Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveLawrence
Thanks guys , Thats really great info . Yes I think its a rich mans hoobby . I actually bought a 250 red sea plug and play fish tank tonight on line expecting the delivery within 2-3 days as promised to recieve an email sying they cant deliver for a month . So I canceled this but I think a good tank will help a novice quite considerably . I find fish tanks to very relaxing and yes quite an intelligent and responsible hobby. But then they are so facinating colourful and full of life . I would hate to harm a fish by not doing research which is why i asked for advise . Thanks for being so helpfull. Its great to speak to people with real experiance of marine tank fish keeping
What facinating is the corals can sting each other and eat each other also and you cant exactly say you naughtly piece of coral dont do it again. So yes I probably will be asking for lots of advise . Having said that my cat takes no notice either.
I quite like the orange and white clowns and also this funny little fellow
Yellow Boxfish, Mail Order Yellow Boxfish delivered to your door - AquaticLifeDirect.co.uk
Iam not sure about ordering live fish on line though and having them sent in the post . I think you could get caught like that . In Manchester where I live we have an aquarium called Oasis . Very expensive but you get to see the fish and ask questions also.
I am not sure if the red sea tanks are suitable for fish or really designed for corals only . I seem to have spent thousands in my mind ready and the red sea tank was £1299.00 new but not sure where I could second hand one from which could be an option as a starter fish/coral keeper.
I am very keen on the idea however but wonder what I will do if was to go on a holiday . Iam not sure my friends would be as caring for the fish as I would be . Perhaps one should join a fish carers support group or something to look after peoples fish when one has to leave residence for any length of time .
Ill have a look for all the fish youve mentioned when I recover from the stress of trying to get my money back. Typical impulse buyer 
I live in a small very warm 14th storey flat where heat rises up from flats below even with all the heating off so a cooler may also be something I need and not sure what to get for this size tank .
It seems very complicted to get all the right fish with right corals so I will start very slowly and work precusiouly at it. I dont know I could get emotional over a fish but the expense is certainly very emotional. I would certianly be very dissapointed if I lost beautifull fish. The stars are beautifull but they are carnivors I believe .
Pity about the seahorses . It seems their are many restrictions to keeping a happy environment so building a beautifull aquarium is something to be quite proud off, I would think. Ill but some books first and start the research . Eventually get the tank and rocks and build from there.
Thats £2,000 to start with isnt it ? . MMMM
Ill have to put up with my crapy lounge for little bit longer .
No wonder these aquariums are rubbing their hands together at the site of a customer.
Never mind thats the bug you get I guess
Thanks for your help  |
I remember when I first started marine fishkeeping, questions, questions, questions...
The tank will be fine for fish and corals, however you can't put as many fish into a marine tank as you can in a freshwater aquarium. The ocean is a huge expanse of water so forget about being capable of replicating a fully-fledged reef aquarium which looks like something out of the Blue planet. While you can make it look realistic and interesting there are limitations.
The boxfish which you have mentioned in the link isn't a good idea, these fish grow too large for your tank. Oasis aquatics is very good, ordering fish over the net may be convenient however the fish may not arrive in one piece. Marine fish and corals aren't very cheap, so the prices at Oasis are pretty much standard.
Marine fishkeeping isn't that easy.
You will also need the following...
Refractometer (for measuring salinity) £30
Salt (choose a good reef-grade salt) £50 for a 20kg bucket
Reverse osmosis water (you can't use ordinary tapwater in marine aquariums)
Carbon and rowaphos (for chemical filtration) £15-30
Food £15 (you will of course have to replace it as it runs out)
Net £2-3
Buckets (for water changes)
Additional pumps (usually the water movement in off the shelf aquariums needs to be upgraded for marine use)
Live rock (biological filtration) £8-12 per kilo, you will need approximately 1kg of rock per 10 litres of water.
Algae magnet £5
Media bags £4-5
Additives for calcium and magnesium £20
Test kits (for pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, KH and calcium) £40
As you can see, this isn't a cheap hobby, you are easily looking at around an extra £300-400 worth of accessories, and this doesn't even include the fish.