need help PLZ

[southcoral]

hi! I'm just starting out and I have a 29 gallon (i haven't set the tank up, i'm trying to find out as much as possible before i make too big of mistakes). How do you set up coral in your tank?? Do you attach it to live rock, or just place it in the tank? And how do you make it appear like layers (like in Motohead's tank in the aquariam contest) I saw at the fish store in a really big tank where they had about three layers of glass about five inches apart in steps (a hiding place for the fish) is this a good idea, or is this how you create the natural look of coral. Is it best to buy coral after you've bought you're fish, and what do you do with the fish when you're trying to put the coral in the tank? thanks so much, love ya

 

[ericholcek]

coral usually come attached to a rock. just add it to the tank. doesnt matter whether fish or coral go first

 

[colcoral]

Make sure and set your tank up first for awhile before you add coral. Your tank needs to cycle first. Do a search on tank setups to get more info, but make sure your tank has cycled and your levels are right before you add anything. Then people often add a clean up crew of snails and/or crabs. After that you might try a damsel to see if your tank is safe. Make sure and get something you can live with if they make it. I used two yellow tail damsels three years ago. I really like them, but a lot of people don't. Good Luck.

 

[southcoral]

thanks, i had planned on it because I bought this book that includes all the aquariam suitable marine fish, it's really neat because it will tell you what fish are the easiest and hardiest, to which are very fragile, it's called "Marine Fishes" But i had planned on buying a royal gramma, they're very hardy fish. But i'm still wondering, how do you make the coral look "natural"?? thanks a bunch, love ya

:cheer:

 

[southcoral]

i would like to know how you set up a coral tank, like how you place it inside the tank to make it appear natural, thanks a bunch love ya

 

[6stokes]

You sure are passing out a lot of love and no one's loving you back.

It's really just trail and error. Nothing special, just look at other tanks, pics on this site, and make your own master piece. You can do it! Just don't add any corals for a few months after set up. Your water really needs to stabilize a bit. Also follow the advice of cycling your tank (you can use live rock to cycle it before adding fish).
The more stuff you get the more you'll change the tank around until it look natural, like you're trying to achieve.

 

[6stokes]

Forgot to mention, be sure all of your fish choices are "reef safe."

 

[yosemite sam]

Getting a tank to look 'natural' is sort of trial and error. In the tank I have now, I probably rearranged the live rock 4 or 5 times before I was happy with the way it looked. Placing corals in the tank has as much to do with the needs of the corals - current, lighting, their 'aggressiveness' (ie if they sting other corals or not) as with it does with looks. The key is to go really slow, especially with your first tank. Get a lot books and read them. Read lots of posts here. Ask lots of questions. Time = money. The more you rush, the more money you're going to end up wasting.