Doth
01/21/2006, 01:26 PM
Hello Everybody,
I live in San Jose, CA. I am new to the marine aquariums. I have had a few fresh water aquariums in the past and a pretty cool one running now.
I have purchased a 12G aquapod and have gotten it up and running (I know about the recall and have that worked out).
I am have read a ton of books and done as much research as time allows. Most of you have beautiful nano reefs. They are so awesome. My problem is that even though I have read so much, I don't understand much of what you all are talking about.
I look at all the mods and wonder what is necessary and what is not, and I get so confused. Most of the mods look like elaborate versions of what is included in the back of my tank. The sump tanks seem to be remote with some form of live rock or plant in them. Is all of this necessary or is it more for fun to enjoy the hobby? I am not sure I totally understand a protein skimmer, but it seems like the grate thing at the top of one of my rear chambers is one of them. Should I look into another one?
My goal is to have a colorful, healthy mini-reef. So far, I have set up the tank, in the back I have four chambers, I have one that is full of a huge synthetic sponge,. I filled the bottom of two of them with bio balls, then covered them with those white ring things (I forgot the name, but they are in a bag that is clearly permeable by water). I am not using the charcoal. In the fourth chamber is where the pump sits and is pretty much empty after that. I am planning on putting a heater in there to keep the temp constant (my house fluctauates greatly during the day). I mixed my water with Coralife Salt and have been checking the specific gravity and it keeps coming up in the safe bracket. I added 10 lbs of rock that came in a bag with water and had a shelflife of 12 months. I don't remember the brand name, but it looks a lot like what people here call live sand. I have a few fresh water test kits, but I am going to take the water to my LFS for testing.
I am hoping that today I can add some rock structures. I really like how many of you create an inverted "U". This seems to allow a lot of surface area for the corals and hiding places for the fish.
As for the stocking. I am really leaning towards corals, but all of the names seem so confusing. It seems the same thing is called by multiple names. I am going to do my best with some polyps and zoos to start. The only fish I plan on adding are maybe one or two clowns. I get confused by what fragging is, and when you search for it on websites or google, you don't really get specific information. I am assuming it is splitting invertibrates up in some manner. I am one of the goofy people that enjoy even the clean up crew, so I am open to suggestions for these. I think a turbo snail would be great. I have had snails in my other tanks and they are all named, "Slurpee".
I know this is a long post, but I figured it would be best to say it all at once rather than keep responding as the thread wore on. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated and if you know any answers to any of my questions, please reply.
Have a great weekend guys and girls,
D
I live in San Jose, CA. I am new to the marine aquariums. I have had a few fresh water aquariums in the past and a pretty cool one running now.
I have purchased a 12G aquapod and have gotten it up and running (I know about the recall and have that worked out).
I am have read a ton of books and done as much research as time allows. Most of you have beautiful nano reefs. They are so awesome. My problem is that even though I have read so much, I don't understand much of what you all are talking about.
I look at all the mods and wonder what is necessary and what is not, and I get so confused. Most of the mods look like elaborate versions of what is included in the back of my tank. The sump tanks seem to be remote with some form of live rock or plant in them. Is all of this necessary or is it more for fun to enjoy the hobby? I am not sure I totally understand a protein skimmer, but it seems like the grate thing at the top of one of my rear chambers is one of them. Should I look into another one?
My goal is to have a colorful, healthy mini-reef. So far, I have set up the tank, in the back I have four chambers, I have one that is full of a huge synthetic sponge,. I filled the bottom of two of them with bio balls, then covered them with those white ring things (I forgot the name, but they are in a bag that is clearly permeable by water). I am not using the charcoal. In the fourth chamber is where the pump sits and is pretty much empty after that. I am planning on putting a heater in there to keep the temp constant (my house fluctauates greatly during the day). I mixed my water with Coralife Salt and have been checking the specific gravity and it keeps coming up in the safe bracket. I added 10 lbs of rock that came in a bag with water and had a shelflife of 12 months. I don't remember the brand name, but it looks a lot like what people here call live sand. I have a few fresh water test kits, but I am going to take the water to my LFS for testing.
I am hoping that today I can add some rock structures. I really like how many of you create an inverted "U". This seems to allow a lot of surface area for the corals and hiding places for the fish.
As for the stocking. I am really leaning towards corals, but all of the names seem so confusing. It seems the same thing is called by multiple names. I am going to do my best with some polyps and zoos to start. The only fish I plan on adding are maybe one or two clowns. I get confused by what fragging is, and when you search for it on websites or google, you don't really get specific information. I am assuming it is splitting invertibrates up in some manner. I am one of the goofy people that enjoy even the clean up crew, so I am open to suggestions for these. I think a turbo snail would be great. I have had snails in my other tanks and they are all named, "Slurpee".
I know this is a long post, but I figured it would be best to say it all at once rather than keep responding as the thread wore on. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated and if you know any answers to any of my questions, please reply.
Have a great weekend guys and girls,
D