Looking to Get My Toes Wet for the First Time

[Niko1808]

Hello, this is my first post so I'd like to start by introducing myself. I'm Nikolai, glad to be here!

I've been thinking about getting a saltwater aquarium for about half a year. I have a general idea about what I'm going to do, but I still have many questions, so hopefully you guys/gals can lend me some of your experience and knowledge.

To start off I'd like to go over the physical setup and make sure I'm not overlooking anything. I'm open to any suggestions you guys have, but I live in Canada so my list of retailers is fairly short compared to my southern neighbours.

Aquarium & Stand - 60 Gallon Marineland Heartland Ensemble http://m.petsmart.com/h5/hub?id=fis...d36-17295/cat-36-catid-300013?var_id=36-17295

Filtration - I've read that as far as filtration goes the methods generally come in the following order, from best to worst: reactor, canister, power. But I would like to try and keep the inside of the tank fairly clear without having to set up a sump, so I was hoping a HOB power filter and skimmer would be sufficient, hopefully someone with some experience has some insight. If I were to go with a hang on back power filter, should I use one for a larger size tank as reef systems have a much higher bio-load than freshwater systems? HOB Protein Skimmer http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/AquaC-Remora-Hang-On-Protein-Skimmer-w-Drain-Fitting.html HOB Power Filter http://m.petsmart.ca/h5/hub?id=fish...d36-16885/cat-36-catid-300019?var_id=36-16885

Heater - Ebo Jager 200W Eheim https://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/Ebo-Jager-200W-Heater-15-inch-Eheim.html

Powerhead - 4x Hydor Koralia Evolution 550/600 (Total flow rate of approximately 40x the tank volume) http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B004F4...dpPl=1&dpID=41NSNonydDL&ref=plSrch&th=1&psc=1

Lighting - This is something I'm completely lost on. The aquarium comes with a hood, but I'm sure that I will need to buy separate lights to provide for the coral. I'm not sure if I should go LED, T5, or metal halide. I am trying to keep my costs comparatively low though, so keep that in mind in your suggestions please. I know some lighting options can be a huge expense.

RO/DI - http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/MPRO-90GPD-RO-SYSTEM-by-Spectrapure.html

Now for the fun part, here's what I'm looking at to populate the aquarium.

Fish
1x True Percula Clownfish
2x Yellow Striped Cardinalfish
1x Red Striped Hogfish
1x Black Sailfin Blenny

Invertebrates
Dwarf Colored Featherduster

Coral
Green Fluorescent Mushroom
Trumpet
Fire & Ice Colony Polyp
Radioactive Dragon Eye Colony Polyp
Pipe Organ Coral

Cleanup Crew
1x Purple Shortspine Pincushion Urchin
1x Lettuce Sea Slug
2x Scarlet Reef Hermit Crab
2x Electric Blue Hermit Crab
2x Electric Orange Hermit Crab
5x Dwarf Zebra Hermit Crab
1x Snapping Shrimp
2x Peppermint Shrimp
1x Banded Coral Shrimp
2x Spiny Star Astraea
10x Astraea Turbo Snail
10x Nassarius Snail
5x Cerith Snail
1x Fighting Conch

Do you think this is a good number of invertebrates? Should I have more/less?

Do you see any groupings that are likely to result in conflict in this setup? I'm trying to keep my tank fairly peaceful, so if there's anything I've missed please let me know.

Thanks in advance for your knowledge!

 

[steve&mari]

Welcome and there's many ways to build a reef hob will work n I'd go largest you can. The better the equipment to start is worth it vs rebuying stuff over n over. Go slow and read a lot you'll do great with proper work and enjoy a beautiful reef in return.

 

[mrsaltwaterguy]

You can probably skip the filtration provided you have enough live rock. I've got both a 75 and 30 long reef and neither of them have a hang on back filter. Are you intending on going for a tank with corals? If so I'd recommend going with a 55 gallon setup if only for the fact that it won't be quite as tall and you will have better light penetration. However, if your just going for fish then that 60 gallon combo is not a bad deal. Live stock looks good, I'd recommend adding a goby to pair with the snapping shrimp. I love watching mine work together.

 

[Niko1808]

You can probably skip the filtration provided you have enough live rock. I've got both a 75 and 30 long reef and neither of them have a hang on back filter. Are you intending on going for a tank with corals? If so I'd recommend going with a 55 gallon setup if only for the fact that it won't be quite as tall and you will have better light penetration. However, if your just going for fish then that 60 gallon combo is not a bad deal. Live stock looks good, I'd recommend adding a goby to pair with the snapping shrimp. I love watching mine work together.

How much live rock do you have in your tanks?

Yes, I'd like to put in at least a few of the corals I listed in my post, give it some life and color if the fish are hiding. Unfortunately, I don't have a great selection of tanks here though, so I don't think I can find a shallower tank. Unless I can make the jump to the Marineland 75G, its about 4" shallower, will be difficult to fit it in my budget though.

What kind of Goby do you have with your shrimp? I personally like the look of the Convict and Prawn Gobies, but I hear Watchman Gobies have a ton of personality too.

Thanks,
Nikolai

 

[mrsaltwaterguy]

I've got about 80 pounds of live rock in my 75 gallon (maybe more) and at least 30 in my 30. Have you checked on Craigslist for any tanks? I've had quite a bit of luck finding tanks and equipment locally that way. As far as the Goby goes I've got a watchman.

 

[Niko1808]

I've got about 80 pounds of live rock in my 75 gallon (maybe more) and at least 30 in my 30. Have you checked on Craigslist for any tanks? I've had quite a bit of luck finding tanks and equipment locally that way. As far as the Goby goes I've got a watchman.

I have, haven't been able to find many medium sized tanks, it's mostly just big set-ups on there 120G + 50G sump and such, and I don't have enough room for a set-up that size unfortunately.

If I were to get the 75G as opposed to the 60G would I still end up spending less on lighting thanks to the depth difference (21" as opposed to 25")?

 

[mrsaltwaterguy]

The lighting costs would be the same (depending on what type of lights you go for). Your lights would just be more effective as they wouldn't have as deep of a water column to penetrate. The other benefit of a 75 gallon besides the obvious addition of more water is that you have more depth to play with. It's a lot easier to aquascape a 75 gallon with the extra 6 inches of depth.

 

[Niko1808]

The lighting costs would be the same (depending on what type of lights you go for). Your lights would just be more effective as they wouldn't have as deep of a water column to penetrate. The other benefit of a 75 gallon besides the obvious addition of more water is that you have more depth to play with. It's a lot easier to aquascape a 75 gallon with the extra 6 inches of depth.

OK, that makes sense.

Do you have any suggestions as far as lighting goes? That's where I'm having the most trouble. I'd like to go LED (reduced power cost & no replacing bulbs), but there are so many out there it's hard to sort through them.

http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-s...ll-Spectrum-LED-24-Light-WITH-tank-mount.html

Would that be sufficient?

 

[Mmsetta]

My two cents- if possible start with a bigger tanks. I guarantee once you get hooked you will upgrade within a year! Someone told me that when I started and I shook my head. Within a year I upgraded.

Bag the power filter and just use good hob skimmer and a lot of live rock. One thing to get right from the start is your substrate. Be sure it's either ver little or at least 4 inches. If very little (for show) you can sift it during water changes. If deep DO NOT sift at all.

For lighting, I use the Asian jobbers you find on eBay or Craigslist if you don't want to throw down a ton of money on radions or ai's for now. One light with about 150 blue/white led combo will work. About $100 on eBay.

Get ready to spend some money and welcome to the club!

 

[Niko1808]

My two cents- if possible start with a bigger tanks. I guarantee once you get hooked you will upgrade within a year! Someone told me that when I started and I shook my head. Within a year I upgraded.

Bag the power filter and just use good hob skimmer and a lot of live rock. One thing to get right from the start is your substrate. Be sure it's either ver little or at least 4 inches. If very little (for show) you can sift it during water changes. If deep DO NOT sift at all.

For lighting, I use the Asian jobbers you find on eBay or Craigslist if you don't want to throw down a ton of money on radions or ai's for now. One light with about 150 blue/white led combo will work. About $100 on eBay.

Get ready to spend some money and welcome to the club!

When you say AI are these what you're talking about?

http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/Aqua-Illumination-Hydra-52-HD.html

Probably need 2 to properly light a 75 Gallon reef tank, yeah?

 

[mrsaltwaterguy]

Yeah you'll want 2 leds over a 75 gallon. I personally use the KessilA360's but those are a little pricier.

 

[Niko1808]

Yeah you'll want 2 leds over a 75 gallon. I personally use the KessilA360's but those are a little pricier.

Just looked those up, that's a lot of shimmer in the tank!

Starting to think maybe I ought to just start with an FOWLR set-up, don't need anything special as far as lighting goes that way, right? Save me the $1K or so the proper lighting would cost until I can spare the extra dough.

 

[Niko1808]

My two cents- if possible start with a bigger tanks. I guarantee once you get hooked you will upgrade within a year! Someone told me that when I started and I shook my head. Within a year I upgraded.

Bag the power filter and just use good hob skimmer and a lot of live rock. One thing to get right from the start is your substrate. Be sure it's either ver little or at least 4 inches. If very little (for show) you can sift it during water changes. If deep DO NOT sift at all.

For lighting, I use the Asian jobbers you find on eBay or Craigslist if you don't want to throw down a ton of money on radions or ai's for now. One light with about 150 blue/white led combo will work. About $100 on eBay.

Get ready to spend some money and welcome to the club!

When you mentioned using Asian jobbers, until I can scrape together some cash for proper LED lighting, was this what you had in mind?

http://m.ebay.ca/itm/48-Aquarium-LE...ical-Fish-Tank-120cm-/400696511090?nav=SEARCH

I've read stories about cheap LED's catching fire, is that something that I would need to be concerned about?

Thanks for all the advice guys,
Nikolai

 

[Maritimer]

Perhaps more like this one:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/2PCS-MarsAqu...919399?hash=item3a8f569567:g:W1sAAOSw5IJWglFu

~B.

 

[Niko1808]

Hey guys,

After throwing together a proper list of equipment and checking it against my budget it seems the set-up I was initially wanting to do is a little out of my price range. Therefore, I am now looking at getting a smaller FOWLR set-up, with the hopes of getting a larger tank (100+ gallon reef) in a year or two. At which point I'll have the smaller tank as a QT.

Here's my revised plan:

Aquarium: Aqueon 45 Gallon Ensemble (incl stand/light/lid) - $269.99

Filter: Fluval 206 External Canister Filter - $144.49

Heater: Ebo Jager 200W Eheim - $38.95

Powerhead: 2x Hydor Koralia Nano 240 - $82.94

RO/DI: Spectrapure M-Pro 90G/D - $189.95

Live Rock: 40lbs - $231.99

Aragonite Sand: 60lbs - $51.98

CUC:
2x Scarlet Reef Hermit Crab
2x Electric Blue Hermit Crab
2x Electric Orange Hermit Crab
2x Peppermint Shrimp
5x Cerith Snail
2x Spiny Star Astraea
Total - $65.00

Fish:
3x Yellowstriped Cardinalfish - $44.97
2x True Percula Clownfish (Captive Bred) - $43.98

Total w/ Livestock - $1,119.27 CND

This obviously doesn't include miscellaneous items like testers/food/salt, but it covers the bulk.

I'm thinking I should add the Cardinalfish first and then the Clownfish, since they tend to be more aggressive. Am I missing anything?

Thanks again,
Nikolai

 

[mrsaltwaterguy]

I'd still suggest that you skip the canister filter all together. Most of the filtration is going to come from the live rock provided you have nice porous pieces. You can probably get more rock for cheaper than that by going through this website. https://billysreefconnection.com/

I have heard great things about him and his rock is supposed to be great. With the money you save on skipping the canister filter you can get an eshopps hang on back skimmer. The skimmer will be much more beneficial to you long term than the canister filter.

 

[Niko1808]

I'd still suggest that you skip the canister filter all together. Most of the filtration is going to come from the live rock provided you have nice porous pieces. You can probably get more rock for cheaper than that by going through this website. https://billysreefconnection.com/

I have heard great things about him and his rock is supposed to be great. With the money you save on skipping the canister filter you can get an eshopps hang on back skimmer. The skimmer will be much more beneficial to you long term than the canister filter.

Do you know if he ships to Canada? If so is it worth getting a live/dry rock bundle? The live rock can seed the dry rock, it just takes a little longer, yeah?

 

[mrsaltwaterguy]

I'd reach out to him and see if he will. It might be worth it to have a piece or two to seed but you really don't need more than that. You'll still have to take the time to cycle as you'll have quite a bit of dry rock and sand that needs to get the bacteria on it.

 

[Niko1808]

I'd reach out to him and see if he will. It might be worth it to have a piece or two to seed but you really don't need more than that. You'll still have to take the time to cycle as you'll have quite a bit of dry rock and sand that needs to get the bacteria on it.

Will do.

https://billysreefconnection.com/dr...rocks-10-lbs-live-rocks-40-lbs-dry-sands.html

In your opinion is that enough rock/sand for a 45 gallon aquarium?

 

[mrsaltwaterguy]

That should be more than enough, you might have some left over but that will be fine. Especially if you intend to upgrade.