• Looking to buy a cephalopod? Check out Tomh's Cephs Forum, and this post in particular shares important info about our policies as it relates to responsible ceph-keeping.

Newbie needs tank help!! please!

Joined
May 7, 2007
Messages
7
i'm planning starting my first Marine set up and need some help and was told to come here. I've been lookin over these forums for the past few weeks but def need some more answers.

I got my hands on a 33 gal tall cube with stand for an amazing price so i figured i'd start with that. In future i hope to own a cuttle fish, but am planning on starting with just reef to learn.

Whats my best options for set up if i in future plan on getting into cephalopods.

IE .... what skimmer, filter?, should i get a sump!?

thanks for any help
 
cthulhuisgod;94524 said:
i'm planning starting my first Marine set up and need some help and was told to come here. I've been lookin over these forums for the past few weeks but def need some more answers.

I got my hands on a 33 gal tall cube with stand for an amazing price so i figured i'd start with that. In future i hope to own a cuttle fish, but am planning on starting with just reef to learn.

Whats my best options for set up if i in future plan on getting into cephalopods.

IE .... what skimmer, filter?, should i get a sump!?

thanks for any help

:welcome: to TONMO. In terms of tank size, the 33 will be a bit small for the octos that we recommend, although it might be OK for a single bandensis. (Cuttlegirl said recently that she wasn't sure smaller than 55 is a good idea for adult bandensis, but I'm not sure if she meant a 30 is too small even for a single adult, since she was responding to someone who wanted to keep two). In any case, with cephs, more water volume is always a good idea, so giving at least considering a sump is a good idea. There is not really a consensus on brands of skimmer or filter, although there are some that people recommend avoiding... searching the forums for particular brands you're considering is helpful. If you want an overview of different tank setups, the "tank owner's database" just about in the center of the navigation bar at the top of the page is interesting, and if you haven't already, make sure to read through the "ceph care articles" on the left for a lot of good summaries.
 
thanks monty. Yes i read the articles by colin and he said a 20 to 30 tall is perfect. Im curious as to if i need as strong of a skimmer as is needed for an octo, and if sump is needed... whats the best way to go about doin that
 
cthulhuisgod;94527 said:
thanks monty. Yes i read the articles by colin and he said a 20 to 30 tall is perfect. Im curious as to if i need as strong of a skimmer as is needed for an octo, and if sump is needed... whats the best way to go about doin that

I think that was me, not Colin :biggrin2:

At the time I wrote the article a 20 tall seemed like the minimum you could stuff a bandensis in, but I did say a 30 tall would be better. However, it seems that either bandensis are growing larger in captivity than they do in the wild, or we actually aren't keeping bandinsis. We are seeing adult sizes of 4-5 inches, which makes a 30 seem a little cramped for a single adult animal.

I think you would be fine with your cube.

Cuttles ink just like octos, so the strong skimmer is a must.

A sump is up to you. Try the search function - there was recently a pretty involved discussion about sumps.
 
hey... sorry been readin so many of them that i lost track of who wrote what... ive been looking at a berlin classic skimmer... for 200.... but its for up to 250gal!!! any suggestions for the size tank im using?
 
if im settting my tank up as a reef to start, do i need to bother with the skimmer now? or put more into my live rock and get skimmer when closer to getting the cuttle?
 
I would never run a reef tank without a skimmer. Skimmers and live rock offer different kinds on 'filtration', so you need to decide how much you want to spend on each.
 
Thales;94529 said:
However, it seems that either bandensis are growing larger in captivity than they do in the wild,

I wouldn't be at all surprise if they are! When you create a growth curve (at least for squid :biggrin2:) the line doen't reach an asymptote (an area where the growth slows to a stop, ie there is a limit to the growth, for example in humans we tend to reach between 5-6 foot {OK there are exceptions to that} and then spend most of our adult lifes at that height!) there appears to be no maximum adult size (until they die!!!) thus they grow as adults. So we feed them, nice regular meals and they don't have to work too hard for it thus they get bigger than their wild cousins!

J
 
lookin at this skimmer for my 3o gal tall cube tank for future cuttle...

CPR Bak-Pak 2R+ Reef Ready Protein Skimmer

good choice?

if so... should i go with just a power filter or canister?
 

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