real
New Member
SWF Hobbyists,
I am very interested in starting my own saltwater tank. I have never had an aquarium but my family has had several small-scale freshwater tanks; we do have a minature pond that contains various goldfish including koi as well. A few people reccomend that I do not start with saltwater because it is hard to maintain, but I have read and heard otherwise. One person at a local fish store even went so far as to insult me "A saltwater tank is not the way to go if you have never had your own aquarium, it requires patience and money. You'll need to spend at least $1000 in accessories to start." Rude, snotty (his tone) and untrue, I thought. One, I have the money and two, I have the patience. I enjoy growing plants of all kinds. I'm interested in the saltwater, not the freshwater, and I'm sure I can dive in rather than wade in. The right information and dedication is all that's needed, as with anything. I have been reading boat loads of information about starting a saltwater tank, I'm still a bit confused about some things and I did my best to research before askign simple questions. I hope I'm not polluting the tank here, but I was hoping maybe a few of you could answer some questions for a new hobbyist.
-First off, I have been reading a lot of the articles on ***********.Com, can anyone reccomend any more sources for new hobbyists? Possibly a guide to setting up a new tank? I would like to start a 55gal. saltwater tank, mainly because A.) I want a nice big beautiful tank, 55gal was a perfect size for my preference and B.) The bigger it is the harder the system is to break, so I have read... any sources would be greatly appreciated.
-Secondly, many fish are not reef compatible. What exactly does this mean? I would eventually like to put corals and other types of plants in my tank, to me, that's half the fun. What do "reefs" consist of exactly (just coral? anemones?) ?
-And third, what are some good types of fish to start with? I've been reccomended to Damsels and Clownfish, I figured I'd start with those two. I didn't want to get more than one of each though because of terrirtorial issues I have researched with these fish (it also just seems like a bad idea to put two schools of fish into the tank first and have trouble possibly acclimating a thirdfourth fish that are not in schools? I am unsure of this, just a thought), and I'd like to start with a little bit more than 2 fish. I'd like to choose fish that are reef compatible, seeing how as in the future I would like to place corals and grow other plants of some (unknown, really...) kind and I would like to choose fish that are compatible with Damsels and Clowns. Any reccomendations are great.
-When a site (like this) lists the size of the fish, is that the initial size or the maximum size?
-Does a fish really require 100gal. minimum, or is that just full potential for it to grow to maximum size?
I hope I am not asking simple questions that I may have missed or skimmed over, but I really don't skim so I just havn't found the right material. I may just go buy or loan a book from a local library as well. I hope I am not wasting anyones time. A very nice community here! Thanks considerably for everyones hardwork and dedication, and most importantly, knowledge and friendship!
I am very interested in starting my own saltwater tank. I have never had an aquarium but my family has had several small-scale freshwater tanks; we do have a minature pond that contains various goldfish including koi as well. A few people reccomend that I do not start with saltwater because it is hard to maintain, but I have read and heard otherwise. One person at a local fish store even went so far as to insult me "A saltwater tank is not the way to go if you have never had your own aquarium, it requires patience and money. You'll need to spend at least $1000 in accessories to start." Rude, snotty (his tone) and untrue, I thought. One, I have the money and two, I have the patience. I enjoy growing plants of all kinds. I'm interested in the saltwater, not the freshwater, and I'm sure I can dive in rather than wade in. The right information and dedication is all that's needed, as with anything. I have been reading boat loads of information about starting a saltwater tank, I'm still a bit confused about some things and I did my best to research before askign simple questions. I hope I'm not polluting the tank here, but I was hoping maybe a few of you could answer some questions for a new hobbyist.
-First off, I have been reading a lot of the articles on ***********.Com, can anyone reccomend any more sources for new hobbyists? Possibly a guide to setting up a new tank? I would like to start a 55gal. saltwater tank, mainly because A.) I want a nice big beautiful tank, 55gal was a perfect size for my preference and B.) The bigger it is the harder the system is to break, so I have read... any sources would be greatly appreciated.
-Secondly, many fish are not reef compatible. What exactly does this mean? I would eventually like to put corals and other types of plants in my tank, to me, that's half the fun. What do "reefs" consist of exactly (just coral? anemones?) ?
-And third, what are some good types of fish to start with? I've been reccomended to Damsels and Clownfish, I figured I'd start with those two. I didn't want to get more than one of each though because of terrirtorial issues I have researched with these fish (it also just seems like a bad idea to put two schools of fish into the tank first and have trouble possibly acclimating a thirdfourth fish that are not in schools? I am unsure of this, just a thought), and I'd like to start with a little bit more than 2 fish. I'd like to choose fish that are reef compatible, seeing how as in the future I would like to place corals and grow other plants of some (unknown, really...) kind and I would like to choose fish that are compatible with Damsels and Clowns. Any reccomendations are great.
-When a site (like this) lists the size of the fish, is that the initial size or the maximum size?
-Does a fish really require 100gal. minimum, or is that just full potential for it to grow to maximum size?
I hope I am not asking simple questions that I may have missed or skimmed over, but I really don't skim so I just havn't found the right material. I may just go buy or loan a book from a local library as well. I hope I am not wasting anyones time. A very nice community here! Thanks considerably for everyones hardwork and dedication, and most importantly, knowledge and friendship!
Good luck!
