Post A Picture Of Your Aquarium

Sherlock · Post by **Sherlock** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 9:27 am

Fenix wrote:
Sherlock Holmes wrote:As a soon to be saltwater aquarium starter (not the technical term, obviously), with some small interest in raising live rock (though, I plan to focus more on fish) I welcome any advice you can share on the successes and/or difficulties with your aquarium project.

Looks good so far!
Marine aquariums are a lot of work, they cost a lot more than fresh water fish and their living conditions need to be close to perfect. On the bright side they are so much cooler! Do you have any experience with aquariums in the past?

I suppose I should clarify. I have had numerous tanks in the past (the largest being about 130 gal) and some minimal salt water experience. I'm shooting for a small to medium sized tank and whatnot. I suppose I am curious as to what lighting you found to be best and the price range I can anticipate for that. I've heard the cost for full-spectrum tends to be around a minimum of $100 or so - would that be correct?

Fenix · Post by **Fenix** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:26 pm

Sherlock Holmes wrote:
Fenix wrote:
Sherlock Holmes wrote:As a soon to be saltwater aquarium starter (not the technical term, obviously), with some small interest in raising live rock (though, I plan to focus more on fish) I welcome any advice you can share on the successes and/or difficulties with your aquarium project.

Looks good so far!
Marine aquariums are a lot of work, they cost a lot more than fresh water fish and their living conditions need to be close to perfect. On the bright side they are so much cooler! Do you have any experience with aquariums in the past?
I suppose I should clarify. I have had numerous tanks in the past (the largest being about 130 gal) and some minimal salt water experience. I'm shooting for a small to medium sized tank and whatnot. I suppose I am curious as to what lighting you found to be best and the price range I can anticipate for that. I've heard the cost for full-spectrum tends to be around a minimum of $100 or so - would that be correct?

For salt water aquariums the bigger the better. The more water you have in your tank the easier it is to control and to keep stable. A small tank such is mine is harder to keep stable cause the smallest change can have a huge impact. I test my water pretty frequently just to be sure. People will tell you to get the biggest tank you can. In my case only a 10 gallon tank would fit on my counter so I didn't have many options. A bigger tank is easier to manage and you'll have more choices for fish and corals.

The lighting will depend on what you want in your tank. If you just want a FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rocks) tank you really don't have to get any special lighting. A basic florescent lighting fixture would be good enough.

If you want some coral then thats when the special lighting is required. There are many different kinds of coral each requiring different lighting.
Some coral don't require much lighting so you can get away with a less powerful one. On the other hand some require a lot of lighting so you have to go for a strong one.

There are many different kinds of lighting. The two most people use for salt water tanks are Power Compact (what i use) and Metal Halide. PCs are basically florescent lights that are compacted in a smaller space. The metal halide lights are stronger and will cost you quite a bit more. I don't know much about them but they are the best you can get. You can keep pretty much all the kinds of coral with these. There are other lights like T5's and stuff but i don't know much about those.

I recommend you get the best lights because you never know when you want to add something really cool that requires strong lights.

As for prices. The larger the tank and the better the light the more it will cost. 100 bucks will get you a PC light for a 10 gallon tank. Metal Halide for a 55 gallon tank will cost around $800. So within that range is what you will be paying for a light fixture. I hope that is of some help.

Samwise · Post by **Samwise** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 6:04 am

Wow that looks very pretty! I remember when I kept a few crabs and crayfishes in an aquarium.

Sonshinegirl · Post by **Sonshinegirl** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 6:33 am

So...what's the point of raising a rock exactly?

Fenix · Post by **Fenix** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 8:18 pm

Sonshinegirl wrote:So...what's the point of raising a rock exactly?

If you want to have a salt water aquarium you need to have live rocks to cycle your water. This processes usually takes 3-5 weeks.

Sonshinegirl · Post by **Sonshinegirl** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 7:06 am

Fenix wrote:
Sonshinegirl wrote:So...what's the point of raising a rock exactly?
If you want to have a salt water aquarium you need to have live rocks to cycle your water. This processes usually takes 3-5 weeks.

interesting....

Fenix · Post by **Fenix** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 3:41 pm

Update

Angel · Post by **Angel** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 9:28 pm

That is so pretty Fenix! It looks so clean and new, wow.

How long do you have to wait before adding fish?

Fenix · Post by **Fenix** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 10:05 pm

Thank You Very Much!

That picture was taken awhile ago maybe a month ago. Fish are not usually added until a salt water tank is mature, thats like around 4-6 months after the start of the cycle. So maybe 2 months from now I'll have a fish. Yes singular, I barely even have room for one fish. I don't plan to add fish until everything is settles in my tank.

Angel · Post by **Angel** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 10:11 pm

That's such a long time.....but it does make sense. What kind of fish will you get?

Fenix · Post by **Fenix** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 10:32 pm

For such a small tank like mine theres a very limited selection.

I haven't decided yet so i guess it will be a surprise.

Angel · Post by **Angel** » Mon Jan 21, 2008 11:11 pm

Aw, that's too bad. (about the limited selection)

Fenix · Post by **Fenix** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 12:39 am

Frogspawn.

Blue/Purple Mushrooms.

Brown Zoanthids.

Samwise · Post by **Samwise** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 1:14 am

Nice! Saltwater aquariums are very pretty.

Post by **Catspaw** » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:59 am

Wow, it takes a lot of patience to do this!

The pictures are great, Fenix - I really like the second one. The mushrooms are really pretty!

Fenix · Post by **Fenix** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:39 am

Thanks Catspaw! I' m glad you like them.

Here are some more pictures.

Button Polyps

Torch Coral

Cladiella

Angel · Post by **Angel** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 11:43 am

Those are so gorgeous!

The Button Polyps type things in the first picture look photoshopped...but I know they aren't.

The corals are so cute!

This makes me want to start another aquarium.....

Post by **Catspaw** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 7:32 pm

I agree with Angel that the corals are cute! I love these pictures - we get the fun of looking at cool stuff without any of the work that Fenix has to go through.

Angel · Post by **Angel** » Tue Jan 29, 2008 7:48 pm

Oh yeah, that's the best part! I hate cleaning tanks, so this is nice.....

Fenix · Post by **Fenix** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 10:46 pm

Here are some photos.

Edit: Thats basically it. I'm still looking for one last coral but it wont change the look all that much.

Invertebrates and Fish
Skunk Shrimp

Peppermint Shrimp

Hermit Crabs (Few of these)

Clown Fish

Coral
Brown Zoanthids
Branching Frogspawn
Yellow Skirt Polyps
Red Button Polyps
Yellow Polyps
Greens Star Polyps
Florescent Green Star Polyps
Orange Ricordea
Metallic Green Mushrooms
Green Mushrooms
Wild Xenia
Blue/Purple Xenias
Bubble Coral
Baby Blue Acropora
Lemon Lime Acropora
Green Digitata
Rose Tips Acropora
Cladiella
Torch Coral

Please avoid double-posting and evil dictators with mustaches. Thanks! ~ Pseudonym