Starting my Saltwater tank build

[Bhor217]

hey all,

I wanted to start a build thread for my a new SW tank. I am hoping to get a reef ready glass tank that is either 90G or 120G (if I can find a 48” sized 120G tank, that is my preference. if anyone has knows where I can find one, please let me know, feedback I am getting is it is a newer tank and not always readily available)

Looking to set up an aggressive fish set up with the following stock:

• 1-2 huma triggers
• Porcupine puffer
• Volitan Lionfish
• Snowflake eel

Any thoughts on stock compatibility and load? From my research and past experience, I have had no issues with thes fish, so am confident in these choices. Do you think more fish can be fit in the tank? Plan on getting them small and letting them grow and thrive, so any feedback here is appreciated!

Would love to see some examples of cool layouts of aggressive FO tanks if anyone has pictures to show off! Am looking for any and all ideas here to make my tank look great and work well with the marinelife.

Still sourcing equipment such as protein skimmer, wet/dry filter, heater and more, goal is to have as much equipment hidden in Sump as possible, and have a nice canopy that hides the lights as well.

I know coral is not in question with these fish, and seems like a minimalist approach with dry sand and dry rock is the best option from the feedback I am getting from my local fish expert, but wanted to get feedback on the complete lack of live rock due to the biological filtration benefits that it will serve.

I look forward to updating the thread as I go! I am new to the forums but have already learned so much. Great to have you all here!

 

[NY_Caveman]

Sounds like a good plan. If you go with dry rock, just be sure to mature it for a while. I would actually start curing, then cycling it now in a bucket or bin while you gather equipment.

 

[SPR1968]

Sounds like a great build thread and welcome to R2R it’s great to have you with us!

 

[Zakery Murray]

Go for the 125 that way there is more than enough room. What are you going to put in first to last?

 

[Bhor217]

Will likely do them in pairs, with the Snowflake Eel and Porcupine puffer first and then the Huma and Lionfish second. Thoughts?

I have settled on a 48" length for my tank, and am deciding between a 90G, 120G or 150G. Goal is to get a 120G in the 48" length footprint, but am having some trouble locating that sized tank that is reef ready, I don't have the skills/knowledge to build from scratch, so i am depending on the guy who helped me set up my first tank when I was a kid.

If I get a 120G or 150G, what are your thoughts on my bioload? the 4 fish I have chosen so far are locked in, any suggestions for others?

 

[reacclimating 2 the hobby]

Welcome to R2R... sucker for predator tanks as I got hooked on the hobby with a niger trigger and a lion fish.

 

[Bhor217]

The more I research, the more I realize that unfortunately the huma and Lionfish likely will not mix, if anyone has positive experience let me know please!

Any suggestions for a 4th and possibly 5th fish? Considering panther grouper but know my tank size would be stretching it.

 

[Bhor217]

I have finally placed my equipment order, I settled on the 150G which fit the footprint I was looking for, and the added benefit of getting it on sale! I have listed

-150 Gallon Marineland Reef-Ready tank with black sealant
-Marineland majesty series stand with custom canopy
-overflow kit
-48 inch advanced led light
-Eshoops Wet/Dry 150
-titanium heater with controller
-Bubble Magus curve 7 skimmer
-Jebao dc 8000 return pump
-Caribsea Hawiian Black Substrate- 100 pounds
-RODI water from an established tank
-decorations- dead coral and dry rock, minimalist design to accommodate a Fish-Only set up.

Locked in Livestock:
-Volitans Lionfish
-Porcupine Pufferfish
-Snowflake Eel

Potential Livestock:
Picasso Trigger
Spiny Box Puffer

I am very open to ideas for livestock, they just need to be compatible with the first 3 fish listed, and able to thrive in a 150G 48"w tank. I feel like 4-5 or is probably my max bioload since the fish I have chosen get large.

 

[Bhor217]

Tank is officially stocked with the fish I have wanted/dreamed of!

-Picasso Trigger and Porcupine Puffer went in 4/10
-Black Volitans Lionfish went in on 5/1
-Harlequin Tusk, Mappa Puffer and Snowflake Eel went in 6/2

Will be sharing pictures later when I get home, but so excited to have all these guys in the tank.

 

[Bhor217]

Man, and I thought I was bad at taking pictures of people! Here is an FTS and pictures of all the inhabitants. I will likely be replacing some of the coral decorations with LR, but don't have a specific plan for that yet.

All fish are babies or juveniles, which is exactly what I wanted. Sat in front of tank for a good hour last night just watching, other than the eel being an escape artists (gotten into overflow twice already) everything has gone better than expected!

 

[Bhor217]

Tank has been officially wet for 3 months now. All parameters have stabled out. I was battling very high nitrates due to bioload and the age of the tank, but after a week of large aggressive water changes, my nitrates are down to 30-40, which I am extremely satisfied with being in a FOWLR.

My Mappa puffer stays jet black about 80 percent of the time, my theory is the black substrate causes him to turn black as well. It is cool to see, but i gotta say that I loved when he was gold!

Current Stock list:

Fish:
-Porcupine Puffer
-Mappa Puffer
-Black Volitans Lionfish
-Picasso Trigger
-Snowflake Eel
-Harlequin Tusk

Inverts:
-4 turbo snails
-6 red legged hermits
-1 large red hairy hermit
-1 chocolate chip starfish

 

[The Salty Reefer]

good stuff looks great

 

[Bhor217]

Went in a very different direction with my tank, from a predator FO tank to a mixed reef! I am just starting down this new path but am enjoying it, other than the constant sticker shock of coral prices! Started adding coral about 3 weeks ago once my new Orphek light was installed.
Coral List (still learning the fancy names, my focus has just been on species I like and colors that catch my eyes rather than focus on any trends)
-3 hammers
-4 acans
-2 blastos
-2 trachyphillia
- scolymia
-octospawn
-toadstool leather
-pipe organ
-fox coral
-goniastrea
-favia
-zoanthids
- clove polyp
-candy canes
-lepto
-pocillopora

Livestock
2 black ice clownfish
banded cat shark
snowflake eel
usual CUC suspects
Anemone (I was told it was Colorado sunburst but I have my reservations)

 

[Bhor217]

Been a long time since i updated my thread so thought it was time! Alot of changes since the last update. Here is my current stock list:

Livestock:
Niger Trigger
Pintail Fairy Wrasse
Yellow Corris Wrasse
Melanarus Wrasse
3x Pajama Cardinals
2x Ocellaris Clownfish
Mandarin Dragonet
Reef Lobster
Red Serpent Sea Star
Coral Banded Shrimp

Coral:
Many LPS, Mushrooms and Zoas

 

[Bhor217]

added 2 leopard wrasses and an exquisite wrasse to the system! Earlier this year, my interest was waning, and my tank shows that, happy to say now my tank is about 95% rebounded and all inhabitants are thriving and growing!