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ComMizz

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jun 29, 2010
Messages
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Hi Guys I have a 30 Gallon tank with just 2 Pieces of live rock and a few fish and couple inverts. It is a really empty tank but i just started getting into the whoe fish keeping thing and am now fascinated by it. I get so overwhelmed because i look at some of your guys' tanks and think wow that is amazing. I wish mine can look like som eof yours down the road. How long did it take to get everything in there and all fully established and everything. Also with the coral and all of that. Is that something i should wait a while to attempt or is it really not that hard. I just want to do it the right way but don't know if it is something i should take on. I am a begginer so what do you think. Even if i could start doing reefs right now i don't have the money so i guess im just trying to gather my info.
 
Gathering info first will always lead to success! Although many of the tanks you see represent years of hard work and patience, its not all that hard to do if you know what you are doing. I guess nothing is hard to do if you know what you are doing. :)

If you have the money to start a simple marine tank, then id go for it. You dont have to go reef right from the get go. Just get a tank cycling with some dry reef rock and a piece of live rock.

Matt
 
Gathering info first will always lead to success! Although many of the tanks you see represent years of hard work and patience, its not all that hard to do if you know what you are doing. I guess nothing is hard to do if you know what you are doing. :)

If you have the money to start a simple marine tank, then id go for it. You dont have to go reef right from the get go. Just get a tank cycling with some dry reef rock and a piece of live rock.

Matt


I have a marine tank up and going right now. It has two pieces of live rock in it. Do you mix LR with reefs and all of that. If so what is the next step i take when i am ready to approach reefs of course. Also what is dry reef rock where do i get it and what is it for thank you very muh
 
Marcorocks.com is a good vendor of nice porous rock. The most basic things that separate a FOWLR tank from a reef tank are the quality of your lights and water. Good lights are the building blocks of a successful reef tank, as most corals get their energy and "food" from the light. You also need to keep the nutrients in your tank to a minimum to have optimum coral growth. Its just a slightly higher level of dedication and investment really. Thorough research and careful planning are your first steps.
 
To go reef, id say you need these:
1-RO/DI system for water
2-GOOD light (t5s or MH depending on what you want to keep)
3-GOOD test kits for calcium, alkalinity, phosphates.
4-Refractometer

Dry reef rock is basically dry (dead) live rock. You can get some for $2.25/lb from reefcleaners.org

Get some of the dry reef rock to add to what you have...

Matt
 
Marcorocks.com is a good vendor of nice porous rock. The most basic things that separate a FOWLR tank from a reef tank are the quality of your lights and water. Good lights are the building blocks of a successful reef tank, as most corals get their energy and "food" from the light. You also need to keep the nutrients in your tank to a minimum to have optimum coral growth. Its just a slightly higher level of dedication and investment really. Thorough research and careful planning are your first steps.


When you use coral Do you still use your live rock. If i am going to do coral down the road i would rather not buy a ton of live rock to find out i cant do coral or i will have to get rid of it. Considering i am new at fish keeping i think i will just stick to FOWLR for now and down the road get into the reed scene. But is there anything i need to know right now to do or not to do so that down the road it will be possible for me to do coral. Another words so i dont do something wrong now that wont let me.
 
You don't really "use" coral. All marine tanks need LR, it is the most basic and essential filtration system, designed by nature itself. My only advise is whenever you upgrade something, or buy something new like lights, or a protein skimmer, look ahead. A lot of times the difference between a 2 bulb fixture and a 6 bulb fixture really isnt that much, especially if you buy the 2 and 6 months later decide you want coral. Then you pretty much wasted the money on the 2 and could have just invested a little more in the beginning. JM .02
 
Live Rock is basically your filter. Reef or no Reef I'd plan on getting 1.5lbs / gallon. Most can be dry rock as said before, it'll all become live. A PH (power head) to move the water around. Most fish use live rock to either hide in, sleep in, or feed from.
 
ok so Dry rock is bacically LR that hasn't been curred? If i can buy DR and it will turn into LR then the rest of the rock i buy should just by DR no?
 
ok so Dry rock is bacically LR that hasn't been curred? If i can buy DR and it will turn into LR then the rest of the rock i buy should just by DR no?

Mmmm....Sort of....

Its rock that used to be wet and likely populated with life that is now dried out and void of life. Some will need to be cycled as its full of dried up organic material. I believe that marco rock needs to be cycled. The reefcleaners.org rock is supposed to be ready for curing.

Curing: Bacteria from a cycled tank populate the rock
Cycling: The dead organics need to rot off and then the bacteria populate

Thats how I think of it anyways.
Marcorocks will take longer before you can use them. Reefcleaners say they have the rocks ready to drop into a tank. (Cycled or uncycled).

Matt
 
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