Aquarium

[AlbertW]

Hey Raiders,
I’ve got an 200L tank and was wondering if anyone has experience in keeping saltwater or freshwater fish like bream or bass as I might consider that option as the couple of goldfish we’ve kept in it since now may be going into another tank. Don’t know if this is a good idea so I’m just here to ask around.

Thanks,

Albert

[Larkin]

Hey mate, I’ve kept marine fish for over 25 years. Tanks from 100L to my current which is 3000L

What size Canister filter you running? Brand/model?

To do a basic change over from fresh to saltwater you’ll need:

Aragonite or coral sand - have to change what you have in there. This will buffer your PH to around 8.2 which is what you need for marine.

a hydrometer - to measure the salinity ($15-$50) 

Heater - can see your running one in there. Looks like an aqua one glass heater - which is fine to use in marine. 1w per litre, 200L tank = 200w heater.

Bream are cold water marine, (tropical imo is easier) so during summer you’ll have to keep the heat down one of 3 ways, air conditioning, aquarium chiller or aquarium fans - which is the cheapest to buy/run but you do get a bit of evaporation (what I use)

Salt mix (which I use) or ocean water (needs to be collected from a clear water location)

As long as your canister filter is large enough, you can upgrade the biological media in there to cope with the larger bio load that fish like bream will produce.

good idea to get some test kits if you don’t already have. Main ones: High Range PH, Ammonia & Nitrite test kits.

in the beginning don’t overload the tank with fish, introduce slowly over weeks and cycle tank on the first week with live bacteria (product like seachem stability)

[Larkin]

Forgot to mention, you would have to adhere to minimum size limits of fish caught - some of these minimums might be too large a fish to live comfortably in a tank of that size.

[Little_Flatty]

Call me crazy, but I’ve always thought that a toad fish would make a good pet. They are only pests when fishing because they are playful and infinitely curious. They are also cute with their fat stature and boggly eyes. All of which I think could be attributes of a good pet.

[Green Hornet]

1 hour ago, Little_Flatty said:

Call me crazy, but I’ve always thought that a toad fish would make a good pet. They are only pests when fishing because they are playful and infinitely curious. They are also cute with their fat stature and boggly eyes. All of which I think could be attributes of a good pet.

I saw a video recently of someone hand feeding toads in a tank and thought the same.

[Rebel]

When my Mum was alive she use to breed Goldfish. They got so big she ended up putting them in the swimming pool in the back yard. They were massive.

Cheers.

[Yowie]

8 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

Call me crazy, but I’ve always thought that a toad fish would make a good pet. They are only pests when fishing because they are playful and infinitely curious. They are also cute with their fat stature and boggly eyes. All of which I think could be attributes of a good pet.

I read some time ago that toad species can introduce a toxin into the water that will affect other fish.

[campr]

I ran a 3ft salt water tank for about 5 years without a barrel filter but it made a lot of work due to green algie growth on the glass.  I bought the odd fish but caught an unbelievable variety of species by running a fine net through the weed growing on the walls of Cronullas ocean pool.  All went well untill I caught a 1 inch lion fish.  Six months later I was the owner of only 1 fish, a six inch lion fish that would eat anybody added to the tank.  I ended up selling him for $60.

Some tips from experience.  If water evaperates, top up with aged fresh water.  Dont use bait prawns for food unless you can be assured that no preserves added.  Every couple of months I used to swap out about half the water for fresh sea water.  Before adding/changing water, keep in same room to equal temperature.   Last but not least DONT mix lionfish with other species.  Ron  

[Larkin]

12 hours ago, Little_Flatty said:

Call me crazy, but I’ve always thought that a toad fish would make a good pet. They are only pests when fishing because they are playful and infinitely curious. They are also cute with their fat stature and boggly eyes. All of which I think could be attributes of a good pet.

They make a great pet. I had a 40cm Guinea fowl puffer for around 5 years - was always watching what I was doing - every morning he would come up to the surface and I’d give him a pat. 

He suffered a prolapse in the end.

[Larkin]

1 hour ago, campr said:

I ran a 3ft salt water tank for about 5 years without a barrel filter but it made a lot of work due to green algie growth on the glass.  I bought the odd fish but caught an unbelievable variety of species by running a fine net through the weed growing on the walls of Cronullas ocean pool.  All went well untill I caught a 1 inch lion fish.  Six months later I was the owner of only 1 fish, a six inch lion fish that would eat anybody added to the tank.  I ended up selling him for $60.

Some tips from experience.  If water evaperates, top up with aged fresh water.  Dont use bait prawns for food unless you can be assured that no preserves added.  Every couple of months I used to swap out about half the water for fresh sea water.  Before adding/changing water, keep in same room to equal temperature.   Last but not least DONT mix lionfish with other species.  Ron  

Haha, I used to do the same thing in the same spots as a kid. Those rock pools hold lots of interesting critters. Lots of shrimps, wrasses ect. Fine aquarium net through the weed - just got to be careful, as you said, lion fish and scorpion fish hide in the weed when they’re small.