1st try at SW. 120g tank

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beantickler

beantickler

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jun 5, 2008
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I have a 5ft 120g tank I would like to do as SW. I am not into coral. I only want fish and sand. I have a 55g plastic drum with a 4 drawer flow down design sump. I have an 1800gph Supreme MagDrive return pump. I want the Live rock inside the sump ONLY.

I have been keeping FW for roughly 15 years now but never SW.

I think I am interested in the Volitan Lionfish. Maybe a Morray Eel. What if any fish can I keep with a Lion? Can I house 2 of the Lions together? Where is the best place to order SW fish from?

ANY tips for a beginner are much appreciated and welcomed! Thank you!
 
A lion on its own may not care about there not being any LR in the display tank, but stuff like eels and other fish use LR as their home and a place to hide when they feel threatened.

I also have to wonder how big the sump is going to be to hold all the LR you would need to provide an ample biofilter.
 
Heathd;5041773; said:
A lion on its own may not care about there not being any LR in the display tank, but stuff like eels and other fish use LR as their home and a place to hide when they feel threatened.

I also have to wonder how big the sump is going to be to hold all the LR you would need to provide an ample biofilter.
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How much live rock would I need for 1-2 fish in a 120g?
 
DAMN!... Live rock is 8 dollars a lb around here... At 30 lbs Im 250 in the hole already... I really need that much? What exactly is live rock? I have a bunch of "Tuffa rock" that I used to use in my Tang setup a while back... It looks the same only much cleaner... Is it the same stuff?
 
Tuffa rock works, its just not as porous and much denser then other options.
 
If you have time you could always start with mostly base rock to save alot of cash.

I always suggest looking for a local reef or saltwater club. I get alot of good deals on stuff and can generally find nice live rock for 2-2.50 a pound. Plus if its coming out of an established tank from an experienced reefer it is generally free of bad hitchhikers and pests compared to most LFSs.
 
Heathd;5041941; said:
Tuffa rock works, its just not as porous and much denser then other options.
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BradT85;5042220; said:
If you have time you could always start with mostly base rock to save alot of cash.

I always suggest looking for a local reef or saltwater club. I get alot of good deals on stuff and can generally find nice live rock for 2-2.50 a pound. Plus if its coming out of an established tank from an experienced reefer it is generally free of bad hitchhikers and pests compared to most LFSs.
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Awesome... This brought me back! lol... Now that I think of it I have seen some Live rock being sold on CL a few times but never really paid much attn because I wasnt going to do SW.
 
I stopped by my LFS today and found a Black Volitan Lionfish for 66 bux and a big snowflake for 29 bux... Also they have 200g boxes of salt for 50 bux and sand is 21 bux for 30lb... All this seems very fair to me. I was very impressed with the Lionfish. The guy working there told me that an adult Volitan Lionfish will get too big for my 120g though. He said it will reach 18" including its spines... Live rock was 6 dollars per lb but it was all brown and ugly IMO.

Will a Snowflake Moray be happy with PVC tunnels to hide in instead of a ton of live rock in the tank? I will still place a nice mound of Tuffa rock in the center of the tank but I do not want it all over my tank... Mostly in the sump.
 
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