Advice

[Alvarez]

I am interested in setting up a saltwater tank and am prolly going to go with a pretty big tank. I am starting new and want to know about compatibilty. The saltwater fish I like best are the Clown, the Puffer, Tangs, and Stingrays.

Just with my experience with fish thus far I can guarantee that not all of these fish are compatible with each other.

I really love Puffers and Clown fish though...

Any advice on what type of tank I will need, How many tanks would I need minimum to get these fish and what are some combinations I might be able to mix.

I am totally new to Saltwater and want to learn as much as possible... What should be my 1st step in beginning a setup?

 

[Hara]

Kudos to you for asking the questions first! The first step is deciding what you will want in your tank and then whether or not your wants fit your budget. Except for the very fewest of tang species, they require a large tank. Others may drop the size down a bit, but IMO a 100 gallon is the smallest you should consider. Stingrays, I am sorry to say, have no place in the home aquarium. Puffers (many varieties, each with different needs) are rather messy eaters, and would dictate the purchase of a protein skimmer. Clowns have no special needs, except for tankmates that will not use them as snack items.

Browse through the multitudes of sites such as liveaquaria.com that have pictures, basic needs listed, create a "possibilities" list and then we can help a bit more!

 

[Alvarez]

What are reef tanks and are they required for a saltwater tank? I am gathering they are acrylic and not the normal shape of aquariums (corner/rectangle)

Is it true puffers and Clowns can't be kept together? because the puffers eat coral or something to that effect?

Thats odd about stingrays... The LFS has a small Stingray with clowns and Tangs and the guy said they are pretty peaceful, just keep sand so they can bury themselves.

 

[cplawrence]

A reef tank simply implies that you are keeping corals as opposed to a fish only tank.

Aside from needing about a 200 gallon tank, saltwater rays require greater attention than other animals would.

Corals and puffers are problematic because the puffer will eat all of the snails, crabs and shrimp that help to keep the reef healthy and they produce a huge amount of waste.

 

[Alvarez]

A reef tank simply implies that you are keeping corals as opposed to a fish only tank.

Aside from needing about a 200 gallon tank, saltwater rays require greater attention than other animals would.

Corals and puffers are problematic because the puffer will eat all of the snails, crabs and shrimp that help to keep the reef healthy and they produce a huge amount of waste.

Clowns require the Reef though right? So they can't be kept together with puffers right?

 

[Hara]

Clowns do NOT require corals or anemone to be happy. People often make that assumption but it is not valid.

 

[Alvarez]

So clowns and puffers could co-exist together?

 

[theatrus]

If the tank is large enough, clowns and a puffer may work. Clowns and puffers are semi-aggressive (at least territorial with the clowns). Puffers should not eat the clowns at the very least (they will however eat just about any snail or crab, which means higher maintenace for you on algae removal).

 

[Alvarez]

How large will the tank need to be and what will I need to get started looking up and setting up for?

Should I use living sand on the bottom or something else, Will I need living rock or something else?

When you say more work do you mean more cleaning up by hand rubbing algae off the sides of the tanks? The puffer will eat shrimp also?

 

[mattt6511]

in refrence to the sand and liverock question i would say about 1-2 lbs of livesand per gallon and the same with liverock about 1-2lbs, i bought 40lbs of aragilive sand for my 29 gallon tank and it was pretty expensive i know you can buy regular sand and put liverock on it and over time it will turn into live sand which will help keep your nitrites low... as far as the size of the tank for puffer and clowns in the same tank i dont know, i do know however i have one clown in my 10 gallon and im getting a mated pair of true percula clowns in my 29 gallon tank.. clowns are pretty small nonagressive fish, while puffers can be quite messy and raise your bioload quite a bit and they then to be more agressive then clowns.

 

[Alvarez]

I am contemplating switching over my 56 gallon freshwater tank into a saltwater tank for clowns... Can different clowns be mixed and how many would I be able to put into a 56 gallon tank? The tank is taller than normal and 30 inches long.

Also what type of filtration will I need? Will I be able to go with a HOB or will a protein skimmer be a must. Also will the glass need to be drilled for a sump pump to create current?

The tank sits in a shelf and I have room for a HOB but not alot else... If a lot extra is needed I will have to keep it freshwater.

 

[Hara]

Depending on the clown varieties...no more than 4, temperaments will dictate alot. You would not be able to do more than a pair of goldstripe marroons. Once again, mixing is a touchy issue, some have done it successfully, others have had big problems. I would recommend a big powerhead with a pvc spraybar hooked to it for your circulation. (this works quite well for me, I have a mag9 pump with spraybar in my marroon clown 55 gallon). With this, you do not have to worry about drilling. You should be just fine with a HOB filtration system as long as it is a decent one. Were you going to be getting liverock?

 

[Alvarez]

If I transform my 56 gallon then I will not be attempting to mix puffers with clowns and it will be a clown only tank and maybe something else if it is ok... I am not sure of the capacity for SW fish... I have heard its less fish than freshwater. I believe i was told live rock was useless with puffers, So yes I could do the live rock if its just clowns. Which would be better with clowns Coral, Live rock, or Live sand... or mixture?

Will I be able to use my same Emporer 280 HOB filter, or will I need a new one? Sorry for so many questions but I am learning pretty fast and want to make sure I am not only educated but also confident before I even attempt a SW tank.

 

[cplawrence]

LR is simply a much better filter than your HOB ever could be. Assuming you went that route, there is no point in buying live sand--just buy an aragonite sand (one that is made of calcium carbonite which will provide some buffering of the pH) and the live rock will turn it into LS over time. The other thing you would really need is flow about the LR. You can use your existing HOB for this, but you would likely want to supplement this with additional powerheads. The HOB also has the advantage of allowing you to run carbon from time to time. For fish only, you would be looking for a flow rate of about 10 times the capacity of the tank per hour (about 560 gallons per hour total in your case).
As for the question of corals, your fish will be fine without. But if you want to keep corals, the clowns will be compatible with that. If you do keep corals, there are additional things to consider. One is you will need a more powerful light fixture. The other is that corals are less forgiving to water quality than your fish will be, making a skimmer more of a necessity than an option.

 

[Alvarez]

I don't need the coral. Now I know the puffers and Clown can't go in the 56 gallon because the puffers will outgrow it... however this is just a general question... Are puffers compatible with live rock? I know they aren't compatible with coral, crabs etc...

Is there any tank janitor creature compatible with puffers?

 

[Hara]

it depends on the puffer, there are small puffers such as the valentini, you didnt mention what kind in particular. That is why you need to look to see what you want before we can give really detailed comments. www.liveaquaria.com has fish lists broken down by general terms such as "puffers" "triggers" etc. Go look at the different varieties. Minimum tank sizes are also listed for each fish. They also have a compatability chart.

 

[Alvarez]

it depends on the puffer, there are small puffers such as the valentini, you didnt mention what kind in particular. That is why you need to look to see what you want before we can give really detailed comments. www.liveaquaria.com has fish lists broken down by general terms such as "puffers" "triggers" etc. Go look at the different varieties. Minimum tank sizes are also listed for each fish. They also have a compatability chart.

Thank you so very much! I was just told that puffers got big and produced too much waste so they couldn't be kept in smaller tanks, and they would eat anything that helped clean the tank.

 

[first-timer89]

i bought a puffer yesterday that will only grow to 3.5 inches. at this size my crabs, snails, and other inverts are very safe. i have 2 clowns and they get along with the puffer great. The puffer thinks he is a clown and swims around the tank with the clowns, it is funny to watch

 

[Alvarez]

does the puffer look like a normal puffer or does it have a long nose like most of the mini puffers I have found?

If this is possible what kind of stock could I have in my 56 gallon tank? 2 perc mated clowns, 1 mini puffer, 1 cleaner shrimp and a damsel?

Is that too much stock or do I have room for more by the time the tank has become very mature? Also if this is not too much how should I add them? Damsel, shrimp, and maybe a crab... then later add the clowns, then the puffer last?

 

[theatrus]

Depends on the size of the puffer. That would be a good stocking list, taking into account puffers are messy eaters.