G'day people

[Fampa]

Fampa here, logging in from Queensland, Australia.

I'm new to the whole aquarium scene, but I am really wanting to get into it. I'm moving to a rainforest area so any other kind of pets are out of the question. I am building a house at the moment and have set aside a large area for a decent sized tank.

I am thinking though, that I would like to dip my feet into the water, metaphorically speaking first, and get something small first. Before I go all out. I'm open to suggestions for tank size and fish for the beginner.

//starts looking for the thread on that somewhere...

[Gina]

fampa!
Another Aussie member!!

I think a good size tank to start out with would be a 60-90 gal. The reason I say that is if you go smaller, it won't be long till you will want to upgrade anyway! It happens to all of us!! LOL

I think some good fish for the beginner are clowns and Gobies.

Before you get started setting everything up keep in mind what you are buying. Buy the best of what you can afford so that, you don't have to upgrade it later.
Something I wish we had done!

What type of tank are you looking at getting?
Fish only, Fish with Live Rock or Fish with Live Rock and Corals?
All this will depend on what you need to set up a tank.

Check out our knowledgebase also! There is so much excellent info there!

Good luck and Welcome!!

[Yarr]

Aussies.. yes we all come out of the woodwork :P

Welcome to RS mate.

Best advice i could give is to NOT skimp on your skimmer. Do a lot of research and homework first so that you dont get led down the garden path liek i was. It is hard enough in Oz to get exactly what u need but it is possible.

Barrier Reef Aquariums is a good place to buy live rock and some good priced equipment. The guy, Ian, is quite approachable aswell.

http://www.barrierreefaquariums.com.au/ is the URL

[Woodstock]

Welcome to RS Fampa! We will be here for you when you have tons of questions Like Yarr suggested, get a good skimmer. A great skimmer, regular water changes, flow, good lighting, and a ton of patience will give you the keys to successful reefing

[Cougra]

Another thing to think about before starting your tank is what you would actually like to have in it. Are you interested in large aggressive predatory fish, having a nice community tank where fish and inverts live together? Do you like SPS corals or soft corals? What kind of animals are available in your area?

I would recommend that you look around and get a list of animals that you would really like to try to keep and then ask about them and the type of set up required as different animals have different needs. For example if you want a predator tank then expensive brilliant lighting isn't essential however if you want to keep SPS corals and clams then you'll need to invert in better lighting systems. Some animals require sandy substrates to live in so that would affect the types of water flow you would need to set up.

Of course your interests will change over time and you may be required to change a few plans but the more you plan now, the easier it will be to plan your system to match the tank you want.

[Witfull]

Welcome to RS Fampa~

living in a rainforest,,wow!

[Rougiem]

to RS! Glad to have you here!

Cheers!

[cheeks69]

Welcome to RS Fampa

[KimPossible]

Welcome Fampa!!
This is a good place to bounce off your ideas and thoughts!!
We look forward to your new tank creations

[Fampa]

Thanks for the warm wlecome guys. Ultimately I would love to have the big tank with the fish, live rock and coral, but I am thinking I had better start smaller and less complicated where possible, so I'd be looking at fish and live rock to start off. No predators for me at this stage, I'm a big fan of harmonious living at all I'm thinking clown fish will be a wide way to go, how many is appropriate for a 60-90 gallon tank?

I think we're fairly well looked after in terms of quantity and quality of stock in this part of the world. I've been to a couple of aquarium specialist stores and it probably helps not living too far from the reef itself. Nemo is, after all, our state mascot, apparently.

As for me I'm about to go on an extended holiday of the States so won't be able to launch into my new project until the end of the year, but I hope to pop into a few stores in the States to see what range is available 'over there'.

[Woodstock]

You should be happy with a 90 gal for a long time Keep in mind the cost of lighting it (both purchase expenses and ongoing electical expenses), and the time needed for regular maintenance. Although the above will be much less for a smaller tank, you will find that you are not only limited to what you can keep in a smaller tank, but you will also 'outgrow' it quickly and upgrading (say a 30 gal to a 90 gal) would be needed soon (if you get hooked like most of us reefers do ). Another pro to having a larger aquarium is that the water parameters will be less likely to fluctuate which means a more stable environment for the animals you choose to keep. HTH

Ohhh... have a blast on your vacation!!

[Newt]

Welcome Fampa!

I was looking over that Aussie site you linked Yarr, and crikey! some of the prices on there are ridiculously expensive. For example,Cleaner Shrimp and Fire Shrimp and Small Yellow Tang
They must not be too readily available down there, and the import mark up would be killer...and those are pretty common reef specimens.

[Witfull]

yes indeed current exchange rate is 1 AUD = 0.763747 USD, making a cleaner shrimp cost $84.01 USD....YIKES. one would think with their being appx the same distance or less from Fiji to the US east coast, prices on shipping would be close. unless there are high import taxes, which is possible. i dont know,,,

could a member from Oz chime in on this~~

[Craig Manoukian]

Welcome, welcome, welcome! Been to Bondi beach lately?

[Fampa]

Was at Coogee beach yesterday to take my cousin to the rock pools, does that count?

I'll have a look into the 90 gall tank once I figure out what that is in litres

Thanks for wlecoming me everyone, I think I shall continue this in a beginner thread somewhere...