jconnon

I just bought a 75 gal tank from my neighbor, it has not been set up for a few years now. I think I have heaters and lighting covered but one of my questions is that he was using a Aquaclear 500 filter, they were keeping Oscars. I would like to do FOWLR. Is this fither ok for the job or should i get something else?
I have freshwater tanks I could use it on if its not good for saltwater.
I am trying to read up on what else I need for equipment so I am sure to ask a few more questions.

Shawnie

Hi jconnon..welcome to fishlore!! are you going to set this up as a saltwater tank?? im intimidated by sw tanks but im sure someone will be along with tons of information for you

jconnon

Yes Saltwater, I have always wanted to do one. I currently have a 38 gal tank with goldfish that I am going to break down as I am putting the fish that are in there outside in the pond (I have two small ponds). i also keep some KOI in the ponds and I have a 300gal Rubbermaid tank that I overwinter these guys with.
So saltwater it is! And the 75gal tank,stand, filter, heaters and other junk only cost me $75 bucks

Shawnie

what a great find!!!!!!!!!! Im in the process of doing an outdoor pond with koi..im looking up all the information and researching it ....got any pics of your pond? I think they are a great addition to the landscape

sgould

With adequate live rock, a couple of power heads, and a good protein skimmer (which I highly recommend), you actually do not need to run the aquaclear at all. Biological filtration is the main concern in a salt tank, as well as control of organic waste build up. The rock will handle the bio filtration, and the skimmer will cover the organics.

Jesses89

good find. like the above poster said... If you get plenty of live rock... a few powerheads and a skimmer you are good to go.
Id still keep the filter up and running... its good for any free floating debris it can pick up to keep your water clearer...
what type of filter is it though? does it have bioballs or is it one of those with filter pads/sponge? with using this filter i highly recommend cleaning it out every three months... all the debris build up in your filter will raise your nitrates if you dont...(when cleaning it.. just make sure you rinse the filter pad? in saltwater not freshwater... if you rinse it in freshwater .. youll kill off all the beneficial bacteria thats good for your tank... so its important.. rinse the filter pad with saltwater-remember that.)

Got a stock list already in mind?
This was my favorite part.. when i stocked my tank with fish.. kind of wish my tank was fish free so i could do it all over again.. but now that i think of it.. im fine with what i have..
Here's my stocklist for my 75

Australian Sailfin Tang
Coral Beauty Angelfish
Swallowtail Angelfish
Neon Goby
Yellow Watchman Goby
Royal Gramma
3 Green Chroms
2 Percula Clownfish
and a Lamarcks Angelfish... Which is about to go in my sisters tank.. she wont stop begging me for it...

i also forgot to add.. that youll be needing some live sand too

jconnon

The filter is a pad/sponge deal. I think this is the biggest one that they make.
I will invest in a protein skimmer, could you recommend on for this tank?
As far as a stock list I am more interested in community fish,I like the clown fish,damsels and fish like these. I also like snails,shrimp, starfish and I really like puffer fish. Not sure if these are all combinable yet.
Also where I had the tank before I had a real hard time with algae and I use a UV filter in my pond, would a UV filter be a good idea as well?

Oil_Fan

I can't answer the other questions but from what I understand, UV filters kill both bad and good bacteria. As a result, it's not something you want to use in a SW tank.

Jesses89

skip the uv filter.
there are a bunch of ways with dealing with algae.... hermits .. snails... will keep the algae down on your rocks and glass.... you can get some sort of Tang... a tang will absolutely devour any algae on your rocks... no doubt about that... but youll still have to clean the inside of your glass every few days... no going around that.
the skimmer i have in my tank is a Red Sea Prizm skimmer rated for 100 gall... works real good, keeps the water crystal clear. always foaming... so i know its removing the impurities in my tank...
you could go for the smaller species of puffers? Like the tobies?
but if you want snails ... shrimp... a starfish.. or any inverts...
i wouldnt recommend a puffer in your tank...
also, skip the damsels
You can risk it.... i think if you keep the puffer well fed.. it wont go after your inverts... but dont put it on me.



got a stocklist yet?

GreenMan13

Just curious...what kind of lighting does it have? How much wattage?

Jesses89

Hes doing a FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock)... lighting isnt important. Whatever lighting is adequate.

GreenMan13

That's why I was only curious. Just wanted to know what kind of light he got with the tank.

sirdarksol

Lighting is always important.
In this case, the concern would be "does the aquarium have an excess of light?" or possibly "Is the current owner going to be wasting electricity on unused MH light?" If a previous owner had kept hard corals, there might be a seriously overpowered setup in there.
Anyway, if there's a ton of light and nothing soaking up extra nutrients, this tank could very quickly become covered in algae.
It's just something to be aware of. It also may affect certain non-coral choices, such as clams or anenomes, that can be kept in the tank.

Peterpiper

I agree with sirdarksol, and would add that lighting will affect the Coraline algae. If you are using standard T8 lights, you should use 50/50 mix of bulbs as just using the "white" bulbs will produce more light in the red spectrum and this can lead to algae problems.
IMO, T5 lights would be a better option as you will find yourself looking at some corals sooner or later..