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I am new to the marine aquarium stuff. I am very expirienced with freshwater. I have a either a 20g or a 55g tank (eventually 125g) which I am gonna start saltwater. A few questions...<br><br>What is live sand/rock?<br>Is it essential?<br>Whats the requirements for coral?<br>What kinda filter is super cheap but efficiant?<br><br>Any other things I should know before I start?<br><br>I would like to have a lionfish... what can go with it?<br>(I work in a fish store so my resources are pretty unlimited but my dont like spending money)<br><br>Thnx.

If you don't like spending money, I'd advise aganist going with a SW tank

This should answer most of your questions. http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/General%20Marine/58926.html?200505011641 I would advise getting a good marine book and reading all that you can on marine tanks exc.

As for the equipment, you need to have the best and that means spending $$$. I agree with monkey, if you are that concerned about the $$$ then I would stick w/ fw until you can afford sw.

Lionfish will eat whatever can fit in its mouth.


Ben:88)

Last edited by fishguy at 02-May-2005 17:23

with a bit of dilligence and hard work reading the trading post you can cut your salt water tanks expenditure by quite staggering amounts. used tanks/stands/lighting hoods etc.
no mechanical filtration is "neccessary" for a reef tank. the live rock "essentailly porus rock importanted directly from a reef" contains many beneficial bacteria and fauna that maintain the nitrogen cycle for you "conversion of ammonia to nitrite to nitrate or poop to less toxic compounds to even less toxic compounds." the only filtration neccessary for a marine tank is liverock-essential!, protein skimmer-considered essential but still a little debate, and regular water changes. live sand is sand that is also importated directly from a reef or mature established tank and it contains many micro and macro fauna that scavenge and consume fish waste thus inhibiting it from fouling the water. requirements for corals are STRONG lighting, almost considered dogma these days is the use of metal halide lighting. soft corals and mushrooms can get away with less ie fluros. lionfish need a 100 gallon tank to cope with the excessive waste they produce and there large size. they are reef safe however and will not bother corals.
hope this helped
good luck: final bit of advice- read as much as possible, its better to spend $150 on books then have to start over again. after all your livestock perishes!

a2hotz,

First off, welcome to FishProfiles

Starting with marines after having a strong background in freshwater fish keeping is very helpful. We learn many tricks from being experienced with keeping freshwater aquariums that will often help us with our saltwater tanks.

The link posted by fishguy is to a beginners article, which I wrote. It is a comprehensive beginners guide that teaches all about setting up your first marine tank. I think it will be very beneficial to you. [link=Here]http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/General%20Marine/58926.html?200505011641" style="COLOR: #3c4e82[/link] is the link again.

About money spending---marine tanks are considerably more expensive than freshwater tanks. You may want to reconsider if you are not willing to dish out a bit of cash. There are many money saving strategies but you still need to be prepared to spend a bit of money. It's important to remember not to skimp out and go with a small tank and the cheapest equipment. It will not benefit you in the long run.

HTH

-Ferret

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish