[casino royale]

Hi, I am new to the saltwater tank trend, but my parents had a 90gal and i grew up watching them. I needed opinions of "experts" before i decided to start setting up my tank so i am going to run through my "propossed" setup before actually doing it ...
My question(s) is this:

I have a 60gal aquarium (48" long x 13" wide x 24" deep)

I will be putting in Live Rock & Live Sand ...

These are the following fish I would like to put in the tank:

1 striped Mandarin
1 spotted Mandarin
2 false percula clownfish
1 blackfooted lionfish
1 orangeback basslet
1 neon dottyback

maybe 1 longhorn cowfish/camelback cowfish

2 striped cleaner shrimp
2 peppermint shrimp
2/3 emerald crabs

i wanted a picasso triggerfish but i know they will definitely eat the shrimp so they r out, but does any1 see any issues with any of the fish i want to add to my tank and if so with which 1s?

also, will i need any special light requirements with this tank or will "regular" lights work ok considering i am not adding corals to this tank?

your responses r much appreciated and i look forward to hearing what u all have to say ... thanks

[bri74]

Dont forget that lions are predatory and will eat anything they can fit in their mouth!!! I couldnt find any info on the blackfooted lion but for real do some research on it. How much LR and LS you gonna put in and what kind of equipment are you gonna use?

[casino royale]

Im not sure of everything i need ...
if u have a list of equipment i will need it would be appreciated (kinda like a purchasing checklist if u wanna call it that) ...

ummm im not sure how much live sand i will need but i was gonna buy a 50lb box of live rock ...

yea i heard that about the lionfish ... i figured if i put him in last at a small size he might not get that aggressive ... my moms was pretty docile if u can believe that but i did hear they r bad for shrimp so i guess i may not get it (the lionfish)

got any suggestions for other fish to add then that r eye catching? (i.e. the mandarins)

also in terms of lighting ... u didnt say if regular ("stock") lighting would be fine for my tank ... the only problem i may run into in terms of lighting is that my tank hood is 2 single 18" freshwater stock bulbs ... so if its not good enuff do u have any suggestions for alternative lighting w/o me having to buy a whole new hood for my tank using the one i already have?

btw ... thx for your reply

[casino royale]

also, is there any alternatives for me to have a lionfish?
as in is there any kind of lionfish that might possibly work in my tank with the fish/shrimp i want in the tank?

[checker Jim]

maybe a dwarf lion? I had a 35 gallon show and had 2 black volitan lions in it.. anything else that went in became expensive fish food...

[Rainman69]

I would skip the lion. The lion is docile but if it fits in its mouth Its dinner. I unfamiliar with cow fish. Skip those 2 and that sounds like a good load to me. What do I know my wife says I get big tanks and don't put nothing in them. 18in lights on 46in tank I haven't seen that one before I'm sure you will want at least 1 or 2 48in tubes.

[casino royale]

No its not 18" in a 46gal tank ... its 2 18" lights in a 60gal tank ...
so in order to have 2 48" lights ill have to buy a whole new hood?

i would prefer just to buy 2 18" lights if its possible to do that and provide a good light spectrum ... but im a noobie so idk thats y im asking for a verterans opinion ... thx all

[bri74]

1-2 lbs LR per gal 2-4 inches LS thats what I have in my 55 gal. I would start with that and while the tank is cycling do your research on the best equipment you can get. Now if your on a budget take your time and dont buy stuff that will "get you by" because you will and I repeat WILL want better equipment. I started mine with that get me by theory and have changed all most everything in the first year.

[casino royale]

U KNOW WHAT! i just had a great idea in terms of lights for my tank ... let me know if this would work ...
INSTEAD of buying an expensive $400/$500 new hood to hold 48" lights ... couldnt i get some 48" black light fixtures and just put the bulbs i need in the fixtures and not use the black light bulb? bc i can get blacklight 48" fixtures for like $25 a piece!

[casino royale]

can i cycle my tank with the livesand in it w/o running any equipment? bc at this point all i have is the tank & the stand, i have not bought any equip yet ... besides the fact that i honestly dont know what i need to buy ... so if any1 has an equipment purchase "checklist" id appreciate it ... thx

[jimw369]

Originally Posted by casino royale

can i cycle my tank with the livesand in it w/o running any equipment? bc at this point all i have is the tank & the stand, i have not bought any equip yet ... besides the fact that i honestly dont know what i need to buy ... so if any1 has an equipment purchase "checklist" id appreciate it ... thx

You are not ready for a saltwater tank. You have not read or researched enough to start cycling a tank and make a success out of it. You dont start cycling a salt tank and then buy equipment you dont even know what it is. To do so would not be responsible and for others not to advise you like I am is just as irresponsible.

I am not better or greater than you cause I have a little more experience in the hobby. I am just trying to keep you from making some of the costly mistakes some of us have made.

I would invite you to hang out here at RB for a while untill you have a good grasp of how to set up and run a saltwater system. There are many here that are doing just that. In fact we are all still learning everyday.

[casino royale]

Thats what im doing now jimw ... getting advice and such BEFORE i start setting up/ running my tank ... i wont be setting it up for a couple months until i move into my house so im preparing my self now by collecting information ... thats y i joined this forum ... i appreciate the criticism but id appreciate advice/pointers even more

[stephaniesquires]

Originally Posted by casino royale

Thats what im doing now jimw ... getting advice and such BEFORE i start setting up/ running my tank ... i wont be setting it up for a couple months until i move into my house so im preparing my self now by collecting information ... thats y i joined this forum ... i appreciate the criticism but id appreciate advice/pointers even more

Definitely listen to Jims advice. You can get all the information you need from reading this site and doing some research. I think your enthusiam is great, but being successful in this hobby requires a TON of patience. It takes time to learn this stuff - I've been working on setting up a tank since August, everyday I check out the threads on this site, I read stuff other people have posted because I learn from others, I research the questions they ask and try to answer. In the beginning I didn't know enough about this stuff to ask the questions I really should have, now I'm getting the idea !! The best help I can give you at this point is to tell you to treat this hobby like a job or school, take time everyday to read the new posts and check out old posts, after a few weeks you will know a lot more!!!!

[arctictwist]

so i read this book, call the new marine aquarium...good read on how to start up a tank. theres plenty others out there to, plus all of us here!

[jimw369]

Originally Posted by casino royale

can i cycle my tank with the livesand in it w/o running any equipment? bc at this point all i have is the tank & the stand, i have not bought any equip yet ... besides the fact that i honestly dont know what i need to buy ... so if any1 has an equipment purchase "checklist" id appreciate it ... thx

You said nothing previously in the thread regarding you intentions to start a tank in the future. If you read your last thread it sounds like you are going to try and cycle your tank before buying necessary equipment. I hope you can see how I came to the conclusions I did. Sorry if I misunderstood your intentions.

[casino royale]

its all good jimw ... i appreciate your help & im sure once i do start setting up my tank with your guys help it will b great ... but that livesand question was in regards to a post further up the page telling me to cycle my tank with LS while i start purchasing my equipment ... but pls read all previous posts and answer any of my questions to give me some ideas for the future ... thanks for posting jim ... i sincerely appreciate/request your wisdom along with every1 elses ... thx guys ...

[arctictwist]

you can definaly cycle with the LS. This is the advice i was given after i went through the hell of changing out my crushed coral for live sand iwth my tank running for a month or two and iwth live stock. Have the tank empty, set up your rock, put in the sand, then slowly put in the water. the first few inches of water could be dripped in if you want. Seens as you wont have anything in it and it wont be running, you dont have to drip it in. Try putting a cup in a pouring it into that until there are a couple of inches of water. When what does kick up settles, use a turkey baster to blow off anything that settles on your rock.

[sgarron]

Please do read up on the necessary equipment before starting your build. Also, you have 2 mandarins listed in your wish list. Just so you know, a mandarin is a very picky eater and should not be in a tank less than a year old minimum. They only eat pods and you need a mature tank to keep the pod supply up.

[david6789]

1 striped Mandarin
1 spotted Mandarin

These fish are hard to care for, read up on "Pods" before attempting them or they may starve.

Care Level: Moderate
Temperament: Peaceful
Reef Safe: Yes
Diet: Live Worms, Live Brine, Copepods

[checker Jim]

ken,
that's a great idea with the turkey baster I have always used a fly swatter to fan the settlements off of my rocks.
lots of good advice in this thread. this is a very time consuming hobby, I like the thought of considering it a job or school. it is a daily job to maintain your aquarium and its unfortunate that there is a lot of people that jump right into it not knowing the efforts needed to properly maintain these setups. but hey, if it was not for the impatient people I would never have bought my setup so cheap. keep your eyes open on craigslist and newspapers, even garage sales. people will buy expensive setups and not use them properly and loose all of there live stock, get fed up with the project and sell off everything. the setup I have now was in the thousands when new and the guy I got it from had it setting in a shed for the last few years because he could did not have the patience to use it properly. I traded him 150 bucks worth of old computer stuff I had for it.
I guess what I am trying say is keep your eyes open there are deals to be had to get what you need. and when you have it take your time to do it right or you will end up getting frustrated and give up a very rewarding hobby.

[arctictwist]

yea i always check for stuff jim. My friend is one of those ppl you are speaking of, only he did it very cheaply and lost many a fish and a few anemones already. Hes giving up and trying to rid of his fish. But hes only got damsels and i dont want any more of those. my black velvet is one aggressive fish!

[checker Jim]

I was over at ATM last night what an amazing place they are the guys tha make the tanks for all of the major casinos out here in Las Vegas, they had a huge tank full of nothing but damsels all different kinds.. it was actually quite beautiful. I was thinking of making my 55 a damsel tank after seeing that. thought it might look nice lots of plants and damsels. would be cheap and easy.

here is a link to there website take a look but make sure you have a towel over your keyboard so you dont cover it in drool....

~~~~ Acrylic Tank Manufacturing - Las Vegas ~~~~

[casino royale]

i found a place i can buy copepods in bulk to add to the tank to support the mandarins eating habits but dont worry ... i know what im getting myself into bc my parents had a 90gal saltwater tank for years when i was growing up so i know/understand what is involved in this job/hobby ... but like i was saying ... i am aware of their eating habits ... thx for the heads up tho

[casino royale]

btw ... those tanks r amazing checker jim