Aquarium Volunteer New Tank in Hawaii

[Drogo4]

Hi guys perhaps you can help me out.

I am a volunteer docent at the Waikiki Aquarium. One of the benefits of this is that I can get an unlmited supply of saltwater from the aquarium.

I have been thinking of starting a tank for myself. My landlord wont allow anything larger then a ten gallon tank.

I realize that starting off a tank takes some preparation. I am very patient, but I have lots of questions before I even buy a tank. Perhaps someone can answer them for me. Please give detailed answers.

1. Is it better to use the aquariums saltwater or should I use chemically treated freshwater?

2. If I use the aquariums saltwater, how often should I change/add water?

3. I understand quarantine tanks are good to have, does it have to be big? What should it have in it? Please be specific.

4. What kind of sand should I use for the main tank?

5. Morals aside, would it be beneficial to use sand or anything else directly from the ocean?

6. The plan is to have the fish tank in my bedroom. Will the fishtank smell bad if it is a healthy tank?

7. Does the heater use a lot of electricity? Will by electric bill go up signifcantly?

8. I read that Damsel fish are good beginner fish. I would like to establish live rock before a damsel. Is this okay to do first? or am i being to cautious.

9. Can a tank be so well established that the need to change/add water no longer healthy? even if im using the filtered aquarium salt water?

10. Is their any benefits to having a salt water aquarium while living in Hawaii?

11. Are these good questions or what?

12. any other tips?

Thanks for your time-
Pete

[wab]

Hi,welcome aboard rc. I started with a 10 and everyone said to me its to hard to do a 10 for a beginner. The only thing going for you is you have an unlimited supply of great water for changes you will have to do very often. My lfs did water change every day in his ten. If you can get sand for the ocean thats a plus to me if its legal. I think in hawaii cooling the tank will be more of an issue. If you have a place in the ocean to put dead rock for 6 weeks then that would work if its legal. The last tip is to read all the beginner topics and be patient. Good Luck

[likemike99]

Hey Pete, the aquarium water is far better than public water. I know- I live here in Hawaii as well and have tested it. I don't use it naymore just because it was too much to make the haul. water changes need be done based on your keeping skills. if you feed alot and your parametera are higher then they should be you will need to change more often. I do 10% everyother week because I feed everyday. QT tanks are just temporary - I just had a filter and a few pieces of PVC pipe for fish to hide in. sand/gravel/bare bottom are all personal preference. I personally use North shore sand. I go out beyond the breakers. it is natural live sand. south shores are a bit dirty due to the shipping. it is legal to tke sand ,water, and fish from the ocean. no rock or coral. alot of mainlanders don't like the idea of using ocean sand but they don't know how clean it can be here. tank should not smell if healthy. Heaters do not use much electricity, but you most likely will not need a heater- for a 10 gallon you should not be using much electricity. most people here have problems with the tank getting too hot. you can get the live rock from a few stores- expensive compared to the mainland- $6-9/lb. most is molakai like rock which they raise in ocean lagoons on molakai. fish are ok to cycle. some don't like it due to stressing the fish. alternative is just add dead shrimp to cycle. water changes should never be unhealthy unless the water you are adding is below the quality of your tank. the aquarium water is from the ocean- as far as I can tell the ocean does a pretty good job of supporting life. benefits of Hawaii- good water supply and you can catch your own fish. I would plan your fish. # of fish and size-not just size now but full grown as well.

[thegrun]

Welcome to Reef Central. First off, it is better to limit your questions to one or two per post, it just takes to long to go down a long list, you will get better and quicker answers.
1. I would assume the water used at the aquarium is high quality, so save your money and use the free stuff.
2. Really will depend on the amount of livestock in your aquarium and filtration. I have a 12 gallon tank (a little less than 10 gallons of water volume) that I change 1.5 gallons a week (15%). I probably could go once every two weeks, but I try to make a water change once a week.
3. This is best answered in another post. Short answer would be about the size of your current tank.
4. I prefer a very fine grained white (sugar) sand, but the choice is yours with many pros and cons to grain size and color. Avoid crushed coral as a substrate as it tends to collect debris.
5. Mixed bag going straight to the ocean. You get the bad along with the good. It is relatively inexpensive to stock a small tank so I would not take the chance, your financial situation may make it more tempting.
6. No bad smell if it is kept up. The initial cycle may be smelly however.
7. No, the pump and certainly the lights will use more power than your heater. A small tank it will not be a large energy hog, but if you have quality lighting you will notice a difference in your bill.
8. Definitely cycle the rock BEFORE you add any fish. Damsels are tough fish, but it is cruel to expose them to the ammonia poisoning that they will experience if you add it to the tank before it cycles. Damsels are very territorial and will kill any other fish you add to the tank. If you only want a single damsel, it is fine. You will probably only be able to keep one or at absolute maximum two small fish in the tank.
9. In theory it could be done in a large tank, but for a small tank with a beginner and minimal equipment, plan on weekly or biweekly water changes.
10. That is a question only you can answer. A salt water aquarium demands time and money.
11. Common
12. READ, read and read some more! Try this:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1031074