alright, now what?

[Salyers890]

:D i'm kinda proud of myself. . . . . with freshwater, i had the fish before i even had their tank. . . . now i've got a 29 'salted' aquarium, heated with CC substrate and some seashells as deco, emperor 400 filter w biowheels, visitherm 300w. . . i've got an 802 powerhead in there now just for circulation, thinking of keeping it in (is that good for lions?). . . . here's my questions
1. how would i get a tank to cycle out without adding fish? i want LR in there, but it can get a little expensive and my lights are really not that good, i have just one 24" NO flourescent 50/50 (not sure if it would stay 'live' rock)
2. I'm going to house a zebra lion and a radiata (temporary), with this bioload, would i NEED a skimmer. . . . i really want the AquaC remora, but i really can't afford it right now, and dont' want to skimp, just to upgrade in the future, ya know? if needed,
3. PH 8.4, temp. 78, nothing in the tank but salt and water. . . where do i go from here?
I have done much reading, but still am a little hazey on a few things. . . hopefully with the help of you i will be able to get this project on the get-go. . . . .:lolspin:

p.s. here's a picture of me at 430 in the morning READING ABOUT FISH. . . . not going to sleep like a good college student should be!!!!!! what a life right?

[FMarini]

Hi:
do me a favor, next time post a picture of your fish or wanna be fish. i don't want to be looking at sleepy doods at 4:30 in the morning.
I'll try to address some of your q?
A 29gal is a rather small tank, which means you'll only be able to have a few small fish, and you'll have to keep a close eye on water quality as a tank this small will easily shift. When you means salted you mean you added table salt, or a marine salt mix to the water?
About cycling. I woul cycle by adding either uncured live rock to the tank, or adding some cured liverock, w/ a few hunks of cooked shrimp or chunks of fish in the water to start the cycel. I woul do a search for fishless cycling.
AS far as lions you will be limited to only the dwaf species. i would recommend againsit a radiata in a small tank, these fish while slow growers do get to 8-10" (not including tail). A dwarf lion, dwarf fzzuy or Fu man chu are (IMO0 your only choices. I will also suggest you look into other sedentary predators like a small cion angler, or leaf fish. These grow real slow and dn;'t move much, but will give you a predator tank.
As you know even w/ a predator tank you'll have to ween these fish over to dead prepared marine foods

now i've got a 29 'salted' aquarium, heated with CC substrate and some seashells as deco, emperor 400 filter w biowheels, visitherm 300w. . . i've got an 802 powerhead in there now just for circulation, thinking of keeping it in (is that good for lions?). . . . here's my questions
so get rid of the deco shell, take up space, make sure you hav 20-30lbs of live rock in this tank. This will be your biofiltration. everything else seem adequate. Quick q? thou. what the water current like in this tank? look like it might be too high especially for sedentary fish

1. how would i get a tank to cycle out without adding fish? i want LR in there, but it can get a little expensive and my lights are really not that good, i have just one 24" NO flourescent 50/50 (not sure if it would stay 'live' rock)
the lights fine,a dn you don't need to provide lighting to live rock, or the fish unless your tryin to grow plants, algae, or corals

2. I'm going to house a zebra lion and a radiata (temporary), with this bioload, would i NEED a skimmer. . . . i really want the AquaC remora, but i really can't afford it right now, and dont' want to skimp, just to upgrade in the future, ya know? if needed
I always recommend a skimmer for a FO, are they required NO. However you will be doing more water changes and cleaning more frequently to ensure good water quality. remember everythng you add to this tank, (ie food) wil have to be exported somehow)-somone asked this question recently search this forum for some really long reasons why

3. PH 8.4, temp. 78, nothing in the tank but salt and water. . . where do i go from here? whats the salinity? what salt are you using?
have you read a good basic book lik bob fenners or mike palettas new marine aquarium? you understand the basics. Working w/ freshwater will give you a head start, but the filtration methodologies are different, the fish are different and they requirements are very different.

HTH
frank

[Salyers890]

FMarini, sorry about the picture, i took it off. . . . . i was really tired/bored etc.
by salted i meant IO marine salt mix. . . . . . shells are gone, empty tank again. . . . . salt water and substrate now. . . i hope to get about 10lbs. LR from a friend, then purchasing the rest at the LFS. I'm definitely thinkin of going for a Dwarf zebra lion, but want a radiata SOOOO bad . . . would a 40 breeder (36X18X17) work for one of these guys (i've got one)? since i've got nothing in the tank. . .i can just empty the 40, use a powerhead to transfer the water and put the substrate in the bottom. . . easy as that. . . . thanks alot for your help frank, i know it's frustrating repeating the same things over and over, but i really do appreciate it. . . . just the fact that you asked if i 'table salted' the aquarium shows what you have had to deal with, so i am in aw and definitly take your oppinion/experience with a heavy weight. . . your tank is beautiful also. . .

so here's what i'm thinkin now. . . 40gal +antennata +dwarf +emperor400 and 40lbs LR (a skimmer later on). . . . .sound good?

[FMarini]

so here's what i'm thinkin now. . . 40gal +antennata +dwarf +emperor400 and 40lbs LR (a skimmer later on). . . . .sound good?

Much better. Ensure you get a healthy radiata, these are touchy fish, you want to start w/ the best. Do you have my lionfish info sheet? email me directly, i can sent it to you.

Good luck
frank

[cruzer]

Salyers890,

I do not have any experience with lion fish, but I do have experience being a new guy in fish keeping.
You might want to think about the fish you really want to keep, then get a tank the size the fish and you will be happy with. What I am getting at is used tanks a lot larger than a 40 are available at very low prices, at least in my area. Frank is an expert with lion fish, so I am sure he will give you great advice about them. All I am trying to say is, will a 40 be big enough for what you want or are you going to do with almost the fish you want, or the worst IMHO put the fish you really want in a tank that will not support it.
I bought a used 180Gal (already had two 55's) because my wife wanted a Porky puffer. I know income and space could be factors. just food for thought.

HTH, Rob.

[Salyers890]

ew, i made a big mistake . . . . . . thanks for the reply guys, but i hastily typed my first message. . . . . . i like the radiatas but do not really want one. . . i want an antennata lion. . . . again, NO radiata, YES Antennata.
I'm really thinkin hard about going with the 40, but the problem with it is that the top is an oceanic lizard lounge cap (covers the entire top) it's tempered glass, so i can't cut it. . . . i dont' want to go out and buy a hood, nor do i want to build a canopy. . . .kind of a catch 22. . . . i found a guy with a used 55 SW tank. . . . don't know what equip he has, but it's 'burried' in his house and his wife wants is OUT. . . . that sounds good for me, we'll see if he actually wants to sell it though. . . i'll shell 150 out on this, then make it back selling 2 29's . . . . I guess i'm going to scrap the 29 being salt and go for the 40 or 55. but this patience thing is killin me!!!!!!!!!:eek:

[billsreef]

Do what ever you need to do to come up with a workable top for the 40 breeder, it is much better tank than the very narrow 55.

[Salyers890]

here's what i did. . . . the oceanic reptile top had a plastic hinge. . . took off the flap LOTS OF OPEN SPACE FOR WHATEVER. . . i know i will have more evap, but don't have an overflow so don't really care (yet!). My buddy is bringing the LR next weekend. . . .i've prepared the tank (36X18X17) for the LR, put a 4-5'' CC bed in there and am hoping to get my hands on some ZOE pretty soon to start making feeding shrimp, was told that to make sure parasites dont' enter water-freeze for 30 days. once the LR is in there, i'll throw a deadshrimp in there to cycle along. . . . . after about a month, or until there's no algae when nutrients are introduced, i will cut ALL nutrient introduction for a week, add the skimmer and then in a day add the antennata or dwarf lion, whichever i get my hands on first. . . . . . besides checking all this with you before i do it, i do have some questions. . . .
1. introducing aragonite crushed coral, there's small what looks like wood pieces in there, i set up a powerhead going into a net to collect the most that i can, but some settled to the bottom and i can't see them until i disturb things. . . . are these bad/good?
2. How am I doing?
3. Used CPR bakpak2 for $85, or used aquaC remora for $100 for the skimmer?
4. I was told that keeping a lower salinity is good for a FO tank. . . as low as 1.018!!! also told that it should be RIGHT where it is supposed to be. any suggestions on what i should do?
5. Any other comments/Suggestions/congratulations for moving to a bigger tank(jk) that you would like to add would be great
Thank you guys so much. . . reading books is great, but talking to people really fills in all the gaps. . . .
Ciao,
mike

[T-T-Trigger]

i know i will have more evap, but don't have an overflow so don't really care (yet!).

When you do have an overflow/sump evap will lower the water level in the sump, not in the main tank. The main tank water level will always be a constant.

introducing aragonite crushed coral, there's small what looks like wood pieces in there, i set up a powerhead going into a net to collect the most that i can, but some settled to the bottom and i can't see them until i disturb things. . . . are these bad/good?

Get out what you can, but it is harmless to water conditions.

put a 4-5'' CC bed in there

Probably too much for a couple reasons. One is that CCgrain size is generally large which provides areas for detritus to settle under the surface which in turn will require more diligent substrate maintenance. Two is that it will be difficult to vaccum that deep of a bed and could lead to a type of nitrAte resevoir, which will also feed algal growth. Three is that your tank is small already and there is no need to waste more space with 5" of CC.

Used CPR bakpak2 for $85, or used aquaC remora for $100 for the skimmer?

I am terrible with prices so I'll just say get the best skimmer you can afford.

hth