Tempted to switch to Marine

[Yuki Rihwa]

So have been doing a bit of research.
At this stage I am thinking of going with a FOWLR setup. Once I gain more experience, may switch over to a full reef, but not at the beginning stage.

Re stocking.
I was thinking of a Lionfish and maybe one of the smaller Morays.
would that work?

Lionfish is cool but not many fish species compatible with Lionfish, smaller species will become prey. Morays are kool but most likely will hide for the most part and sharp tooth morays will prey on fishes if they have a change to do that. IMO making a saltwater community tank is much better for view because all colorful fishes you can choose to stock up your tank and some might be reef safe when you convert your fish only tank to a reef tank.

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

If you already have the tank in place then you should start fishless cycle with dry rock, dry sand since this will take a while to cycle 5x2x2 tank and it's a lot cheaper. Also, start with dry rock, dry sand will give you the edge of control unwanted pest, parasite, bad stuff that usually come with real live rocks. You can setup a small QT along with your DT same time so start research what fish species you want to keep and plan to QT when your DT ready for live stock.
***Do some research about what corals, anemones you interest to have in future and buy fish that compatible with those corals then you don't have to rehome them.
Edit:
Research about future Lighting system you can afford for your future reef tank, this might cost an arm and a leg for some good quality light system so start save up now

 

[Yoda1]

Lionfish is cool but not many fish species compatible with Lionfish, smaller species will become prey. Morays are kool but most likely will hide for the most part and sharp tooth morays will prey on fishes if they have a change to do that. IMO making a saltwater community tank is much better for view because all colorful fishes you can choose to stock up your tank and some might be reef safe when you convert your fish only tank to a reef tank.

I have always liked a few "oddball" fish as apposed to a general community.

With my fresh water setup, I gave up the general community and got a few oddballs (Dats, Stingrays)

 

[glendower]

So my current fresh water setup:
550L (5 x 2 x2) oddball/SA cichlids
External canister
2 x strips of LED's

Went to a public aquarium a few weeks ago....and lets say I am tempted to switch over to marine.

Am on a bit of a tight budget.
So was thinking of fish only. And as funds become available ( and if I want to) adjusting my equipment for corals.

Can anyone recommend a good book on the subject

Any advice most welcome
Thanks

I read one of your further posts about having a Lionfish, that would limit your choices severely in the future since they are incompatible with a lot of other fish. Why not get a tank with a two or three Tangs, Angelfish and Butterfly fish, you'll have much more movement and colour. If you want a monster look how big some of the tangs get. As for the ich and marine velvet parasite problems most people in the saltwater hobby inevitably run into there is a cure all for that called Cupramine for externals and PraziPro for internals, a benefit of not having live rock, coral and inverts is that you will be able to treat your display tank directly..

As for the aquascape for a fish only marine tank you'll want to get Pukani dry rock, live rock and live sand is a waste of money in my opinion, especially when you have a large canister filter to start with, bio balls are actually superior at harbouring the nitrifying bacteria.

 

[J. H.]

I read one of your further posts about having a Lionfish, that would limit your choices severely in the future since they are incompatible with a lot of other fish. Why not get a tank with a two or three Tangs, Angelfish and Butterfly fish, you'll have much more movement and colour. If you want a monster look how big some of the tangs get. As for the ich and marine velvet parasite problems most people in the saltwater hobby inevitably run into there is a cure all for that called Cupramine for externals and PraziPro for internals, a benefit of not having live rock, coral and inverts is that you will be able to treat your display tank directly..

As for the aquascape for a fish only marine tank you'll want to get Pukani dry rock, live rock and live sand is a waste of money in my opinion, especially when you have a large canister filter to start with, bio balls are actually superior at harbouring the nitrifying bacteria.

Bioballs may be better for nitrifying bacteria, but suck for the denitrifying bacteria. For that you need dry rock, sand, or something else dense.

 

[Thyroyalgeek]

Is quarantine an ABSOLUTE must? My mom won't even let me get a sump, much less another tank, lol. I'm still trying to convince her to let me get a saltwater tank, I've had a love of fish for all my life, and always wanted a saltater tank since forever, my mom says too much maintenance and my dad says to costly, the only thing I wanna start with is a ocellaris pair after all, maybe a bta, if things get going well and the tank has been up for a bit. I'm experienced in freshwater a good bit, and think I'm ready for a fun new challenge. The only thing I need to get the tank going is live rock, metal halide, and salt.

 

[Thyroyalgeek]

You could do a puffer too, to throw in an idea, something small like canthigaster. I thought about doing a fu manchu or a hawkfish, which are both cool as the only fish I usually keep are oddballs, but chickened out and decided to start small.

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

Is quarantine an ABSOLUTE must?

YES and NO
*Yes, it's the most safe way to observation new live stock for diseases and treat accordingly without messing your existing display tank live stock.
*No, you don't need sump or another tank for quarantine IF you setup a new tank. You can use your new tank like a hospital tank but careful with medicine use and medicine brand since they can wipe out your good BB along with diseases.
***This saltwater hobby is costly for none experience user because they will make mistake and that can lead to issues, also most people quit the salt hobby around algae phase because this phase can run for weeks or months and in some cases it's over a year. For example my tank is over a year old but I have to deal with diatom, brown/green algae for 4 months until they consumed all the silicate and phosphate in my water then I MUST maintain my water free of silicate and phosphate or they will come back. You will have more issues if you don't have enough flow within your tank then you will see Cyano, too much Nitrate you might have issue with both Cyano and Dino. A famous phase for saltwater hobby is "Nothing good coming overnight" so be patience is the key to success.