Beginner at saltwater... NEED HELP

T

TeamDube

New member
Okay... So I am new here and have been planning and wanting a saltwater tank for over 7 months. I am 14 and hope to become a zoologist/marine biologist and have always loved animals and such.

So these are the fish and equipment I have came up with. I am asking for ALL of your opinions on this. I have the tank I want, but I'm lost on what equipment I should get for the tank...

Bio Cube 29 Gallon

Stocking:
1 Occelaruis Clownfish
1 Coral Beauty
1 Yellow Watchman Goby
1 Red/Purple Firefish

I also need a clean up crew. I would like to know what filters, skimmers, lights etc. to get. NO LIVE ROCK
 
ffmedic said:
You need live rock that's your biological filter I wouldn't ever run a tank with out it.
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+10000

Why on earth would you want a reef tank with no rock? 99% of your biological filtration takes place in the bacteria that colonizes the porous rock. This isn't the freshwater hobby where you have biological media(ceramic spheres, bioballs, etc, etc) that house the bacteria. We typically don't use traditional "filter" in the SW hobby, as they build up detritus and can be a PITA to constantly clean.
 
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If the live rock is too expensive you could buy base rock generally $2 per lbs or look on Craigslist for a deal. But I agree with theverything comments above. Plus wouldn't you want to create as natural an environment as possible for your aquatic buddies?
 
Also lighting depends on what your wanting to keep. Sps, lps, fish only? Skimmers there are many brands out there I'd look up reviews, I personally went with a vertex after much research, acrylic is awesome and comes with a sicce pump that's reputable and ultra quiet.
 
We have a file 'specially for this situation. Look up in the stickies atop this forum for a massive 'book' called SETTING UP. If there's a question you have that's not answered there, we can still handle it. But that'll manage things you haven't realized you need to ask, which will head you off from problems.
 
You need rock. The bacteria the rocks is responsible for keeping your tank stable and clean. If price is the reasoning, you can use dry rock which will eventually house the bacteria.
 
Aquatic life 115 skimmer is the goto for biocubes. Fits in the back and you can keep the lid.

Ditch the bio balls and get some rock.

Coral beauty will out go the tank. Maybe a royal gramma in its place?

The nano reef forums is full of biocube build threads and info.
 
Ok so here is an update. I just need to know stocking for a 29 gallon. I would like clownfish and a goby, can I fit a Coral Beauty?
 
TeamDube said:
Ok so here is an update. I just need to know stocking for a 29 gallon. I would like clownfish and a goby, can I fit a Coral Beauty?
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I've been told both yes and no....seeing a full grown coral beauty made me change my personal opinion to no as they get pretty big and move around a LOT. If you really want an angel maybe a cherub or flameback would work as they are the smallest you can possibly get. I'm going to get one for my 29g but I am like 90% sure I'll be upgrading to at least a 55 next year sometime so it won't be his permanent home.
 
Don't put the coral beauty in there biocubes are not angel friendly they don't have a lot of swim space
 
Live rock is incredibly important for reefs. I am also fourteen so I can understand if it's the cost that's getting to you. If you really don't want live rock you might be able to get away with buying dry rock ( which is much cheaper) and a few pieces of live rock to seed it with but you'll need to wait an extra few months before adding fish. As for lights if you plan on adding corals I would recommend an LED fixture- u can get fairly good ones off amazon for a cheap price and they would be suitable for growing the soft coral and polys that most people start out with. As for the fish I would definitely not recommend the coral beauty as they get big and in my experience very aggressive in smaller tanks. Instead I would get another clownfish or a Pygmy cherub angel which I don't think gets as large.
 
You can get away with no rock if you do 50% water changes bi-weekly, but you will be spending a fortune on salt for not much of a tank. Half of the beauty of a tank is the rock and corals that you can raise. I am not saying that you have to have corals, but your fish will appreciate caves and such to hide in and feel comfortable and safe with. If you are using artificial seascape then you can do the bi-weekly at 50% and get a real good skimmer. I think tunze makes a decent one. Don't go with that biocube one though. I applaud your honesty about the liverock, but if you ever want a tank that will be easy to maintain (well as easy as saltwater can get) then you need it along with live sand. You didn't say live argonite is out of the question, so I am assuming you will be employing that?
The biggest thing on those tanks though is the skimmer, and hanging a full unit of Chemi-pure Elite in the center intake box for the rear refugium that you change out every month religiously. If you aren't having any corals or live rock then the light in the hood should suffice. upgrading the pumps to maxi-jets might be a good way to go too. A lot of people stuff the refugium with live rock and set up a nighttime higher powered LED strip (Ture Lumen) aimed at the back of the tank. You might want to consider this if live rock in the tank is not something you are into. Quality rubble to stuff the refugium with is far less money than larger pieces and can be found on e-bay.
Good Luck with it! Let me know how you get along. Don't forget those water changes!
BTW: I had a JBJ advanced nano setup that I took down. It is up on e-bay if you want a better nano setup and you can still return that Oceanic. Just a thought!
 
This isn't the freshwater hobby where you have biological media(ceramic spheres, bioballs, etc, etc) that house the bacteria.
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I'm still pretty new to the hobby myself, but it seems that fish stores often run saltwater fish-only tanks on biowheels or MarinePure ceramic media rather than rock.
 
Fish stores are not really great models on how to keep healthy fish. Also I would think they would go with less rock because it would make it easier to catch the fish. Ceramic media also needs to be washed every so often so that it doesn't become a nitrate trap. Live rock works much better
 
Zirco said:
I'm still pretty new to the hobby myself, but it seems that fish stores often run saltwater fish-only tanks on biowheels or MarinePure ceramic media rather than rock.
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Not only is an LFS not a great model to pattern you own personal tank after, they often use one central sump that is plumbed to all the display tanks consisting of their skimmer, live rock, heater, etc etc. The biowheels and such you normally see only aids in the filtration/aids in each tanks gas exchange.

Plus you have to remember most fish in a LFS doesn't stay in a tank for very long, so there's no need for long term bio filtration.
 
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