Reefer to be! Have some questions!

[toastii]

So im 15 going on 16! and im setting up a dwarf seahorse tank currently. which im going to focus on for a while!

but my dad was talking about getting more tanks (of course me doing everything) and i was thinking of creating a mini reef!

my origional list/plan (of animals mostly) - starting i know there is A LOT more that i need (equipment)

-12-24gl tank either nano/bio cube/ aquapod/eclipse
- 4 clownfish (perculas or ocellaris)( two black and white ones and two orange)
- some corals(not sure which yet/my knowledge on corals is minimal!)-open to suggestion
- live rock and or live sand
-snails -what kind if any
-shrimp- what kind if any
- crabs- what kind if any
(can ya tell my seahorses are in a species only tank (beside nasarius snails).. and plastic plants!)
- possibly starfish
-carpet anenome


now feel free to completely tear apart that list- i have no clue what im doing here all of this is pure research--

i read carpet anenomes are hard to keep.

umm also lighting suggestions heaters? um filters?
i was also thinking of having an eel tank but prolly not.
any other fish species that i would be better off with ? that dont need such a large tank meaning larger than 24 haha-- for 16 year old budget reasons

dwarves being one of the harder species of seahorses have a very simplistic tank!
and to put everyones mind at rest- im not jumping into this! i spent 3 or more years researching dwarves before i got the tank and its almost finished cycling!!! woohoo

thank you for your time! please any comments would be helpful- i currently know close to nothing about reef tanks

 

[herpencounter]

IMO I would not look at any type of sea horse for a while.

And what size tank do you have you asked for a tank 12 to 24 galls then you say your tank is almost done cycling (can you clear this up).

 

[toastii]

right now i have my 10 gl . which is all set up for my ponies, and all my 200$ worth of stuff is for the dwarves

i was planning -- not for a while though.. like a long while gettting (additional tank) either a 12 or 24 gl tank

 

[herpencounter]

OK I strongly disagree with you getting a seahorses.

And the only fish that will live fine with seahorses are Dragonets so you can have 1 dragonet and your seahorse.

I would go with a 20 or 29 gallon tank they are easily found (that makes them cheaper).

Do you have any lfs near you?

 

[toastii]

ok ... nothing is going with my seahorses this is a COMPLETELY different tank that im addressing in this post --sry for any confusion

just wondering on clownfish? anenome?corals? other reef fish that dont need so much room? i read someone the minimum tank siize for perculas and ocellaris is 10gl so i was obviously getting bigger than that... so thank you on the 20 or 29 gl.

what types of things would i need to get for a reef tank... that type of stuff... my seahorse tank is completely beside the point

 

[herpencounter]

OK sorry about talking about the seahorse that was the first thing you said so in my mind your where talking about all that for a seahorse.

Clown fish are really on kept in pairs (if you want more then 1)
IMO I would pick 1 b/w clown or 1 Ocellaris clown need a mini of 20 gallons.

Other fish that go with clowns (and are east to care for) are Basslets, Damselfish and Gobies (there are others but this I would say these are your basics).


Anemones I would pick a Bubble tip Anemone easy and clowns like them.

Red Hermit Crabs they eat just about any thing one of the best algae eaters.

Astraea snails are your basic snails (Herbivore).

Peppermint shrimp are good beginners they are Carnivores so you may need to supplement there diet.

As for sea stars I would get a Sand Sifting Sea Star (only reason I say this is because I have not mentioned any thing that will move your sand allot).

 

[herpencounter]

For lighting and filtration I need to know exactly what tank you are getting.

 

[toastii]

okie! thank you so much srry for the confusion!!!!

umm someone was selling a 24gl ( i t hink) aquapod for 90!!! but im prolly will go with the 24gl nano.. which might come with everything.. im not sure tho..

other wise i would just get a 20 something gallon glass tank with a hood from petsmart and just buy everything separatly which could be more money

 

[toastii]

Clown fish are really on kept in pairs (if you want more then 1)
IMO I would pick 1 b/w clown or 1 Ocellaris clown need a mini of 20 gallons

ok so i should get the b&w clowns... 2 of them?? (one pair) only not the orange ones? just clarifying

 

[herpencounter]

OK to keep clowns...

Ocellaris 1 male 1 female
b&w clowns 1 male 1 female
This is to keep in pairs but if you want another type of fish I would only get 1 Ocellaris or 1 b&w.

This better...?

 

[cindre2000]

First of all, a suggestion for your seahorse tank: get some macro algae rather than plastic plants, looks better and acts as a nutrient export. If you have not seen it already there was a seahorse tank in a recent Advanced Aquarist Online Magazine, last year I think. Check it out if you have not already.

As for the clown tank.

It may be cheapest to buy a standard sized tank and then get the equipment seprate rather than getting a pre-build unit they can be overpriced. With that many clowns you will want a decent sized tank, possibly a standard 29 gallon.

The way I like to think with a new tank is to start with the three most important factors: Filtration, Lighting, and Circulation.

Since you want an anemone the best bet is metal halide, you could retrofit a 70 watt for fairly cheap. Filtration in such a small tank relies on water changes, live rock, and a good cleanup crew. Circulation would be best with powerheads. Therefore, the lighting will be your biggest expense.

-Coral- start with polyps and mushrooms and move up to LPS (trumpet, candycane, open brain,...); just remember anemones will sting corals if they decide to move.
-Snails -probably a good mix of turbos, cerith, and nassariaus...
-Shrimp- Skunk cleaner, blood/fire, peppermint are all good
-Crabs- Hermits, preferably blue-leg or dwarf zebra
-Starfish- formia or linkia are both peaceful and not coralivores
-Carpet Anemone- these get huge, 2-3 ft! across, bubble tips are much smaller

An eel tank would probably be easier on the wallet since your don't need the good lighting; however, if you go with good lighting you could keep coral. You just need to keep the top well covered.

 

[cindre2000]

Don't forget the price of the fish. B/W clowns can easily be $50 each. Perculas/Ocellaris get as cheap as $12 each. Add in a $30+ anemone and you are really racking up the price.

 

[toastii]

This better...?

yup

and thanks on the information!!!
like i said i know nothing about reef tanks!!

and on the seahorses im actually geting some cheato shipped to m e this week!

 

[cindre2000]

Great! Seahorse tanks can look really nice when you grow all sorts of different algae.

 

[toastii]

Don't forget the price of the fish. B/W clowns can easily be $50 each. Perculas/Ocellaris get as cheap as $12 each. Add in a $30+ anemone and you are really racking up the price.

yupyup i know!! right now im putting a sample shopping cart together on petsolutions to keep track of the price! also my LFS has a lot of the stuff-- when i go to get a snail or a shrimp or something to eat the leftover cocktail shrimp in my tank im going to check what else they have in terms of prices cuz i know they have b&w clowns.. otherwise i might just go with the normal ones..

im going to be doing major saving for this tank. going to put away a good 700$ ... cuz some of the equipment can get quite expensive.. right?

 

[cindre2000]

Well, you normally figure about $50 a gallon. But if you go all out, spend carefully, or have a unusually shaped system, this can change; a lot.

I probably spent about $700 on my 30 gallon and I went all out. It is a custom built acrylic cube, from glasscages.com. With a 150w DE Metal Halide and 4 T5 coralife actinic supplimentation. It is also drilled with a sump and a G-mini protein skimmer.

If you are planning to spend a good bit, invest in a nice tank and a nice light. The rest does not matter so much (in such a small system filtration is not so crucial).

With the tank- cubes are the most efficient use of water volume and metal halide light. Just make sure you go with a 24" cube since pre-fab lights usually start at that size. Also, if you go a little shallow 16" or less, you can easily get by on a 150w or 175w; if you do go deeper don't get a stronger light since unless you want to keep high light creatures on the bottom.

 

[herpencounter]

im going to be doing major saving for this tank. going to put away a good 700$ ... cuz some of the equipment can get quite expensive.. right?

Yes! I spent 160$ on a cheap light lol.

If you want to have lots of fish, coral etc. 700$ is going to be really tuff to fit all that in to it IMO.

 

[toastii]

oook wow

50$ a gl??? so if i were going to get a 1gl tank that would be 50$

well one person had a 24aquapod for 90$! so i might get that not and just hold on to it for a while!~

 

[cindre2000]

The $50 is the eventual cost for the equipment and the livestock.

 

[herpencounter]

I have a 29 gallon and its not going to cost me 14hundred dollars.