In Need Of ADVICE

[jjh1392]

Hi, I've kept freshwater aquaria for years but now I'm setting up a 45 gal reef tank for my science teacher at school and possibly a 3 gal pico for myself. Any advice on products, livestock, liverock. Any extra coral frags or livestock would be welcomed. I'm excited to hear from you all.

[joy13]

First patience. Second thing is research and cross reference anything a LFS tells you with a forum on the internet. Third is get a test kit and learn to use it properly anything you add to your tank make sure you have a test kit to check it.

A small tank is a lot more work than a larger tank. I have a 2.5, 8 and a 45 gallon I spend more time on the smaller tanks than the larger once including testing, water changes, top offs and even research. Jnam has a pico on this site. You wanted to know about what you could stock a pico with here is a link to help you get started on research lgreen's Ultimate Guide To Nano Fish - Nano-Reef.com Forums

Aparting thought don't' cycle with fish and any fish you put in make you you want it in there they are very difficult usually to catch without having to take the whole tank apart. Damsels is one of the first fish people start with and find they are a mistake.

You are in for an adventure.

[melosu58]

Welcome aboard. Pretty good advice given above.

[jjh1392]

Thanks guys. I've put in about 50 hours of research into this so far and I just mailed the fund requisition forms today for the 45 gal.
I've been comparing fish for days and combing through forums. I will definitely NOT get damsels. So many people report them getting extremely territorial.
I have a few questions. What have you guys seen as the best salinity range and how should I handle the tank during the summer break. Taking apart sounds like it would be very stressful for the fish since i would have to set it up again for the teacher as soon as school starts again.

[joy13]

The specific gravity should be somewhere between 1.020 and 1.025 if you can afford it get a refractometer it is accurate and easy to use. I got mine from someone online the best $25 I have spent on my tank.

[jjh1392]

Here's the newest update. One of the new teachers here is from Florida. He taught marine biology and has a ton of experience in tanks-even has a license to collect.
After talking to him today, I'm going to redo my req lists and up the tank size possibly. I think were gonna go with an acrylic from glasscages with a wet/dry and skimmer. I think we also might use red mangrove seedlings to help out with nitrates. The LR will most likely be from live rock and reef and the substrate be part live sand from them and part argronite or dolomite mixed. I might use part live rock and part dry. What do you guys think?