Kevin's Salt

etheonut · Post by **etheonut** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 10:46 am

Ok, since I felt like I was hijacking that old thread I started a new one. Its a moderator thing, I didn't want to have to scold myself.

Here is what I have so far:

30 gallon Long aquarium
"some" white aragonite sand.
1 X96 W 10,000 K PC light.
Sea Clone Protein Skimmer (lacks Maxi-Jet 1200, though I haven't looked too hard yet)
Cannister Filter rated up to 100, PennPlax I think.

Things I plan to acquire still:

30 + pounds of live rock
more aragonite sand though I would like to get the rubble type sand rather than the fine stuff like I have.
2 more 96 W bulbs Kelvin yet to be determined

My goal ( changes every few minutes, just ask my wife):

2 or 3 piles of live rock with sandy areas between them.
A pair of jawfish or possibly a pair of engineer gobies <--they have black and white bars, who can resist that?
A blue ring octopus <- just joking
Not sure after that, in fact I am not 100% sure on this list.

Kevin

Josey · Post by **Josey** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 1:13 pm

the shogun restaurant in Fayetteville has an octopus in its tank verrrry interesting to watch. An acquaintance of mine takes care of their tanks... or used to it has been about two years since I was there. I don't eat seafood my throat tends to swell up... hamburgers are good!!!

etheonut · Post by **etheonut** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 1:46 pm

Ok, being a good boy, I did some research on both jaw fish and engineer gobies. Neither species seems appropriate for my 30 gallon aquarium if I want to keep multiple individuals that is. The engineer goby at 18" would quickly outgrow my tank as a single fish. The jawfish usually have a 3' square territory in the wild and so may not be appropriate if I want to try and do a pair or group, which I would like to do.

This leads to the next question, what fish to have in the tank?

Dwarf lionfish have always been interesting to me, as have frogfish/anglerfish. The cost of the frogfish/anglerfish are usually very prohibitive, but I might be willing to spend a little extra. The sting of the lionfish has never been terribly appealing to my lovely wife, but negotiations may be possible. Let me put this question out to the community at large though:

My interest in fish is not usually color/looks, it is usually in behavior. What species of fish should I look at for this salt-water aquarium?

Kevin

gm333 · Post by **gm333** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 4:03 pm

If you are looking for something different and arent opposed to a little more cash than normal for a fish I would suggest a FU MAN CHU lionfish(sorry it looked better in all caps). They stay small and and do well in smaller tanks.

etheonut · Post by **etheonut** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 11:23 am

Here is today's plan:

20-30 pounds of Haitan Live Rock, I would do aquacultured rock but everything I read says it is very dense.

Pygmy Angel (flameback or cherub)

Pair of Jawfish (a little risky but I will try it)

Black Cap Basslet or Royal Gramma.

Yes, it is developing into a Caribbean tank. The corals and other inverts will be caribbean as well.

Kevin

pinkrblu · Post by **pinkrblu** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 2:31 pm

Well, it's beginning to sound like a plan! Are you using sand too?

etheonut · Post by **etheonut** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 2:39 pm

Jawfish require a fairly deep sand bed. The dig a fairly long burrows that they live and an hover above.

Kevin

etheonut · Post by **etheonut** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 2:45 pm

Apparently, fairly was my favority word today. *sigh* I am fairly sure I won't use fairly again today.

Kevin

HiroPro · Post by **HiroPro** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:02 pm

Hey Kevin.
Where are you planning on getting your live rock from? I'm in the planning stages of 90G reef.

gm333 · Post by **gm333** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 7:19 am

Sounds like a good plan. Your stck list looks good to me. What do the flame angels generally run in your area?

etheonut · Post by **etheonut** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 8:13 am

I have no idea honestly. I haven't looked at prices yet. I wouldn't even venture a guess as I am usually much more stingy than the average fish store on their prices.

Kevin

etheonut · Post by **etheonut** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 8:09 am

There has been an executive decision at the Mouser house (Cris changed her mind). The 30L is no longer going to be a salt aquarium. It is now going to be a planted aquarium. Look for details later.

The 125 gallon aquarium is going to be the salt aquarium. That definitely changes a few things.

Kevin

gm333 · Post by **gm333** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:51 pm

Ahh even better, so many things to discuss its hard to figure out where to start.

etheonut · Post by **etheonut** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 4:38 pm

Ok, here is what I have so far:

125 Gallon Aquarium (Bottom Drilled in 4 locations) - No stand yet
40 Gallon Long Aquarium to use as Sump/Refugium
Red Sea Berlin Protein Skimmer
Left over Aragonite Sand from the last Saltwater Aquarium
900 + gph submersible pump made for sitting in a sump

It isn't much, but it is a start.

Kevin

gm333 · Post by **gm333** » Tue Feb 12, 2008 10:27 pm

Its definitly a start. Any thoughts on lighting yet?

etheonut · Post by **etheonut** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 6:51 am

I have my eye on a halide/pc combination unit that has a total of ~1000 watts. I will have to save up the money though to be able to afford it.

Kevin

gm333 · Post by **gm333** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:49 pm

Thats a good combo, I actually enjoy the halides, it gives off that shimmer effect that makes it look more natural.

etheonut · Post by **etheonut** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 7:35 am

I was talking to some some people about lighting and opinions varied about my set up. Do I need 10 watts to the gallon on a 125? Yes, I would like to keep and grow the hard corals like the frags I am seeing pictures of. So, how much light do I really need? I know that the Kelvin of the bulbs matters some with blue bulbs (10k and up) having better penetration, so feel free to elaborate on answers.

Kevin

Josey · Post by **Josey** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 10:13 am

I know next to nothing about salt tanks but I found these (I think on this site somewhere) http://www.ahsupply.com/index.html they look like a really good deal. I'm planning on them for my 55 planted tank.