Tons of questions about all sorts of things. Any help appreciated!

mitchelWB · 10-12-2005, 12:40 AM

Let me start by apologizing for a long thread. It's my first one, and I know there's a lot more searching I could do on the web, but my head has started to hurt from it, and I'm starting to confuse things that I've read from one place to another, so I'm hoping to get a little more advice specific to my situation from those who have done it before. I want to learn from your mistakes without having to make my own!

I have a 58gal Oceanic reef ready tank that my brother-in-law got for me. He is the fixh/reptile guy at a local pet store and is a VERY good guy. The problem is he's a very quiet guy. I know he knows a lot of the information I'm about to ask about, but getting him to say it out loud is proving to be a tough challenge. And if he happens to read this, I don't mean this in a negative way! Just that I feel I need to stay on top of taking care of the tank especially this early in the game.

My BIL (bro in law) also built me a sump made of volcanic rock, bioballs and a little giant pump in a 20 gal tank below the main tank. We filled it with tap water, conditioned it, put the salt in and ran it for a few days. Checked salinity and then added 2 3-stripe damsels, a yellow-tail blue damsel and a domino. On the 5th day, the domino left us, and on the 11th day, we lost the smaller 3 stripe (RIP little guys)

I don't currently have a protein skimmer, but plan to add one soon.

On the 8th day, I tested the water, and either I did something wrong, or my water was in excellent shape. I had no live rock in the tank yet. The two remaining fish appear to be doing great. They swim all over and just generally look to be enjoying themselves.

A few days ago, I went into a local saltwater only specialty store and talked to the owner for quite a while, but he was really busy and I tried not to bug him too much and get in the way of his business.

I ended up buying a large piece of live rock that already has some corraline algea growth on it (it had recently come from one of his reefs) a diamond watchman goby, a handful of snails, and an emerald crab. These were at his recommendations to help with the algea and general cleanup of the tank.

I currently have the standard light hood that came with the tank on it, but also have a second light that I've yet to remove from the box. It is a JBJ Formosa PL-JG2 with 2 6500k 36W white lights and 2 Actinic Blue 36W lights (I believe equalling 144W)

My long term goal is to have a beautiful reef tank.

With all this background, I'm going to finally get to some of my questions.

Question #1: Should I go ahead and put this light on the tank now that I've added the live rock with the algea on it?

Question #2: If I do put this new light on, do I need to be concerned about heat in the water? What about inside the light fixture itself (it does have a cooling fan on it? What about the glass top on the tank? Do I just set it on the glass top like the current hood is?

Question #3: The goby has been under a rock for 24 full hours now. When he does happen to peek out, the 3 stripe damsel comes straight over to see him. He doesn't really pick at the goby, but I don't think the goby likes the company. How long should I wait before I start to become worried about the Goby? He needs to eat eventually.

Question #4: Should I really plan to keep the damsels much longer? I know that my BIL can take them back to the store now that they've done their "duty" and cycled the tank. We like the little guys, they're both very attractive, but we're concerned specifically about the aggressiveness of the 3-stripe.

Question #5: I'm at about day 13 of a tank with fish in it. When should I clean the filter pad? How do I clean it? What about water changes? When should I do that? I already plan to get RO water to start replacing the tap water that's in the tank now. Is there any other maintenance that I should be doing besides water swaps and cleaning the filter? (besides running the mag float along the glass to keep it clean)

Question #6: I've read that water top off is the biggest newbie mistake. I think it definitely looks like i need to be concerned about it very soon. I plan to try and swing by a local store and pick up some RO water tomorrow after work, but do I need to do anything with it before putting it in the tank? I assume it would be best to add it to the sump and not to the tank directly? How much does a person usually need to top off a tank and how often?

Question #7: A friend of mine is getting ready to convert his tank from salt to fresh and said I could have his live rock. However, he said he hasn't ever put the correct lighting on it and it hasn't grown anything. Do I need to be concerned about this rock, or will it be fine to just add to my tank, and will it start to grow again?

Questions #8: What about live sand? Right now, I just have a shallow bed of crushed coral, should I be adding live sand to this? how deep should it be? What kind of ratio should I have of sand:coral? Or is that just a personal preference?

Question #9: Last one. I've got quite a bit of brown algea that's started growing, although it seems to have slowed down a bit (was growing by the hour there for a while!) What's the best way to clean this off the crushed coral? I was hoping the Goby might be able to handle some of that, but so far, he's just been hiding under his rock!

If you've hung in there with me this far, I REALLY appreciate it. And if you have any answers that you can help me with, that would be VERY appreciated also. Like I said, I'm sure all of these answers are out there, but it's so hard to find the needle in the haystack sometimes. And I'm taking in as much as I can, but all that extra mumbo jumbo I've been reading seems to be dilluting the heart of the issues that I'm concerned about.

Thanks again
MitchelWB

reef_noob · 10-12-2005, 01:30 AM

Welcome! A few quick answers. I heartily encourage you to search this site form more detail, as I am only touching the surface.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mitchelWB

Let me start by apologizing for a long thread. It's my first one, and I know there's a lot more searching I could do on the web, but my head has started to hurt from it, and I'm starting to confuse things that I've read from one place to another, so I'm hoping to get a little more advice specific to my situation from those who have done it before. I want to learn from your mistakes without having to make my own!

I have a 58gal Oceanic reef ready tank that my brother-in-law got for me. He is the fixh/reptile guy at a local pet store and is a VERY good guy. The problem is he's a very quiet guy. I know he knows a lot of the information I'm about to ask about, but getting him to say it out loud is proving to be a tough challenge. And if he happens to read this, I don't mean this in a negative way! Just that I feel I need to stay on top of taking care of the tank especially this early in the game.

My BIL (bro in law) also built me a sump made of volcanic rock, bioballs and a little giant pump in a 20 gal tank below the main tank. We filled it with tap water, conditioned it, put the salt in and ran it for a few days. Checked salinity and then added 2 3-stripe damsels, a yellow-tail blue damsel and a domino. On the 5th day, the domino left us, and on the 11th day, we lost the smaller 3 stripe (RIP little guys)

Ugh...it's such a shame that damsels have become the method de rigeur for cycling tanks...it's totally unfair to them. Sorry, it's a major peeve of mine.

I don't currently have a protein skimmer, but plan to add one soon.
The sooner the better, look into euroreef, myreefcreations, aquac (evc series) deltec, and precision marine

On the 8th day, I tested the water, and either I did something wrong, or my water was in excellent shape. I had no live rock in the tank yet. The two remaining fish appear to be doing great. They swim all over and just generally look to be enjoying themselves.

Your tank has finished it's initial cycle, but adding a large amount of live rock will cause another one.

A few days ago, I went into a local saltwater only specialty store and talked to the owner for quite a while, but he was really busy and I tried not to bug him too much and get in the way of his business.

I ended up buying a large piece of live rock that already has some corraline algea growth on it (it had recently come from one of his reefs) a diamond watchman goby, a handful of snails, and an emerald crab. These were at his recommendations to help with the algea and general cleanup of the tank.

I currently have the standard light hood that came with the tank on it, but also have a second light that I've yet to remove from the box. It is a JBJ Formosa PL-JG2 with 2 6500k 36W white lights and 2 Actinic Blue 36W lights (I believe equalling 144W)

My long term goal is to have a beautiful reef tank.

This means many things to many people, it might be a good idea to get some notion of the types of corals you want to keep as this will dictate a lot of your other decisions.

With all this background, I'm going to finally get to some of my questions.

Question #1: Should I go ahead and put this light on the tank now that I've added the live rock with the algea on it?

It won't hurt. Incidentally, it's not the coralline algae or the critters that make rock "live" it's the bacteria that live in/on the rock.

Question #2: If I do put this new light on, do I need to be concerned about heat in the water? What about inside the light fixture itself (it does have a cooling fan on it? What about the glass top on the tank? Do I just set it on the glass top like the current hood is?

Heat could be a problem, although 144 watts isnt that much. Glass tops are bad news, they trap in heat and are prone to breaking. Get some eggcrate louver material from home depot (it's grating used for drop ceiling fluorescent lighting) and cut it to the size of your tank. You can lay the fixture on that, although it would be better to get some legs for it if they make any. Eventually, you will probably want to get new lighting, but wait until you know more about the types of corals you want to keep before you decide what to get (I'd suggest eric borneman's book on corals as a good place to sart.)

Question #3: The goby has been under a rock for 24 full hours now. When he does happen to peek out, the 3 stripe damsel comes straight over to see him. He doesn't really pick at the goby, but I don't think the goby likes the company. How long should I wait before I start to become worried about the Goby? He needs to eat eventually.

Gobies are naturally shy, the more caves you have in the tank, the more often he'll come out. The damsels are territorial and a real pain to get out of a tank, which is part of the reason that they are such poor choices for cycling a tank

Question #4: Should I really plan to keep the damsels much longer? I know that my BIL can take them back to the store now that they've done their "duty" and cycled the tank. We like the little guys, they're both very attractive, but we're concerned specifically about the aggressiveness of the 3-stripe.

You're better off getting them out asap. If you put damsels into a tank first, they will always bully anything else you add.

Question #5: I'm at about day 13 of a tank with fish in it. When should I clean the filter pad? How do I clean it? What about water changes? When should I do that? I already plan to get RO water to start replacing the tap water that's in the tank now. Is there any other maintenance that I should be doing besides water swaps and cleaning the filter? (besides running the mag float along the glass to keep it clean)

You should look into purchasing a ro/di unit (they run about $100 on ebay)
ALWAYS use ro/di water. Get a tds meter and test your ro/di water. Don;t put any water in your tank that has greater than 5ppm tds. You will eventually not need the filter. Live rock provides all the filtration you need for a reef tank. In the meantime, clean the pad weekly. Weekly 10% or bi-weekly 20% water changes are advisable, but only with ro/di water.

Question #6: I've read that water top off is the biggest newbie mistake. I think it definitely looks like i need to be concerned about it very soon. I plan to try and swing by a local store and pick up some RO water tomorrow after work, but do I need to do anything with it before putting it in the tank? I assume it would be best to add it to the sump and not to the tank directly? How much does a person usually need to top off a tank and how often?

It depends on the surface area of your tank (more area=more evaporation) you will need to monitor it yourself. Do daily top offs with ro/di water to try to keep the water at a consistent level. More small top offs is better than few big ones.

Question #7: A friend of mine is getting ready to convert his tank from salt to fresh and said I could have his live rock. However, he said he hasn't ever put the correct lighting on it and it hasn't grown anything. Do I need to be concerned about this rock, or will it be fine to just add to my tank, and will it start to grow again?

It is live because of the denitrifying/deammonifying bacteria in the rock. With proper light, it will have corraline growth. Beware however, that live rock from a tank breakdown is often loaded with phosphate and nitrate, which promote bad algae problems. You might be better off buying fresh live rock (dr. foster's and smith are having a pretty good sale on it right now) and cure it yourself. ALWAYS cure live rock before adding it to the tank if you already have livestock in the tank. Otherwise, you can cure it in the tank, but it will cause another cycle.

Questions #8: What about live sand? Right now, I just have a shallow bed of crushed coral, should I be adding live sand to this? how deep should it be? What kind of ratio should I have of sand:coral? Or is that just a personal preference?

It largely depends on the type of corals you want to keep. the most common are a deep live sand bed (5+ inches) a shallow sand bed (1-2") or bare bottom. Crushed coral is, unfortunately, about the worst because it traps a lot of crud and requires constant siphoning. A shallow sand bed also requires regular cleaning. A deep sand bed requires regular additons of fresh live sand to replenish the benthic organisms, but you don't need to siphon it. Bare bottom requires regular siphoning, but is easier to clean.

Question #9: Last one. I've got quite a bit of brown algea that's started growing, although it seems to have slowed down a bit (was growing by the hour there for a while!) What's the best way to clean this off the crushed coral? I was hoping the Goby might be able to handle some of that, but so far, he's just been hiding under his rock!

The brown algea is a diatom bloom. It is a sign that your tank is finishing its ammonia cycle. A cleanup crew will help, but it will go away on its own after a few weeks.

If you've hung in there with me this far, I REALLY appreciate it. And if you have any answers that you can help me with, that would be VERY appreciated also. Like I said, I'm sure all of these answers are out there, but it's so hard to find the needle in the haystack sometimes. And I'm taking in as much as I can, but all that extra mumbo jumbo I've been reading seems to be dilluting the heart of the issues that I'm concerned about.

Thanks again
MitchelWB

Loverotties · 10-12-2005, 07:13 AM

Too long made my head spin.Ask in a couple threads!

tims · 10-12-2005, 07:23 AM

Welcome to TRT mitchel

Chris summed it up pretty good..
take a look at this, it will help answer soem of yoru questions still inside your head...also dont be afraid to ask. read read read ...
before you decide to get better lights , time to think about what type of corals you want in the tank..
take out the bio balls in the sump. you do not need them. they can actually cause you more problems down the line. What test kit do you have for the tank..

skeety · 10-12-2005, 08:38 AM

all great advise so far. Not really much to add, just want to back up the info you got so far.

1st things first. You need to look into corals, and determine whiche one(s) you want to showcase. Then center everything around that. Answering this one question will determine almost everything else about your system. What kind of fish you can have (if any), what kind of lighting you'll need, how powerful of a skimmer you should shoot for, and lots more.

I can't iterate enough how much headache/heartache you'll save by getting a good RO/DI unit. It will save you lots of $$ in the long run too!
If you're not familiar with RO/DI units, I have a little DIY page I created that might help familiarize you with them: http://mysite.verizon.net/s0da/diy.html

Also wanted to reiterate/emphasize that the ONLY filtration you will need for a reef tank, is Live rock (about .75-1.5 lbs per gallon) and a skimmer. Do NOT skimp on the skimmer. You get what you pay for, and the better skimmer you get, the more successful your reefing experiences will be. Check out MyReefCreations for a good quality skimmer at a fairly decent price:
http://myreefcreations.com

the advice on your fish that you've received so far is dead on. The goby will come out more, the more places he has to hide. It's a security thing. Damsels are beautiful to look at, but EVIL inside!!!

One thing I wanted to add about evaporated water/topping off.
When the water evaporate, ALL that is evaporating is water. NO salt. So when you replenish it, you should only be adding water (RO/DI water preferably). You can add however you like. Just keep in mind, as it evaporates, the salinity is changing...howbeit gradually. And when you replenish it, it's changing again...less gradually. These changes can be stressful to fish, and REALLY stressful to corals. The more gradual you can make it, the better. (a constant drip matched to the evaporation rate is perfect). However, finding a nice happy medium between tediuous maintenance and insanity is a good idea. Until you get corals, toping off every night is sufficient. But once you get more into the hobby, you'll want to look into adding an auto-topoff, or a drip. It will save you time/effort and make your life easier. For now, just try to top off every night/ever other night.

and last, but not least...WELCOME!!!! You're gonna love it here. Everyone is very helpful, and no one jumps down your throat. Great guys here at TRT!

gwen_o_lyn · 10-12-2005, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mitchelWB

Let me start by apologizing for a long thread. It's my first one, and I know there's a lot more searching I could do on the web, but my head has started to hurt from it, and I'm starting to confuse things that I've read from one place to another, so I'm hoping to get a little more advice specific to my situation from those who have done it before. I want to learn from your mistakes without having to make my own!

Welcome to TRT- glad you are here!
I'm glad you have been reading and trying to learn this hobby. One thing to keep in mind is that this hobby is always changing and newer methods are always debated on which is the best method to take. If you read out dated material you can get really confused.
I wanna say that Skeety, Tim, & Chris gave you great advice- I really have nothing else to add other than saying their advice is the latest technique for setting up a successful reef aquarium!

Keep asking questions- we wanna help you do it the right way.
-gwen

wharyat · 10-12-2005, 10:08 AM

Great advice so far.

Welcome to TRT!

capt2000 · 10-12-2005, 10:18 AM

welcome! I think the advise so far should get you off to a good start.

mitchelWB · 10-12-2005, 01:58 PM

Thanks everyone for all the advice AND the warm welcomes! I was a little hesitant at first to post such a long post and with so many questions because every other forum I've been to (for other things, not reef) people just seem bitter. You guys have been great!

I've read every link that has been posted to me and I'll try to answer some of the questions that were asked of me.

I was asked what kind of test kit I have. I'm not sure. It came in a nice little black plastic container and contained tests for Ammonia, Nitrates, Nitrites, and pH. It was about $35 at a run of the mill PetLand. I'm at work right now, so I can't look at it to tell. It doesn't give super accurate readings, but still, on the nitrates and nitrites tests, I couldn't even tell that the test water had even changed color!

Ok, that's the only question I can remember now...

I do have a couple more questions of my own that I've come up with after all this though.

I've rounded up a short list of "to-do's" and I want to make sure that I have them prioritized correctly.

#1 get the tank topped off! (see further question about this in a bit)
#2 get a skimmer installed
#3 get replace damsels with something a little more peaceful (false perculas)
#4 get rid of the bio-balls (another question about this coming up)
#5 make a plan for corals and fish (big question about this coming up)
#6 reasses lighting and other factors also get my own RO/DI setup

Does that look like a good start? Should I reprioritize these in any way?

I'm at day 13 with the tank, and I've noticed the water level in my sump is getting down quite a bit. I need to add some to it. I've already made what I've read is the biggest newbie mistake, and I've not been doing it gradually. I'm going to pick up some RO water tonite on the way home from work, but my question is, I probably need to get a grand total of about roughly 5 gal back in the tank to get it back to the water level we had it at earlier. I know not to dump it in all at once, and I know I'm going to have to add it gradually over the next several days, but with a 58 gal tank plus several more gal in the sump, how much per day can I add without being too disturbing to my fish? It's not a problem even for me to add water multiple times per day until we get up back up to snuff because my wife is at home during the day and can put a little in in the morning, afternoon, evening, anytime.

Bio-balls. The guy at the salt only place that I got my cleaning crew from recommended replacing the bio-balls also, and recommended replacing them with live rock. Currently I have lava rock in there, and I've read conflicting theories that I shouldn't be using that either. What is the 'current' concensus on this? I'm sure this is one of those things that is a matter of personal preference for a lot of people... but the live rock made the most sense to me. And the guy at the store sure had the tanks to prove it!

And now for my big question. Everyone seems to agree that I need to decide what I want in the tank before I should really move too far forward and buy the wrong stuff. We've been doing a lot of looking at fish mostly, and we're learning a lot about them, but one thing I've not been able to nail down really is any kind of quantity that my tank can handle. I know I'll need anywhere from 40-75 lbs of live rock for the tank (plus whatever is in my sump if I use it for filter) but beyond that, I'm not sure how much live stock I can fit in there. I know from a fish standpoint, we already have the diamond watchman goby and the emerald crab, but we'd also like a yellow tang, a small school of clowns (if possible... as many as 6-ish would be great) a brittle star, and some shrimp. But how much room does that leavein our tank? Or is that too many? That doesn't even include yet corals or anemones. So I know this is a huge question, and not one I expect anyone can answer exactly, but this is part of my problem. I'm in kind of a catch 22 on this one... it seems like one of those things you learn with experience, but you need experience to be able to do it.

Thanks again everyone, and I look forward to any more help anyone can provide.

MitchelWB

gwen_o_lyn · 10-12-2005, 02:19 PM

As far as test kits go, I would recommend either Salifert or Lamotte. The rule of thumb is that you wanna test for anything that you add to the tank. For a beginner you wanna be able to test for PH, ALK, ammonia (free and total), nitrates, nitrites, and calcium.
http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_...ert.asp?CartId=

As far as lava rock goes- I know nothing about it. The best way for a beginner to filter a tank IMHO, is live rock, live sand, and a skimmer. No chemical filtration is needed at this point, but I'm sure some will disagree. There are a few methods. I like my reef natural and I never used carbon until 3-4 weeks ago and I've had my reef 2.5 years. I prefer biological filtration which is the live rock and sand. I have mechanical filtration which are the sponges. Because I have more advanced issues like softie competition I am running carbon (chemical filtration)- you won't need it yet. No bio balls.

As far as clown fish go- they aren't the schooling type fish. They are very territorial and you will find they they nip at your fingers if you invade their space. I would recommend a pair of young clowns (amphiprion ocellaris are very common) and let them mate. Anymore than 2 could create problems. The good thing about clowns is that in most cases they are tank-raised and you aren't harvesting fish out of the reefs. (save the reefs)

Usually tangs need lots of swimming space. 100 gal or bigger is nice. I have a regal tang in my 72 gal tank, and a lot people disagree with that. I would not recommend a tang.

As far as anenomes go- I don't recommend one for a beginner. *I* haven't even tried one. Most people don't have luck with anenomes using pc lighting. Anenomes should only go in tanks with metal halides. Clown fish will host in corals too if you were looking too have a clown/anenome relationship- its a nice substitute, without having to worry about an anenome.

Hope that helps a little,
gwen

skeety · 10-12-2005, 02:36 PM

hi again!!

Yeah..everyone here is SOOO much more laid back. Granted, there's not as many of us as there are at say Reefcentral (cough)(cough), so it may take a little longer to get a response, but it's always WELL worth the wait, IMO (in my opinion).

As for your list...looks good. Might split #6 up into lighting and RO/DI unit separately. Then move the RO/DI unit up to a tie with #2. but other than that, right on track!

as for your questions:

First thing you want to do is find out the Salinity of your water. A reef tank should be at about 1.023-1.025 (if you have fish, I'd shoot for 1.023). Fish only tank should be between 1.021 and 1.023. But if you're planning on a reef, that's what you should shoot for, even if you dont' have corals yet. It will make the fish used to it by the time you get corals.

As for making up the difference...if you're already at 1.023, then I'd just add mixed Salt water (at 1.023) all at once to make up the diff. If you're higher (which you probably will be), then I'd just add a half gallon every 4 or 5 hours, until you're back at your original volume. If you're LOWER, then you need to mix a new batch of SW at higher than 1.023 and add that gradually as well. Take a reading, and let us know!

As for the live rock, a quick note...you don't really *need* it in your sump if you have enough in the display. People often put some in their sump, cause they don't have enough room in their display, or just don't want it in their display. You can put it all up top and not worry about putting any in the sump, if you don't have a preference.

As far as lava vs Live rock. No clue. Someone else will chime in.

But another note: Rock that isn't Live Rock will become live rock when put in a tank. Might take a few months, but Live just means that it's already populated with bacteria and other benificial critters. Some people who are strapped for cash will just buy 1/2 live rock and 1/2 base rock. in 3 months time, they have a LOT of live rock, and saved a bundle. Depends on your levels of patience and your funds.

As far as stocking with Fish? Well..this is probably where you'll see a LOT of different opinions. With a reef tank (contains corals), you need to ere on the side of caution. And try to avoid general rules that say stuff like 1" of fish for every 3 gallons. As that's not always true. Each fish has different requirements. I'd say with a 58 gallon tank, I wouldn't have more than 4 or 5 fish. And that also depends on the type of fish.

A yellow tang is DOABLE. Not recommended, as all tangs grow and need lots of room to swim. Minimum tank size for most tang's is 75+ gallons. However, I'm gonna go against the grain here (as others WILL chime in and disagree). I think a yellow tang in a 58 gln is pushing it...but doable. Just get is very small. (Chances are, in a year, you'll be upgrading to a bigger tank anyways! Yes...this is THAT kind of hobby. Bigger...bigger...more...more. Heheheh)

For now, I wouldn't really count corals in your bio-load calculations. They DO produce wastes, and you CAN overpopulate...but that's kind of a really hard thing to measure, and I wouldn't worry about it right now. Same with inverts (crabs/shrimp/etc).

When it comes to these non-fish critters, you'll need to be MORE concerned with compatability than with quantity. (as you should with Fish). Some shrimp/crabs/anemone's dont' get along very well. Need to research that prior to buying.

Also, I HIGHLY suggest you wait at LEAST 6 months before even considering an anemone. Some (including me) have gotten *lucky*, but most don't have success unless their tank is WELL established.

So I think if you get two clowns and your watchman coby, and a yellow tang...you might be able to get ONE more smaller fish. Like a baslette, or a royal gramma or something. But I'd recommend you stop there, if you plan on having corals.

Also...you haven't "gone there" yet, but just a heads up. Corals ALSO have compatability issues. Most don't realize it...as they're immobile, so you don't think of them as fighting with other corals. But they do. And some can be NASTY! They don't walk over and beat the other one up, or anything...but a lot of them use Chemical Warfare. For the less aggressive corals, you can compensate by running carbon filtration. But this doesn't always help.

Just wanted you to be aware. Yet another reason why you should start looking into what coral(s) you really want.

And lastly...I can NOT recommend the following book enough. When it comes to reef keeping, it is many people's bible, so to speak. Very informative and open minded, covering almost ALL aspects of reefkeeping. Definitely should pick it up:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...938337-2407234

and for more books TRT recommends, check out this:

http://www.thereeftank.com/books/

keep the questions coming!!!

tims · 10-12-2005, 02:40 PM

Well you are doing it right by asking..and reading ..... time to get some good books on corals . take a look at the book section here, it will give you a smallover veiw about them.. you will read and read them a few hundered times...

no fish at all until you get more LR!
once you place the new LR in the tank you will cycle it again, unles syou can do this outside of your tank or get 100% sure of.. cycled rock from the LFS. No tangs!! your tank is way too small for it.. even though it will be a small fish when you get it. it will grow prety fast and needs lots of room to swim, you need a 100 gallons or more for them to be happy.
not 100% sure about the lava rock are a base rock for the tank.
you can use LR or LR rubble in the sump area where the bio balls are..
you dont really need the carbon now ( once the fish are gone) until later down the line..

keep asking!

skeety · 10-12-2005, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tims

no fish at all until you get more LR!

YES! Tim's right. I was talking future tense in my fish suggestions. ONLY after you've gotten enough LR and it's had time to cycle.

tims · 10-12-2005, 02:45 PM

heheh mike.. i paused too long typing...
Mitchel i agree other than the tang thing..

also plaese dont skimp on the skimmer.. going bigger and better on one (even a DIY) is better.