$$$

[MyCatsDrool]

FloridaNewbie, that is a really, really good idea. Those tanks come with everything you need but salt, liverock, livestock and water and are perfectly capable. I'd go with the 12 gal minimum, 6 gal if you just want corals and inverts. No fish in a 6 gal.

 

[mp3z24]

Not to mention people who refuse to use any mocodum (sp...Is that even the word?) of grammar or even attempt to spell out words...

I believe the word is "modicum"... meaning moderate amount.

can i answer ALL of the questions posted by "MyCatsDrool"? no, but i can answer a significant number of them, at least as they apply to my FOWLR tank.

personally, im kind of curious of how old buc09 is. reading through this thread has given me the impression that he (or she) is not terribly old. maybe he (or she) is not the immature kid that they appear to be... for the fate of their future pets, i hope not.

i don't know... up til now i was just a fly on the wall, listening in as the posts go back and forth. i do have to say that judging by the posts put up my buc09, it appears he (or she) is not ready to have a tank, be it large or small. instant gratification is all but impossible in this hobby. good things take time, but bad things happen fast.

lets look at this scenario from a different perspective...

if someone were to post on a pet forum for any other kind of animal... a dog forum for instance... and state that they wanted to go and buy a dog from their local pet shop. but they only wanted to spend XX dollars on the items necessary for the animal, people would be up in arms. what if they asked do i really need a dog collar for my dog? do i really need to get them toys? are rabies shots really necessary? do i really need to get a pooper-scooper, or can i let their waste fester in my lawn? my relatives have a dog, and they dont ever walk him, so i wont have to walk my dog either... right?

granted, the people here are not experts, but some of them are close, and many of them have already gone through the hardships of trying something one way, and learning that it doesnt work. asking for advice and telling someone they are wrong when they give it to you is just... well, rude...

all things said, i do hope you come away with a sw tank that you are proud of, that you can enjoy, and that keeps your fish happy and healthy. heed the advice given to you and you will come away happy and will spend less money in the long run.

~mike

 

[MyCatsDrool]

Ty mike....i was trying for that one =)

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

And i am sure you could name frogspawn, hammer, and plate or acro and monti.

Nope. I didn't know squat about corals when I put my first fish into my tank. What I did know was that I had several months to learn about them before my tank would be even ready to start thinking about keeping them. And as far as what anemone is best for a clown... I still don't know that and I have a clown. And honestly, I don't care about knowing that because I'm not going to put an anemone in my tank to start with. If I ever decide to for some reason, then I'll figure that part out. Shoot... up until last weekend, I didn't even know what frogspawn looked like!

While I agree that the original poster doesn't seem too interesting in advice that differs from their original plan, to suggest that they need to know exactly where they're going before they even set foot out the door is again a bit unrealistic. Everybody processes things differently, and can actually get to the same outcome in different ways. Me personally... I'm as anal as can be and want to know where I'm going before I start. And that's kind of how I approached this hobby (except for knowing didly squat about corals!) But to make others conform to my own way of doing things isn't going to work for a lot of people. To me, I guess that's why I disagree with the "you must answer these questions before you start" strategy. While I'm just a newbie myself, I believe many of those questions don't really have a "correct" answer. But recognizing why there may be various answers or opinions is an important step with deciding for yourself what is right for your own tank.

I'm not arguing with most of your complaints about the apparent attitude of the original poster. I just felt I had to comment that while your questions are definitely good questions, not everyone learns new things the same way and folks shouldn't shy away from pursuing this hobby for fear of not knowing "everything."

 

[MyCatsDrool]

Point taken =). I think my point was more that the OP doesn't want to learn how to do this, he wants to be told exactly what to buy, and there are no simple answers. And on top of that when told exactly what is needed, he rejected it.

I agree, that my little quiz was over the top, but i was making a point, i guess, and got a bit carried away. My main concern is he isn't interested in knowing the answers to ANY of those questions, or researching to learn the answers to any of them....he seems to want an easy to care for and pretty to look at fish for a small price and won't take "no, you can't put Dori in a 10 gallon for $120" for an answer.

 

[Lance M.]

My animals' welfare is at stake.

But there are some people that don't think like that. They think the fish are there to entertain them and look pretty and expect everything is going to be fine and if they die, o well they can be replaced...

That's basically who you are if you are not willing to read up and research beforehand.

Fish are like second-class pets. They are under cats and dogs. If a dog was living in improper conditions then guess what? the dog is taken away and your thrown in jail. If a fish is living in bad conditions, guess what? nothing happens. It either adapts overtime, living a very short life compared to it's normal lifespan or dies within a couple weeks. Then what do people do? They go buy another one. Bettas and goldfish have it the worst IMO.

 

[physicsdude]

whoa. this is crazy- some of these replies, specificallly those long winded and outrageous ones from catsdrool, are out of line. this is a fourum to help people, not to exercise the muscles in our fingersin mass typing.

first, buy a good book to make sure u stay on track. i recommend that you buy this book: the conscientious marine aquarist by robert fenner. you can find it using the search on amazon.com. buy it- you'll need it for reference.

second, don't jump in and buy anything until you are certain about what you need for your tank.

third, this is a hobby and it should be taken as such. do all the reading you can in your free time.

fourth, i will speak for myself that i want to help you and lead you in the right direction simply cause this forum is an extension of my hobby- thus i enjoy, usually, interacting with some of these characters. pm if you have any more ?s and such. maybe i can cut thru this mich-mash you've been reading here and make it easy. saltwater tanks, 10 gallons and less are easy. to me, they are fun and more challenging. www.nano-reef.com is a good site for you on more specific information regarding smaller sw tanks.

 

[physicsdude]

LOL! scoot, that's blunt but frankly well said.

 

[Lance M.]

This portion of your post has been edited, it is in violation of the User Agreement. Further violations of the User Agreement could result in removal from our community.

What do you mean by that?

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=93857&highlight=

Read your algae thread above. Yea it definitely looks like you didn't need any help from the "idiots" here.

O and your the guy from the horseshoe crab thread.

i bought a baby horseshoe crab, and put him in a 20 gallon for a year, he was fine, until i gave him away because i took the tank down, im sure he will be fine, remember every animal dies eventually.

And then a very experienced moderator's follow up:

This is not my outlook. While it is true that everything dies it is our responsibility to make sure that the animals we keep are given the best quality of life available. This statement shows a total disregard of what we stand for as aquarist.

What a wonderful outlook you have scoot. *Sarcasm*

 

[physicsdude]

why u picking on scoot. first off, he did not need help setting up a tank, he needed help with alage. those are two differrent things. you don't know the full story behind the horseshoe crab therefore to pass judgement is pre-mature and incorrect.

 

[scoot15638]

STALKER!!!!, (Lance M, you wanna find out where i live? Where i go to work? Where i take a crap?) dude this website has people like you who are crazy fish fanatics, just like reefcentral has the tang police, no one cares what you say, people just feel bad when they make you mad, because you spend lots of time trying to make yourself sound smart

 

[melosu58]

OK I think we have gotten out of hand. We must stay civil in this thread and no more calling out anyone. If you have anything to say constructive to this thread then fine. If you dont then dont say anything more in it. I probably should have jumped in earlier but I thought everybody could work it out. From now on only talk about the OP`s question or you`ll be kicked from the thread. I`m sorry it has come to this.

 

[scoot15638]

ok

 

[melosu58]

On second thought I dont believe anymore can be accomplished with this thread. It has gone way off tract from the OP `s question and I really dont think it can get back on track. In the future I would suggest that we remain civil and honor each others opinions. You can share your opinion but you cant make them follow it. This thread will be locked out.