50 gallon setup (hopefully)

[quentin17110]

Holy cow….I found an old 50 gallon in my basement so why not make it a reef tank. I guess More water is better. It will be sumpless

Equipment
Marineland penguin 200
lominie g50 light
coral box qsp5 or AI Nero 3 (idk yet)
Aqua one heater

Stocking
naoko wrasse
picasso clown pair
cleaner wrasse
Lined bristletooth tang
tri Color wrasse
target mandarin
blackcap basslet
yellow head jawfish
Black nox or golden angelfish

imverts
cleaner shrimp
gold ting cowries (5x)
astrea snails (5x)
tuxedo urchin
porcelain crabs
pom Pom crabs

corals
Zoas
hammers
torch
frogspawn
trachyphyllia
toadstool
acans (lordhowensis mostly)
mushrooms
leathers
pulsing Xenia rock
Blastos
montipora
birds nest
candy cane
Sun coral
scolymia
gorgonians



Please tell me if any problems with this list I could fix

Sounds good

 

[L0L_Z]

Sounds good

that idea is cancelled read the post i made for the final plan.

well that basically doesnt matter because it leaked and flooded my floor . the most painful 2 hours of my life. SO 4'x18"x18" tank it is. Ill be starting my build thread may ish. so i just want to give an overview of everything i planned.

Rockscape,
large central island in the middle with caves and some rocks here and there.

Equipment
Diy aio with filter sock chamber in the 1st chamber, 2nd chamber heater and hob skimmer, 3rd chamber mini refugium, 4th chamber return

random others
IO salt
salifert nitrate test kit
shop lights (doesnt really amtter that much.
refractometer
RO system

Stocking (subject to change)
Regal angel or japanese swallowtail (whichever one i find first I guess)
naokos wrasse
one spot foxface (first fish most likely just to combat algae)(will probably rehome when larger)
pajama cardinal
clown pair
midas blenny
A goby
pearlscale butterfly
Pygmy wrasse

Thats a abasic overview

 

[i cant think]

Also i was also planning on doing a spotband butterflyfish instead of the chelmon marginalis

Are you still planning on a reef?

 

[L0L_Z]

Are you still planning on a reef?

No way, not yet, and definetly not in that tank.

 

[L0L_Z]

no message

 

[i cant think]

No way, not yet, and definetly not in that tank.

I will say, RSWC fish can be worked around in a reef
I have 5-6 RSWC fish in my 4’ tank mixed reef. However if you are certainly avoiding the reef idea then you should be alright. Again, I recommend against a Regal Angel due to difficulty and you seem to be impatient seeing you’ve gone through 3-4 tanks in a short matter of time. Patience is the biggest thing and if you fail this then you’ll likely wind up exiting the hobby.

As others have said, start out by getting 1-2 beginner fish like Clowns and then make sure this is the hobby for you before losing money (I can tell you now, you WILL lose money, and a lot of the time it’s a hefty amount).

 

[L0L_Z]

Ok Ill slow down. I really dont like most "beginner fish" except foxfaces and some gobies. The general consensus for the foxface is to keep algae at bay along with the army of snails ill have and an urchin or 2. Th regal is a thought for later.

Second thing, as its a FO, can i do Lava rock instead of live rock as it will save me a lot of money? I have heard opinions saying it leeches metals or silica but since its a fo with CUC will it be a problem?

 

[i cant think]

Ok Ill slow down. I really dont like most "beginner fish" except foxfaces and some gobies. The general consensus for the foxface is to keep algae at bay along with the army of snails ill have and an urchin or 2. Th regal is a thought for later.

Second thing, as its a FO, can i do Lava rock instead of live rock as it will save me a lot of money? I have heard opinions saying it leeches metals or silica but since its a fo with CUC will it be a problem?

I’ll agree with you in most beginner fish looking drab however if you look into more of them then you’ll find some ingredient nice ones.
I’m a fan of gobies and I ended up going for a goby I usually don’t like - Cryptocentrus cinctus.

As for lava rock, your CUC won’t enjoy it so I wouldn’t go for it and would recommend using LR or a mix of LR and Man Made Rock.

 

[L0L_Z]

I’ll agree with you in most beginner fish looking drab however if you look into more of them then you’ll find some ingredient nice ones.
I’m a fan of gobies and I ended up going for a goby I usually don’t like - Cryptocentrus cinctus.

As for lava rock, your CUC won’t enjoy it so I wouldn’t go for it and would recommend using LR or a mix of LR and Man Made Rock.

oh ok

 

[L0L_Z]

also Cryptocentrus cinctus is 300$+ here in australia, dk why

 

[L0L_Z]

After accumulating a decent understanding of the fish I want to stock this tank with and then narrowing it down I have got this list (in order of adding the fish)

Foxface
Midas blenny
pair o clowns
pajama cardinal
citron goby
firefish
melanurus wrasse (im dead scared of fireworms)
regal angelfish
naokos wrasse
macropharyngodon meleagris?? (ive got Questions about this)


ALL FISH WILL BE INTRODUCED USING ACCLIMATION BOXES.

Whats the deal with Leopard wrasses?? Some say they are the easiest fish they ever kept, while some say its impossible to not get one without a parasite. Some say they eat readily, some say they dont eat and starve. Is this a matter of species? It seems that Macropharyngodon meleagris is the easiest of them all and macropharyngodon choati is notorious for not adapting to tanks. Is there something with the species? Or are the people who say such things just lucky with the fish they bought? Its a pretty fish and im confused.

 

[i cant think]

After accumulating a decent understanding of the fish I want to stock this tank with and then narrowing it down I have got this list (in order of adding the fish)

Foxface
Midas blenny
pair o clowns
pajama cardinal
citron goby
firefish
melanurus wrasse (im dead scared of fireworms)
regal angelfish
naokos wrasse
macropharyngodon meleagris?? (ive got Questions about this)


ALL FISH WILL BE INTRODUCED USING ACCLIMATION BOXES.

Whats the deal with Leopard wrasses?? Some say they are the easiest fish they ever kept, while some say its impossible to not get one without a parasite. Some say they eat readily, some say they dont eat and starve. Is this a matter of species? It seems that Macropharyngodon meleagris is the easiest of them all and macropharyngodon choati is notorious for not adapting to tanks. Is there something with the species? Or are the people who say such things just lucky with the fish they bought? Its a pretty fish and im confused.

With leopard wrasses it’s hard to find one without any damages or parasites. Macropharyngodon meleagris is actually one of the harder species I’ve tried, I’ve had better luck with Macropharyngodon bipartitus. The Bipartitus and Meleagris also come in smaller, which in this case can be better. If you get a smaller Macropharyngodon then they won’t have adapted fully to their diet in the wild and will take food more often.

The deal with Macropharyngodon choati is these are a notoriously sensitive species. Even more sensitive than others in the same genus. They’re the hardest species to get settled as well as get through the shipping stages.

I hope this quick sum up of the issues with Macropharyngodon helps

 

[L0L_Z]

Ok, wont attempt it early on then

With leopard wrasses it’s hard to find one without any damages or parasites. Macropharyngodon meleagris is actually one of the harder species I’ve tried, I’ve had better luck with Macropharyngodon bipartitus. The Bipartitus and Meleagris also come in smaller, which in this case can be better. If you get a smaller Macropharyngodon then they won’t have adapted fully to their diet in the wild and will take food more often.

The deal with Macropharyngodon choati is these are a notoriously sensitive species. Even more sensitive than others in the same genus. They’re the hardest species to get settled as well as get through the shipping stages.

I hope this quick sum up of the issues with Macropharyngodon helps

I think ill try macropharyngodon meleagris later down the line and get a tank settled one from a local hobbyist or somthing.


Now I also need to ask something. Is a 800l rated skimmer overkill for this tank? Will it allow me to add more fish and maybe even corals down the line? I just started work on planning out the filtration system. Gonna go to a hardware store to grab some acrylic and silicone next week.

 

[McCarrick]

Ok, wont attempt it early on then

I think ill try macropharyngodon meleagris later down the line and get a tank settled one from a local hobbyist or somthing.


Now I also need to ask something. Is a 800l rated skimmer overkill for this tank? Will it allow me to add more fish and maybe even corals down the line? I just started work on planning out the filtration system. Gonna go to a hardware store to grab some acrylic and silicone next week.

I would definitely stray away from hardware store silicone- find aquarium specific silicone. Home depot (if you have them in Austrailia?) sometimes has it, otherwise I'd look online. If you get the wrong kind it can release all sorts of toxins into the tank which is never fun. As far as rock goes- I personally have used dry rock and live rock mixed. If you can afford to use all live rock, the tank will start up nices as opposed to using all dry rock.

 

[L0L_Z]

we dont have home depot, but we ve bunnings. They sell aquarium safe silicone cheap. im gonna have a lr dry rock mix.

 

[L0L_Z]

bump
(skimmer)

 

[L0L_Z]

Wanting to get the feeding schedule out the way

Monday - mysis copepod mixture + nori on algae clip + angelfish mix
Tuesday - hikari marine s and a (2 tsp each approx.) as well as sea weed extreme + angelfish mix
wednesday - Frozen pods + nori on clip + angelfish mmix
thursday - Mysis + Hikari marine s and a
friday - pods + nori + gel foods + angelfish mix
saturday - mysis + pods + halfshell clams + nori on clips
sunday - Masstick + nori + halfshell clams + mysis

*pods are frozen

All foods are enriched with selcon and fish V.
Masstick will be placed at random times, in different spots like the glass or rock.
thawed in ro water

Am I overfeeding?


Oh yeah, using a plastic tote with a hob and heater to QT

 

[L0L_Z]

IM considering making a build thread to complete my plan as well as equipment and filtration diagrams. Good idea so early or no?

 

[L0L_Z]

Ive thought up the stocking. 5 large fish, 4 smaller fish

Copperband butterfly/marginalis butterfly
regal angelfish
foxface
naoko wrasse
midas blenny
clown pair
pajama cardinal
citron goby.
kind of dwarf angel? (tibicen or red stripe angel)

 

[McCarrick]

IM considering making a build thread to complete my plan as well as equipment and filtration diagrams. Good idea so early or no?

yes! Make a build thread. Dont bump it every 10 minutes though. My build Thread doesn't get a lot of attention, I use it as a tracker for what I do for myself. Don't get discouraged if it's not super popular. If I have specific questions, I'll then post a question or search for the answer (the answer is usually among the thousands of threads already on this forum)