[saltydawg]

Hello to all,

I am just starting my salt tank conversion after 8 years of fresh im finally doing it. 35 gallon so im already limited but im gonna start a reef and my intention is to get a bigger tank once im comfortable. Water seems to be good and i just got live rock today. My local fish store tells me I need to wait a week to add to it. I would like to try some anemone and a fish or two. Would I be pushing it with my tank size? Any suggestion on anemone or fish? thanx

[wldtime]

i'm new to salt too. But i've been doing it now for about 2 years. Everyone i've talked to at local stores here in Seattle told me to wait at least 3 months before adding any fish. However, i couldn't wait and added a couple of Damsels (which i hate- don't get them) after about two months. I read that you have a 35G tank. I have was told a 55G was almost too small for salt. Keep in mind all that i am telling you is info that was given to me so if i'm wrong then it someone elses fault haha. Live rock- 1.5 pounds per gallon of water. Lighting- 4watts per gallon. I also highly highly recommend the Reverse Osmosis water. Less contaminants than tap water but you need to add superbuffer dkh to keep your water at 8.3 Water changes are super important too. Gotta keep the nitrates down. Skimmers and filtration are key to keeping the fish going. Its a lot of hard work and you need to always keep up with the tank maintence and cleaning. But, its totally worth it. I now have two anenome's and mulitple coral and plant life. Everyday i come home and find something new happening in the tank. it's so amazing how things "just grow" in the tank. I've got a couple small snails and one star fish that are in my tank that I didn't purchase.... they were in the live rock!!!

But like i said- the tank needs to be maintained and please, please dont use tap water unless an emergency. I went through a case of Green Hair Algae that grew in my tank. I battled it for a year. And the only way i got rid of it was by changing the water ( 5G at a time) every weekend with R.O. water until the tap water was completely gone from the tank. Straght R.O. water is .50 a gallon and Salt R.O. it a buck a gallon.

I think you will be amazed with the difference between salt and fresh water fish. My salt fish are so personable. haha. they are. they recocognize me and also my voice. When stranger come here they hide until i call to them. They also like to show off in front of you and play. It's crazy! Right now i have two occelaris clowns, a yellow tang, and 3 blue chromis. And they all get along great. If you buy the clowns- get two of them at the same time. When you buy two, they will both be males until one of them decides to changes sexes into the female. The females get the biggest. Choose a clown that is most likely to want to associate itself with an anemone. Ask your local store which fish are more likely to do that.

Other than that- live and learn. When i first started i didn't know squat. I don't know it all but i've asked lots and lots of questions to many different fish stores and then made the decisions myself. Each tank is totally different so what works for one person doesn't mean it will work for you. And last- Have fun! Thats what it's all about.

[volitan_fa]

The only reason you should wait to add live rock is if you're curing it. But don't let the rock be without water! That will "kill" it = no more live rock. If it's a brand new tank (ie no fish or inhabitants in it yet), I would add the rock right after the water, and then add the sand right after that. Then you'll want to check your water levels (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and alkalinity).

Even with RO/DI water, you usually don't have to add a buffer, but if you find your alkalinity is too low, you may have to. Usually a good substrate (good live sand) and a good salt mix (I prefer Oceanic) will keep your water buffered.

If you have any more question, let us know! We're happy to help!

[volitan_fa]

I would like to try some anemone and a fish or two. Would I be pushing it with my tank size? Any suggestion on anemone or fish? thanx

With anenome, you need very strong lighting, very strong current, and very good water parameters. It's possible, but to keep them healthy you have to have a well-kept tank.

That being said, you can keep a lot of things in a 35 gallon! One option would be to go with a pair of clownfish (percula or ocellaris most likely) and many, many different types of corals/anenome. You could have a cleaner shrimp and all sorts of snails and crabs. Maybe throw in a goby, blenny, or chromis to keep things interesting. Not much bigger than those fish listed though, or you'll run into space problems.

[saltydawg]

Wldtime and volitan_fa,

Thank you for the input. I feel pretty good about my start up based on your help. I have a deionizer for my water and I have it dialed in with the salt-Instant Ocean. It's been a week and my salinty is 34. I put the live rock in last night it went straight from the fish store to my tank. Saturday will be my first water change. Then Im going for a shrimp and crab and maybe a anenome. I know Im gonna enjoy it. Im just anxious like a kid in a candy store when I walk into the fish store wanna have it right know. I know (patience)
Thanks again.
Jeff

[wldtime]

no problem jeff. Like i said- i don't pretend to know it all. I have found that reading other people's descriptions of their tanks and what sort of issues they have run into really helps a guy to understand how to work with the salt environment. Just promise that you won't get Damsels if you plan on Clowns. They like to fight.
Bill

[volitan_fa]

I would hold off on the anenome for a while. Shrimp and some crabs will be fine, maybe even grab some snails. But the anenome is very sensitive to water, so wait until you're sure it's stable.