5g, what can I do with that?
- Thread starter Wormo3188
- Start date
I can find hermit crabs all the time, unfortunaltly since I live in newyork they are tiny little guys and are cold water, they also have little black snail shells that they live in, all coverd in slime and algea, so hermit crabs arent exactly what I had in mind.
Now if I were to get a larger tank, around what size would be reasonable, I am on limited budget here, is it possible to make a saltwater tank without using live rock? and just use a filter (like for fresh water)? Or would that filter the salt out of the water?
Just as a general question what equipment would be needed to maintain the minimum salt water tank? I am talking just salt water in a glass box.
Now if I were to get a larger tank, around what size would be reasonable, I am on limited budget here, is it possible to make a saltwater tank without using live rock? and just use a filter (like for fresh water)? Or would that filter the salt out of the water?
Just as a general question what equipment would be needed to maintain the minimum salt water tank? I am talking just salt water in a glass box.
Now for a filter I should get a protein skimmer, and will this replace the need for live rock? or will I still be needing live rock, if so, how much of it?
Is there a salt that you prefer as opposed to others?
What type of substrate do you preffer? I was thinking of either argonite sand or chrushed coral, but I am not sure what type is better in my situation.
Is there a salt that you prefer as opposed to others?
What type of substrate do you preffer? I was thinking of either argonite sand or chrushed coral, but I am not sure what type is better in my situation.
Have any of you guys heard of Skilter Power Filters? They say that they are a filter and a skimmer that are "ideal" for saltwater tanks, I have no idea if this is true, but from their advertisments I would say it is.
So would that filter replace the live rock neede for bio-filtration?
I was thinking about getting the Skilter 250 for my 30g tank, would this be practical or am I out of my mind?
So would that filter replace the live rock neede for bio-filtration?
I was thinking about getting the Skilter 250 for my 30g tank, would this be practical or am I out of my mind?
No idea what the skilter is like, but if you plought the bulletein boards the words skilter and rubbish come together a lot.... I don't think any of the mixed biofilter/skimmer combos are particularly great except the BakPak, and most people seem to remove the biomaterial in that anyway. I don't really know what brands of cheap airpowered are very good, I used a miniflotor in the past and it was ok, but needed lots maintenance, I\m not sure it wasso much better than a diy. You could always go without, and rely on smart stocking ,good set up and 2 small water changes a week.
If you want an easy life, go for a live rock based system, read old live rock threads on here. Do you live in an area with lots , or at least some, good shops to buy the stuff? You can fabricate biofiltration w/out live rock, but it's never as divverse, and you always hear from people having endless problems, plus it makes the tank look less sterile.
Personally I'd go for a fine aragonite sand , preferably oolitic, for a substrate.
Have you done lots of reading yet..... the more you learn up fron the less the chance for disaster. Fenners Book 'The Conscientious Marine Aquarist ' is my favourite, it's all their on his website wetwebmedia.com, though the filtration/setup section is big andhard to read, a book by Michael Paletta is good too.
If you want an easy life, go for a live rock based system, read old live rock threads on here. Do you live in an area with lots , or at least some, good shops to buy the stuff? You can fabricate biofiltration w/out live rock, but it's never as divverse, and you always hear from people having endless problems, plus it makes the tank look less sterile.
Personally I'd go for a fine aragonite sand , preferably oolitic, for a substrate.
Have you done lots of reading yet..... the more you learn up fron the less the chance for disaster. Fenners Book 'The Conscientious Marine Aquarist ' is my favourite, it's all their on his website wetwebmedia.com, though the filtration/setup section is big andhard to read, a book by Michael Paletta is good too.
Definitally get the live rock. Apart from making it look more natural, it will be the basis for your filtration. Get a couple strong powerheads, and a wave maker, and a skimmer. If memory serves Lee's makes an inexpensive (about 30 dollars) air powered one that should do the job quite nicely. I'm rather fond of live sand myself, and with that tank that size, you will have enough space for a deep sand bed. One about 3" should do nicely. My personal opinion on salt, is limited. Don't buy the cheap stuff, chances are good, it's really cheap and could lead to problems later. Instant Ocean, Reef Crystals, or Red Sea are all good. I've only ever used Instant Ocean, and had wonderful results with it, but have heard good things about the other 2 as well. I'm with wayne on the skilters. Heard terrible things about them. Stick to as natural as you can. The less equipment, the less that can go wrong! I had a 5 gallon bow setup for quite a while without any major problems. My parting advice- good luck, research, whenever possible, buy captive bred, and have fun! Don't stress over the little things, it makes the big things seem unendless and impossible!
Well I pay around 5-6 dollars a pound in Michigan, don't know if that's a good price, you could always order from www.liveaquaria.com. Should probably get 30 pounds of live rock that way later you won't have to add any.
Now I have seen some saltwater tanks that do not have any live rock in them? is there a way of doing this? that is, is there a way of setting up a tank without any live rock? Will any ol rock eventually become active and serve as a filter? Because I know that in freshwater aquariums the gravel bed acts as a biological filter after algea and bacteria begin to grow on it.
How is it more expensive to add a biofilter? I was thinking something like an ac 300 packed with 3 sponges, how much would that cost? I was thinking that the live rock was very expensive and risky to keep alive until it is settled. I was just wondering because I just saw a tank with some regular gravel and a filter on top with a few saltwater fish swimming around, so I dont know what the heck is going on with that.
I was thinking that I would do the following, But an AC 300 with 3 sponges in it, one of those lees protien skimmer, and a power head with a prefilter. And then put down a 3 inch argonite sand layer, possilby with some crushed shells/coral. Then I waas going to put, I think it is called, tufa rock, in the tank.
Also I would have a 80-160 watts of flourescent lighting on it, I dont know if that helps.
I was thinking that I would do the following, But an AC 300 with 3 sponges in it, one of those lees protien skimmer, and a power head with a prefilter. And then put down a 3 inch argonite sand layer, possilby with some crushed shells/coral. Then I waas going to put, I think it is called, tufa rock, in the tank.
Also I would have a 80-160 watts of flourescent lighting on it, I dont know if that helps.
Well in the end it may be more expensive because you would have to monitor things more closely (test kits), and with a small tank, things can change and spike in very little time, causing death. I have a 30g and withing a 4 hour period the temp once raised 5 degrees and shocked all of my fish, they all died. When trying to use a small aquarium you have the risk of things going wrong a lot faster. A fish shops they usually don't have live rock in all of their tanks because they sell the fish out, and they have the time to test and do frequent water changes. Live rock just makes the process much easier and is more healthy for the water than anything else.
Ok, now I forgot where I heard this, i am not sure, but I think it was from another board, but what people do is buy a lot of very porous rock, and then seed it from something, that way they prevent any harmful "critters" from entering the tank. I think they said it was garf grunge or something like that. Now does that work? And how long before it "seeds" will it be ready to use for filtration?