Looking to Get My Toes Wet for the First Time

Niko1808 · 01/04/2016, 08:30 PM

Hello, this is my first post so I'd like to start by introducing myself. I'm Nikolai, glad to be here!

I've been thinking about getting a saltwater aquarium for about half a year. I have a general idea about what I'm going to do, but I still have many questions, so hopefully you guys/gals can lend me some of your experience and knowledge.

To start off I'd like to go over the physical setup and make sure I'm not overlooking anything. I'm open to any suggestions you guys have, but I live in Canada so my list of retailers is fairly short compared to my southern neighbours.

Aquarium & Stand - 60 Gallon Marineland Heartland Ensemble http://m.petsmart.com/h5/hub?id=fish..._id%3D36-17295

Filtration - I've read that as far as filtration goes the methods generally come in the following order, from best to worst: reactor, canister, power. But I would like to try and keep the inside of the tank fairly clear without having to set up a sump, so I was hoping a HOB power filter and skimmer would be sufficient, hopefully someone with some experience has some insight. If I were to go with a hang on back power filter, should I use one for a larger size tank as reef systems have a much higher bio-load than freshwater systems? HOB Protein Skimmer http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-st...n-Fitting.html HOB Power Filter http://m.petsmart.ca/h5/hub?id=fish%..._id%3D36-16885

Heater - Ebo Jager 200W Eheim https://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-s...nch-Eheim.html

Powerhead - 4x Hydor Koralia Evolution 550/600 (Total flow rate of approximately 40x the tank volume) http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B004F46...rch&th=1&psc=1

Lighting - This is something I'm completely lost on. The aquarium comes with a hood, but I'm sure that I will need to buy separate lights to provide for the coral. I'm not sure if I should go LED, T5, or metal halide. I am trying to keep my costs comparatively low though, so keep that in mind in your suggestions please. I know some lighting options can be a huge expense.

RO/DI - http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-st...ectrapure.html

Now for the fun part, here's what I'm looking at to populate the aquarium.

Fish
1x True Percula Clownfish
2x Yellow Striped Cardinalfish
1x Pacific Redstripe Hogfish
1x Black Sailfin Blenny

Invertebrates
Dwarf Colored Featherduster

Coral
Green Fluorescent Mushroom
Trumpet
Fire & Ice Colony Polyp
Radioactive Dragon Eye Colony Polyp
Pipe Organ Coral

Cleanup Crew
1x Purple Shortspine Pincushion Urchin
1x Lettuce Sea Slug
2x Scarlet Reef Hermit Crab
2x Electric Blue Hermit Crab
2x Electric Orange Hermit Crab
5x Dwarf Zebra Hermit Crab
1x Snapping Shrimp
2x Peppermint Shrimp
1x Banded Coral Shrimp
2x Spiny Star Astraea
10x Astraea Turbo Snail
10x Nassarius Snail
5x Cerith Snail
1x Fighting Conch

Do you think this is a good number of invertebrates? Should I have more/less?

Do you see any groupings that are likely to result in conflict in this setup? I'm trying to keep my tank fairly peaceful, so if there's anything I've missed please let me know.

Thanks in advance for your knowledge!

01/04/2016, 08:30 PM	#1
Niko1808 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 4	Looking to Get My Toes Wet for the First Time Hello, this is my first post so I'd like to start by introducing myself. I'm Nikolai, glad to be here! I've been thinking about getting a saltwater aquarium for about half a year. I have a general idea about what I'm going to do, but I still have many questions, so hopefully you guys/gals can lend me some of your experience and knowledge. To start off I'd like to go over the physical setup and make sure I'm not overlooking anything. I'm open to any suggestions you guys have, but I live in Canada so my list of retailers is fairly short compared to my southern neighbours. Aquarium & Stand - 60 Gallon Marineland Heartland Ensemble http://m.petsmart.com/h5/hub?id=fish..._id%3D36-17295 Filtration - I've read that as far as filtration goes the methods generally come in the following order, from best to worst: reactor, canister, power. But I would like to try and keep the inside of the tank fairly clear without having to set up a sump, so I was hoping a HOB power filter and skimmer would be sufficient, hopefully someone with some experience has some insight. If I were to go with a hang on back power filter, should I use one for a larger size tank as reef systems have a much higher bio-load than freshwater systems? HOB Protein Skimmer http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-st...n-Fitting.html HOB Power Filter http://m.petsmart.ca/h5/hub?id=fish%..._id%3D36-16885 Heater - Ebo Jager 200W Eheim https://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-s...nch-Eheim.html Powerhead - 4x Hydor Koralia Evolution 550/600 (Total flow rate of approximately 40x the tank volume) http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B004F46...rch&th=1&psc=1 Lighting - This is something I'm completely lost on. The aquarium comes with a hood, but I'm sure that I will need to buy separate lights to provide for the coral. I'm not sure if I should go LED, T5, or metal halide. I am trying to keep my costs comparatively low though, so keep that in mind in your suggestions please. I know some lighting options can be a huge expense. RO/DI - http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-st...ectrapure.html Now for the fun part, here's what I'm looking at to populate the aquarium. Fish 1x True Percula Clownfish 2x Yellow Striped Cardinalfish 1x Pacific Redstripe Hogfish 1x Black Sailfin Blenny Invertebrates Dwarf Colored Featherduster Coral Green Fluorescent Mushroom Trumpet Fire & Ice Colony Polyp Radioactive Dragon Eye Colony Polyp Pipe Organ Coral Cleanup Crew 1x Purple Shortspine Pincushion Urchin 1x Lettuce Sea Slug 2x Scarlet Reef Hermit Crab 2x Electric Blue Hermit Crab 2x Electric Orange Hermit Crab 5x Dwarf Zebra Hermit Crab 1x Snapping Shrimp 2x Peppermint Shrimp 1x Banded Coral Shrimp 2x Spiny Star Astraea 10x Astraea Turbo Snail 10x Nassarius Snail 5x Cerith Snail 1x Fighting Conch Do you think this is a good number of invertebrates? Should I have more/less? Do you see any groupings that are likely to result in conflict in this setup? I'm trying to keep my tank fairly peaceful, so if there's anything I've missed please let me know. Thanks in advance for your knowledge!