saltwater aquariums

[Lily420]

I have only freshwater...seems only one type of fish wont die DAMN IT!!! Why do these fish keep dying? I clean the fucking tank every other day and have everything that it needs! I even feed my fish food to make them horny! Now we have like 6 babys BUT every other fish besides the ones I have die! My poor little guppies...R.I.P little squiky!!!!

Lily420 Reviewed by Lily420 on 08-17-2005. saltwater aquariums Does anyone here have one? let me know if you do. I wanna talk about em Rating: 5

[somebody someone]

thread of the century

[Smokey McPot]

I dont know why they die. Ive never owened any fish tank but i think i may get a saltwater soon.

[Fengzi]

I had pc (power compacts) flourescents lighting my tank and they did ok. They're two skinny tubes joined at one end. This is what you're talking about, right? There was 4 of them for a total just under 400watts. Soft corals will do fine under pc's and, despite what many folks will say, you can grow hard corals under pc's. They won't grow as big or as colorful, however, and you have to put them pretty high up in the rocks. Since this is going to be your first tank I would't recomend hard corals anyway, they're just too touchy. There are tons of awesome soft corals too so it's not like your tank will be lacking without the hard ones.

As far as tank size goes, the bigger the better. Like you mentioned, the water quality can change more quickly in a smaller tank. Actually, it's not so much a quality issue as it is a stability issue. Salinity, temp, ph, etc, all change more quickly in a smaller tank. The water around a typical tropical coral reef somewhere like Figi is incredibly stable so that's what the corals and fish in those areas like.

Another thing about a bigger tank is that you'll be able to have a heavier bio-load. In other words more fish. Plus you'll have more variety of fish to choose from. Rememember, the ocean is a big place and not all of these fish want to be put in a little tank. Also, some fish never leave a small area and are perfectly happy in a small tank. The problem is that these fish are usually pretty territorial and will beat the shit out of any thing that comes into its territory. So, more space eqauls more territories.

What's your budget for the tank? I think before you mentioning $1700. I'd think you should be ok with this for a 65g. I was doing some calculations on what I'd spend on my next potental tank and I was figuring about $3K but that was for a 150g complete setup for hard corals.

[Fengzi]

I have only freshwater...seems only one type of fish wont die DAMN IT!!! Why do these fish keep dying? I clean the fucking tank every other day and have everything that it needs! I even feed my fish food to make them horny! Now we have like 6 babys BUT every other fish besides the ones I have die! My poor little guppies...R.I.P little squiky!!!!

So you're saying that you have one type that lives and anything else you put int he tank dies? Could be that the ones that are living are killing the ones that die. Not all fish play well together. Also, you say you clean the tank every other day. Are you using tap water and, if so, do you treat it? Could be all that nice "clean" water is killing your fish.

[unmeg]

yea stay big on tank size,you can allways make your own wet/dry filter.Get A couple different books to compare design's,its realy not that complicated and could be cheaper & better in long run.Between Fengzi & I plus your cousin you should have no trouble with this.


Lily do you have pic? & dont change water so much needs to build up its own enzymes to be healthy tank.really need more info to help ya.peace

[Lily420]

So you're saying that you have one type that lives and anything else you put int he tank dies? Could be that the ones that are living are killing the ones that die. Not all fish play well together. Also, you say you clean the tank every other day. Are you using tap water and, if so, do you treat it? Could be all that nice "clean" water is killing your fish.

naw, these fish r community fish, and i do all that shit! Only one guppie stayed alive for 8 months...then its scales were falling off so i killed it.

[Smokey McPot]

I dont plan on putting alota corals in for maybe like the first year. I want to have alot of live rock and different types of live rock combined. For my first few fish i will get more hardy fishes that are better for the begginer. Zoos are considerd soft coral right? I want to put in one of those because they are so nice lookin. I wich i had more money so i could buy like a 100gal tank with kickass equipment and livestock.

[Smokey McPot]

Dude i wish i had an aquarium right now!

[Smokey McPot]

I finaly got a saltwater tank. I bought an all glass 65 gallon aquarium that came with a stand and a canopy made of oak. I also got a Berlin classic protein skimmer and a mag drvie 7 pump. I got all of this for $550 because my cousin got me a 25% discount for verything. Saturday I am going back to get everything else i need to get started.

Does anybody know if a berlin classic protein skimmer is a good skimmer? I didnt get the one that hangs on the side.

Where do i get 65 gallons of purified water. Do i have to buy 65 water jugs?