SW Noob doing research...have ?'s

[Autumnsky]

Well it is getting to the point that I'm really considering a trial of this SW option.

My freshwater friends are doing pretty good. My lfs always had a little 2.5-5G
Tank sitting on the counter next to the register. There was always something different as I believe he sold the little set-ups.

So far I understand the smaller is not always easier aspect of water parameters. But lets say a little 5G basic setup...(i had a different thread about a 6.6G Edge tank but didn't get any feedback from anyone with that specific tank as a SW.)

So I have a little 5G marineland tank and a little 5G Fluval Chi and a 2.5G Aqueon. To start, would any of these work? Like the ones at the lfs, for a few hermits, snails and a couple shrimp?

Even a little Blenny, the quick checks of a number of them showed mostly 30G requirement? Are there any tiny ones? I also have a 16G Bowfront and the 35G +2 R375 JEBO tank I am considering.

But lets start with the simple. I saw some amazing LR for sale, full of little living things (what do I call them?)

Could I do a 35 with an AC110? It has 2 light bulbs one 10,000K actinic and a other FW light bulb. (I need a part to fix the light fixture)

What animals and easy, basically docile or normally easy to get along with fish or inverts could I get?

Everything I wanted/liked at the lfs didn't seem to want to live with the other creatures I liked, so I figured I would want to start with an easy group to make sure I can deal with the needs and requirements.

Also I don't want any toxic poison type creatures, if that is possible.

I have a Hydor Coralia power head
Basic API test kit
Which reasonably priced tool can do the most for me for testing salinity, etc?

Basic awareness of lighting (very basic mainly regarding FW)

For the 35G, without going broke, could I get live sand and some good LR, with say the hood which fits this (2 10,000K lights), and my HC power head, AC 110 filter and make a go of it?

My apologies about how long this is

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

For your first tank I would say go with one if the bigger 2. That will give you more livestock options also, there are all kinds of inverts and fish that you can choose from, check out www.liveaquaria.com for ideas. The ac110 would be fine to use, and there are some great mods for them. Depending in how much/what live stock you are interested in you can also look into adding a hob skimmer(not required but nice to have). Now do you plan on going reef or fowlr?

 

[Macscale]

Here is my generic "Newbie" post:



Have you decided if you want a Fish Only, Fish only with live rock, or a reef?

IMO a Saltwater tank without Live Rock will be a disaster since you are a beginner.



Every Saltwater tank need the following:

Good Filter/Sump

Sand

Live Rock

Heater

Lighting

Refractometer

Test Kits

Aquarium Salt/ Pre made water

Ro/Di Unit

Powerheads:

Skimmer



Now to explaining each item



Filter- You can either make a sump or just use your HOB filter. Sumps are separate tanks used to hide equipment and filter the tank.



Sand- Buy dry sand, it becomes live anyway, and it's cheaper.



Live Rock- Normally you get 1-2 pounds per gallon. This will provide places to set coral and hiding places for fish and your CUC. It is also the housing for your Beneficial Bacter, which is what your biological filtration comes from.



Heater- This will provide the appropriate temperature for livestock.



Lighting- This is where you must decide if you want to keep corals or not. The three main options are T5, Metal Halide, and LED.

More info to come when you give me more info.





Refractometer: This will tell the salinity of your tank. NEVER get a swing arm hydrometer! THEY DON"T WORK! TRUST ME!!!!!!! Here is the refractometer I got and it works great:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Salinity-Ref...item4ab33c430d



It got to my house fast and early.





Test Kits: Get test kits for: Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, PH, Alkalinity Phosphates. For a reef tank add: Calcium, Magnesium, and maybe iodide.



Don't ever buy test strips, they are unreliable. Invest in quality kits such as: Salifert, Red Sea, Sea Chem, Elos, Hannah Checkers, etc.



API will not do much good for a reef.



Aquarium Salt: You have two options. Buy a bagged reef salt, this is the better option and will require an RO/DI unit. You can also buy if from an LFS, but it can contain bad elements, because most LFS only want a sale.



RO/DI Unit- This will filter the water needed for making saltwater and top offs.



Powerheads- These will provide flow for you tank. Aim for 20-50 times your tank size.



Skimmer: If you run a Nano tank they aren't needed. They are to take out harmful proteins in the water.



Just in case you don't know anything about cycling:

http://www.saltwateraquarium.com/cyc...water-aquarium



If you have any other questions just ask! The only stupid question is the one you don't ask! Happy Reefing and Welcome to the Salty Side!

 

[Autumnsky]

For your first tank I would say go with one if the bigger 2. That will give you more livestock options also, there are all kinds of inverts and fish that you can choose from, check out Aquarium Fish: Tropical Freshwater Fish and Saltwater Fish for Home Aquariums for ideas. The ac110 would be fine to use, and there are some great mods for them. Depending in how much/what live stock you are interested in you can also look into adding a hob skimmer(not required but nice to have). Now do you plan on going reef or fowlr?

I am thinking reef because I have always loved the reef creatures maybe more than the fish. Also the inverts are a fav. Would LOVE a Maxima clam.

Was just looking at a few things on liveaquaria.

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

For a reef well need to know what your lights are so we can tell you what corals they will support/make recommendations to a better fixture that will allow you to keep the live stock you want. Clams for example require pretty strong light. Do you know what corals your interested in keeping? This will also help steer you in the right direction. Some general advice I've always used is a successful reef is started with a plan for what you like in mind. So take a loon through the member aquariums show case on here or check out www.nano-reef.com and look through the member tanks on there to get ideas of what you like for everything from coral selection to aquascaping ideas. And always ask questions, there are lots of people on here willing to let you learn from our mistakes

 

[Autumnsky]

Here is my generic "Newbie" post:



Have you decided if you want a Fish Only, Fish only with live rock, or a reef?

IMO a Saltwater tank without Live Rock will be a disaster since you are a beginner.



Every Saltwater tank need the following:

Good Filter/Sump

Sand

Live Rock

Heater

Lighting

Refractometer

Test Kits

Aquarium Salt/ Pre made water

Ro/Di Unit

Powerheads:

Skimmer



Now to explaining each item



Filter- You can either make a sump or just use your HOB filter. Sumps are separate tanks used to hide equipment and filter the tank.



Sand- Buy dry sand, it becomes live anyway, and it's cheaper.



Live Rock- Normally you get 1-2 pounds per gallon. This will provide places to set coral and hiding places for fish and your CUC. It is also the housing for your Beneficial Bacter, which is what your biological filtration comes from.



Heater- This will provide the appropriate temperature for livestock.



Lighting- This is where you must decide if you want to keep corals or not. The three main options are T5, Metal Halide, and LED.

More info to come when you give me more info.





Refractometer: This will tell the salinity of your tank. NEVER get a swing arm hydrometer! THEY DON"T WORK! TRUST ME!!!!!!! Here is the refractometer I got and it works great:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Salinity-Ref...item4ab33c430d



It got to my house fast and early.





Test Kits: Get test kits for: Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, PH, Alkalinity Phosphates. For a reef tank add: Calcium, Magnesium, and maybe iodide.



Don't ever buy test strips, they are unreliable. Invest in quality kits such as: Salifert, Red Sea, Sea Chem, Elos, Hannah Checkers, etc.



API will not do much good for a reef.



Aquarium Salt: You have two options. Buy a bagged reef salt, this is the better option and will require an RO/DI unit. You can also buy if from an LFS, but it can contain bad elements, because most LFS only want a sale.



RO/DI Unit- This will filter the water needed for making saltwater and top offs.



Powerheads- These will provide flow for you tank. Aim for 20-50 times your tank size.



Skimmer: If you run a Nano tank they aren't needed. They are to take out harmful proteins in the water.



Just in case you don't know anything about cycling:

http://www.saltwateraquarium.com/cyc...water-aquarium



If you have any other questions just ask! The only stupid question is the one you don't ask! Happy Reefing and Welcome to the Salty Side!

Thank you, that is a great start of info.

I have a RO unit in storage somewhere, just need to figure out where to hook it up.

Regarding sand...I have some Garnet (gemstone) sand in the tank already, looks like this pic below.
It is in FW tank now, I could move it or get a new bag, is there any downside to not being white sand?

 

[Macscale]

There has been some debate over darker colored substrates wing harmful for an aquarium. I don't know if this qualifies or not.

 

[Autumnsky]

For a reef well need to know what your lights are so we can tell you what corals they will support/make recommendations to a better fixture that will allow you to keep the live stock you want. Clams for example require pretty strong light. Do you know what corals your interested in keeping? This will also help steer you in the right direction. Some general advice I've always used is a successful reef is started with a plan for what you like in mind. So take a loon through the member aquariums show case on here or check out Nano-Reef.com - The source for saltwater nano reef aquarium information and look through the member tanks on there to get ideas of what you like for everything from coral selection to aquascaping ideas. And always ask questions, there are lots of people on here willing to let you learn from our mistakes

I appreciate learning from others mistakes!!!

So the stock light fixture for the JEBO is a two switch two bulb unit with 2 55W bent Florescent 10,000K bulbs. I believe I have one white FW bulb and one Actinic blue. The fixture was a little rusty inside and I need to buy a new part for it so it will work again.

With the light being broken, there is an option to buy a new one for the top, since I would have to buy something anyway.

It is about 18" from the area of the bulb to the substrate. I think the tank is 30" wide.

 

[Macscale]

I'd get a new fixture. Look at the eBay LED panels. Great for the price! What are the dimensions of the tank?

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

Do you know if the bulbs are t5 t8 or compact fluorescent? I agree on the eBay LEDs they give you good bang for the buck but can be difficult to mount and I find it worth a little extra money to go with a company that sells mounts to make my life a little easier. If you know how to work with electronics you can do a DIY led retrofit on your hood, which would give you the most customization. As you can probably tell the options are pretty much endless

 

[Sniperhank]

Autumn,
If you want a clam you'll want a much larger tank. The wonders of GIANT clams. I love clams. The best way to think about their care is comparing them to SPS coral. Pristine water and high lighting. If you want clams, a tank bigger than what you've listed is needed. My derasa, the largest of my clams, is over 6 inches across. They take up a ton of room. Try a 20 for the room and then making it easier to find a light source that will suit the needs of the clam you want! The wonders of the fabled taotronics!

In terms of the sand, don't use the sand from freshwater. Under the different ph levels, it could leach some nasty stuff into it. They sell some nice sands, even in pink or black, but if you want to do it on a budget you can simply use pool filter sand.

 

[Autumnsky]

Alright, the tank dimensions are
29.5 inches wide/across
18" tall from base to top rim of tank
and it has a little bow to the front of the tank.
15" at edges and 17" in the center at the bow

As for the Clam, I would love to have Discus too but I don't.

Kinda thinking of a bigger tank anyway, but heck I don't even know if I can handle it Also the costs and time of taking care of so many little creatures.

There will need to be a bunch of time spent to make sure that everything will work in harmony, lol!

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

IME as far as inverts go everything gets along except crabs(pom pom and acros being the exception) and pistol shrimp ( the smaller ones can be ok, I have a Randall's that has only killed a couple zebra hermits in 3 years, and he lives with a cleaner shrimp in one of my 40breeders
Edit: and if you want the king of the inverts, look up mantis tanks. Amazing animals with personality.