Thinking Of Starting A Reef Tank

[fish_face]

Hi everyone,
I currently have a tropical freshwater tank and was hoping to change to saltwater after scuba diving in the red sea! The only thing is that I know nothing about keeping saltwater fish yet! Could anyone suggest a great book that I could invest in to read before I start? Plus, are saltwater tanks still ok to leave for a week or 2 week holiday with a frient feeding every few days or do they need loads more maintenance?

I was also wondering if my tank will be suitable. I have a jewel trigon 350 litre corner tank. I take it that i'll have to remove the built in filter for more space and invest in an external one. I was also only looking to keep a relitively small number of fish, maybe 6-10 fish that aren't too big. Does this sound ok?

Thanks for your help

 

[Colin_T]

the main difference betwen salt and freshwater is the salt and decorations. You set the tank up with shell or sand on the bottom, add some limestone rock and fill up with seawater (either natural from the beach or artificial made from marine salts).
Add some ammonia and let the tank cycle then introduce a few fish.
You monitor the ammonia, nitrite & nitrate levels just as in freshwater. You can also monitor the phosphate levels if you keep invertebrates. And yopu keep an eye on the salinity (salt level) with a hydrometer, available from any fish shop.
You do partial water changes using fresh seawater. If the salt levels get too high you add freshwater to bring the level back to where it should be.

If you want to keep corals then you need decent lighting and good water movement. You can use power filters or just have live rock as the filter. Live rock is rock that has been living in the ocean for 6 months or more.

If you want to keep corals and the tank is 2ft high or more then use metal halide lights. If the tank is 18inches high then T5 fluoros are fine.
Corals need water moving around them but not directly at them. there are a few different water pumps/ powerheads that can be adjusted to provide variable flow rates. "Tunze" do a pretty good line of programmable pumps.

Go to the local library and read up on everything about marine tanks. It's cheaper than buying them.

 

[SkiFletch]

I'm always a fan of "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner if you want a good book. In truth though, keeping a Fish Only saltwater tank is not much different than keeping a freshwater tank. There's a lot more compatibility issues you need to deal with when selecting fish, but otherwise it's pretty easy.

A friend watching the tank while you're gone will have to do 2 things for sure, feed the fish and topoff the water. He/she also may have to give the glass a scrape if you're gone for as much as 2 weeks... That's about it really for Fish Only. Things really only start getting complicated (and they get so FAST) when you start adding corals and invertebrates.

 

[mr oscar]

I'm always a fan of "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner if you want a good book. In truth though, keeping a Fish Only saltwater tank is not much different than keeping a freshwater tank. There's a lot more compatibility issues you need to deal with when selecting fish, but otherwise it's pretty easy.

A friend watching the tank while you're gone will have to do 2 things for sure, feed the fish and topoff the water. He/she also may have to give the glass a scrape if you're gone for as much as 2 weeks... That's about it really for Fish Only. Things really only start getting complicated (and they get so FAST) when you start adding corals and invertebrates.

yes i agree also the marine aquarium by michael s paletta is a very good read

 

[@ombomb]

one comment...

You do partial water changes using fresh seawater.

This may work in certain areas, but the water off the coast of Kent would be a very VERY bad idea IMO

 

[Colin_T]

fresh seawater can be natural or artificial.
Freshly made seawater, seawater that has not been in a fish tank before, whatever you want to call it.
If you use natural seawater from the ocean/beach, make sure the water is clean and doesn't have any pollution.