Newbie to Tanks...

[hatty324]

My friend is big into fish and from spending so much time with him I've started to want to start my own tank. I would like to start with about a 30 gallon tank using salt water. The reason I want to start out with a salt water tank is because I want to have Ocellaris Clownfish. I have been doing some research on them as to what to feed them, size of tank, care, etc.

I'm thinking of starting with 2 to 4 Cownfish (not thinking of puting in any other typs of fish at this time, Clownfish are one of my favorite types). On top of that I want to get a Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp for cleaning of the fish and tank floor.

I would just like to know how I should go about starting this saltwater tank. Like maybe some information on how I would maintain a saltwater tank, and some information on what type of plant life to have in the tank (especially for the Clownfish).

Like are there certain types of Anemones I should be looking at or what types of decor I should be using.

I'm not looking at buying for a couple months, but I want to make sure I have researched this well enough so that when I get the fish, they don't die upon entering the tank.

Any suggestions are much obliged...

[motorslave]

Hi, Welcome to TRT! I think a 30 would be great to start, just watch the bio-load.
Things to consider, if you want an anenome youll have to invest in some good lights, like mabe a 175 watt metal halide. Do you want to keep coral? If so that will add to the equasion. Youll want some live rock for bio-filtration (beneficial bacteria that process waste) and a skimmer. Do you want a sump? (a second tank in the system usually undernieth that hides skimmers, heaters etc... and adds to water volume wich makes the system more stable) if not thats not a problem. You will need a heater or two (two in case one goes bad) sand (stay away from crushed coral as it traps fish poo and can make for a nasty alage problem and bad water ) .
Right now the best thing you can do is read everything you can, look at tanks here and read about the ones you like. Good move on reading up on the clowns, research saves you money! Take your time and design the tank to the animals you want, this is key! Be VERY patient! Just look around and start asking any question you can think of as there are no dumb questions here. You will find the people here to be of a huge help and there is tons of experiance here.
Again, Welcome to TRT!

Robert

[Tim224DT]

Welcome to TRT!! What Robert said.


Tim

[whatevva]

Welcome to TRT You've taken the first step in the right direction, by asking, and planning to research before you buy. The TRT gods will be by shortly to answer all of your questions and probably get you to ask more

[whatevva]

Wow..I take too long to type!!

[motorslave]

he he he, I think we were all typing at the same time Butch!
Hatty, dont let yourself get over whelmed with the info that will be coming your way. Take it slow and keep the system simple. This and research, reading anf lots of questions will save you frustration, heart ache, loss of animals and money!

R

[hatty324]

Thanks for all the welcome and help already (I like the fast responses). I know that this hobby does not come cheap so I don't want to blow my money on my first attempt. Here are some questions I've been thinking up.

1. Is it worth saving the money by mixing your own saltwater, or worth it to just buy the saltwater already made?

2. How often does the saltwater need to be replaced?

At first I was thinking about just having a table top tank, but now I'm thinking about having a nice stand that can hide all of the pumps/heater, and whatever else is needed.

3. On the subject of liverocks...these are basically weird/odd shaped rocks that over time will grow different types of things on them? Like plant life, or whatever?

4. Could someone maybe show me some good pictures that can show me what a liverock might look like, some anemones, coral, any other type of plant life?

I kind of know what they all look like, but would like some visual examples.

5. How often would chemicals and such need to be added on average?

Thanks once again,

Hatty

[motorslave]

Okay, Ill give this a go!
1. Mix your own water! Its cheaper and gives you full control of whats going into your tank.
2. about every two weeks do about a 10 to 25% water change.
3. Live rock is rock harvested from the ocean. Usually old coral skeletons. It houses the beneficial bacteria and usually comes with hitch hikers! Look up at the top of our page and click on the sponsors link. Many of them sell live rock and have pics. The more pourous the better! That way there is more bacteria to process waste.
4.see above!
5. Adding chemicals is kind of a personal thing. I dont add anything. When you do a water change, the new water that you mix will have all the trace alements to replace what ever may have been depleted. If you choose to add anything, dont add anything you cant buy a test kit for. About the only I would add would be Calcium to a tank with lots of calcium loving coral.

HTH

Robert

[theplatypus]

Originally Posted by hatty324

Thanks for all the welcome and help already (I like the fast responses). I know that this hobby does not come cheap so I don't want to blow my money on my first attempt. Here are some questions I've been thinking up.

1. Is it worth saving the money by mixing your own saltwater, or worth it to just buy the saltwater already made?
[bold]Yes. Get an ro/di unit.[/bold]


2. How often does the saltwater need to be replaced? Depends on whom you ask. [bold]Some people change 10-20% every week, others every two weeks.[/bold]

At first I was thinking about just having a table top tank, but now I'm thinking about having a nice stand that can hide all of the pumps/heater, and whatever else is needed.

3. On the subject of liverocks...these are basically weird/odd shaped rocks that over time will grow different types of things on them? Like plant life, or whatever? [bold]Generally they are rock harvested from the ocean. They will usually have some hitchhikers on them. Some good and some bad.[/bold]

4. Could someone maybe show me some good pictures that can show me what a liverock might look like, some anemones, coral, any other type of plant life? http://www.liveaquaria.com/

I kind of know what they all look like, but would like some visual examples.

5. How often would chemicals and such need to be added on average?

[bold]You should never add anything to your tank that you can't test for. If you keep up with your water changes you might not have to add anything. Although this is dependant on your tanks inhabitants.[/bold]

Thanks once again,

Hatty

[Geoff]

Welcome to TRT!!!



G~

[Casey]

Welcome to TRT
Heres a good piece of live rock.

[hatty324]

Does anyone know of any good places online to shop for tanks/stands? I found a site: myfishtank.com that has some pretty good stuff, just wondering if there are other sites out there that people know of that are good.

[motorslave]

Acrylic or glass?

R

[hatty324]

I've been looking at acrylic, but dont really know the difference (especially in cost). What would you suggest?

[Loverotties]

Welcome to TRT!