Buying a New Tank...

[ShelbyLRay]

I'm picking up a new tank, stand, and light package from my LFS since it's on such a great sale, and I'm getting back into the saltwater fish keeping hobby. The tank is labeled as a 24x24 rimless cube... But when I was calculating the amount of sand needed for a deeper sand bed, I realized the 24x24 is a 60 gallon. It's definitely a perfect cube, so it makes no sense that they would label it wrong. What do you guys think about the size? I have 45 pounds of rock and will have 40-50 pounds of sand when I set it up. Plus I'm gonna buy another large piece of live rock to help seed the tank.

Also, does anyone know if that light will work with any kind of corals? I've already planned to get an anemone since it's mainly going to be a clownfish tank with some very docile inverts. I just want it to look colorful and pretty, not really looking to add too many fish to this tank. Maybe a dragonette in the very distant future (like a year from when I set up the tank so there's enough pods for it to eat.)

 

[ShelbyLRay]

Got my tank!

Got my tank!

I got my tank up and running, added base rock and live rock, sand, and almost all the equipment. One of my old power heads was broken when I went to plug it in, unfortunately, so I'm down one but it's not a big deal for a while. It turns out, the tank is a 24x24x19. I'm in love!

 

[Fish Everywhere]

Hello, welcome to RC!

Assuming you do research and plan accordingly, this tank should be a great experience for you, congrats!

As for lighting, we need a little more info. Can you provide us with the manufacturer and the wattage?

An anemone is certainly possible after 6-8 months, assuming your lighting, flow, and parameters are stable and satisfactory. For that size tank, my recommendation would be a Bubble Tip Anemone (Entacmaea Quadricolor.

If you plan on keeping clownfish, keep only one species, and no more than two individuals. I would advise you to stay away from the maroon clownfish, Premnas Biaculeatus, and the clarkii clownfish, Amphiprion Clarkii. These two clownfish are extremely aggressive in many, if not most cases, and would be a poor stocking choice if any other fish were to be planned.

A Dragonet, Synchiropus sp, would be a poor stocking choice for this aquarium. As you already know, this fish has a very specific diet and its requirements would simply not be met in a tank such as this, in my opinion. One option to make this a possibility would be to plumb an external refugium to the tank and proceed from there, however even with that option you would have to wait a while before introducing a dragonet.

Good luck, if you have any other questions feel free to post! HTH, good luck

 

[ShelbyLRay]

Hello, welcome to RC!

Assuming you do research and plan accordingly, this tank should be a great experience for you, congrats!

As for lighting, we need a little more info. Can you provide us with the manufacturer and the wattage?

An anemone is certainly possible after 6-8 months, assuming your lighting, flow, and parameters are stable and satisfactory. For that size tank, my recommendation would be a Bubble Tip Anemone (Entacmaea Quadricolor.

If you plan on keeping clownfish, keep only one species, and no more than two individuals. I would advise you to stay away from the maroon clownfish, Premnas Biaculeatus, and the clarkii clownfish, Amphiprion Clarkii. These two clownfish are extremely aggressive in many, if not most cases, and would be a poor stocking choice if any other fish were to be planned.

A Dragonet, Synchiropus sp, would be a poor stocking choice for this aquarium. As you already know, this fish has a very specific diet and its requirements would simply not be met in a tank such as this, in my opinion. One option to make this a possibility would be to plumb an external refugium to the tank and proceed from there, however even with that option you would have to wait a while before introducing a dragonet.

Good luck, if you have any other questions feel free to post! HTH, good luck

I've actually started up another tank solely for pod breeding for the dragonette. I already picked out my clowns, they're already paired and they're beautiful onyx clowns I think is what they're called? I also was planning on the bubble tip, if I couldn't figure out what this other one I saw was. It was in a much smaller space than mine so I think it would be okay in there. My light is a 92 watt Skkye Tablet. Thanks for the quick reply!

 

[Fish Everywhere]

The reason I said 'big enough' for an anemone was not because it would be stressed or something like a fish the reason is because they can get up to 14" (IME) before they split sometimes... this can be a problem if the whole tank isn't centered around the anemone.

As for your light, its fine for pretty much anything you put into the tank, be it mushrooms to anemones to acros. Just keep in mind blue and white LEDs are not too amazing for higher end acropora, but it seems that you don't really care too much about that because it won't affect your stocking.

It seems you have done your research. Enjoy your tank. Cheers

On a side note, this "other" anemone, what did it look like? If you give a detailed description, someone else or I should be able to help you ID it.

 

[ShelbyLRay]

I saw it at BlueWater Zoo in Fort Walton, FL. It was in their main display tank in the front of the store. The bottom looked like a tree trunk, it supported itself, and then the top was flat with .5-1" things that looked like feather dusters growing out of it. It was a very bright turquoise, and there were clowns hosting it, which made it even prettier.

Actually, you already helped me try to figure out what this was on a post in anemones and clownfish!

 

[ShelbyLRay]

Gave my tank its first water change today! Also cleaned off the inside of the tank which made everything even more clear! A lady at my LFS, which claims I shouldn't listen to the people on the forum because she has a zoology degree and should be the first person I ask anything, says my tank will be cycled *enough* to where I can get fish next week. :uhoh3: my tank has only been set up since 7/9/16, and it's 7/13/16. I think she's kinda full of herself and just wants me to hurry up and buy things from her store lol. I don't have readings on the water just yet. I'm gonna take my water to have it tested Monday, (it's free, no need to buy test strips lol) and hope everything is going as planned.

 

[Gatorfan]

There are plenty of people here with related degrees as well(Marine Bio here). Always best to let the tests decide when the tank is ready.