question about salt water fish tanks?

Question

my family is looking into investing in a salt water fish tank, i was wondering if anyone could give me the best web site to go to and so some research or if anyone had any suggestions about what fish go together best in salt water or any ideas about growing coral? any help will be appreciated!
thanks!

Answer 1

Glad to hear someone else is looking at switching over to saltwater. If your main goal is to have corals then that can be the building block for your tank. You will find hundreds of articles online as well as in books. If you buy a book make sure to look when it was printed. The book I bought 10 years ago will not do you much good today. The techniques and equipment have changed greatly. A current book will be invaluable to you.

Plan everything. Don't buy a single thing until you have your entire system planned out. Then start getting the equipment that will suit your needs.

There are many articles on www.reefcentral.com which is very popular for reef addicts.

If you follow a well laid out plan and use patience you could have a very nice tank in less than 6 months. The key is patience and taking it slowly.

Research and plan equipment on size of tank and location and what you want to be able to keep. Larger aquariums cost more to set up but are easier in the long run and much more felxible on what you can add in to it.

Also, find a good independantly owned fish store for your fish and advice. Larger stores aren't as worried about your business because someone else will be walking in in 5 min to buy something. They just want your sale. A small fish store owned by a local enthusiast will be much more inclined to give you good advice and not try to sell you everything on the shelf.

Once you have read a few articles on the basics and have a general idea of what your taking on then subscribe to a good online forum for it. You will always get a lot of opinions from people as everyone recommends what has worked for them.

Search for a local reefers club. You may not want to join right away but I have never seen one that turned away guests at their monthly meetings. You can get some great advice at a reefclub meeting and also maybe some local help if needed.

Don't be scared off of saltwater by all the it's harder and more expensive talk. Yes it is more expensive especially for a reef tank and while the maintenance is easier you do have to be more diligent in keeping track of your water quality. You will need patience. While you do not need to wait 6 months before adding in anything you do need to wait for a little over a month for your first fish. You could add your first corals a week or two after that if all is going well. By 3 months you should be seeing your corals starting to spread and have noticable growth. It is definitly slow going but you do get there.

Good luck, read the books and articles, make lists of questions, and learn as much as you can before you get to the point of adding water.

Answer 2

I am now under the impression that with time and effort you can do anything; I am not sure if you just got the tank or the tank with all the supplies; sand, salt, filter, heater, light , piece of live rock about 6.99 a piece or 6.99 a pound depending on type of rock; hydrometer to test the salt level; test kit to test for nitrates etc ; de-chlorinating chemical; water evaporates , salt does not so when you make water changes you don't add new salt; small crab/snail to clean up the sand; protein skimmer; I just bought 2 clown fish(Nemo) for 12.99 each and damsels 3 for 9.99 ; it will be a cost to set up ; if you want it bad enough , give it a try; limit the number of fish to 2 ; I have a 29 gallon tank and have 4 fish , 1 crab and a starfish ; hope this helps ; I love mine !!

Answer 3

It is an investment in time and responsibility. Not as much as in expense. Saltwaterfish.com is a good web page, however, that will only get you 10% if that. RESEARCH and PATIENCE. There are a million combinations to fish getting along, however you need to review and explore each and every fish you decided to put into your tank. It isn't fresh water and it isn't let us go to the store and buy a bunch of fish. Each and every one has a requirement not like fresh water.

If your end result is coral, you have to research the coral, then the fish. Not all fish can live with coral in a tank nor the lighting requried by some coral.

Nothing however can be bought or kept until your tank is up and running more than 6 months. NO corals, NO fancy fish. They will not live and it isn't like fresh water.

I doesn't matter what anyone here likes or things can get along. It is what you want and what your tank can house. Feel free to email me

For a site try saltwaterfish.com

Answer 4

Rather than a website, it would be better to get a good book or two on the subject of fishkeeping. On some websites, anyone can answers questions, regardless of actual experience or knowledge. Same with setting up a website. Until you know a little more about keeping saltwater fish and reef tanks, take any information with a grain of salt (excuse the pun). Books don't disappear (unless you lend then to someone) and they don't change addresses or go away when the power goes out - youll have them for far into the future. Two that I liked when I was a beginner are The New Marine Aquarium by Michael S. Paletta. Microcosm Ltd. ISBN 1-890087-52-1 and The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert M. Fenner. Microcosm Ltd. ISBN 1-890087-02-5. Either is a good reference written for someone just starting out, although the second contains a little more information about the species of fish.

Now that I've said not to use websites, I'll list a few below that have some good information - the last is from a moderated forum where Bob Fenner - author of the second book - takes part. The forum is set up so that there areticles written by experts available and the information is well organized according to the topics of the questions.

http://www.apapets.com/MarineEcosystem/whatto.htm
http://www.fishlore.com/SaltwaterBeginners.htm
http://www.peteducation.com/index.cfm?cls=16
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/

Welcome to the hobby!

Answer 5

just search on the yahoo web search. And type in salt water fish tank and you can go to sites from there.

Answer 6

My wife and kids bought an aquarium for me and I quickly came to the realization that aquariums are "the gift that keep on taking". I love having it but it is a serious commitment in terms of money and TIME. I strongly suggest you get most of your information from a local fish dealer. I quickly found out that aquarium technologies change quickly.

Answer 7

saltwaterfish.com it has great info about fish, live rock, and coral ect.
and if you go to message boards they might awnser your questions
good luck!!