Tropical Fish Forums

[Moeror]

OK, I'm completely new to the whole saltwater fish scene. The only experience I've had is admiring them in the pet shops. They are insanely beautiful fish. They just don't compare to freshwater fish for some reason. I have an old old tank and I'm pretty sure it leaks, so if I do it I'm gonna have to buy everything. tank, water, fish(probably clown fish at first, I love them), coral, etc. I know this is probably a hard question, but what would be a ballpark type estimate for starting a marine setup? If you have any questions that would help, feel free to ask. Thank you for any advice.

P.S.Anyone here read Saltwater Aquariums for DUmmies? Is it a good read? Or is there something better I should check out sometime for information?

[SLACkra]

The cost of setting up a marine tank completely depends on what type of setup you want and the size of said setup. A fish only setup doesn

[Moeror]

Well lets say 20-30 gal range for tank. Can u get fake coral thats just decoration? Id say for now lets just say a fish only setup. No live coral yet.
Another dumb question, can u get plain sand and not the live sand?

[FloridaBoy]

Yes, you can get some very realistic coral replicas, here are a few links to some of those products:
Nature's Image
http://www.naturesimageonline.com/
http://naturesimagecoralreef.com/Acropora.html
http://naturesimagecoralreef.com/Turbinaria.html
http://naturesimagecoralreef.com/OtherCorals.html

Rock and Water Coral Replicas
http://www.rockandwatercoral.com/HTM%20Files/corals_22-32.htm

More Coral Replicas here:
http://www.petsolutions.com/Coral-Replicas+C10162.aspx
http://pet-supplies.drsfostersmith.com/search?p=Q&lbc=drsfostersmith&w=coral+replicas&af=cat1:fish%20type:product&isort=score&method=and&ts=results&rt=template_switch_search
_________________
Keepin' marines happy for 25 years

[SLACkra]

g for a fish only setup filtration wise you only really need a biological filter. Though a mechanical filter would assist in keeping the water clarity high by removing debris but would require regular cleaning. Lighting would also be fairly cheap as you would really only need enough light to allow viewing of the fish so on a 20-30 gallon tank a single fluoro tube would be sufficient or you could have more light if that

[Moeror]

Whats the advantages and disadvantages between having live sand and regular substrate?

[nes999]

I did notice that live sand at the lfs is dry I thought it had to be kept wet
_________________
WHY doesn't my flying fish fly?

[FloridaBoy]

I guess it depends on the product.
I am not an expert on sand beds but here's my 2 cents... sand beds, particularly live DSB's located in sumps in marine systems can be a real benefit in quickly reducing nitrates, IF they are set up and maintained correctly.

Sand beds and other substrates, crushed coral etc. can also be a complete disaster if they are not understood/maintained correctly; there are different schools of thought here; some stir the sand with sifter species/critters, others advise never disturbing it... do your homework and proceed with caution before disturbing/removing or adding any sand.

Personally, I prefer a very thin substrate in the display, but that is only because I have seen so many of them turn into nutrient sinks over the years in other systems. Some claim better success with no sand in the display at all. On the other hand some wrasses require several inches of sand to hide under at night, so it depends what animals you are keeping.

As I understand it, the general rule is the sand should be less than an inch or more than 4 inches, but it is beyond the scope of this reply to give you all the specifics... you will have to research it for your application.
_________________
Keepin' marines happy for 25 years