I need advise on dimensions.

[billbobthegreat]

Ok so i am setting up a saltwater tank soon, i am limited to around 60 gallons (uk) for now as i live in a flat upstairs although my floor is block and beam with a screed on top i dont want to push to more than i have up here already lol so i could have a 72" long by 12" wide by 18" deep.

That equals 255 ltrs uk and i already have a 4x15x18 thats 212 ltrs.

So would i be better off going for a wider tank and larger fish in a fowler kind of thing?

Do you guys think this tank will make a nice reef tank for nano fish like clowns?

Im moving in around 6 months and i own an 8x4x2 being 2 deep that i used for my freshwater fish that i plan to use for marine sharks/rays im setting this reef up for experience.

 

[FLESHY]

55 gallons is the minimum I tell any person getting started in reef aquaria to have. Its just nice to have some size to play with, and its more forgiving water quality-wise. It is however entirely possible to do with almost ANY size aquarium, but there are advantages and disadvantages to bigger and smaller tanks.

60 gallons in my opinion is a little small for a fish only, not many of the cool "fish-only" fish in saltwater stay very small...so I would say that this tank is better suited for reef use, however with the reef comes greater costs as well.

Huge fan of Terry Pratchett and John Cleese btw...even though I believe John lives in California now.

 

[billbobthegreat]

Im going to make the reef ive decided do you think the 12" width will make it look terrible? Can any Tangs be kept in this tank for a few months at least? my missus likes the blue and yellows.

 

[FLESHY]

Not terrible...just makes it a little harder to deal with. You will be limited aquascaping-wise.

I generally dont advice putting fish into a tank that they will ever outgrow, because sometimes things come up that stop people from upgrading, however if you know for a fact that you will be upgrading, then I say you might be okay.

You can buy a lot of tangs at minuscule sizes (1/2-1") fish. These could live for a long time in an aquarium your size. The only tangs however that might make it as adults in your aquarium that are commonly available are the yellows and the scopas. Even so, I recommend an aquarium of at least 125g for ALL tangs, just because of the swimming room required for them.

Other important things to take into consideration with tangs.

- They require food all day. In the wild, tangs are grazers, so whether you have live algae growing in your tank, or are supplementing with prepared algae, they should have something to pick at throughout the day. You should make this diet as varied as possible. I keep live macro algae growing in tank, and supplement with different kinds of seaweed feed via a clip. I think that this is important not only diet wise, but its also sort of a sanity thing...they need something to do.

- Tangs require room. The bigger the tank the better. There should also be decent flow in this aquarium to give the fish exercise and make the tank "bigger" in a sense that he uses more energy. This will not hurt the fish as long as the flow is within reason. I have three koralia 4's in my 75g reef, and I also have a skimmer running off a maxijet 1200...so there is decent flow for my tang. This also keeps your tang "sane" by giving him lots of healthy exercise.

- Tangs produce a lot of waste. You should have good filtration (over-sized) on any tank featuring tangs, and water changes should be regular and large enough to keep water quality pristine. Tangs are very susceptible to marine ich, and lateral line erosion which is terrible, hard to reverse, and creates unsightly scars on your animal.

With all these things in mind tangs are hardy, and will produce bright active colors for you in your aquarium for years to come.

 

[billbobthegreat]

Well i will be doing 25% a week in water changes if thats enough?

I would like a few possibally three yellow tangs and a blue hopefully, would a 4 foot thats 20" wide but only 15" deep be a better shape for these fish?

Just as i have one laying around lol

In terms of kit i will get an overated skimmer as i know im dealing with a small volume of water, i have a cannister filter here that runs 2000lph what could i fill this with for the tank ive been told to avoid all media and use live rock?

Could you please tell me what would be a good setup equipment wise?

 

[FLESHY]

First off the amount of tangs you want to have is ridiculous. Even if this were going to work compatibilty wise (one tang per setup unless it is a large tank > 125g and there are very specific rules about which tangs you can mix and match. You never want two similarly shaped tangs.) You would require monster filtration...and a whole lot more room.

A 60g aquarium is suitable for MAYBE one yellow, and a juvi blue. If you introduced all of them at the same time and they were small MAYBE three yellows. No promises they wouldnt kill each other off though.

Water changes are largely based on the system...how much sand, how much rock, how much skimming, how much filtration. I cant tell you whats okay. You have to live it, test it, and see what you need to do to keep the water clean.

You could put "reef-rubble" (small chunks of LR) in your filter to just make your bio filter larger. I have always used matrix carbon, and purigen. But this was because I was attempting to limit chemical competition between corals. The polishing effects of purigen would be appreciated in ANY system though I believe.

If I was going to attempt to keep a group of tangs in home aquaria, I would do the following.

- Get the biggest drilled aquarium I could put in my home.

- Set up the sump with as much mechanical, biological, and chemical (in that order of importance) filtration as I possibly could afford, and put a HUGE skimmer on the tank.

- I would get enough LR to decorate the tank and leave a couple swim throughs for the fish but basically leave it open for lots of swimming area for the tangs.

- I would buy large powerful powerheads to give the tangs good water flow for them to play in.

- I would do decent sized water changes (33%) or more weekly to maintain high water quality.

- I would maintain colonies of macro algae inside the tank, and in a refugeium for feeding purposes.

- I would feed newlife spectrum fish food, with as many different kinds of selecon enriched seaweeds as I could find.

- I would pray to the aquarium gods.

 

[billbobthegreat]

Right thats clearly not a good idea then lol

Thanks for all the info though you really know your tangs,

I would like at least the one, and then i can still get other reef friendly fish.

How many tangs are you limited to in an 8x4x2 its only 2 deep?

I own one its a good size for freshwater but i suppose salts are alot different.

this is my first attemt at this ive only ever owned huge catfish, big central cichlids and discus.

 

[FLESHY]

As long as you can keep the tank clean, as many as you can get to live together peaceably. Another tang that might be suitable in this size of aquarium would be the convict. Mixed reviews on hardiness in aquaria (I have never personally owned one) but they supposedly can also be kept in groups.

Tangs just have aggression problems, they eat too much, and it seems that they **** even more. Thats the problem.

 

[billbobthegreat]

So alot like the big Cichlids i used to keep, just alot harder to care for.

What dwarf Angels could i keep and do you think the wider 4 foot would be better?

 

[FLESHY]

As long as the fish arent being impeded from swimming, width is at your disgression.

I wouldnt say that tangs are harder to care for, there are simply basic rules that NEED to be followed. If you do the things I say above they will flourish and be hardy.

I have no practical experience with dwarf angels outside of the lab that I work in. All of our dwarf angels are mean to the other fish, and some pick at corals. Maybe someone else can chime in about the dwarves? For now just go do some reading elsewhere on the internet. Look at retailers for fish you might be interested in, or check out www.wetwebmedia.com this website has a lot of great information on all things salty, (and otherwise) but is an excellent place to start when considering a new animal for your aquarium.