Who Gives A Fish Forums

i'm currently stuck with a 5 foot cichlid tank but to be honest, i'm getting a bit fed up with the fish i've got in there my first thought was to convert it into a brackish tank, but then i saw this lovely porcupine puffer at my lfs and the more i see him, the more i want him so i've decided to take the plunge and turn my cichlid tank into a full marine setup i'm planning on keeping just 3 fish in there and i was wondering if i could get away without a protein skimmer, or if i could just use an external one instead

also, i was thinking of adding 2 topaz puffers to the tank with the porcupine puffer - would this be alright, considering they need full marine conditions when they're adults there's plenty of space for 3 fish in there

and one more thing, would i need live rock in the tank i know it helps with water quality, but how much would i need for just 3 fish cheers phil

I'll chime in on the skimmer, definitely think you'll need one, I'm fairly certain Andywg and zenoxa would agree with me on that, they're the ones to talk to about preds though.

I'd definitely recommend a skimmer. Got a sump in this tank by any chance? If so, chucking a refugium in there would be a great idea too.

As for live rock, just use enough to create a few caves, leave plenty of space for swimming.

i've sold the cichlids now and they're off on sunday, so it's all systems go for the conversion. i've ordered some new sand and i'm getting a bit of live rock to go in, just enough for a few caves and some swimming space. i've been looking at protein skimmers and i think i've found the one i want - the tmc v2 800, it should be ok for my tank if my maths are right, please let me know if i'm wrong. also, how long should i wait after setting up the tank before adding my puffer? and will i need a separate filter or will the skimmer do the job on its own?

I'd definitely recommend using a filter in conjunction with your skimmer, it'll give you a bit more peace of mind. Also, I'd suggest swapping out the biological media for something like granular ferric oxide, it's a commercial phosphate remover and it works a treat.

If you're using fully cured rock, you can get your puffer in pretty quickly - I'd say within a day or so of adding the rock, this should help you avoid any mini-cycles.