clown fish and anemones starter kit

[hammmp90]

OK so I am nee to is site and I have spent time reading some of the forums on here and I like what I have seen. I really want a salt water tank and I am concerned that even with a starter kit I won't get the property things I will need to maintain a happy and healthy tank. I don't want to start out with a huge tank 15g-28g is fine. I was planning on starting out with just the live rock and live sand at first till I was satisfied the tank has been properly cycled. My end goal is to have two clown fish an anemone or two and if plausible seahorses. I guess my main question would be is this a good way to begin and if so what are some good starter kits or starter tanks and equipment to have. Also if you have any books that are good to read let me know. The more knowledgeable I am the better.

 

[hammmp90]

I'm working off of my kindle so I apologize for grammar and spelling errors.

 

[tthemadd1]

Flower insert new tank thread info here. She will lead you down the right path. To begin seahorses and clowns or seahorses and anemones are not a combination that works. Seahorse only.
Second too small a tank for anemones
Third wait a year after cycling for anemones.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hammmp90 http:///t/396550/clown-fish-and-anemones-starter-kit#post_3533430
OK so I am nee to is site and I have spent time reading some of the forums on here and I like what I have seen. I really want a salt water tank and I am concerned that even with a starter kit I won't get the property things I will need to maintain a happy and healthy tank. I don't want to start out with a huge tank 15g-28g is fine. I was planning on starting out with just the live rock and live sand at first till I was satisfied the tank has been properly cycled. My end goal is to have two clown fish an anemone or two and if plausible seahorses. I guess my main question would be is this a good way to begin and if so what are some good starter kits or starter tanks and equipment to have. Also if you have any books that are good to read let me know. The more knowledgeable I am the better.

Hi,

Welcome to the site...

tthemadd1 is correct, you can't keep seahorses with clownfish. Clownfish do not have to have an anemone, you shouldn't try to keep an anemone until the tank has had at LEAST 6 months to mature. They don't do well unless the parameters remain very steady...and a new tank goes through all kinds of changes that first year.

"The conscientious aquarist" by Robert Fenner is a really useful book.

When it comes to SW tanks, the larger the tank the easier it is to keep. 30g is a very, very little tank for SW. You may be able to keep 1 small fish in a 15g.

If you want seahorses, be sure to get captive bred, they eat frozen Mysis, and are as easy to keep as any SW fish. A tank for seahorses require a little different set up, since they need to be able to hitch their tails.

The best thing to do, is to figure out your all time favorite thing you want to keep in your tank, and build your system for that. If you want seahorses, you set the tank up according to their needs, that rule of thumb works for any critter including coral.

I don't know how many times someone will get a small tank, and then ask if a Hippo tang will live happily in it...a Hippo tang needs a 100g tank, and the yellow tang needs 6 foot long tanks. Most seahorses do best in tall column tanks.

Set up is the most expensive ... knowing what you want to keep, will help keep the costs down.

For fish only...no special lighting, that set up is the "cheapest" to maintain, but requires possibly the largest tank for keeping the really cool fish.
For corals...most get the super lights, which are expensive...there are corals that don't require so much light...but they are not for beginners.
For Seahorses...you need a chiller, even tropical seahorses need the temps steady at 74 degrees.

If you need help on selecting that favorite critter...get this book
click on the picture to see it enlarged to read the example page

 

[flower]

Starter kit???? I decided to just post what you will need for a fish only kind of set up:


[*]Tank (largest you can afford, and fit in the house)
[*]Stand...you can make your own, but don't try a table not made for fish tanks....SW tanks are super heavy compared to freshwater tanks.
[*]Salt mix
[*]RO water (Reverse Osmosis) Your own unit is best, but Walmart sells water for 37 cents a gallon....and you can get RO at any grocery water fill station
[*]Live rock...you can use base dry dead rock, and only a few pieces of live rock to seed it (saltwater rocks, not river rock). build the rock 1/2 way up the tank, set in the center, so you can clean the glass.
Sand is better then crushed coral. Many SW critters CUC = Clean up Crew of snails and such) do really good cleaning up sand, but they have a problem with CC and it stays dirty looking, and you will have the extra work of vacuuming it.
Never cover a SW tank, so leave it open...still you need lights. T5HOs are pretty easy and cheap to replace the bulbs, and it makes the fish's color pop.
At least 2 Power heads...the wave is the life of the ocean and your SW tank. Don't use a Maxijet type, they just shoot a steam of water...you want a Koralia type that makes a wave motion with a small fan like gizmo.
Filter system...you can use any type of filter you want, EXCEPT the under gravel type.
Test kit...a Master kit is cheaper then purchasing all the tests separately. Tests: PH...Alkalinity...Nitrite (NO2)...Nitrate (NO3)...Phosphates (PO4)...Ammonia...Calcium ... I recommend the SeaChem brand, Instant ocean or Salifert. Stay away from API, for reasons I won't get into here. You can get whatever you need on-line.

Cycle with a chunk of live shrimp, pure ammonia (sold in any laundry isle at the grocery store), or ghost feed an invisible fish. PLEASE don't use a live fish. I use the strip type of ammonia test for cycling and quarantine tanks. It's fast and easy, and who cares about the number...we just want it to spike and return to 0.

 

[hammmp90]

Ok so first off thank you both! I am going to get a 55gallon tank as far as the fish go I want to wait until the tank is cycled. Is it better to buy a new tank or a used one? I have been looking on Ebay and I have seen some tanks with equipment for sell but I don't know if it is a good idea. thoughts? Thank you Flower for the starter list because that is what I was looking for all around. I have found a power head in the store on this site but I am unsure about the test strips. Which filter is better to choose as I have seen the ones with bio chem balls and ones without. Thank you both again for your input. I am currently shopping for books to do more research as I don't plan on buying a tank till maybe January.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hammmp90 http:///t/396550/clown-fish-and-anemones-starter-kit#post_3533641
Ok so first off thank you both! I am going to get a 55gallon tank as far as the fish go I want to wait until the tank is cycled. Is it better to buy a new tank or a used one? I have been looking on Ebay and I have seen some tanks with equipment for sell but I don't know if it is a good idea. thoughts? Thank you Flower for the starter list because that is what I was looking for all around. I have found a power head in the store on this site but I am unsure about the test strips. Which filter is better to choose as I have seen the ones with bio chem balls and ones without. Thank you both again for your input. I am currently shopping for books to do more research as I don't plan on buying a tank till maybe January.

Hi,

If you haven't purchased your tank yet...get a 75g instead of the 55g...it's wider, and a much better choice for a starter tank. The 55g is real narrow. They are both 48 inches long, and take up the same amount of room the house, and require the exact same equipment....and LOL...you can have better fish choices.

You only use ammonia test strips when first cycling or a quick test on a quarantine...you need lab type kits to have a saltwater tank. That way you will know what is going on with the water quality, which is the life of the tank.

As long as a tank doesn't leak, it's good to use. The only problem with a used tank would be having to clean it up...and if the tank was ever used to treat fish in it with copper, you can never use it for corals. Acrylic scratches easy, and there are ways to buff it up and clean it up (I personally am not that handy). I always opted for all glass tanks myself, but they are much heavier.

All filtration systems have pros and cons:

[*]A sump filter system is the best one IMO...you can have an in-sump skimmer which is 100% better then any HOB one. You add water volume, and you can divide a sump to have a small chamber for a refugium. But it's noisy, I personally like the sound of a running creek or babbling brook, others find it annoying.
[*]A canister filter runs completely silent, and you can add a spray bar to help with surface movement...but they are easy to forget, and to be useful it must be maintained and serviced once a month. If you have a power outage (24 hours or more), you need to take the canister off line. When power is restored the water in the canister could be stagnant and kill all the fish. Also you will be stuck with a HOB skimmer.
A HOB filter is fine for smaller tanks, and swapping the media is a piece of cake. Then again, you must deal with a HOB skimmer.

Those balls you are talking about is just surface area for good bacteria to grow on, and they need to be rinsed, making more work to maintain the tank...your live rock and sand serves the same purpose, and the CUC (snails, serpent or brittle stars and other little critters that live in it, besides the fish nipping at it) keep the rock and sand clean, so you don't have to. Which IMO, is the biggest perk of keeping a SW tank.

One word of advice. Put your fish tank 6 to 8 inches from the wall. I know it sounds like a big space to set the tank out....but it will make it much easier to service the tank... and believe me, once it's filled, you won't notice the space in the back until you try to service the tank, and then you will be glad you did. I had a HOB skimmer that needed a space of 6 inches to fit the back of the tank, and I only left 4 inches of space. It was a lesson I never for got.

 

[tthemadd1]

Go glass. If the used equipment is running and the tank is full them I say you should be ok. I the equipment is dry in boxes move on. Salt will destroy plastics metals etc left out to corrode. So lights pumps sumps etc become trash if left too long without water and covered with salt. Even if the person says they rinsed them well with fresh water chances are they are junk.
Flower is right go 75. You will appreciate the extra space in the long run. Most people who start 55 go up to 75 or more quickly. Save the money.