[Marino13]

Hi, I am new to salt and have a few questions. i have a 75 gal tank with a fluval 404 filter. i have put a crushed coral bed with aragalive sand over the top. my temp is 75 degrees. and my salinity levels are about 1.022 to 23. i was told with the aragalive that I could start adding fish in two days is this true?

Also, do i need more or different filtration or is the fluval sufficient? And since this will be a fish only tank with normal lighting can i also keep a couple inverts such as a shrimp or two and a hhermit crab?

Thanks for the help.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Marino13

Hi, I am new to salt and have a few questions.

Hi Marino13, welcome to Reefland!

i was told with the aragalive that I could start adding fish in two days is this true?

Maybe. I think I would wait a little longer than that though. You didn't say anything about any live rock so I assume you are not going to have any, right? What are you using for decoration? Even if you are not going to use any live rock at all, I think it would be safer to wait at least a week before adding one hardy fish.

Also, do i need more or different filtration or is the fluval sufficient?

I guess that all depends on what your budget is for this tank and how heavily you intend to stock it. It's a start but it's not something most people would use as their sole filtration on a 75-gal tank. A good protein skimmer would be a better choice.

And since this will be a fish only tank with normal lighting can i also keep a couple inverts such as a shrimp or two and a hhermit crab?

Sure, as long as you don't add any fish that will eat them.

[Marino13]

Thanks ninong, I was planning on waiting just to be sure. the guy at the shop discouraged me from live rock due to this being my first salt tank. he said if fish get sick and you add meds it will kill the rock bacteria anyway. so i decided to do a fish only tank. i might progress to a reef set up when i have more experience. I plan on some dead rocks and corals for decoration.

so bewteen the fluval and if i add a protein skimmer, would that promote a good tank? thanks for the help.

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by Marino13

Thanks ninong, I was planning on waiting just to be sure. the guy at the shop discouraged me from live rock due to this being my first salt tank. he said if fish get sick and you add meds it will kill the rock bacteria anyway. so i decided to do a fish only tank. i might progress to a reef set up when i have more experience. I plan on some dead rocks and corals for decoration.

so bewteen the fluval and if i add a protein skimmer, would that promote a good tank? thanks for the help.

Just remember that if you ever use copper based medications in you tank, you will never be able to convert it to a reef tank without first doing an extremely lengthy and involved sterilization.

I would choose a good protein skimmer and skip the cannister filter but that's up to you.

I don't agree with the advice you are getting from the LFS but that's up to you. I don't care for the looks of a marine tank with dead coral skeletons for decoration. I would recommend that you go with live rock and a sand bed of at least 3" for a fish-only tank. And I would spend the money on a decent skimmer instead of a cannister filter.

[Poseidon]

Here are a couple Ideas for a good skimmer...

Aqua C CPR

The Remora seems to be the consensus top pick in a HOT skimmer, I like the CPR myself.