Hi, sort of new!

Sawickib

Sawickib

New Member
Hi, really looking forward to learning more about the darkside as us freshies call it haha. Thanks you everyone for the future info!

So a little background on me, im 15 years old, and LOVE freshwater fish. I have a 180 gallon predator tank and a 55 gallon and 75 gallon grow out tank. Expecting to get a 260 gallon quite soon for more predators! My prize fish is a 7 point L025. Ive been keeping fish technically since i was 4 so im not really a noob to fish keeping just the saltwater side. Believe it or not MY first tank ever was a saltwater tank when i was 9 up until i was 11 and i feel so bad for all the fish i killed :( but now i want to start over and do it right. I live in florida so i plan on catching all my fish instead of buying them. Ive caught pistol shrimp, filefish, pipefish, really cool shrimps and other small fish, even things like baby decorator crabs and horse shoe crabs. To much other stuff to name lol

Alright on to the tank i want to set up, its going to be a 20 gallon long, i plan on buying 20lbs of live sand and 20lbs of live rock, i also have 30 pounds of dry rock which i can add if needed. Im going to get a salinity gauge and some salt mix but theres about where im at, i have no idea about filtration or lighting or anything else i may need. Also if i didnt do florida native fish what could i put in this tank? Thanks a lot everyone!
 
Sawickib

Sawickib

New Member
Unfortunately i cant do that, the other tanks are occupied by fish i wont give up. Anyways its not like im a newb at fish keeping, just a noob at adding salt to the equation lol
 
Sawickib

Sawickib

New Member
Sorry guys, lol its a bit more expensive to do large saltwater tanks :p I just want to know what to do with my 20 gallon haha :)
 
mauler

mauler

Active Member
Alright then. As far as filtration goes you can use pretty much anything you could do a sump/refugium HOBs canisters or macro algae or a combination of them. Lighting all depends on your plans for the tank do you want FOWLR or reef. As far a stocking goes you could do a pair of clownfish or cardinal fish maybe a goby of some kind.
 
Sawickib

Sawickib

New Member
Can i do a hang on back filter? And does bacteria from a freshwater filter carry over to a saltwater tank or does it all die?

Im sorry but what does FOWLR mean? I dont plan on doing corals, but if i did it would be stuff like polyps or mushrooms, so i wouldnt mind just getting a coral rated light now instead of later. I love clowns as well, may do those, what type of goby could i do? I love scooters but not really good at feeding fish like that haha
 
mauler

mauler

Active Member
Yeah a hang on back will work and sadly no your gonna have to cycle the tank.
FOWLR mean Fish Only With Live Rock but if you might be interested in coral mind aswell get a reef rated light just in case. A scooter might be to big for your tank. But there are more options like fire fish there are a few wrasse that stay pretty small.
some other stuff you'll need a test kit, powerheads and an RO/DI unit.
 
Sawickib

Sawickib

New Member
Alright, should i cycle it the same way as a FW tank, so dose the tank with liquid pure ammonia, or just frozen foods like shrimp? Also does live rock technically instantly cycle the tank to a degree?

Also about temp, do i need a heater? What temp do most sw fish prefer?

I have some powerheads, and i can buy a test kit for sw. My city water uses RO does that help? Im just not so keen on getting a RO system you know.
 
trigger40

trigger40

Well-Known Member
Sawickib said:
Hi, really looking forward to learning more about the darkside as us freshies call it haha. Thanks you everyone for the future info!

So a little background on me, im 15 years old, and LOVE freshwater fish. I have a 180 gallon predator tank and a 55 gallon and 75 gallon grow out tank. Expecting to get a 260 gallon quite soon for more predators! My prize fish is a 7 point L025. Ive been keeping fish technically since i was 4 so im not really a noob to fish keeping just the saltwater side. Believe it or not MY first tank ever was a saltwater tank when i was 9 up until i was 11 and i feel so bad for all the fish i killed :( but now i want to start over and do it right. I live in florida so i plan on catching all my fish instead of buying them. Ive caught pistol shrimp, filefish, pipefish, really cool shrimps and other small fish, even things like baby decorator crabs and horse shoe crabs. To much other stuff to name lol

Alright on to the tank i want to set up, its going to be a 20 gallon long, i plan on buying 20lbs of live sand and 20lbs of live rock, i also have 30 pounds of dry rock which i can add if needed. Im going to get a salinity gauge and some salt mix but theres about where im at, i have no idea about filtration or lighting or anything else i may need. Also if i didnt do florida native fish what could i put in this tank? Thanks a lot everyone!
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alright a fellow floridian, first of what part of florida are you getting the fish from? ther are some laws agenst capturing your own reef fish and if you get caught with the wrong one in the wrong spot you may end up doing some jail time or a big fine. so do your research! ill tell you this thers tons of cool fish in the gulf for free!
 
mauler

mauler

Active Member
You could use either method to cycle it just don't use live fish. Live rock can speed up the process depending on how much you get and how long it stays out of water the longer it stays out the more die off you have.
Most of them like tropical temps so 76-78F so I'd say you'll probably need one.
You can use your tap water but it might cause algae problems. If you don't want to get your own Wal-Mart sells it pretty cheap
 
Sawickib

Sawickib

New Member
Im in cape coral, any idea on where to check
trigger40 said:
alright a fellow floridian, first of what part of florida are you getting the fish from? ther are some laws agenst capturing your own reef fish and if you get caught with the wrong one in the wrong spot you may end up doing some jail time or a big fine. so do your research! ill tell you this thers tons of cool fish in the gulf for free!
Click to expand...
Im in the fort myers are, any idea on where to check that stuff out? Im aware all inverts are illegal lol, but i do plan on sneaking some small snails o_O What do you catch around you?

Yea im against using live fish as well, much more humane to all involved to cycle with out fish. My temp. is usually 74+ degrees on its own, but should i get a heater and just set it to the lowest it goes? I usually set them lower to what their supposed to do because they over heat pretty easily. Im not to worried about algae issues, but if i do have some ill switch to Ro.
 
trigger40

trigger40

Well-Known Member
Sawickib said:
Im in cape coral, any idea on where to check

Im in the fort myers are, any idea on where to check that stuff out? Im aware all inverts are illegal lol, but i do plan on sneaking some small snails o_O What do you catch around you?
Click to expand...
im up by fort pickens on the panhandle. thers a few reefs in the pass that i snorkle on. just ask a game warden if you see one and ask what the deal is on the area thats what i did. the reefs dont hold that many fish and ther never good fish eather. if you see a queen trigger dont try to catch it, it will chase you all around the reef untill you leave.
 
mauler

mauler

Active Member
trigger40 said:
im up by fort pickens on the panhandle. thers a few reefs in the pass that i snorkle on. just ask a game warden if you see one and ask what the deal is on the area thats what i did. the reefs dont hold that many fish and ther never good fish eather. if you see a queen trigger dont try to catch it, it will chase you all around the reef untill you leave.
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Lol that would be hilarious to get chased down by a trigger
 
Sawickib

Sawickib

New Member
Well, unfortunately theres no reefs by me, all i do is take a net and rub it on the bottom of a grassy area and catch some pretty cool stuff. Ill get a heater as well.
 
trigger40

trigger40

Well-Known Member
Sawickib said:
Well, unfortunately theres no reefs by me, all i do is take a net and rub it on the bottom of a grassy area and catch some pretty cool stuff. Ill get a heater as well.
Click to expand...
then you will probaly be alright. dont bother with pipe fish though.
 
Sawickib

Sawickib

New Member
Yea, i dont think id be able to keep the pipefish alive, should i bring in some plants and stuff to start my own colony of foreign critters?
 
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