Basic Questions

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Liberty_Girl

Small Fish
#1
Jan 3, 2005
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#1
I work in a pet store and now my mom wants me to start up a marine tank for her. Here's the thing, I have no clue how to start up a marine tank!! We only carry freshwater fish. What are some of the "rules" for keeping a sw tank? If she starts up a 30 gal. tank how many fish can she put in it? Do you have to put in starter fish to help cycle the water like fresh water aquariums? How hard is it to maintain the right salt levels?

I still haven't told her if I was going to do it or not. I'm terrified we are going to spend hundreds of dollars and the entire tank die. I'm wanting to get more experience so I'm in the process of starting a 20 gal. fresh water tank. So any advice, books, or websites you guys have would be very helpful. Thanks a bunch!

-The internet elf

The proud mommy of a 1 year old quaker parrot
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#2
Oct 22, 2002
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#2
""The New Marine Aquarium" by Michael S. Paletta is a good starter guide, and has lots of good practical advice, as well as a checklist of what you need for a tank. It has lots of good tips.

"The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert M. Fenner is another basic handbook. It's a little more in depth.

You can usually get a package deal on Amazon for $40 for both of them."

i pulled the above off the "things you will need when starting a SW aquarium" sticky. that would be my first purchase, and my only purchase, until you are really sure of what you are doing. if you hunt around on here some you will find that the people who went in with a plan had much more success early on than the people whose first post was "I bought a tank and some salt and a fish, and now its all dead...HELP", and as much as I (and I'm sure others) would like to give you the step by step, it really is a book worth of information...that said, read Wayne's sticky and also dbacksrats "step by step" for some more information and an understanding of the trials and tribulations of setting up a new SW tank

let me say, welcome to MFT and I hope we can be of some assistance to you, there are a lot of really knowledgeable people and a lot of people in the process of becoming that, and I can think of at least four, including myself, right off the top of my head who basically started just like you are (knowing little but eager to learn) who are having great success!

kevin
 

S.Reef

S.Reef

Superstar Fish
#4
Dec 1, 2003
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#4
Both books Camaro recommended are great for the beginner.

A rough estimate people like to give is an inch of fish per two gallons. However common sense plays a part in stocking. I would also look around LFs finding one that has a reasonable prices, a variety of fish, healty fish and knowledgable employees. After you visit a few and get an idea what you want to go with, plan out how much you want to spend. I also find LFS will match prices on stuff to get your buisness.
 

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Liberty_Girl

Small Fish
#7
Jan 3, 2005
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#7
Thanks for the info. I plan on picking up a book in the next few days. But I do have some more questions.

1). I've noticed some fish are not good with coral. Is coral and live rock the same thing? And do you need live rock?

2). What make good community fish?

3). What is a good way to mix water, and is there water conditioner I need to add as well as the salt?

4). What is the best type of filter for a 30 gal. aquarium? Do you use a diff. filter for sw as you do for fw?

5). How often do I need to test my water?

I was thinking about getting a small 10 gal. aquarium and just adding live rock and a few crabs just to get familiar with everything. I would like to have a sw tank, but I'm terrified of getting a fish and having no clue how to take care of it. I really want to slowly introduce myself to everything. It will probally take me a few months to really decide if this is something I want to get into. I apologize ahead of time for all the simple (and maybe even quite annoying) questions I might ask. :)

-the internet elf
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#9
Oct 22, 2002
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#9
1). I've noticed some fish are not good with coral. Is coral and live rock the same thing? And do you need live rock?

some fish eat coral: research
coral and live rock are different
you don't need LR but it certainly is very very good to have

2). What make good community fish?

peaceful

3). What is a good way to mix water, and is there water conditioner I need to add as well as the salt?

in a bucket with a stick or some powerheads, dechlor

4). What is the best type of filter for a 30 gal. aquarium? Do you use a diff. filter for sw as you do for fw?

a skimmer is good, dont really need a filter if you use LR

5). How often do I need to test my water?

a lot until you get the hang of things, then less


and yah, people get snippy about the cycling with damsels thing ;)

hope those are some quick answers to your Qs...most of that info is going to be in those books you are getting and also on here, so if you need more detail might want to poke around a bit with the search function
 

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Liberty_Girl

Small Fish
#13
Jan 3, 2005
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#13
I went to Petco today. Bad idea, Iknow. And the lady there told me if I put liverock in I won't need a filter. Is this true? She also told me I'll never have to mess with the substrate, but I read in a book that I'll still need to "vac it." Which I can't see anyone doing b/c wouldn't the sand get caught in the vac?? I'm a little confused.

- the internet elf
 

1979camaro

1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
#14
Oct 22, 2002
5,862
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#14
the petco lady is correct about the filter, you wouldn't need one with LR and water flow

i dont vaccum my sandbed but there is great debate on all that. i have enougn crabs/stars/snails that it stays well stirred up and clean

confusion is normal and should lead to research! :)
 

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