How do I rockscape??

Jordan Siehr · Jul 23, 2012

AWEEEE THAT"S SOOO CUTE! LOL Ok. That's the same that I have. And your son CAN appriciate corral. I have corral skeletons in my tank. They look the same but are dead, so think of it as adding a really pretty and intricate rock. Believe it or not, BUT you have a LOT of options when it comes to a FOWLR (fish only with live rock). Because whether or not you buy "live" rock, dead rock or aka "base/dry" rock, it will (eventually(A LONG TIME)) turn into "live" rock. I am having a lot of success with the live sand and live rock. It cycles within a week or so instead of 8 weeks like with "dry" rock. I'm sure your son would appriciate that! lol The problem with dry rock is it lacks live bacteria, and takes a LONG time to "grow" it. LOTS of people use live rock and have no issues or a lot of issues. Lots of people use dry rock and latter on have those same issues that are labeld as "live rock causing them" Bad things can happen no matter what you do. That is true with EVERYTHING! Knowing how to properly own a freshwater tank goes a long way believe it or not. What size tank are you considering or have you already bought it. And if so what else have you bought for it/plan on buying. A lot of people will tell you that you need things that you REALLY don't. Just cuz it helps, does not need its necessary. Especially if you are on a budget. Also whats your fish list look like?

fyrfytr · Jul 24, 2012

There is not a penny spent at this point, that is why I am here. Basically I am getting an idea of how much I need to have saved back to be able to do this build, as well as what the heck I am doing when it comes to a marine tank. The wife has given approval to do this for a family Christmas present, so I am looking plenty ahead so that if it is going to end up running us more then we want to spend that we can have a backup plan in place.

When I said that he could not appreciate coral I did not mean the skeletons, I was refering to growing our own live coral. While I can appreciate it and would really like to do that, the cost of the higher output lighting outweighs the reward of growing the corals. With the money that is saved I can put more into the livestock and the tank itself. Coral grows slow, especially to a 3yr old who thinks a long time ago was like a month. If it was a tank for me then I would for sure be doing live coral and doing a true reef tank, however the money that would be spent is put to a better use with the tank. I have been reading and struggling with live/non-live sand and rock. I dont mind working through the cycle process regardless of the time, that is part of the experience of having a tank.

As for the tank itself, I am torn as to what I want to do. There is too much of an expense in relation to getting a tank from a store, so the tank will be coming from craigslist. Part of me wants to get a nice hex or octo tank so there is a lot of viewing angles. Rockscaping a tower in the middle so the tank offers 270+ degrees of viewing. The other part of me says that this is my first salt tank, keep it simple and just get a 50gal or so rectangular tank and learn what the heck I am doing before I try something like a hex or octo tank..

My fish list is simple, I don't have one. Its a no brainer that I will need a clownfish, every 3yr olds saltwater tank needs a nemo. Past that, I am open to suggestions, the only probable requirement is that it is sorta active and colorful. The colorful part is how I ended up with the freshwater stock that I have now, african cichlids.

Jordan Siehr · Jul 24, 2012

Okay, First off you do NOT want a tall hex or octo tank. Not unless you are a very advanced marinist. You want a long flat tank with a lot of surface area. Its better for gas exchange which is very imortant. Poor exchange can and will kill everything in your tank. Even for an expert, its not practical for a marine tank, period. Plus in that type of tank you wont have alot of room for powerheads or swimming space. Plus the fish will really thirve better in a long low flat tank

As far as fish go, there are many types of "Nemos" lol. Probably the best one for your tank would be an Ocellaris Clown. Which gets to be about 3-4" If you want something bigger, you could get a Maroon Clown, 6" but it is not a "bright" orange, more of a redish orangeish rust color. Very beautiful though. This link has a lot of fish (fw and sw) and descriptions about them. Aquarium Fish: Tropical Freshwater Fish and Saltwater Fish for Home Aquariums
I was going to set up a 16g bowfront sw, with an Ocellaris, a Purple Firefish, Green Clown Goby, and an Orange lined cardinal. They all are compatable, and relitively small.

A great buy would be "The Consciencetious Marine Aquarist" Its $40 in store, but you can get a copy off of Amazon for $5 plus shiping $15 total. My dad ordered mine for that much from Amazon. Book are VERY helpful, I have 3 so far on the topic. In general, sw fish are much more aggressive and territorial than fw, so fewer per tank is better. I have a 55g, That will hold 4 fish, the Dwarf Flame Angel(already in there) a Dwarf Zebra Lionfish(poisonous) a Double Saddle Back Butterfly, and a Toby Papuan Puffer(also poisonous). And that will bascilly stock the tank, They are Medium sized fish though. If everyone gets along, you can always add. Plus it takes a lot longer to stock your tank than a fw. Basically a fish or two a month. Rather than a coulple every week or two. It should take you several monthes to stock your tank. And what ever you choose, equiptment, fish, tank size, substrate...SOMEONE WILL disagree. lol Basically, you will need the following; a medium/large tank, heater, filter, lights, protein skimmer, powerheads, and an RO/DI water filter(optional) tap water works fine. A better filter would be pref, with sw you want as much filtration as possible. Meaning, a reg hang on back filter and a more advanced one, or two hang on backs. Also optional. One hang on back is good for just starting, later on you would wanna upgrade, I plan on doing so. Patience goes a long way in this hobby, although the "dry" rock patcience is not nessesary, but optional, also you want the 1st editon of the book (cheaper) 2nd one is not nessesary, just a little more updated.

fyrfytr · Aug 7, 2012

I guess that is about where I am at with this project at this point, get started and build as we go. As much as I love LED, not sure how practical it is to start with LED lighting when a shop light will work just fine for fish only. As the tank grows and matures (and my knowledge gets better) ((and he gets older)) maybe we can step into corals and LED lighting.