red sea tank?

[kravi]

Okay, so I'm probably moving home to Israel in about two or three years. I currently have a 30 gallon reef tank. I want a bigger one, but I see little point in investing in one if I'm not going to be in the States too much longer.

But I was thinking. When I get back to Israel I'll definately be setting up a large reef tank. Probably 120 gallons or larger. Since being a parent is so much cheaper there (you don't have to save up money for a University education, and clothes and food are about 75% of the cost in the States) I can easily afford it.

So I thought about getting a "themed" tank. I thought about going for a high selinity "red sea" tank, using only corals and fish that are native to the red sea.

And while this isn't urgent, I am curious if this can be done. Can I put snails and crabs (which aren't red sea natives) into a higher than normal salinity tank?

Are there enough coral and fish indigenous to the red sea that I can have a varied environment?

Any thoughts and responses are appreciated.

--Me

 

[boxfishpooalot]

Are there enough coral and fish indigenous to the red sea that I can have a varied environment

In my mind the red sea is filled with chromis, tangs and tons of soft corals. Actually i think the red sea is very diverse in life forms.


Can I put snails and crabs (which aren't red sea natives) into a higher than normal salinity tank?

You can provided you acclimate them about 24 hours into it. Snails are very sensitive to rapid sg changes. But I imagine there are local snails and crabs that are just as good as the ones where you live.

I would also just use natural salt water, and water change 50% once a week! Man if I lived by the sea....only if i did

 

[kravi]

Thanks for the response.

I can't use natural sea water, for two reasons. One is that I will be living in the Tel Aviv area (which is off the mediteranean, not the red sea).

The second is that even if I was living in Eilat (yay for no VAT there, lots of beer, and pretty vacationing girls [looking is okay when you are married, right?]), the water close to the city is ok for swimming, but not for tanks.

--Me

 

[boxfishpooalot]

:lol:

Well if you buy a small boat, just go out to sea! NSW has HUGE benefits than sythetic made stuff. Sythetic has many heavy metals and lots of other things 10x more than nsw. Plus, you wont get the stability that nsw has in sythetic. I Bet some lfs sell natural saltwater out their.

 

[kravi]

Well, I have a friend who works for the Eilat aquarium (he's a scuba diver) and can easily get me real sea water. I had forgotten about that.

I'll see what I can manage

--Me

 

[kravi]

Still wondering if any has a list (or knows of one I can find) of red sea specific fish/inverts/corals? Just curious, because it would be nice to see what my options are.

--Me

 

[kravi]

Anyone familiar with red sea type aquarium setups?

--Me