advice on starting out please?

[toshi-chan]

Hi everyone! First post to the forum - just wanted to see if any of you have some advice for a newbie.

Firstly, I haven't bought anything yet! I'm doing some research into the whole saltwater thing (having come to the conclusion that it's a saltwater aquarium or nothing for me) as I want to get a "Red Sea theme" reef going....

My first sock was how few fish I will be able to stock with! The largest tank we can manage (or to be more accurate, the largest tank my wife will agree to!) is 80cm x 40cm x 45cm (approx 140 ltrs). I wasn't planning on stocking with lots of fish, but working through the calculations on this site I find I can have a whole 7" of mature fish, so it's pretty limiting :? . My initial thoughts are gobys or blennys, but I did also think about a frogfish, (but that would probably be the entire 7" gone in one hit). I was wondering about inverts also (boxer shrimp / harlequin shrimp maybe?). I'm assuming that I can add a few inverts to the whopping 7" of mature fish?? anyone know if they will be ok with a frogfish?

I've therefore decided on a reef approach and go for an aquatic garden with a few fish, rather than a fish tank with a few plants. I was wondering what suggestions you might have for corals / sponges / anemones etc and whether they should be purchase and set up before cycling the tank (the plants that is - I will be doing a fishless cycle when I eventually feel ready).

Also, ideally I want to position the tank so it can be viewed from both sides rather than against a wall (we have the perfect site to allow this) but I have heard that fish prefer a tank background as they get insecure if they can be viewed from both sides? Any thoughts?

Thanks for all and any help anyone can give! I thought

 

[Feron]

Frogfish (anglers?) will eat bout anything their size or smaller that isn't tied down.. Appropriate only for a species only tank.
Also get fairly big, from what I read..

I have plants in my tank that has just gotten to the end of the cycle, they seem to have done ok (no die off of them) altho, my cycle was fairly mild in comparison to some.

My tank is viewable from both sides, as I do two things in life (besides work and troll the boards) - I cook and I sit at my computer.. So I made it so I can see the tank from my kitchen/office.
I had read that fish get a little wonky about feeling 'out in the open' (especially something bad about no substrate), so I placed my lr in such a way that there were hiding spaces and caves for both directions, giving them ample room to get away from my prying eyes (we'll see how well that goes eh).

Not very helpful, but thems my 2cents..

 

[jaiden]

Don't buy anything until you read this site for at least a few weeks. I could have saved a lot of money.

If you have enough LR (you should have a lot) your fish will have plenty of places to hide.

Don't even think about corals or anemones until you have some experience. at least 6 months i'd say. You can have a plan for where you want the tank to be eventually, but you should start with FOWLR and a couple of fish. some inverts are a great addition and a lot of fun to watch on their own.

 

[AndyH5512]

I recently had a frogfish. It was hard to keep, and died after a week, unfortunately. I felt horrible. I have over 4 years in the hobby. I would suggest you get something that is more easy to keep. Your best bet is to read as much as possible. There is a book called "The Consciencious Marine Aquarist." Its a great read.