Start out with a coral/invert tank with no fish?

[corbet]

I'm thinking about saltwater tank, and I was wondering what was was easier, a coral/invert or fish tank. I wanna start with a 20-25 gallon tank, but my hardest thing is finding a good combonation of inverts/corals that are easy to maintain, look good, and all can survive in the same environment. I also need a idea for a good filter and lighting system. Thanks!

 

[chris17]

I would go with a coral/invert tank. Your filter is the sand and live rock that you put in the tank. You need water flow (via power heads) of some sort to run your "filte" which is your LS an LR. Easy corals are zoo's, mushrooms, leathers. I have mushrooms, zoo's and yellow polyps in my 10g nano. It is the first reef tank I have ever set up an it only has 4 hermit crabs, 1 turbo grazer(snail) and some creatures that came on the LR. For lighting you could get some VHO's. For combinations of coral/inverts what kind of inverts did you have in mind?? You could get some shrimp, maybe a few cleaner shrimp. If you are going to have zoo's in the tank then dont get pepermint shrimp there have been cases of them eating the smaller zoo polyps. You could get some hermits, snails, a few shrimp. . . . .Tell us what you would like to get invert wise. That will help. Also what will/are the dimensions of the tank??HTH

 

[fishman9]

the bigger the tank the better, i have a 20g nano reef and if just one level drops it just starts a cascade effect, i think smaller tanks are tough to start out with, a 40 or 55 would be a nice tank IMO to sart with, just my .02.

 

[chris17]

I agree with Fishman9, bigger tanks are alot more easier to keep, but it also jumps the prices on everything alot more. If you have the money go for a bigger tank, but if you are on a budget I would go with a smaller tank. On a smaller tank you just have to watch evap. an all your params. really good. My 10g evaps. about measuring cups of water a day, so really you just have to watch your water conditions and do weekly water changes on a smaller tank. HTH

 

[corbet]

I actualy have a 55 gallon breeder tank that I just cleaned out. I'm mainly looking for inverts/corals that are interesting to look at with a variety of cool colors. For filters and light, can someone please post links to good products? I don't know any thing about that sorta stuff (like VHO?).

 

[chris17]

You dont need any kind of filter, the Live rock and Live sand is your filter. You can get a HOB filter for mechanical filtration if you wanted to. Your tank must have some sort of flow in it, via power heads, pumps, HOB filters, skimmer, whatever is ok for use in water, and that is fish safe, those pumps/power heads are what run your filter ( your lr an ls in your tank,fuge, or sump ). Lighting, use the search at the top of this page, you will find tons of posts about lighting. There are many kinds of mushrooms that have interesting colors, along with zoo's and leathers, and button polyps. You said you would llike easy corals, and since this is your first saltwater tank its best to start off with easy corals and inverts. Those corals I mentioned are very easy to care for, and the slower you go (adding corals/inverts ) the better the tank. Then once you feel you have the experiance needed to take care of harder corals and more corals , you can try the harder corals, that require more attention. HTH

 

[corbet]

Hey, I noticed your located in ohio, where at? I live near toledo. I have another question. How long should I wait after I put in LR and LS? Also, does the water need to be perfect for LS and LR just like corals/inverts? Another thing, Should I buy LS from saltwaterfish.com or is the stuff you can get at pet stores ok?

 

[chris17]

I live in Hamilton down about 30-45 minutes away from Cinci. Ok, you can get the sand from the lfs. I am recomend sand and not Crushed Coral, the fine sand is better IMO. CC trapes any food that you might feed to the inhabitants of the aquarium, wich causes nitrates to start raising. The sand at the lfs in the bags is considered 'dead' sand, there are no organisms in the sand. Live sand is just that "live" there is benificial bacteria in the sand along with numerous organisms, worms, pods, crustations. . .ect. You can buy the sand in the bags at your lfs, and you can make it "live". When you buy Live rock there is all sorts of life on it, pods, worms, crustations, . .. . ect. Ok, since this is a new setup with everything being new it will take at least 1 month before I would put anything in it. The longer you wait the better. This hobby requires you to have alot of pateince. What tank are you going to use? I would suggest anything over a 12g you really should have a skimmer. I would get all the equipment you need, along with the tank. Then, setup everything how you want it. . .just equipment for now. Put water in the tank and run everything for a few days to make sure everything is running properly. I highly recomend you use RO/DI water, you can buy the water from a number of different places. Or if you have the money you can buy a RO/DI system. Once you get your RO water in the tank running add your salt and sand( if you bought the sand in the bags at your lfs, if not dont place sand in tank yet). All of your equipment should be functioning properly and your water,salt,and sand should be in the tank. Let the tank settle down for a few days. Take a raw shrimp you buy at the store an put it in the tank, this will start your cycle. Give your tank about 2-3 weeks before you put anything in it. Do not do a water change at this point. If you dont have test kits you can take your water to lfs and they should test it for free. You need to keep an eye on your Amonia, Nitrites, Nitrates and PH. Ok, I am done for this post , I need to go to bed. I will finish it Monday. Read this how every many times you need to so that you understand it....................I would not take this for gospel, this is my opinion on how to do this from my experiance an from my readings. . . . . . . . . . You need to read as much as you can on saltwater tanks. Read,Read,Read,Read and Read some more. . .it only helps you in the long run.

 

[reefer44]

for lighting issues......i would decide what corals you are wanting to keep and then decide on lighting
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/130371/what-corals-you-can-get-with-what-lights
this is a thread a wrote resently....it helps decide how much light you should get......i recommend getting light intensity that is under "High"
also a very important thing is flow in your tank......if you have the money get a small tunze stream....if not i would get 3 maxijet's and put one in middle of the tank and 2 on both sides of the tank.
one thing about this hobby that ppl mess up on is not spending enough to get good lights and protien skimmer...then spending the left over money on live stock...........it is wise to get good equipment then buy "frags" of corals and let them grow in.
also i do not recommend the dead shrimp idea......buy LR and LS and let that cycle the tank.....this also cures the live rock so you kill 2 birds with 1 stone................also let your tank sit about 3 weeks after the "cycle" and then start adding stuff.
Brad

 

[reefer44]

oh and for skimmers......generally don't buy anything under a $100 (seaclone, prizm, esc.) i would buy either 2 seaclones or a good euroreef (I STRONGLY recommend euroreef)
Brad

 

[corbet]

reefer - could you give me a link to some goo skimmers? I found some euroreef skimmers, but they are 600-2000 and I dont have that much money to spend. Maybe only 150.00

 

[reefer44]

we can't give links on this site but you can email me some specs. you are looking for on a skimmer i will give you a site you will be happy with.
email: bradc444@hotmail.com
Brad

 

[reefer44]

i just looked at some and i think i found a perfect skimmer for your size tank....price is 169.0 and will work better than anyother skimmer for its money.....email me for the link
Brad

 

[saltyrich]

I agree with a lot of the posts. I however, started with a tank full of live rock, live sand and inverts. When I had established a level of equilibrium between what the inverts could eat and the amount of algae my tank produced, I then added fish to the mix. You can't add too much in the way of fish to a tank because you'll max out the bioload and crash it. But, if you can bring a tank up to speed over time with inverts and fish, THEN add some coral. I did this then began to add polyps and mushrooms first. Eventually I moved up to more demanding soft and hard corals. Remember, this process should take time. do not be in a hurry. It will only cost you a lot of money in the end.