Any aquarium hobbyists on ATOT?

[FoBoT]

yeah
currently just two tanks, 20 gal and 45 gal X-tall

at my peak i had 8 tanks including two 55 gal , have never had larger than 55 gal as the cost/gal goes up so much

never had more than one salt water and only fish, never had a reef tank

 

[Soccerman06]

Try rearranging your aquarium. I've that it helps when putting in new Cichlids because they all have to fight for new territory.

Sounds like a good idea, let the new fish fight it out and the strong survive, would help definitely my little 1-2" survive the move... :hmm: I may just have to get rid of him and get a bunch of little cichlids and let them sort it out, Id like to have atleast 30 in the tank (yes I know it might get overstocked a little).

 

[spacejamz]

my 55L tank that I setup back in July...the cichlids have grown a bit since then...I switched back to freshwater after running a salt tank for 10 years...my LFS where I got my saltwater from closed down so water changes became even more of a PITA....

my old lion fish RIP

my salt tank before the redslime took over

 

[BoomerD]

my 55L tank that I setup back in July...the cichlids have grown a bit since then...I switched back to freshwater after running a salt tank for 10 years...my LFS where I got my saltwater from closed down so water changes became even more of a PITA....

my old lion fish RIP

my salt tank before the redslime took over

Ah...a nasty green fish eater at the bottom of that tank...I loved serpent/brittle stars...but NOT the green fish eater.

I had two black/gray serpents for over 3 years...and they went to a friend when I took down the tank. This is the only one I was ever able to get a pic of:

The leg span on that one was over 18 inches. It was rare to see more than the tip of a tentacle or two waving in the current looking for a bit of food. I fed them with a skewer.

 

[spacejamz]

Ah...a nasty green fish eater at the bottom of that tank...I loved serpent/brittle stars...but NOT the green fish eater.

I had two black/gray serpents for over 3 years...and they went to a friend when I took down the tank. This is the only one I was ever able to get a pic of:

The leg span on that one was over 18 inches. It was rare to see more than the tip of a tentacle or two waving in the current looking for a bit of food. I fed them with a skewer.

mine loved to come out at night...he would climb the front glass with arms fully extended...

 

[BoomerD]

mine loved to come out at night...he would climb the front glass with arms fully extended...

Ever have any fish "mysteriously disappear?"

The green brittle stars are notorious fish hunters. VERY predatory.

AFAIK, they're the only ones that have that well-earned reputation.

 

[Sentrosi2121]

I have a 15g tank set up right now. I had grown up with a fish tank since I was about 8, so I went ahead and got a small tank for now. Right now I've got two ghost shrimp and 3 neon tetras. I want to get a couple of guppies and a couple of other fish and I should be good. My oldest loves looking for the shrimp.

 

[spidey07]

Ever have any fish "mysteriously disappear?"

The green brittle stars are notorious fish hunters. VERY predatory.

AFAIK, they're the only ones that have that well-earned reputation.

Pistol shrimp, mantis...

 

[BoomerD]

Pistol shrimp, mantis...

But we're not talking about shrimp...or predatory fish. We're talking about brittle/serpent stars.

Yes, some shrimp, ESPECIALLY mantis shrimp, are VERY predatory...and generally should be the only non-coral animals in the tank.
Pistol shrimp can be ok, especially when paired with the right watchman goby.

The green serpent star, aka green brittle star, (genus Ophiarachna) is a well known fish predator, especially in our reef tanks where they have lots of hiding places and a relatively small area to hunt.

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/brittlestars.htm

One species in common use warrants a statutory warning. This is the Green Brittle Star of the genus Ophiarachna. This animal is a predatory fish eater, that does indeed do a spiffy janitorial job when small... but grows quickly, and under darkness of night can/does learn to eat aquarium fishes. This species has been documented to arch up in "sleeping caves" of captive fishes and drop down on unsuspecting meals. If you use this species, keep an eye on it, and a count on your piscine livestock.

 

[spidey07]

I had a tank with a few hitchhiker brittle stars. I thought it was neat. Until they start reproducing like freaking crazy!

 

[BoomerD]

I had a tank with a few hitchhiker brittle stars. I thought it was neat. Until they start reproducing like freaking crazy!

I had thousands of tiny brittles in my last reef tank. Leg span smaller than a dime...they were everywhere in the sandbed, under the rockwork, etc.

I'd always collect a couple hundred and take to the reef club frag meets.

 

[gorcorps]

By my calculations I understand roughly 20% of the words used in this thread.

 

[edro]

By my calculations I understand roughly 20% of the words used in this thread.

lol, me too

I have no idea what those acronyms are and don't feel like Googling them.

 

[crownjules]

Unless you plan on getting into reef keeping, you don't need to know them. They're mostly scientific names for the species abbreviated.

 

[spidey07]

Unless you plan on getting into reef keeping, you don't need to know them. They're mostly scientific names for the species abbreviated.

My damn blastomusa lost his zoo! Halp!

 

[Old Hippie]

Pretty tank OP! :thumbsup:

I have a freshwater 72 gal bowfront and I'll try to get some pics of mine.

There's no way I can compete with saltwater colors.

 

[Modelworks]

Sounds like a good idea, let the new fish fight it out and the strong survive, would help definitely my little 1-2" survive the move... :hmm: I may just have to get rid of him and get a bunch of little cichlids and let them sort it out, Id like to have atleast 30 in the tank (yes I know it might get overstocked a little).

They will continue to fight it out until either one takes over the whole tank or their is enough opposition to fight back .
This is the cichlid in my main tank.

He is about 3 years old and completely rules the tank, nothing challenges him , at least not for long. He has his fins up trying to show he is the biggest fish in the tank to the little guy on the right who entered his side of the tank. They have one of the most interesting challenge methods. They will circle each other in the tank head to tail in a small circle then stop and meet face to face. Slowly they will move towards and backwards to each other up and down the tank not breaking their eye contact, then suddenly one will use his mouth to cover the others mouth and hold on shaking back and forth till one gives and breaks free. The loser will find a corner of the tank and hide near the surface with its head near the water line. It will stay there for days until it thinks it can challenge again. When they get big like these it can scare you at first when they start fighting, they throw water on the floor quite often or you will hear a loud thud where one has run into the glass running from the other. Most of the time mine are pleasant but occasionally they still get into fights.

The one that is a large male even knows that I disapprove of the fighting. If I am laying on the couch and they are fighting I can move my foot to the floor and the male will swim as fast as he can to his cave and hide. I can wave my arms and nothing, but let my foot contact the floor and he has figured I am about to put a stop to it.

 

[BoomerD]

They will continue to fight it out until either one takes over the whole tank or their is enough opposition to fight back .
This is the cichlid in my main tank.

He is about 3 years old and completely rules the tank, nothing challenges him , at least not for long. He has his fins up trying to show he is the biggest fish in the tank to the little guy on the right who entered his side of the tank. They have one of the most interesting challenge methods. They will circle each other in the tank head to tail in a small circle then stop and meet face to face. Slowly they will move towards and backwards to each other up and down the tank not breaking their eye contact, then suddenly one will use his mouth to cover the others mouth and hold on shaking back and forth till one gives and breaks free. The loser will find a corner of the tank and hide near the surface with its head near the water line. It will stay there for days until it thinks it can challenge again. When they get big like these it can scare you at first when they start fighting, they throw water on the floor quite often or you will hear a loud thud where one has run into the glass running from the other. Most of the time mine are pleasant but occasionally they still get into fights.

The one that is a large male even knows that I disapprove of the fighting. If I am laying on the couch and they are fighting I can move my foot to the floor and the male will swim as fast as he can to his cave and hide. I can wave my arms and nothing, but let my foot contact the floor and he has figured I am about to put a stop to it.

Damned Africans get pretty cantankerous...IMO, they're not as bad as the South Americans for being the only fish in the tank...but some will definitely fight off any challengers to their "turf."

 

[roguerower]

I've always been interested in aquariums but havn't settled down somewhere that would allow me to start one properly. What would a typical, lower budget salt water setup cost initially and monthly?

 

[Modelworks]

I've always been interested in aquariums but havn't settled down somewhere that would allow me to start one properly. What would a typical, lower budget salt water setup cost initially and monthly?

Keep a watch on craigslist. You often find people who have to move that don't want to take the tank with them .

 

[spacejamz]

I've always been interested in aquariums but havn't settled down somewhere that would allow me to start one properly. What would a typical, lower budget salt water setup cost initially and monthly?

Lighting and filtration will be your biggest costs and that will depend on the size of the tank you get...As mentioned earlier, the bigger your tank, the more room for 'error' you will have as any issues you might have with your water or tank conditions will occur faster in a smaller tank...you should start out with at least a 55G IMO...

monthly costs will include water changes (you can make your own, but you will need an RO system (reverse osmosis) to do this properly or you can buy it from your LFS (local fish store) around a $1/gallon. You should do about 25% of your tank size each month. Filter replacement and chemicals will be your other costs and this will also depend your tank size/equipment...

 

[BoomerD]

I've always been interested in aquariums but havn't settled down somewhere that would allow me to start one properly. What would a typical, lower budget salt water setup cost initially and monthly?

IMO, "saltwater" and "Low budget" don't belong in the same sentence.

Yes, you can go "low tech" and not have the intense lighting that are needed by corals and other animals that depend on photosynthesis...just focus on fish, but once you get the bug..."low budget" goes out the window pretty quickly.

I definitely agree that the larger the tank, the easier it is...more water volume means more room for errors. Minor temperature differences are slower to affect the tank, more volume means it takes longer for pollutants to build up, etc...BUT, the larger the tank, the more expensive it get to maintain, to light, heat, and filter properly.

I haven't had to buy salt mix in several years, but it USED to be available (on sale) for about $10/50 gallons. (Instant Ocean brand...not the best on the market, but better than most, and it works very well)
I used a good quality RO/DI filtration system to make my own purified water for use in mixing saltwater. It's better to start with good clean water than to have to fight all the various pollutants that are allowed in "drinking water" from the tap.
You also have to add clean, fresh water to the tank as water evaporates. You don't add saltwater as "make up water" because doing so increases the salinity beyond what's healthy for the animals in the tank.

 

[roguerower]

IMO, "saltwater" and "Low budget" don't belong in the same sentence.

Yes, you can go "low tech" and not have the intense lighting that are needed by corals and other animals that depend on photosynthesis...just focus on fish, but once you get the bug..."low budget" goes out the window pretty quickly.

I definitely agree that the larger the tank, the easier it is...more water volume means more room for errors. Minor temperature differences are slower to affect the tank, more volume means it takes longer for pollutants to build up, etc...BUT, the larger the tank, the more expensive it get to maintain, to light, heat, and filter properly.

I haven't had to buy salt mix in several years, but it USED to be available (on sale) for about $10/50 gallons. (Instant Ocean brand...not the best on the market, but better than most, and it works very well)
I used a good quality RO/DI filtration system to make my own purified water for use in mixing saltwater. It's better to start with good clean water than to have to fight all the various pollutants that are allowed in "drinking water" from the tap.
You also have to add clean, fresh water to the tank as water evaporates. You don't add saltwater as "make up water" because doing so increases the salinity beyond what's healthy for the animals in the tank.

I understand that "low budget" doesn't fit well, which is why I said "lower budget".

If someone didn't want to go all out the very first time with large amounts of coral, fish, etc, but wanted to start small (large tank, small population) and expand, what would the starting costs be for equipment that isn't budget low but not crazy expensive?

 

[IcePickFreak]

I been meaning to get back into the hobby. I picked up a 150g & stand for a killer deal this past spring that I drilled for a sump, and even got my sump made up along with amassing the pump, skimmer, etc, but it's been on hold since then. I'm a FOWLR guy though, I love my Triggers.

 

[spidey07]

I understand that "low budget" doesn't fit well, which is why I said "lower budget".

If someone didn't want to go all out the very first time with large amounts of coral, fish, etc, but wanted to start small (large tank, small population) and expand, what would the starting costs be for equipment that isn't budget low but not crazy expensive?

It'd say it would start at 1000. Bare minimum you need is live rock, tank, lights, protein skimmer, salt and meter. You will need to use RO/DI water unless you want tons of problems with means you WILL get a RO/DI system at some point, that's under 200.