Please Help....

[TLTGF]

Hello again everyone, I'm very new into the hobby of fw or sw aquariums/fishkeeping.... Originally i was gonna go fw but the more i look into it, it seems that sw may be the way i should go. I've been on quite a few sw sites researching the maintainence, and cost, but i still don't really know. I definetly prefer the sw fish over fw. My favorite fish of all time is the lion fish and i'd love to own one as a pet. I guess my questions really are.... Will I be okay? I was thinking along the lines of between a 150- 180 gallon tank, but does sw need to be taller than fw? seems too squished for fish to swim... I was also reading things about FOWLR tanks and i think that is what i want but im not positive. Can someone give me a dummy definition of Live rock/ and also a fish only tank, i get a reef tank. Also, what am i looking at as far as an investment goes to start up a tank of that size, or do i need to go bigger? Any help i can get will surely be appreciated, by the way if it helps I'm 23 and in college so i'm kinda on a medium sized budget. Thanks again.

 

[frontosa_man]

that is a good sized tank to do a sw in. if you can buy everything you need used you will be better off or you will be spending thousands to get started. a fish only tank means you have min. live rock and really no corals in there with the fish. good luck

 

[Mattcomptonassvanhorn]

Your good.

 

[hyphen]

Hello again everyone, I'm very new into the hobby of fw or sw aquariums/fishkeeping.... Originally i was gonna go fw but the more i look into it, it seems that sw may be the way i should go. I've been on quite a few sw sites researching the maintainence, and cost, but i still don't really know. I definetly prefer the sw fish over fw. My favorite fish of all time is the lion fish and i'd love to own one as a pet. I guess my questions really are.... Will I be okay? I was thinking along the lines of between a 150- 180 gallon tank, but does sw need to be taller than fw?

lionfish are relatively inactive. they tend to blob around but they're not super-active swimmers. a 180 for a volitan would be great as they get pretty damn big and are hefty eaters. height is really a matter of personal choice. of course, you need enough height to accomodate the lion's long fins.

seems too squished for fish to swim... I was also reading things about FOWLR tanks and i think that is what i want but im not positive. Can someone give me a dummy definition of Live rock/ and also a fish only tank, i get a reef tank.

liverock is just rock with living organisms on it. bacteria that breaks down ammonia and other critters that help with the bio filtration.

Also, what am i looking at as far as an investment goes to start up a tank of that size, or do i need to go bigger? Any help i can get will surely be appreciated, by the way if it helps I'm 23 and in college so i'm kinda on a medium sized budget. Thanks again.

a 180g would probably be perfect for a lion. if you want to do a fowlr, you'd be looking to spend a good chunk of cash to get started. calculate that you need approximately 1lb of liverock per gallon water. (i say 1 because i assume you won't be adding tons of livestock). so about $200 for liverock. then you gotta buy sand. find out prices at your lfs, a skimmer (not necessary but helps a lot), salt, powerhead, heater, thermometer, hydrometer. i'd say expect to spend around $500. you can probably cut down on costs by shopping around, but there really is no way to have a "cheap" saltwater setup.

some people spend $500 on a 12g nanoreef, so i'm being pretty generous with the $500.

 

[TLTGF]

thanks for the info, i was figuring probably about 3 other fish haven't nailed down exactly what yet, still trying to truly figure out compatibility... ive heard 100 different things from 100 different people. I've also heard that no matter what you want to do FO, FOWLR, or Reef you should always setup your tank firsh for a reef tank, otherwise if you decide to change to a reef you need to upgrade equiptment. My question is will reef equipt do the correct job for a FO or FOWLR? And basically from the definition Live rock is basically just rocks, not coral?

 

[hyphen]

right. a reef setup will work for a fowlr or fo setup. but a reef is basically a fowlr with peaceful fish and better lighting. liverock is just rock. corals are invertebrates.

definitely look into the compatibility issues. but saltwater is really just as easy freshwater. all you need to know are the extra additives and equipment that're needed.