[daveverdo]

This may sound like a stupid question but what is considered FISH ONLY?

Generally, does a Fish Only tank exclude invertebrates?

First a little background. I had what I considered a fish only tank 30+ years ago. It was a 30g with a dolomite base undergravel and hang on back filter and a standard fluorescent light. I had a few fish (Rock Beauty, Royal Gramma), arrow crab, hermit crab, snails shrimp. The tank was decorated with some rocks and dead coral. It looked nice and it showed off the fish. Growing coral was pretty much unheard of back then. I tried anenome at one time but it did not survive very long.

I want to set up a system similar to what I had back then but I want to take advantage of new technology and techniques. Fish on my wish list (obviously not all) a Mandarin Goby, Dotybacks, Rock Beauty?, maybe a Butterfly (Racoon)? or a Trigger, and some inverts like arrow crab, banded shrimp, hermit crabs.

So here is my plan so far and maybe you can help me out.

30gal (the same Ambassador I had 30 years ago, still holds water)
Current Satellite Single CF light 96W 10,000K/460mn Actinic
Aqua C Remora w/RIO 800
Heater

Do I need a power head or two for water movement?
1 Seio M620?
2 MaxiJet 600s?

I was thinking of an aragonite base?
What about a filter or is the skimmer enough?

Live sand/live rock or a starter kit from IndoPacific Sea Farm www.ipsf.com?

Anyone suggest a plenum?

Any other suggestions recommendation on either the setup or the fish would be greatly appreciated?

Thanks,
David

[leebca]

WELCOME DAVID TO REEFLAND !

Glad you are here and that you posted. Some of things you might want to consider are listed in this post: Setting Up a FOWLR Aquarium

In the days you speak of, that would be considered a fish only aquarium. Today there is a slight step closer to the reef aquarium. That is a fish-only-with-live-rock aquarium. In this case, the live rock hurdles the gap between a true fish-only aquarium and the Reef aquarium.

You can still have a fish only aquarium and if there is live rock in it, you will find that the lifeforms on the live rock will still keep it in that category. So, with fish you can have crabs, snails, worms, pods, etc. that would tag along with the live rock.

The size aquarium you are planning is not right for the fish you have listed. It is too small. You may want to review some of the sticky posts in the Marine Fish: Care, Health and Disease Forum here at Reefland, such as this one:
Stress (and the Single Marine Fish)

As equipment and technology has changed, David, so has our knowledge of the needs of the fish. We have made leaps and bounds in nutritional matters when it comes to marine fish husbandry. You'll want to review this:
Feeding Marine Fish and Fish Nutrition

Fish, like the Mandarin Goby are specialized feeders and need large aquariums. Not because they need a large pod population, but because they do need some pod supplementation in their 'provided' diet. The butterfly in that grouping would also be feeding on the pods and be taking food away from the Mandarin.

Likewise, we know that a community tank mix of fishes can no longer tolerate a mix of assertive/aggressive fish (like the triggers) along with docile fishes (like the Mandarin).

Similarly, the choice of crabs is a big decision. Most experienced hobbyists now know that hermit crabs are a poor choice for the marine aquarium no matter what kind of aquarium you'd like to maintain.

With so many different setups and possibilities, you may just want to start with the basics (see first reference above) and build on that.

You may want to obtain a beginners book on the subject so you can 'catch up.'

Good luck!