Easiest set up ???

rhomking

rhomking

New Member
For a Fish only set up,i will be using live sand and some dead rock.I know i need a Skimmer but what is the easiest form of filteration i can use.My tank is a 125 gal set up,i wanted to get a white banded shark(they stay the smallest i bielive)but if thats a no go then a grouper and a lion fish both of the same size.So the tank really wont be heavily populated.I have been getting mixed stories on this some people say use a FX5,while others say use a sump.I'm not the richest guy in the world either so price is kinda of important here too.Plus easyness (is this even a word??lol)of care and operateing plays a role here too.Thanks for any and all advice.
 
S

saxman

Guest
A 125 is WAY to small for even the smallest shark species (we're talking 300 gals here) and about the only grouper that would possibly fit is the blue line (Cephalopholis formosa), but I digress...
Go with a sump, for SURE, and you're gonna need a really good skimmer.
A word about feeding preds...keep them off carp (goldfish, rosy reds) and krill, esp freeze-dried.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Saltwater ain't cheap. The bigger you go, the more expensive it gets. If you aren't going to buy equipment you need to run it, don't set one up. Stick with freshwater.
If you are still determined - go with a sump. It's the easiest to maintain, it hides all of your equipment, and increases your water volume.
As far as aggressive fish - I'll let others chime in. I'm not much on aggressive fish.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Then automate your system, it's pretty easy to do. Timers for your lighting system (a must). Auto top off on a bucket container to your sump. Buy a protein skimmer with a remote collection cup and an automatic shut off when it's full. Can't get much simpler then that. lol
 
B

bigtankbigfish

Guest
i have a 125 gallon fowlr.
well started as a fowlr im slowly going reef.
Best advice I can give you is if you want easy maintainence you need a sump, a lot of Live Rock, and not a lot of fish. Less fish = less poop. More live rock = more biological filtration.
Go slow when adding fish. Add a fish every other month. It sounds boring but trust me. You try to add 7 fish right off the bat your tank will no doubt crash and all your fish will get ich. Dont put groupers or sharks in a 125.
If you want a bad ass predator tank in a 125 gallon. Get an eel, snowflakes and wolf eels are super easy to keep, Triggers like the huma huma and the niger are peaceful, trigggers like the clown and the undualte will attack other fish. A lionfish would do ok in a 125 I think. The key is to get fish that wont kill eachother and wont stress eachother into ich.
Just shot this video 10 minutes ago to show you my tank. I have what looks like a lot of fish, but Ive got so much LR and only feed what they eat in 60 seconds. Maintenance is a breeze I just change the water in the sump once a month and empty the skimmer every week
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfM8CEbwK1k
 
jetedawg

jetedawg

New Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigTankBigFish http:///t/388493/easiest-set-up#post_3427257
i have a 125 gallon fowlr.
well started as a fowlr im slowly going reef.
Best advice I can give you is if you want easy maintainence you need a sump, a lot of Live Rock, and not a lot of fish. Less fish = less poop. More live rock = more biological filtration.
Go slow when adding fish. Add a fish every other month. It sounds boring but trust me. You try to add 7 fish right off the bat your tank will no doubt crash and all your fish will get ich. Dont put groupers or sharks in a 125.
If you want a bad ass predator tank in a 125 gallon. Get an eel, snowflakes and wolf eels are super easy to keep, Triggers like the huma huma and the niger are peaceful, trigggers like the clown and the undualte will attack other fish. A lionfish would do ok in a 125 I think. The key is to get fish that wont kill eachother and wont stress eachother into ich.
Just shot this video 10 minutes ago to show you my tank. I have what looks like a lot of fish, but Ive got so much LR and only feed what they eat in 60 seconds. Maintenance is a breeze I just change the water in the sump once a month and empty the skimmer every week
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfM8CEbwK1k
Adding a fish "every other month" and adding "7 fish right off the bat" are pretty far apart. There is no magical time for how long you have to wait between adding fish. When you add one (or however many) you simply need to wait for more bacteria to grow to match the new bioload. When this happens, the indicator will be another "cycle." Ammonia will go up, followed by nitrites, then by nitrates. That is, of course, assuming that your tank doesn't have sufficient bacteria already. I added two clowns into my 46 gallons that had 25lbs of live rock at the time and there were no spikes at all in ammonia or nitrites, but nitrates rose. That means there is sufficient bacteria to support those two fish. Continuing along with the same logic will guide you in your path.
 
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