First saltwater tank

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crexxk

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 24, 2011
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I'm interested in starting my first saltwater tank. I've been keeping freshwater tanks for about 10 years now and I thinks it's time for something new. I'm very interested in the symbiotic relationship between the watchman goby and alpheus shrimp so any setup that can support these two will do.
Thanks


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If your thinking about doing a saltwater tank it's best to go big because there more forgiving to any mistakes but it also takes a lot of time and money to start saltwater.
 
Money does not come into play until you start/want to grow corals. 90% of the money involved is growing corals. That's what I am learning at least.

FOWLR (fish only with live rock) is just as cheap as a sexy fresh water setup in my opinion.
 
crexxk said:
Probably somewhere between 30-50 gallons and I need suggestions for pretty much everything
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Alright, cool.

I personally would go with a 40 breeder just because it will give you a decent amount of floor space for making some nice rock arrangements. A sump is your best bet when it comes to saltwater filtration since you can keep pretty much all of your equipment in it while adding water volume thereby increasing the stability; you can house your protein skimmer, heater, and any other equipment down there along with your filter media, some live rock rubble, and maybe even some macro algae if you make a refugium section. You're also going to want some smaller powerheads for in the main aquarium in order to increase circulation and prevent dead spots. Go with about a pound of high quality porous dead rock per gallon and seed it with a small piece of live rock; you only need enough aragonite sand to make a 1" layer, so you should be more than fine with 30 lbs. or so.
 
crexxk said:
How about stocking ideas for a 40g?
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How does this stock sound to you?

It's just a suggestion and isn't something that's set in stone; this stock will give you plenty of color and sizes while still keeping the system slightly understocked. This is all in addition to your clean-up crew, by the way.

EDIT: I just realized that I unconsciously chose fishes that were blue, yellow, or some combination of the two...
 
crexxk said:
Sounds good and these fish are good beginner fish too correct?


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No, stay away from the angel. Even though it is one of the hardier angels, it is still not a beginner fish. Instead how about some more yellowtail damsels? They don't get larger than 3'', they're colorful, hardy, and don't contribute much to the bioload. In fact I used them to cycle my tank a while ago,all 6 survived.
 
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