zoidberg01
Member
My reef tank will have a refuge tank , what also do I need to maintain the coral happy im new to this. I would want to buy soft corals something you would see moving
im going to start my first reef tank
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zoidberg01
Member
I also want to put dragonets
flower
Well-Known Member
Hi, welcome to the site!
A good beginners book on keeping a saltwater aquarium is a must read. Then when you feel you have a good grip on understanding...
First you need to figure out the tank size. If all you want are soft coral then T5HO or Power compact lighting will be plenty. If you know right off you want dragonets, a sump filter system with a refugium chamber is the best way to go.
Get your own LAB type test kits, strip kits won't do. With a reef, you need to be able to know what's going on with water quality and not go running to the store for them to test your water.
Fill your tank with well mixed reef crystals or salt, and RO (reverse osmosis) water...Walmart sells it for 37 cents a gallon at the water refill station, most grocery stores have one. Don't use tap or well water.
You will need power heads to move the water...the wave is the life of the ocean and your SW tank. Live rock and reef sand would be the best option since you want a huge copepod population. 2 inches deep of sand. Add rock first, make sure it can't fall over creating as rock slide that could crush critters, or break the tank...then add the sand around it. You can't build on shifting sand.
Any fish tank needs to be cycled first before you can add life...so after you set up your tank, you need to toss in a chunk of raw shrimp...or...pour pure ammonia (found in any laundry isle at the grocery store)...or...ghost feed an invisible fish for a few weeks. Please don't cycle with a live fish.
You won't be able to get dragonets right away, the refugium has to have time to populate enough copepods to keep a dragonet fed, that's all they eat...lots and lots and lots of copepods everyday. It's possible to teach one to eat frozen food, but you can't count on it. So waiting 6 months to a year before adding it, will be necessary. One single dragonet can wipe out a copepod population in no time, so the idea of having more then one would be risky. I don't know if dragonets will fight each other, since I never kept two at one time.
A good beginners book on keeping a saltwater aquarium is a must read. Then when you feel you have a good grip on understanding...
First you need to figure out the tank size. If all you want are soft coral then T5HO or Power compact lighting will be plenty. If you know right off you want dragonets, a sump filter system with a refugium chamber is the best way to go.
Get your own LAB type test kits, strip kits won't do. With a reef, you need to be able to know what's going on with water quality and not go running to the store for them to test your water.
Fill your tank with well mixed reef crystals or salt, and RO (reverse osmosis) water...Walmart sells it for 37 cents a gallon at the water refill station, most grocery stores have one. Don't use tap or well water.
You will need power heads to move the water...the wave is the life of the ocean and your SW tank. Live rock and reef sand would be the best option since you want a huge copepod population. 2 inches deep of sand. Add rock first, make sure it can't fall over creating as rock slide that could crush critters, or break the tank...then add the sand around it. You can't build on shifting sand.
Any fish tank needs to be cycled first before you can add life...so after you set up your tank, you need to toss in a chunk of raw shrimp...or...pour pure ammonia (found in any laundry isle at the grocery store)...or...ghost feed an invisible fish for a few weeks. Please don't cycle with a live fish.
You won't be able to get dragonets right away, the refugium has to have time to populate enough copepods to keep a dragonet fed, that's all they eat...lots and lots and lots of copepods everyday. It's possible to teach one to eat frozen food, but you can't count on it. So waiting 6 months to a year before adding it, will be necessary. One single dragonet can wipe out a copepod population in no time, so the idea of having more then one would be risky. I don't know if dragonets will fight each other, since I never kept two at one time.