FishyStuff

The 73 gallon is going to wiegh at least 600 lbs and you deffinitely want a big safety margin. If it's going to be against the wall it could be built with a flat back.

Not to brag but I can build you the tank for about $1500. You'll have to figure out how to hang it though.

Looking at how AGA braces some of thier big tanks with just plastic cross bracing an inch or two wide I'd be inclined to think steel cable is a bit of an overkill. My wildly speculative guess is the reason aquarium manufacturers use glass is for simplicity of construction and appearence.

Well, I'm going to be a bearer of bad news. You really should think about setting up two different tanks with your stated intentions. Yes, people can keep lionfish, eels and corals together but it is a combination that is difficult to be successfull with long term and will require a great deal more dilligence on your part. Keep in mind a median age for lionfish and many eels is probably around a decade and can easily be longer. Only a couple of the dwarf lions will do well in a 55 gallon tank as adults and they will not be nearly as showy as the P. volitans everyone typically thinks of when you say lionfish. The same with the eels unless you find one of the dwarf species.

+1 asking questions here and doing research on what it is you want. There are literally thousands of different species available and no one has experience with everything. Some animals work well together, some might do ok together and some should never be put together even though you may find somebody who has done it.

Read up on how pH, Alkalinity and Calcium are interrelated but still seperate parameters. Dr. Randy Holmes-Farley Is an excellent author to search and Delbeek and Sprung have an excellent chapter on it in their book "The Reef Aquarium" Vol III.

Read Dr. Ken Feldmans research on carbon and protien skimming on Advanced Aquarist.

There are many filtering methodologies from the very simple Lee Chin Eng's pumpless/sumpless approach to very complex multi-tank systems and they all work. Delbeek and Sprung's "The Reef Aquarium" Vol III does an excellent job of explaining them. The key to success is not having lots of fancy equipment but understanding your animals needs and consistent maintenance.

Until you get a "feel" for your tank test, test, test. And test before and after water changes to get an understanding of what's happening in your tank. Many people after a while get to know thier tank and are quite good at using the "eyeball" test which is fine but be aware animals can acclimate to water parameters that may kill a new addition.

Definitely use a quarintine tank for fish and dip your corals. The April ARC meeting is going to have a presentation on dipping corals and I would encourage you to come out and meet everybody.

I would not set up a marine tank without live rock and live sand. There are bacteral culture products available that help establish tanks but they cannot match live rock for the diversity of stuff benificial to a marine ecosystem. Live rock should be cured (quarintined) for 3 to 4 weeks prior to placing in your display tank. (See Delbeeck and Sprung's "The Reef Aquarium" Vol III).

As far as lighting I would encourage you to go with LEDs. There are several good DIY threads here and you shouldn't have a problem finding people to help you if you want to make your own fixtures.

Welcome to the addiction!

It is sooooo annoying when shrimp make a liar out of me! I normally don't consider Skunk Cleaner and Coral Banded Shrimp incompatible but the only absolute for reef tanks is you have to have salt and water.

The CL ad posted by PBNJ made me think a lot of aquarist may not be aware Coral Banded Shrimp can be paired off. If a small and a noticebly larger Coral Banded Shrimp are put into a quarintine tank simultaineously about 2 out of 3 times they will become an established pair. They do need to be watched closely and a 2nd tank is needed to save the smaller one if it isn't working out. It isn't too unusual for one to loose a claw initially with introductory greetings but if it looks like aggression is going to deprive one of a 2nd claw it's best to take it out. It usually takes about two molts for the lost claw to regain it's porportional size. Another interesting behaviour is self amputation they will perform if a claw is damaged.

I would expect every shop to have some variation with some shipments doing better than others. There are going to be questionable suppliers and collectors but for the most part the ones that do not provide adequite care are going to lose business then go out of business.

I think they started in 2010. It's not something they've been doing a long time.