lots of questions............

[caughtaniner]

okay, i got a lot of questions b/c ive never tried a salt water before.
i have a 180g that i would like to make 1/2 reef. imdoing this becaus i would like a large # and variety of fish.

1. i have a magnum 305 and a fluval fx5 filtration, is this all the filtration i will need? i know i need a protien skimmer, but im waiting until i get the tank running to get one......

2. what kind of lighting will i need? i have one large balast that im geting some hi florecent bulbs and two small lights fitted with those blue marine-glow lights......

3. can i put in a very small ammount of live rock now, wait a couple of weeks and add fish, then cure more rock (not live) and add it with out hurting the fish?

[dobejazz]

What do you have for flow? Is it a reef ready tank ? do you have a sump?

Cannister filters are not ideal for a reef- they may be OK for a FOWLR

Not sure on what type of lights you have

Is the live rock you want to start with fully cured?

You can add base rock (not live) usually with no problem.

[caughtaniner]

for flow i have the filters an i have a powerhead, no sump, as fa as the live rock, i want to add before anythin else........like i said ive never done this before so i dont know what a lot of the "terms" meen.....

what kind of filtration is ideal for reef?

[tellycoleman]

start reading there is alot of information on this site and other internet site lots lots of reading

[Wiskey]

Originally Posted by caughtaniner

okay, i got a lot of questions b/c ive never tried a salt water before.
i have a 180g that i would like to make 1/2 reef. imdoing this becaus i would like a large # and variety of fish.

By "Half reef" what do you mean? What kind of coral do you plan to keep? Soft coral? LPS? SPS? This will decide your lighting needs and flow needs, as well as your filtration needs.

1. i have a magnum 305 and a fluval fx5 filtration, is this all the filtration i will need? i know i need a protien skimmer, but im waiting until i get the tank running to get one......

I always reccomend getting the entire system plumbed and setup before adding anything to it,.. this gives your coral and fish a stable envryoment from teh get go rather than changing it all around. Research your skimmer here first,.. there are allot of Junk skimmers out there and you don't want to buy twice,.. The ASM G3 is a good skimmer for not too much money.

2. what kind of lighting will i need? i have one large balast that im geting some hi florecent bulbs and two small lights fitted with those blue marine-glow lights......

The lighting you need is going to depend on the type of coral you want to keep.

3. can i put in a very small ammount of live rock now, wait a couple of weeks and add fish, then cure more rock (not live) and add it with out hurting the fish?

Provided the rock is fully cured you can do this,.. but I would not. You really should have the tank all the way setup before you add any livestock.

Whiskey

[ChrisPrusha]

Welcome to TRT!! w00000000000000000000000000000000t!!!

[tims]

welcome to TRT,
give this a read
http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/fa...les#faq_sywart

it will help you out in many questions you have and many more you will come up with