Newbie to SW-Need Help on Setup of Lg Tank

[fishman76092]

I've been in the hobby for 25 years and had a 125 gallon fish only salt tank in my youth with triggers, etc. I've been fairly accomplished in fresh and need a change. Given the size of the tank, I'm a bit scared of the sticker shock on salt, etc......

I've just sold my large pbass and aros and want to turn my 10' tank salt. Here is what I have:
Acrylic tank-drilled
520W PC lights 4 x 10000K/460nM Actinic, 4 X 10000K bulbs
75 Gallon Sump
Heater

What other hardware will I need for a fish only SW tank?

I don't want to go broke on live rock and inverts with this size of a tank. Fish I'd like to keep-harlequin tusk, blue spot ray, porcupine puffer, a nice trigger, large angel, tangs, etc. (if these aren't compatible, please let me know)

Also, I used to do water changes using 40 gallon plastic garbage cans to mix the water and then pump it in. I assume I'll need to do the same thing-just more of them?

Any help would be great.

 

[BIGgourami]

where to start?
dimensions of tank (in inches please)
do you have a test kit?
you might want to get SOME LR and and let it spread to reg rock
stay away from lava rocks
you might want to get a protien skimmer
sea cucumbers maybe?
angels especially the larger ones tend to be finicky about water quality and food supply, make sure do do your research before you buy them
don't know jack about rays.
do water changes regularly, at LEAST 10% a week
mix change water a day ahead of time
top off tank with freshwater, RO/DI is best IMO
crack open a beer, sit back, and enjoy?

 

[chrisdef15]

Most of the fish you mentioned are ok together but not the puffer/triiger and the ray. puffers and triggers like to nip at there eyes so they cant be kept together although 10' is a big tank so maybe ask some of the guys on here who work in the zoos and public aquariums about that. Im guessing its def still to small though.
Whats the dimensions of the tank? 75 is not a big enough sump and could maybe be used as a refugium and you would have to add say a 180 or something around that size as a sump.
With the rocks you could try to make a structure out of pvc or something to sit the rock on so its hollow underneath but looks solid from out of tank.

 

[BIGgourami]

yeah and the PVC makes a great hide-a-way for eel if you want to keep any of them. (nod nod, wink wink)

 

[awilson500]

I would like to see pictures of your setups skimmers overflows filters RO/DI systems. That way I can get a feel of how it all works

 

[BIGgourami]

are you new to fishkeeping or just this site?

 

[nbku3vm]

Stay away from the Blue spot. They are very difficult to keep in the home aquarium and most public aquariums have a hard time keeping them. They might live for a few months and then just stop eating and die. Do a search here for the blue spot and there is some good info. They are absolutly gorgeous and that makes them hard to stay away from. You can go with one of the smaller round rays. they are not a beautiful but an awesome specimen non the less.

 

[VLDesign]

I agree on the ray, never ends in a good story, not to mention they get HUGE.... Rays in general avoid if the tank foot print isnt at least 3' wide.

RODI in my opinion is overrated for FO, Reefs I can understand the need, just not FO.

Eels are always fun, Zebra eels (4' max and 2.5" round) or a golden tail moray (2' max 1" round) are great choices and are failry decent tempermant.

Puffers are cool, but they get very large.

Angles, too touchy for me.

Skimmer would be a good idea. TurboFlotor are very good and dont kill the wallet.

 

[krj-1168]

Well - blue spotted rays -are generally very poor choice - they aren't very hardy. Even experienced Elasmobranch(sharks & rays) Keepers tend to have problems in keeping them alive for long.

For some one new to salt - Best recommendation is stay away for sharks or rays until you have some experience. Sharks/Rays generally require very large tanks(most cases over 300 gallons), and are usually very sensitive to water quality.

Your better off basic predator tank. Maybe with an Eel (like a Zebra or Snowflake), An Angel(possible dwarf species), a trigger(preferable a species that isn't highly territorial), a puffer, & few tangs.

But you'll still need to keep an eye on your tank's bio-load.