Right tank and fish?

TardigradeKing · Oct 20, 2022

I’ve always loved marine creatures and have dreamed of owning a octopus for a long time so I decided if I can maintain a healthy reef tank for a couple years I would get one.This will be my first ever saltwater tank so I was hoping some people could help me with some guidance. I plan on building this tank in February since I’m moving states at the end of the year but I want to plan this out as I intend on spending lots of money to make sure I have a good environment for the fish. I’ve been doing a lot of research and have put together a solid list of everything I need to get my tank started (fish and coral exempt as I will wait 4 weeks to make sure my water is balanced.) I originally wanted to build my own but since it’s my first saltwater tank I decided to go for a prebuilt all in one. The only problem is I have no idea what is a good filtration system and what’s a bad one. I know sump is the best but I’m new and can’t tell just by the pictures. Im looking for a 70-80 gallon tank with the filtration system included and this was the best I could find (hopefully links are allowed in this forum) https://www.tenecoraquariums.com/products/reefpoint®-aio-lagoon-frag-aquarium-60x24x12-fragoon™-75?currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxKeUqcfu-gIVuCWtBh1lnwnFEAQYCiABEgLYafD_BwE&variant=43147244175573
Any help with picking a good tank would be much appreciated.
also Im not sure what substrate coral and fish to get as im sure they depend on eachother. to have a healthy ecosystem do. I’m thinking clownfish and some seastars any other colorful animal recommendations?

PatW · Oct 20, 2022

Hmmmm acrylic aquariums. Acrylic is strong, colorless and pretty light (at least compared to glass). The problem with it is it scratches. I have a low iron glass aquarium. If you want an all in one with low iron check out Red Sea and Waterbox.

I would suggest a sump.
For filtration, I would suggest an in sump protein skimmer. I have like Reef Octopus skimmers but skimmers are easy - they are tubes with a bubble maker at the bottom and a cup at the top to collect the foam with the smelly gunk in it. Once you get it dialed in, it works fine.
I like using a filter sock(s) for filtration also, this will remove the particulates from the water improving clarity.

Selecting your own skimmer is not hard. Bulk Reef Supply offers a bunch of them and they rate them for gallon capacity at heavy, medium and light loads (fish populations). Bulk Reef Supply has nice videos on a pot load of subjects. I don’t always agree but they do cover the basics And often more than the basics.

TardigradeKing · Oct 20, 2022

PatW said:
Hmmmm acrylic aquariums. Acrylic is strong, colorless and pretty light (at least compared to glass). The problem with it is it scratches. I have a low iron glass aquarium. If you want an all in one with low iron check out Red Sea and Waterbox.

I would suggest a sump.
For filtration, I would suggest an in sump protein skimmer. I have like Reef Octopus skimmers but skimmers are easy - they are tubes with a bubble maker at the bottom and a cup at the top to collect the foam with the smelly gunk in it. Once you get it dialed in, it works fine.
I like using a filter sock(s) for filtration also, this will remove the particulates from the water improving clarity.

Selecting your own skimmer is not hard. Bulk Reef Supply offers a bunch of them and they rate them for gallon capacity at heavy, medium and light loads (fish populations). Bulk Reef Supply has nice videos on a pot load of subjects. I don’t always agree but they do cover the basics And often more than the basics.

Thank you I will check them out