i am always awed by the beauty of salt water tanks

but every time i read about something it doesnt make sense to me :|


im thinking of starting a sw tank soon but with out proper research it not gonna workout

so lots of questions anyone have time to explain the whole process to me or ami i asking for toomuch


1. live rock is it really alive and would it die ?? once its dead can we revive it ?
2. same thing with live sand ??
3. and heard about corals moving do they really move and roam around in the tank ? what are anemones ? and doe anyone of them bite ?
4. i have seen some fish selling for over 300 bucks in store but at the same time guys selling the same fish for 30$ on Craigslist . they look alike can they be same ? (for example totally orang one with a black dot on its belly, ill get the name next time i go to the store)

__________________
~ Max
29 Gallon Tall Planted and running Eheim 2217
~~ a German Blue ram pair, 9 Harlequin rasboras, 2 octilincus, 2 Dwarf neon rainbows and a honey sunset Gaurami

16 gallon Bowfront tank ~~ 3 Neon Tetras, red tailed shark, 1 angel (its a real bully), BN pleco and an albino BN pleco.

So I'll try and keep it real brief, and simple
The "rock" is rock(usually pourous like lava, but not always..) old dead coral, it can be ceramic (like the little bio filter pieces, but bigger), or it can be concrete.
It has living organisms in it, on often on it. Think of it a larger form of the filter media...
Same with the sand...
Once it dies, it's pretty much gone... Unless it is re-seeded, and that need to be done in the ocean, or in a established system and it takes a looong time.
Corals don't move, they are sessile creatures(means they don't move) they grow and spread. The small frags and polyps need to be secure in the tank so they are not "moved" by water flow or fish.
Anemone are polyps, but unlike coral polyps they don't create the calcium structure to house them. Anemone typically (but not always) attach themselves to somthing with a "foot" and stay there and grow.
They don't "bite" but have nematocysts which are little stingers like jellyfish. They use this to catch and eat their food. Like jellyfish some sting more than others.
As far as they price of fish.... It's a bit like the freshwater trade, with rare and quality species... There are a lot of reasons they can be so expensive, rarity, transportation, importation, most all are wild caught, and your location.
Was the craigslist seller an individual getting rid of a few fish and tank, or someone who buys a few fish wholesale?
If your really wanting to do a reef tank, or even a saltwater fish tank, then get "Marine reef aquarium handbook" by Goldstein and "The new marine aquarium" by Paletta
Hope that helps...
"Buddha in your tank"

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"Buddha in your tank"

that helped to an extent thanks

so in sense corals are like fresh water plants
and the live rock and sand is like filter media with beneficial bacteria only thing is it can be reseeded in an occean

cool
thanks

__________________
~ Max
29 Gallon Tall Planted and running Eheim 2217
~~ a German Blue ram pair, 9 Harlequin rasboras, 2 octilincus, 2 Dwarf neon rainbows and a honey sunset Gaurami

16 gallon Bowfront tank ~~ 3 Neon Tetras, red tailed shark, 1 angel (its a real bully), BN pleco and an albino BN pleco.

Corals are living animals, and way less forgiving than plants. But with right care do great it's not that hard anymore, and the rock has a plethora of things growing in and on it.
The books can be bought used from amazon or borders for a couple bucks.

__________________
"Buddha in your tank"

So about the process of setting one up, it takes a bit of work. You'll need to decide if you'll want fish only or the reef. I personally like the reef because there is a lot more going on.
You dont need sand, a lot of people like tanks without it and others like it with it. It does add some benefit for a biofilter surface area. "live sand" comes with some bacteria on it so it takes less time to cycle. You can get some non-live sand and wait longer for it to establish.
Live rock is needed. Dont go around this. It is the main filtration method for your tank. You need 1lb or more per gallon for your tank. It is the place for most of the bacteria to establish and also comes with the essential bacteria from the ocean. It may also come with some small corals, invertebrates and micro-life on it. You need to allow this to "cure" from one week up to a month so the stuff on it dies then comes back.

You'll also have to get some powerheads to create a flow around your tank that is 20x the amount of water in your tank. This is essential because the live rock needs to have the water flowing around it to be able to filter it. Also, you'll have to have it to be able to give your corals a good flow of nutrients around them and for good gas exchange at the surface of the tank.
Heaters are also good things to have to make sure your tank stays about 78F.

After your rock and sand have cured and cycled, start the next step by adding a cleaning crew. This is a mix of crabs and snails to keep the tank clean of biomass.

If you plan on doing a reef tank, you'll need to get some adequate ligting for the corals. If you do a metal halide, you'll need about 150-200 watts for a 20 gallon tank. If you do t5, you'll need about 200 watts. If you do LEDs you'll need about 50 watts. You'll need to get about a 10,000K bulb and some actinic bulbs for lighting. Since the metal halide will most likely be the white light, you'll have to supplement it by using actinic leds or compact fluorescents. (these numbers would be for a 20 gallon, so if yours is bigger, multiply or divide with respect to the size)

After you get your cleaning crew established, you can add certain fish. Some fish require your tank to have adequate amounts of algea and micro-organisms that takes a few months to set up. So be sure to look at what types of fish need what.

Corals have a few levels of care and lighting associated with them. Soft corals like xenia and zoanthids do not require as much light as something like a LPS coral. SPS are in between. Each type requires different things to feed them so also look at what is needed to feed them when you get them. Some coral need lower flow or higher flow of water over them. So research the coral before you buy.

Corals and fish do have certain hazards associated with them. Some corals like frogspawn can sting you and some people are more sensitive to it than others. Some fish like lionfish can have prongs that can stick you. So be sure to know the different hazards for different lifeforms. Also, those anemones can sting as well.

Corals do move, but not really. lol. They open up like flowers and things like pulsing xenia have feathery fingers that look like they grab at the water. They dont walk around the tank though. They are much like plants, so they are rooted in the ground and have parts that can move.

Some fish are more expensive because, as stated, they are more rare or more difficult/dangerous to catch. Some fish are caught at 100 ft below the surface, others at 10 ft. So the risk is higher. Also, they need to be transported and some do die, this means the live fish need to pay for the dead ones. Other fish may be tank raised, this brings up the cost because it costs money to raise the breeding fish and the fry. So it really depends on how they are caught, raised, transported, and rarity. The guy selling it on craigslist has it for so cheap because he may have got it at a lower price or is just trying to get rid of it.

So i hope this helps you further! any more questions, feel free to ask.

Live Rock and Live Sand both have living organisms on them and in them. These days they are usually cultured in the Ocean rather than gathered. When added to a salt water tank they provide organisms to start the Nitrate cycle. They can be restarted but you woud need to place them in fresh recirculating Ocean Water for this to happen. Once added to a cycling tank, the rock and sand is never dead but has whatever organism on it or in it that your tank will support.

a lot , thanks phys

so if i turn my 16 gallon fw to salt water ..... i would need a power head for water circulation and huge lights if i wanna go with corals right ??

also about the lights ...
1.are there any corals at all tht would do well with 30 watt (2 t5 tubes 15 watt each) over 16 gallon ??

2. do they need to be on for certain amount of time like for plants in fw ???


thanks

__________________
~ Max
29 Gallon Tall Planted and running Eheim 2217
~~ a German Blue ram pair, 9 Harlequin rasboras, 2 octilincus, 2 Dwarf neon rainbows and a honey sunset Gaurami

16 gallon Bowfront tank ~~ 3 Neon Tetras, red tailed shark, 1 angel (its a real bully), BN pleco and an albino BN pleco.

The key to lighting coral is not just wattage, but spectrum as well. So it depends on the bulbs you have... It's a dusk to dawn, with moonlight added in, lighting that is mimicked.

__________________
"Buddha in your tank"

As far as the light is concerned you have a have options. You should look into what coral you want and then base your lights off that. 10k 14k and 20k all have different uses.

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Ummm I currently have a coralife fixture with 2 t5 bulbs
One a t5Ho 10k and second is a coralife colormax bulb (purple)
18 +18 watt
Intending to use this on a 16 gallon

If I get mostly fish and some low light corals then ?? Possible without more lighting ?

__________________
~ Max
29 Gallon Tall Planted and running Eheim 2217
~~ a German Blue ram pair, 9 Harlequin rasboras, 2 octilincus, 2 Dwarf neon rainbows and a honey sunset Gaurami

16 gallon Bowfront tank ~~ 3 Neon Tetras, red tailed shark, 1 angel (its a real bully), BN pleco and an albino BN pleco.

You may just need to add something like an LED strip to the system and you'll be golden. Start off with the low light corals, then medium, then high. Watch the coral growth at each level and it'll tell you if you have enough or not.

You should be ok, with your lights. As suggested you can invest in l
LED, also keep in mind output of floresent diminishes after a while so they no longer put out the original rating.
Unlike LED that can have up to 50,000 hours of output life.

__________________
"Buddha in your tank"