I'm setting up a salt water aquarium. I keep drifting in and out due to several factors, one of the main factors being school, another expenses. But I'm back, and I'm more determined than ever. I found out that what I thought was a 30 gallon is a 17.5 gallon. I've currently got a 70 gallon freshwater tank (that has been HEAVILY neglected, unfortunately). I am going to convert it to a salt water. As I said, it has been very neglected and therefore has a lot of crap built up under the gravel. Anyway, as soon as my dad gets his pond running I plan on donating the freshwater fish to him. I was just wondering what you guys suggest for the setup? I plan on using the 17.5 gallon as a quarantine/hospital tank, and I plan on stocking the tank very lightly. Any suggestions? Also, should I rinse the tank out with a hose or should I wait till I buy an RO kit and use that water to try and rinse it out?
Once again setting up a salt water aquarium
- Thread starter Frogki
- Start date
Thank you, and again, thank you. I bought another book today. My parents have already bought me The Marine Reef Aquarium by Philip Hunt, and I bought The New Marine Aquarium by Michael S. Paletta. Both are very informative, although the latter was easier for me to follow and it has more instruction about actually setting up the tank then explanations about the processes of both animals and equipment. In other words, the first book told a bit more about the processes (however, it did give you instruction on creating a good set up), and the second book gave more instruction about setting up a tank.
Anyway, I still have the original stocking plan in mind, possibly with a few more inverts (and no, I don't mean corals). I need to do some measuring to be sure of the size (although I'm almost positive it's a 70 gallon, that's what I was told it was... If it's smaller, it's in the 50-69 gallon range). What do you guys think about my stocking? If you don't remember, I plan on two clownfish, one pink bar shrimp (and I put emphasis that this is not a striped goby, this is the shrimp goby, not the sand sifter) goby (if at all possible, already with it's original shrimp). Do you guys think I should buy a few more fish? I'm just terrified at the thought of overstocking and messing up... Also, I plan on trying to find a suitable tank to use as a sump... And I'm worried, do I have to drill my tank to set up the sump?
Anyway, I still have the original stocking plan in mind, possibly with a few more inverts (and no, I don't mean corals). I need to do some measuring to be sure of the size (although I'm almost positive it's a 70 gallon, that's what I was told it was... If it's smaller, it's in the 50-69 gallon range). What do you guys think about my stocking? If you don't remember, I plan on two clownfish, one pink bar shrimp (and I put emphasis that this is not a striped goby, this is the shrimp goby, not the sand sifter) goby (if at all possible, already with it's original shrimp). Do you guys think I should buy a few more fish? I'm just terrified at the thought of overstocking and messing up... Also, I plan on trying to find a suitable tank to use as a sump... And I'm worried, do I have to drill my tank to set up the sump?
If it's a 70 gallon you could definitely have 2-3 more fish without overstocking it. A dwarf angel and a wrasse would be good additions. Going slow is the main thing. Get the tank cycled, add a couple fish, wait a few weeks, add a new fish, etc.
You don't have to drill your tank you can use a hang on back overflow that will siphon down to your sump. You don't have to run a sump either I had a very successful 90 tank running with a hang on back skimmer (Remora Pro) and no sump.
You don't have to drill your tank you can use a hang on back overflow that will siphon down to your sump. You don't have to run a sump either I had a very successful 90 tank running with a hang on back skimmer (Remora Pro) and no sump.
I don't know about an angel, those are aggressive right? I plan on having two clownfish, one pinkbar shrimp goby (hopefully paired with it's shrimp already). A wrasse would be so cool, but I'm worried about care! But right now I'm focusing on setting the thing up. The two books I have are very useful and once I take the tank down (currently set up as a freshwater), I should be able to start setting it up. I don't have enough sand or salt at the moment though so that will be on my mind. I have one bag of sand, one bag of salt, a test kit (I don't know where to get a test kit for phosphates though! It tests for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and pH, but it doesn't have a test for phosphate!). One decent powerhead (I don't know what brand or how much flow it uses though, it was given to me and it was already opened....)
At least around here Remora Pro skimmers are frequently up for sale. Expect to pay around $75-90 for a used one. With that size tank you can use the regular smaller Remora too. McCosker's Flasher is a great fish. Mine is a beautiful fish. He also thinks he owns the tank. Not overly aggressive but will dash at the other fish occasionally. The angels I've owned have never been aggressive they don't seem to care about the other fish but there is a risk they might nip at corals. Mine never have. My 70 gallon has these fish:
Coral Beauty
McCosker's Flasher
Striped fang blenny
talbot damsel
yellow watchmen
false perc clown
Coral Beauty
McCosker's Flasher
Striped fang blenny
talbot damsel
yellow watchmen
false perc clown
Your setup sounds nice... I need to measure the tank to be sure that it is 70 gallons. I'm relatively sure that it's 70 gallons but I have to be sure.. Anyway, I plan on having two clownfish (I don't know if they'll be percula or occleris, but whichever is easiest), one pinkbar shrimp goby (hopefully with it's paired shrimp), and I guess the McCosker's Flasher. Plus many different inverts (hermit crabs, shrimps, and snails, etc) besides corals. I plan on getting corals later on... Anyway, so in terms of stuff for the tank, I've got a pH buffer, a product called Stability, a test kit (ammonia, pH, nitrites, and nitrates), a bag of salt (I need more, this definitely isn't enough), and a bag of sand (again, definitely not enough)... What else do I need besides the HOB skimmer... And do you guys think I should have the HOB skimmer, or would it be cheaper for me to have the sump (just curious as to whether I could cut costs here or if it would be bad for the tank later on).
It won't be cheaper to have a sump because you'll have the cost of the skimmer for the sump, the return pump from the sump to the tank, the plumbing, etc. You'll have the advantage of more water volume though for the tank which is always a good thing. You'll want good non direct flow power heads like Koralias (there's several different brands. Koralias are the cheapest). 1 on each end of the tank to get a good flow going in the tank.