Any reef fish tank guys here?

[chip104]

Hi T, how long have you had your oscars for and how big of a tank were they in?

edit, nevermind I saw the first post. What filtration setup did you have for them?

 

[ReefGuy]

If you've ever used medication in your oscar tank, you may not be able to use it for salt. Copper is a common ingredient in freshwater medications, but is deadly to salt inverts. Fish should be ok, but no coral or cleanup crew.

 

[JustAddWater]

I had a 55 gallon reef tank with a large Emperor filter/bio wheel. Though it was relatively small for a reef tank, it did quite well. The biggest problem was algae maintenace, especially after returning from a vacation. I kept 2 Sumatra clownfish w/ anemone, watchman goby, miniature lionfish,cardinalfish, and a forest xenia coral that was so prolific I would occaisionally sell some back to the aquarium shop for credit.
I really enjoyed it and plan on setting up a new system now that we have moved into our new home. Before I went with a reef system, I had a 45 gallon tank with African cichlids. They are beautiful fish, and with substantial lighting and crushed coral substrate make a very nice aquarium, and the upkeep seemed much simpler. Then again, keeping a reef system is a hobby, and the work does pay off. Good luck with yours

 

[t to the maxx2]

If you've ever used medication in your oscar tank, you may not be able to use it for salt. Copper is a common ingredient in freshwater medications, but is deadly to salt inverts. Fish should be ok, but no coral or cleanup crew.

Even if I do alot of clean up on it and wash it out a few times? That really sucks. What if I bring it outside and fill it with water and add alot of declore and whatnot and run water through it for a while?

 

[ReefGuy]

The copper is absorbed into the silacone that joins the tank together. I think the only thing you can do is remove all the silacone and redo it. IE not worth it.

 

[hdtran]

Im thinking of setting up a nano reef. I have had a few tanks in the past, and currently own a 45 gallon fresh with 2 oscars and a 65 gallon salt with a 3 ft eel. Im thinking setting up a 15 gallon or so reef, how much am I looking to spend? And any recomendations on equipment?

If you have to ask "how much am I looking to spend," you can't afford it

Seriously: For salt water (esp. reef!), the bigger the tank, the easier it is. Among other things, I've had a 29g salt, 120g reef (still going), and a 5g nano-salt for unwanted live rock hitchhikers. The critters from the 29g salt migrated into the 120g reef; the 5g nano-salt was taken down after the octopus died of old age, and converted to a betta tank for the spouse. The 120g is by far the easiest tank to maintain with the most stable chemistry for the least effort.

If you want a 15g reef, you're looking at a minimum of $100 or so on lights (pc, most probably; something like the coralife pc fixtures), or more if you DIY a hybrid pc/halide setup (though I've heard that with LED illumination, things might get interesting); and probably another $100 or so on a protein skimmer.

Ditto the recommendations for Bob Fenner's "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist." I'd also recommend "Natural Reef Aquariums" (John Tullock, if memory serves me right). John Tullock also has a relatively inexpensive book (Barron's publishing) where he describes setting up a 29/30g reef.

I'm a huge fan of live rock, and a very satisfied customer of Tampa Bay Saltwater's "cultured" LR.

For a regular (50g or more), both reefs.org and reefcentral.com have good fora. I believe either nanoreef or nano-reef (or some similar permutation) has a very nice discussion group aimed at 20g or less. reefs.org has a nano-reef subforum where members discuss their construction & progress on a nano.

That said, nanos can be tricky because your chemistry can go sideways in a hurry. And the evaporative losses must be made up daily (if not more frequently). But if you're willing to live with a single fish (or better, an invert only nano), your critters would probably be happy. A nano with just corals, algaes, cleanup critters, and shrimp colony could be interesting.

Finally, like all pets, you've got to make arrangements to have the tank fed, watered, etc. when you go on a (scuba) vacation!

 

[chip104]

IMHO, I wouldn't recommend you spend on a nano reef. They are way more meticulous to care for than oscars - and oscars are pretty easy (I've had mine for 4 years now with minimum care).

But that's just my opinon. All the best in whatever you decide.