Pineapple House
10-30-2002, 09:55 PM
Setting Up and Maintaining a Reef Tank
Selecting an aquarium:
The first main factor in selecting your tank, is size. The more fish, the bigger the tank. A "nano" tank is a smaller tank. This usually ranges from 3 gallons, to 15 gallons. These generally are a bit harder to care for, as If something dies, the ammonia spreads throughout the tank in a matter of hours or even minutes, therefore, causing the whole tank to get sick. In a larger tank, it will take longer to spread. The less water volume, means that the tank water conditions can easily swing, even with the slightest of water changes. A bigger tank is much more forgiving.
You might have asked "why can’t I get something below 3 gallons?” The answer is, because it is too small. Fresh water fish are much different from saltwater. Saltwater fish usually need about 3 gallons or more, to survive. Otherwise, they will be stressed, and likely die in the next couple of weeks or so. Many people have kept tanks as small as 24 onces, but the time and money it takes to put into a sucessful tank this small is quite a bit. It's posible for those daring hobbiest, but it's not recommended for any fish. I would recommend a 40 gallon for beginners. As these are very easy to care for, and are on the cheap side. When selecting a tank, you might want to find out what material you want. The two main materials that tanks are made out of are glass, and acrylic. There are likes and dislikes to both. Glass tank are usually much heavier, but are much cheaper and don't scratch as easily as acrylic does. Acrylic weighs next to nothing, but is usually more expensive, and scratches very easily. In my opinion, get glass, for tanks that are less than 200 gallons, where weight really isn't an issue. 200 gallons and over and over, you should get acrylic, since glass would weigh over 600lbs, and that's without rocks, sand, etc. Also, one last thing: When selecting a good tank, make sure to get longer, rather than wider. As most fish need more room to swim.
Selecting a place to put your tank:
Try to make little to no sunlight hit the tank. This will cuase un wanted grean algea to take over the tank. Most of the time, it will be harmless to corals, since the glass will block most unsutible lighting, making it a low K rating. Also, make sure that there are no fast movements or loud sounds near the tank (I.E.: Where people are walking by, near the stereo, etc.). You want a nice quiet area. Next, you want to make sure that there isn't any wind blowing on the tank. This will cool the tank down a lot, and may hurt some of the inhabitants. And, the most important part is, make sure your floor can hold the weight. An 80 gallon can easily weigh over 1200lbs, so make sure it can hold the weight. I advise that you keep it on the first floor, just to be safe.
Equipment for your tank:
Some of the necessary equipment:
a thermometer (preferably digital)
a skimmer (A devise that will remove fish waste, and extra nutrients)
Lighting (Remember, you are trying to re create the sun. Metal Halides are the best at this, although metal halides usually run hot, use much more electricity than other brands, and it is highly recommended if you have a 12" deep hood, or a chiller, for cooling the water. Fans are also recommended). The next best thing would be Power Compact lights, which go up to 96wts, or Very High Output lights (VHO's)which can go up to 160wts, depending on the size of the bulb. Don't get No output bulbs. These aren't meant for too many corals, only low light corals such as mushrooms can survive under these.
Power Heads (These are used for current, and these are highly necessary. You will need about 2-4 of these, depending on your tank size. The bigger the tank, the more the power heads, and the stronger. The higher the wattage, the stronger they are).
A Heater (This is used to heat the water, the corals and fish will need a temperature between 76-82 degrees F.).
Optional equipment:
A sump (this is recommended, but not necessary. If you have a deep sand bed consisting of "live sand" and some "live rock," you don't need these unless you want to have a place to put your skimmer, heater, and return pumps. If you don't have a deep sand bed of live sand, then you might highly want to buy a sump. Wet/dry systems are good. I advise that you take out the bio balls, and add live rock instead).
An Ultra Violet Sterilizer (I don't recommend these, as it is a hit and miss. The U.V.S. will kill all plankton, which the corals feed on. Although, it will eliminate most fish diseases).
A Reverse Osmosis unit (This is highly recommended, as it will sterilize tap water, and get rid of un wanted algae, and clear up the water amazingly).
A timer (This is again highly recommended. You can attach this to your lighting, so your lights go on and off at the same time everyday)
A chiller (This is recommended when using Metal Halide bulbs, so the tank doesnt overheat. Make sure your room temperature is cool, since that will have a big affect on the water temp. Also, having the water run through a sump will cool it down a bit.
Adding water and decoratives to the tank:
The first thing to do is find out what kind of sea salt you want to buy. You can either mix it yourself, or buy it (Note: buying it is expensive, and I recommend getting sea salt mix) Kent Marine's salt mix is highly recommended, as it has minerals in it to help your tank. One very important facor, that you cannot miss out on, is making sure your tank does not leak. Try pouring the tank half way, with tap water, and wait about a day or so, if it doesnt leak, then you can procede, and move on. If it does, then you just saved all your future inhabitants. After you figured out what salt mix you are going to use, you should get your live rocks. Most pet store that specializes in saltwater will sell this. There are many kinds of live rock, but I recommend getting some lava rock. Lava rock doesn't have as many critters on it, but it is cheap, and will go good behind the Fiji rock. Fiji rock is full of life, and you will find tons of critters on it, from feather dusters, to worms, and even some coral polyps! The next thing is to buy the substrate (sand). A lot of people use crushed coral, but that isn't too good. Live sand is the best. But, it will be a little expensive. But to make up for that, you can add some Southdown play sand (you can buy that at home depot) and add that to the live sand. You want 3 inches, to 5 inches of sand. Once you got everything, it is time to put it together!
First, add the substrate to the tank. If you are going with live sand and Southdown, then first add the Southdown, then the live sand on top of it. That way, fish waste will dissolve faster, since there isn't any areas where there isn't live sand. (If you are going with Crushed coral, just add it anyway you want)
Once you are done with that, it is time to add the live rock. I recommend that you look at pictures of reef tanks, and see how they have it. You want the rocks to be stable, and make sure they won’t fall.
Next, you will want to fill the tank with prepared sea water, that you have mixed for at least a day, with a strong power head. Add the sand first, then rock, and slowly add your water. It will tkae about 1-3 days, for the salt to completely desolve, the salinity tests should read between 1.022-1.027. The last thing is to add the power heads for current, the more current the better. Have the power head arranged in this order:
1st power head: have this one on the right side of the tank, facing right (into the tank)
2nd power head: Have this one on the left hand side, about 3-5 inches from the water line, pointing up.(This helps add O2 to the tank and remove C02)
3rd power head (30 gallons+ only): have this one behind the live rock in any way you want.
Once you have all that in, it is time to turn on your skimmer, and let the tank cycle
Selecting your fish:
The first thing in selecting your fish is hardiness. Your first fish should be hardy, and non aggressive, such as green chromis damsels. When selecting a fish, make sure that you see no signs of stress (I.E., Breathing hard, white spots, swimming lopsided, bad coloration, and not aware of you). The next thing to look for is if it is reef safe. Fish such as triggers, lions, most angels, stingrays, sharks, and eels are not reef safe. The last thing to look for is how big it gets. Some fish will get over 3 feet long, and will need to be transferred into a bigger tank as they get bigger, so make sure your aware of the size. When you are just about to take your fish home, ask your pet store dealer what kind of air they put it in the bags. Pure oxygen is recommended, as the fish can last over 12 hours in the bag, since it will take longer for the oxygen to fade. If the dealer says "pressurized air" then the fish can last between 3-7 hours. When adding your new arival to the tank, it is HIGHLY recomended that you put it in a quaratine tank, for about 2-4 weeks, before adding it to the main tank. If you dont know what a qurantine tank is, then do a search on google, on how to set it up. I will try to do this part when i have more time. It is posible, that your new fish, might have an internal desease, or a case of ich, velvet, fluke, pop eye, and much more, that will infect your whole tank, and posible you might loose almost everything. If your fish shows any signs of deseases, treat it ASAP or take it back to your local fish store.
What do i feed the fish? And how often?
The fish should be fed multiple choices of foods, besides brine. Brine shrimp isnt the healthiest thing on the menu, and fish get bored of eating one type of food. Therefore, should be fed Kelp, blood worms, squid, krill, shrimp,and some algae.
It also is very important on when you feed the fish,and how much. The fish should be fed during the same time everyday, as they will ajust to this time. It is better to feed the fish very small pieces of food throughout the day. Depending on your fish and animal load, they should be fed how much they can eat in 3 minutes. Most people will say 5, but most of the food goes to waste. Any uneaten food should be removed.
Selecting your corals:
Your first coral should be hardy, and easy to take care of. Mushroom corals are highly recommended. These are colourful, easy to keep, and multiply very fast. You should acclimatise these for about 45 minutes. Make sure the coral is well opened, doesn't show any signs of diseases (turning black, or any signs of parasites), and is attached to the rock and isn't falling off. These should close up when the dealers hand touches them, but don't worry. They will open up the next day. You should start adding your corals after the first 2-3 months that you started your tank. Some other easy to keep corals are yellow polyps, sponges, and leathers. A lot of people ask "What do corals eat?" The answer is both light (photosynthesis, where the coral has symbiotic algae in its tissues called zooanthellae that it eats) and planktonic larva. Plankton can be provided through marine snow (and additive that can be perched at more pet stores) and DT's phytoplankton (another plankton that can be perched at a pet store).
Selecting your inverts:
Inverts should be added when you start adding your corals. Inverts don't seem to be as hardy as the corals, so they should be acclimated a bit longer. Inverts are usually scavengers, grazing on uneaten food, and algae. Most are reef safe, like the cleaner shrimp (very colourful shrimp that eat fish parasites), turbo snails (Great algae eaters), reef hermits (another great algae eater), and fire shrimp (eats fish parasites, very colourful, but not as hardy as the cleaner shrimp). This is only a small portion of inverts. Once your tank gets older, you can add linka starfish, tiger tail cucumber, and maybe an anemone.
Acclimating your fish, corals, and inverts:
Once your tank is done cycling, you might want to add fish, corals, and inverts. Here is how to do it:
Materials:
1, 3 gallon bucket
a 2 cup glass
a watch
a small power head
Operation:
First, add the fish/coral/invert to the bucket, along with the sea water it came in.
Then, add a small power head in the bucket for some circulation (optional: an air pump)
Every 5 minutes, add 1-2 cups of saltwater from your tank, to the bucket.
Do this for about 1 hour, to 2 hours. If the water gets too high, than take some out.
Once your done, net the fish/inverts (you can pick up the coral) and place it in the tank. Make sure not to add the water from the pet store to the tank. The pet store water has copper in it that is toxic to the inverts and corals.
Another extremely recommended way, is to go with the drip method. This is slow, and not too stressful for the fish. This is from Saltwaterfish.com's:
1. Small, inexpensive air pump with small air stone.
2. 8-10 Feet of clear vinyl airline tubing. (3/16 X 1/4 is a good size)
3. Scissors or knife
4. 2 Buckets (1 gallon buckets for small orders or 5 gallon buckets for large orders)
Acclimation Instructions:
1. First, you will need Clear Vinyl Airline Tubing. This can be found in the plumbing department of Home Depot, Lowes, or a local hardware store. Find the size that is 3/16” X 1/4”. 3/16 is the inside diameter and 1/4 is the outside diameter. If you need to ask, simply ask for Clear Vinyl Airline Tubing and you will find a number of different sizes in that section. You will need 8-10 feet of the 3/16 X 1/4, which will cost about $1. Yes, that’s all. The Air Pump is an item that can be found in most Wal-Marts in the fishing tackle section as a "Bubble Saver" or "Bubble Box". These pumps are inexpensive, run on batteries, and can be conveniently clipped onto the side of the bucket.
2. When your order arrives be sure your aquarium lights are off and that you open the box in a dimly lit area. Next, place all of the bags – or as many as will fit at one time – into your aquarium. Leave them floating without being opened for 20-25 minutes. This will allow the water temperature in the bag to become the same temperature as the water in your tank.
3. It is very important that you do not mix the water from the fish bags with the water from the invertebrate bags. They should not be acclimated together. It is very important you split the fish and invertebrates into 2 separate buckets and that the containers have never been used for cleaning floors, washing your car, etc. We suggest you use brand new buckets.
4. Now that your bags are floating, rinse off your Clear Vinyl Airline Tubing in fresh water to remove any dust, etc. The airline tubing will be used to move water from your tank down to the bucket in a slow dripping process. First, you will need to find a small rock of some sort in your tank and attach it to one end of the tubing with a rubber band. Once it has been attached, place the rock into your tank. The rock is used to help keep the tube submerged. Place the other end of the tube into the bucket on the floor. If you have excess tubing you may cut it away. Just be sure you have enough to easily reach from the tank to the bucket. You will then need to tie a knot in the tubing. This will allow you to slow down the rate of flow once the siphon is started. Tie the knot closer to the bucket side of the tubing. About a foot from the end will work well.
5. After 20 minutes have passed you can begin the process of cutting the fish out of the bags and into the bucket. If you only have a few items, or just to get started, you can tilt the bucket 45 degrees to one side. This will allow water to accumulate so the items will be completely submerged. Once you have cut a number of them into the bucket there will be enough water so you can lay the bucket flat again.
6. Use a scissors to cut a large opening toward the top of the bag. Be sure it is large enough for the fish to exit the bag. Pour both the fish and water from each bag into the bucket. Remember, only do the fish OR the invertebrates. Do not do them at the same time or in the same bucket. We suggest you start with the fish.
7. After you have cut them all into the bucket, to the novice it may appear that they are not doing well. This is totally natural. The fish are in shock and will be just fine. While you may not be used to receiving fish in this manner, these fish have traveled far to reach you and are very tough. There is nothing to be concerned about. If they are acclimated properly they will do well in your aquarium.
8. Once all of the fish OR invertebrates (whichever you have decided to do first) are in the bucket, you will need to plug in the small air pump you purchased. Place the air stone into the bucket with the items. It should be producing small bubbles. This will keep the water aerated during acclimation. Now place your mouth on the low end of the Clear Vinyl Tubing and suck on it until you see the water from inside the aquarium pass over the edge of the aquarium in the tubing. Obviously, remove your mouth before water reaches your end. The water should be moving from the aquarium down the tubing and into the bucket. At this time you will need to tighten the knot you made earlier until the water is literally dripping in a fast motion into the bucket.
9. The drip should be quick and steady, but it should not be a steady stream of water, or a slow drip, but somewhere in-between. 6-8 drips per second will work well. The airstone should be kicking out little bubbles, the water should be moving down the tube into the bucket with the items in it, and your aquarium lights should be off. You will now need to allow the water to drip from your tank into the bucket for approximately two hours (be sure you have enough water in your sump, or continue to add water into your sump). You will need to keep an eye on the bucket from time to time to be sure the tubing doesn’t move outside of the bucket and start spilling on your floor, and that the water does not begin to overflow over the sides of the box once it starts filling up. This process is allowing the slow transfer of pH and salinity to take place. By doing so, your new inhabitants are being eased into their new surroundings. You will find this process will greatly increase your success.
10. While the dripping takes place you can also keep an eye on the fish or invertebrates, but do not push them, or move them around with your hand or objects. They are in shock and it takes time for them to acclimate. So, even if after the two hour period they are still lying on their side and breathing hard they are not dead or dying. Once the two hour time period has elapsed it will be time to place the items into your tank. Do so gently with a net. They may still need to recover in the tank and may float to the bottom of the tank continuing to breathe hard. Again, this is nothing to be alarmed about. If this occurs, simply leave them alone and as long as they aren’t harassed they should be fine and recover nicely. Once all items have been placed into the aquarium you should turn off all powerheads and continue with the lights off for three hours. Once that time has passed you can turn on your lights and powerheads again.
11. Saltwaterfish.com recommends you use this method every time you are acclimating items into your tank.
12. NOTE: Be sure the air conditioning or heat is not blowing directly onto the bucket. You want the temperature in the bucket to be the same as the temperature in your tank at the end of the 2 hours. Also, it is VERY important that the amount of water in the bucket quadruple over the 2 hour time frame. If the amount of water has not quadrupled after 2 hours of dripping you will have to wait until it has done so. To the contrary, if it appears too much water is going into the bucket and the amount of water will quadruple in less than 2 hours then you should slow the speed of the drip.
Daily maintenance:
1) check all the fish, corals, and inverts in the tank, and make sure they are doing just fine.
2) Check all equipment, and make sure there all running OK.
Weekly maintenance:
1) Empty the skimmer about 3 times a week.
2) Check all water parameters (Nitrate, Nitrite, ammonia, pH, and calcium, etc.)
3) Do a 5 gallon water change if anything looks a little high (NOTE: During the first 2 months your levels will be high. You don't need to do water changes unless you have fish)
Yearly Maintenance:
1) Replace your lighting bulbs
Main conclusion:
Read as much as you can on aquariums, learn from others, as well as yourself, do your best, and most importantly....HAVE FUN!!!!!
Feel Free to post any of your questions in the Intro to reef tanks forum, or the general reef forum. Happy reefing!
PH =)
Selecting an aquarium:
The first main factor in selecting your tank, is size. The more fish, the bigger the tank. A "nano" tank is a smaller tank. This usually ranges from 3 gallons, to 15 gallons. These generally are a bit harder to care for, as If something dies, the ammonia spreads throughout the tank in a matter of hours or even minutes, therefore, causing the whole tank to get sick. In a larger tank, it will take longer to spread. The less water volume, means that the tank water conditions can easily swing, even with the slightest of water changes. A bigger tank is much more forgiving.
You might have asked "why can’t I get something below 3 gallons?” The answer is, because it is too small. Fresh water fish are much different from saltwater. Saltwater fish usually need about 3 gallons or more, to survive. Otherwise, they will be stressed, and likely die in the next couple of weeks or so. Many people have kept tanks as small as 24 onces, but the time and money it takes to put into a sucessful tank this small is quite a bit. It's posible for those daring hobbiest, but it's not recommended for any fish. I would recommend a 40 gallon for beginners. As these are very easy to care for, and are on the cheap side. When selecting a tank, you might want to find out what material you want. The two main materials that tanks are made out of are glass, and acrylic. There are likes and dislikes to both. Glass tank are usually much heavier, but are much cheaper and don't scratch as easily as acrylic does. Acrylic weighs next to nothing, but is usually more expensive, and scratches very easily. In my opinion, get glass, for tanks that are less than 200 gallons, where weight really isn't an issue. 200 gallons and over and over, you should get acrylic, since glass would weigh over 600lbs, and that's without rocks, sand, etc. Also, one last thing: When selecting a good tank, make sure to get longer, rather than wider. As most fish need more room to swim.
Selecting a place to put your tank:
Try to make little to no sunlight hit the tank. This will cuase un wanted grean algea to take over the tank. Most of the time, it will be harmless to corals, since the glass will block most unsutible lighting, making it a low K rating. Also, make sure that there are no fast movements or loud sounds near the tank (I.E.: Where people are walking by, near the stereo, etc.). You want a nice quiet area. Next, you want to make sure that there isn't any wind blowing on the tank. This will cool the tank down a lot, and may hurt some of the inhabitants. And, the most important part is, make sure your floor can hold the weight. An 80 gallon can easily weigh over 1200lbs, so make sure it can hold the weight. I advise that you keep it on the first floor, just to be safe.
Equipment for your tank:
Some of the necessary equipment:
a thermometer (preferably digital)
a skimmer (A devise that will remove fish waste, and extra nutrients)
Lighting (Remember, you are trying to re create the sun. Metal Halides are the best at this, although metal halides usually run hot, use much more electricity than other brands, and it is highly recommended if you have a 12" deep hood, or a chiller, for cooling the water. Fans are also recommended). The next best thing would be Power Compact lights, which go up to 96wts, or Very High Output lights (VHO's)which can go up to 160wts, depending on the size of the bulb. Don't get No output bulbs. These aren't meant for too many corals, only low light corals such as mushrooms can survive under these.
Power Heads (These are used for current, and these are highly necessary. You will need about 2-4 of these, depending on your tank size. The bigger the tank, the more the power heads, and the stronger. The higher the wattage, the stronger they are).
A Heater (This is used to heat the water, the corals and fish will need a temperature between 76-82 degrees F.).
Optional equipment:
A sump (this is recommended, but not necessary. If you have a deep sand bed consisting of "live sand" and some "live rock," you don't need these unless you want to have a place to put your skimmer, heater, and return pumps. If you don't have a deep sand bed of live sand, then you might highly want to buy a sump. Wet/dry systems are good. I advise that you take out the bio balls, and add live rock instead).
An Ultra Violet Sterilizer (I don't recommend these, as it is a hit and miss. The U.V.S. will kill all plankton, which the corals feed on. Although, it will eliminate most fish diseases).
A Reverse Osmosis unit (This is highly recommended, as it will sterilize tap water, and get rid of un wanted algae, and clear up the water amazingly).
A timer (This is again highly recommended. You can attach this to your lighting, so your lights go on and off at the same time everyday)
A chiller (This is recommended when using Metal Halide bulbs, so the tank doesnt overheat. Make sure your room temperature is cool, since that will have a big affect on the water temp. Also, having the water run through a sump will cool it down a bit.
Adding water and decoratives to the tank:
The first thing to do is find out what kind of sea salt you want to buy. You can either mix it yourself, or buy it (Note: buying it is expensive, and I recommend getting sea salt mix) Kent Marine's salt mix is highly recommended, as it has minerals in it to help your tank. One very important facor, that you cannot miss out on, is making sure your tank does not leak. Try pouring the tank half way, with tap water, and wait about a day or so, if it doesnt leak, then you can procede, and move on. If it does, then you just saved all your future inhabitants. After you figured out what salt mix you are going to use, you should get your live rocks. Most pet store that specializes in saltwater will sell this. There are many kinds of live rock, but I recommend getting some lava rock. Lava rock doesn't have as many critters on it, but it is cheap, and will go good behind the Fiji rock. Fiji rock is full of life, and you will find tons of critters on it, from feather dusters, to worms, and even some coral polyps! The next thing is to buy the substrate (sand). A lot of people use crushed coral, but that isn't too good. Live sand is the best. But, it will be a little expensive. But to make up for that, you can add some Southdown play sand (you can buy that at home depot) and add that to the live sand. You want 3 inches, to 5 inches of sand. Once you got everything, it is time to put it together!
First, add the substrate to the tank. If you are going with live sand and Southdown, then first add the Southdown, then the live sand on top of it. That way, fish waste will dissolve faster, since there isn't any areas where there isn't live sand. (If you are going with Crushed coral, just add it anyway you want)
Once you are done with that, it is time to add the live rock. I recommend that you look at pictures of reef tanks, and see how they have it. You want the rocks to be stable, and make sure they won’t fall.
Next, you will want to fill the tank with prepared sea water, that you have mixed for at least a day, with a strong power head. Add the sand first, then rock, and slowly add your water. It will tkae about 1-3 days, for the salt to completely desolve, the salinity tests should read between 1.022-1.027. The last thing is to add the power heads for current, the more current the better. Have the power head arranged in this order:
1st power head: have this one on the right side of the tank, facing right (into the tank)
2nd power head: Have this one on the left hand side, about 3-5 inches from the water line, pointing up.(This helps add O2 to the tank and remove C02)
3rd power head (30 gallons+ only): have this one behind the live rock in any way you want.
Once you have all that in, it is time to turn on your skimmer, and let the tank cycle
Selecting your fish:
The first thing in selecting your fish is hardiness. Your first fish should be hardy, and non aggressive, such as green chromis damsels. When selecting a fish, make sure that you see no signs of stress (I.E., Breathing hard, white spots, swimming lopsided, bad coloration, and not aware of you). The next thing to look for is if it is reef safe. Fish such as triggers, lions, most angels, stingrays, sharks, and eels are not reef safe. The last thing to look for is how big it gets. Some fish will get over 3 feet long, and will need to be transferred into a bigger tank as they get bigger, so make sure your aware of the size. When you are just about to take your fish home, ask your pet store dealer what kind of air they put it in the bags. Pure oxygen is recommended, as the fish can last over 12 hours in the bag, since it will take longer for the oxygen to fade. If the dealer says "pressurized air" then the fish can last between 3-7 hours. When adding your new arival to the tank, it is HIGHLY recomended that you put it in a quaratine tank, for about 2-4 weeks, before adding it to the main tank. If you dont know what a qurantine tank is, then do a search on google, on how to set it up. I will try to do this part when i have more time. It is posible, that your new fish, might have an internal desease, or a case of ich, velvet, fluke, pop eye, and much more, that will infect your whole tank, and posible you might loose almost everything. If your fish shows any signs of deseases, treat it ASAP or take it back to your local fish store.
What do i feed the fish? And how often?
The fish should be fed multiple choices of foods, besides brine. Brine shrimp isnt the healthiest thing on the menu, and fish get bored of eating one type of food. Therefore, should be fed Kelp, blood worms, squid, krill, shrimp,and some algae.
It also is very important on when you feed the fish,and how much. The fish should be fed during the same time everyday, as they will ajust to this time. It is better to feed the fish very small pieces of food throughout the day. Depending on your fish and animal load, they should be fed how much they can eat in 3 minutes. Most people will say 5, but most of the food goes to waste. Any uneaten food should be removed.
Selecting your corals:
Your first coral should be hardy, and easy to take care of. Mushroom corals are highly recommended. These are colourful, easy to keep, and multiply very fast. You should acclimatise these for about 45 minutes. Make sure the coral is well opened, doesn't show any signs of diseases (turning black, or any signs of parasites), and is attached to the rock and isn't falling off. These should close up when the dealers hand touches them, but don't worry. They will open up the next day. You should start adding your corals after the first 2-3 months that you started your tank. Some other easy to keep corals are yellow polyps, sponges, and leathers. A lot of people ask "What do corals eat?" The answer is both light (photosynthesis, where the coral has symbiotic algae in its tissues called zooanthellae that it eats) and planktonic larva. Plankton can be provided through marine snow (and additive that can be perched at more pet stores) and DT's phytoplankton (another plankton that can be perched at a pet store).
Selecting your inverts:
Inverts should be added when you start adding your corals. Inverts don't seem to be as hardy as the corals, so they should be acclimated a bit longer. Inverts are usually scavengers, grazing on uneaten food, and algae. Most are reef safe, like the cleaner shrimp (very colourful shrimp that eat fish parasites), turbo snails (Great algae eaters), reef hermits (another great algae eater), and fire shrimp (eats fish parasites, very colourful, but not as hardy as the cleaner shrimp). This is only a small portion of inverts. Once your tank gets older, you can add linka starfish, tiger tail cucumber, and maybe an anemone.
Acclimating your fish, corals, and inverts:
Once your tank is done cycling, you might want to add fish, corals, and inverts. Here is how to do it:
Materials:
1, 3 gallon bucket
a 2 cup glass
a watch
a small power head
Operation:
First, add the fish/coral/invert to the bucket, along with the sea water it came in.
Then, add a small power head in the bucket for some circulation (optional: an air pump)
Every 5 minutes, add 1-2 cups of saltwater from your tank, to the bucket.
Do this for about 1 hour, to 2 hours. If the water gets too high, than take some out.
Once your done, net the fish/inverts (you can pick up the coral) and place it in the tank. Make sure not to add the water from the pet store to the tank. The pet store water has copper in it that is toxic to the inverts and corals.
Another extremely recommended way, is to go with the drip method. This is slow, and not too stressful for the fish. This is from Saltwaterfish.com's:
1. Small, inexpensive air pump with small air stone.
2. 8-10 Feet of clear vinyl airline tubing. (3/16 X 1/4 is a good size)
3. Scissors or knife
4. 2 Buckets (1 gallon buckets for small orders or 5 gallon buckets for large orders)
Acclimation Instructions:
1. First, you will need Clear Vinyl Airline Tubing. This can be found in the plumbing department of Home Depot, Lowes, or a local hardware store. Find the size that is 3/16” X 1/4”. 3/16 is the inside diameter and 1/4 is the outside diameter. If you need to ask, simply ask for Clear Vinyl Airline Tubing and you will find a number of different sizes in that section. You will need 8-10 feet of the 3/16 X 1/4, which will cost about $1. Yes, that’s all. The Air Pump is an item that can be found in most Wal-Marts in the fishing tackle section as a "Bubble Saver" or "Bubble Box". These pumps are inexpensive, run on batteries, and can be conveniently clipped onto the side of the bucket.
2. When your order arrives be sure your aquarium lights are off and that you open the box in a dimly lit area. Next, place all of the bags – or as many as will fit at one time – into your aquarium. Leave them floating without being opened for 20-25 minutes. This will allow the water temperature in the bag to become the same temperature as the water in your tank.
3. It is very important that you do not mix the water from the fish bags with the water from the invertebrate bags. They should not be acclimated together. It is very important you split the fish and invertebrates into 2 separate buckets and that the containers have never been used for cleaning floors, washing your car, etc. We suggest you use brand new buckets.
4. Now that your bags are floating, rinse off your Clear Vinyl Airline Tubing in fresh water to remove any dust, etc. The airline tubing will be used to move water from your tank down to the bucket in a slow dripping process. First, you will need to find a small rock of some sort in your tank and attach it to one end of the tubing with a rubber band. Once it has been attached, place the rock into your tank. The rock is used to help keep the tube submerged. Place the other end of the tube into the bucket on the floor. If you have excess tubing you may cut it away. Just be sure you have enough to easily reach from the tank to the bucket. You will then need to tie a knot in the tubing. This will allow you to slow down the rate of flow once the siphon is started. Tie the knot closer to the bucket side of the tubing. About a foot from the end will work well.
5. After 20 minutes have passed you can begin the process of cutting the fish out of the bags and into the bucket. If you only have a few items, or just to get started, you can tilt the bucket 45 degrees to one side. This will allow water to accumulate so the items will be completely submerged. Once you have cut a number of them into the bucket there will be enough water so you can lay the bucket flat again.
6. Use a scissors to cut a large opening toward the top of the bag. Be sure it is large enough for the fish to exit the bag. Pour both the fish and water from each bag into the bucket. Remember, only do the fish OR the invertebrates. Do not do them at the same time or in the same bucket. We suggest you start with the fish.
7. After you have cut them all into the bucket, to the novice it may appear that they are not doing well. This is totally natural. The fish are in shock and will be just fine. While you may not be used to receiving fish in this manner, these fish have traveled far to reach you and are very tough. There is nothing to be concerned about. If they are acclimated properly they will do well in your aquarium.
8. Once all of the fish OR invertebrates (whichever you have decided to do first) are in the bucket, you will need to plug in the small air pump you purchased. Place the air stone into the bucket with the items. It should be producing small bubbles. This will keep the water aerated during acclimation. Now place your mouth on the low end of the Clear Vinyl Tubing and suck on it until you see the water from inside the aquarium pass over the edge of the aquarium in the tubing. Obviously, remove your mouth before water reaches your end. The water should be moving from the aquarium down the tubing and into the bucket. At this time you will need to tighten the knot you made earlier until the water is literally dripping in a fast motion into the bucket.
9. The drip should be quick and steady, but it should not be a steady stream of water, or a slow drip, but somewhere in-between. 6-8 drips per second will work well. The airstone should be kicking out little bubbles, the water should be moving down the tube into the bucket with the items in it, and your aquarium lights should be off. You will now need to allow the water to drip from your tank into the bucket for approximately two hours (be sure you have enough water in your sump, or continue to add water into your sump). You will need to keep an eye on the bucket from time to time to be sure the tubing doesn’t move outside of the bucket and start spilling on your floor, and that the water does not begin to overflow over the sides of the box once it starts filling up. This process is allowing the slow transfer of pH and salinity to take place. By doing so, your new inhabitants are being eased into their new surroundings. You will find this process will greatly increase your success.
10. While the dripping takes place you can also keep an eye on the fish or invertebrates, but do not push them, or move them around with your hand or objects. They are in shock and it takes time for them to acclimate. So, even if after the two hour period they are still lying on their side and breathing hard they are not dead or dying. Once the two hour time period has elapsed it will be time to place the items into your tank. Do so gently with a net. They may still need to recover in the tank and may float to the bottom of the tank continuing to breathe hard. Again, this is nothing to be alarmed about. If this occurs, simply leave them alone and as long as they aren’t harassed they should be fine and recover nicely. Once all items have been placed into the aquarium you should turn off all powerheads and continue with the lights off for three hours. Once that time has passed you can turn on your lights and powerheads again.
11. Saltwaterfish.com recommends you use this method every time you are acclimating items into your tank.
12. NOTE: Be sure the air conditioning or heat is not blowing directly onto the bucket. You want the temperature in the bucket to be the same as the temperature in your tank at the end of the 2 hours. Also, it is VERY important that the amount of water in the bucket quadruple over the 2 hour time frame. If the amount of water has not quadrupled after 2 hours of dripping you will have to wait until it has done so. To the contrary, if it appears too much water is going into the bucket and the amount of water will quadruple in less than 2 hours then you should slow the speed of the drip.
Daily maintenance:
1) check all the fish, corals, and inverts in the tank, and make sure they are doing just fine.
2) Check all equipment, and make sure there all running OK.
Weekly maintenance:
1) Empty the skimmer about 3 times a week.
2) Check all water parameters (Nitrate, Nitrite, ammonia, pH, and calcium, etc.)
3) Do a 5 gallon water change if anything looks a little high (NOTE: During the first 2 months your levels will be high. You don't need to do water changes unless you have fish)
Yearly Maintenance:
1) Replace your lighting bulbs
Main conclusion:
Read as much as you can on aquariums, learn from others, as well as yourself, do your best, and most importantly....HAVE FUN!!!!!
Feel Free to post any of your questions in the Intro to reef tanks forum, or the general reef forum. Happy reefing!
PH =)