I need some advice...please?

[aemerson]

Okay, here’s the deal…
My sister (who lives in NYC) has a reef tank and wants me to take her fish and critters when she moves to Hawaii this summer. My previous experience has all been with freshwater, but I have agreed to help her out, and recently purchased an aquarium on Craigslist. I am starting to get excited about it, but am also scared about how much money this is going to cost me now and in the future. The aquarium I purchased was alleged to be acrylic and 55 gallons, but I am fairly certain it is glass, and possibly of a somewhat greater capacity (dimensions are approx. 41x16x21). It has a hood with three strips of lights – they appear to be regular flourescent, but what do I know. I need advice on what kind of replacement bulbs to buy (I think the ones in it are old, but they do work.) I can’t really find any writing on one of the longer two bulbs or the shorter one, but the remaining long light says Jebo LuxLine Plus F30w. I have read through a lot of posts on the board, which is great, but everyone has different problems and ideas, so I am also still having trouble with what kind of filtration/current/skimmer equipment I really need. For instance, someone was looking for a skimmer and a beginner model was proposed that was close to $200 – I am looking for something a bit more economical. By the way, I currently have the stand on a dresser, so a sump doesn't really seem to be feasible. I do plan on buying some live rock now (and she will send me some of hers) and buying live sand to hopefully cycle the tank faster (also, buying live sand on ebay seems to be cheaper than buying regular aquarium sand.) The fish I will be receiving are two percula clows and two firefish gobies. Please let me know what you think. Thanks!!! Alice

[JimD]

Welcome Alice, first off, theres no real economy in this hobby, usualy its buy cheap, buy twice. You should continue your research and become more familiar with saltwater basics, theres plenty of fine, experienced people here who will be more than willing to help. The more information you absorb, the better. My initial question would be, what is your main intent with this new aquarium? What you plan to keep in the future will determan what kind of equipment youre going to need. Shredding through all the advice and technical data can be a real pain but anybody with a successful saltwater tank has gone through it. Have fun!

[tony]

welcome alice

sounds like you are on the right track by reading and asking questions

[Willow]

for determining gallons...
multiply the length by height by width
41 x 16 x 21 = 13776
and divide that by 231 (the amonut of cubic inches in a gallon)

this will give you an aproximate volume (depending on if you measured the tank from the inside or the outside)... but close enough for our purposes.

so yours would be about 59.64 gallons

[klondike4001]

There is an econimical way to buy things, watch the for sale forum and get things used, a lot of things are near brand new and will last nearly as long as if it was brand new. A good deal usually comes up with powerheads, pumps, lights and skimmers. With regards to the bulbs you may need, take one into a LFS and see what they think it may be (make sure you can return the bulbs if they aren't the right ones!), you'll probably want 3 50/50 bulbs in your setup, it'll give your fish nice color and allow you to keep some softies (zoas, gsp....). Keep us posted.

[aemerson]

Thanks for the tips everyone! Regarding my plans for the aquarium, in addition to the above critters, I would like (once well established) to get a starfish, an anemone, and a couple of clown gobies. I may try to get some easy to keep corals going, but I am not planning on getting too complicated.

Regarding the lighting, does anyone have a recommendation of what LFS I should take the hood to in order to find out about the replacement bulbs? I live just North of Austin. Thanks again!!! Alice

[Ram_Puppy]

Hi Alice, Welcome to MAAST.

Starfish: your tank will be large enough to support a starfish, but you will need to let it mature before you purchase one. Starfish are film feeders (they eat bacterial and algal film) and need stability. You may have to try a few times before getting one that survives as they simply don't ship well, and need to be acclimated to your aquarium very slowly (drip acclimation)
Anemone: Anemones are great animals and you will definately want to do your research here. most will need more light than the setup you have is capable of providing. you may want to look into getting metal halides or T-5s, both unfortunately are expensive. I would suggest starting off w/ a green bubble tip, e. quadricolor, as they are one of the more forgiving species. again, they requrie a mature tank, and good lighting - so it will need to be 6 months to a year before you add one.
Clown Gobies: go for it within a month of getting your tank fully cycled.

as far as equipment goes - i agree, buy cheap, buy twice. finding quality goods that are used is a great way of obtaining stuff.

I can reccomend a couple great general books you should read.

1) Anthony Calfo & Bob Fenners Reef Invertebrates
2) The Concientious Marine Aquarium - older but still extremely good.

be careful of Ebay, there are some unscrupulous people in the reefing hobby that will take advantage of you, and not all live sand is appropriate for your tank, if collected from the wild, it may be from a cold water straight filled w/ pollution and life that will die in a warm reef tank. We have also seen people trying to sell mejano pest anemones as rare corals. If you need a live sand culture, your better off getting it from one of (or multiple) locally established reef tanks, or from www.garf.org or www.reefermadness.com or www.ipsf.com (to name a few).

As for reccomending a local store, where are you located? San Antonio has a lot of great ones, I am an unapoligetic hack for CB pets as they have taken such great care of me over the last few years I feel guilty buying from other stores. they are north of san antonio on 281 at highway 46 in the HEB shopping center. other great san antonio stores (mentioned by others: Fin Addict, Aquatic Warehouse, Wolf Reef... In Austin, Aquatek and River City seem to be the go to guys.

one more thing. If you decide you do want to keep invertebrates remember that there are some hallmark principles to go buy.

Light is absolutely neccessary and cannot be skimped on.
Flow is vastly more important than everyone thinks, even those of us that love it - lots of water movement!!!!
Nothing good ever happens fast in this hobby.

I reccomend you take your time, start slow, w/ the clowns and firefish and some liverock (get the liverock and get it in the tank and setup before the fish arrive so it is cycled and ready to go!) if you decide you want inverts later, you can upgrade your lights then.

An ecenomical filter choice for your system, as long as it is fish only, would be a HIATT in a filstar XP4 filter. It's a relatively new, but very powerful bacterial filter. CB Pets is the only place you can get one locally (well the carbon and bacteria, everything else you can shop around for). there are lots of topics here about HIATTS, so just do a search. it will hold you over for now until your ready to get a skimmer and get a reef going. (which is inevitable because this hobby is like crack.)

[erikharrison]

This is the site to be on. However you found it, good job. I always recommend this for a GREAT red for the beginning marine enthusiast. I am a beginner still, but I think I learn quickly!
http://www.nvreefers.org/community/a...a42c98aaeb6e6a

[Ram_Puppy]

ahh, just saw you live in north austin! sorry!