Jump to content
SaltCritters.com

Best AIO for beginner?


If_Only

Recommended Posts

I would LOVE a dwarf golden moray but the price tag on them is a bit high for me, being that most are more expensive then my tank. But I was looking into radial filefish? could one or a pair of those go into a IM 25 lagoon?

 

Link to comment
3 hours ago, If_Only said:

Alright so I just went to the LFS cause its right by the supermarket and I went in for a little peak and I see there is a slightly run down 125 5' bow front, with sump (no stand) for only $150, how much would that cost to run as a soft coral tank? I would love to be able to keep a trigger... but I bet the expenses will really tack on huh?

 

Triggers don't generally go well with reefs and the only trigger recommended for a tank that size (and it's generally a 6 foot long 125) is the Blue Throat Trigger.  The good news is that the Blue Throat is considered one of the better triggers for corals and aggression.  As for the expenses?   Even if you go light on the rockwork and go as cheap as possible with the corals (ie Leather Mushrooms) it's still likely going to be well into the $1K range by the time you get all the equipment, supplies and aquarium related accessories for this setup.  As someone who started with a 36 gallon bowfront that was sumpless and then moved up to a 90 gallon with a 29 gallon sump, I can say I am glad that I didn't start with my 90.  The 90 was a big step up in the amount of equipment, plumbing required and time spent cleaning the tank, equipment ect.  Ideally a tank with 40 breeder dimensions would be perfect for a first tank.  As for the recommendations of 30-40 gallons for Dwarf Angels, I am going to have to disagree with that for most.  Many of them get aggressive in smaller tanks as they need lots of space and rockwork to swim in and around.  I had a Flame Angel in my 36 gallon who was an unholy terror to his tank mates and a coral nipper to boot.  On the other hand I have a Coral Beauty in my current 90 gallon who has been a near model citizen.  I do think that a Pygmy Angel (ie Cherubfish, Flameback) would be okay in a 40 breeder type tank with more assertive tank mates.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
2 minutes ago, Jesterrace said:

Triggers don't generally go well with reefs and the only trigger recommended for a tank that size (and it's generally a 6 foot long 125) is the Blue Throat Trigger.  The good news is that the Blue Throat is considered one of the better triggers for corals and aggression.  As for the expenses?   Even if you go light on the rockwork and go as cheap as possible with the corals (ie Leather Mushrooms) it's still likely going to be well into the $1K range by the time you get all the equipment, supplies and aquarium related accessories for this setup.  As someone who started with a 36 gallon bowfront that was sumpless and then moved up to a 90 gallon with a 29 gallon sump, I can say I am glad that I didn't start with my 90.  The 90 was a big step up in the amount of equipment, plumbing required and time spent cleaning the tank, equipment ect.  Ideally a tank with 40 breeder dimensions would be perfect for a first tank.  As for the recommendations of 30-40 gallons for Dwarf Angels, I am going to have to disagree with that for most.  Many of them get aggressive in smaller tanks as they need lots of space and rockwork to swim in and around.  I had a Flame Angel in my 36 gallon who was an unholy terror to his tank mates and a coral nipper to boot.  On the other hand I have a Coral Beauty in my current 90 gallon who has been a near model citizen.  I do think that a Pygmy Angel (ie Cherubfish, Flameback) would be okay in a 40 breeder type tank with more assertive tank mates.  

Yeah my favorite fish (fresh and salt) are blue throat triggers, and triggers in general. But I feel that a large tank propably would work to well so I think I might do a 40 breeder with a Fiji cube or a IM lagoon 25 the only reason I don't want to do the 40 breeder is light it would be tough I love AI primes but getting 2 would be expensive... but I've heard that dwarf angels art to bad in 40 breeders, is that not true?

Link to comment
3 hours ago, If_Only said:

Yeah I guess you all are right I might go smaller, I might try a IM 40, or a 25 lagoon, I would like a tank that can be lit by one AI prime, and I have some experience with larger tanks I maintain a 550g planted tank at the store I help at (I know, freshwater) but I guess a smaller tank would be better, I just really want a fish like a tang or large wrasse that is a little more unique and not just clowns and a goby shrimp pair (which is what I would do for a small size) any really unique fish for a 40 IM nuvo?

I got some news for ya....nothing unique about tangs or most wrasse unless you dropping 1k on a gem tang. They everywhere.

 

I have a blue star leopard wrasse... Fathead Anthia...pictus blenny and helfrichi firefish in my IM25g... I wouldnt say they are all beginner fish.

 

Teenyreef has a small spotted puffer. Some people keep pipefish.

 

There are plenty of fish way less common than a silly tang but any uncommon fish is either:

Hard to find

Special care 

Expensive

 

Otherwise everyone would have them.

 

Angels are beautiful although most not uncommon or rare. I would keep them but I like to keep LPS and Clams....really the clam card beats angels.

  • Like 1
Link to comment

In my lagoon I have 2 clowns and a midas blenny.

They may not be uncommon fish but they are entertaining.

Blennies are awesome fish.

 

There are a lot of nice fish you can do in the 25g 

 

Purple firefish

Canary blenny

Midas blenny

6 line wrasse

 

These are 4 I can think of.

 

 

Link to comment
10 hours ago, If_Only said:

I would LOVE a dwarf golden moray but the price tag on them is a bit high for me, being that most are more expensive then my tank. But I was looking into radial filefish? could one or a pair of those go into a IM 25 lagoon?

 

Yes, for sure. A pair would do well on that size tank.

Link to comment
30 minutes ago, William said:

Yes, for sure. A pair would do well on that size tank.

 

7 hours ago, Clown79 said:

In my lagoon I have 2 clowns and a midas blenny.

They may not be uncommon fish but they are entertaining.

Blennies are awesome fish.

 

There are a lot of nice fish you can do in the 25g 

 

Purple firefish

Canary blenny

Midas blenny

6 line wrasse

 

These are 4 I can think of.

 

 

I do love Midas blennys... I also like six lines and filefish, and I know tangs are not the most unique but I think they are super cool to watch in a big tank (keyword BIG) so I might try my pair of clowns, watchmen shrimp pair and a filefish, Midas blenny or sixtine, which would go the best? (out of those three not all three. Also I will have a cleaner shrimp... Thanks for all the help!

Link to comment

4 fish that aren't large would be the max i would recommend in a 25g. It's not really 25g of water in the end.

 

 

Firefish can't be kept with small inverts and may nip corals. It's a peaceful fish whereas blennies,clowns, and 6 line are semi aggressive.

 

It requires feeding a few times a day as well.

 

 

6 lines are cool but can become aggressive towards others if there isn't adequate room for it.

 

 

A watchman/pistol pair is super cool.

 

 

I have clowns and a midas so I'm biased. I love them. Blenny Fishe are my favourite.

 

Check out liveaquaria.com thry have lots of info and a compatibility chart

Link to comment

I have not had any issues with captive bred radial filefish picking on mobile invertebrates. The pair I had would occasionally nip at a gorgonian polyp if they were super hungry, but with adequate feeding (once a day) they were model citizens. The captive bred “aptasia eating” filefish I currently have is the same, with the exception that he will eat aptasia in the aquarium. In my opinion, you could have the fish you described in the 25 lagoon if you added them slowly, ramped up biological filtration (ie adding marinepure blocks/spheres etc), and kept on top of water changes. 

 

Some factors that need to be thought about when decideding your aquariums stocking plan is the biological impact of the fish, and the space requirements of the fish. While in general they correlate, they don’t always have to.

 

For the biological component, you want to determine the biological load your aquarium can handle (a 20 gal display with the filtration capacity of a 100gal could handle significant more bioload than a 20 gal with properly sized filtration). You can increase your biological carrying capacity by adding biological filter media (marine pure, maxspect, brightwell), a protein skimmer, biopelllet reactor, or Cheato reactor. 

 

Determining the actual space the fish need is another factor. In doing so you need to look at the demensions of your aquarium. Do your fish stay mainly in the water column, do they stay mostly by the sand, do they prefer verticle space verses horizontal space. All of these factors will determine your stocking options. 

 

Do I think you can have a dwarf angel in a 25 lagoon, absolutely. I would recommend staying away from the more agressive species and focus on less agressive and smaller species. The captive bred coral beauty angels produced by biota would be a good option. Another good option would be the dwarf  “cherub” angel. I would avoid the Sixline wrasse as they are notoriously territorial. You will need to also look at the behavior of your fish, are they prone to jumping? If so you will need a screen top for your aquarium. 

 

I hope this is helpful. 

Link to comment

Alright so I've been looking around and I really like hectors goby, they look awesome and I think that 2 clowns a goby shrimp pair and a hectors goby, the a cleaner shrimp. Think I could add a filefish to the group.

 

 

Link to comment
9 hours ago, Clown79 said:

4 fish that aren't large would be the max i would recommend in a 25g. It's not really 25g of water in the end.

 

 

Firefish can't be kept with small inverts and may nip corals. It's a peaceful fish whereas blennies,clowns, and 6 line are semi aggressive.

 

It requires feeding a few times a day as well.

 

 

6 lines are cool but can become aggressive towards others if there isn't adequate room for it.

 

 

A watchman/pistol pair is super cool.

 

 

I have clowns and a midas so I'm biased. I love them. Blenny Fishe are my favourite.

 

Check out liveaquaria.com thry have lots of info and a compatibility chart

Oh and another quick question would be what is the general consensus on Current USA orbit marine PRO leds? if they are any good I might give them a try on a 40 breeder reef then I could probably keep more fish... I also love the loop system.

Link to comment

You'd probably be limited to low light corals mostly, especially in a 40b.

 

Again, Id rather do a small tank done right than budget build a large tank. If you're really interested in corals. But if you really just want fish, why not just go fish only and build a fowlr system?

  • Like 2
Link to comment

Alright, I might try them or I might do a 40 breeder, just a love fish and coral, and the fish I like mostly get large, and a large tank would be pricy to run as a reef... so im at a fat cross roads... But I would try 2 current USA marine PROs which I've heard can grow most softies and a decent amount of LPS... any other opinions?

Link to comment

If you want bigger get the JBJ 45 and copy eat_sleep_reef’s build. He’s got a lot of video ion YouTube and Instagram and is a testament to what can be done with an AIO with nice equipment. 

Link to comment
2 minutes ago, If_Only said:

Alright, I might try them or I might do a 40 breeder, just a love fish and coral, and the fish I like mostly get large, and a large tank would be pricy to run as a reef... so im at a fat cross roads... But I would try 2 current USA marine PROs which I've heard can grow most softies and a decent amount of LPS... any other opinions?

Don’t buy two of those lights and then rebuy lights again 6 months later. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment

I can't imagine the quality of the current lights being much higher than the better Chinese black boxes, so I'd look into those. You could get all the light you'd need for around the same price. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
1 minute ago, shaner014 said:

If you want bigger get the JBJ 45 and copy eat_sleep_reef’s build. He’s got a lot of video ion YouTube and Instagram and is a testament to what can be done with an AIO with nice equipment. 

I like that tank, I've seen some cool stuff down with them, I accually LOVE eat_sleep_reef and I've had a few instagram DM conversations with him.. but ill check that out

 

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...