More questions before i start.

[dempseyjosh]

I've asked a few questions, and i still have some more before i start my 12g nano tank within the next few weeks.
does anyone else live in rochester ny and know the best lfs?
i'm starting to wonder what the big differences are between reef tanks and fish only, or fish with live rock. is there more to it than more specific lighting requirements and more picky measurments which would require more water changes.
also when i went to the lfs and was looking at the live rock i was wondering what the difference is between the different kinds. all i've ever heard of before i went there was fiji rock. and there were like 3 different kinds there.
i was told to put the rock in the tank and then to cycle it. is that going to kill everything in/on the rock?
what makes a good peice of rock to buy. most of the rock for sale was covered in a green stringy algae?
and do you normally have to ask for the water at the lfs? i didn't see it mentioned anywhere in the store.
is there anything else that needs to be tested besides what comes in the standard deluxe salt water test kit(i forgot what the brand is) there is also one for a reef test kit.

 

[perfectdark]

The big difference in Reef tanks and fish only tanks is that a reef tank is its own natural filter.. in a sense although it requires you to still maintain water changes and outside influence on the tank to maintain it. There is a guy here on the messg boards that uses no biological filtration in the back of his nano to filter his tank. All of the LR in his display is his filter, he uses a couple of bags of carbon in the rear chamber and thats it.
Also in a reef tank you can keep corals as you would have the appropricate lighting to maintain a certain level of corals. Most nano tanks have PC lighting able to sustain most soft corals. Photosynthisis is important in reef tanks as it helps keep your tank inhabitants stable, providing algea growth, coraline algea propogation and benificial bacteria that host on LR will also benifit from your lighting. While a fish only tank can still have LR in it there will be a differnt type of bacteria that grows on it as it wont be light dependent. Water changes in any small tank reef or not is important as your fish will expel waste and your cycle will produce nitrates no matter whats in the tank. Either you have a biological filter to help keep your trates down or your LR in your reef does it you are doing the same job in both ways. Its a matter of how much money you want to spend and what your intention is with your tank. You can always set up a fish only tank and in the future upgrade your lights and start a reef tank too.
Your live rock wont die as you put it into your tank and start your cycle it will cure. Thats good, and to help your cycle you can drop a piece of shirmp in your tank to feed the bacteria that will eventually live on your LR. Your cycle is going to take about 2 weeks but testing your amonia levels will tell you when its complete.
The LR question I cant answer sorry I dont know what makes one more expensive than the other all I do know is that this site has killer LR when you order and its cheaper than most LFS that sell it.
As for what makes a good piece of LR to buy well the bigger more pouris the rock the lighter it is and the less you pay for volume of rock. I bought 2 large pieces for my tank and then filled in the rest with smaller ones so I can arrange them how I want making any shape that I like. I have 2 fish that love caverns and tunnels so I made sure there were pleanty for them to have. But its your choice in what you like and how you want your tank to look.
The essential test kits IMO when you are starting out are.. Nitrate, PH, Amonia, and Alkalinity. Calcium is important but as you start out its not going to be an issue for you. One of the most important things you can do when you maintain your tank is to use RO or RO/DI water with your changes. The more pure the better off. No phosphates or any other chemicals to thorw off your levels. People use tap water and they have alot of issues with diatoms and algea blooms. I always use RO/DI.. These are the things that I have experienced with my tank and I am sure there are alot of other opionions out there too. Hope this helps a little. Good luck.

 

[dempseyjosh]

Thank you for the in depth reply.
i have a 12g nano cube deluxe on the way. it should be here next week, but i'm in no hurry to get it started until i have a plan on what i need and what i need to do.
this is also coming with a fission nano skimmer, that i read is junk, but really got no explanation as to why, and if there are better ones or if it isn't needed.
also coming with a small heater, and right now i'm not even sure the proper temp for a sw tank. 80?
i'm sure the lighting is the stock lighting that includes the lunar lights. i dont' know if this is sufficient for reef or not.
so there are some new questions i had and some more info that mgiht help anyone that wants to help.

 

[perfectdark]

The nano cube deluxe has sufficient lighting for soft corals. Your 10K pc lighting @ 24 watts and your 50/50 actinic lighting for astetics and corals @ another 24 watts give you a total of 48 watts of PC lighting which is sufficient @ 4 watts per gal.
Your heater should be fine, 80 is a normal temp for SW Tank. You will want to get a thermometer too your lights will heat your water up and the fans in the hood are designed to keep every thing cool. Fluctuation in temp is worse than a tank that rises to 82* or drops to 77 finding a way to keep things stable from morning to night and the changing seasons is key. The lunar lights are just for show.. they really serve no purpose other than making your tank look as it would at night.
And from what I have heard the skimmer of choice is a sapphire nano skimmer. The fission ones seem to give people issues because they are tough to regulate. Apparently they get alot of micro bubbles in the tank, but I dont know, I have never used one. I have a 29Gal Bio Cube and dont see the need for a skimmer right now. I have a post with pics of my tank.. its the same set up as yours std lights and no skimmer and everything is healthy except its a 29 gal instead of a 12... feel free to look.

 

[dempseyjosh]

thanks again.

 

[jehannum]

Just as a side bar; I live just outside of Buffalo, probably east driving distance for you.
We have at least 2 really good LFS. We have The Fish Place and Salt Water Paradise, both are in Tonawanda. If you'd like more specifics... shoot me an email: rreuman@gmail.com

 

[dempseyjosh]

well.... i went to check out another lfs and it has amazing things... but i think that store is for the more advanced people. it's called the reef shoppe and has amazing reef tanks and cell all sorts of coral and plants, but i didn't see any live rock for sale and again didnt see any mention of being able to get ro/di water from them.
this is the second time in this store where nobody even helped, this time they didn't even bother to get off of their personal phone call. so i didn't even get to ask for advice.
thank you jehannum, i will actually be out in hamburg this weekend so i will probably look them up and go check them out.

 

[jehannum]

I live right near Hamburg, and I work there every day at the Fairgrounds. The Fish Place is pretty decent, but Salt Water Paradise is excellent. Great selection of corals, tons of live rock.
Another place to look up is Reef Creations, down off of Millersport highway... they come highly recommended.
Let me know how things work out for you. I just got my Nano set up yesterday...

 

[garychef1]

ok here is my stuff:
Reef is atank with fish, live rock, corals/anemones, and inverts. A fish only is a tank with just fish. And a fish only with live rock (FOWLR) is a fish tank with live rock in it as filtration and decour. Reef tanks need more light to support corals. Fish only tanks can have a 100 watt light bulb as lighting but that would probably not be very good. And FOWLR tanks dont need too much light. FOWLR's are people who like reefs, but like not reef-safe fish as well, so they make it like a reef without corals.
There are tons and tons of Live rock types. The most common ones are fiji and tonga but there is other types that are less common like Marshall island. The location of where it is from is basically thee shape. Fiji and Tonga have less exciting shape because it costs less than other kinds but other rocks that are more expensive usually have a more unique sight, texture, and dimension. Also, rocks that cost more are usually more mature and have coralline on it(if you dont know what coralline is then just read on).
Putting in Live rock cycles your tank, slower than putting in fish but it will cycle, and no the live rock will not die from a cycle.
A good piece of live rock is loaded with encrusting coralline algae. If you dont know what that is, it is an algae that is hard and different shades of purple. It can even be red, orange, lime green, and very rarely pink. The more coralline the better the rock.
Some LFS's don't offer salt or RO water but most will if you ask.