Starting a reef tank

Big Habeeb wrote:
On Sep 25, 5:35 pm, "Pszemol" wrote:

"Big Habeeb" wrote in ooglegroups.com...

Books I read included (over the last few months)
Keeping a Reef Aquarium (Friese and Friese)
Simplified Reef Keeping (Metelsky)
Modern Coral reef aquairum (nilsen)

Not bad...

I could also recomend you read this one:
"Natural Reef Aquarium" by John H. Tullock

Here is cheaper than B&Nhttp://www.petstore.com/ps_ViewItem-idproduct-BKNRA.html
Full of great ideas for a many different kind of aquariums.

And if you ever think of getting clownfish and, more importantly
sea anemones, I would consider reading following two
positions mandatory BEFORE YOU BUY THESE ANIMALS:

"Clownfishes" by Joyce D. Wilkerson

"Host Sea Anemone Secrets" by Dr. Ron Shimek


I will pick them both up as I did anticipate adding a clown once the
tank was up and running. I've kept a clown before in a previous tank
but again, no reef involved so less to worry about I would guess. I
really, REALLY appreciate all the advice and will post more once I
pick up the stuff and get it setup.
Mitch


Both the Tullock and the Wilkerson books are excellent.....I read the
Tullock before I even ventured into my still early experience in keeping
a reef tank....

With respect to mixing the water - only use RO water or RO/DI if you can
get it.....when I set up my tank(s) I used plain coral sand substrate
and mixed the salt, minerals, buffer etc within the tank - taking
advantage of there being no living creature and the heater and the pumps
etc to provide the circulation to get the stuff mixed.....I ran the tank
empty for a week to ensure everything had dissolved (including hand
stirrings as there was nothing to pollute in the tank).....Once I was
happy that the salt mix, pH, buffer and calcium content was OK I then
added live rock......forget live sand as your live rock will populate
your sand itself.......this then had to be left to ensure that there was
no further residual die off from it being imported.......you will often
find LR described as cured but give it a good sniff - if it smells of
anything other than clean sea water you will need to cure it further
yourself (not a great issue unless you are impatient).....leave the LR
in the tank for 1-2 weeks and test for ammonia and nitrites - if there
is any die off then you will get a spike.....the LR will act as in the
same way as a freshwater filter system bacteria and will deal with this
but you have to give it time - it is still cycling.....Personally, once
I got zero readings on nitrites I then went for some clean up crew -
snails, hermits etc.....in my little Nano tank I had to provide
additional food for them for the first week or so......then I started
with some of the easier corals.....mushrooms, buttons
etc.......eventually after 3 months I started to add the fish.....

Now, I am very new to all of this (only set up my first tank a year
ago), and like you am from a freshwater background so had to unlearn
certain things (like cleaning substrate)......I chose to initially try a
15 gall Nano tank as an experiment - it was a hotch potch tank and I
moved all but the hermits and the clowns and live rock out once heat
became an issue but by that time I was addicted and had a tank to move
them to.....but it was a great way to learn....the FOWLR Nano tank is
still very cute but hard to maintain....

Gill