Sk8r
12/06/2009, 06:38 PM
FIRST, read through the * files at the top of this forum before you buy anything. That has EVERYTHING you want to know.
1. plan for the fish/corals you want before you buy your tank. Accept your budget. Lighting is a big decision. Accept reality. Especially when you are new to this, do not experiment with borderline situations. And accept that some fish do not go with corals, some fish do not go with each other, and even some corals do not play nicely together.
2. use ro/di water from the start. It strips all the troublesome chemicals that will otherwise come in with your water to mess your chemistry up.
3. Set up a quarantine tank and use it wisely: don't shortcut. You can start one while you're cycling...and do not plan to be continually adding specimens. Every addition is a chance for ich to wipe out your tank if you don't qt. PATIENCE! Also: acclimate: acclimate over a period of about an hour or LESS, until you have the salinity down to a .001 difference for every living creature including snails. Do you need a refractometer to do that? Yep. You really do.
4. Figure that you're already going to get a load of phosphate from your sand and rock and you ARE going to have algae. Plan on an adequate Cleanup Crew and don't try to rush things with chemical solutions and quick fixes. You're trying to recreate an ocean by using NATURAL processes. Let them work.
5. If you're contemplating doing something, ask one of the old hands before you do it, rather than after. It's so much easier to fix an intention than a mistake.
6. did I forget to say---Patience? Nothing good happens fast in this hobby.
7. get adequate test kits from the get-go. No, you can successfully keep some types of critter without every test known to man, but look at it this way---your creatures live in the ocean. The ocean has a pretty universal chemistry range. If you set your salinity at 1.024-6, your temp around 80, your calcium at 420, your alkalinity at 8.3-9.3, and your magnesium at 1280, you'll make your fish happier, your clams happier, your snails happier, your shrooms and buttons and even your ROCKS happier. Make it an ocean, use natural processes, and keep it as close to that situation 24/7 as you can. Get an automated topoff to keep it steady. And ask questions.
I offer this list as a how-to set up your tank like a pro and have the fewest problems on your way to getting experience. Take advantage of advice from those who've been doing it for a few decades---with, believe me, every variation in equipment you could imagine---and who wrote those files with the *-mark up at the start of this forum to help you out.
Never be embarrassed to ask a question---particularly about what you're THINKING of doing, before it's a done deal. Think about used equipment: a little white vinegar can clean it up like new. We can tell you about that, too.
And patience!
1. plan for the fish/corals you want before you buy your tank. Accept your budget. Lighting is a big decision. Accept reality. Especially when you are new to this, do not experiment with borderline situations. And accept that some fish do not go with corals, some fish do not go with each other, and even some corals do not play nicely together.
2. use ro/di water from the start. It strips all the troublesome chemicals that will otherwise come in with your water to mess your chemistry up.
3. Set up a quarantine tank and use it wisely: don't shortcut. You can start one while you're cycling...and do not plan to be continually adding specimens. Every addition is a chance for ich to wipe out your tank if you don't qt. PATIENCE! Also: acclimate: acclimate over a period of about an hour or LESS, until you have the salinity down to a .001 difference for every living creature including snails. Do you need a refractometer to do that? Yep. You really do.
4. Figure that you're already going to get a load of phosphate from your sand and rock and you ARE going to have algae. Plan on an adequate Cleanup Crew and don't try to rush things with chemical solutions and quick fixes. You're trying to recreate an ocean by using NATURAL processes. Let them work.
5. If you're contemplating doing something, ask one of the old hands before you do it, rather than after. It's so much easier to fix an intention than a mistake.
6. did I forget to say---Patience? Nothing good happens fast in this hobby.
7. get adequate test kits from the get-go. No, you can successfully keep some types of critter without every test known to man, but look at it this way---your creatures live in the ocean. The ocean has a pretty universal chemistry range. If you set your salinity at 1.024-6, your temp around 80, your calcium at 420, your alkalinity at 8.3-9.3, and your magnesium at 1280, you'll make your fish happier, your clams happier, your snails happier, your shrooms and buttons and even your ROCKS happier. Make it an ocean, use natural processes, and keep it as close to that situation 24/7 as you can. Get an automated topoff to keep it steady. And ask questions.
I offer this list as a how-to set up your tank like a pro and have the fewest problems on your way to getting experience. Take advantage of advice from those who've been doing it for a few decades---with, believe me, every variation in equipment you could imagine---and who wrote those files with the *-mark up at the start of this forum to help you out.
Never be embarrassed to ask a question---particularly about what you're THINKING of doing, before it's a done deal. Think about used equipment: a little white vinegar can clean it up like new. We can tell you about that, too.
And patience!