First Saltwater Aquarium

[Andrew Stevens]

Good morning,

I have never owned a saltwater aquarium before, but have owned a 150 gallon and 180 gallon freshwater aquarium a few years back. Ready for the transition and needing some help on equipment, stocking, cycling etc.

This is what I'm thinking:

Waterbox Peninsula 5526 (appears to be 148.6 gallons)
Equipment needed - Open to all suggestions on what I need and what is recommended (skimmers, lights etc).

Fish: One each of the following:

Copperband Butterflyfish
Harlequin Tuskfish
Marine Betta
Regal Angelfish
Yellow Tang
Lionfish (probably a Volitans)
If not overstocked, would love a bottom dwelling fish, eel or lobster (open to suggestions)

Coral:

Crocea Clam
Acanthastrea
Acropora
Rock Flower Anenome Ultra
Scolymia
Torch Coral
Trachphyllia Rainbow
Zoanthid (EVERY. SINGLE. VARIETY)
Tile Sea Star (wasn't sure whether to put this under fish or coral!)

With the fish, due to their incredible growth I will add the volitans when all the other fish are of the right size (months/years). What I would love is suggestions on equipment needed and recommended (with brands if possible). I do not need top of the line, really after best value for money. I live in the greater Denver area, so also open to suggestions on where to buy everything I need. Thank you!!

Andrew

 

[Flippers4pups]

The Regal will most likely pick at your corals, especially a clam.

The Marine Betta will eat anything it can get in its mouth. Small bottom dwelling fish especially. As will the Lion fish.

The tusk will eat snails and inverts.

Just a word of caution with these guys in a reef tank. Best in a FOWLR tank.

Here's a good read on how to set up a saltwater tank:

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean, but it is nowhere near simple. This task is going to take patience, a...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Casket_Case]

Good morning,

I have never owned a saltwater aquarium before, but have owned a 150 gallon and 180 gallon freshwater aquarium a few years back. Ready for the transition and needing some help on equipment, stocking, cycling etc.

This is what I'm thinking:

Waterbox Peninsula 5526 (appears to be 148.6 gallons)
Equipment needed - Open to all suggestions on what I need and what is recommended (skimmers, lights etc).

Fish: One each of the following:

Copperband Butterflyfish
Harlequin Tuskfish
Marine Betta
Regal Angelfish
Yellow Tang
Lionfish (probably a Volitans)
If not overstocked, would love a bottom dwelling fish, eel or lobster (open to suggestions)

Coral:

Crocea Clam
Acanthastrea
Acropora
Rock Flower Anenome Ultra
Scolymia
Torch Coral
Trachphyllia Rainbow
Zoanthid (EVERY. SINGLE. VARIETY)
Tile Sea Star (wasn't sure whether to put this under fish or coral!)

With the fish, due to their incredible growth I will add the volitans when all the other fish are of the right size (months/years). What I would love is suggestions on equipment needed and recommended (with brands if possible). I do not need top of the line, really after best value for money. I live in the greater Denver area, so also open to suggestions on where to buy everything I need. Thank you!!

Andrew

The tile sea star is an invertebrate, it’s neither fish nor coral.

 

[sp1187]

welcome to the show

 

[Andrew Stevens]

Thank you for the kind welcome and information!

Corals are an absolute must, and I would hate to not have the Regal Angelfish due to picking/eating coral but will remove it from my stocking list if it isn't reef safe. Open to all ideas and thoughts on this.

I don't plan on having snails,inverts or smaller fish in the reef aquarium, just what is listed above.

 

[Casket_Case]

Thank you for the kind welcome and information!

Corals are an absolute must, and I would hate to not have the Regal Angelfish due to picking/eating coral but will remove it from my stocking list if it isn't reef safe. Open to all ideas and thoughts on this.

I don't plan on having snails,inverts or smaller fish in the reef aquarium, just what is listed above.

You’ll need a clean up crew of some sort, that could be urchins, small hermit crabs, snails, brittle stars, et cetera. They take care of uneaten food and algae.

 

[Peace River]

It looks like you are off to a reasonable start. I encourage you to use your plan as a general direction and not a checklist - you’re building an mini ecosystem. If you ask 10 reefers for their feedback on equipment brands you will get at least 12 opinions!

 

[Andrew Stevens]

Thank you both. And you're right, this isn't a checklist - just ideas for now. Frigus Reef - any recommendations on a clean up crew that wouldn't get eaten or nipped at by the fish? Would a single brittle sea star be enough to clean up the tank?

 

[Casket_Case]

Thank you both. And you're right, this isn't a checklist - just ideas for now. Frigus Reef - any recommendations on a clean up crew that wouldn't get eaten or nipped at by the fish? Would a single brittle sea star be enough to clean up the tank?

There isn’t really a right or wrong answer, you could probably have five in a 150. really depends on how much you feed. I’d say blue legged hermit crabs, and snails of some sort. There’s always a bit of nipping, but that’s just natural fish curiosity

 

[Fishy212]

There are plenty of sites that sell the recommended CUC for your tank size. I went overboard with mine and even add copepods and macro algae to supplement with feeding and cleaning. Things will eventually and inevitably find its way into your tank. You have to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. There are many things out of your control, but the things you can control is understanding how everything is connected. Look into a long spine urchin, very cool addition if you plan on having more aggressive fish. They destroy algae and are very interesting to say the least.

 

[Leslie Tabor]

Thank you both. And you're right, this isn't a checklist - just ideas for now. Frigus Reef - any recommendations on a clean up crew that wouldn't get eaten or nipped at by the fish? Would a single brittle sea star be enough to clean up the tank?

Pretty much all your clean up crew is fodder for those larger fish. The brittle star wont move around the tank a whole like, at least not that I have noticed. I didn't see if you are planning for a sand bed or not? If not, you might get away without a clean up crew if you are diligent about cleaning the tank yourself.

 

[Andrew Stevens]

Thank you for all the wonderful information!

 

[Casket_Case]

Pretty much all your clean up crew is fodder for those larger fish. The brittle star wont move around the tank a whole like, at least not that I have noticed. I didn't see if you are planning for a sand bed or not? If not, you might get away with out a clean up crew if you are diligent about cleaning the tank yourself.

Oh yeah nasarrius snails are good if you have sandbeds. And I loved sandbeds and hated bare bottoms until I tried a bare bottom... I love it. So much easier.

 

[Andrew Stevens]

Ideally I would love a sandbed, and am happy to put in the work to keep it clean. This will be THE centerpiece of our house, so taking things slowly so it's done right.

 

[BeejReef]

You know you best. A lot of fish people become coral people pretty quickly in the salt journey. The fish do their thing, but pretty much stay the same. The corals grow, change shape, change color. It's a year's long adventure. I'd just try not to box myself into a corner with any particular livestock for the first year or two.

Congrats on the new system!

 

[Andrew Stevens]

Hey Beej,

Thanks for the response. I agree on the coral, I'm already starting to geek out pretty hard.

Curious on your "box myself into a corner with any particular livestock" comment, would any of these fish box myself into a corner: Copperband Butterflyfish, Harlequin Tuskfish, Marine Betta, Regal Angelfish, Yellow Tang, Lionfish (probably a Volitans)?

 

[BeejReef]

Hey Beej,

Thanks for the response. I agree on the coral, I'm already starting to geek out pretty hard.

Curious on your "box myself into a corner with any particular livestock" comment, would any of these fish box myself into a corner: Copperband Butterflyfish, Harlequin Tuskfish, Marine Betta, Regal Angelfish, Yellow Tang, Lionfish (probably a Volitans)?

TBH, I don't know a great deal about fish, other than that angels are a real crapshoot with a reef. The other thought is wondering if you're really sure you want to go with no inverts. If you can't have inverts bc of fish and they're not cleaning the tank, then you have to.

There's a number of kind of umbrella approaches.... community tank, semi-aggressive, and predator. Just thinking u might care to start off with a few fish that keep your options open in case you end up being all about the coral, or not all about spending a lot of time shoulder deep in the tank.

 

[Andrew Stevens]

Great feedback, thank you for sharing your thoughts. Based on your feedback, it's going to be a challenge keeping a small clean up crew with fish that might eat them - such as the marine betta, harlequin tuskfish and especially the lionfish. I will definitely add the other fish first before considering adding these guys.

Anyone keep any of these fish with a reef tank? If so, what did you use for the clean up crew?