what is the basic eqquipment...

[Midway]

first of all, HELLO!!!!!!!

Next.. What is the basic equipment 8and tank size) to start a reef tank to get an anemone (Bubble tip), (3) true percula, 2 regal tangs and a starfish????

Thanks!

 

[Maxx]

Wow...nothing like jumping in w/ both feet!
Well, unfortunately anemones are pretty difficult and really should be kept in a tank that is mature and stable, w/ plenty of lighting. If you look in the library forum here @ RS you will find a category for invertebrates. If you click here you will get there. Under that forum you will find a section for anemones. Read Joyce Wilkerson's article and Rob Toonan's article and you will have a better idea of what you're in for.
As far as the Regal Tangs go...your gonna need a minimum of a 4 foot tank, because they need alot of room to swim.
Dont get discouraged, 'casue thats not what I'm trying to do to you here. It can be done, you just need to know what your getting into here.
Anemones will require lots of lighting. Check the research library again for lighting......lotsa info here...lots of it really boring too...sorry. But doing your research before you buy will help you out immensly.
Now for my opinion on a set up for the animals you described...
I'd go w/ a 75 gallon tank, and at least 220 watts of lighting for VHO or PC, but the way I would prefer would be at least two 175 watt metal halides over the tank, two 250 watt metal halides would be even better I think, but thats just me.
The first thing you should buy would be a good book. My suggestion would be either Robert Fenner's "The Concientious Marine Aquarist", or John Tullock's "Natural Reef Aquariums".
Both of them will go into great detail about setting up tanks and many different things to consider.
I hope all of this helps,
Nick

 

[Melissa]

I am not very experienced.

Probably a 55 gallon. Or 75.

Is this your first saltwater tank?

Learn from my experience....Don't get excited and go out and buy a bunch of stuff. You will buy the wrong things, trust me...I've been there.

RESEARCH... For a month or two. You need know your lighting options. Also look into have holes drilled into your tank. You'll need to know about water-flow. What kind of Skimmer? Whether or not you want a Deep Sand Bed. Get lots of Live Rock, they say 1 1/2 to 2 lbs per gallon.

I know anemone's require a whole lot.

This is going to be a very big investment.

Mojo's Reef has a nice little price breakdown on an 80 gallon project. It lists everything you need.

http://www.mojosreef.com/SetupCosts.html

Take your time, and good luck!!!

Melissa

 

[SaltyQueen]

:welcomera

Ok... Like the others, I'd say you'd need at least a 75 gallon tank with quite a bit of live rock for biological filtration, as well as a really good protein skimmer- the skimmer & live rock will help to maintain excellent water quality, which is required to have an anemone survive. Also, the live rock will provide grazing territory for the tangs & the starfish. Anemone's also require excellent lighting, so, like Maxx said, I'd go with at least 220 watt power compact lighting, but preferably metal halide lighting. You'll also need a few power heads to provide adequate water circulation. You may want to add a sump (VERY beneficial but not absolutely necessary), which would require you to have holes drilled in the tank, a water pump, & some plumbing work. Other equipment you'll need: tank stand, some sort of cover so your fish don't jump out, heater, thermometer, hydrometer or refractometer, salt, food for all the critters in your tank, substrate (unless you're going bare-bottom), & test kits for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, alkalinity, pH, & phosphates, & probably calcium.

Before you put anything in a tank, research a LOT, and fully cycle the tank- this will take about a month. Then, before adding anything, research some more about the critters you intend to keep, what they require, and what they eat. Anemones are very difficult to keep, especially for a beginner, and especially in a new tank. I would wait until your tank is well established & you have more experience before attempting to keep one. Also, when choosing which kind of starfish you want to keep, keep in mind that if you ever want to keep corals, some starfish will eat them, so you should go with a reef-safe starfish (linckia's are a good choice).

Most importantly, be patient, ask questions, reasearch, & avoid impulse buying. If you take your time & research all of your purchases before making them, you can have a successful tank & avoid wasting a lot of money.

 

[fidojoe]

:welcomera

For 2 regal tangs, you would need at least a 75, I reccomend a minimum of 100 gallons tho. You have great advice on the other things tho.

 

[Gina]

:welcomera I agree with the others. Take it slow, research and ask questions first before you start stocking your tank with everything. You'll be happier!

 

[Midway]

Thanks to all.. I'm getting a second thought on my tank.. I've been thinking in building my tank on the space provided for my TV on the Living Room Cabinet, so more or less I've been calculating on this measures: 36"x28"x28", calculating 80 Gal.
and may I put in there (1) Bubble Tip Anemone, (2) True Percula Clownfish, (1) Starfish (Don't know kind yet), and an assortment of snails, crabs, shrimps....

I think that fits my mental-picture of my dream-tank...

and letme thank to all you people that welcomes me...

Let the magic flow!
Midway.

 

[wooddood]

no matter what size tank you get you'll want a bigger one in 6 months.i say get as big a tank as you can afford.all the info above i agree with whole heartedly.and i beleive the best advice of all is the reshearch,you cant do enough of that.and i can tell you that from all the mistakes i've made along the way.we have all done it and are just trying to keep you from making the same ones and save you some money and heartakes along the way.were all here to help you in the process.

 

[SaltyQueen]

Regarding the anemone, I'd still advise you to wait until the tank is well established & you have more experience, also you'll need very good lighting. It sounds like you are planning on putting the tank on an existing entertainment wall-unit type system. Just make sure the shelving is strong enough to hold all of the water, live rock, etc. Most entertainment centers you would buy in a furniture store won't be strong enough- you may need to build one yourself to make sure it has all the support you'll need.

 

[cheeks69]

Originally posted by fidojoe
:welcomera

For 2 regal tangs, you would need at least a 75, I reccomend a minimum of 100 gallons tho. You have great advice on the other things tho.

Excellent advise everyone, I agree with you fidojoe a minimum of 100gal the reason is they love to swim especially if you go with 2. The yellow and possibly the Purple tang would probably work in a 75 because they are more of a grazer than the Regal is but you could only keep one because they're agressive especially towards other Tangs JMHO

 

[zy112]

welcome! even though the deminsion for the tank you gave was 80 gal. i would still probably hold of on a regal. they like do swim back and fourth long distances, ime. the only regret i have about when i started was that i didnt read enough and take enought time, dont make the same mistake. good luck.

 

[Maxx]

Salty Queen made a good point about the weight of your aquarium. Freshwater weighs 7 1/4 lbs per gallon, saltwater is even heavier than that, (I think 7 1/3 or something...for some reason the exact number escapes me...sigh).
A good estimate for aquarium weight is roughly 10lbs per gallon because of the added weight from the rockwork and substrate. You NEED to make sure the weight will be properly supported. You will be having a very bad day if you don't.
Nick

 

[Midway]

Thanks everyone...

Salty queen said: "It sounds like you are planning on putting the tank on an existing entertainment wall-unit type system. Just make sure the shelving is strong enough to hold all of the water, live rock, etc. Most entertainment centers you would buy in a furniture store won't be strong enough- you may need to build one yourself to make sure it has all the support you'll need."

That's half true, because I'm still looking for an entertainment center but I'm not quite sure about if they may support all the weight. (I was missestimating the water weight on about 8lbs. per gallon, surely I would end with a saltwater carpet on my living room)

So.. I guess that I'll get some pictures of entertainmen centers and design one by myself based on that... or may I design a cabinet just for my tank...

Anyway I've the same question... What equipment do I need for that tank.. I've heard about drill holes for increased flow, powerfull powerheads, mud filters, protein skimmers, bio-spheres... I'm more confused yet.. Please Help!!

:explode:

 

[Scooterman]

Oh & PS, Two Regals, when little are ok, big no, they are very peaceful fish but will get competitive later.

 

[Maxx]

Midway,
Go to the library and see if they have or if you can order either of the two books I mentioned earlier. They will give you a good background of the stuff needed for a basic set up.
Nick

 

[Midway]

Maxx: I'm in México, the books are really expensive (if found good ones) and/or takes an eternity to reach your house... and if you add the issue that your address is really confusing (due to the "excelent" city design) many of your internet purchasing ends in others hands.. That's why I'm researching over the net.

Thanks anyway.. I'll seek the books on the local stores.

Besides I've visited at least 15 or 20 LFS and each and everyone tells you different "working" systems and everyone says "This is the system that works, the others will take you to a dead end. So I'm getting a little frustrated...

I'll keep asking to the people that actually has reef tanks on their houses with critters that lives with them for a long time rather than resellers that keeps critters only for on day or a week and their objectives are selling not keeping...

Guess this is the right path to succeed on reef keeping..

Thanks to all of you.. You are the finest people I've ever met on the world.. Thanks heartly...

Midway.

 

[Maxx]

Ahh...didnt know that....sorry
Any possibility you can have things delivered to a mail box or PO box? Either way feel free to ask questions here. I wasnt trying to be abrupt or unhelpful earlier, the puppy needed to go out...immediately!
OK.....
Check out these two articles on protein skimmers.....
one is from Aqua-C skimmers but is a very good breakdown of why you might want a skimmer, and the different types available...just alittle bit of product placement in it.
And the other is from ReefKeeping Online Magazine.
Lets just stick w/ that at first.....
If you get bored and wat to go beyond that check out the library links forum here at RS.
Hope this helps.
Nick

 

[cheeks69]

Originally posted by Midway
Besides I've visited at least 15 or 20 LFS and each and everyone tells you different "working" systems and everyone says "This is the system that works, the others will take you to a dead end. So I'm getting a little frustrated...
Midway.

That's because there are many ways to set it up and they all work for different people. Some people use skimmers some don't, some use a DSB others go BB. What you have to do is find out what you want to keep, are you gonna have a heavy bio-load or is it gonna be mostly Corals, what type of corals do ya wanna keep etc. By doing some research and asking questions then we can help ya. HTH

 

[Midway]

Originally posted by cheeks69
That's because there are many ways to set it up and they all work for different people. Some people use skimmers some don't, some use a DSB others go BB. What you have to do is find out what you want to keep, are you gonna have a heavy bio-load or is it gonna be mostly Corals, what type of corals do ya wanna keep etc. By doing some research and asking questions then we can help ya. HTH

I may have forgot to tell, or misswrite it, all the LFS tells me their systems are the only ones to work, "the other are just junk" or "the other stores just want to sell you equipment you don't need" or "The thing they sell are old, this is new" or "the system that the other store is selling you is waaaay bigger than you need" and "the system that the other store is selling you is waaaay smaller than you need"...

Which one do I listen?????

I know that there are lots of ways to set up your system but I guess that the choices gets significantly reduced if I say all the LFS "I just want to put an anemone, 2 true percula clownfishes, and some cleaning shrimps".....

Am I right???

By the way... I've just wrote my signature...
Let me tell you what do you think....

 

[Maxx]

all the LFS tells me their systems are the only ones to work, "the other are just junk" or "the other stores just want to sell you equipment you don't need" or "The thing they sell are old, this is new" or "the system that the other store is selling you is waaaay bigger than you need" and "the system that the other store is selling you is waaaay smaller than you need"...

Okay....many ways to discuss this....
Personally, I get real suspicious of people who claim to have the "only" answer to do anything, especially if its my money thats going to be paying for their "amazing" knowledge or product.
Since you havent purchased an aquarium yet, I suggest you do the cheap thing and study here online. It doesnt cost you anything to read up here, and we are all quite happy to answer your questions. A couple of months will help you get a better grasp of what you are wanting to do here. Then you can go to your stores in Mexico and know whether or not they are speaking the truth or just wanting your money....
Nick