Mugwump's Fish World

Misc Topics... yada yada => Baseball => Topic started by: Mugwump on June 20, 2013, 05:31:17 PM

Title: Salt water tanks.....
Post by: Mugwump on June 20, 2013, 05:31:17 PM
Does anyone here have a 'salt' tank?????....
Title: Re: Salt water tanks.....
Post by: JR on June 20, 2013, 08:07:49 PM
I will be setting my Reef and FOWLR tanks back up next month
Title: Re: Salt water tanks.....
Post by: Mugwump on June 20, 2013, 08:16:06 PM
Wonderful.......you might be the only one here???....I've been tempted to do a FOWLR for the G'kids...plus I enjoy the salt water fish colors... ;D
Title: Re: Salt water tanks.....
Post by: JR on June 20, 2013, 09:16:33 PM
If it is the first SW tank. IMHO a FOWLR  tank is the only way to go. And with SW the bigger the tank is always better.
Title: Re: Salt water tanks.....
Post by: Mugwump on June 20, 2013, 09:17:35 PM
Thanks, I'll keep that in mind
Title: Re: Salt water tanks.....
Post by: P4Angels on June 21, 2013, 12:40:39 AM
Lori and I have had one running for over a year, just a small 13 gallon nano.   We had a 55 gallon one setup then took it down.  LIke our fresh water better :D
Title: Re: Salt water tanks.....
Post by: Mugwump on June 21, 2013, 05:35:43 AM
Quote from: P4Angels on June 21, 2013, 12:40:39 AM
Lori and I have had one running for over a year, just a small 13 gallon nano.   We had a 55 gallon one setup then took it down.  LIke our fresh water better :D

Me too, really. I saw a nano tank built by a guy in the QC's club. a while back....very well done.
It would be a side project anyway.... ;D
Title: Re: Salt water tanks.....
Post by: b125killer on June 21, 2013, 07:38:51 AM
I keep going back and forth on if I want a saltwater tank. I have always wanted to set one up. I just don't know that much about them other than there a expensive lesson in chemistry. I have seen some pulsing xenia that I liked alot. I was thinking of changing a 40 breeder tank to saltwater.
Title: Re: Salt water tanks.....
Post by: BallAquatics on June 21, 2013, 10:59:33 AM
Quote from: b125killer on June 21, 2013, 07:38:51 AM
I keep going back and forth on if I want a saltwater tank.

I do that too.  Then I ask myself, "What you gonna breed?", and scrap the whole idea.....  LOL

Dennis
Title: Re: Salt water tanks.....
Post by: P4Angels2 on June 21, 2013, 03:13:16 PM
We have a pair of clowns that regularly have eggs get them to the point of seeing eyes and then magically they all disappear!!
Title: Re: Salt water tanks.....
Post by: JR on June 21, 2013, 07:48:43 PM
My clowns did the same thing.
Title: Re: Salt water tanks.....
Post by: b125killer on June 21, 2013, 08:42:50 PM
If I was going to change a tank to salt water what would it take? Something like a fowler tank. With a few corals like the pulsing xenia. What would it take to keep it alive? Would I have to get the expensive lighting? I would also have to get some clown fish that play in the coral. It's the only way my wife would let me do it. I do know that not all clown fish will do that. Something with them being captive breed and not needing to do it.
Title: Re: Salt water tanks.....
Post by: JR on June 23, 2013, 05:37:02 PM
fISH Only With Live Rock. (FOWLR)  FOWLR tanks can get by with fluorescent full spectrum lights. They do better with fluorescent and actinic light (Blue Light). It depends how wellyou won't the Coralline algae to grow. Some Coralline algae grows better with the blue light.
Reef Tanks are primanily geared towards Invertebrates. Corals and Anemones. Thy say if you like to spend a lot of money and check your water parameters every day. Set up a reef tank. A few years back I was reading the cost of setting up a 29 gal Fresh water tank was 250.00 a FOWLR 658.00 and a Reef Tank was 1262.00. That was with all of the best equipment. I have 1300 In my reef lighting system. It takes a lot to keep them corals happy.
Title: Re: Salt water tanks.....
Post by: Jdmcfast on June 23, 2013, 06:28:03 PM
 Have always wanted to have a SW tank and was ready to set one up until I got the opportunity to take care of a buddies reef tank when he was on vacation a couple times! It didn't take me long to realize I have my hands full enough with my freshwater.


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Title: Re: Salt water tanks.....
Post by: b125killer on June 23, 2013, 07:21:45 PM
 I think for the time and money I would rather get some nice discus. That way I could keep some cool fish without the cost of saltwater. I already have a full plate with breeding the angels. And I could see it getting out of control. I would start with a 40 gallon breeder and it would end up a 200 gallon reef tank. that's how it started with the angels I started with a 29 gallon now I'm breeding them and have a fish room.
Title: Re: Salt water tanks.....
Post by: Mugwump on June 23, 2013, 07:34:56 PM
Quote from: b125killer on June 23, 2013, 07:21:45 PM
I think for the time and money I would rather get some nice discus. That way I could keep some cool fish without the cost of saltwater. I already have a full plate with breeding the angels. And I could see it getting out of control. I would start with a 40 gallon breeder and it would end up a 200 gallon reef tank. that's how it started with the angels I started with a 29 gallon now I'm breeding them and have a fish room.

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Salt water tanks.....
Post by: b125killer on June 23, 2013, 07:47:01 PM
You know Jon some could say that it all started with you and your beautiful Pb clown pearl scale that I got a few years back. She is still one of my favorite angels. She has been with me on this journey from the start and one of my best fish friend. she will even let me pet her.   
Title: Re: Salt water tanks.....
Post by: BillT on June 24, 2013, 02:10:32 PM
I had a small budget salt water tank with my kids for about 12 years.

I guess it was a fowlr type. it was quite simple and for a small tank seemed pretty stable. Not a breeding set-up but fine for watching.

I was given a 10 G tank by a graduate student that was moving to the East coast.
It had aragonite sand, live rock, two or three kinds of polyps, clown fish, a couple of bottom fish, and some hermit crabs.
It also had a less aggressive form of calurpula and some kind of macroalgae.
I diversified its ecosystem by adding substrate samples from the tanks of several friends who had salt water tanks. This added things like small brittle stars that when through the substrate and turned things over.

It had a powerhead moving the water around and a heater. Lighting was a single fluorescent tube in a 10 G hood.
This worked out pretty well. It did not require lots of water changes (good for kids). We kept it going until the last fish (a clown fish) jumped out for some reason.

I have not bred anything salt water, but I have sold a few local people rotifers, mostly for clown fish they have bred.


Tangent:
I have just returned from a week in Hawaii, on the big island (large island but only about 200,000 people).

We were visiting some friends who lived about two blocks from the ocean. They had a brackish pond (about 10' x 30' x 3-5' deep). Its depth went up and down with the tides since the ground is all porous volcanic rock there.
The pond has a well established population mosquito fish and Tilapia. They were interested in getting more colorful fish in there. I was thinking some nice mollies, platies and swordtails.

Went looking for fish stores there. Several were listed, but most in the phone book seemed to have gone out of business.
The one I found was pretty skanky. Old dirty looking store, very limited selection, sick fish.
On the other hand being there the ocean is better than a fish tank there if you go snorkling.
I am afraid that there is little market for good fish stores on that island.
i am not sure if it would be easy or difficult to get fish into Hawaii from online sources like aquabid. They seem to be very careful about introducing more animals into the state now.
Title: Re: Salt water tanks.....
Post by: Mugwump on June 24, 2013, 02:58:12 PM
You might have tried reaching these folks...???

http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/aqauriumclubs/p/Hawaii-Aquarium-Clubs.htm

http://www.honoluluaquariumsociety.org/
Title: Re: Salt water tanks.....
Post by: BillT on June 25, 2013, 01:25:49 PM
Thanks Mug. I'll have to check that out for possible orders.

That would have been nice, but we were at the edge of cyber civilization. The internet was intermittent and then went out completely.
Cell phone contact was very poor.

Also we were on the big island. Honolulu is on Oahu and has the most people. I would not be surprised if they have nice aquarium stores there.
I am pretty sure there is a guy that does artificial fertilization of fancy swordtails there.
Title: Re: Salt water tanks.....
Post by: Mugwump on June 25, 2013, 02:24:56 PM
Neil Oyama's over there, but he's notorious for being a bit of a recluse, I'm told....an exception angel breeder tho, and I'm sure he dabbles in other species too....