New to salt water questions

[hrnet940]

My wife and I have finally decided to take the plunge and build our Salt Water Reef tank. We are still in the planning stages and starting to purchase stuff as the money becomes available. We are going with a 75 gallon tank and have purchased the salt and stand with the tank and live sand on order. We are wondering if it is better to go with uncleaned live rock and we do the cleaning or should we pay the extra and buy it cleaned and ready for the tank? What is the differences in the live rock and is there ones to stay away from? I have MANY other questions, but a few at a time is great to get answered. THANKS! Wayne

[Parrothead]

Avoid Gulf Rock or commonly called florida rock, it is way dense to be of any real use, try to get something from the south pacific, also, last I heard most live rock had to be shipped into Can. anyway so it will still need to be cured, so either rock will be fine I would add a good protein skimmer to the list and have it ready to go when you put the rock, sand and water in the tank.

Also start going through this thread, alot of your questions can and will be answered here, if not we do all we can to help.

Click here before you ask, (links to answers)

And Welcome to Reeflands

Tanks,
Robert

[twisted]

Hey! welcome to the site!
definitly spend some time in the sticky threads. there is so much info in there.i think what makes this forum so killer is the amount of time the members spend trying to help you have a great experience with your tank. there is alot of knowlegde here and these guys and gals care alot. just remember-God spent the time to create all these beautiful creatures for our enjoyment. take the time to give his creatures a beautiful healthy home that they can enjoy.

[Parrothead]

Twisty,

Couldn't have said it better myself, brings a tear to my eye

Tanks,
Robert

[hrnet940]

Thanks everyone. I just bought The Complete Idiot's Guide To Saltwater Aquariums and have been reading it allot. Is this a great book to help us with our adventure and life long commitment? I hope so. I am learning allot. What is a great brand of protein skimmer to buy? We are purchasing everything local here in Trenton because we want to support the community and get local advice. Some people mentioned Big Al's in Whitby was a great place to get things. We might go there and check it out, but still want to keep all the purchases local. It is easier to return them and get advice on it when my drive time is five minutes intead of driving on the 401 for awhile. Wayne

[reefhead728]

Hi Wayne, Welcome to reefland.

The complete idiots guide is pretty good for basic info. As for the protien skimmer make sure you get a good one try to find one that is rated over your tanks water volume for example my tank is 125gal, but my skimmer is rated at 160gal.there are lots of great skimmers on the market i like my Octopus Extreme 160. Also if your going to have a reef tank you need to think about lighting it is also somthing that is needed for a Reef tank.

[hrnet940]

Thanks for the advice. My local store here has a reef tank in it at 55 gallons and is really nice. The two guys there are great and answer all my questions and already have most, if not all, of my stuff ready for me to go. We pickup our 75 gallon tank tonight, I hope. I am going with the metal halide T5 lights and what is recommended for us. I am stoked about getting up and seeing water in the tank, but will do everything in the proper steps. Are there any other really good sites to get info from? Thanks Again. Wayne

[Parrothead]

Wayne,

Go through that link I pointed you at above in my org. post, alot of very, very useful information is available there.