the setup I am aiming to get but I need to finish my degree and get some money. Student allowance is not brilliant but I am sure it could be worst!!

Regards

 

[kiscard]

Will there be corals in this tank?

Aside from what was already mentioned about the tangs and bannerfish, my only other thought is to say, screw the live sand. It's a total gimmick, just buy regular aragonite sand.

Could you tell me the differnce between live sand and aragonite?

 

[Musho3210]

Nothing really, but price.

 

[SkiFletch]

"Live Sand"

"Aragonite Sand"

LS is usually sold in a thick plastic bag with water in it and no air. The amount of Oxygen in that bag is nothing without air and that bag has been sitting sealed on warehouse shelves for God knows how long subjected to who knows what kinds of outrageous temperature fluctuations, I can guarantee you that nothing lives in that bag. There's a good chance it was bagged months before you put it in your tank. No WAY is anything going to be left living in there. Aragonite sand is just plain coral sand. Cheaper and just as "live" as the other nonsense. The only true "Live" sand comes directly from the sand bed of another aquarist whose had his tank up and running for a period of months or more.

Andy, I'm glad you're taking time to research the health of your future fish, always good to see out of a new aquarist. I agree with CF on the tank size, he offers great advice. I'll offer one more little tidbit on the order of stocking. Add the damselfish and royal gramma simultaneously and LAST. Those two are very very aggressive fish. And be warned, once added and established for a month, they'll not take kindly to other new additions in the tank. For this reason I do not keep these fish. Just a thought

 

[ALW]

Would a 62 usa gallon be big enough for a yellow tang. Would this tank be ok, dimensions are in inches L=40 W=18 H=20.Ok then scrap the damselfish then. Is my equipment list correct? Thanks again.

 

[Musho3210]

Id get a 6 footer for a yellow tang, but not a 40" one, thats not even 4 feet where most peoples minimum opinion is at.

 

[SkiFletch]

Your equipment list is correct . still need to pick out some particulars there, but the general items are listed