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[fishycpa]

I am very new the the saltwater aquarium hobby, and was wondering if anyone could give the the basics. Best plants, fish, snails, shrimp, salt mix, coral, etc... I would like a wide variety of animals, but am worried about compatability. I am interested in tanks ranging from 50 to 100 gal. Any information would be helpful. Also, what special requirements need to be in place to care for a seahorse? :happyfish Thanks.

 

[socalracer]

the best advice i could give u is to buy a book that covers the basics i did and it answered most of my questions and is a great reference, a lot of people won't respond to questions like urs just b/c they have answered them so many times. the book i got was the conscientus marine aquarist by someone fenner

 

[ray28576]

Originally Posted by fishyCPA
I am very new the the saltwater aquarium hobby, and was wondering if anyone could give the the basics. Best plants, fish, snails, shrimp, salt mix, coral, etc... I would like a wide variety of animals, but am worried about compatability. I am interested in tanks ranging from 50 to 100 gal. Any information would be helpful. Also, what special requirements need to be in place to care for a seahorse? :happyfish Thanks.
Before you start with the live stock, know that, the bigger the tank, the better. When you get your tank, you will have to cycle it. That takes about 4-6 weeks. You will need a test kit. You will have to test Nitrate, Nitrite, PH, Ammonia, Alk, Calcium. To keep corals, you will need very intense lighting. The lighting can get really expensive. You will also need Live Rock, also kind of expensive. IMO, it is best to go with Live sand as a substrate. As far as filtration, you will need the LR, LS, as stated already, also, a protein skimmer, and maybe even a sump. You will need to do frequent water changes, rule of thumb says 10% each week. You will definitly want to use RO, or distilled water. You will want some Power Heads in your tank too. Good water circulation is a must. You will want to keep the tank temp at 78-82 degrees and keep it stable.
This is just a quick overview of this hobby, I'm sure I left quite a bit out so make sure you do tons of research. With this hobby you will never be done learning new things. Its very fun and interesting.
To answer your question about the animals, IMO, it is best to start by looking at the fish, coral, and inverts on this site and read about them. As far as sea horses, I recomend having a tank just for them without other animals. Just my opinion. Hope this helps, and good luck.

 

[ray28576]

Originally Posted by socalracer
the best advice i could give u is to buy a book that covers the basics i did and it answered most of my questions and is a great reference, a lot of people won't respond to questions like urs just b/c they have answered them so many times. the book i got was the conscientus marine aquarist by someone fenner
Great Advice!

I have answered this kind of question quite a few times. LOL. Still happy to help though.

 

[zman2205]

seahorses are very hard to care for and i really dont think anyone but an expert should keep one. i believe they only eat live brine shrimp.
i agree about getting a book, they tell u pretty much all u should need to know

 

[maeistero]

Originally Posted by zman2205
seahorses are very hard to care for and i really dont think anyone but an expert should keep one. i believe they only eat live brine shrimp.
agreed. hard animals to keep for a newcomer.
Originally Posted by zman2205
i agree about getting a book, they tell u pretty much all u should need to know
disagree. fenners book is outdated. expect quite a bit of loss and shortcomings if you follow it without proper guidance. it will give you the basics of the 1980's, but it seems it took him a few years to write it after that. you can learn more on this site than you will ever learn from a book. use the search function. welcome to a hole in your wallet and i hope you don't give up like the people we buy used tanks from! btw, don't buy a new tank, used ones are everywhere

 

[opus18]

I was reading online that during the beginning of the cycle, the protein skimmer should be off? Is this advised?

 

[darknes]

Originally Posted by opus18
I was reading online that during the beginning of the cycle, the protein skimmer should be off? Is this advised?
Personally, I don't think it matters either way.

 

[opus18]

then I must have a very confused tank.
Ran just salt-water through my system for about a week.
I purchased cured LR and Fiji Pink LS, aquascaped, tested waters... Looked good.
Added 4 chromis (runt of the 4 passed on).
After a week, no detectable amonia or nitrites, but detectable nitrates. Skimmer cup was about full.
Emptied the cup, added two B&W Percula Clowns and a sunrise dottyback.
Still no change in amonia but a small increase in Nitrates, which facilitated a water change.
Nitrates went to trace levels.
Tank has been online now for 4 weeks and still trace readings on Amonia & nitrites.
did my tank somehow cycle without me knowing it? Or was the LR & LS already packed with the needed bacterias? So far, the only bad thing that I've had was a diatom outbreak which appears to be declining.
All ideas welcome.
the LFS I've been working with has been very helpfull (at least the 3 lead guys)(always find out who these guys are

). One of the junior guys was the one that sold the perculas and the dottyback. I have a feeling he got a bit of a lecture after I left on Saturday.

 

[brandond20]

Well I'm a newbie and don't even have a tank yet, but I would say that your tank hasn't cycled yet. A week isn't that long of a time to get the bacterial levels up enough to start supporting life, IMO from all I have read thus far on the topic.
I think you should slow down a little bit. Sounds like you just bought your tank and wanted some life in it as fast as you could. Also did you test it with a cocktail shrimp to see if the levels would normalize again? Just take some time, learn some more stuff on here and other places while waiting for your tank to get ready.
Something I have read time and time again on here is that this hobby demands patience.