Newbie - First Post - Hello!

[joey millison]

Hello everyone!
I've spent a greater part of today skimming through posts, trying to get general questions answered before asking, and attempting to fine-tune the dream of having a reef tank of my own!
I'm somwhat new to the hobby, so I'm not going to jump into a reef tank right away...that would be a poor choice. I think what I'd like to do is have a salt water fish only tank, with maybe a live rock.
I've had a 20 gallon fresh water setup for a while now. I lived in an apartment at the time, and was really cramped for space, so I purchased a small hex setup. That was my introduction to maintaining a tank. I told myself that if I could maintain one of those for a while without anything major happening then I would then move to salt water. After learning more and more about the tank we've successfully had the same group of fish for a long time. And they're healthy and happy! It was a rough start, but now we've got the fresh water thing down pretty good!
So now it's time for salt water. There are a few ma and pa stores in town that have both fresh and salt water fish. Granted, there are some cool fresh water fish...but even the coolest fresh water fish don't even compare to a mediocre salt water fish. The variety of salt water is absolutely great. Plus you have the options to get more interesting things like eels, rays, sharks, coral, etc...
I grew up in Southern California, and miss going to the tide pools, or places like Scripps. So I decided I was going to get a salt water tank, something easy at first, and then work my way into the world of reef tanks.
So I was thinking about getting a fish-only setup with live sand and a live rock. I would *really* like to get a small blue spotted sting ray. I've always loved rays, and used to go to the Nature Preserve Center back in San Diego to pet/feed them. I love their personality, and am really used to them.
Is this feasable though? If I got a 75 gallon with live sand and a small-ish live rock would that sustain him okay? Also, I'd like to get any fish that I can as well, but would like to research right off the bat which fish will get along with the ray. Any thoughts? And what about an anenome or urchin? Should that be saved for a reef tank later on?
I appreciate in advance any help that I may receive, and I look forward to hanging around and learning as much as I can BEFORE I purchase anything, as I have a great respect for ocean life and would not want to do anything to screw it up right off the bat.

 

[bobber]

Welcome to the BB and the saltwater hobby! I'm glad to hear that you are researching first. Getting a few good books on the hobby is always a smart choice. As you can tell, reading and learning is never a finished task especially in this hobby! To answer some of your questions, a bluespotted stingray in a 75gal in not a good idea. You would need at least a 125gal. Anything smaller would be like sticking him in a closet. Urchins are not reef compatable, so get those for you fish only. And anemones in a reef cause problems because they like to roam around. They end up stinging other corals or getting stung by others corals. Anemones can be kept successfully in the correct lighting and water conditions and purchasing one should wait until the tank is at least one year old. This will give tha tank time to settle down and become more stable. I don't mean to shoot down your ideas for keeping a salt water tank like this. Just want to make you aware. Many books have compatability charts and very helpful advise in setting up a new tank. Plus this BB is the best for seeking advise or getting help with a problem. A 75gal tank would be an excellent choice for a starter tank. LS and LR is the way to go for filtration. I suggest doing a search on this BB for Live Sand and I'm sure you'll get plenty to read on that topic. A few good books that I can recommend would be The Marine Problem Solver by Nick Dakin. Great book with tons of info on starting a tank, to compatability charts, to maintainence charts, and a general understanding of fish and inverts and corals. Anything by Julian Sprung is a worthwhile investment(I say investment because the books are at least $75!) You will eventually have a library of salt water books and there are a few clubs that you can join as well. Mom and Pop shops are okay in the personnal touch. But finding a reliable lfs is the best way to go. If it happens to be the M&P shop, then so be it. But always shop around to find the better store. Many try to sell you stuff you don't need just to make $$$. So be careful and NEVER buy on impulse. There is much to learn in this exciting hobby and the rewards are the best and the feeling is unexplainable. I wish you all the luck and don't ever stop reading! --Bob

 

[krazzydart]

Welcome to the board !!! Well I would start out by reading as much as possible, and if you can afford it get a 120 instead of the 75, it is about the same size only taller and a bit deeper, the lenghth's are the same.... get one pre drilled.... then when it is set up go slow............ it takes awhile to cycle and it gets quite expensive.... Good luck!!!!