REEF to 125g PREDATOR TANK..NEED HELP!!!!

[seeks06]

I have been in the reef hobby for over 8 years now and I have decided to now venture into the Predator (salt) side. My question for you guys and gals is what do and don’t I need for just a predator tank. First of all, the tank is a 125g drilled with a sump (sump and size has not been made yet). In reef, flow, lighting, rock, skimmer...so on and so on is all important, but with the a predator tank, I have seen some different things. I noticed a lot of people have wet/dry filters, which are usually a no/no in reef, and standard normal output lighting.

Now what should I use for the Predator tank? Do I go bare bottom with starboard or do I go sand (and if sand, deep sand bed or and an inch or two). What grade sand? Do I use wet/dry filter? Do I use refugium, do I use both? Should I go FOWLR, which will include VHO lighting?

My tank will be hosting, a puffer, a wrasse, angel, tang, trigger and possibly an eel.

Please let me know or direct me to the right place as I notice a lot is about reef and I don’t want that....

Thanks, guys....

 

[mr.reef24]

I have been in the reef hobby for over 8 years now and I have decided to now venture into the Predator (salt) side. My question for you guys and gals is what do and don’t I need for just a predator tank. First of all, the tank is a 125g drilled with a sump (sump and size has not been made yet). In reef, flow, lighting, rock, skimmer...so on and so on is all important, but with the a predator tank, I have seen some different things. I noticed a lot of people have wet/dry filters, which are usually a no/no in reef, and standard normal output lighting.
Now what should I use for the Predator tank? Do I go bare bottom with starboard or do I go sand (and if sand, deep sand bed or and an inch or two). What grade sand? Do I use wet/dry filter? Do I use refugium, do I use both? Should I go FOWLR, which will include VHO lighting?
My tank will be hosting, a puffer, a wrasse, angel, tang, trigger and possibly an eel.
Please let me know or direct me to the right place as I notice a lot is about reef and I don’t want that....
[Thanks, guys....[

well a wet/dry filter is critical because it really help's with the de-nitrification of the tank which there we be a need for since you'll have a lot of waste from your predator's and there food. also I would go FOWLR and Just regular Power-compact's with 50/50 lighting. Sand you should use grain since your eel will be on it aragonite or crushed coral could possibly harm him or the puffer if they rest on the substrate I would do 3 to 4 inches deep sand.

mr.reef24

 

[toolbox31]

With a reef you don't have all the waste that will be produced by the larger fish, thats where the wet/dry can come in handy. Otherwise it's not too different, the fish are actually less sensitive then most corals. One problem you might run into is with the puffer and the trigger. In some situations they can be intolerant of each other. Triggers alone can be very temper-mental. I've had great ones and others that start tearing fish up out of the blue.

 

[Hilltopperpete]

Invest in macroalgae and set up a great refugium. Basically it can double the capacity of your tank by adding less than 25% capacity to the water. With a couple of chambers, you can house a protein skimmer, macroalgae and live rock. Some people use bioballs, but they're just a waste of time. I would go FOWLR-- live rock is great for the health of your fish, and making caves/arches/etc... that help keep aggression down and allow fish to have territories (always change rockwork when adding new fish to screw with territoriality).

A 2" sand bed also really helps your fish stay healthy. Plus eels can't do crushed coral or aragonite. They're extraordinarily disease resistant if they don't get effed up by the substrate.

 

[Hilltopperpete]

In terms of stocking...

Zebra morays are worth the extra $$, as they won't touch your fish, get to a moderate 3' size, and are very personable.

Add the MOST aggressive fish LAST. Otherwise, it'll set up a territory and terrorize the other fish that come near. I have a totally peaceful clown trigger that I added last to my FOWLR, and it was super aggressive and biting people at the LFS-- it went in with a huma trigger, flame angel, emperor angel, 2 maroon clowns, yellow tang, dwarf lion, and striped dogface puffer.

If I were you, I'd find a lot of neat fish that get large for cheep, grow them out, and periodically sell the ones you don't want to keep when they start getting big. That'll make your tank interesting both now AND in 3 years.

 

[mr.reef24]

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[Glenn_F]

I keep predator tanks and what I call mini reefs. A predator doesnt have to be void of inverts and corals. Just have to bee selective and do smaller scapes with them. My 250 has several morays and in over 10 years theyve never damaged a coral. The refugium is great advice. It really helps with water quality as you know there will be more waste. And as far as tankmates go. I keep a gymnothorax funebris at 4 ft long and he has just been accompannied by a Niger Trigger, a Spotted Grouper, Emerald Crabs(6), Harlequin Crabs(6), a 10" Echidna Nebulosa, a Green Mandarin and a Spotted Mandarin within the last month. Feeding prevents hunting and personalizes the fish. He goes after nothing. None of my morays or sharks do or ever have. A good feeding schedule will prevent any tankmates being eaten. Ive had my systems like this for over 20 years and never had any problems. Think of what their natural habitat will look like and what will be living around them and go from there and you'll be fine.

 

[hurricane_redbone]

when it comes to predators u can never have too much filtration. I say go with everything u have space for. wet/dry, refugium, phosphate reactor, live rock, anyway u can make more surface area for bacteria to live the better. fill ur sump with live rock too... I know a friend of mine who has 3 bamboo sharks and 2 atlantic rays in a 300 gal and he has a 125 gal sump with a big wet/dry part and the rest stuffed with live rock. have of the live rock part is lit up with power compact and has macro algae above it. he grows about 10 gallons of macro algae in a week.

 

[Predator 1]

I know this might sound controversial, but live rock as a form of filtration in a marine predator system is next to useless. It is good for decor (I have 200kg of it) but it is simply overwhelmed by the bio-load made by predators.
I use a six foot tall fluidized sand tower, a huge Deltec AP skimmer, a nitrate reactor, mangroves and chaeto in my sump, plus two sequence 18000 l/p/h pumps for turnover. And still I feel that I will have to expand the filtration very soon.
In my opinion, keeping large marine predators is not a cheap cousin compared to reef keeping. On the contrary, They require the best equipment available, and equal, if not more dedication than a reef.

 

[Hilltopperpete]

I know this might sound controversial, but live rock as a form of filtration in a marine predator system is next to useless. It is good for decor (I have 200kg of it) but it is simply overwhelmed by the bio-load made by predators.
I use a six foot tall fluidized sand tower, a huge Deltec AP skimmer, a nitrate reactor, mangroves and chaeto in my sump, plus two sequence 18000 l/p/h pumps for turnover. And still I feel that I will have to expand the filtration very soon.
In my opinion, keeping large marine predators is not a cheap cousin compared to reef keeping. On the contrary, They require the best equipment available, and equal, if not more dedication than a reef.

It's not controversial. It's foolish. Live rock in even a shark tank is still very helpful. Overfeeding is a big problem in predator tanks, but if you avoid it, a medium canister filter, live rock, powerhead, and protein skimmer are all you need. Check out Bob Fenner's stuff on wetwebmedia.com. That's just about the best place to get questions answered about any SW or FW fish you may have (though MFK takes the cake with FW monsters!).