# first saltwater tank in my possession



## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

my dad is a saltwater expert, but i would just love to have my own saltwater look-alike reef, which i believe i can do with some help. we are picking up 55 gal, a 30 gal, and a 29 gal(each with filter, stand, heater, canopy and everything) tomorrow, all for 50$. as my custom user title suggests, i love royal grammas but have never actually kept one before. i would just love to have one and a few other fish in a 55 gal. i am not sure about what lighting or filter it will have, hopefully fluval. does the lighting really matter, since royal grammas do better in dim lighting(or so i have read). is there anything cheaper than a seaclone skimmer that would still work well? should i have an aqua clear fuge(and no not an aquafuge hang on-way too expensive!) if so what size? do i need power heads-if so, what company? do i need a quarantine tank? how many lbs of live rock should i have? as a look-alike reef, i would want it to have some mushrooms but no real coral.. for other fish i would like to keep: pair of firefish,pair of ocellaris (or percs if i can find them cheap), and i want to make the tank have each color of the rainbow, and if i keep these fish i would have nailed orange, red, purple and yellow, but i still need green, blue, and indigo. fish suggestions would be greatly appreciated. a give thanks to poseidon for giving me the idea of having my own tank.


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

come on. i need some help people. anybody have experience with "that fish place" online store? that is probably where i will order my gramma and maybe an orchid dottyback-striped dottyback hybrid. these hybrids are a nice indigo color so i would have nailed indigo if i decide on one of these hybrids. for green i would like maybe a green clown goby would do. what would be a nice blue and be compatible with my list? come on i need help please! we are getting the stuff today!


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## fishfinder (Aug 31, 2008)

How about a beautiful mandarin goby (Mardarinfish/Psycedelic fish/mandarin dragonnet)? They are blue, tourquoise, yellow, purple and orange. Nice a peaceful. Some have a green background color, so you would want to specify the blue colors when you get it.


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

ok. But i'm not sure about the copepod thing. We got the stuff. I would still like my other questions to be answered though.


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## archer772 (Nov 8, 2008)

First off Grammas and dottybacks dont play well with each other so please dont mix them. I always suggest at least 1lb of LR per gallon and please use argonite sand not CC. I like T-5 lighting because it is much better than PC's, the sea clone skimmer really isnt much good for anything. What you might want to try is see if your dad will let you use the 29 gallon as a sump/fuge and try to find a used hang on overflow and then a return pump as this would be much better than a canister and it will give you a place to put your heater, skimmer and a place for pods to reproduce, I like the Koralia power heads but the maxi jets are very good also and cheaper and you could even use pengiun power heads. I firmly believe in quarentine tanks because if your new fish is sick it is much easier to treat a 10 gallon than a 55 gallon and alot of the meds are not good for your main tank all you would need is a 10 gallon, small heater, a small hangon filter glass tops and any kind of light to see the fish. Please look into the sump/fuge idea it will make things much easier and you wont see any evaporation in the main tank.


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

overflows seem to be really expensive and i would just rather have the AC 110, fluval 105, live rock, and a skimmer. What is the cheapest one that works good? If i need to kick dottybacks off the list, than what else is indigo in color and will mix well with my list so far? I still need blue, too.


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## archer772 (Nov 8, 2008)

OK if you need to buy the AC 110 and fluval I think it would be cheaper to do the overflow and sump/fuge
Overflow PF300
Reef Aquarium Filtration: Eshopps Overflow Boxes
return pump ViaAqua 1300
Aquarium Water Movement: ViaAqua Water Pumps
Skimmer PSK 75
Reef Aquarium Filtration & Protein Skimmers: Eshopps In-Sump Protein Skimmers
total 166.97

AC 110 
Aquarium Filters: Hagen AquaClear Powerfilters
Fluval 105 Canister Filter (Hagen)
194.95 plus a qaulity hangon skimmer 150 or more


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

sump idea definatly. How would i get the tank divided so there is a refugium? And i still need fish ideas!


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## archer772 (Nov 8, 2008)

Here is a sketch and each line is a piece of glass so you would need 3 pieces about 8 inches tall and the width of the inside of the tank then just silicone them in place, you should hacve about 8 inches of space for each end and about 2 inches inbetween the 2 pieces of glass and that leaves you about 12 inches for macro









I will look and see what I can find for fish 2 that come to mind are the Coral Beauty Angel and a Six Line Wrasse but this one would have to be added last because they can be a little aggresive


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

alrighty. Filter stuff will be bought a little bit at atime. Probably from dr.f and s. Fish will be from that fish place. 
here is the list:
royal gramma
2 TR perclula clowns
2 firefish
1 green clown goby
1coral beauty
1 6 line wrasse.


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

o and also a neon goby just in case the fish need cleaning. That nails blue. Im not sure about the coral beauty because i have heard that they will act agressive towards grammas since they have the same colors.


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## archer772 (Nov 8, 2008)

I would go with 2-3 cleaner shrimp instead of the gobies but thats just what I like and adds less bio load to the tank


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

i m not sure about the low nitrates for the shrimp. O and what does the sketch say from left to right? I cannot see with this puny cell phone screen.


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

never mind the writing. Still, has anyone ever ordered from that fish place? My gramma will probably be ordered there and and i might also get a pair of misbar true perculas.come on i need reviews!


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

o and another reason 4 no cleaner shrimp-there 25$ each in my area. Like i said, i am not sure about the low nitrate levels needed for invertabrates. Around the web, i have found tank-raised gobies. If they are tank-raised they will be very hardy and very easy to breed, so i say to leave expensive shrimps and delicate wrasses in the ocean, and keep the cheap, hardy gobies that are easily bred in captivity. Since i am having neons, i will have to get red of the grreen clown goby. Anything else that is f green and not very expensive? I would have done green chromis, but since i need 6 i think i would be overcrowding the tank. What else is green and not to expensive?


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

anyone?


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

hmmph. i guess i will just upgrade my lizard tank instead.


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## APoirier594 (Jan 25, 2009)

ok i have never ordered from thatfishplace or that pet place but i order from the 2 links below all the time, they actually have cheeper prices on certain items. the first one is spplies and the 2nd one is fish(corals.etc.)

Discount Aquarium Supplies, Tropical Fish Supplies and Fish Tank Supplies from Foster & Smith

Aquarium Fish: Tropical Freshwater Fish and Saltwater Fish for Home Aquariums


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

i will probably be never able to get saltwater. prob. because of the economy. i think i would rather just upgrade my 20 gallon reptilian tank with 2 bahama anoles and 2 american chameleons(aka-green anole, carolina anole). who knows. maybe i can keep some frogs, newts, salamanders and make the tank half and half(water and land). this calls for all reptile keepers that happen to be on this site.


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## APoirier594 (Jan 25, 2009)

yea im a reptile keeper, o have a bearded dragon, turtles, Red Eyed Tree Frog,


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

o i love red-eyed tree frogs-they have every color of the rainbow except violet and Indigo! do u know if they can survive with anoles-(what i have)fire-bellied newts, fire-bellied toads, fire salamanders and emerald swifts(if i can also make the the tank part desert)-what i plan on getting?


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