ohh boy another newbie!

[jaynduke]

Just figured i'd say hello to all of you. I do not currently own any kind of saltwater setup. i do have a 90gallon setup with african cichlids, and my neighbor who is a member here has started to convince me to switch over. I am excited about doing this and will once i can find a home for the fw fish. i have some questions though.

what's a frag?
what's a sps/lps?
what kind of live rock should i get?
How much does it cost to start up? guesstimates are good for me.
what kind of supplies will i need filters, and skimmers i know, any recommendations.

thanks, Jay

 

[Brian]

Hi Jaynduke,

A frag is a piece of coral that is cut from a mother colony. It's a great way for us reefers to trade corals.

LPS/SPS are types of corals. (Long Polyp Stony and Small Polyp Stony)

There is no specific rock that you have to buy, it's all preference. Figi is probably you're best bet, it light and porous and readily available at most stores. But there are a bunch of different kinds. (Tonga, Marshall Island, Brazilian... just to name a few)

It's very hard to say how much $$ it will take to start a system up, it depends on what kind of tank you are looking to start, how you come by equipment (trades, used or new)

It is also hard to say what type of equipment is needed. On the average you need a sump, skimmer, lighting (again this depends on what you plan to keep), heater(s), RO/DI water filter, powerheads...

Hope that helps a little bit!

 

[concept3]

Welcome Jay!

what's a frag?

short for fragment of a coral, usually a great and inexpensive way to start a reef!

what's a sps/lps?

short polyped scleractinia, usually the corals that look like sticks and look hard (and usually are hard to the touch), have small tiny polyps and have a calcium skeleton

long polyped: corals that have some kind of fleshy membrane (like brain corals), but have an underlying calcium skeleton, in most cases very dense.

and then you have your softies:  This is how I look at softies:  when they die, there is usually nothing left since they usually don't have a calcium skeletal structure

what kind of live rock should i get?

fiji is the most common, LFS carry them anywhere between $5-$10/lb depending on your location.  you could also buy base rock and place liverock on it.  it will eventually look like liverock with proper care and supplementation (calcium, magnesium, etc)

How much does it cost to start up? guesstimates are good for me.

Ooooh....depends.  Anywhere between $500-$1000 minus the skimmer.
but then again, you could also double that easy if you want better lights, external pump, etc

what kind of supplies will i need filters, and skimmers i know, any recommendations.

do research on lights (I lke metal halides)
recirculating skimmers (ASM is pretty good)
powerheads for in tank movement
return pump (if you are using a sump)





To get you a rough idea, check the build log I put together, there may be a few things in there you could get ideas from, a few people helped me out along the way and still are!
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=535632



we're more than happy to help you along the way!

 

[Jcurry@wesketch]

Welcome to our little club Jay.
You may want to read this little blurb on Reef Central for some tips: http://www.reefcentral.com/modules.php?s=&name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=1

I would also recommend buying Eric Borneman's book: http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Cora...d_bbs_4/102-7695217-7519345?ie=UTF8&s=books  It's great for referencing the needs of corals before you buy them.

I also really like the set "The Reef Aquarium" written by Julian Sprung and Charles Delbeek:
http://www.amazon.com/Reef-Aquarium...ef=sr_1_2/102-7695217-7519345?ie=UTF8&s=books

http://www.amazon.com/Reef-Aquarium...ef=sr_1_4/102-7695217-7519345?ie=UTF8&s=books

http://www.amazon.com/Reef-Aquarium...ef=sr_1_3/102-7695217-7519345?ie=UTF8&s=books

It's packed with information on just about everything you'll run across in this hobby, equipment, aquascaping, plumbing,livestock etc.

 

[Marcelog]

and my neighbor who is a member here has started to convince me to switch over.

Hey Jay,

When you coming over? ;D

Marcelo -

 

[ham]

hey you know the old saying when you go salt you never go back lol this club will help you get throught whatever problems you have with the salt water setup good luck and welcome to the salt side