BL1
.............
So, I got into this hobby because I've always loved saltwater aquariums and the way they look with the bright beautiful looking fish in them. But, I always thought it was way too expensive to get into, now however, with close to $1000 into my 75g freshwater aquarium I'm starting to realize that SW is just not really much more expensive than FW. I've been lurking/reading everything about SW and I also bought The Marine Aquarium Handbook by M.A. Moe Jr. (and read the whole thing in less than 2 days). that I can on about 10 different forums (I just actually found this one though) and I was hoping to run my future plans by the forum and see what you all thought and get your input so that I can make this as successful/inexpensive as I can on my first attempt.
36 or 46 gallon bowfront (30"L x 15"W x 21"H , 36"L x 16"W x 24"H respectively)
( I need to know what kinds of lighting I should use (the kinds of coral I would like will be listed below the fish))
Eheim ECCO External Canister Filter 2234
Hydor THEO Heater 200 Watt
American Marine Pinpoint Salinity Monitor
Prizm Deluxe Skimmer, Up to 40 gallons, CD-14412
CPR CS90 Overflow Box
Berlin Sump BS-1, 23 inch x 12 inch x 14 inch
Eheim 1260 Pump
Hydor Koralia 2 Circulation Pump/Powerhead UL 600 gph
Coralife Digital Thermometer
Captive Purity Refractometer
AquaticLife™ Four Stage RO/DI Professional Water Purification System - 60GPD Deluxe
Tropic Marin Pro Reef Sea Salt
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Saltwater Liquid Master Test Kit
Captive Purity 35 GPD Deluxe RO Filter System - Clear Canisters
Drs. Foster & Smith Select Fiji Premium Live Rock(appx. 70 lbs. worth, I think)
Florida Live Sand (not sure how much I need)
If anyone has any other suggestions please feel free to give me your input because as much as I want a beautiful, colorful, vibrant aquarium ... I want to make sure that the fish that are eventually inhabiting my tank have the best/longest lives possible. And please let me know about the substrate because I've read that the LS is so much better than the packaged sand, is that true?
Crabs/Snails:
7 Scarlet Hermit Crabs
15 Mexican Turbo Snails or Margarita Snails or Zebra Turbo Snails
27 Dwarf Red Tip Hermit or Dwarf Yellow Tip Hermit or Dwarf Zebra Hermit (Hawaii)
2 Abalone or Banded Trochus Snails or Turban Snails
2 Spiny Star Astraea
Coral:
Silver Branch Pumping Xenia
Regular Pumping Xenia
Starburst Polyps
Colony Polyps
Cauliflower Colt Coral
Taro Tree Coral
Toadstool Mushroom Leather Coral
Spaghetti Finger Leather Coral
Inverts:
2 Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp
3 Hawaii Feather Dusters
And here are my lists of fish ...
Must haves:
Ocellaris Clownfish (I would like to get 1 or 2 depending on if I can have one with the B&W Clown)
Black and White Ocellaris Clownfish ( 1 depending on the first clown)
Clown Goby, Green (1 or 2)
Firefish, Purple (1 or 2)
Six Line Wrasse
Would like to haves:
Kaudern's Cardinal
Fridmani Pseudochromis
Court Jester
Bicolor Pseudochromis Goby
Coral Beauty Angelfish
Royal Gramma Basslet
Green Mandarin
Would like to have but not neccesary:
Long Tentacle Anemone
Pincushion Urchin, Blue Tuxedo
Red Sea Star
Spiny Sea Cucumber, Green w/Pink & Yellow
Now, here's the deal in the end I would like my tank to only be about 80-90% stocked because I would like to have a lot of color swimming around in the tank but, more importantly, I definitely want the fish to have enough room to swim comfortably. So, with that being said, can you please let me know which fish combinations will give me the best results for my tank (and for a first-time SW aquarist).
Thank you for all you help that you can give me, in advance,
Brian
36 or 46 gallon bowfront (30"L x 15"W x 21"H , 36"L x 16"W x 24"H respectively)
( I need to know what kinds of lighting I should use (the kinds of coral I would like will be listed below the fish))
Eheim ECCO External Canister Filter 2234
Hydor THEO Heater 200 Watt
American Marine Pinpoint Salinity Monitor
Prizm Deluxe Skimmer, Up to 40 gallons, CD-14412
CPR CS90 Overflow Box
Berlin Sump BS-1, 23 inch x 12 inch x 14 inch
Eheim 1260 Pump
Hydor Koralia 2 Circulation Pump/Powerhead UL 600 gph
Coralife Digital Thermometer
Captive Purity Refractometer
AquaticLife™ Four Stage RO/DI Professional Water Purification System - 60GPD Deluxe
Tropic Marin Pro Reef Sea Salt
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Saltwater Liquid Master Test Kit
Captive Purity 35 GPD Deluxe RO Filter System - Clear Canisters
Drs. Foster & Smith Select Fiji Premium Live Rock(appx. 70 lbs. worth, I think)
Florida Live Sand (not sure how much I need)
If anyone has any other suggestions please feel free to give me your input because as much as I want a beautiful, colorful, vibrant aquarium ... I want to make sure that the fish that are eventually inhabiting my tank have the best/longest lives possible. And please let me know about the substrate because I've read that the LS is so much better than the packaged sand, is that true?
Crabs/Snails:
7 Scarlet Hermit Crabs
15 Mexican Turbo Snails or Margarita Snails or Zebra Turbo Snails
27 Dwarf Red Tip Hermit or Dwarf Yellow Tip Hermit or Dwarf Zebra Hermit (Hawaii)
2 Abalone or Banded Trochus Snails or Turban Snails
2 Spiny Star Astraea
Coral:
Silver Branch Pumping Xenia
Regular Pumping Xenia
Starburst Polyps
Colony Polyps
Cauliflower Colt Coral
Taro Tree Coral
Toadstool Mushroom Leather Coral
Spaghetti Finger Leather Coral
Inverts:
2 Scarlet Cleaner Shrimp
3 Hawaii Feather Dusters
And here are my lists of fish ...
Must haves:
Ocellaris Clownfish (I would like to get 1 or 2 depending on if I can have one with the B&W Clown)
Black and White Ocellaris Clownfish ( 1 depending on the first clown)
Clown Goby, Green (1 or 2)
Firefish, Purple (1 or 2)
Six Line Wrasse
Would like to haves:
Kaudern's Cardinal
Fridmani Pseudochromis
Court Jester
Bicolor Pseudochromis Goby
Coral Beauty Angelfish
Royal Gramma Basslet
Green Mandarin
Would like to have but not neccesary:
Long Tentacle Anemone
Pincushion Urchin, Blue Tuxedo
Red Sea Star
Spiny Sea Cucumber, Green w/Pink & Yellow
Now, here's the deal in the end I would like my tank to only be about 80-90% stocked because I would like to have a lot of color swimming around in the tank but, more importantly, I definitely want the fish to have enough room to swim comfortably. So, with that being said, can you please let me know which fish combinations will give me the best results for my tank (and for a first-time SW aquarist).
Thank you for all you help that you can give me, in advance,
Brian