Look for answers to you direct questions below. I see from your posts
you have the two most necessary things for a successful reef aquarium;
patience and cash!
All my advice is for a reef aquarium. If you decide on fish only or
fish with live rock, the advice changes dramatically.

If you want to start a reef, I would highly recommend 'NATURAL REEF
AQUARIUMS' by Tullock. This is the best beginner/intermediate book on
setting up a reef aquarium that I've seen.




(Peter) wrote in message . com...
Hi,

I recently came into possesion of an 80 gallon tank with a Rena
Filstar xp3 with spray bar and a EBO-JAGER 200 Watt heater. It didn't
have a cover or light, or manuals but hey it was all free, and it was
working (It had two freakin' huge gold fish in it).

I am new to 'aquaria' but would like to do a marine tank.
I don't know crap about doing this but I don't mind taking my time and
spending some cash. I am planning on buying 'The New Marine Aquarium:
Step-By-Step Setup & Stocking Guide' and 'The Conscientious Marine
Aquarist: A Commonsense Handbook for Successful Sal****er Hobbyists'.
This seemed like a wise first step. I'm not looking to create a
master piece, just something that looks 'natural' (ie. Rocks
(reef/coral??? and some colourful fish).

Question 1 : What else do I need equipment wise, other than what I
have, and is what I have okay for a marine setup? If so what is the
optimal setup for the canister, with regard to the components in it
(ie. foam pads, charcoal)?
Save the canister for when you need to run charcoal in emergencies.
Don't use it on a regular basis. Get a protein skimmer. Remora Pro
is the one I recommend for cost and benefit. About $200.00. I'm
assuming you don't have a sump? If you have a sump look for ASM
skimmers with google.

If the heater is old, get rid of it and replace it with two 150watt
visatherms. Two smaller heaters is better than one bigger one. If
sticks on it's smaller and won't fry your fish. If one sticks off, the
remaining should be able to keep your fish warm enough.

You'll need live rock. TBS and premium aquatics are two companies
that sell/ship live rock. TBS Gulf rock has a lot of life on it
already. Premium Fiji is nice rock. A bit less life, but less of a
hassle too. (Some life on the TBS rock is undesireable. Do a google
search on 'MANTIS SHRIMP'.

Lighting. The best lighting no matter what anybody else says is Metal
Halide and VHO actinic together. You can also get good results with
PC, T5 or VHO lighting.


Question 2 : What are some good online references (ie. web, newsgroup,
associations, online suppliers)?
www.reefcentral.com - join... 40,000 member reefers can't all be
wrong. free with donations accepted.

www.marinedepot.com - supplies, liverock, critters
www.hellolights.com - extensive aquarium lighting
premium aquatics - supplies, liverock, critters.
www.tampabaysal****er - rocks, critters.
www.reeftopia.com - critters
www.sal****erfish.com - guess.
www.drsfostersmith.com - Pretty good stuff, but once you buy one thing
from them, they send you really nice catalogs a couple of times a
year.


Question 3 : What is a good (meaning hardy) setup for fish and coral?

Thank you very much!
Go slow here. Your tank has to cycle first. It might take two weeks,
it might take 2 months. Hardy first fish? Clown fish, some wrasses,
yellow tang,
Green Chromis.

Corals, green polyps, yellow polyps, mushrooms, leather corals, xenia.

Check out reefcentral. Use the search engine to find answers for
almost anything, or post new questions. Good luck!