# got my 42 gallon tank today



## bobo (Sep 20, 2007)

so the lights in the tank are quite good, i wont need heating for another year since by the time my tank finishes cycling the weather will be warm. 

i am installing a protein skimmer for 400l tank which is for 100 gallons
and an external filter ( forgot which 1) 

both of these are quite expensive but i`m looking at it longterm. The problem however is that the live rock here is extremely expensive and the amount i`ll need comes to about 400 dollars. its actually 200 pounds here. the question i want to ask is can i start the cycle with only some live rock and add the rest later?! by the end of the christmas holidays i`m hoping to have my cycle started.


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## SKAustin (Aug 1, 2006)

You can add more live rock later, but it will need to be either fully cured, or done before you add the livestock and allowed to go through the mini cycle again. 

If the rock is fully cured, and can be kept in saltwater for the trek from LFS to home, it should be fine to add. Just not too much at once.


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## caferacermike (Oct 3, 2006)

Where is "here"?


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## bobo (Sep 20, 2007)

here is cyprus, and so far for SW fish this guy seems to have a monopoly :/


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## caferacermike (Oct 3, 2006)

Cyprus creek? Cyprus Bend? Cyprus somewhere? LOL, sorry could you tell us where Cyprus is? That way I can have a look around and see if I can help spot a deal.


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## bobo (Sep 20, 2007)

haha, cyprus - a small little island in europe - just south of turkey


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## Age of Aquariums (Apr 13, 2007)

How big is the tank? You need about 1 1/2lbs of live rock per gallon.


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## caferacermike (Oct 3, 2006)

Ah yes that could certainly limit the amount of shops, online etcc available. Is there any chamce you could get stuff air shipped from Japan, Fiji, or the Philippines? Several of those areas are full of enthusiasts and possibly your money may be stronger than theirs, creating a nice exchange rate.


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## bobo (Sep 20, 2007)

Aoa - the tank is 42 gallons so i need 105 pounds of live rock  thats 52 kilos i think :/ 

cafer - our currency is stronger then most other places - and yes i guess i could get alot of dry goods ship here - but they are smarter then that and cover the costs in taxes so it wouldnt really be worth it. i would only think rare fish would be worth the shipping - but again those would probably die :<

so this is my 42 gallon wishlist - fix it up or tell me if i`m woah :

pair of occelaris clowns w/ anemone
1 valentini puffer - will be tested with shrimp first
3 fire shrimp 
2 cleaner
1 mandarin fish (i`m really not sure about this)
and maybe 1-2 blennies
i also really liked a yellow longnosed butterfly fish but is that pushing it?
it also depends on stock available ofc so my clowns may be a differnet breed


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## caferacermike (Oct 3, 2006)

It's not cafer, it's cafe racer, as in exotic 1960's European motorcycle hooliganism. 

cafer is a derogative, negative and ugly word that implies racism of the nastiest kind in Africa.


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## bobo (Sep 20, 2007)

woah - so sorry :/ i just used the first part of your nickname - no offense to anyone :<


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## caferacermike (Oct 3, 2006)

I understand. It's just I once had a woman on a another forum always snapping at me and always telling the admin board to have me banned. She'd calll me a racist in the middle of topics. It was very strange. Then one day she called me "cafer" and I asked her why she called me that. Then it was a huge case of her and "foot and mouth disease" when she realized my nick was not cafer but instead cafe racer. Since that was once a problem I felt an explanation preventing the issue from happening again was in order.


So are you in an area where you might be able to visit the oceans? Not to collect live rock but for snails and such?


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## bobo (Sep 20, 2007)

living on an island i`ve been brought up to be a true fisherman if i must say so - using techniques which only harm sea urchins to collect a large variety of coral fish. i know however that its not wise to take something out of the sea and put it in the aquarium - even though i have caught baby lion fish many times and the temptations are large. If assuming i have a quarantine tank - it possible to get fish out of the sea and into my tank?! although oceans are not really surrounding me. Cyprus is in the middle of the Mediterrenean Sea (sp?).


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## caferacermike (Oct 3, 2006)

Not to promote the taking of wild specimens but about 95% of what you get in the store has only been out of the oceans for about 10 days before you see it in a glass cage.

I'd love to see some pics of the urchins you mention. A fella near me has a beautiful urchin that we've never seen for sale again.

To bad about the incoming tax issue. VAT in England sucks as well. I've several motorcycle friends that wish to buy parts from the States as our dollar is now so weak (long live King George, yeah right) that they can buy parts for about 1/3rd of what they cost at home. But they spend almost 25% on shipping and taxes. They still save about 10% so it could still be cheaper if you buy a large quantity. Live rock ships very easy.


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## bobo (Sep 20, 2007)

in the shallows - 5 to 10 metres from the shore we get some taht look like these : 

http://www.afpmb.org/pubs/Field_Guide/Images/originals/Fig. 253.jpg

just did a google search. they come in red brown black and purple. - if u crush a sea urchin in a plastic bottle - all sorts of fish go crazy and actually swim through a special flap you create in the side of the bottle - which you then close. I`ll try find some pics of the main types of fish you can get.


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## caferacermike (Oct 3, 2006)

Cool. Cyprus, your home, sounds like a paradise. Start a new thread with everything there is to show us.


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## bobo (Sep 20, 2007)

caferacer in summer i can get lots of those sea urchins - but i dont know if they are reef safe - and if i get told how i can send them to the states somehow. i`ll gather the information then open the new thread


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