Have some questions.

[Heathershobbie]

Okay, Hi, I am new here and I am very glad to find this site. I was amazed in short.
My name is Heather, I am part of the military family, I have owned two salt water tanks gradulay graduating up to my second after exstensive talkes with my LFS.
It started out as a, " I wonder If I could realy do it." Idea, With a 10 gallon tank. To my amazement it didn't crash! I had
enough life sand for a 10 gallon tank.
1 small LR,
1 Sea anomie ( spelled wrong)
and some starter fish, 3 blue Damsels. 2 died.
3 hermit crabs. and two snails. One about the size of a pingpong ball and the other about the size of a marble.
To my own astonishment, My husband Casualy sugested that I Upgrade my small little wonder I had in my kitchen to my 20 gallon Hex tank. That was in my living room. I call my LFS and talked to chuck again. And did the transfer In one night.
Then my husband got all excited and had to rush off to the LFS and pick up some orange soft coral, elaphant skin, ( hard Coral). ANd a small snowflake moray eel!.
I named him mr moray. ANyways, HIm and my blue damsel co-exsisted nicely, Until he ate him. I was quite mad about that, Becouse my blue damsel was a trooper.
Well now, I think I brought my husband into the salt water hobby. And now when we get to where we are going he wants me to set up his 55 gallon that is now a fresh water into a salt water, I have already convereted my 20 gall. So I sort of know what I am doing, But without the already cycled water its going to be hard. Like starting all over again.
Both my tanks that I have had, Never had a protien skimmer. Are they realy neccisary?
What about live sand. I have mine packed into airtight jars for the trip. How long is the life expectantcy on that.
Becouse of our moving here in a week, I had to take all my creatures back. Minus the LS. And I got store credit only. So I picked up some Sea salt, and Some extra current. 2 of them.
Got any Ideas. My husband Is in love with chiclids. Any non-poisinus salt ( I have a toddler in my house) creatures that resemble chiclids would be great. Any Ideas? I need some answers. Thanks
Heather.

 

[exhumed07]

I'm not big on saltwater but so far u seem to know what ur doing. I'm a cichlid fan myself, but do plan on turning my 55 cichlid tank to a 55 sw after I get my 125 gallon+ tank sometime in the sprin/summer.

 

[KahluaZzZ]

Protein skimmer on a 55g = very very helpful, anyways if you don't use it you'll spend more on salt mix due to bigger water changes. The LS life expect. depends on a lot of factors, temperature drops etc..but anyways even with die-off the LS can be seeded back with live rock so it's not gonna be wasted.
cichlids-like fishies ( shape ) : check out the wrasses and anthias (< but anthias need big tanks )

 

[Lotus]

When you set up your tank(s) in the new place, you'll need to get some more live rock. About a pound or a pound and a half per gallon is what's recommended. The live rock will cycle your systems. Check the water until ammonia and nitrites are zero, then you'll be able to start slowly adding fish.

 

[Heathershobbie]

Thanks for the live rock issue. I realy wasn't to sure on how much to add. Per tank size. Thanks for answering some of my questions. I talked with my Hubby last night and he wants to do a mix of both coral and fishies. Any advice on that would be great, Like what Kind of light I would need per coral. I liked Sps soft coral, It was beautiful and vibrant. I have alot of careful planning to make before I go ahead and set everything back up.
Becouse Of my facination with SW My husband leaves me to do everything. The water testing, ( I have a kit) and all that other fun stuff including fish research.
But I will def come back if I have any questions on my tank and see how it goes.
THANKS! You guys are awesome.

 

[Lotus]

The live rock is really important. It will help make sure you have a sucessful tank.

For the corals, you'll need good lighting. It can get expensive. Either metal halide (MH) or a T5 fixture with individual reflectors will be needed for SPS corals (small-polyped stony). Soft corals are something else, and include leathers, zoanthids, mushrooms and some other types. For soft corals you could get away with a good compact fluorescent/power compact (CF or PC) fixture.

 

[Lorna]

It sounds like you were successful when you got your feet wet with both the 10 and 20g. You are on the right track and as stated above you will need to get more live rock and sand aiming for a good 1lb per gallon of rock and a good 4 inches of sand for a working deep sand bed. A good protein skimmer is a very important piece of equipment if you intend to keep corals and fish. Lighting will depend on the types of coral you are wanting but as stated if you are looking at softies then good pc or t5 lighting will suffice. You really want to cycle your tank correctly and without using fish such as damsels. Though being eaten by a moray eel is probably a good end for some damsels. They can be mean and territorial and if you want them make sure to add them as a last fish so they don't beat up any others. Once settled send us some pics of your set up and we will help as you go. Not all LFS are knowledgeable and willing to embrace new technologies and methods.

 

[Heathershobbie]

Thank you Lora. I am doing some research right now actuly on differnt kinds of coral, Right now I am looking at the zoo's. But I have just printed out the list and I am going to check the ones I like as I go through them Induvidualy. I will post the whole fish and all and get your guys's opoinion on it. Then once My tank is cycled. I will start purchasing a few pieces at a time. And add them in slowly. Thats My plan.

 

[Lorna]

Sounds like a solid plan. You should never buy anything without researching it's unique needs and care requirements PRIOR to purchase.

 

[Heathershobbie]

So I have made my dec, I am going to stick with soft corals and not go anywhere near the sps corals. Yes I liked having the one that I did, But it was a on the whim thing for my husband. I realy have to monitor him! LOL. But What kind of MH Would I need? I am looking at them right now so I can price them. Becouse I just found a great protein skimmer that is also a uv sterilizer. But I am now looking at the lights, Becouse once I find a good place to buy I tend to stick with them. Any sug's on what kind of wattage?
Heathershobbie

 

[KahluaZzZ]

2x150w mh at least..2x250w = best, 'cause some softies can require moderate/strong lighting too.

 

[TRe]

you should really consider t5 as an option ... i know of alot of people that have sps,clam,ect. thriving under just t5 not to mention the bulbs are alot cheaper to replace

 

[KahluaZzZ]

yeah but if you replace them more often...mh can last years

 

[Lorna]

Heather some suggestions and I hope you don't take offense......most lfs's just want to sell stuff....the more the better. Keep that in mind when shopping. Most items sold in the lfs can be purchased online through reputable sites at much cheaper rates than the local lfs. I know you may want to support your local guy and that is good but save it for livestock...buy your drygoods online. Now, a protein skimmer that is also a uv filter isn't necessary and it is a waste of your money..... beside the fact that I have never heard of one and if it was that great it would be written about on here, believe me. Now spend your $$$ wisely and get a aqua remora as it is rated one of the absolute best hang on skimmers.....google it and read the reviews. It is virtually plug and play and is easy and efficient to use and costs about $150. Lights are something you can spend a fortune on or not again depends what you want. Most sofites will do fine under t5 lighting and as tre says, the bulbs are cheaper and this is a cost that must be taken into consideration as bulbs are not cheap and need to be replaced every 6 mos to a year. Halides are great, costly to buy, costly to replace bulbs and add to your electricity bill.....but nothing looks as nice in my opinion as the lights that shimmer through the water like halides do. They give a nice crisp light that will allow you to keep virtually anything.....these you could get for around $300 for a 24". Go with a reputable company as these can be fire hazards if you go with some of the cheap ones that are on ebay all the time. A good t5 combo will probably cost the same and a straight t5 with 4 x 24w t5's will run about $160

Try this site they are a great company and I have bought stuff from there before..

marineandreef.com/ Aquarium Reef Lighting (reef tank lighting) Information

 

[Heathershobbie]

Hey thanks, I will bear that in mind. I Do like to support my LFS, But I am moving as I had mentioned earlier. I do not know the texas area at all. So I do most of my research on the internet anyways. I will look ath the aqua remora that is about the price range I was looking at anyways. I am going to take a peek at your recommended site. Thanks!