New tank thoughts

[Bagabaga]

Hey all, it’s been a long time since I’ve been on the forum, I ended up setting up another nano previously and didn’t post about it.

On to another topic! I just got a 50 gallon tank and stand for free and I’m planning a fish only tank. I want to keep it super simple so I’m thinking an fx4 canister filter some basic lighting and probably little to almost no substrate or coral “gravel”.

My question is what kinds of fish should I consider? I want something with visual appeal and would LOVE a flame angel (who would be added last). A lot of thoughts about fuzzy dwarf and fu Manchu lions came to mind. Then I thought about Color? and like orange so I thought a school of red bar anthias. Cardinal fish and fire fish just don’t do it for me. I thought about a snowflake eel but I don’t know!

I’m planning a lot of nooks and crannies to hide with pvc pipes and etc in the rock work. I’m thinking high turn over rate for filtration would be ideal with the larger substrate being easy to stir up and remove detritus because I love feeding heavy.

I appreciate you all so much!

 

[reefing102]

Hmmm 50 gallons. A snowflake would likely grow too large for it. A dwarf lion would likely be okay. Flame again no problem. Not sure how difficult red bars are but I’ve heard Lyretails seem to be on the easier side for anthias. The females are orange with males going a purple/red (I’d max at maybe 1 male and 2 females).

Maybe a wart skin angler?

Not sure which’s ones have compatability issues but maybe look at the various wrasses available. I know many are generally compatible with each other and typically have great color.

 

[Dbroncos]

A little small for a Flame Angel.

 

[Bagabaga]

Thanks for your responses! I was considering a rooster wasp fish as my little venomous fish.

I know there’s a lot of opinions on flame angels and tank size. It’s my favorite fish of all time and this is the first tank I’ve had in 10 years that could potentially keep one in. So I will be. Sorry if that makes anyone upset.

 

[T Diddy]

Yes, that size tank is a little on the small side, but I’ve seen them live long, happy lives in smaller tanks. I say go for it. Just watch out for signs of stress for the first few weeks it’s in the tank. Best of luck with the new setup!

 

[Bagabaga]

Hey again!

I bought a canister filter a cf500uv by aqua top. I will also be making my own rock structures from sanded grout and oyster shell then curing it all. I wanted so try something new with the tank and since there will be no corals in the tank I thought I’d give making my own rock a try. I’m thinking of using charcoal colored grout with the oyster shell to make an interesting contrast. Lighting for the tank will be absolutely basic and I have decided to go without a substrate for easy clean up because I like to feed heavy. I’m curious with the canister if I will need more flow but I’m doubting it. I think right now I’ll be making some rock and curing it. I’ll be back once I’ve made some more progress but it may be some time until the rock cures.

 

[reefing102]

Sounds like a great plan. I’m curious what kind of grout you plan to use

 

[Drummer98]

This sounds like a great project. Looking forward to seeing some photos !

 

[Bagabaga]

I plan to use charcoal colored polyblend plus from a big box store. The ingredient I assume that makes it black is the latex polymer. The rest is just Portland cement and quartz sand. I plan to cure it in an acid bath and then water until ph stabilizes. I also want to create basically the shape of the mind flayer from stranger things. Long legs that hold up a central point. The tank is 36”x18”x20” and the foot print is pretty wide. I wanted to go with the shape because it will add lots of swim through zones.

 

[griss]

Looking forward to pictures. If you wouldn't mind documenting your creation of the rock, I'd love to see that. I tried it once with just portland cement and oyster shells. I ended up not using it because, to be honest, I don't really have a creative bone in my body and they ended up just looking like big boulders