What to Buy?

[bwilson]

First let me say that I have read some of the posts in this forum and WOW! You all should pat yourselves on the back as there is great detail and time spent answering questions. Which is why I post.
My wife and I are avid fresh water hobbyist. We have a 40, 20, and 80wide. We love all our fish and also love going to the fish store with our two children (and one and two year old). We love to buy fish! We have a problem we can not buy any more fish as our tanks are full. We have big (3to4in) rainbows and Congo’s in our 80 that we have watched grow over the years. So last week we decided to get a saltwater tank. We proceeded to three different salt stores in our area (Orange County CA) and as expected got two different opinions on what to buy. So I turn to you all.
Goals:
1. I don’t want junk! I have always bought the best I can afford. I don’t want to invest 100s to have to invest 100s more a few months later. (I’m not saying I want a Ferrari but I definitely need a new Honda.)
2. We have decided for our first tank to do a semi-aggressive reef tank. (All of our current tanks have beautiful large live plants)
3. We would like to have somewhere from a 90 to a 120.
4. We would like to have an as low as possible maintenance plan. (We know it will be work however some systems require more than others. Our fresh tanks have there water changed twice a month with no fish loss. We do however buy out water as it is much easier.)
5. Our budget is fairly open but I would like to rest somewhere around $2500.00. Can this be done for that budget?
Other Questions:
1. Why go acrylic over glass? Glass is much cheaper.
2. I was told that overflow is much easier to maintain is this true?
Thanks in advance for your help!
(I have also posted this thread on the DIY board)
BW

 

[jjlittle]

Well your half way there you have good ideas and appear to love teh hobby. I would recommend going with a glass 120 or larger for the larger teh saltwater tank the easier it will be to take care of . You should have not problem staying within the budget you have set . Your biggest expense will be the lighting if you are going to have corals. Also you will want a drilled tank sooooooo much nicer then if not drilled.I would say glass because they dont scratch nearly as much but there are positives to both for acrylic I hear will most likely never leak where they say glass silicone can fail after like 7 years it is really up to you on that one. I would say make sure you do search around online for the equipment for you can save $1000's from what a LFS will charge. I would get a really nice skimmer and do Liver rock for filtration with Live Sand as well. Would have nice3 size sump and get powerful pump to have high turn over rate some where around 20X +an hour.Just be careful with preditor reef fish for you will want to make sure they dont eat corals .Well I hope this helps and feel free to ask many more questions there is no dumb question.

 

[celacanthr]

acrylic
pros:lightweight
less likely to break
cons:scratches easily
really hard to get scratches out
expensive
glass:
doesnt scratch easily
easy to clean scratches
easier to replace silicon than to get acrylic scratches out
cheap!!!
CONS:
HEAVY
silicon will need to be replaced

 

[bwilson]

Thanks for your info. Could you be so kind to help me with brand names. For example we use only fruval (SP) punps in our fresh tanks. We also buy bigger than needed like our 80 has the 404 on it.
When I went to the fish store they said get this and this and this. I know if I go on line I can find stuff cheeper. Also you can tell that the different stores push different items based on there buy rates. So I am at a loss for what to buy.
If I went with a 120 glass what other systems would you purchase?
Basically if you worked in the store and I walked in with money and nothing else what items and brands would you point me too?
I know I am asking alot but any and all information is greatly appricated.
BW

 

[jjlittle]

Pumps I love Mag pumps
Power heads Maxi Jet very good not expensive
Protien Skimmer Euro Reef makes good ones just make sure which ever one get one way large rated then 120 gal
Lighting Brands Ice Cap or ARO
In florida All Glass Aquariums make s the best glass tanks

 

[celacanthr]

well one never trust the lfs right away make em earn ur trust
but here are answers to ur first post
1) i have never seen much reason to fuss over brands except for on protien skimmers( remora) and test kits (salifert)
2)im not sure what you mean by semi-aggresive (it would be a good idea to post what fish you would like to have in order of which ones are ur favorite and people hear can tell u which ones work and dont.

 

[bwilson]

Here is a list of the fish we will use.
green chromis
pygmy angels
bassletts
pseudochromis
small tangs of different shapes
anthias
small reef-safe wrasses
gobies
blennies
clownfish
damsels

 

[jjlittle]

for wrasses only a six line & a couple Fairy Wrasse are reef safe. If you choose to do Tangs go with a 120 at the least for they grow to be large need lots of swimming room I would say if you choose a yellow tang put him in last.

 

[ophiura]

Actually do a 125 at a minimum as a standard 120 is still a 4' tank. I would go 150 or more if you want several tangs.

 

[celacanthr]

sorry i would say you can only have 1 MAYBE 2 and the reason for this is they love to swim
forget the damsels theyll get ugly as they grow older and theyll gett MEEEEEAAAANNN
you should get the chromis in odd numbers i would say for you get 3
you will probably have to choose between (1) psuedochromis or (1) basslet
i would get only one type of smaller nicer clowns like either percula or ocellaris/false-percula(nemo)
and either get a mated pair or just one
u usually can only have 1 wrasse in a tank
you might be able to have 1 pygmy angel as long as you only get 1 nice tang (like the yellow)
you might have trouble with the blennies cause most are verocious plant eaters and most will not take to algea sheets and thus starve to death
i hope we've helped!!!

 

[sinner's girl]

gopies and bleenies don't get along. You'll need to fish out which fish get along, also, unlike with freshwater fish, you can't add a bunch at once.
You can add a pair at one time though. And you should wait 4 weeks before adding new fish, esp with a new tank. Also, some fish require an established tank.
Ditto on getting the bigger tank.
Welcome to swf. Spend some time here, read, ask question. Good luck!
Sorry, didn't see the post before me, but hey, two people saying the same thing is good.

 

[bwilson]

Thank you all for your help. It just so happens that my wife has an old friend that is a hobbyist as well. She and her husband are getting out so on Saturday I will be making the two hour drive to pick up everything she has which is 4tanks and numerous items. Once I get back and sift through the stuff I will probably post pictures and try to determine what is useable.
Wish me luck!
BW