Saltwater aquarium
Former Sponsor
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,683
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From: Irvine, CA
I wouldn't recommend butterflyfish for beginner, you may get lucky and get a strong one but they usually aren't has hardy and you definitely don't want to have them with corals.
As far as overkill with bio ball and a protein skimmer, they do help in different ways. The protein skimmer will get rid of dissolved proteins in the water (basically crap and poo) and the bio balls are there as a surface medium for bateria to grow and break down ammonia and nitrites in the water. If you have enough live rock and live sand in the tank you won't need bio balls. In my experience, it's better to set up a tank to not need bio balls because as good as they are in breaking down ammonia and nitrites, you tend to end up with high levels of nitrates and will have to change the water more often. For all my current aquariums, they have nothing but live sand and live rock. I even managed to keep a tiny 20 gallon with 10 2" fish with just live sand/rock and a protein skimmer. I change 5 gallons of water about every 6 weeks and all the fish are obese.
Good Luck!
As far as overkill with bio ball and a protein skimmer, they do help in different ways. The protein skimmer will get rid of dissolved proteins in the water (basically crap and poo) and the bio balls are there as a surface medium for bateria to grow and break down ammonia and nitrites in the water. If you have enough live rock and live sand in the tank you won't need bio balls. In my experience, it's better to set up a tank to not need bio balls because as good as they are in breaking down ammonia and nitrites, you tend to end up with high levels of nitrates and will have to change the water more often. For all my current aquariums, they have nothing but live sand and live rock. I even managed to keep a tiny 20 gallon with 10 2" fish with just live sand/rock and a protein skimmer. I change 5 gallons of water about every 6 weeks and all the fish are obese.
Good Luck!
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Joined: Feb 2002
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From: Easton
A friend of mine has a 70 gallon tank the he works on ALL the time. It is a hobby to him and he loves to work on it so it's not a big deal, but if you are a busy person you might find it hard to make the time necessary to keep things running well. He posts quite a bit on a forum, I think it's called reefcentral.com, probably a good source of info.
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Joined: Mar 2003
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nice setup... lots of hard coral I see. what kind of lights are you using??
[QUOTE]Originally posted by MR294
I second s2kfanatics advice, go to reefcentral.com, reefs.org, reefkeeping.com, advancedaquarist.com, wetwebmedia.com and do plenty of reading and planning before you even begin adding any fish or inverts to the tank.
[QUOTE]Originally posted by MR294
I second s2kfanatics advice, go to reefcentral.com, reefs.org, reefkeeping.com, advancedaquarist.com, wetwebmedia.com and do plenty of reading and planning before you even begin adding any fish or inverts to the tank.
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 2,846
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From: richmond
don't get a Damsel as a starter fish. They might be cheap and hearty, but in my experience, their aggressive nature tends to frighten and stress out nicer fishes.
My damsels have lasted longer than some of my more expensive fishes.
A large tank will be pretty easy to maintain. I don't even do water changes. The evaporation does the 10% for me. Since water is the only thing that evaporates, you just put in pure water, and thats all you do.
I think 25 lbs of live rock might not be enough. i have at least 40 in a 90 gallon tank.
My damsels have lasted longer than some of my more expensive fishes.
A large tank will be pretty easy to maintain. I don't even do water changes. The evaporation does the 10% for me. Since water is the only thing that evaporates, you just put in pure water, and thats all you do.
I think 25 lbs of live rock might not be enough. i have at least 40 in a 90 gallon tank.
