Very new and need help

Therobbo · Oct 13, 2013

Hi,

I've kept tropical fish for years and have now decided to go for a marine aquarium.

The first help I need is the tank. I'm going to get a Juwel Rio 125 with the marine conversion which is...

1 x 28w High Lite Marine Bulb
1 x 28w High Lite Blue Bulb
1 x Juwel Protein Skimmer 3.0

Is there anything else I'm missing here?

I'm extremely new so would love a beginners guide to read online too please.

Appreciate all the help you kind people can offer

Thanks

mike007 · Oct 13, 2013

What do you plan on keeping? Corals or fish only?

Therobbo · Oct 13, 2013

Hi mike,

Thanks for the reply. Ideally I'm looking to keep both.

As I'm a newbie something that's good for me and then progress as I get to be an expert.

Cheers.

mcarroll · Oct 14, 2013

Beginner animals are problematic and generally not recommended.

Take your time first to find out what fish or corals really turn you on. These are the ones that will be worth learning how to care for properly because you really like them. For example, if SPS corals turn out to be "your thing" then do not shy away from them just because you heard they are difficult. (Untrue.)

Thankfully, there aren't too many corals you're likely to run into that are really harder to keep than the average.

This leaves a very wide selection of coral for you to pick favorites from and still have a great shot at success.

Fish are more complicated as there are many behavioral issues between marine fish, as well as size compatibility issues....really no such thing as the "community tank" as in freshwater. Also, there just aren't nearly as many very-small fish available as in fresh water. Most saltwater fish are still wild-caught too, so extra care is warranted due to that as well.

The most important thing is to stock animals slowly - not all at once - so you can learn as you go and the impact of mistakes (you WILL make em!) is minimized.

-Matt

Therobbo · Oct 14, 2013

Thanks Matt.

The SPS corals were the ones I was looking at and I was thinking about adding a clown fish, a Blue Tang and a Black and White Ocellaris Clownfish.

I really need to read up on these first though and what stages do I add the live rock and other things. Can anyone recommend a good website for this please or am I missing something on here?

Thanks.

Therobbo · Oct 14, 2013

I think I might need to upgrade the filter that comes with this as it looks like its only 600lph. Am I right?

StevenBell · Oct 14, 2013

Therobbo-There is a book I bought before I even started in this hobby.Its call the Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert Finner.This book saved me tons of time and money!And when people don't respond online right away,its a good go-to guide!It covers everything from buying an aquarium and setting it up to livestock selection and care.

Therobbo · Oct 14, 2013

Thanks Steven

Zero Nitrates · Oct 14, 2013

Congrats on building a new tank.
You are going to have a blast.
"The Reef Aquarium" by Delbeek and Sprung is a great book.
You can get it on Amazon.
Have fun reefing!

Therobbo · Oct 14, 2013

Thanks Zero... Do I need to upgrade the pump? Cheers

Zero Nitrates · Oct 14, 2013

More flow in the tank is good for sps. So if you use that pump, you might put some powerheads in the tank to increase flow.

Therobbo · Oct 14, 2013

Thought so thanks. So I've now decided with this... Fluval SEA Reef M60 Aquarium

Looks pretty good and easy to setup. Any thoughts?

mcarroll · Oct 15, 2013

Therobbo said:
Thanks Matt.

The SPS corals were the ones I was looking at and I was thinking about adding a clown fish, a Blue Tang and a Black and White Ocellaris Clownfish.

I really need to read up on these first though and what stages do I add the live rock and other things. Can anyone recommend a good website for this please or am I missing something on here?

Very welcome.

Good references for setup? Absolutely! See book link below!

For the record, I presumed the first tank you listed was 125 gallons, but it's 125 liters. The tank you just mentioned is even smaller.

If you are serious about that size-class of tank, you will have to leave tangs out of the plans for this particular tank. On the other hand, if you are serious about the Tang, then start considering larger (>120g) tanks now.

Personally, I wouldn't put a tang into less than a 72" tank. I would feel sorry for one going into less than a 48" tank for anything but a very temporary grow-out period.

There are tons of other fish in the sea... :neutral: <ahem.> ...to pick from if you're locked into this size of tank, so don't despair!

Just keep looking and find other interesting fish.

There are lots of great SPS corals to start with. I wouldn't even hesitate to start the tank with some SPS corals and save fish for a little later. (Yes, I'm crazy like that.) Any of the orange/green/purple Montipora cap's would be great. Most of ORA's birdsnest corals. Green Slimer Acropora. That's a very short, sweet list. There's plenty more once you start knowing what you like and can zero in a little bit.

(The pic as my avatar is a "German blue" Montipora digitata and was my first SPS coral. Beautiful coral.)

Whatever you do start slow. Only add one coral at a time with lots of space in between new additions to allow you to see if/when/how much change they start having on your water chemistry. You'll know because you'll be testing weekly until you start seeing changes in alkalinity and a little later calcium...then the fun begins. You're growing corals!

Googling the term "alkalinity" and reading everything you are able to on the subject pertaining to reefing is the next most important thing you can to to support yourself going into keeping stony corals.

StevenBell said:
Therobbo-There is a book I bought before I even started in this hobby.Its call the Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert Finner.This book saved me tons of time and money!And when people don't respond online right away,its a good go-to guide!It covers everything from buying an aquarium and setting it up to livestock selection and care.

+1 Great book. One of the canons of the hobby IMO.

Check out his Wetwebmedia, Aquarium, Pond, Marine and Freshwater Fish, reef tanks, and Aquatics Information website as well.
It can be a bit much to take in the first time as it's a bit scattered and voluminous, but there's a ton of great info in there!

I think my favorite startup book is The New Marine Aquarium: Step-By-Step Setup & Stocking Guide: Michael S. Paletta, Edward Kadunc, Scott W. Michael, John Goodman: 0097818900875: Amazon.com: Books

It's not expensive at it's cover price and you can see at that link there are very economical options available to acquire this book. I'd really recommend it. Covers everything from how and why to stack your rock, so the why's and wherefor's of picking fish. Lots of great pictures too.

Hope this helps!

-Matt

Therobbo · Oct 15, 2013

Hi Matt,

Brilliant as normal! So helpful and really appreciate it all from everyone. So glad the marine community are helpful. Ive ordered the book so waiting for that now.

I will take it slow. Can anyone recommend what fish will be idea for the size tank please?

Thanks.

resortez · Oct 15, 2013

congrats on moving onto marine. you're going to go broke now, jk

. as previously noted, start slow, very slow. read up & read, when your done reading, read some more. one thing that helped me tons when i first started, was finding a good local fish shop, where the staff is very knowledgeable. learn how to spot healthy specimens. a good shop will let you feed the fish you are interested in & will tell you how long they've had them & where they came from. having that skill, will keep you from headaches & loosing fish. some parts of the world, use some very harmful ways of collecting fish, i.e. cyanide (poison is poison), spearing, etc. so, when spotting a fish you like, ask tons of questions & read up as much as possible on him. you really need to know your tank mates. good luck & happy reefing!