new to saltwater, need help setting up my first tank

[justslothy]

hey guys! i just made my account today because i need some assistance on setting my first saltwater tank plus i'd like to get involved in a nice reefer community. I've kept freshwater practically my whole life and breed cichlids and bettas sometimes and im hoping to start my first saltwater. I haven't got the tank with me yet (until next week or the week after hopefully), but its a 120 gallon which is more long than tall, and it comes with a freshwater setup that just comes with it. i was thinking that since it's my first saltwater i'd start it off as a FOWLR and later graduate to a reef once i gain some experience. For now since its going to be a FOWLR, i dont think i will be using a sump system with the protein skimmer. I understand that it improves your water quality, but i was hoping to rely on biological filtration for now. Do you guys think its safe to rely on bio filtration? If its really that risky in a FOWLR, i guess you gotta do what you gotta do right? I will update you guys with pictures, details of equipment and what not once i get it in my house. now, the fish and inverts. I'm pretty lost here, since i've never owned such a huge tank let alone it being saltwater but here is a rough idea of what i'd like to keep for sure:

-small chromis school
-couple ocellaris clowns
-yellow tang
-possibly a blue tang?
-couple emerald crabs

I know thats not alot of fish for a 120 gallon, so feel free do add/remove anything you think would do great in harmony which would also do well in a reef. I was thinking of adding part of the cleanup crew in first with a clown or two, and add from there every other week. By the way, im also on a budget so please keep the suggestions not too hard on the wallet :lmao:
Now, one last thing. I will need to obviously buy live rock. However, my LFS only sells indo LR at 8 bucks a pound and i need about 100+. Yikes. If you guys could recommend any reliable online websites that have free shipping to canada, that would be fantastic. Even if they do charge shipping for the quantity im ordering, i will be fine with it as long as its reasonable. Also on the live rock topic, can i do a mixture of live rock and dry rock? like say 60 pounds live and 30 dry?
Any suggestions and guidance to assist me step by step through setting it up will be extremely appreciated!!! Thanks for your help guys!!

 

[Hiruki]

Just make sure to cycle properly sounds good, but tangs are sensitive, so just heads up that they are picky. I like clowns, they're good. A six line wrasse is a good choice, I do like chromis'. I'd also get a cleaner shrimp or two, along with a good cleanup crew. Good luck!

 

[chicagoreefer20]

You could do 98% or even 100% dry rock plus 2% live rock or some fish food/shrimp/something to generate ammonia. Is there a craiglist up in canada or local fish group where you live? I often see people break down their tank and sell live rock for $1usd or so per pound, especially in quantity. I would give up on this hobby if I had to spend $800 on rock. Ok, my wife would kill me.

 

[KrisDM]

FOWLR is way to start and fishes are little forgiving than that of corals & inverts.

Personally I started with 90% dry rock from BRS and added few nice fuji live rock & rubble with coralline algae from a fellow reefer to seed during the cycle. However I used livesand from the beginning. There are quite a few aquarium specialty online stores including BRS ship to canada. Shop around and see what works the best for you.

 

[justslothy]

thanks guys! okay so it seems that live rock isnt going to be an issue anymore, i also checked my craigslist and found some guys selling theirs for just $1-2 a pound. Just any ideas on stocking? How does my stocking list look? The tank is about 5-6 feet long, 1-2 feet tall and 1-2 feet wide. sorry, i dont have exact measurements with me right now all i know is that its 120 gallons.

 

[Sk8r]

Read the sticky on set-up. It'll answer questions you don't know how to ask yet.

 

[chicagoreefer20]

Be picky on the used rock. Make sure it isnt covered in bad stuff, not all that alive, etc. you dont want to have to make it into dry rock.

Btw, i am very happy we saved you about $700! Um, feel free to mail us a gift basket.

 

[acabgd]

If you have any intention to add coral to your setup later, and even if you stick with just FOWLR I would still add a sump. It increases your water volume and increases your options for equipment, obviously gives you additional space... If you do decide to add coral later on you would either have to drain your tank and drill it or use an overflow. A sump costs just a little more while hugely improving your options.

 

[dppitone]

I have FOWLRs and don't skim. I just use refugiums and change water. But even without a refugium, if you change your water on a good routine you'll be fine. That's a small livestock load. Bear in mind though, you're planned livestock today will likely not be what you end up with.

And buy your live rock off of craigslist or ebay from someone breaking down a system. If you're patient for a week or two and start looking now, you can find it for about $2 a pound. It's probably best to start with all live rock on a new system, but it can be done with a mix of live and dry if necessary - many have done it. But if you have a choice, I'd do the former. I checked on the Toronto Craigslist just now and somehow has live rock their now for $2 a pound, coming right out of a running system.

 

[dkeller_nc]

First off, welcome to Reef Central. You will find much useful information on the forum, and like Sk8r said, it's imperative that you read the stickies, at least on the New to the Hobby section.

When I first started with reef tanks, it was 23 years ago and the only available on-line information was on Usenet mailing lists. Not exactly comprehensive. The only other resource were books/magazines and local fish shops. That was certainly better than nothing, but again, far from comprehensive.

The reason I mention this to you is that many of the posts to the New to the Hobby forum are folks that have problems that are directly addressed by the stickies, except they're already experiencing the issues instead of knowing how to prevent them.

Regarding your specific situation, you are already way ahead of the game from keeping and breeding freshwater fish. So you already are familiar with the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate cycle, and have some understanding of water chemistry.

So yes, a FOWLR is easier in some ways than a reef tank. But if what you really want is a reef tank, you are capable of setting up a reef tank from the start. Without repeating everything in the stickies, my one piece of advice would be to echo another poster - getting a tank drilled and plumbed with a sump is a modest investment, and it makes keeping both a reef tank and a FOWLR much easier. Just one example is that installing an automatic top-off system to keep the salinity stable is far easier with a sump. It can be done with a sumpless tank, but it usually means keeping the water level an inch or so below the tank frame to allow for mounting the ATO sensor to the glass.

As to skimmer/no skimmer, in my opinion you can do a fine job without one, but again, it makes keeping just about any saltwater aquarium easier, and in the long run, cheaper because you're not totally relying on water changes to export nutrients.

 

[justslothy]

thank you so much for the help guys!! so i think i might look into making a sump. Ill be sure to check out all the stickies if i ever have a question again, thanks again!

 

[michfish5]

And don't forget QT

 

[justslothy]

And don't forget QT

Yeah I was just thinking about the QT, won't forget that for sure

 

[FTDelta]

Skip on the Blue tang - they get upwards to a foot. The Yellow tang should be fine. Your Chromis school will eventually wind down to a single Chromis.

 

[dkeller_nc]

By the way - if you want a school of fish, and aren't too picky about what sort, threadfin (also called blue-eye or long-spine) cardinal fish generally won't beat up the least dominant member of the clan the way that damsels will. Another cardinal fish that will get along well in a school are red-spot cardinals, though they aren't as easy to get as blue-eye.

 

[justslothy]

Skip on the Blue tang - they get upwards to a foot. The Yellow tang should be fine. Your Chromis school will eventually wind down to a single Chromis.

ill definitely wont put in a blue tang anymore, the tank got here and i calculated it at 100 gallons anyways.