1. read that SETTING UP sticky ^^^^ and concentrate on the setting up part of it, and the water chemistry part.
2. expect a cycle to take about 4 weeks, up to 8 if using mostly non-live rock. Do NOT 'cycle with a fish'. Cruel and unnecessary.
3. many fish stores offer excellent advice; some don't. If you're a novice, you don't know which, so if you're told something that touches off your 'huh?' reflex, come ask here.
4. as a general rule reefs (corals) are easy as fish-onlies IF you have the right equipment from the start and IF you're willing to do an easy water testing session once a week. There are lps reefs, sps reefs, and softie reefs. Mixed reefs present a few extra problems. Be sure what you're buying relative to the equipment you have, and the other corals you have. Make sure the fish you're buying don't eat corals.
5. blennies, gobies, basslets, some damsels, some dwarf angels, exotic types like lions, and some jawfish are commonly sold as adults. Mostly what you see besides those are sold incredibly tiny---relative to their adult size, which may range up to ten inches and more as adults. They grow REAL fast,as within months, and it is definitely not true that they grow only so far as their tank lets them. Some species begin stressing out and killing their tank mates as they need more room, and others just 'fail to thrive.' [EG, One of my damsels from last year is now 1/3 to 1/2 the size of a laptop screen." And fat. And pushy.]
6. shape of tank relates to fish types. Some species require a long run, hence the term '90 gallon long' vs 90 gallon.
7. reefs don't have filters: they rely on a balance of rock/sand to water volume, and the 'skimmer' removes waste by frothing it and turning it into a cup of black soup (skimmate) which you toss. Reefs also don't have bioballs. They're not rock. Some reefs have sand; some don't; but rock, yes. Reefs are also backed up by a sump and sometimes a sump with a refugium chamber for floating moss. Fish-onlies may have filters, bioballs, etc, but they can also be reeflike in reliance on sand and rock.
8. Small tanks are harder than big ones. A hundred gallon with a 30 gallon sump/fuge is a really good size for a first tank, because it has fewer limitations of what fish you can keep, and stays stable as a rock with very little maintenance. Below that size, there are problems of small scale, including chemistry; and above that size, water changes of 10% a week (recommended) get to be heavy lifting. Not to mention where to put a big tank. You can do a very successful 30 gallon starter tank, and your principal limitations are what fish you can keep: blennies and gobies are some of your best choices.
9. Develop a good relationship with your local store if at all possible: they're the guys who can get you more salt fastest, and who may help you sell off your older equipment as you get more ambitious.
10. Most of all---set up a tank that will be solid and safe with an autofeeder and an autotopoff (everybody needs one)--so you can take a weekend (or longer) absence from your tank; and don't start out with 'rare', 'exotic' ---the translation is 'often dies on you.'
11. And start out quarantining your very first fish---these guys come in exposed to things you don't want in your tank.
12. don't freak at worms: you need them. There are only 2 bad ones: google 'hermodice carunculata' and 'eunicid worm' and know what they look like. Be real careful of hitchhiker crabs. If you get a chance to catch it, do, and ask for an id. Most crabs are not good.
That file I mentioned above will cover a lot of this. But I hope you see that, sort of like learning to fly---it's a good thing to read some info before you pick out the plane, and especially before you take off.
2. expect a cycle to take about 4 weeks, up to 8 if using mostly non-live rock. Do NOT 'cycle with a fish'. Cruel and unnecessary.
3. many fish stores offer excellent advice; some don't. If you're a novice, you don't know which, so if you're told something that touches off your 'huh?' reflex, come ask here.
4. as a general rule reefs (corals) are easy as fish-onlies IF you have the right equipment from the start and IF you're willing to do an easy water testing session once a week. There are lps reefs, sps reefs, and softie reefs. Mixed reefs present a few extra problems. Be sure what you're buying relative to the equipment you have, and the other corals you have. Make sure the fish you're buying don't eat corals.
5. blennies, gobies, basslets, some damsels, some dwarf angels, exotic types like lions, and some jawfish are commonly sold as adults. Mostly what you see besides those are sold incredibly tiny---relative to their adult size, which may range up to ten inches and more as adults. They grow REAL fast,as within months, and it is definitely not true that they grow only so far as their tank lets them. Some species begin stressing out and killing their tank mates as they need more room, and others just 'fail to thrive.' [EG, One of my damsels from last year is now 1/3 to 1/2 the size of a laptop screen." And fat. And pushy.]
6. shape of tank relates to fish types. Some species require a long run, hence the term '90 gallon long' vs 90 gallon.
7. reefs don't have filters: they rely on a balance of rock/sand to water volume, and the 'skimmer' removes waste by frothing it and turning it into a cup of black soup (skimmate) which you toss. Reefs also don't have bioballs. They're not rock. Some reefs have sand; some don't; but rock, yes. Reefs are also backed up by a sump and sometimes a sump with a refugium chamber for floating moss. Fish-onlies may have filters, bioballs, etc, but they can also be reeflike in reliance on sand and rock.
8. Small tanks are harder than big ones. A hundred gallon with a 30 gallon sump/fuge is a really good size for a first tank, because it has fewer limitations of what fish you can keep, and stays stable as a rock with very little maintenance. Below that size, there are problems of small scale, including chemistry; and above that size, water changes of 10% a week (recommended) get to be heavy lifting. Not to mention where to put a big tank. You can do a very successful 30 gallon starter tank, and your principal limitations are what fish you can keep: blennies and gobies are some of your best choices.
9. Develop a good relationship with your local store if at all possible: they're the guys who can get you more salt fastest, and who may help you sell off your older equipment as you get more ambitious.
10. Most of all---set up a tank that will be solid and safe with an autofeeder and an autotopoff (everybody needs one)--so you can take a weekend (or longer) absence from your tank; and don't start out with 'rare', 'exotic' ---the translation is 'often dies on you.'
11. And start out quarantining your very first fish---these guys come in exposed to things you don't want in your tank.
12. don't freak at worms: you need them. There are only 2 bad ones: google 'hermodice carunculata' and 'eunicid worm' and know what they look like. Be real careful of hitchhiker crabs. If you get a chance to catch it, do, and ask for an id. Most crabs are not good.
That file I mentioned above will cover a lot of this. But I hope you see that, sort of like learning to fly---it's a good thing to read some info before you pick out the plane, and especially before you take off.
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