Beginner Starting Up A New Tank

[bowbie]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Hello all,#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#This is my first attempt at the fish keeping hobby! Let me first say that I purchased the 4Ft in-wall aquarium (20 gallons) from Bizarre Aquariums (site's sponsor) and it looks great! I will upload a picture shortly. I decided to go with a tropical fish-only tank so with this being "CaptiveReefing" forgive me if I'm in the wrong forum for my questions. Right now my tank is in but I have not filled it with water as of yet as I still need to make a trip to the store (or better yet find a store around me first). I've been reading "the simple guide to Marine Aquariums" by Jeffrey Kurtz which has helped me out somewhat.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#The only equipment I have now is the 2 internal cartridge filters and 200W (I thought I was supposed to get the 100W)submersible heater that I purchased with the tank and the 20" strip light with a 25 watt flourescent bulb that came with the tank. I guess my next purchase would be a protein skimmer and what I will be putting on the bottom (substrate, sand, etc.) as well as the other necessities such as a thermometer, salt mix and hydrometer.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#If anyone can help me out with their tips and or thoughts it would be greatly appreciated. I am going to try to get to the store this weekend.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Thanks.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[dakar]

Welcome Aboard! No worries we discuss everything salty here (even some fresh too).... so you and everyone else are quite welcome.

Did you mount it 'in wall' as well? Gotta see your pics!

Do you have a general plan or idea of how and what you want to keep?

[bowbie]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Not sure yet as tothe types of fish but since the tank is mostly for my kids and they love Nemo so one of the fish will be a clownfish. I'd love to get a blue tang but they seem to require a bigger tank.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I did mount the tank in the wall and as soon as I get out my digital camera, I will take a couple of pictures.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[blessings1998]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#STRONG#ed_cl#you could check out saltwaterfish.com with your kids because they have a list of fish they sell but if you click on the names of the fish it tells you if they are good in communities, reefs, fish alone tanks, species specifics, and their aggressiveness, as well as how difficult they are to care for. The best part is the great pics of the fish. Your kids could pick a few that they like by the pics and then you can read about each one and see if they would work for your tank.#ed_op#/STRONG#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[tigersax7]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Hello,#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#welcome to the club sounds like you have a good start...For a fish only (FO) tank you can use just about any substrate you want, however different substrates have different uses. In general for a marine tank its best if you use argonite sand.It will help to keep th ph and calceum levlesin check and help with filtration. a 2-3 inch deepsand bed should do the trick. If im not mistaken you said you have a 4 foot 20 gallon wall tank? being so long I cant imagine its very wide or tall for that mater so the use of live rock might be difficult but if you can squeze some in do it. The primary waste product of marine animals is amonia the live rock will help with the removal of this. Also your canister filter may have activated carbon in itwhich will also help with removing amonia and other stuff. The last thing I should tell you is that with only 20 gallons overpopulation can be a big problem so you should keep only about 6-8 small fish. Some samller species of fish include golbies, blennies, some kinds of demsles (careful they tend to be very teritorial), and some kinds of clowns (including nemo aka ocelerous (sp)clown). In addition there are many helpful articles posted on this web site that will help. I recentaly posted one under the heading "The Berlin style of reef keeping and its modern applications" that may be of some use. With that I wish you luck.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Tigersax7#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[dakar]

BTW the actualy dimensions on these tanks is 48" long, 6" deep, and 16" tall. Pretty unique tank, really is a show piece.

Chromis will do well, they are very hardy and look really cool when they school up and move around (we have a dozen in the big display and they are great). Damsels are great to look at but they have a tendancy to become very aggresive and territorial (as mentioned above). As pretty as they are stay away from a Manderin for until the tank is much further established (6-12months). But you can likely get away with 4-6 smaller fish without too much trouble, watch for their max growth size, some start out really small and can outgrow your tank quickly. Add them one or two at a time giving a month or so between additions to alow the tank to adjust to the bioload. Testing will give you a better idea of how it's doing.

For live rock I ordered a small batch of Tonga brach live rock from liveaquaria.com, around ~25lbs and fit all but one peice in that same tank, over a 3-4" sandbed. Right now the only thing it's housing is a tree sponge and 3 dozen snails.

The plan is to add some macroalgae's and add a few seahorses and maybe a ouple pipefish, we want to keep the boiload very low and see how well it works with frequent waterchanges.

Though we've considered going fish only as well, sourcing the right captive bred ponies has been the biggest issue so far. So it still sits. I did however ditch the little light strip and hacked together a fixture to fire 2 36" T8's that, worked out very well.

You can find the Project log I started for it http://www.captivereefing.com/viewtopic.php?t=720 I haven't updated it recently as it really hasn't been doing much more than simmering, now that it's fuly cycled and well established it'll get another dose of livesand from another tank and we'll get back at.

[bowbie]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Thanks for the tips everyone. I did pick up the argonite sand this weekend. I didn't get a chance to fill the tank or put the sand in yet. I did get a chance to take a couple of pictures of the tank though. Hereare a couple of picture from our denand living roomlooking throough the tank into each of the rooms.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#IMG alt="image file name: 2kcdadb015f2.jpg" src="http://www.captivereefing.com/richedit/upload/2kcdadb015f2.jpg" border=0#ed_cl##ed_op#IMG alt="image file name: 2k157f9141af.jpg" src="http://www.captivereefing.com/richedit/upload/2k157f9141af.jpg" border=0#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[dakar]

Nice install job. Is the wall 6" wide or is that really thick molding? In any event very clean looking install. Now comes the hardest part of the whole deal.....waiting for it to fully cycle.

Please keep us updated on the progress, looks like she'll be a beauty.