new to fish

[Nemolovesme552]

I have had a couple fresh water tanks for about a year and im moving into saltwater. I have everything and it will be set up in about a week. I pikced some new power compact moon lights for my 55 gallon reef aqaurium. I also chose some Carribean live rock. If you have anythign to suggest or any questions just ask. I may be new but i have done my research and i know a lot about saltwater.

[Mariner]

http://reefcentral.com/images/welcome.gif
To Reef Central!
Give us some more specs on your set-up. What filtration are you going with? Are you going with a sump/fuge or not? Skimmer? Do you have a stocking plan yet? A number of us RC'ers like comparing set-ups etc. and giving advice (even when it's not needed or asked for :D )
Welcome aboard!
Mariner

[Rock Anemone]

Nemolovesme552,
[welcome]

Sounds good! Ditto with Mariner's questions.:)

Rock Anemone:D

[Nemolovesme552]

Well like I said, Power Compact Moon lights. 260 watts all together. Filtration is 55 pounds of live rock. I got a 2 stage RO unit and 60 pounds of crushed coral and sand for the bottom. I got 200 gallon bucket of red sea salt. It is a 55 gallon tank that will contain coral, fish, and invertebrats. I plan to post some pictures up or post some news when i gte it set up. I will also be starting a mini nano reef in an aquarium called the Nano Cube. It has 24 watt 50/50 compact flourscent lights. It is 12 gallons and has a wet/dry filter and 106 gph pump. I will have a mini reef and a fish in there. That should be up around Christmas. Ask some questions or give me advice about good starting fish or coral.

[Mariner]

OK. Sounds good so far. What are you using to circulate water? Powerheads? HOB filter? Sump? You'll probably want to circulate a volume of water equal to at least 10 times your tank volume every hour (55x10=550 gallons per hour -- GPH). You'll also probably want/need some mechanical and/chemical filtration too -- at least periodically.

I'd highly recommend a good quality Skimmer too. While some get by without one, many (including me) think it's the most important piece of equipment for a marine tank. It really helps pull out disolved organics and fish waste, preventing or alleviating many potentially nasty problems.

Your lighting sounds great. You ought to be able to keep many different kinds of corals with that eventually if you want to.

HTH,
Mariner

[Nemolovesme552]

I like the skimmer idea but not right now. I have a brother in law that did a tank just like mine, no filtration except for live rock and thats it. His is working out fine . About the skimmer though, i will most like gte one in the next 6 months....for now i would like to see how it does without one. Thanks and the water circulation is 3 360 gph aqualife pumps.

[Rock Anemone]

Ditto with what Mariner said.

As for fish, I strongly recommend you purchase Scott W. Michael's Marine Fishes book. There are over 500 detailed profiles on a large variety of fish. That should help you with your fish selection. I personally am a big fan of Clownfish since they are very hardy. Royal Grammas also add a lot of color as do Gobies and Blennies. Just make sure to research each fish before making a purchase so you know their requirements.

There's a large selection of corals out there to choose from. Some good starters are Mushrooms, Polyps, and Leathers. Also, some good LPS corals are Euphyllia species. Once you feel comfortable with keeping corals such as these and others, you could go ahead and try a few lower light loving SPS such as Montipora. As with everything, be sure to research before making a purchase. Eric Borneman's Aquarium Corals is a very good book.

Rock Anemone:D

[Nemolovesme552]

I already have a couple fish books but il keep those in mind. Thanks about that coral.. im sure that will help whne i start to get it in. I was wondering how long you should wait from the 4 week process is done til you can start adding fish or inverts. I am aware that the process will probably take longer than 4 weeks.

[Fizz71]

There is no wait, from the way you worded it. The "4 week process" is reffered to as a "cycle" to most in here and the time will vary like you mentioned. Just test your tank until it's completely cycled, then start adding fish from 1 to 2 at a time every 2 to 4 weeks...depending on the size of the fish..to let the bacteria catch up with the new bio-load.

You only need to wait beyond the cycle for some of the more picky things out there like Mandarins (who need live critters that take time to develop), anemones (do better if the tank is aged a bit), and some of the more tough corals that do better in a more established tank.

Welcome to RC, and good luck.

--Fizz

[Rock Anemone]

I agree with Fizz. However, a lot of people wait about 2-3 weeks after the 4 week(depending) cycle just to be safe and make sure everything is stable.

Rock Anemone:D

[Fizz71]

I guess it depends on the fish too...my first fish for every tank I've ever setup was a pair of clowns. I just love them...and they're pretty hardy. (not to mention cheap) I know I wouldn't throw a $60 flame angle in there right away!

--Fizz

[cwbroden]

Welcome aboard. Glad you made the change. You will enjoy salt. Fresh gets boring after a while. (Although I still run some tanks with firemouth cichlids in them.)