Saltwater Virgin

[jazzychick]

Hi,

I'm very new at this...especially saltwater tanks.  I had a freshwater tank when I was younger but that's about it.

I've always been fascinated by marine life and ever since I went diving in Mexico and saw the reef up close,  I fell in love and knew I wanted to recreate this beautiful world in my home.

I have a 30G thank with sand and crushed coral in it... I get to put my live rock in tonight and I'm very excited (who knew buying rocks would ever be exciting   )

I thought I would start out with fish only and get some experience and get invertebrates & corals later on.

So, I just wanted to say hi and hopefully get some good advice from you for a beginner who sort of knows what she's doing...lol

[dan2x38]

Nice to meet you JazzyChick welcome to OVAS. Always great to see new members but I can't offer any advice about SW except keep the glass clean for nice viewing... There are tons of SW folks here though who'd be more than happy offering advice and answering your questions. Enjoy...

If you do not have your OVAS membership for 2008-2009 you can buy them at our annual membership drive on Aug. 30th. You can also buy your membership at any meeting, Big Al's Innes Road, and online here. Membership drive locations will soon be announced.

What does your membership bring you you might ask?  Well discounts from OVAS Sponsors, full access to the forums Lounge and Photo Gallery, borrow books from the Library, and registeration on the OVAS Breeders Directory. Not to mention free admission to most special events & speakers.

Thank you!

[Tsukiyomi-sakura]

Here is a piece of advise, Don't get damsels unless you want to tear your tank apart later to fish em out, For a first time Id say start with reef safe fish if you want to get into coral.

Try starting with something small  Since it's a new tank, I started off with a pair of clown fish,
Just don't buy anything for the tank that will outgrow it unless your willing to get another tank to set up for the adult size.

Before you really get going, Plan out If you want a sump, A sump will hide all your equipment from view ( except necessary circulation pumps) A sump also increases your Bio Load ( Bigger Bioload= A few more fish you can keep) You can also cram it full of live rock for more room in the tank and more filtration.

Before you get fish make sure you have test kits To check on the tank for when It has cycled, And Get some good quality food ( Flake and pellets) specially formulated for marine fish, Also, Reasearch the fish you want to get before making a purchase, some things to think about are :
How hardy is the species? How big will it get? Does it need extra special diets? Is it aggressive to other fish or invertebrates?

Here is a site to look at for some information on fish species
http://www.marinecenter.com/   It will aid you greatly in selecting fish, Inverts corals and cleanup crew ( start building up on yours, They will keep the tank clean by eating leftover food and some clean the sand bed Etc, for 30 gallons start with a few hermits snails and astrea to mow down brown algae, Later when your tank is more mature you can get some other intresting species.

Good luck.