Just wanted to say hello and toss out my situation and questions.
Ive been keeping freshwater tanks continuously for the last 30 years. We now have only one 10 gallon community tank in my 10 year old sons room that im using to teach my kids the hobby. So I thought it was time for a new cichlid tank in the living room. After never having anything larger then a 29 gallon tank, I went out and picked up a nice Marineland 60 with stand on sale with full intention of setting up an african tank.
While doing my research and checking out what exactly I wanted to do with my new cichlid tank I kept getting side tracked by the colors and beauty of everything available for saltwater. Ive spent the last couple weeks looking at equipment and reading the questions asked by others, trying to figure out the basics.
Ive decided that I intend to do fish with live rock. Since I already have a tank im stuck working with that and the limited space available, meaning I wont have a sump, I plan to use a hob skimmer. Where I come up short, is that my freshwater background and all the ideas of canister filters and media for live bacteria all seem to be useless. Im at a point where beyond the water testing kit, hydrometer, heaters, protein skimmer, live rock and live sand and power heads for water flow, im not sure whether I need a power filter Or any other equipment.
The stocking limits for saltwater seem to be much diffrent. I know nothing about what species of fish do well together, nor what fish are suitable for a tank this size, its basicly the same deminsions of a 55 gallon tank, just a tad deeper allowing a little more volume. I know there is no easy answer, but im curious what options are available for a tank this size with the limitations I have, money also being an issue as this will already cost much more then it would have if I had stuck with the cichlids I had planned and budgeted for..
Getting to the point, what other equipment is a must, and with as much color diversity as possible, what are some stocking options that others have found functional with a setup like mine, which includes only basic florescent lighting?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice.
Ive been keeping freshwater tanks continuously for the last 30 years. We now have only one 10 gallon community tank in my 10 year old sons room that im using to teach my kids the hobby. So I thought it was time for a new cichlid tank in the living room. After never having anything larger then a 29 gallon tank, I went out and picked up a nice Marineland 60 with stand on sale with full intention of setting up an african tank.
While doing my research and checking out what exactly I wanted to do with my new cichlid tank I kept getting side tracked by the colors and beauty of everything available for saltwater. Ive spent the last couple weeks looking at equipment and reading the questions asked by others, trying to figure out the basics.
Ive decided that I intend to do fish with live rock. Since I already have a tank im stuck working with that and the limited space available, meaning I wont have a sump, I plan to use a hob skimmer. Where I come up short, is that my freshwater background and all the ideas of canister filters and media for live bacteria all seem to be useless. Im at a point where beyond the water testing kit, hydrometer, heaters, protein skimmer, live rock and live sand and power heads for water flow, im not sure whether I need a power filter Or any other equipment.
The stocking limits for saltwater seem to be much diffrent. I know nothing about what species of fish do well together, nor what fish are suitable for a tank this size, its basicly the same deminsions of a 55 gallon tank, just a tad deeper allowing a little more volume. I know there is no easy answer, but im curious what options are available for a tank this size with the limitations I have, money also being an issue as this will already cost much more then it would have if I had stuck with the cichlids I had planned and budgeted for..
Getting to the point, what other equipment is a must, and with as much color diversity as possible, what are some stocking options that others have found functional with a setup like mine, which includes only basic florescent lighting?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice.