Yeah, I'm new here. I was never really a saltwater guy, I've always had freshwater planted tanks. I've been thinking about setting up a saltwater tank for the last few weeks, and after a couple days of lurking these forums and reading up on some setups, I finally took the plunge on Friday and bought a 38 gallon aquarium. I'm going to try to keep a record of my progress here, so suggestions and criticizm are welcome.
The tank came as part of a package, with a stand, hood, filter, a bunch of test kits I needed anyway, and a crappy 20w flourescent bulb (I'm obviously going to replace this sooner or later).
I have about 60lbs of Fiji liverock, and about 2-3" of sand, which includes 25lbs of live sand. I also bought a pair of blue/green chromis to help in cycling the tank. They seem to be doing very well already, and were feeding only minutes after I put them in. A friend of mine, who helped me with the initial setup, also gave me a small starfish, which I unfortunately haven't been able to identify or get a photo of. I'll post photos of the tank as soon as I resize them.
The liverock came directly out of an aquarium at the fish store, so I'm hoping that the combination of live sand and my chromis will complete my initial cycle in about a month.
Before I forget, I wanted to thank everybody here who's provided so much helpful information in the last few days (whether they realize it or not).
My future plans include a pair of clownfish, and possibly a yellow tang. I was also hoping to do a lot with corals and anenomes, but not for a while.
I know I'm going to need better lighting, but I'm not sure exactly what to go with. It really doesn't matter at this point, because I won't be putting anything that relies on high light in this tank for several months. I know I won't have the cash for 300W of MH lighting, so that's pretty much out of the question. Unless, of course, I get the ballasts and construct a hood myself (which isnt out of the question).
Any suggestions?
The tank came as part of a package, with a stand, hood, filter, a bunch of test kits I needed anyway, and a crappy 20w flourescent bulb (I'm obviously going to replace this sooner or later).
I have about 60lbs of Fiji liverock, and about 2-3" of sand, which includes 25lbs of live sand. I also bought a pair of blue/green chromis to help in cycling the tank. They seem to be doing very well already, and were feeding only minutes after I put them in. A friend of mine, who helped me with the initial setup, also gave me a small starfish, which I unfortunately haven't been able to identify or get a photo of. I'll post photos of the tank as soon as I resize them.
The liverock came directly out of an aquarium at the fish store, so I'm hoping that the combination of live sand and my chromis will complete my initial cycle in about a month.
Before I forget, I wanted to thank everybody here who's provided so much helpful information in the last few days (whether they realize it or not).
My future plans include a pair of clownfish, and possibly a yellow tang. I was also hoping to do a lot with corals and anenomes, but not for a while.
I know I'm going to need better lighting, but I'm not sure exactly what to go with. It really doesn't matter at this point, because I won't be putting anything that relies on high light in this tank for several months. I know I won't have the cash for 300W of MH lighting, so that's pretty much out of the question. Unless, of course, I get the ballasts and construct a hood myself (which isnt out of the question).
Any suggestions?
