New to Reef

[Anonymous]

I have recently started my first aquarium. I went all out and spent a small fortune on a complete reef fully stocked.

I purchased a 180 Oceanic hood & stand, ETS 800, 2 x ICECAP 660 running 4 160w VHO bulbs, and three 400w 10,000K MH.

I'm told there is a little over 200 pounds of live rock mix of Fiji and Tonga. (I have no clue) and it's fully stocked with coral. (None of which I know the name of.) It's got sand on the bottom of the tank.

There are a couple of fish in the tank. I only know that the one is a yellow tang.

Is there anything anyone could share with me to help me keep this tank as beautiful as it's been since it was set up for me?

Thanks in advance,
Reefer II

 

[Anonymous]

Keep up with the posts on this board. Read the reef adquarium Vol 1 to start and vol 2 later. Get a lot of books. If you have specific questions, ask the board. Most everyone here is really good and has good advice. Your setup sounds really nice, I can tell you that. I'd love to have it. You've basically got all top of the line equipment, so that's a good start. Read up and learn all you can!

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Reefer II,

Get all the information you can from the person who setup the tank. What kind of maintenance regimen did they use, what supplements, etc. If the tank is looking great, the person who set it up was doing the right stuff. GoldenGoby is correct in the fact that you should read as much as you can and on every subject. The Reef Aquarium volume one is perfect for that, all the info in one place. The best you can do for now is monitor the tank and water parameters and nip any problems at the start.

Good luck!

 

[Anonymous]

Read, read, read!!!! The most important piece of equipment for a reef aquarium is a large library of books. All the expensive gadgetry in the world won't do a thing unless you know what its for and how to use it. Read about those beautiful corals you have, knowledge is power, and knowing a little biology behind your corals, fish and the complexity of a coral reef will go a long way to helping you keep them healthy. Read lots of material, subscribe to magazines, post messages here, learning from others is vital to success.

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Neptune

 

[Anonymous]

Reefer II,

Is this tank brand spanking new and was just set up? If so, be prepared for the worst. When you tank is first set up it goes through what is called the nitrogen cycle in which bacteria develop in the aquarium to consume what is produced by deteriorating organics and the fish in the aquarium. One of the things that happens during this cycle is what is called an ammonia spike and a nitrite spike which is basically a time in which the said compounds build up in the tank and then reduce to zero. During these spikes, your corals and fish will be *very* succeptable to getting sick and (more likely) dying.

Really, I don't know what else to say to you, (and I don't mean this in a way to put you down, but as a matter of fact), but that you didn't start out right, and you will lose a lot of livestock. Luckily, someone else that sounds like they know what they are doing set it up for you and your set up is nice. Please read and learn as much as you can... there is a lot more to this hobby than just throwing all the magic ingredients into a tank. You are trying to re-create an ecosystem not a car engine.

HTH,

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E >< () !) !_! S

 

[Anonymous]

Oh My...

My wonderful new tank I had installed fully stock it totaled.

My 8 year old son wanted to see if the glass was thick enough to withstand a hammer being thrown at it.

Thank goodness my son was OK, just extremely scared by the amount of water and glass that exploded all over the foyer.

I immediately went to the local everything for a $ store and purchased a few rubber maid containers for most of the live stock, live rock and added this to freshly made sea water and called the maintenance guy.

Eight hours later he was their installing another $1000.00+ aquarium.

I'm starting to think this was a mistake.

Reefer II

 

[Anonymous]

dont worry, when you really start getting into this, youll start wondering where your money went, and the 1000 that youre out will seem like small change!