New Lionfish Tank

[bpiper]

Hello to all I am new to this forum. My son asked for a saltwater tank for Christmas and now we are both hooked and are getting ready to set up our second tank. Looking for ideas for a size recommendation and filtering recommendation for a new tank set up. My son (at least that is who I blame) wants a tank set up mainly for a couple of Lionfish. Any suggestions for equipment and tank mates with this would be much appreciated!

[gregony]

No one's replied yet? Lionfish are awesome. They don't need much room. They tolerate a wide variety of water conditions. They don't pester other fish (as long as the other fish are too big for them to eat.) They'll eat almost anything. I recommend shrimp from the grocery store. Never feed them live food (with the exception of brine shrimp.)
For volitan lionfish and russell lionfish, a large tank is a must. They get really big, and the old, "they won't outgrow the aquarium" thing doesn't work with them. They'll grow to a foot or more no matter what size aquarium you have, so I would have to recommend a 120g or larger. The spotfin and regal lionfish only grow to about 10" max, so any 48" tank should work for one. Obviously if you had two you would need at least a 90g, I would think. I personally love the dwarf lionfishes. The fuzzy, fu-manchu, or regular dwarf are all great fish that can thrive in as little as 30g (singly). For more than one, I'd recommend a 55g min.
Lionfish need rock to roam around on and caves to hide in. So, as with all marine aquariums, live rock should be incorporated into the display tank. If you watch the lionfish closely, you'll see he is constantly picking stuff off the rocks.
They're non-aggressive for the most part, but are not really a fish that other fish can bully, as they have the great equalizer. You can put just about any other fish with them, so long as the other fish is more than half the size of the lionfish. Anything smaller than that, and the lionfish will eat them.
They don't need anything special, just remember that they don't like bright light (though they will adapt if put into a tank with bright light - they just don't like it all that much). And remember, they need to be fed. Because they eat a lot, they make a lot of waste for their length. A 5" dwarf lionfish needs more food and makes more waste than a 5" damsel. You'll need to plan tank filtration accordingly.
A good protein skimmer is very important for a tank containing lionfish, and a refugium containing macroalgae would make keeping the nitrates in check much easier.