Search the Community

Hi All First post on here, and quite excited to learn from peoples points of view and understanding of aquariums. Ive been in the fish hobby for 2 years now, ran smaller freshwater aquarium with guppies, mollys, tetras, danios & cichlids. My girlfriend bought me a Aquaone aquastyle 980T (245L or 62 gallons) tank & stand . Im looking to go FOWLR saltwater tank intially. But as i dwell more into the topic and gain a better understanding from reading & surfing the net. I eventually want to add corals. From what I see with the tank I have now is: 1: There is no slot for the skimmer - Would it be best to cut away part of the back of the filtration set up and try fit a skimmer in? 2: Is dry/wet filtration adequate to run - Would i need to get rid of the whole built in filtration and go with a canister? allowing me to run the skimmer also? I would put a perspex top of this area and cut holes for the lines to go into the water. If anyone has adapted these photos would be great, i saw a post on here but could not access the photos. 3: Is the standard lighting in a aquaone aquastyle 980T no adequate for corals? or is it rather the position of the lighting sitting at the front of the tank the problem? - If i removed this I would have a full open top aquarium, i much prefer having the light setup at the front and remove the filtration so it looks tidier. 4. Soft corals, and beginner corals - Ive heard a few mixed reviews as per what lighting requirements these so called beginner soft corals need, would the factory lighting in the 980T provide enough light for these? Would a change of purple to blue shaded light help? or be capable enough to sustain coral life in the tank? 5. Is it necessary to have a sump - If my filtration and skimmer are up to par is it necessaary to have a sump, ive spent good money on a good heater also. 6. How many fish & what types - Ive been to a few fish stores and been told different quantities of fish to buy, From what I have taken from it, i would get 5 fish in total. I also want to add a cleaning shrimp. Would a shrimp sway the biological load in the tank to have 1 less fish? I was potentially looking at a pair of clowns, fire fish, possibly a mandarin/green dragonet. Any other unique looking fish that is quite passive? 7. Dimensions of tank & fish - Further to the question above, could i potentially keep a tang, or butterfly fish in my tank. Its dimensions are 99W x 47D x 86H cm I currently have bought all the equipment necessary to start my FOWLR tank, just need to cure my live rock for a few weeks. I would love to hear anyone's input, as the amount of information from the internet can be alot to take on. And i guess i wouldnt be the first person whos tried to adapt this type of tank before. Waiting in anticipation =) AquaCraig