# So Im moving on to saltwater aquariums



## Worldshaker (Aug 8, 2009)

After 12+ years of having freshwater tanks (12 total) and breeding oscars I am now going to switch to saltwater tanks. I have zero experience with saltwater so I have a few questions before I get started. I have been doing a lot of reading on these forums as well as others about them. Do I have to use live sand and live rock? Can I use regular pool filter sand that I used in my freshwater tanks? What size tank would be easiest to start off with? My smallest is a 46g Bowfront, my largest is 2000g wood tank with glass front. I was thinking about buying a 8g (i think its 8g) Biocube from a friend if a small tank is the better way to start. Can I tank sand/rock out of the ocean to use? I SCUBA dive in Hawaii, Philippines, Bahamas regularly, so I could take some sand/rock home with me, though not much. What are some hardy fish to start off with? I assume not all fish and corals (hard and soft) mix together? (Am I using that correctly? hard/ soft corals?) As far as filtration...I built most of my with custom overflows and 3 drawer plastic Rubbermaid containers. Is that suitable for saltwater? My returns are large spraybars that cause very minimal current. My ultimate goal is to have a jellyfish tank, but I figured Id start with the basic saltwater tank first before I invest in making a custom jellyfish tank. EDIT: Wow that turned into a wall of text after i had it all spaced out. How do I fix that?


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## teddyzaper (Aug 30, 2009)

ok well im just starting as well but i think i can offer some info.

First off filtration is a lot different than a freshwater tank. this is the perfect article for you to check out: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/...-filtration-101-how-differs-freshwater-31955/

no u cannot use pool filter sand, the best type would be arragonite live sand.

yes you would need live rock. about 1lb per gallon, but that differs between types of rock.

no not all fish and corals mix together, some corals have different light requirements. some fish will fight. stocking a saltwater fish tank is a lot different then a freshwater one. not all fish will suite your tank, it even comes down to the rockwork in the live rock with some fish.

Oh wow jellyfish tank. that would be huge, like the size of ur 2000gal tank. that is a big goal.

oh ya also the bigger the tank the better, i would reccomend starting with a 75gal tank if u have the money and space. The reason is because if something goes wrong in the tank you will be able to "see" it in the water, all the params will be wack. im starting with a 10gal and i can just tell its going to be a huge challenge to see changes coming.

THE BEST THING IN SALTWATER IS PATIENCE!

hopefully wake, pasfur (please come back we need u!) and some others will come and pitch in, im sure i left a lot out.

(i use enter to space my writings )


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## Worldshaker (Aug 8, 2009)

This is in the wrong section I think...can a mod move me to new saltwater section 

So I finally got a saltwater tank. I went with my 72g bowfront tank. Two weeks ago I got the tank set up with just filter and sand in it. I made an algae filter (the one SantaMonica posted about). 3 days ago I got some live rock from a guy in the local area. Looks like the rock came with a few other things, maybe you guys can help me ID them. 

Display









Turbo snail??









Got some kind of mushroom here...

















What is this? Some kind of worm?...When I got them home and moved them to the tank they were hard and breaking like spaggeti (the lil white worm looking things)









Feather duster?? (between white rock and musrrom


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

It looks like you are off to a good start. What type of sand is that? It looks like swimming pool sand, which normally is high in silicates. This is a discussion for another day, and I certainly am not an authority, but silicate sand is generally accepted in the hobby to be a source of algae problems. Although some authors are not convinced this is the case (Moe).

At this point my advice would be to be patient and allow the tank to mature for a few weeks. Begin testing for alkalinity and calcium and adjusting as necessary. This will help to encourage coraline algae growth, which will help to limit problem algaes as your reef matures.


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## bighelmut (Apr 17, 2010)

Congrats on your first SALTWATER TANK!! Reef tanks can be some of the most rewarding in the hobby compared to fish only tanks. First off I am new to this forum so hello all lol. Now I have a few questions about your tank if you dont mind. First what kind of filtration sys are you using? Secondly what is your lighting like? How long has it been up and running? also when did you put the rock in with the mushroom corals on it?

Okay, sorry asking a lot of questions. To answer some of your questions, first those spaghetti looking dealios are indeed worms, them breaking off will be no big deal as they will decompose and or be eaten by something which is only going to add readiness to your tank. The feather duster you thought you had, well I do not see a tube attached to it underneath unless I just cannot see it. Usually feathers will have a tube they make from detrius materials in the tank and live inside that tube. It could be a nusiance pest which grow rampant in some tanks, not to worry though as it is only one and does not look to be ominous lol, also I forget the name of them. If you see more start to pop up on your rocks and in your sump if you have one then you should have no problem identifying it with google. Also the shrooms are CORALS, those are a rather hardy coral at that and with proper lighting and ph will grow and propogate across your tank. You can also find a wealth of info on the net about those puppies. As Pasfur said, let the tank cycle a bit and do tests often to see where you are at and also to see if you have the proper levels of iodine and calcium in your tank as those are important for coral growth and health as i assume you will be adding more at a later date. If you reply about the questions I asked I will give you some pointers on that stuff at that time. Your tank looks great and off to a good start so enjoy it!!

Oh, almost forgot.....live rock depending on where you get it from should have all kinds of little creepies living in it, so to see new things everyday and escpecially at night is part of the joy of adding live rock to the tank. You almost always will have some hitchikers on your rock when you buy it which adds to the beauty and diversity of your tank. If you really want a treat and have not yet done it, take a flashlight at night and take a good look at your rock, you will be surprised with what you find. THe last piece I bought a couple of weeks ago had a HUGE crab in it that I had not seen, unfortunatly most of them are opportunistic feeders and are of great concern in a reef so he was banished to live out his days in my sump lol.


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## Worldshaker (Aug 8, 2009)

I dont plan on adding anything more to the tank untill after July, I have an long vacation coming up then so I figured it would be best to wait till after to start adding fish. Will the tank be fine going that long with no fish/inverts added? Should I be doing any feeding?

That is pool filter sand in there. I read on a few sites that some people have used it with no problems so I figured id give it a go, hope I dont have too many problems with it.

Im using one of these as a filter: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/...powerful-nitrate-phosphate-remover-diy-18000/

The feather duster is attached to a tube, the part that u see in the pic retreats inside the tube if I make sudden movements. I have found many others that appear to be the same thing on that rock only much smaller. These are good I assume?

Tank has been setup for about 2 weeks now, live rock has been in for 4 days. If I wanted to, could I keep the mushrooms contained on 1 rock? is there a way to remove them from rocks and place them somewhere else? or should I just allow them to grow where they will?


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## Pasfur (Mar 29, 2008)

Worldshaker said:


> I dont plan on adding anything more to the tank untill after July, I have an long vacation coming up then so I figured it would be best to wait till after to start adding fish. Will the tank be fine going that long with no fish/inverts added? Should I be doing any feeding?


Just let the tank run. No food is necessary. This extended maturity time will help the tank greatly over the long run.



> That is pool filter sand in there. I read on a few sites that some people have used it with no problems so I figured id give it a go, hope I dont have too many problems with it.


Just an FYI, if you do have problems, it will probably occur in 2 or 3 years. 



> Im using one of these as a filter: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/...powerful-nitrate-phosphate-remover-diy-18000/


It is nice to see a thread running finally with one of these units. Keep us updated with pics!



> Tank has been setup for about 2 weeks now, live rock has been in for 4 days. If I wanted to, could I keep the mushrooms contained on 1 rock? is there a way to remove them from rocks and place them somewhere else? or should I just allow them to grow where they will?


Just let them grow. They will quickly spread across the other rocks anyhow.

By the way, just one point about the above post. As a general rule among the more experienced members of this particular forum, we do not dose iodine to our reef tanks. There is not a single reliable test kit for iodine on the market today and iodine is extremely toxic when overdosed. I have mixed feelings on this topic personally, as I have witnessed my leathers respond nicely to iodine dosing. For this reason, I tend to use my eyeballs as a test kit and dose lightly. I just wanted to point out that the dosing of iodine is not something that is considered necessary by the hobby as a whole and is probably more dangerous than the benefits justify.

Welcome to the forum Bighelmut! Your experience will be well received.


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