That's why I made an account on Reef Central. I wanted to sign up for a reef forum so I could get more replies, and so I could be busier on aquarium forums.
My first Saltwater tank.
- Thread starter Angelphish
- Start date
If your first SW tank all I would suggest is only do FOWLR first until you're mastered all your SW parameters then slowly move forward to Reef system...going straight to Reef setup most of the time you're draining your money to toilet. (No offend here since there will be a lot of impulse buying for first timer lol)
I won't impulse buy with salt water. That's just for freshwater. I don't mind the extra work that corals come with, as I have a lot of free time. From what I've seen I just need a nice light, good water, and I need to add nutrients to feed them, which I can buy.
Adding nutrients isn't a good way to put it as most concieve that as nitrates and phosphates which can be good for some lps corals, but also inspires algae blooms. A better way would be dosing kalkwasser or using reactors to maintain calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium, which are important to all coral growth. You can start off with a reef and it's way way easier to maintain than it seems. This may or may not be the case for you, but myself and everyone I know agree. Watch the whole brs 160 series on YouTube and it'll teach you more than any of us likely can. With softies and lps corals, all you really need is sufficient lighting and clean water to get up and running. Sps is a bit more complicated but many believe it is just as easy or easier. It's different with every tank and you'll just have to experience it for yourself.
I just delved into saltwater myself. I have a 70 Tall that im making a reef, well its up and running after lots of planning and reading and plumbing.
I went with the 300W mars aqua led for $169 on ebay, I cant say enough good about that light.
While my fish and corals are new i have it set on minimum on the dimmers. It has independent power and dimmers for blue and white/color so you can buy a set of $4 ge timers to set them to come on at separate times. The output of this light is astounding.
I did go with an oversize skimmer in the sump since i didnt have access to live rock, i wanted to make sure i was skimming it clean while my dry rock got growing, so i got the reef octopus 150 classic int.
Jeabao pumps are cheap and very good as well, im using the DCT8000 at about 56% which is 1200GPH at that rate. 1 inch returns and 1.5 inch drain. same concept of keeping the flow and keeping it clean.
Anyways dont shy away from reefs just yet, buy you a load of hermits, snails, and emerald crabs and get them going a few weeks. Then you add some cheap frags.
you can establish some nice easy corals as long as you have good light and start dosing with something like a kent reef starter kit weekly, then as you learn the testing methods and levels can move to something like dosing pumps/sets.
Obviously things like curing live rock and such have to happen first, adding live sand , and a good bacteria starter like biospira, to get things growing is a must ,if you dont want to set around for 3 months. Still you want to let that stuff go for a week or so in just a tank with flow and not skimming, then get the paramaters close, add another bottle of biospira, put in the first inverts/crabs/snails. Test parameters give them tiny bits of food the first few weeks, then if it stabilizes add a single cheap fish... think damsel /chromis. Start skimming if you havent already, watch the nitrates/ ammonia/nitrites if they stay in check and the fish doesnt end up crab food then slowly stock another fish and try a week monitoring params again.
Add some corals in the mid and lower sections like some $9 zoanthid frags, or some tubinaria, and star polyps. keep the lights dim until they start opening fully. Read, read, read and remember those coral are alive creatures and have a mouth, find out what they eat and feed them, as they thrive with feeding as well as photosynthesis in the good lighting.
Everyone is going to lose a coral or two, some times the seller just frags them wrong, or you mess up and place them in too much light.
I like to look on Aquariumdepot.com as they have a good selection of corals, but it tells the needs of each quickly in the pictures section It will say i like moderate flow, or i need phytoplankton, etc.
I went with the 300W mars aqua led for $169 on ebay, I cant say enough good about that light.
While my fish and corals are new i have it set on minimum on the dimmers. It has independent power and dimmers for blue and white/color so you can buy a set of $4 ge timers to set them to come on at separate times. The output of this light is astounding.
I did go with an oversize skimmer in the sump since i didnt have access to live rock, i wanted to make sure i was skimming it clean while my dry rock got growing, so i got the reef octopus 150 classic int.
Jeabao pumps are cheap and very good as well, im using the DCT8000 at about 56% which is 1200GPH at that rate. 1 inch returns and 1.5 inch drain. same concept of keeping the flow and keeping it clean.
Anyways dont shy away from reefs just yet, buy you a load of hermits, snails, and emerald crabs and get them going a few weeks. Then you add some cheap frags.
you can establish some nice easy corals as long as you have good light and start dosing with something like a kent reef starter kit weekly, then as you learn the testing methods and levels can move to something like dosing pumps/sets.
Obviously things like curing live rock and such have to happen first, adding live sand , and a good bacteria starter like biospira, to get things growing is a must ,if you dont want to set around for 3 months. Still you want to let that stuff go for a week or so in just a tank with flow and not skimming, then get the paramaters close, add another bottle of biospira, put in the first inverts/crabs/snails. Test parameters give them tiny bits of food the first few weeks, then if it stabilizes add a single cheap fish... think damsel /chromis. Start skimming if you havent already, watch the nitrates/ ammonia/nitrites if they stay in check and the fish doesnt end up crab food then slowly stock another fish and try a week monitoring params again.
Add some corals in the mid and lower sections like some $9 zoanthid frags, or some tubinaria, and star polyps. keep the lights dim until they start opening fully. Read, read, read and remember those coral are alive creatures and have a mouth, find out what they eat and feed them, as they thrive with feeding as well as photosynthesis in the good lighting.
Everyone is going to lose a coral or two, some times the seller just frags them wrong, or you mess up and place them in too much light.
I like to look on Aquariumdepot.com as they have a good selection of corals, but it tells the needs of each quickly in the pictures section It will say i like moderate flow, or i need phytoplankton, etc.
I already have the sump ready, and I have a ozonizer, which attacks and destroys (can't find another word) ammonia. On top of that I do plan on adding a skimmer, so the nitrates should go up very slow. From what I've seen normally with cheaper lights, they work, but not as well as top quality ones. The thing that seems to be different about the Mars Aqua light is that it's exceptional and cheap. So once my Dad gives me the money I'll get one of those for sure. I would like to stay away from crabs, because they will take snails out of their shells just so the crab can get a larger one. The one thing I don't want is dead snails.
How is a coral "not fragged right"?
How is a coral "not fragged right"?
I was planning on using some lights I already have until I get live rock or corals, That way I can get the tank running before I get corals.
Here's a thread with pictures of the tank and what I've done with it so far.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/lobster-tank-conversion.670905/
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/lobster-tank-conversion.670905/
When you are looking at purchasing frags, have tye employees let you have a good look and inspect for any algaes and nuisances. Also coral dip them once you get home. This should eliminate the chances of you introducing unwanted pests into your aquarium. There is 99.99% of being something on that frag, good or bad, so it's better safe than sorry.
