starting a fish only tank

[coldjd]

hey guys i am a major fish guy and have 3 reef tanks ranging deom small to big but i am looking to set up a tank for a lion fish that i aquired and is sitting at the lfs i work at. at the store i am incharge of reef tanks and work seprate hours as the fish only guy so i need to ask for you help. i will be aquaireing a tank around 100 gallons in november and would like to know what equipment i would need/could get with out breaking the bank. i have a freind who makes custem led lights that go for upwards of 6 grand and hes gifting me one cheap so that i have taken care of unless thats to much intensity in the light area. but i basicaly need to now what i need here money is an issue time is not.
any more info you need i here most of the time just in other tabs so feel free to ask away
thanks!!!

 

[snakeblitz33]

I'm sorry, but I had to read your post four times to understand a little bit of it.
From what I gather, your saying that you are an expert in reef tanks and work for a live fish store, but you don't know what equipment to use for your new 100g fish only tank?
Are you getting the tank drilled for an internal overflow box? Are you going to have a sump?

 

[coldjd]

probable a sump and i was rushing out the door when i was wrighting that, sorry lol. basicaly i work for a fish store but only one fish for reef tanks so i know nothing about fish only tanks. i got a beatiful lion fish from a relative that obviously dosent know the rules of fish but because i work at a fish store the boss said i could keep him there until i feel the tank is ready. i have a sump in all my other tanks so that being what i know best thats what i plan to use unless you guys have better ideas

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by coldjd http:///t/388439/starting-a-fish-only-tank#post_3425498
hey guys i am a major fish guy and have 3 reef tanks ranging deom small to big but i am looking to set up a tank for a lion fish that i aquired and is sitting at the lfs i work at. at the store i am incharge of reef tanks and work seprate hours as the fish only guy so i need to ask for you help. i will be aquaireing a tank around 100 gallons in november and would like to know what equipment i would need/could get with out breaking the bank. i have a freind who makes custem led lights that go for upwards of 6 grand and hes gifting me one cheap so that i have taken care of unless thats to much intensity in the light area. but i basicaly need to now what i need here money is an issue time is not.
any more info you need i here most of the time just in other tabs so feel free to ask away
thanks!!!
Welcome to the site,
I'm glad you have joined, there is a great deal you can learn here. Like snake I'm a little confused...you are in charge of reef tanks where you work, and don't know what equipment you need to run a tank?
You don't any fancy lights for fish only. Just sand, live rock, and a filter. Oh for a 100g tank, about four power heads for circulation. A skimmer later on.
As for questions...
How old are you?
Do you know what spell check is?...it is located at the top of the reply box, the very last icon with the ABC and a check in it. It will help us understand what you are saying easier.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Well, get a sump then! lol. You still haven't answered my question if it was going to be an internal overflow or not. In any case, internal or external, go with a 20g Long DIY sump. It will save you a little money and will be customizable. You don't need a whole lot of equipment when dealing with fish only tanks. If you wwant the look and feel of LEDs, go with a couple of Stunner LED strips, it will give you the shimmer effect you want and not break the bank as far as lighting goes.
What you do need to spend your money on is a decent quality skimmer. ASM and Octopus makes great skimmers. You'll also need to probably run some carbon and GFO in the system, or even some chemi-pure elite would work. For a 100g fish only tank that's lightly stocked, you could probably get about 50 pounds of base rock and 10 to 20 pounds of live rock and you'de be fine on rock. Don't need much rock when you have a fish only, as long as you have a decent protein skimmer.

 

[coldjd]

basically i don't have a clue if/what the difference is because all i knew was reef and was sorta thrown into this so i have no clue as what to do and what differences there are. i work at a smaller store and i work odd hours and those hours don't over lap with the guy who is the fish only guy so i cant get in contact with him. and thanks for welcoming me to the site!! and I'm young but have been hanging out at my lfs so long my boss used to say i would work there for free. lolz
also thanks for the info on protein skimmer i will start search around. and now i don't have to pay an arm and a leg for lights

 

[snakeblitz33]

If you really want to save some money, find a rubbermaid tote that will fit under your tank. Then find one smaller that will fit inside the larger one, but doesn't sink in all the way down. You would then drill holes in the smaller tote in the bottom, then you lay some filter media over it and then fill it with your carbon/GFO and another filter and put your overflow plumbing into the small tote so that all the water passes over the filter media and carbon/GFO. You can then put your protein skimmer next to it and your return pump next to your skimmer. If you need to, you could even make sure your skimmers water outlet dumps into your make-shift media basket to cut down on microbubbles.
If you're short on cash, but still want a sump, I think that a rubbermaid sump would be your answer!

 

[flower]

The difference between a fish only and a reef tank is that on a fish only lights don't matter. The lights are the life of a reef tank but fish really don't care about light. Nitrates are important to keep as low as possible on a reef, but they don't bother fish at all.
However if you have inverts like snails, shrimp or sea stars, keeping the nitrates down is still an issue. You still need good water like reverse osmoses, or you risk cyano and hair algae. That's about it for the difference. You can get non-reef safe fish is another difference.
I went from fish only to a reef simply by upgrading the lights.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Nitrates constantly being above 100+ppm can harm fish.
The main thing is to research every fish before you buy it to make sure it's compatible with your other tank mates and to know their sizes and limitations. You also have to keep in mind fishes diets and other aggressive behaviors.
A lionfish, like the original post states, will eat any fish that can fit in it's mouth. Many people find that lionfish usually become the only fish in their tanks.
By the way, Lionfish are becoming a horrible nuisance, where they are overpopulated in some places and fishermen regularly kill them to try to try to keep making a living. I don't see why a lionfish has to cost so much when they are a nuisance fish to fishermen. But, whatever. lol

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/388439/starting-a-fish-only-tank#post_3425602
Nitrates constantly being above 100+ppm can harm fish.
Hi Snake,
I don't mind the correction, but basically I was talking about the difference between the reef and fish only tanks.
Coldjd,
Here are two very helpful books and I'm attaching a page so you can see what info they carry. I was at a ***** once and asked about a fish, this is the book the worker used to answer my question, so my next question was..."Do you sell that book?"


Also found this one

 

[snakeblitz33]

I know, Flower! I was just saying that in a fish only tank, nitrates shouldn't be constantly above 100ppm. So, in a sense, nitrate in a fish only system does matter.

 

[coldjd]

thanks guys these are all things I'm going to be thinking off when i start searching for equipment and i really like the rubber maid idea. and now when I'm looking for fish if any to go with this lion fish i know too make sure its bigger then my lion fishes mouth lol.