Salt newbie questions -

[BanjoBandito]

Hey guys, I currently have never kept a saltwater system, but have been keeping large, aggressive cichlids for over 10 years. I currently am raising flowerhorns.

I have two empty tanks, a 29 gallon and a 55 gallon that I'm thinking of turning into FOWLR systems in my office at work. At first, I had thought of doing a small reef/invert tank with the 29 but EVERYONE just goes bonkers when I talk about it and how it's not enough water, etc.

What would be some suggestions for EITHER tank or BOTH tanks for a newbie to gently slide into the hobby? I like personalities in my fish (hence the mostly single specimen cichlid tanks) - and I LOVE frog/angler fish...along with puffers. Does anyone have experience with Saddle Valentini Puffers?

Lots of questions - sorry for being all over the place. Thanks.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Hey guys, I currently have never kept a saltwater system, but have been keeping large, aggressive cichlids for over 10 years. I currently am raising flowerhorns.

I have two empty tanks, a 29 gallon and a 55 gallon that I'm thinking of turning into FOWLR systems in my office at work. At first, I had thought of doing a small reef/invert tank with the 29 but EVERYONE just goes bonkers when I talk about it and how it's not enough water, etc.

What would be some suggestions for EITHER tank or BOTH tanks for a newbie to gently slide into the hobby? I like personalities in my fish (hence the mostly single specimen cichlid tanks) - and I LOVE frog/angler fish...along with puffers. Does anyone have experience with Saddle Valentini Puffers?

Lots of questions - sorry for being all over the place. Thanks.

First off, Welcome to R2R and thanks for signing up and introducing yourself. I would start with one tank just to get the feel for it, the 55 would be the better bet as larger tanks are easier to prevent parameter swings.

Give these threads a good read through, they have a wealth of information for beginners starting out in the hobby
Setting up a saltwater aquarium
Cycling a saltwater aquarium
Guide to Acclimation and Quarantine
#WelcometoR2R

 

[Gareth elliott]

If doing both tanks and the 29g is invert only.

An awesome invert for smaller aquaria are sexy shrimp.

Can keep them as a colony, non aggressive, outgoing and low care level.

As your skill increases and tank matures over time Can later add anemones which they will go in and out of. Creating even more movement and excitement.

 

[BanjoBandito]

here's a quick question - do I have to start out with a SUMP and/or skimmer? Should I sell these two tanks and look for a tank with a built in overflow? Is it feasible to start a salt system with a canister filter?

 

[Crabs McJones]

here's a quick question - do I have to start out with a SUMP and/or skimmer? Should I sell these two tanks and look for a tank with a built in overflow? Is it feasible to start a salt system with a canister filter?

Many successful reef tank and fowlr tanks have been ran with a simply hang on back filter and no skimmer. As long as you do consistent weekly water changes of around 10%

 

[madweazl]

Is it the standard 48x12x20? If so, the width makes them difficult to aquascape well (especially for a reef). Ultimately, pick the one you find most appealing (maintenance between the two will be minimal).

 

[Adele]

Who is "everyone" that thinks a 29 is too small? It has some drawbacks...like its not as tolerant to water parameter swings, and you have to pick appropriate livestock, but people have pico and nano tanks that are smaller than that. Once you 'dive' in to salt, chances are you will want to go bigger. I went from 55 to 65 to 90 and after only a year in the 90 I have 120-150 envy.
Go with what YOU want handle. Smaller is easier to maintenance and as long as you are diligent on your upkeep you should be fine. Keep us posted and don't forget the pics when you decide

 

[Gareth elliott]

here's a quick question - do I have to start out with a SUMP and/or skimmer? Should I sell these two tanks and look for a tank with a built in overflow? Is it feasible to start a salt system with a canister filter?

Sumps have 2 main advantages the hide your equipment and add additional water volume, helping with stability. Most similar in freshwater i can think of is breeding some dwarf cichlids that require a very specific range ph to breed.

Drilling an aquarium is not difficult, make sure the glass isnt tempered and slow steady pressure on a drill.

Canister filters are not common in marine, the ability to get steady nutrient levels can be a challenge with them. In freshwater bouncing nutrient levels is not as devastating.

 

[BanjoBandito]

Who is "everyone" that thinks a 29 is too small? It has some drawbacks...like its not as tolerant to water parameter swings, and you have to pick appropriate livestock, but people have pico and nano tanks that are smaller than that. Once you 'dive' in to salt, chances are you will want to go bigger. I went from 55 to 65 to 90 and after only a year in the 90 I have 120-150 envy.
Go with what YOU want handle. Smaller is easier to maintenance and as long as you are diligent on your upkeep you should be fine. Keep us posted and don't forget the pics when you decide

I had a Dovii in college and beyond and he was amazing...he would splash water and generally act like a huge jerk (which I loved) to anyone but me who came near him...but huge tanks require huge amounts of water. My assumption on salt is that I'll need an ROI system or access to it. They make some "strap on" systems that would work for smaller tanks. I've always been interested in salt and had a friend who kept a bunch of tanks, but I never got into it. My theory was that using the 29 would cut down on startup costs, keep the maintenance lower and give me a chance to see how it goes. At this point in time I'm not really interested in specific animals, more just the overall process. Since this will be in my office at work I also don't want to "take over" the space with fish tanks. Thanks!

 

[BanjoBandito]

Sumps have 2 main advantages the hide your equipment and add additional water volume, helping with stability. Most similar in freshwater i can think of is breeding some dwarf cichlids that require a very specific range ph to breed.

Drilling an aquarium is not difficult, make sure the glass isnt tempered and slow steady pressure on a drill.

Canister filters are not common in marine, the ability to get steady nutrient levels can be a challenge with them. In freshwater bouncing nutrient levels is not as devastating.

Very true, no such thing as freshwater corals and the biological filtration isn't nearly as intense.

 

[BanjoBandito]

Don't lampoon me for this - but can I realistically start this system with a HOB filter, live rock and good water flow?

 

[Ruben's Reef]

Don't lampoon me for this - but can I realistically start this system with a HOB filter, live rock and good water flow?

!!! Welcome to R2R !!! Yes, you can start with the HOB Filter, good amount of LR, about a pound per gallon and one or two wavemakers.

 

[GoPitt88]

Don't lampoon me for this - but can I realistically start this system with a HOB filter, live rock and good water flow?

I've been running my 55 gallon mixed reef tank for 3 years using an HOB, Canister, and HOB protein skimmer. I do 10% water changes religiously. My next tank, however, will be a Red Sea Reefer 425 XL, which comes with a sump. I probably won't get that for another 2 years or so.

 

[GoPitt88]

Here's my tank.....

 

[BanjoBandito]

I've been running my 55 gallon mixed reef tank for 3 years using an HOB, Canister, and HOB protein skimmer. I do 10% water changes religiously. My next tank, however, will be a Red Sea Reefer 425 XL, which comes with a sump. I probably won't get that for another 2 years or so.

Weekly water changes? I assume you are mixing the salt mix and letting it sit? Your tank is gorgeous! What type of light are you using? I have pieces and parts laying around but I think if I get a better HOB (aquaclear?) filter than I have (I have cheapies that I just use for water polishing on my freshwater tanks-main filtration comes from cans) and a good light and decent protein skimmer down the line I'll be ok? Thanks again.

 

[GoPitt88]

Weekly water changes? I assume you are mixing the salt mix and letting it sit? Your tank is gorgeous! What type of light are you using? I have pieces and parts laying around but I think if I get a better HOB (aquaclear?) filter than I have (I have cheapies that I just use for water polishing on my freshwater tanks-main filtration comes from cans) and a good light and decent protein skimmer down the line I'll be ok? Thanks again.

I mix 5 gallons of saltwater every Friday evening, then do a water change on Saturday morning. I throw a heater in the bucket to make sure it's up to temperature first.......you don't want to shock the fish with cold water. I mix another 5 gallons of saltwater after I do the water change to clean the filters.....every weekend as well. I run an Aquaclear 70 HOB with only sponge filters for mechanical filtration, a Fluval 305 canister filter with carbon and GFO bags, an AquaMaxx HOB protein skimmer, 2 VorTech MP10 powerheads for water movement which is needed for the corals, and 2 Kessil A360WE Tuna Blue LEDS lights. I have a screen top to keep the fish in the tank while allowing good gas exchange, and use a Smart ATO Micro system to automatically top off the tank with fresh water due to evaporation. I know that's a lot of info, but I've been at this a while and picked up a ton of great information from this forum and from friends. I Love this hobby! Take your time and go slow! Nothing good happens fast in this hobby [emoji16]

 

[GoPitt88]

If you're not going to have corals, you don't need Kessils. They are kinda expensive. I buy a lot of my stuff online....Bulk Reef Supply

 

[Adele]

Don't lampoon me for this - but can I realistically start this system with a HOB filter, live rock and good water flow?

I did

 

[beaslbob]

here's a quick question - do I have to start out with a SUMP and/or skimmer? Should I sell these two tanks and look for a tank with a built in overflow? Is it feasible to start a salt system with a canister filter?

Short answer no. (well except for the canister filter, you can use that)

longer answer I recommend you start with a refugium full of macro algaes, then do the rest.

What I did on my old 55g was cram in 1/4" square plastic grid (egg crate) sold as light diffusers at building supply stores for dropped ceilings. a 2'x4' section is $10 or so. I put it 3" in front of the back glass best in three sections to clear the top brace in the middle. Held it off the back glass with rocks on the bottom and power heads at top. I then added 2 4' 2 tube utility fixtures 6" behind the back glass pointing forward. Chaeto and grape caulerpa thrived in the area between the egg crate and back glass. My two tangs were constantly grazing of macros that poked through the egg crate, and smaller fish would go between the grids to get pods. Sand, rocks, fish, and corals were in front of the egg crate. Nitrates dropped to unmeasurable in 3 weeks and phosphates followed months later. No water changes in 6 years. Just topped off with tap water. For more sensitive corals you may have to use RO/DI water though. Yellow and Blue regal tang grew form quarter to half dollar size to 2-3" in a year and would up at 4-5".

So refugiums do not have to be a separate container/sump but can be just a simple in tank partition.

my .02