9 replies to this topic

[Stacey89]

I would love to set up a marine aquarium but as I am a begginer and have never had marine would like to keep it simple
and just have one or two lionfish and possibly a snowflake eel.
I like the Pterois volitans or Pterois antennata.
Is the Pterois antennata easy to get ahold of? I know that the volitans are.
I have a 4x1.5x1.5 at home set up for a sump (but i have no sump it broke) that i could use or I will buy a tank to accomadate
if this would not be suitable.
I may like to put a few corals in down the track but not to bothered at this stage.

I am just after any advice on what size aquarium i would need if the 1.5ft wide wouldnt be appropriate and what the best filtration may be?

[Stacey89]

i also have a spare 6x1.5x2 i could use but feel i should be starting with something smaller.

[Conda]

 marine_tank.jpg   56.47KB   96 downloadsTHE volitan is a nice fish but will grow big eventually ,i had one from one for 6 years got him from vebas very small he grew to about 10 inches lovely fish great finnage,usually you will have to feed him live feeders coz they like thier food to move ,i would run your tank with a large cannister filter ,the snow flake is nice but are escape artists and will find a way out of the tank ......good luck in whatever you decide ......

[Riggers]

Hey Stacey

I've recently had a really nice lionfish which I kept for around 8-9months, they don't really require too much different from any other tank and the 18" wide will be fine to accommodate it. If you need a sump let me know I have one that you can have plus a whole bunch of other gear that could be helpful for a marine setup.. You'll need to setup the tank basically the same way you would with any other marine but if its fish only you can no worry about the light requirements so much. I wouldn't worry about the canister as they're pretty useless for a marine setup..
I had mine in a 4x18"x2ft tank running a sump with a calcium reactor and skimmer, crushed coral as filter medium, lighting was a couple of T5 tubes one white and one blue.. This was enough to support some Xenia which grew like a weed! The best thing I did for my marine setup was get a 1000lt IBC for water changes.. It makes water changes so much easier and saved $$ as I found mixing/making salt water cost heaps more than having it delivered if you need any help with setting up your marine I'd be happy to lend a hand
Here's a link to my lionfish thread if your interested
http://www.perthcich...x...=46161&st=0

Cheers
Rigs

Edited by Riggermortis, 22 December 2012 - 10:42 AM.

[Conda]

i gotta disagree about the cannister being useless ,but without frequent partial cleaning of it ,it can become a nitrate factory ,but with regualar water changes you can keep it under control ,or invest in some clams they will keep nitrates under control

[Neakit]

canisters have a good use but its not in salt water aquariums. Any filtration other than chemical is out done by live rock.

[Conda]

. I ran 2 canister filtters on a 5ft with over a grand worth of corals in it and fish with no problems what so ever for l 6 years. Its all about how much you are willing to pay attention to your tank, with your canister you got to be sure to be changing it when you need to. (At least once a month as far as filter media changes and water changes and so on). There is no reason why you cant keep a bad ass tank on a canister. Its all about keeping up on your maintenance. As long as your change your filter media and do a water change when you need to there is no reason why you cant keep any sort of tank on a canister.

i should mention though i had 3 large clams that helped keep nitrates low.......  full_tank_pic_35.jpg   180.67KB   30 downloads

[Neakit]

live rock is the only filter media one should need, if you need more than that your tank is over stocked and thats just a recipe for disaster.

[osopicky]

Hi There , I had a dwarf Lionfish , by itself in a 2 foot by 1.5 by 1.5 tank with a protein skimmer , internal filter , live rock , crushed coral , Aqua one air pump, and a bunnings spec 1.5 foot long fluro . and it was fine for over a year till a had to give it all away. I use to use 2, 25 litre screw top containers for water changes, never used that much water anyway. I fed him live shrimp i use to catch in the local marina once a week. Was AWESOME to watch hunt down live prey. and did continuous water checks with help from my local Fish shop. but keeping in mind this was over 10 years ago in North Queensland. I set this up on a real tight budget too. You dont have to spend a fortune. Just my two cents worth Cheers

[K.v]

I dis agree slightly with the feeding bit, I have a large voli in my shop ATM that is taking frozen prawns an white bait chucked in to it's tank laying on the floor, keep in mind the collectors don't do a hell of a lot in the way of training fish to eat, in saying this each fish is different. And may not show the same keen ness to feed so easy.