i need help starting a reef
- Thread starter scott270
- Start date
turbojoe
Member
HIYA SWNEWBIE........First off..I would suggest that you get a good REEF AQUARIUM BOOK if you havent already.SPRUNG,DELBEEK,TULLOCK,ETC are very good authers. To awnser your question is a gamble at this point.Let us know whether you plan too keep hard,soft,and what species etc. Different inverts have different lighting,flow rates, etc that need too be addressed.Give us more info please...GOOD LUCK !!!
wamp
Active Member
One word.. well actually 2.. Money and Patitents.
It takes alot of time and money to start a tank. If you are just beggining do not make the mistake of going out and listening to one persons advise and buy everything they tell you. This will leave you frustrated and broke. Ask around and get ideas to form your own ideas. Buy good equipment. If you cant afford it save for it. Read. Listen but take it with a grain of salt. Take it slow. It actually takes years for a tank to fully cycle. I know you hear people say a month or so but thats just one part. There are so mony things that a tank goes through you can never learn it all. Rember you will have casualities but keep at it and your tank will look just as good if not better than everyones. Rember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
It takes alot of time and money to start a tank. If you are just beggining do not make the mistake of going out and listening to one persons advise and buy everything they tell you. This will leave you frustrated and broke. Ask around and get ideas to form your own ideas. Buy good equipment. If you cant afford it save for it. Read. Listen but take it with a grain of salt. Take it slow. It actually takes years for a tank to fully cycle. I know you hear people say a month or so but thats just one part. There are so mony things that a tank goes through you can never learn it all. Rember you will have casualities but keep at it and your tank will look just as good if not better than everyones. Rember, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
josh
Active Member
HI,
Glad to see you aren't just jumping into it. I guess to start off with what size tank are you talking about here? Do you have any equipment for it? As mentioned it takes a lonnnnng time to get a tank mature and costs, well let's say more than you will ever think. For the tank size, I have a 30 which is packed, having to do it over I would atleast go with a 55 if you want to keep any fish in there at all. I just have one fish, a tomato clown. Once you decide on the tank then you can start to explore lights ( $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ ) and need for a sump, and so on. Just keep asking questions to get a variety of answers and then do your homework.
HTH
Josh
Glad to see you aren't just jumping into it. I guess to start off with what size tank are you talking about here? Do you have any equipment for it? As mentioned it takes a lonnnnng time to get a tank mature and costs, well let's say more than you will ever think. For the tank size, I have a 30 which is packed, having to do it over I would atleast go with a 55 if you want to keep any fish in there at all. I just have one fish, a tomato clown. Once you decide on the tank then you can start to explore lights ( $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ ) and need for a sump, and so on. Just keep asking questions to get a variety of answers and then do your homework.
HTH
Josh
josh
Active Member
Hi,
Sounds like a good start. You can keep that light untill you decide to go with corals. First I would start adding live rock. You will eventually want 1.5lbs/gallon. Next you will want some more circulation via powerheads. I recommend maxi jets. You will want atleast 10X circulation of the total gallons. Position them so as not to have any dead spots in the water, no current. Other than that buy a good book, I recommend any by Fenner and some good tests kits, salifert are nice and not too pricy, or seachem. That would be a good start. Oh and the substrate, whatch thinking about that? If I were setting up a new tank, I guess i would use LS. However, I don't have it so I will leave that part of to the folks that do. Good luck and keep asking questions.
Josh
Sounds like a good start. You can keep that light untill you decide to go with corals. First I would start adding live rock. You will eventually want 1.5lbs/gallon. Next you will want some more circulation via powerheads. I recommend maxi jets. You will want atleast 10X circulation of the total gallons. Position them so as not to have any dead spots in the water, no current. Other than that buy a good book, I recommend any by Fenner and some good tests kits, salifert are nice and not too pricy, or seachem. That would be a good start. Oh and the substrate, whatch thinking about that? If I were setting up a new tank, I guess i would use LS. However, I don't have it so I will leave that part of to the folks that do. Good luck and keep asking questions.
Josh
cyn
Member
Hi, and welcome! To answer your question about placement of coral, we all need to know the type of coral you are refering to. As mentioned previously, you will need more than the standard lights you have. Mushrooms and possibly leathers may do ok with your lights, but other corals require much more light. Different species like different lighting levels as well as different water flow. If you have a specific coral you are interested in, by all means give us a name and we will try to help you.
For your substrate, I would reccomend getting rid of the crushed coral before you go any further. I too started with CC and changed to a DSB after my tank had cycled. I made the change on the advice I recieved here and because I could never get my nitrates to zero. Corals and other inverts are sensitive to nitrate, and this was what I wanted to keep. Since the switch, I have never tested positive for nitrates.
Keep asking questions and take it slow!
HTH,
cyn
For your substrate, I would reccomend getting rid of the crushed coral before you go any further. I too started with CC and changed to a DSB after my tank had cycled. I made the change on the advice I recieved here and because I could never get my nitrates to zero. Corals and other inverts are sensitive to nitrate, and this was what I wanted to keep. Since the switch, I have never tested positive for nitrates.
Keep asking questions and take it slow!
HTH,
cyn
marine qa
Member
I agree w/cyn, get rid of the CC. I had it first but got rid of it during my cycle and before I had any fish.
Where you live your local Home Depot may have "Southdown Play Sand". I used about 100lbs of this sand with 20lbs of "Natures Ocean" live sand for my 46g w/sump. I also have about 2lbs of LR per gallon (more than amt. shown on site, I'm to cheap to update it). Finally, I have a very large skimmer. This combination has produced very good water quality over the last year, and I am just now considering corals, etc.
Where you live your local Home Depot may have "Southdown Play Sand". I used about 100lbs of this sand with 20lbs of "Natures Ocean" live sand for my 46g w/sump. I also have about 2lbs of LR per gallon (more than amt. shown on site, I'm to cheap to update it). Finally, I have a very large skimmer. This combination has produced very good water quality over the last year, and I am just now considering corals, etc.
