# Saltwater Setup



## aimraj (Mar 31, 2005)

Hello. I'm sure you've had this question about a million times but... What do I need, in everyone's opinion, to start a good saltwater tank? I don't plan on starting it for 1-2 years because of moving and money. I just wanted to see what everyone suggests to begin with that will make the fish happy. Size of tank I was thinking of starting out with was around 125 or larger. I've been told the bigger the tank the easier it is to care for? Is that true? Although, that probably depends on what you put in that. Also, what type of fish would be good for a tank that size? I'm very new to saltwater and am just doing some initial research now. Thanks in advance for any comments on the matter. 
~Amy


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## fishfreaks (Jan 19, 2005)

dont know much about saltwater myself, all i can tell you is yes, it is true about how the bigger the tank the easier it is to care for.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

Well first off if you want to research saltwater get the book by Fenner, The Conscientious Marine Aquarist, also I would look on Liveaquaria.com and see which species you would absolutely WANT. That would determine the size of your tank. Also the equipment in a marine aquarium is largely related to what you want to keep. A protein skimmer is by far the best filtration in the hobby, but there are also refugiums, fuges, and live rock that provide extra filtration. Corals will need extra lighting, making power compacts, metal halides, or VHO's on your list of things to get (which can be very expensive). You will probably want to go with DI/RO water as it is void of nutrients algae needs to thrive in. Also, if you haven't done freshwater, do it first. You can learn a lot from it without the expensive mistakes of saltwater. 
Here are some basic rules I follow
1. A cycled tank is always needed before adding any fish... this means your tests must look like as follows
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0 
Nitrate 10-30
(cycling will take at least 3-6 weeks)
2. Quarentine all fish and all inverts/corals that have been exposed to fish. A 10-20 gallon tank will usually suffice. Keep your new additions in there for at least 1 month before adding to the main tank.
3. Add slowly, allow 3-4 weeks between adding one or two fish.
4. never use meds in the main tank. Always use them in QT.
5. Always research a species of fish before buying and ask yourself these questions
- will it eat my other fish/corals/inverts?
- how big will it get and how am I going to accomidate its needs? Do I have a big enough tank?
- what does this fish/invert/coral eat? Will I be able to provide it for them?
- How hardy is this species?
- Does this species need anything I don't already have?
- Is this species aggressive?
- Does it do better in a group, pair, or singlely?
- How long has this fish/invert/coral been in the LFS?
- Is this fish/invert/coral eating, and behaveing normally?
- Is this an LFS I trust?


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## clemsonfrk11202 (Jan 27, 2005)

wow i think fishfirst has got you covered... and by the way get the largest tank you could possibly afford... its WAY easier. protien skimmers rock, and live rock and live sand is a must (you can skip out on live sand if you want, the live rock will seed the sand in time, it just takes a little while)


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## aimraj (Mar 31, 2005)

So I thought that maybe I should make this a little more specific. I would like to have a lionfish in my tank eventually. What could I put with the lionfish?


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

well it depends on the tank size and which species of lionfish. If you get a fuzzy dwarf, a 75 gallon would be sufficent for more fish such as a tang, and a smaller species of triggerfish. I would highly recommend a 125 for a volitian lion, the problem with aggressives, is A) no small fish can be put in the tank and B) they produce a LOT of waste. Fish that can go with a lionfish w/o space constraints are as follows
Large Angelfish
Tangs
Most Eels
Groupers
Sweetlips
Snappers
Large Wrasses
Triggerfish


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## aimraj (Mar 31, 2005)

I like it. I want a big tank. At least a 125. Just have to see where we are at with housing when the time comes. Right now we're in a 2 bedroom apartment and our 55 takes up a lot of room. In a couple of years though we should be in a house. Good deal. I really enjoy triggerfish also. So how do you combat with the waste of the aggressives? I mean without changing the water every hour?  lol.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

refugiums work very well as well as a high quality protein skimmer (remora pro). Also a lot of live rock works well too. Recent debate has put me on the fence about deep sand beds... though some claim they help. Regular weekly water changes would help the most though. 20% of the water...  I'd say a good setup would probably be a 125 gallon with a trigger, fuzzy dwarf lion, and a tang of some sort, (I personally love Achilles tangs, and Pacific Blue Tangs)


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## aimraj (Mar 31, 2005)

Random other thought. What would I put in the tank to have a higher number of fish? Schoolers i guess? This is of course excluding the lionfish, tang, etc.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

Well Green Chromis School so you could have a school of 6 there... in my 125 I am putting a P. Blue Tang, Yellow Tang, True Percula Clownfish, Firefish, Coral Beauty, Yellow Watchmen Goby, Christmas Wrasse, 2 Bengali Cardinalfish, Royal gramma and Jeweled Rockskipper. 

Smaller fish that would be good in a 125 include, a group of Pajama Cardinalfish, A pair of clownfish, a dwarf angel such as a flame, coral beauty, keyhole, lemon, etc. Small wrasses such as Scotts Fairy Wrasses, royal gramma, bicolor pseudochromis (and others), sigh theres just so many choices. take a look at Liveaquaria.com  they have some good pics and descriptions of the fish, if you see some you like... post em and we can tell you if they are compatible and/or good fish for a bigger.


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