Question about setup of 65 gallon Fish-Only Tank

[new fish guy]

Hi all, Im pretty new to the Saltwater Fish Tank community and do not want to make any crucial mistakes up front, so i had a few questions I was hoping someone could help me with.
1. I was thinking about putting Live Sand in the Tank, with maybe a thin layer of crushed coral. Is it Ok to go with Live sand in a fish only tank, or would it be better to go with Crushed Coral alone?
2. I have read up on all the fish I want to put in the tank and their compatability, but do people generally put Invertabres in Fish-Only tanks, or are they mainly for Reef Tanks?
3. Ive read most of the fish I wanted to introduce to the Tank like some type of rock formation or hiding places. Since Live Rock and the cost of the lighting are prohibitive for me to set up a reef tank right now, I was wondering if I use just general base rock, or something else?
Thanks very much for your help.

 

[ozzfan84]

hello,
1) you can do either one. most people prefer live sand though. Its up to you though, if you are doing aggressive fish, you might want to check into a mix of both. I do that with most of my tanks and that seems to work the best for me.
2) invertibrates might have trouble finding food in a fish only tank, and depending on what kinds of fish you want, they may not match. You could keep snails though, they will help keep it cleen. Still, it depends on what fish you want.
3) when you start up your tank, you might want a piece of live rock in there to move the cycling process, but its not necessary. You could use all base rock, or a mix of the two.
As you can see, fish only tanks leave alot of choices for you to make based on your own taste. Good luck!

 

[new fish guy]

Ozz, thanks very much for the reply. I was thinking about putting some snails and a few other invertabres.
The fish I am looking at right now are:
Power Blue Tang
Naso Tang
Long Nose Hawk
Clownfish
Coral Beauty
Flame Angel
From what I have read, the Tangs, Clownfish and Hawk for the most part do not conflict with Invertabres, and as for the Angel fish, I have not found much information on capatability with Inverts.

 

[ozzfan84]

yes, all those fish will do fine with inverts, you also might want to consider a dsd for those fish rather than cc or mix

 

[fishfreek]

I would NOT advise mixing the tangs or the angles in this small of a tank. Most times, two or more of these same species will constently fight!! If i were you, i would choose a coral beauty OR... a flame angel. If you have to HAVE an tang, i would get a small yellow & add him LAST! Tangs are scrappers with new commers!!! If you choose to add a pygmay angel, i would wait at least six months after your tank has been set up. Let your tank mature and grow some algae for the angel or tang to eat.
The hawkfish and clowns you mentioned will be compatable with both tangs and pygmay angles.
As far as the rock additions go, you can add base rock and have a FO tank or you can add some inverts (ie, clean up crew). It is also bennficial to have a 3" or deeper sand bed to control nitrates. If you want to add crushed coral for substrate that is okay too, you'll just have to vaccume it often to keep nitrates in check, where with live sand it is pretty much maintanance free. HTH

 

[ozzfan84]

o ya, i forgot about that. Tangs can be very mean to new tankmates. they sratch and cut and everything

 

[flamehawk]

CAn't have two tangs in a 65g. I'd go with the PB and skip the Naso. Also would go with only one dwarf angel, my preference w/b the flame. The rest should do fine. If you're starting from scratch, go with LS only. Cc is too much maintenance. Hope you are planning to have a protein skimmer. Tangs need great water quality. How about a cleanup crew?

 

[bigdawg]

I disagree with getting a Powder Blue over a Naso. Powder Blues are notoriously hard to keep alive. Naso's are very hardy on the other hand.

 

[von_rahvin]

naso's i have found are tougher than PB's.
remember to add these fish over time as to not overload the system. a protien skimmer is a must for tangs in general, that or a really well established tank