New to marine SW HELP ?

[HappyPlaty]

hi,i am new to SW. I have a few questions to ask,first i am thinking ok keeping a 6 gallon tank.should i use a protein skimmer ? what are the conditions for keeping anemone? i live in a country with a constant temp. of 29 to 30 c , should i use a heater?what are live rocks and live sand?,is it a living thing or it is a place for things to grow on?,what do they mean by ''cured'' live rock ?what is a calcium reactor ?lastly can EHEIM Liberty hang-on filter be use in SW ?
thats all ! please help me THANKS !*crazysmil

 

[valdok]

i don't think a 6g tank would be a wise move for a first time sw person. a protein skimmer for a 6g tank would be overkill, especially if you have a ehiem liberty filter working. using a heater is wise only if you can't keep your water between 72 and 78 degrees, the ideal temps. for most marine fish. live rock is a term used to describe a rock from the ocean teaming with all sorts of differing life on there, anything from algae to inverts. live sand means the same thing, but with beneficial bacteria and organisms in the sand. cured live rock refers to the state of live rock where it is suitable for aquarium usage, assuming you are not cycling your tank with live rock. cured live rock means normally removing all unwanted organisms that would be detrimental to the tank's livestock BEFORE putting it in your tank, a process which can take a few weeks. an over-the-back filter is perfectly fine for a smaller sw tank in my opinion. i have no idea what a calcium reactor is, but my guess would be a reactor that produces useable calcium for a tank. my suggestion to you is to read up A LOT on saltwater tanks. is this your first tank ever, or are you just starting in saltwater? good luck with the tank. my advice is to cycle the tank properly, and be patient! you will be rewarded in the end.

 

[HappyPlaty]

This is not my first tank,i have two other tropical tank with plants.So can my filter(EHEIM liberty) be used in SW ?
How do i cure them ??? what are the conditions for keeping anemone? Does corals need co2 ? what must i feed them ??
Thanks

 

[jaws2]

here we go DO NOT KEEP A ANEMONE FOR ATLEAST 6-8 MONTHS coral does not use co2 that is plants. you can feed coral. and you feed them plantkton. curing is a process for clering away the dead matter . you will need 18 watts of light for live rock and if you want a anemone you would neeeeed 36 watts of lighting!!!!! if yuo keep up water changes than yes you can use the filter you plan to use . by the way what do you want in the tank fishes?

 

[HappyPlaty]

Hey jaws2 why cant i keep ANEMONE ? i plan to keep clown fish (Amphiprion ocellaris).

 

[valdok]

you can't keep an anemone because they require stable, mature tanks, and experienced owners. it's nothing person, anemones are just really really hard to keep alive if you are new. here is a good article on curing live rock:

http://liveaquaria.com/general/general.cfm?general_pagesid=59

 

[jaws2]

you keepin a clown fish cuz of tat movie?

 

[jaws2]

and clownfish dont NEED A ANOMOME

 

[wayne at home]

I think you'll really struggle to keep a 6 gallon going in Singapore. People do NOT recommenc small tanks for beginners because they are unstable, and unstable kills things fast. You will struggle to keep evaporation under control, I think a 6 gallon in Singapore will have terrible amounts of evaporation and you will need to add top up water at least every day, else the changing salt concentration (water evaporates, leaves salt behind) will soon kill most everything.
You also need to research natural methods of filtraion - i recommend a book by ike Paletta - New arine aquarium, a step by step guide, search on amazon for exact title.
Anemonaes are very hard to keep alive as they require strong lighting, and near perfect water conditions, plus a 6 just isn't big enough for an anemonae of any size.
Sorry for the bad news, I don't think this will work

 

[HappyPlaty]

What about a 15g tank?

 

[JasonF]

Go for as BIG as you can afford basically..

I am starting SW and have just got a 90G tank, which is fairly small compared to most of them... But big enough to ensure that huge fluctuations in water quality do not occur...

I would try and go no less than 70g or so for a starter tank, in a few years once you have loads of experience then 15g would be fine I'm sure...

 

[HappyPlaty]

Do i need a protein skimmer or a clacium reactor for a 15g tank ?

 

[JasonF]

For SW people say a Skimmer is a necessity... So I would say it would be wise to get one, better safe than sorry..

The Calc I assume you won't need until you start with SPS corals and whatnot, which again I assume you won't do for a good 6 months to allow the water to mature nicely?

 

[wayne at home]

Initailly you won't need a reactor, and on a 15 you can get away w/out a skimmer as you'll still need to be really on the ball with top up s and water changes. The bigger the better, 15 is still small. Bigger tanks don't really cost more, you can always put in less stuff, more water. Also the rang of fish and number in a 20 long for example is a different world to a 10 or other small tank.

 

[HappyPlaty]

If i have live rock and sand,when its gets dirty and full of alge and i want to clean it won't it kill all of the living things and bacteria in it ??

 

[BrianH]

I would suggest buying the book Wanye suggested or "The Conscientious MarineAquarist"by Robert Fenner. These books will answer most of your questions.

Brian