 | Should I get a glass or acrylic tank?
A glass tank is much more scratch resistant than an acrylic
tank. This is important when your housing pieces of large, sharp rocks.
It's also much easier to remove coralline, a calcerous algae, from glass. If
you're going with a tank larger than 300 gallons, acrylic may be a better
choice because a glass tank this size would be very heavy.
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| What is Live Rock?
Live Rock is the calcium carbonate remains of ancient, reef building
corals. It is the rock you use to build the reef structure in the aquarium.
It is referred to as being "live" because the rock harbors various
types of small animals, algae and bacteria that are beneficial to the
aquarium.
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| How much Live Rock should I get?
Get enough Live Rock to fill 2/3 of the viewable space in the aquarium with
a nice loose and open structure. The rocks should be small, no bigger than
3-5 lbs each, to allow ease in making caves and overhangs. The rock should be
porous and not very heavy. Fiji, Solomon, Savaii, and Marshall Island rock
are all good choices.
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| What type of sand do I add?
Aragonite is the best choice. Make sure to get enough to create about
a 4" sand bed. This will promote the growth of various organism
important to filtration. The sand should be of various size grains, mostly
oolitic size though.
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| How do I keep the sand clean?
Seeding the sand with quality "Live Sand" or a Detrivore Kit, will
introduce bacteria and small critters that will keep the sand clean. Avoid
vacuuming or manually disturbing the sand.
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| What type and how much lighting do I need?
Metal Halide and Power Compact type lighting is the best choice for a
Reef aquarium. Both will provide the quality of light needed to meet the
photosynthetic demand of the Reef's inhabitants. If your tank is deeper than
22", Metal Halide is the better choice since the light is stronger and
will penetrate deeper. As far as how much light, a not so accurate rule of
thumb is about 5 watts/gallon.
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| What about filtration?
The Live Rock and Live Sand is the filtration. It will provide all
the biological filtration needed. You'll also want to invest in a quality
Protein Skimmer to help maintain the dissolved organic compound levels in
the water low. This will discourage nuisance algae growth.
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| What's a sump, do I need one, and how big?
A sump is basically a receptacle (bucket, Rubbermaid container, small
aquarium) that is placed under your main aquarium. It's purpose is to
increase the system's total water volume, and to place various pieces of
hardware, like pumps, heaters, reactors, probes, etc. This will keep the
Reef tank clutter free. A sump is an important part of a reef tank and is
highly recommended. The sump should hold about a 1/3 of the water your main
aquarium will hold.
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| How does a sump work?
The sump is connected to the main aquarium by way of an overflow and
a return pump. The overflow is plumbed from the main aquarium and into the
sump. This allows the water in the main aquarium to flow into the overflow
and down to the sump. Then a pump in the sump, that is plumbed
to the main aquarium, returns the water. This keeps the water level in
the main aquarium constant.
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| What corals would be good for a beginner?
Soft corals are usually good to start off with. Leather corals,
mushrooms, button polyps, star polyps, and yellow polyps are all attractive
beginner animals. These corals grow fast, are not to aggressive making them
easy to place, and fare well under most water conditions. These animals are
also easy to propagate.
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| What other animals can I add?
You're going to want to add a couple of reef-safe fish. Don't trust
the local fish guy to sell you reef-safe fish. This is when a good book will
come in handy. You can also add clean-up animals, such as reef-safe hermit
crabs, snails, and starfish.
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| Are there any animals I should avoid?
Yes! There are many animals that even the most avid reef keeper
cannot maintain alive. Some of these animals have specialized diets that
cannot be met in captivity. Others are too high maintenance for the average
person with a busy schedule to keep healthy. That is why it is important to
learn the dietary needs of animals BEFORE you buy them. Some examples of
animals to avoid are: Nudibranchs,
Anemones, Non-Photosynthetic corals, and Sponges.
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| What type of supplements are necessary?
The most important additive has to be Calcium. Calcium is used by
corals to build their skeletal structure. It is important to
maintain Ca levels at about 400 mg/L. Strontium is also an important additive
and used by corals to build their skeleton. Many reefers add Iodide, but I and many others do not believe it
is necessary.
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