Somthing diffrent perhaps ( marine )

[nicholas76]

cant go past discus, but marine are pretty dam amazing too!

my lion fish hanging ten.

[nicholas76]

we have a great relationship. he dosent sting me and i feed him.

[nicholas76]

lions den


cave on the left is a basic base rock setup. The cave on the right is covered in live rock. Plenty of swimming room for the lion and a couple of other fish.


anyway just thought id share these with you all. marine isnt that difficult and the fish are way cheaper than discus.

[Aurora]

Very nice Nick.

How big is the Lionfish?

How much did the live rock cost?

Dave

[weird]

Ahhh Nick why did you have to go an show me something like that ! I need more tanks !

[nicholas76]

hehe im glad you like the idea of getting marine!

the lion fish is about 8 cm. This strain will get to about 1ft 3 inch in growth.

There are many variants , dwarfs and so on , but i like this common type. They vary in colour from white. light brown, copper to redish.

I feed this guy live food and white bait that you would find at a bait store. I just place one fish on a fine long stick dangle it about in the water so it looks like a distressed fish and he snaps it up. he is ten times faster than my old red devil.

I purchased this one for $49. from a LFS. Ive seen variants at other LFS's selling them up to $169 so do your homework. ( ps in comparison still cheaper than some discus )

live rock is not cheap. Its $4.95 a kilo. But its worth it and it totally kick starts a cycle. after one weak of being in my tank ive got these wierd live plant organisms growing upon it. stuff that looks exactly like coral but it isnt. I have no special lighting and it dosent need any.

cheers

nick

ps this sail fish is a class act always having a look - the caption should read No I'm not a discus!

[nicklee88]

OMG, very nice.



we have a great relationship. he dosent sting me and i feed him.
:lol: :lol:

You should really check out AMF.com (Link in sig), it would be great to have your knowledge over there :P

[jim]

I heard you need a lot more water change for marin tank than fresh water tank..is that true??

what u do if you go on vacation....do u trust anyone to feed your fish and do wc for you??

[Robbies Discus]

I've always wanted to get a lion fish. and that sail fish is GORGEOUS. how much did u pay for that, and how big is it?

[Scribble]

live rock is not cheap. Its $4.95 a kilo


YIKES!
The cheapest ive paid for live rock up here (and it isnt this cheap anymore) was about $8 a kilo, by buying a 15kg box for $120..

Now its anywhere from $10 a kilo to $15 at some places!

Its also about to get alot more expensive due to changes in the licensing system.

I love marine tanks, so much diversity and colour.
I love the lions den pic. :D :D

We recently pulled our 4 foot apart and sold everything off.
We still have 4 marine tanks though.
When our little girl is a bit bigger, we'll start another bigger marine tank- when i have more time to devote to it... :D

[Chafule]

when u do water changes does it attemped to bite u?
or u stay on oppsosite side of it?
interesting :D

[nicholas76]

Nickelbee : Thanks ill have to sign up to that web site. Im still learning however! so im sure it will be a great source of information to me.

JIm : Yeah at present im spending $$$ on water changing. However once the tank is estabilished properly I have been told its relatively low maintenance. Checking parameters is somthing i have to do more of but thats about it. Generally i wont have to worry about it. A week or so is as long as id wont to leave it at present with doing a w/c. Ive been told up an estabilshed tank will need bugger all attention 4-6 weeks hassle free.

I havent gone on vacation ,,,but i will be next week. i have them feeding on frozen food. The lion food needs his food presented to him like its alive, Ill feed him heavily and that should tie him over for atleast 3- 4 days. Il l have to get dad to feed him!

Robbies Discus - he was under $100 about $69 from memory. he is about 5 inch discus type in size.


Scribble : rock its awsum ive seen what it can look like and i love it . An under water garden of green and purple filled with orange wierd organisms.

Chafule: when i do water changes i am very careful to make sure i am no place near him. He dosent attack and tends to hide. They are predators by nature. They wait and attack. If scared!! he will simply spike up before he goes for an attack. HIs first option is to always back off frist.
To date he and i understand each other.... i somtimes use a net as protection. he is lightening quick.

Thanks all for your interest!


ill post more shortly

[kalebjarrod]

hay nck what source of water are you useing

i know this can be a great debate for most "saltys"

[nicholas76]

Im using sea water obtained from the LFS.

It comes at the correct ph. kh, and salinity and cleaned.

im not ready to start making my own . i wont be mixing my tap water with salt thats for sure. Id only do it if i had RO water.


whats the debate Ryan? im curious..

[jim]

wow...that's what I called high maintaince...

[nicholas76]

Its 50 cents a litre



ive probably burnt $150 on water including initial setup water.

[Aurora]

but if you have a 240L tank, then it would take $120 just to fill it up in the beginning, and then if you did say a 50% water change a week, then it would cost about $60 a week in water.

How have you only managed to spend $150? How many water changes have you done?

[nicholas76]

hi

the extact amount isnt important i just know it hasnt been much.

Also take into consideration that theres a heap of stuff in that tank so it isnt at full volume.

the w/c havent been terribley heavy as of late as the parameters of the tank are stable

[Aurora]

Wouldnt they be partial to the level of nitrates in the water, same as discus? Or do marine not mind about the build up of waste products?

[kalebjarrod]

one of the main issues is where the "fresh salt water" has been obtained from.

my neigbour gets his from the ens of the boat jetty, swears by it

i have a friend who won't touch anything unless its 5 miles out to sea

both won't touch LFS water, but one has made his own up with RO water

the subject is where do you get your ASW or NSW from, throw the subject up and watch poo fly

[nicholas76]

Dave,,


same with discus you cant let the tank turn to SH*8t. Marine tank is also running a protein skimmer as well which helps.


kalebjarrod that is interesting ! I will be obtaining my own supplies from the bay so I will let you know how it goes and if there is a reall diffrence!