Hi From Albuquerque!

[Auquanut]

Welcome! I'm considering starting a FOWLR tank as well. As @albano suggested, you may want to consider the use of live rock as it will help considerably with biological filtration. As far as fish go, a lot of it is personal preference. If you go to some of the online vendors, Liveaquaria is a good one, you can find requirements for different fish. Tank size, compatability, feeding requirements, etc...

 

[CasaReefer]

Hi Marc... Welcome to R2R.. Thanks for jumping in..

 

[The Aquatic Arsenal]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[Gernader]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[MarcF]

Hey everyone.
Thank you for the enthusiastic welcome.
When I started tanking in the early 80’s, there was no internet, much less forums. You had to ask your questions of your friend’s uncle who once had a 30 gal saltwater tank, or the high school kid at the counter, at Petland Discounts.
Now there is a scientific body of knowledge, and a community of experienced fish keepers, willing to share.
Thank you very much.
I love forums.
I’m in the painters forum now (I paint).
And the classical guitar forum (I play classical guitar).
A couple others too.
I have many interests.
Thank you all, one more time.
I’ll be around with my questions,
For now, still waiting on delivery of tank.

 

[kichimark]

 

[Jcagle09]

Welcome to R2R!!

 

[Bruce17]

I'm starting up a 90. I have a loose plan. I had some tanks in the 1980's but not since. I'd really like some help in deciding how to go forward.
I basically blew the budget on the startup, figuring I'll wait to really stock it once it's running and stable. I see most people have reef tanks - meaning, live corals as well as fish. It makes for a beautiful display, but I'm leaning towards fish only, for a number of reasons. One is cost, and the other is specialization.
As I said I'm new to the hobby, at least for the first time in decades. Some things have changed and some haven't.
One change is the availability of live coral.It was almost unheard of way back. And combining fish with invertebrates was considered very rash. And part of that is the specialization factor. Sure fish and invertebrates can thrive together - I mean, look at all the beautiful displays of the forum membership. But they do have slightly different requirements in terms of specific gravity, light, and water chemistry. That tells me that the ideal environment is slightly different for invertebrates and fish. Also the cost of a tiny splotch of color on a tile, that will someday grow into a beautiful, thriving coral head, gives me a taste for fish. not that they are cheap - but I think you get more for the dollar in a fish that has eyes, fins, a brain, and swims around the tank.
What I am asking is, if I'm going for fish only, at least for the foreseeable future, would you prefer a larger number of smaller fish, or several sizable fish. In a 90 I should be able to fit - I don't know, someone tell me. It's 48" x 18" x 24". It has an overflow and sump, wave-maker, but no skimmer yet.
Does anyone else do fish only? I'd like to see either a school or a busy community of small fry, or else several more stately, and big ones. 4 hand size fish, in a 90 gallon aquarium, cruising around? Is that asking too much?
Ideally, I would like to start with 4-8 smaller - inch size fish, of the kind that can live together happily and grow to a larger size, still not challenging the biolimit of the system.
That's my vision. At the moment I only have a sparse setup - 3 pieces of cast coral, and a plastic plant. And 3 bags of sand. That's it. I'll get some more rock, but I don't even have the tank here yet.
So, I'm looking for suggestions on starting up a fish only (for now) tank. I have the LED light for fish, test kit for fish, and a glass canopy.
Thanks.

Welcome to R2R

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Welcome to you new favorite place .

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Howdy and welcome to R2R!

 

[Daniel92481]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[BeejReef]

Welcome!
Give any thought to a macro algae/planted tank?

 

[MarcF]

Welcome!
Give any thought to a macro algae/planted tank?

I don’t know what it is. I can get a loose image based on the description- but I haven’t thought about it. Can you describe it? And why you like it?

 

[tupes]

Hey @MarcF !! Glad to have you here. Please kick off your fins and stay a while.

 

[Ruben's Reef]

!!! Welcome to R2R !!!

 

[Murica]

Welcome!!!

 

[Samina]

Welcome to R2R!!

 

[BeejReef]

Welcome!
Give any thought to a macro algae/planted tank?

If you've googled it, you know as much about it as I do. The thought just occurred bc it's a nice way to get some color and movement in a tank where the fish are the focus. Also, many of the macro algaes are edible and nutritious to herbivores. I also don't believe the lighting requirements are nearly as intense. Just throwing it out there is all. Best of luck.

 

[LiveWire]

Welcome to the REEF!!

 

[MarcF]

I appreciate the warm welcome and thank you. If I didn't LIKE your comment, it's not because I don't like it. You understand. I've posted a thread called, How Much? I'm kind of updating my progress there. I might as well use that thread to continue with that so, if you do want to follow me - a 68 yr old retiree who had a 55 gal tank 35 years ago and now I'm starting a new system. A 90 gal Aqueon I think I mentioned above - which I don't even have yet. It's coming this Thursday. So catch up with me in How Much? Thank you all again. It's one of the side benefits of getting into this hobby - the community around the world that you can join, via forms such as this.