First Saltwater Aquarium - Caribbean Biotope

[mromano2]

I grew up swimming, snorkeling, and diving in Florida. I moved away from the ocean almost 15 years ago and have been trying to find a way to stay in touch with the water which was such an impactful part of my youth. After always researching and talking about it but never taking action, I made the decision to start a saltwater tank. I'll document my journey here and would love feedback from all of you!

I purchased a 45 gallon Red Sea Max E170 off of Facebook Marketplace (no sump) with all of the standard parts plus a few upgrades and about 40 pounds of formerly live rock (was sitting in a garage for about 3 months). Took a decent amount of cleaning to get it ready, but I think I'm close.

Return Pump: Stock 2150 lph
Light: AI Prime HD
Skimmer: Stock MSK 900 Rear Sump Protein Skimmer
ATO: Innovative Marine Hydrofill Ti ATO
Wavemaker: Jebao SOW-4 Wave Maker

Corals seem a bit intimidating to dive right into, so my plan is to start with a FOWLR tank for about 6 months to get into a routine and stabilize all the basics. Then I'll start making upgrades to my water and testing kits to make it coral ready.

From a stocking standpoint, I'm thinking the following. Anything you'd recommend for a Caribbean biotope?

- Neon goby (x2)
- Yellow-headed jawfish
- Royal Gramma
- Blue Chromis (x3)
- Maybe a juvenile atlantic blue tang (with the understanding that I'd only keep him for a year or 2 before he'd outgrow the tank)
- Pederson cleaner shrimp
- Peppermint shrimp (still need to figure out if these will get along with the pederson)

I've got ~35 pounds of live sand and a couple pounds of live rock from TBS coming that I'll use to augment or replace the existing rock I have. But I'll use that to start my cycle and add in a chromis or 2 from my LFS in a week or 2 after that.

Here's the initial aquascape plan, but it's subject to change once I see the live rock I'm getting. Any suggestions?

 

[Rtaylor]

Looks good! You might need a few more caves with that many fish. You’ll need a minimum of 3-4” of sand for the jawfish, the rule of thumb for sand is 1 lb per gallon per inch. So, you probably need 100l-135 lbs of sand (tank dimensions do matter for sand depth).

Maybe consider some macro algae and gorgonians from Florida. Below are two good sites for sourcing FL stock:

Macro Algae: Your Source For Quality Marine Plants and Macroalgae | Gulf Coast Ecosystems

We specialize in saltwater Macroalgae and Seagrass | GCE has the largest selection of Macroalgae online, offering over 35 different species

www.live-plants.com

Welcome to KPAquatics

We are providing healthy, hand-captured Atlantic Sea Life for over 25 years. We would like to tell you more about us and who we are. Please click here to learn more. Ship Days / Guarantee We normally ship every Monday and Tuesday to ensure save arrival of your order. Follow this link for...

www.kpaquatics.com

Here are some pics of stuff I got from Gulf Coast Ecosystems:

 

[mromano2]

Those are great suggestions. Thank you!

 

[farfromsea]

You probably already have one, but a lid will keep the jawfish from jumping out lol. I loved mine! I had a mix of finer sand and crushed coral so they could build tunnels and they liked an empty shell to cover their home at night

Aquascape is nice that you have!

 

[00W]

Looks good! You might need a few more caves with that many fish. You’ll need a minimum of 3-4” of sand for the jawfish, the rule of thumb for sand is 1 lb per gallon per inch. So, you probably need 100l-135 lbs of sand (tank dimensions do matter for sand depth).

Maybe consider some macro algae and gorgonians from Florida. Below are two good sites for sourcing FL stock:

Macro Algae: Your Source For Quality Marine Plants and Macroalgae | Gulf Coast Ecosystems

We specialize in saltwater Macroalgae and Seagrass | GCE has the largest selection of Macroalgae online, offering over 35 different species

www.live-plants.com

Welcome to KPAquatics

We are providing healthy, hand-captured Atlantic Sea Life for over 25 years. We would like to tell you more about us and who we are. Please click here to learn more. Ship Days / Guarantee We normally ship every Monday and Tuesday to ensure save arrival of your order. Follow this link for...

www.kpaquatics.com

Here are some pics of stuff I got from Gulf Coast Ecosystems:

Your stuff is always so incredible!

 

[mromano2]

You probably already have one, but a lid will keep the jawfish from jumping out lol. I loved mine! I had a mix of finer sand and crushed coral so they could build tunnels and they liked an empty shell to cover their home at night

Aquascape is nice that you have!

Definitely. I’ve got a lid ready and should be safe on that front. And I have a few shells from Florida as well that I’m planning to add in, so that should work out well too

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Great looking tank!

 

[Seansea]

You might want to look into tampa bay saltwater rock. Comes with carribean life already loaded on it. Also will instantly cycle your tank

 

[mromano2]

You might want to look into tampa bay saltwater rock. Comes with carribean life already loaded on it. Also will instantly cycle your tank

That’s exactly where I’m getting all my sand and some additional rock! All of the reviews look incredible and I can’t wait to see what comes through this week.