how many salt fish and what is need for salt setup

[gsxr]

Hi guys i'm thinking about going and buying another 55 gallon kit from walmart tonight to do a saltwater tank setup will the aqua-tech 30-60 model filter work for my saltwater tank?, also what all do i need for my saltwater tank? instant ocean, live sand and what else? is this all i will need please let me know and give details this will be my first saltwater tank.

Also the fish i want to put in my 55 gallon saltwater will be False percula clownfish(3 or 4) and (3 or 4) blue hippo/blue/regal tang?

Will this be to many fish for a saltwater 55 gallon setup, please let me know ASAP, thanks, Please add any additional info that you'd care to share, thanks.

 

[dattack]

Re: how many salt fish and what is need for salt s

3 to 4 tangs is too many.  They get too huge.  It's like putting 3-4 large oscars in there.  Too much mess and saltwater requires better water quality.  

You might want to get 3-4 perculas but you need to find a pair really.  I bet there might be only 2 left after they start attacking each other.

Might consider a goby, a flame angel, etc.

 

[gsxr]

Re: how many salt fish and what is need for salt s

[quote author=dattack link=board=saltwater&num=1032826019&start=0#1 date=09/23/02 at 16:51:41]
3 to 4 tangs is too many.  They get too huge.  It's like putting 3-4 large oscars in there.  Too much mess and saltwater requires better water quality.  

You might want to get 3-4 perculas but you need to find a pair really.  I bet there might be only 2 left after they start attacking each other.

Might consider a goby, a flame angel, etc.
[/quote]

so could i get two blue tangs and 2 perculas without a problem? if not.. what other fish should i get to go with 1 blue tang and one percula clownfish name the most i could fit in my 55gallon so i can decide wich ones i want and how much i know i can put?

also I've seen instant ocean that says like 55gallon bag or 150 gallon bag/bucket does this mean it makes 55gallons worth of slatwater or what? If so let me know please because I don't understand and can anyone please answer my other questions. thanks...

 

[dattack]

Re: how many salt fish and what is need for salt s

55 gallon bucket means that it can make 55 gallons of saltwater.  You will need to mix the salt with RO or RO/DI water.

Like I said before, you can probably put a very small blue tang in a 55 gallon but it gets big very quickly.  Those blue tangs are prone to ich and disease.  Start out with a percular first then see how that goes.  Add only one fish at a time when you are first starting out.  It could help you learn if you take things slowly.

Check out the fish available out there and read on some of the requirements.

http://www.fishsupply.com/cgi-bin/common/art_viewer.cgi?item_no=F

 

[colesea]

Re: how many salt fish and what is need for salt s

Dattack is too nice, I would personally say no tangs, but =1= is the limit with any tang in any volume of water. Tangs can be vicious with each other and will fight to the death of the less dominate animal. Hippo tangs are especially very nervous, high-strung fish which grow quite large (10-12 inches) and need lots of free swimming space.

Even trying to keep seperate species together is a bad idea. Tangs will attack any fish that is the same color/shape they are. There are spines on the caudal peduncle that are very sharp and can inflict serious wounds on other fish (as well as on the hands of the unwary aquarist, it feels like getting stuck with a hot needle).  

Tangs are not for the novice marine aquarist. If you are interested in tangs, definately read and research as much information about each species you are interested in =BEFORE= you purchase it and place it in your tank.  Being as this is your first salt water tank, fish like clowns and damsels are pretty decent to start with to have something in the tank as you read and research the more interesting and exotic creatures of the sea.
~~Colesea

 

[dattack]

Re: how many salt fish and what is need for salt s

He or she can put a 1" tang in his 55 gallon and return it to the LFS within a month. *thumbsupsmiley*

 

[wayne]

Re: how many salt fish and what is need for salt s

 Noone has so far said NO the filter is NOT good enough and you will likely kill any fish you buy if you use just the standard wal mart package.   Saltwater fish need extremely good water quality and while this isn't impossible to achieve you'll need some other stuff, principally live rock and a skimmer, plus good test kits and a hydrometer. Do a lot of research before you try this or it'll just lead to heartbreak

 

[Franky099]

Re: how many salt fish and what is need for salt s

make sure you put something on the wall behind the saltwater tank to protect the wall!

Amy

 

[Pooky125]

Re: how many salt fish and what is need for salt s

Hmmm, alright, a 55 gallon is a great size for the begginer saltwater aquarist. Big enough to hold a variety of fishes, small enough to fit in anyones budget. The basics you are going to need are

Live sand, I suggest a minimum of a 3" sand bed. A nice deep sandbed (no such thing as to deep) will be a main part of your filter system.

Live rock, is another important part. Your probably going to want atleast 1 pd per gallon, if not more. You don't want to much, so thats all you see, but, live rock is your main filtration.

Power heads, there more important if your doing a reef tank, but your saltwater fish need them to, you prolly want 3-4 strong power heads. I have one on my 3 gallon that does 68 gph and I still worry it isn't enough.

A skimmer, I don't use skimminers, my tanks are only 3-3.5 gallons, I don't need them. However, with a tank that size, you will. Bakpaks and skilters I've heard are good, however, I've personally never had experience with either, so, you might want to ask sumone else about that one.

Salt, Instant Ocean is a good, you prolly want the 150 gallon buckets. The 150 gallon refures to how much saltwater it will make.

Hydrometer, a must have. A hydrometer measures the amount of salt in your water, do not skimp, go for the good one.

As for your filter, basically all it'll be good for it water movement, and if you have any meds in the water that you need to get rid of.

Lighting, if you are doing a fish only system, the standard lighting will be fine. If you choose to upgrade to a reef some day, you'll want to upgrade to power compacts if not Medal Hailides.

Now, for the fun part, FISH. While a 55 gallon tank, may look big, in the saltwater world, it really isn't. Remember that these fish come from the worlds most stable enviroment, and, if they are wild caught, this will be a big shocker for em. Follow Coleseas and dattacks advice, and leave the tangs in the ocean, there just to fragile of creatures for a novice. For your tank, I suggest

1 False Percula Clownfish, a great beginners fish. I wouldn't add it as your first fish, but if you watch you water carefully, it should be ok.

Angels are good, but, require a little more care then a novice can give, so, I would hold off on those for a while, until you get the hang of it.

Blue, Yellow-tailed, Domino, 4-Striped, 3-Striped Damsels are all great first fish. There extremely hardy they eat anything, but, there also aggressive. Great for cycling your tank, but once your done with that, most bring them back to the LFS so they stop beating up there new fish.

Wrasses - 6 line and cleaner can come in very useful in a cycled tank, cleaning the parasites off of your other fish. Great to look into. Personally, I love the 6 stripe, very colorful, but, also very skittish.

Gobies - Another fine group of fishes, easy enough for the novice. There colorful little bottom feeders, that come in a variety of shapes and sizes. I'm partial to the green banded, the red headed, the clowns, and the neons. All are great fish, that stay under 3" and are extremely colorful.

Mandarins/Dragonettes/ and Blennys - Stay Away! A couple more groups of fish that should be left in the ocean. All of these fish eat the copeods that live in the live sand in your tank, exculisivly. A mature (4+ yrs) 55 gallon tank, might be able to substane one, but, probably not with out a refugium.

Shrimp are a vital part of your marine system. Cleaners and peppermint are great choices, with the added bonus that the peppermint will eat you aiptasia (pest) anenomes that may come in on the live rock. The cleaners, will clean the parasites off of your fish.

Snails are another improtant part of your tank. They eat the algae, what more needs to be said?

Hmm, think I've said as much as my lil fingers can handle. It's barely skimming the surface of just the basics you need to know on keeping a saltwater tank. Research is the most imortant factor. U have to know what needs to be done, for everything to work. If your missing one thing, the whole tank could crash. This is a big investment. Expect to spend atleast 50$ per gallon on just the equipment and live stock alone. If you choose to do a reef sumtime in the future, expect to triple that. Take your time, this is not something you want to rush into. KeEp posting, I love to hear how things are progressing!! HTH

 

[aquatek]

Re: how many salt fish and what is need for salt s

Pookey seems to know his stuff. 55 gallon is good size. Please DON'T spend your money for expensive filter! Get all the basic things first: 1) adequate lighting, more if you want corals later, or compact flourescent if you can afford it. 2)protein skimmer would be nice, a must if corals are kept. U.S. Aquarium make good ones, the common one called seacylone? I believe that's the name, it sucks. 3) Sea salt, hydrometer, algae pad, and gravel cleaner kit. Get best quality sea salt if you can afford it.

Then get "cured" live rocks and "commerical packaged" live sand. They are the most important things in the tank. The live rocks and live sand will create a self-sustaining ecosystem for the tank. It will take care all the fish waste, bio load, etc... Wet-dry trickle filter, canister filter, emperor filter with bio-wheels, etc... with blue bio-balls are old technology and dont work well. When was the last time you saw a blue bio ball in the nature reef? What Im saying if that live rocks and live sands will do everything for you. All you need is water circulation, such as using powerheads. A mechanical filter is optional. Get a canister or hang-on-back filter for mechanical filtering process and put a bag of Boyd's chempure. This set up has many nicknames including Berlin. You don't have to change water forever, although once a year is recommended. Never buy dead coral decors, they are useless and expensive. Make sure the live rocks you get are best quality, pure 100% purple and rainbow color, about $2 per pound, 60 pounds of live sand cost around $60.

Use distilled and de-ioned purified water for evaporation filling, NEVER use tap-water and those amquel and de-tox are expensive and useless.