Newbie questions

[freeNINETY9]

for what you want to do, id say get a five pound bag of crushed coral and a five pound bag of aragonite for substrate. add ten lbs of live rock and a small filter for movement and youve got the start to a good tank. i dont use skimmers on either of my two tanks and my parameters are tight as long as feeding is kept in check and the tanks arent crowded. i change the filter cartridges twice a month and water change every other week and that works for me. might not be the same for you but shouldnt be TOO different.

 

[water_baby83]

Well there are many brands of salt you can purchase. Some claim to be better than others, and others really are better. Not many brands vary in price more than a few dollars plus or minus, so it can be a bit confusing for the beginner. One thing you need to stop yourself from doing - before you even start, is looking for bargains. Now while yes, sales are awsome oppotunities - those are different. What I mean by bargains is looking for the lowest costing items, trying to save money at every turn. Though not with everything, with most, the saying "You get what you pay for", rings true. Salt is not just salt, and I think that is one of the biggest misconseptions out there. There are various additives in the salts, and different systems of processing the crystals. The amounts and combinations of such, in part, determine your sucess, working in conjunction with your other supp. to ensure healthy and stable water parameters. Below I listed some of the larger named brands. I have used all at one point or another but for the most part prefer Kent or Instant Ocean over anything else. I love Kent products and have always had amazing success with them - - for one example, in one tank I just set up, I have new coral rapidly growing on some of my new live rock - - and my cycling isnt even done yet!!!! (I buy un-cured rock, and if you are able to monitor the water quality and strong currents with double dosed supp., you will be amazed at what you can salvage and watch flourish - though I DO NOT recommend this for the beginner, it is a lot of work and must be monitored daily).


INSTANT OCEAN SALTS
http://instantocean.com/frames1.htm

RED SEA SALTS
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produ...f=AA&cm_mmc=PPC-_-Yahoo-_-fish-_-red sea salt

KENT MARINE SALTS
http://www.kentmarine.com/saltwater/sea-salts/kent-sea-salt.htm

CARIB-SEA SALTS
http://carib-sea.com/index.html

BIO SEA MARINEMIX SALTS
http://www.aquariumsupplycompany.com/catalog/item/3157030/2768563.htm

SEA-CHEM MARINE SALTS
http://seachem.com/products/product_pages/MarineSalt.html

SEA-CHEM REEF SALTS
http://seachem.com/products/product_pages/ReefSalt05.html

CORAL SEA SALTS
http://www.kordon.com/kordon/coral_sea/index.htm

OCEAN PURE SEA SALTS
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idProduct=TA7111

TROPIC MARIN SEA SALTS
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idProduct=TA7111

MARINE ENVIRONMENT SALTS
http://www.northcoastmarines.com/marine_environment_salt.htm



There are others but I don't want to overwhelm you, lol so this should be a good starting point for you. Hope this helps some, let me know if you need more info -k-.