FO tank

[C.Mydas]

Ok so Brian and I are moving this summer which means I get to upgrade!!!! I've got a 125g in storage that I want to convert to a Fish Only tank, I know a lot of you have predator tanks so hopefully this is too far off the 'reef' topic.

There are so many options!! Wrasses, triggers, puffers!!

So I have a radiata lionfish and a dwarf zebra lion. The 'must have' fish for this tank is a dogface puffer. I would also like a wrasse of some sort. Is that do-able or should I stick to the 2 lions and a puffer? (The sump and skimmer will be plenty for this tank).

My other question is has anyone ever done barebottom in a Fish Only tank?..and is it recommended?

I would prefer Barebottom b/c over the next couple of years we will have to move again and I dont want to have to worry about moving or replacing a sand bed until we get settled somewhere for at least a few years.

Thanks! Id appreciate any help..We've only done reef tanks so this is kind of a new area for me.
-Christina

PS- JOSHUA..didn't you go barebottom in your reef? Can you post or PM me some pics so I can see it?
Thanks

[don-n-sa]

Back when I started my "Fish Only" tank that ended up being a aggressive reef, I really wanted a lion with my puffer. Well after much reading I decided not to do it because all that I have heard and read is that puffers will nip the fins on the slow moving lions. IF I were to do it over again I might try it but only if the lions were established first and I got a very young puffer that I kept well fed from the start.

As for the bare bottom FO...hmm I do not recommend that either for this main reason.

1. Substrate such as aragonite acts like a buffer for PH, without that you will need to dose buffers pretty heavily, or have a large refugium with sand in it but like you said you don't want to have to move it. Barebottom works well in some reefs because they have a low BIO load, in which a FO tank with Lions and Puffers will not have a low bio load.

I recommend doing a 2" deep special grade reef aragonite and just stirr it up every water change to keep it from becoming funky. I did this with my 100g and when I moved it all into my 240g it smelled like fresh seawater.

[C.Mydas]

Thanks guys. I didn't think about those issues. Ill go ahead with the sand bed...that means I can keep my wrasses too. =)

[Tim Marvin]

I hope it is a climate controlled storage. TX heat can be really bad on silicon in storage. You may want to get it back before it gets too hot.

[Polkster13]

The heat and cold as well as the silicone being dry will cause it to become brittle. Once that happens, it is only a matter of time before a seal breaks and you have a mess. Any time you get an old tank that has not had water in it check the silicone and see if it is soft or brittle. If brittle, pass on the tank or use it to keep reptiles or hamsters or the like. If soft, set it up somewhere that if it fails it won;t damage anything and then fill it with water and let it sit for several days if not a week. Check for any leakage. Then and only then should you move the tank inside.

[GaryP]

Typically, the problem most FO owners see is with nitrate. That's because of the large amount of feeding, and resulting waste, they get in a tank. Removal of nitrate by denitirfication takes place to a large degree in a DSB. That's why I would run a DSB unless you are going to also run a huge skimmer and fuge. I know Don-in-SA is seeing some nitrates in his tank with a big skimmer and fuge but he is on top of it and doing some things to bring the levels down. I will say though, that he is carrying a larger bioload than anyone I know of and some nitrates are to be expected. He does have some sand in his tank but not enough to be considered a DSB.

The reason for nitrates in any tank is a break down in the nitrogen cycle. There are inadequate anoxic bacteria (low oxygen) to process the nitrate being produced by aerobic bacteria (oxygen loving). The only way to cure this is to provide areas where these anoxic bacteria can thrive. To make things more complicated, anoxic bacteria don't metabolize as quickly as aerobic bacteria. In other words, they can make nitrates faster than the nitrates are converted by the anoxic bacteria. The cure for this is to make sure there is a large volume for the anoxic bacteria to thrive.

You might want to talk to Felipe at FA about plenums. That might be a good option for you. On the other hand, if you are not interested in keeping any inverts in your tank, then just go with a bare bottom and a big wet/dry and forget about nitrates. Nitrates are not toxic to fish. Of course that is going to limit you on what you can put in there in the way of snails and other clean-up critters too. You'll be cursing yourself when the inevitable hair algae outbreak occurs.

[gjuarez]

I have always wanted to have 250g + tank with aragonite, little bit of live rock and a coulpe of sharks. I think it looks very exotic. I would have a huge skimmer to compensate for the lack of biological filtration from the little bit of live rock.

[BA]

I have always wanted to have 250g + tank with aragonite, little bit of live rock and a coulpe of sharks. I think it looks very exotic. I would have a huge skimmer to compensate for the lack of biological filtration from the little bit of live rock.

my dream too...hehe..just need one more shark, and maybe a yellow stingray...

[Polkster13]

In this month's Aquarium Fish magazine the majority of the issue is dedicated to ponds. In it they have a section on making a saltwater pond big enough to house black tip reef sharks as well as nurse sharks and the smaller speceis of wobblegongs and cat sharks. I didn't pick up the issue but I am sure it would make interesting reading. I have always dreamed of turning a large swimming pool into a shark tank (ala James Bond). That would be too cool.

[mathias]

yea and no need for lights but imagine dumping in 1000 crabs at a time lol