Please answer!Desperate?

[Buildingmyreef]

I'm buying a new aquarium soon. Most likely 75 gallons. When stocking my aquarium with live sand and rock i'm a little confused with what to do. I've read having all live sand is not good but you still want some to finish left overs and help clean. Is this true? Please elaborate. with live rock what kind of algae is good and which isn't? how much live rock/sand do I need for a 75 specially when i'm having burrowing fish? What kind of algae do I need for some tangs and angel? How do i grow it or wear do i get it? Also with corals will it damage other species putting the chemicals they need in the water?

[Arati]

Please do some reading before buying anythying thats alive.

1) all live sand is fine most people save money buy argonite sand and seed it with a few lbs of live sand. 4" of sand is the minimum for a dsb.

2) you need 1.5 ish lbs of good LR for biological filtration, algea is for the refugium, people use cheato.

3) I think the tangs and angels eat dry algea sheets from the fish store. putting the correct chemicals in the water in the proper amounts will not hurt anything.

IMO a new tank takes about 6weeks to properly cycle, after that you can slowly add livestock. So you have 6weeks to read everything you can and learn as much as you can, or you are gonna kill alot of stuff and waste alot of money.

lastly why are you desperate?

Best of luck
Chris

[reefergeorge]

I have never bought live sand. Just use any fine sand from your lfs. Your live rock will seed it during the cycle.
When you say good algae. I think you are talking about Coraline algae. It is the purple stuff on LR that is a sign of good water parameters.
I would add 1lb of rock per gallon, but some rock is more dense, so it varies. There is no set rule. just add what you think looks good.
The algae you feed your tang can be bought from the lfs, or you can go to the Asian market and buy unflavored/ unseasoned nori.

[Playa-1]

Hi,
It's great that your asking questions. This is the time to do your homework. You will want to do lots of research before you decide on and start buying equipment. Many of the equipment decisions will need to based on what you expect to do with the tank.
The best thing that you can do for yourself at this point is to start reading like crazy. Follow this link for some gr8 reading material. This site is a gr8 place to interact with other hobbyist, but that should not take the place of spending some time with a few good books before you get started. Skipping the good reading material will likely cost you money and headaches.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-01/tips/index.php


To answer you questions:
Your going to have algae whether you like it or not. Many people like to encourage coralline algae that helps to use up phosphates and nitrates to starve other forms of less desirable algae. Some people grow a macro-algae in their sumps for the same purpose.

I like sand but it is optional. Your live rock serves as your main filtration. Shoot for roughly 1lb per gallon of water. You can use roughly 1lb per gallon of live sand too. Aragonite sand sand from the local fish store is preferable.

Tangs and angels will graze on algae in the tank and you should substitute Seaweed such as Nori for them to munch on. A veggie clip from the pet store works great for this.

I would suggest starting with Robert Fenners book "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist". It will cover all the bases for you and even give you good check lists to make sure you cover all the bases. The reason to read the book is that when you ask such open ended questions here, your going to get a million different answers. You will not know who to listen too. By having an expert guide you thru the pros and cons of different ways of doing things in a structured format, You have a much better chance of getting a well rounded understanding of what you need to know. Then use this site to compliment what you have learned from the experts.

In this hobby there are many different ways to accomplish the same objective. A good example as to why you need to start reading is the fact that a 75 gallon tank is too small to put a single tang in. Much less multiple tangs. Have you considered a sump, circulation, water flow needs, and a Protein Skimmer?

There is Lots of info for you to soak in. The good thing is with a little patience you will find this is not all that complicated. The guys that crash and burn are the ones that get in too big of a hurry to get fish in the tank.

[Sk8r]

Read the * posts at the top of this message board. That will help you a lot.
Live sand is a bit of an expense you dont need. Go for medium grade aragonite (I have fine and about to replace mine with medium) at the rate of 1 lb per gallon of tank; ditto with live rock 1-2 pounds of live Rock PER GALLON. Have your tank ready to go when your live rock arrives: it needs to go in first, on eggcrate ono the bottom, then the sand, then the water.---ro/di filtered, never tapwater.

[1fishkeeper]

All I can say is listen to what everyone says they know there stuff for the most part.

[Buildingmyreef]

I see picture of tanks way less then 75 gallons with tangs in them
Playa 1

[chatyak]

Originally posted by Buildingmyreef
I see picture of tanks way less then 75 gallons with tangs in them
Playa 1

Those are people that shouldn't have tangs in them. Or are baby tangs in a temporary tank. It's like leaving a cat or dog locked up in a bedroom there whole life, just isn't good for the animal.

[MPeer]

Unfortunately, there are those out there that don't understand that putting a tang in a small tank is detrimental to their fish.

[Playa-1]

Originally posted by Buildingmyreef
I see picture of tanks way less then 75 gallons with tangs in them
Playa 1

That's a gr8 example of somebody that didn't read the book