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I have lots of question regarding my future reef aquarium

Discussion in 'Saltwater Fish Forum' started by Smewee, Mar 25, 2010.

  1. Smewee

    Smewee Thread Starter New Member

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    Ok!... So after a few weeks of planning I have decided I'm going to make a cool 300 gallon salt water aquarium for my newborn son to grow up to. I picked out some unique and compatible fish including a tang, some butterfly fish, lots of cardinals, hawkfish, clown fish, a little eel, a puffer, ect. Anyways, all the fish I selected were deemed safe for a reef, so I decided I'm going to make a reef. Before I get started in choosing specific things, I got a few questions concerning reef aquariums.

    First, I think I'm going to get live rock. What exactly is live rock? I think it is just rocks that contain a lot of minerals and make good foundations for reefs. Is that correct? And is live rock necessary for corals and plants? Also another concern is lighting. Does each plant and coral organism require similar amounts of lighting? And would too much light be a problem, say if one organism needed more light to thrive so I raised the lighting in the tank? There is also hard of soft coral. Can I keep hard and soft coral together in the same tank? And as far as growth, I can't seem to find any information on the growth of coral, but at some point it will stop right?

    My next questions concerns cleaning. Would it be fine to get some colorful shrimp and\or snails or nudibranches(which I guess is like a sea slug)? Could those live in a community with fish, or would they just get eaten? My final question regards filtration. I think I can just go buy some saltwater from my pet store. But I keep hearing about a protein skimmer. Is that a filter or separate? And I'm assuming I have to get a heavy duty filter for like a 300 some gallon tank. However, wouldn't that kind of defeat the purpose of the cleaning organisms?(the shrimp, snails, or slugs i might put in the aquarium). Also, would the filter be different because it's a reef? And I herd that the live rock and actual reef system kind of filters the water. Is that true? If the reef ecosystem is it's own filter, would I ever need a filter?

    OK! I know it's a lot of questions. These are the questions I couldn't find online and figure Id try to get a slight grasp on what I can before I call and ask the fish salesman who might just try to sell me a whole bunch of stuff. Anyways, please answer what you can, thanks a bunch.
     
    Smewee, Mar 25, 2010
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  2. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Re: I have lots of question regarding my future reef aquariu

    Live rock simply put are rocks from the ocean or saltwater tanks that have "live" things on them. Live things being algae and/or little animals.

    Corals are normally attached to rock or live rock. Eventually any rock or surface in your saltwater tank will become "live".

    No, corals do not all require the same amount of lighting. Lighting for a reef tank is EXTREMELY important. You must make sure you are providing enough light for the corals you choose to grow.

    Yes, both soft and hard corals can be kept in the same tank.

    Unless the coral dies, it will always grow/spread.

    Snails are important to reef tanks, they will stir up the sand as well as eat algae. Shrimp should be fine depending on exactly what fish you place in the tank. An eel and a puffer for example may eat the shrimp.

    A protein skimmer is separate from normal filtration. Basically it uses air bubbles to push uneaten food and fish waste to the top of the water and then up into a collection area.

    With a tank that size I would suggest a sump, not a "normal" filter. Having a "cleanup crew" does not filter your water, a filter/sump is NECESSARY.
     
    Anthony, Mar 25, 2010
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  3. YellowCichlid

    YellowCichlid New Member

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    Re: I have lots of question regarding my future reef aquariu

    You know about cycling and all that right?
     
    YellowCichlid, Mar 25, 2010
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  4. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Re: I have lots of question regarding my future reef aquariu

    300 gallons...wow!
    Are you going ro/di? Becuase I couldn't imagine constantly purchasing water from the lfs (expensive!)
    If your going all out I'd suggest a uv sterilizer too! (buy your necessities in steps..enabling you to purchase excellent equipment from the start and forgo the dreaded equipment upgrade).

    a newborn and maintaining a saltwater reef setup of that calibur (a task I wouldn't take on if you paid me...but I'd love to see photos of its progress...saltwater setups can be so gorgeous!)
     
    MOD_Dawn, Mar 25, 2010
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