starting a reef tank from an aggressive tank?

[hughes07]

what do i need to do set up a good reef tank in my 38 g saltwater. i have just lr and a maroon clown in there. he looks like he wants some friends. i have this annoying white rock that makes it look really fake. but i have hang on filter. any suggestions on things to buy. appliances? fish? inverts?
:help:

 

[tina]

Have you ever used medications in that tank?
How old/big is the maroon? You may wanna find her a mate.
Once you get the correct lighting and start adding some calcium, that white rock will be covered in pretty purple coralline algae in no time.

 

[hughes07]

um. yes for ick. but that was at least a year and a half ago. ive had the maroon clown for maybe 8 monthes or longer. at least 8 months. i want to get some sand but my filter isn't the right type i think.

 

[tina]

It doesn't matter how long ago it was used, if there was copper in that medication, it is still in your fish tank and inverts won't be able to survive with the pressence of copper.

 

[hughes07]

it says on the bottle "invert-safe". i still have it. what do you suggest i get as my first invert.

 

[tina]

Do you have any snails and hermit crabs to start a clean-up crew?

 

[dskidmore]

Originally posted by hughes07
I want to get some sand but my filter isn't the right type i think.
Live rock and live sand can do well without the protien skimmer, but the corals and such will want the better filtration. If you can only afford to invest in one at a time, get the rock and sand first. If you stay dilligent with filter cleanings and water changes, the rock organisims should grow a bit while you're saving up for the protien skimmer.
I'd test out the tank with some cheaper snails and hermit crabs to make sure there is no copper lingering before investing much in new equiptment, rock, sand, or corals. If they thrive, you should be good to go.
To get your white rock to pretty up faster, pick up some VHO or MH lighting and a well-cured, nice looking, live rock from a local fish store, and add it to your tank. If you're really in a hurry, use another rock to grind some of the coraline off the good rock, and spread it into the water.
As for other equiptment, you may want to setup some sort of overflow and sump if you don't already have one. This will get your filtration equiptment out of the way, and keep the water level constant in the display tank. (Don't forget to check the sump for evaporation.)
Could you post all the water parameters you have tests for?
Can we get a picture of your white rock?

 

[hughes07]

well. to be honest im a sophomore in high school. i started all of this on my own and from scratch when my neighbor gave me there 38 galloon aquarium. ive built it up to a substantial aqauarium but i want to make it awesome. how much is all of this going to cost me.

 

[dskidmore]

Could run you quite a bit. If you want to pinch your pennies, you could try building your own protien skimmer. (Do a web search for "Skimmer Design 101".) Parts will run you around $20-40, plus another $20-40 for a pump to run it. If you want corals on a budget, build your own light hood with a VHO ballast and either Power Compact or conventional florecent endcaps. (T-5, T-8 or T-12.) That could run you around $200 for a high quality ballast, but if you get something nice like the IceCap 430, you can "overdrive" conventional (read cheaper and available at the hardware store) bulbs instead of paying the higher prices for VHO specific bulbs.
If you want to stick with fish only, you can skip the skimmer and the fancy light hood, but in my opinion, if you're looking for a cool looking tank, you either need corals or some impressive/expensive specimen fish.
Hopefully your rock is good stuff, just dead. Live rock runs $4-$6 per pound. You only need a small piece to seed your tank with coraline algae. This will work with either the fancy setup or the fish only one.
Live sand: You can pay a few dollars per pound for live sand, or you can get a few pounds per dollar for "Tropical Play Sand" at northeastern US Home Depots. (They are not allowed to sell it for aquarium usage but it's the same stuff from the same mining operation as the stuff Carib-Sea sells for alot more money.) Once again, just a small ammount of live sand from another reef aquarium is all you need to get the live sand started. Your LFS may give/sell you a cup of sand from an established tank, or you may be able to find someone on the classified section here who will sell you some cheaply.
For a sump, you can use a $5 rubbermaid container, but the pump may run you $50 or more, as it will need to be powerful enough to push the water all the way back up to the aquarium at a decent rate. A premade hang-on overflow box may be pricey, but you can use the extra solvent, and narrow pipe from the skimmer, with some extra fittings to make do. See thread: https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/show...light=overflow
So overall for a reef setup, $400 at minimum, then you have to start buying corals at $40+ apiece.