What additional equipment should I purchase?

[Boosterman]

Hi, I've been a long time Tanganyikan fish breeder and trying to get into Saltwater aquarium. I came across this used aquarium setup and have three questions.

1. Seller is only using one HOB filter and I don't think that is enough. Since this tank is not reef-ready and I do not want to drill the tank to have sump, should I add another HOB or Canister filter?

2. Seller is also not using a protein skimmer and I'm planning on getting a skimmer. Can anyone recommend me any model that they've used?

3. Is this a good deal? https://www.ebay.com/itm/Marineland...530?_trksid=p2385738.m4383.l4275.c10#viTabs_0

Thanks

 

[Waters]

Hi, I've been a long time Tanganyikan fish breeder and trying to get into Saltwater aquarium. I came across this used aquarium setup and have three questions.

1. Seller is only using one HOB filter and I don't think that is enough. Since this tank is not reef-ready and I do not want to drill the tank to have sump, should I add another HOB or Canister filter?

2. Seller is also not using a protein skimmer and I'm planning on getting a skimmer. Can anyone recommend me any model that they've used?

3. Is this a good deal? https://www.ebay.com/itm/Marineland...530?_trksid=p2385738.m4383.l4275.c10#viTabs_0

Thanks

Wow....that is a serious amount of large, aggressive fish in a relatively small tank if his livestock listing is correct. Depending on what you are keeping, the filter itself is probably fine. Your live rock (which you might want to add a little more) is your biological filtration. The HOB is strictly for mechanical filtration which a lot of people don't use anyways. I unfortunately have never used a HOB skimmer that I have found worthwhile but others can chime in.

 

[S-t-r-e-t-c-h]

Sort of doesn't seem like a great deal. Based on your questions and comments, it seems like there's not a lot from the existing setup that you'd be utilizing. In addition, a lot of the cost you would be paying would be for livestock that isn't really suited for a tank that size (either one of the triggers alone would eventually be too big for that tank).

I guess first step would be to find out what do you eventually want to keep? Is this a reef set up? Fish only with live rock (FOWLR)? What fish do you want?

With that we can make some equipment recommendations, but know that there are about a million ways to skin this particular cat.

Good luck either way!

 

[Boosterman]

Wow....that is a serious amount of large, aggressive fish in a relatively small tank if his livestock listing is correct. Depending on what you are keeping, the filter itself is probably fine. Your live rock (which you might want to add a little more) is your biological filtration. The HOB is strictly for mechanical filtration which a lot of people don't use anyways. I unfortunately have never used a HOB skimmer that I have found worthwhile but others can chime in.

Thanks for your reply! It sounds like those fish are not having a great time in that tank then I'm actually quite surprised that Live Rock + HOB filter is enough filtration for this size tank.

 

[Boosterman]

Sort of doesn't seem like a great deal. Based on your questions and comments, it seems like there's not a lot from the existing setup that you'd be utilizing. In addition, a lot of the cost you would be paying would be for livestock that isn't really suited for a tank that size (either one of the triggers alone would eventually be too big for that tank).

I guess first step would be to find out what do you eventually want to keep? Is this a reef set up? Fish only with live rock (FOWLR)? What fish do you want?

With that we can make some equipment recommendations, but know that there are about a million ways to skin this particular cat.

Good luck either way!

Thanks for your opinion that it doesn't seem like a great deal. I was thinking FOWLR + Reef (If there's a term for it). Since I like to observe the breeding behavior of the fish, I'm looking to house a fish that has an interesting behavior. I looked into Amphiprio Ocellaris as a possible option.

Before looking at this listing by this seller, I was going to setup a new 75 gallon tank with sump. I guess I will go with my original plan. Still a lot of research from this forum. Looking forward to it!

 

[theatrus]

Thanks for your opinion that it doesn't seem like a great deal. I was thinking FOWLR + Reef (If there's a term for it). Since I like to observe the breeding behavior of the fish, I'm looking to house a fish that has an interesting behavior. I looked into Amphiprio Ocellaris as a possible option.

Before looking at this listing by this seller, I was going to setup a new 75 gallon tank with sump. I guess I will go with my original plan. Still a lot of research from this forum. Looking forward to it!

Very very very few saltwater fish (like, 2-3 species total) will breed successfully in an aquarium. However, Ocellaris clownfish are one of the ones that readily pair and breed, and can be tank raised. If you want to raise the offspring there is a certain amount of process to go through but it is possible. Just watching the breeding behavior is easy

I’d skip on that setup personally. FOWLR+Reef is really reef, and using live rock is strongly suggested. The good news is corals are readily propagated in an aquarium