I need to know how to take care of a saltwater reef tank?

Question

hey there i need to know what a good sized tank would be, how much care it would take, what things i would need to buy, where to buy coral, how much i would need to invest, and what fish i can but in. Please help me out, 10 points are on the line...

thanks in advanced from a new marine aquarist

Answer 1

If you have never had a salt water tank then a reef is not the place to start.

The smallest tank I would put a reef in is a 55gallon but smaller can be done by long time keepers.

They need daily care and ro/di water.

the cost to set a reef up and keep it runing is kind of a joke to those who do it because its more about how much money you have rather than a set figure.

theres always somthing new better and onces your hooked thats it.

tank size noless than 55gallons (my personal feelings)

care level daily.

for coral and live rock http://www.saltwaterfish.com/

tank and stand $600+

lights $200 to $1500

filter $250 to $600

salt $20 to start plus upkeep

live rock $4 to $9 per pond . 1 pound for every gallon

coral price depend on what you want.

other needed items $100 to you namee it.

ro/di water $1.00 to $1.50 per gallon

this is just an idea and not a full list

and nothing beats a good reef keeping book ..

Answer 2

Here is is a good site to start reading.

http://www.fishlore.com/SaltwaterAquariu...

Answer 3

Welcome to the reef keeping hobby!! =)

Reef tanks take a lot of care, and the first thing you can do to start is by choosing a fairly large tank.  I would recommend 55-gallons or larger  (any smaller and you might regret it because many fish require 55gal min. to thrive in).  To be honest with you, I have a 55gal at the moment, and I wish I had gone slightly larger to about 75 (but it is what you can afford).

When you ask how much care it would take, it really depends at what you are planning to keep in your tank.  The most important thing (imo) that is KEY to success at reef keeping is patience... during the initial cycling (and even the stocking of your tank) it is key to let nature take its course and to be patient with your tank....  Being that you said you already have a FOWLR tank, you know that doing weekly water changes are essential to keeping good water chemistry (for example every Sunday I do a 25% water change  --no less, no more than 25%.).  The new water must be mixed for about 2-days with an aerator device in order to get the salt mixed in properly.  =)

Another thing that you will have to do is feed the tank, if you are going to keep corals, every two weeks I take a turkey baster and gently blow water on top of the corals in order to take any debris that has settled ontop of them off.  This helps the filter get the unnecessary debris and also helps your cleaning crew to find more food.

  Another thing that goes with the care is feeding.  Some fish require feeding 3-times a day, while others only require feeding 3 times a week.

As far as what things you would need to buy, I would highly suggest:

Protein Skimmer (this helps to take care of the bio load in your tank, and improves water quality).

Water Jets (to give the tank "waves" and improve water flow in the tank.)

Sump/Refugium tank and quarantine tank.

Good lighting--especially if you are looking into purchasing corals!

Reef Test Kit (in order to test your water quality-- calcium, nitrates, pH, etc.)

Turkey Baster (as for reason stated earlier).

Aquarium heater/chiller (depending on what the temperature is where you are... your tank should be sitting roughly between 73-80  (double check that with the types of fish/coral/livestock you are putting in it.) )

Live Rock

Live Sand (I recommend the fine live sand, it is way better for burrowing fish and sand-sifting critters!)

Buying coral... if you have a good fish store near by, I would say all for it.  Depending on where you are located, there are a number of different online sellers that are very good.  Amongst them I like liveaquaria (they also sell tank equipment, so take a look there before buying locally... sometimes its WAY cheaper online).

How much to invest:  Now there is a tricky one...  hopefully you are looking to keep this hobby for a while, and if you are you should definitely look into purchasing higher quality items.  I would say if you have absolutely no equipment or materials, you would probably be looking somewhere between 1,000-5,000+ to start brand new.  (Keep in mind that you may be able to find great deals on the tank and some of the equipment in local garage sales, swapmeets, and even craigslist.)

The fish that most fish stores I have seen would recommend to start your tanks cycle would be Damselfish.  But I will tell you from personal experience... STAY AWAY from them.  They are hardy fish and will survive basically everything short of WWIII.... but they are aggressive and will end up dominating your tank.  If you have a cool LFS (local fish store) that would okay this, this is what I did when I first cycled my tanks...  I would buy one or two damsels and let them cycle my tank for me...  And once my cycling is done, I would bring the two back to the LFS and trade them in towards some "better" fish.

And when you ask what fish can you put in....  It is really up to you, what I do before I put anything in my tank, is I take a look at my LFS and see what looks cool or interesting, I write down the name and I search for info on it online.  Most times you will see their temperment--if they are aggressive, reef-safe, peaceful...etc, what is the minimum tank size the species requires....what they eat, and how hard/easy it is to care for them.  (also something that you may not find online, but should ask your LFS if you don't find info on it... is what order to put the fish in, ask them what fish they would recommend putting in earlier and which ones you should wait until last with... some fish get territorial towards new additions to the tank, and should be added last. )

Here are some of the fishes I have in my newest reef tank.

*Hawaiian 6-line Wrasse

*Neon Goby (blue)

*Spotted White-tailed Wrasse

*Red Firefish

*Hawaiian Yellow Tang

Answer 4

what type of reef?

soft corals need less maintainence than LPS (large polyp stony) and LPS need less than SPS (small polyp stony)

what are the dimensions of a 95 gallon tank?

and what fish do you have in there?

are you thinking of converting the 95, or setting up a new tank?

Answer 5

With saltwater tanks, BIGGER IS BETTER! Saltwater fish come from a very stable environment and are very sensitive to changes in water chemistry.  So nanocubes are a pain! Go for as big a tank as you can afford and accomodate (the most poplular sizes range between 30 and 70 gallon).

Saltwater aquariums require twice the amount of maintenance, cost, and hassle as freshwater tanks do.  For instance, to do a routine water change, you need to mix the water with aquarium salts (using a powerhead) for about 24 hours before you can put it in the tank.

You need alot more equipment too, such as a protein skimmer.  Here's a link to a good site for beginners: http://www.bestfish.com/saltg.html